October On the 25th, the first batch of the Army went to sea by ship. If the plan goes well, Governor plans to send more troops in the future.
The sea conditions were poor in late autumn, which affected the fleet's sailing speed. When they arrived at Ionian Islands, a week had passed since their departure.
At the beginning of November, Venice officers and a group of mercenary captains held a meeting in Kefalonia Island.
There is no clear battle plan this time, so everyone can play freely. The captured materials are converted into bonuses and distributed in full to the combatants.
Taking into account the inefficiency of the coordinated operations of the various units, they split the troops into groups of 300 to 500 people and plundered the villages on the shore. How much they could plunder depended on their individual abilities.
Early the next morning, three hundred soldiers eagerly boarded the ship and sailed to the northeast coast.
Ionian Sea It is no longer the blue color of summer, the sea surface is filled with dark waves, and the salty sea breeze blows on everyone's faces.
As time passed, the sun rose from the sea level to the sky, and the fleet sailed towards a bay that was semi-surrounded by a headland. The vegetation on the surface of the headland was sparse, with some low dark green shrubs growing there.
The sailors furled the sails and relied entirely on oars to provide power to prevent the sea wind from suddenly changing direction and blowing the ship to the shore and hitting the rocks.
"There's smoke over the headland!"
A sailor pointed to the north and shouted a warning. The captain picked up his telescope and found two shepherd boys standing next to the bonfire. He didn't pay much attention. Rounding the headland, the fleet saw clearly the situation inside the bay: ahead was a small fishing village with more than 80 houses crowded together. Simple dock facilities were built on the coast, and more than twenty small and medium-sized fishing boats were moored.
At this time, the fishing village received a smoke warning, and a black-robed priest holding a small copper bell notified the villagers to evacuate immediately.
As the fleet got closer and closer, villagers gradually fled to the eastern mountains carrying grain bags and driving livestock.
"Venice soldiers are coming! Run quickly!" the cleric shouted from house to house, then picked up a bag of cabbage that fell on the roadside and fled in a hurry before the enemy arrived.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Venice soldiers entered this fishing village.
Numerous fishing nets were drying in the open space near the coast, and the fish that had not been taken off were still hanging on the nets. The doors on both sides of the road were open, and a soldier walked into the house with a sword and shield. The embers in the furnace were still warm. On the wooden table were half a piece of black bread and a bowl of cold Fish Soup. A light layer of grease condensed on the soup surface, proving that the owner of the house had not gone far.
"We walked for less than an hour." The soldier stood up and glanced at the overturned stools and scattered clothes in the corner, "We walked in a hurry."
The troops dispersed and searched every room. There were no silver coins or jewelry. The church's copper candlesticks and books were also taken away by the priest in advance.
They searched for a long time and found only some grains, livestock and salted fish that were too late to take away. The harvest was pitiful.
The mercenary captain arrived at the east end of the village. A country dirt road wound eastward, disappearing between dark green bushes and rugged limestone. In the distance were rolling mountain forests.
Amid the clamor of the crowd, the captain arranged for a few members to stay in the village:
"Your task is very simple. Use Longboat to transport the supplies from the fishing village to the fleet in the deep water area in batches. It is not easy to go out. Don't miss any valuable items." The remaining 270 people followed the captain in pursuit and headed east along the winding mountain road. There were debris accidentally dropped by the villagers scattered along the way.
The mountain road quickly became steep, with low bushes on both sides, and thorny branches that hooked their trousers. After crossing a ridge, the captain saw smoke burning in the distance, which seemed to notify reinforcements from inland areas.
Seeing this scene, the soldiers were frightened, but they were reluctant to give up this precious opportunity to plunder. Two hours later, they followed the mountain road into the plain below and went straight to the second village.
The situation here is similar to that of a fishing village, with most of the villagers fleeing.
The soldiers rummaged through items everywhere and found some silverware and coins from a wealthy family that were too late to take away, five Greece books, and a box of dyed cloth.
"That's all?"
The captain arranged for thirty people to return to the beach with the looted property. He climbed up a nearby old oak tree and looked at the vaguely visible village in the distance. There were rivers and mills there, and the wealth definitely exceeded the first two goals.
"No matter what the harvest is, run away after searching this village!"
In the afternoon, they arrived at the third village along the country road.
The village is close to a river, with sufficient water sources to irrigate the farmland, and there are large olive trees and Vineyard on the hillside. The mercenaries disbanded and began to loot property everywhere. The captain sent people to find livestock and carriages, use vehicles to transport goods, and try to transport as much loot as possible back to the beach.
After a long commotion, the captain urged everyone to return home. After walking for a while, the sky was getting dark, so they had to spend the night in a second village and pray for a safe return to the coast tomorrow.
For some reason, the captain was always a little uneasy. In the early morning of the next day, at dawn, he urged everyone to pack their things. The soldiers also felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere, stuffed a few mouthfuls of bread at random, and left the village in a panic.
Two hours later, with the sun high in the sky, the team's situation relaxed slightly. Suddenly, the captain turned around suddenly and saw a large flock of birds flying from the north. He signaled everyone to stop advancing, then lay down on the ground, and faintly heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
Cavalry!
The most dangerous situation occurred. The captain wanted to organize a defense, but there were not enough animals to pull the carts. They only carried eight carriages and could not form a Wagon Fort that could accommodate more than 200 people!
"The cavalry is coming, run!"
Following the shouts of a few mercenaries, everyone dispersed and fled to a direction they thought was safe.
At first, the soldiers threw away the heaviest grains. As their physical strength gradually became exhausted, they threw away items such as cloth, copper pots, and tin bowls. They still could not escape the pursuit of the Eastern Roman Empire army.
At nine o'clock in the morning, more than a hundred Dragoons wearing leather jackets caught up with the enemy. Boranov noticed that the mercenaries had dispersed, so he pulled out his Sabre and led his men to charge.
The equestrian skills of the officers and non-commissioned officers were acceptable, and they took the lead in rushing to the front. Most of the soldiers had poor horse control skills. They held the reins with their left hands, their bodies bumped up and down with the horse, and they waved Sabre with their right hands, trying to chop down the backs of those fleeing in embarrassment.
In most cases, Dragoons hits the air, or hits the enemy's helmet or shoulder armor, and rarely directly hits the neck, which lacks protection.
Boranov chopped down several soldiers in succession, and Sabre found a gap. He reined in the reins and stared at the chaotic scene on both sides of the road, feeling inexplicably annoyed. "If it were a light cavalry, this battle would have been over long ago. We still need to strengthen our equestrian training, at least to be worthy of the title "Dragoons"."