November 6th, morning.
The morning fog had not yet cleared, and George came to the top of a low hill. This was the Trace Italienne location chosen by the staff.
A staff officer spread out the map and explained his plan to George.
The fortress was designed as an asymmetrical four-pointed star, and the map marked the location where the enemy might mount artillery and the direction in which to launch an assault.
There is a slope on the other side of the eastern stream, three hundred steps away, suitable for setting up artillery. An additional Triangle Fort was designed in this direction to enhance the protection of Trace Italienne.
The terrain on the south side of the low hill is flat and there are no streams or forests blocking it. There is a high probability that the enemy will use this area as an assault direction.
During the early exploration, the staff focused on adjusting the design of the two edges and corners to form a "flank crossfire" against the enemy in the south.
During the introduction, the staff used charcoal and a ruler to draw auxiliary lines, marking the attacker's trajectory, the defender's field of view at a certain position, the defender's trajectory...
George has not received any systematic cultural education and can barely do literacy and arithmetic.
With his level of education, he obviously cannot understand these complicated ballistics. He doesn't even know what a parabola is, nor does he understand the concepts of air resistance and calculus.
The staff had already anticipated this and promised to prepare a launch table after Trace Italienne was completed.
In this way, Militia does not need to understand the knowledge of Ballistics.
During a battle, Militia only needs to measure the distance between the enemy and the artillery position, check the illumination meter, adjust the direction and pitch angle of the artillery, and then ignite and launch it to kill the enemy or destroy the artillery.
"How much will it cost?"
George focuses on the cost and construction period.
Army Department's civil servant was tired of his behavior as a country rich man, and his tone was a little impatient:
"The biggest expense in building Trace Italienne is building materials. Army Department arranges for prisoners of war to mine stones or bake bricks and transport them to your territory for free.
During the construction period, an engineer officer was stationed at each construction site. He had rich construction experience, and the lord could entrust the construction site to him.
The construction period is planned to be four years. If you are willing to recruit more civilians, it may be shortened to three years."
According to the predictions of the headquarters staff, after Uzon Hassan retreated to Basra, his prestige was damaged and he needed to quell the civil strife and deal with the threat of the Timur Empire.
In the next few years, Armenian Highlands will have enough time to build defense facilities.
Things on the eastern defense line came to an end, Vitus left Tabriz and led the remaining troops to evacuate westward.
November On the 16th, the army came to the east coast of the Tigris River.
Thick clouds blocked the sun, and there was light snow in the sky. The withered reeds undulated in the cold wind. The river flowed southward carrying the sediment from the upper reaches, scouring the piers of the stone bridge.
After evacuating nearby pedestrians, the troops crossed the bridge in an orderly manner. When they arrived at the center of the bridge, Vitus suddenly got off his horse, walked towards the railing, and fell into silence while looking at the river below.
After an unknown amount of time, he breathed out a puff of white air, looked at the reflection on the water and sighed quietly:
"Historically, emperors Trajan, Heraclius and other emperors attacked Persia. What did they think when they passed this river?"
More than twenty years of fighting career have passed by in a flash, and now Vitus is no longer young. He has a feeling that if he leaves Armenia this time, he will never come back again.
In the afternoon, the army camped at Diyarbakir on the West Bank. Vitus summoned a group of civilian officials who had just arrived to arrange various affairs for Province.
The war is not over yet, Vitus has not divided Garrison District, he temporarily recruited a group of Militia from the west to help maintain the security of the newly established Province.
In the next ten years, these two Province will not be able to provide positive economic benefits. The situation is similar to that of the Anatolia inland, which requires Central Administration to continuously invest funds and manpower.
The advantage is that Anatolia has an additional buffer zone of 300,000 square kilometers inland, becoming a real hinterland.
Since then, the nomadic pressure faced by Galatia and Cappadocia has dropped sharply, the public security situation has improved, and their accounts have gradually "turned losses into profits".
Vitus is most concerned about Cappadocia.
In the past few years, this Province has been continuously intruded by nomads. The horse farms within the territory must hire additional security personnel, which has increased operating costs and the horse breeding industry has been restricted.
With the addition of a buffer zone in the east, Province's livestock industry has ushered in a stage of rapid expansion, providing more war horses.
All along, some civilian officials have repeatedly reminded Vitus not to rely too much on the Steppe cavalry.
Vitus knows the disadvantages of this matter, but there is nothing we can do about it.
For a long time, Don Frontier and Tatars were the most reliable sources of light cavalry. Recruiting Hungary light cavalry and Ottoman cavalry had more disadvantages.
"The number of Cappadocia horse farms has increased, and the Ranch worker group has expanded accordingly. They are an excellent source of light cavalry and can replace part of the Tatars light cavalry."
At the end of November, Vitus led the army back to Lycia to rest.
To the north of Lycia is the towering Taurus Mountains, which blocks the cold wave in the interior. There is almost no snowfall in winter, making it an ideal winter camp.
Three days later, Vitus took the time to meet with Mamluk's envoy, who claimed that the border conflict in the summer was a misunderstanding and that Sultan was looking forward to reaching a peace agreement with Rome.
Vitus flatly refused.
"From the moment you assisted Venice, there was no possibility of peace between the two sides. In the spring of next year, I will lead the army to attack south.
Let me explain in advance that I have no intention of establishing Province in Egypt. As long as the Circassia nobles are willing to surrender, they can retain most of their original power."
After driving away the messenger, Vitus was busy reorganizing the army and organized the reserve soldiers sent from the mainland into Auxiliary Brigade.
Next year, the field troops he can use include two legions, Attica and Sakarya, Hermes Brigade, and cavalry units, totaling about 30,000 people.
The number of auxiliary troops is close to 20,000, and they perform tasks such as garrisoning territories and transporting supplies.
There are still four months until the war starts, and Vitus has enough time to train new recruits.
The officers and non-commissioned officers of Auxiliary Brigade come from the Military Academy and Garrison District systems.
In order to launch Battle of Sakarya, Vitus had to train officers more than half a year in advance and was so busy. Now that this step is saved, his workload has been reduced a lot.
As a student of Army Higher School, Leo was incorporated into the third Auxiliary Infantry Brigade and served as the deputy company commander of Six-Pounder Cannon company.
"Me?"
Leo felt a little resistant when he heard the news.
In the past few months, Leo followed Thomas to fight everywhere. He thought he had learned a lot of useful knowledge and wanted to continue to follow Uncle Qi everywhere to be happy.
Unfortunately, he did not dare to disobey his father's wishes and silently accepted the temporary appointment.
In early December, Atlantic Ocean, Black Coral Island.
The island received a group of new immigrants in the summer, and the settlement expanded to 260 people. The warship also purchased a group of cattle and sheep from Morocco to meet the island's grazing needs.
Chora Si Palaiologos believes that the island has a shortage of labor force and the economic benefits of grazing are greater than planting Sugarcane.
One day, Black Coral Island's pasture will be occupied by sheep. The excess sheep can be thrown to several nearby desert islands and allowed to reproduce on their own. People will go to the island regularly to harvest wool, saving time and effort.
"Sugarcane fields and wheat fields take up too much manpower. After this harvest, reduce the Barley planting area. There is no shortage of food on the island. There are turtles, fish and shrimps. There is no point in planting so many Barley."
Suddenly, Militia knocked on the door:
"Sir, there is a situation on the southern coast. The patrol found a small number of broken ship planks and canvas, and brought back a survivor. Judging from the appearance and skin color, the survivor is from Iberia, and should be Portugal."
Chora si walked out of the house and followed Militia to a nearby church. The survivor was lying on a long table, and the priest and captain Militia were checking his injuries.
Not long after, the survivor opened his eyes, looked at the stranger in front of him in horror, danced and said a lot of Castile slang.
The priest tried to use Latin to communicate with the survivors. The other party claimed to be a low-ranking noble named Diego and Castile (nfanzn, the bottom of the aristocratic system).
A few days ago, the expedition ship he was on was attacked by the Portugal ship. The expedition ship ran into a storm while escaping, and the hull capsized in the strong winds and waves. Diego survived by luck.
"Kind gentlemen, could you send me a sailboat to take me home? I swear to repay your kindness."
"There are no ocean-going sailing ships." The priest regretfully rejected the other party.
The two single-masted fishing boats of Black Coral Island are small in size and are only suitable for fishing offshore. The priest speculated that local ships will come to replenish them next summer and take them home when they return.
"Portugal took the initiative to attack the Castile ship, and now we are in trouble." Chora Si was worried that the conflict between the two would escalate and turn into an all-out war.
Castile occupies most of the area of Iberia and is stronger than Portugal. The former has a greater probability of winning.
However, the relationship between Portugal and France is harmonious. Once the two sides go to war, Charles VII will most likely end up helping Portugal.
Chora si recalled the geographical knowledge taught by the Administrative Department during the induction training:
France has a population of tens of millions. After Castile regained some areas of Granada, it has a total population of about 4 million to 5 million.
He has little understanding of military affairs and believes that in a war, the party with more people has the advantage. Castile has a small population, so of course it cannot defeat France.
However, on the Chora Si Ji map, the area of Castile is about 80% of the area of France. Why is the population reduced by half?
Regarding this question, Diego explained, "The land of the two is different. France is mainly plains, with abundant rainfall, and exports grain and wine every year.
Our (Castile) agricultural conditions are poor. There is sufficient rainfall along the coast, but the plain area is small. There is sufficient area in the interior, but the rainfall is insufficient, and many lands cannot be cultivated and can only be used for grazing.
You may not believe it. The winter in Castile is cold, and some poor people freeze to death every year. I have a sister who married England. She wrote back and said that the winter in England is not as cold as in our hometown. This really makes no sense, England is obviously in the north."
Suddenly, Chora si thought of the Anatolia inland, which also had rugged terrain, less rainfall, cold winters, and living conditions not as good as those in coastal areas.
"Looking at it this way, Castile is not as strong as France. We can only rely on the mountains within the territory to delay the war until the other side ceases fighting..."
After the conversation, Chora arranged for the guest to stay in a vacant house.
In the next half month, Black Coral Island returned to calm, and people were busy taking care of crops and livestock. Chora Si was exploring the terrain in the inland valleys and planning Sugarcane fields to be reclaimed next year.
On December 15th, the sky was gloomy, and Chora stayed in his house reading newspapers from six months ago.
Although he read these newspapers many times, he had no other recreational activities but to read them repeatedly until next summer, when the Home Fleet sent a new batch of newspapers and books.
"Your Majesty went out to conquer Armenian Highlands. I don't know where the front line is now. Have you captured Diyarbakir?"
Dang! Dang! Dang!
The rapid ringing of the bell penetrated the rain curtain, and Chora put on a thick woolen cloak and rushed out of the house with a spear.
"What happened?"
He yelled at Captain Militia's courtyard. Soon, the captain ran out in a hurry, wearing a Plate Armor randomly on his body, and the outermost part was also a wool cloak.
At this time, a woman ran out of the courtyard and handed the captain a sword. The captain hurriedly hung the sword on his belt while replying to his superior's question:
"Maybe ships from other countries have arrived."
Chora Captain Sirang summoned Militia and trotted towards the coast. He saw a three-masted sailboat approaching in the distance with the flag of Portugal flying on it.
Chora Si thought of Diego who took refuge on the island.
"Why did the Portugal people kill the crew of an expedition ship? Is this necessary?"
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, so he ran towards the fort on a nearby slope. The facilities here were simple, with a low stone wall built, two decommissioned nine-pound naval guns placed, and a rainproof wooden shed at the top.
Upon discovering Chora's arrival, the two Militias on duty stood quietly in place.
"Why not reload?"
Militia replied calmly, "Sir, we have never learned this thing and we don't know how to operate it."
After waiting for a while, the captain arrived at the fort with more than twenty Militia. The captain found a booklet from the wooden box in the corner, which recorded the steps of loading and firing, as well as the corresponding firing chart.
The captain flipped through the pamphlet in a panic, "Let me see, seven hundred steps away, the elevation should be..."
Ahead, the warship had pointed its broadside in the direction of the dock and fort, but had not opened its gun windows, indicating that it was not willing to take the initiative to start a war.
Not long after, the ship put Longboat down, and twelve sailors paddled in the heavy rain to deliver an Portugal officer to the dock.
"What on earth is this for?" Chora Si took a deep breath and then strode towards the dock.
After a brief conversation, the officer explained to him the purpose of his visit: to hunt down a group of greedy and bloodthirsty pirates.
Chora Si: "Pirates? We only have two broken fishing boats. We have no ability to attack ships. You are looking in the wrong place."
Officer: "What I'm looking for is not you, but a Castile expedition ship. Some time ago, the expedition ship attacked our cargo ship and then escaped into the depths of the storm. The cargo ship claimed that the expedition ship capsized in the storm.
The storm location is only half a day's flight from this archipelago. Governor sent us over to confirm and look for traces of surviving pirates..."
Obviously, what Portugal said is completely opposite to Diego.
Chora Si didn't know what the truth was, so he suppressed his inner doubts and said that he had no knowledge and had never seen the so-called pirates.
If Diego is handed over, but the other party did not participate in the attack on the Portugal merchant ship, it means that Black Coral Island will be guilty of Castile. At the same time, this behavior will damage Rome's face, and Chora can only pretend that nothing happened.
The officer asked, "Really not?"
Chora retorted, "Have I told you, what else do you want? Personally lead troops to search Rome's territory? Do you want to provoke a war between Portugal and Rome?"
After a long dispute, officer Portugal left the dock.
Under normal circumstances, if a sailboat capsizes in a storm, even if the crew lowers the boat in advance, the probability of survival is still very low.
Half a day ago, the Portugal sailboat passed by a small island in the east and saw some canvas scattered on the beach. The Portugal people searched the island and found no survivors or corpses. It is estimated that the crew members were dead.
The officers discussed for a while, but no one was willing to take the risk of war and forcefully land on the island to search.
Over the years, Vitus's bad temper has become well-known. One more thing is worse than one less thing. The Portugal ship finally sailed away from Black Coral Islands.
Half an hour later, Chora Si took Militia to find Diego, who was looking anxious, and asked him to tell the truth.
"What truth? Everything I said is true. Why do you think I lied in church?"
Diego argued for more than ten minutes, but Chora was still suspicious in his heart. He asked Militia to lock Diego in a house and keep him under strict guard.
No matter whether Diego is innocent or not, he cannot be sent back to Castile.
Assuming that Portugal received the message from Diego afterwards, he would definitely believe that Black Coral Island protected him.
The safest way is to hand over Diego to the Navy and send it back to the mainland for processing, which may allow us to obtain some key information.