Defensive Fortifications

Over the next ten days, Simon and the others were busy repairing their ships. Vitus did not disturb them. Instead, he led the convoy onward to visit his older brother, Theodore.

March, Mistra.

Theodore was even more enthusiastic at this meeting. He had spent years sparring with Centurione, gaining little more than a few minor advantages, and had never imagined that Vitus would make such smooth progress.

"Tell me, how did you manage it?"

Vitus spoke casually, as if discussing some trivial matter. "Centurione ambushed us with his troops, but I spotted them in advance. His knights couldn't break through my Hussite Wagon Fort, and suffered heavy losses. Later, he tried to raid my camp at Andravida, but failed again..."

After chatting with Theodore for a while, Vitus got down to business. He wanted to persuade his brother to set aside funds to build a new-style wall outside the Hexamilion Wall.

Theodore instinctively tried to refuse. "You want to imitate Constantinople's defenses and use two walls to repel the Ottomans? It's a good idea, but I really don't have the money."

Vitus spent a long time trying to persuade him, but Theodore remained hesitant. His wife, Cleopa, on the other hand, supported the proposal.

"Three years ago, Ottoman Bey Turahan led his troops through the Hexamilion Wall and plundered the Peloponnese. If the enemy comes south to raid us every so often, we won't be able to live like this. Strengthening our defenses benefits both our families."

(Note: Bey was an official title in the Ottoman Empire, roughly equivalent to "lord" or "governor.")

Since Cleopa agreed, the matter was more or less settled.

Vitus spread out his sketches and explained his design for the new-style wall. "The outermost layer is made of brick and stone, with rammed earth packed inside. The rammed earth absorbs the force of cannonballs, greatly reducing the damage caused by heavy siege cannons. It also cuts down on the amount of brick and stone needed, saving costs."

The outer wall he had in mind would be six meters high, and considerably thicker than the existing wall, reaching an estimated eight meters. The vertical outer face would be replaced with a sloped embankment, preventing enemy cannonballs from striking it head-on and thus reducing damage.

A moat would run outside the wall, with a sloped rampart beyond it. This would force Ottoman soldiers to remain exposed to the defenders' fire as they charged up the slope, while preventing them from seeing directly to the bottom of the moat.

In addition, a projecting triangular bastion would be built at regular intervals. Defenders could use matchlocks and heavy crossbows to shoot enemies climbing the nearby wall. Bastions on either side would support each other, forming interlocking fields of fire and ensuring that every enemy scaling the wall was within range.

"Where did you learn something like this?" Theodore was stunned by his younger brother's devious ingenuity. "Give me a funding plan first. If I can afford it, I'll definitely support building the outer wall."

In Theodore's understanding, fortifications cost a fortune to build. The outer wall would be six miles long and was expected to cost more than a hundred thousand Florins. Where could they possibly find that much money?

Achaea's population was one-third that of Morea, so Vitus suggested they contribute in a one-to-three ratio and first raise eighty thousand Florins. They would spend four months preparing materials, then begin construction in July.

Theodore said, "Could we make do with sixty thousand Florins?"

Vitus retorted, "Which matters more, money or your life?"

Theodore and Cleopa conferred in low voices, and eventually agreed to Vitus's plan. On one condition: he had to build a sample section and bombard it with heavy siege cannons to prove that the new-style wall really worked.

After settling the arrangements for the outer wall, Vitus retraced his route to Andravida. Once he entered the city, he did not go home, but headed straight to the blacksmith's workshop for an inspection.

"How's it going?"

Lambert nodded confidently and led his lord into the back courtyard. From the storehouse, he brought out a fully assembled matchlock. "I made the components as you instructed. It should be ready."

The matchlock was about one meter long. Vitus hefted it in his hands; it weighed around 5.5 kilograms. It had everything it needed: a trigger, serpentine, priming pan, and stock.

He took out a jar of black powder and poured some into the priming pan at the rear of the barrel. Then he closed the pan's cover to keep the powder from spilling or blowing away in the wind. Next, he poured a little powder down the barrel, inserted a lead ball, and rammed it firmly into place with the ramrod.

Then Vitus picked up a length of hemp cord. It had been soaked in a saltpeter solution beforehand, allowing it to smolder slowly and steadily. The cord was secured in the metal clamp at the end of the serpentine. Just as he was about to light it, Vitus suddenly stopped.

"Bring over a table. I'm worried this thing might blow up in our faces."

After some preparations, they secured the matchlock to the table, aiming it at a breastplate fifty meters away. Vitus tied a thin cord to the trigger, then gave it a gentle tug.

The trigger pulled, and the burning cord at the end of the serpentine dropped onto the powder in the priming pan, setting it alight.

Bang!

After a deafening report, a flash and pungent white smoke burst from the muzzle. Vitus went over to inspect it. The barrel was still intact, and the breastplate directly ahead had been pierced by the lead ball.

He loaded it again, this time aiming at a breastplate a hundred meters away, but missed. Patiently, he tried again and again. At last, on the fourth shot, he hit the breastplate, but failed to pierce it.

Vitus replaced the breastplate with a less protective brigandine and found that the matchlock could just barely punch through it. By that measure, lamellar armor and chain mail offered even less protection and could not stop a matchlock shot from a hundred meters away.

After the demonstration, Lambert and his two apprentices gathered around. The Italian blacksmith praised the weapon from the bottom of his heart.

"Your Highness, this thing is excellent. It has a longer range than the hand cannons currently in use, and its ability to pierce armor is a little better than that of the heavy steel crossbow. It's also cheaper to make and takes less time..."

Early crossbows had low draw weights and could be cocked by hand. As armor grew more protective, crossbow draw weights increased. Soldiers could no longer pull the strings by hand, so a metal stirrup was added to the bow. To load it, soldiers planted a foot in the stirrup and hauled the string upward with both hands, using the strength of their backs.

After plate armor appeared, European armies urgently needed weapons with greater armor-piercing power. In the end, craftsmen came up with the ingenious idea of making the bow entirely from steel, and invented the heavy steel crossbow.

This weapon required a terrifying draw force of more than three hundred kilograms. It could not be cocked by human strength alone, and had to be loaded using a special winch. In battle, soldiers had to keep turning the crank, slowly winding the string up to its highest point.

Besides its slow loading speed, the steel crossbow had another flaw: it was expensive. Lambert had forged steel crossbows before. Their bow arms were made from high-quality steel, which required frequent quenching and tempering to achieve the best elasticity and strength. A single heavy steel crossbow cost eight Ducats.

By comparison, the matchlock's barrel was made of wrought iron. Lambert estimated that it would cost only half as much as a steel crossbow, perhaps even less.