Prisoner of War

The Matchlock met all performance expectations, so Vitus instructed Lambert to focus his full energy on manufacturing components. Subsequently, he ordered the recruitment of six hundred new soldiers, organized into five Matchlock companies.

According to Vitus's plan, the first two months would be spent familiarizing the recruits with military discipline, training in formation, and practicing loading drills with wooden Matchlock models. By June, as the supply of Matchlocks was gradually completed, he would have them conduct live-fire exercises.

Agnes reminded him, "Including this batch, your regular troops have reached sixteen hundred. Although you granted them land, which lowered the wages you need to pay, you are still burdened with twenty-four thousand Florins in annual military expenses. This exceeds the fiscal limits of the Achaea region. Have you considered this problem?"

Vitus remained relatively optimistic regarding the finances.

Last year's war destroyed the aristocratic class of the Principality of Achaea, and the Ducal Palace acquired a vast amount of real estate. Forty percent of the land was awarded to the Tuna Legion, while sixty percent belonged to Vitus's personal assets, which could provide five thousand Florins in land rent annually. Including this sum, it was just enough to maintain the fiscal balance of Achaea.

In the coming years, once his and Agnes's workshops entered the profit phase, he would proceed with the next round of military expansion.

Additionally, Vitus could take on mercenary contracts in the Italy region. As the Despot of Achaea, his appearance fee and terms would certainly be higher than those of "Anthony Doukas" two years ago.

Time arrived in May, and the winter wheat in the countryside entered its ripening period. Vitus granted his soldiers a long leave, allowing them to take turns returning home to harvest the wheat.

Without the distractions of military affairs, Vitus spent his days riding horses and hunting nearby, or fishing at the port of Kyllini on the west coast, spending a week in leisure until a large three-masted sailing ship appeared on the horizon.

After the merchant ship docked, a familiar figure jumped off the pier. The visitor was none other than Elion Daltino, who greeted Vitus with a smile, "Your Highness, we meet again."

Elion observed the soldiers near the dock with great interest, "Why is the surcoat over the armor such an inconspicuous gray, and why is there a blue tuna painted on it?"

Vitus replied, "During the war last year, we captured many suits of armor from the Principality of Achaea. To distinguish between the two camps, I had the soldiers wear a layer of gray cloth over their armor. Some people spontaneously painted tuna patterns on them, and it inexplicably became popular. I thought it was quite good, so I established it as the official uniform of the Tuna Legion."

Near noon, Vitus personally cooked fish soup for his guest and asked casually, "The ship's waterline is very low. What is in the hold?"

"Textiles and iron tools being shipped from Venice to Crete, as well as one hundred Hussites prisoners of war. They are destined to spend the rest of their lives on the island's sugarcane plantations."

The moment he heard "Hussites," the spatula in Vitus's right hand trembled.

Last October, Jan Zizka led his army to besiege a fortress and died of an illness during the siege. When he first heard the news, Vitus found it hard to believe, feeling that this should not have been the end for Jan Zizka.

"I am very interested in the tactics of the Hussites and need an experienced officer."

"That wouldn't be very appropriate, would it?" Elion feigned hesitation. Vitus shoved a money bag filled with Florins toward him. "It's no big deal. Just say he died of illness during transport."

Elion weighed the bag, tucked it into his coat with practiced ease, and drew an 'X' over the name at the top of the prisoner roster. "This man is called Krezer. He has commanded troops of over a thousand men and is the most valuable one among this batch of prisoners."

Not long after, Elion entered the cabin and soon brought out a listless, middle-aged man.

Vitus asked, "Do you speak Latin?"

Due to his long stay in the dark, damp cabin, the man was unaccustomed to the bright sunlight. He kept his head lowered and did not move for a long time.

Helpless, Vitus temporarily brought the man back to Andravida. It took a long time to find a translator who spoke Bohemian, and he asked him to relay:

"Did you follow Jan Zizka in battle for a long time?"

Krezer nodded gently.

Vitus asked again, "You have only one task: describe your combat experiences over these years in detail. Afterward, I will give you a plot of farmland or travel expenses. Do you have any other requests?"

Krezer sighed and began to recount the battles he had experienced. However, things were not as simple as he had imagined; the young man before him was not listening to stories, but rather having him explain everything from the perspective of a commander.

"Draw the battlefield as it was then, and mark the troop deployments of both sides," Vitus produced the map of the Battle of Bordeaux he had drawn himself and asked the man to draw in the same format.

"Also, you said Zizka sent troops to flank in advance—how did he know that was the enemy's weak point? How did Sigismund react? If the situation changed, what contingency plans did you have?"

Krezer looked blank, indicating he couldn't remember clearly.

Vitus said, "No rush. You have plenty of time to recall all of this. Besides the combat process, I also want to know your troop organization, daily training methods, and tactics for different environments." He called in a scribe and instructed him to write down this precious memoir, ensuring no detail was missed.

In late May, the wheat in the territory was harvested. Vitus built a simple brick kiln and had craftsmen fire bricks.

At the same time, he brought in technical personnel from Constantinople and recruited hundreds of farmers, having them mix clay, sand, and volcanic ash, with a small amount of wheat straw added.

Having solved the source of the rammed earth and bricks, Vitus began building the foundation: digging a deep trench, laying a layer of gravel as a drainage layer, piling stones on top of the drainage layer, and then pouring lime mortar.

After the foundation was completed, workers used wooden boards to build a hollow wooden trough, filled it with the mixed wet soil, and then used stone rammers to strike the soil layer repeatedly until it was thoroughly compacted.

Once the bottom layer of rammed earth was finished, the workers continued to fill and ram the next layer. Repeating this cycle, the city wall seemed to "grow" and gradually rose. Bricks were laid on the outside of the rammed earth layers; the main function of this outer brick layer was to prevent rain, avoiding erosion of the rammed earth by rainwater.

After more than a month of hard work, Vitus brought Theodore and his wife to show them this section of the newly built, modern-style city wall.

To test the wall's defensive capabilities, he set up six heavy siege cannons fifty meters away and bombarded a small area repeatedly until one of the siege cannons developed a crack in its barrel.

The facts proved that this low, thick city wall had superior defensive performance. After Theodore and Cleopa discussed it in whispers, they agreed to Vitus's wall-building plan.

"I have scraped together forty-five thousand Florins, and the remainder will be paid by the end of the year. Vitus, you must not try to fool me."