Late late at night, a secluded room in the Free Bison Tavern in Tyniec was bustling with people exchanging glasses of wine. This private banquet started in the early evening and has continued till now.
The protagonist of the banquet was Viscount Geoffrey de Charles, the chief of the palace guard of the County of Burgundy. The other three barons who led the army were also the Lord Chamberlain and the Palace Military Officer.
What surprised Art was that Sir Charis Barber, Lord Baldwin's chamberlain knight and personal bodyguard, was also assigned to the Eastern Army and would serve as the commander of one of the companies as Lord Banner and several leading barons.
But what surprised Art even more was that there were not many knights among the basic infantry commanders of the Eastern Legion. Eight of the only twelve knights were assigned to the cavalry team directly under the control of the central commander of the legion. The remaining knights, including Art, became flag captains, leading several of the most elite infantry flag teams.
According to regulations, Art's cavalry was originally supposed to be included in the Chinese cavalry, but Art led the outpost team of the legion. With Earl Baldwin's care and a meal of fine wine and food, Viscount Jeffrey "assigned" Art's cavalry to the outpost commander with a wave of his hand.
Viscount Geoffrey swung the remaining bottom of the glass and said to Art with a hint of drunkenness: "Art, thank you for your hospitality, but we have drunk too much today. I'm afraid we won't be able to return to camp if we drink any more."
"Lord Jeffrey, the legion has not yet been officially assembled, so you do not have to return to camp. I have arranged for the tavern to prepare guest rooms for several adults. You all can rest here." Art has already prepared resting places and bed warmers for several legion commanders.
"Okay, I have to go back to the military camp. If you want to stay, just stay and continue. Remember to return to the camp before noon tomorrow."
Jeffrey said to Art again: "Art, if you want to select elite soldiers, you must select them within tomorrow. We will do it early the day after tomorrow. All the recruited soldiers must be organized into each company flag team. "
"Odo Angus, you continue to enjoy the dinner with the adults, and I will send off Sir Jeffrey." After saying that, Art got up and followed Viscount Geoffrey out of the room. The sound of wine glasses clinking again was heard as soon as the two left the guest room...
After a night of drinking and sleeping soundly, Odo and Angus did not wake up from the guest room on the second floor of the tavern until dawn the next day. Of course, they woke up with several leading nobles of the Eastern Legion.
The two came to the lobby on the first floor, and Dige came up to greet them and said a few words.
"Dig, are you up, sir?" Odo asked. He remembered that he had to select elite soldiers today, and he had already lost half a day because of his hangover.
Dige waved to the bartender to prepare some light food for those who woke up from the hangover, and then replied: "Master Art left here early this morning to return to the military camp. He said that he would take the adults Touba, Ron and Lusignan to select the best, so that the two of them could rest in peace and sober up..."
…
On the second Monday of October, the army of the Count of Burgundy that marched south to Provence gathered in the city of Tyniec and was officially named the Eastern Army.
As Earl Baldwin said in his letter, the legion was led by Viscount Geoffrey, the chief of the palace guard, and was divided into the central command and four infantry companies. The central command was the head of the legion. In addition to commanding the four companies, it also directly administered a cavalry team of 120 cavalry, as well as outposts, crossbow teams, baggage and miscellaneous teams and other teams.
The ceremony of the establishment of the Legion was very grand. The two Viscounts Jeffrey and Pierre personally participated in the ceremony of the establishment of the Legion.
An archbishop who personally went south from the Archdiocese of Besançon to preside over the ceremony took seven military priests and set up a high altar outside the military camp outside Tyniec. Then the archbishop led a group of priests to start an hour-long religious ceremony. It was nothing more than confessing to God the war crimes that were about to begin, praying for God's forgiveness and asking God to bless the soldiers who went out to return safely.
"May God bless the devout believers. Amen!"
"Amen~" There were bursts of prayers in the legion. Even though they were a group of mercenaries and legion (professional) soldiers who licked blood from their swords, they still hoped to return here with their military pay and captured trophies intact.
After the ceremony, there is the distribution of enlisted soldiers in the legion and the formal appointment of officers at all levels.
Not surprisingly, Art was officially appointed as the outpost commander of the Eastern Legion. He led 60 elite infantry, eight outpost cavalry and eight crossbowmen (Art's own sentry and crossbow squad), totaling nearly eighty people. This number of troops was the largest number except for the cavalry led by Viscount Jeffrey himself. As a large combat formation, the outpost team is under the direct control of the Chinese Army and directly takes orders from Viscount Geoffrey. It is mainly responsible for scouting the legion's march, meeting the enemy and responding to battle, scouting out news and taking the lead in launching attacks to find out the enemy's situation. To put it more clearly, they are the ones who walk in the front and lie in the muddy water. The only advantages are that they can easily perform meritorious service and have a high degree of freedom.
Unexpectedly, the chaplain who was supposed to be sent to the company level was actually sent to the outpost team. This incident was completely beyond Art's expectation. If he had known that Viscount Geoffrey was the one who sent the chaplain to thank Art for the dinner, Art would probably regret that he was accidentally gifted a burden when he spent money and effort to get something in return...
However, unlike At, the soldiers in the outpost were quite surprised and pleasantly surprised by what happened with the priest. For them, having an apostle of God always accompanying them for pastoral protection is the greatest blessing in their hearts, especially They were the dozen or so elite soldiers that Art had just selected from the legion...
.........
While Art was depressed about this matter, another man was also dissatisfied and kept talking.
Robert Reber, a northern priest in the county of Burgundy who was less than thirty years old.
After receiving the order from the chief bishop of the Count of Burgundy to go south with the army, Robert's church immediately decided to send him south to Tyniec to gather and prepare: to follow the newly formed Eastern Legion south to the border of Provence to bring God's blessing and divine protection to the legionnaires fighting the Lombards...
It is not surprising that this drudgery could fall "honorably" to Robert. A priest who grew up in a monastery and could read and write was actually obsessed with the heresies promoted by secular academics while studying the Bible. He often put forward some shocking things, and even tried to verify this wonderful world created by God through some empirical evidence. This made the bishop of his church very dissatisfied with him. If it weren't for the fact that he was indeed studying the word of God and had a pious belief, the church would definitely treat him as a heretic and send him to the stake.
But this Robert also has a fatal flaw - he is too straightforward and unsophisticated. This is also an important reason why he was sent here.
Anyway, Father Robert reluctantly joined the Eastern Army heading south to Provence and became the chaplain of the outpost; Art also reluctantly accepted Viscount Geoffrey’s kind gift and led the unhappy-looking priest back to his military camp...
………
On the third day when the Eastern Legion was assembled (waiting for food, wages and supplies to arrive), the legion began to move south. The army of more than a thousand people was not originally too large. However, when more than a thousand people left Tyniec in a mighty manner and marched southward along the north-south caravan, a team of almost the same size also followed.
The members of this team are very complex, ranging from small merchants who buy and sell grain and vegetables to slave traders who sell slaves, from cobblers and tailors who carry tools to repair boots and clothing, to blacksmiths and armorers who specialize in making and repairing weapons and armor for the legion. Even cooks, slaves, maids, thieves and free mercenaries are among them, not to mention the family members brought by the legionnaires and the "barbers" who use knives on their heads as well as on their bodies.
The legion of more than a thousand people more than doubled in size, stretching out a march of several miles.
With more people, things become more complicated. In addition, the legion's baggage team also needs to carry a lot of food and supplies. It is impossible for the legion to march faster.
"My lord, it's been five days, and we haven't even left the border of Burgundy yet. If we continue at this speed, Provence won't be able to wait until reinforcements arrive. By then, the legion should not continue to go south. Let's turn around and retreat before the Lombards have caught up with the border." At the border post, Odo looked at the few merchants traveling in and out of the north, and couldn't help but mock the eastern legion that was moving south so quickly.
As the outpost of the army, Art has been arriving at the border post for a day and a half with the outpost, but most of the legion behind him is still half a day away. This kind of march is really frustrating.
"Okay, the legion has too many people, and the tail behind it is too big and long, and the legion must rely on this big tail to provide supplies, so the march will definitely not be able to speed up." Art expressed his understanding of the march of the legion.
"Odo, stop complaining. Go urge Simon and ask them to prepare a meal as soon as possible. When the legion passes through our border territory, provide warm soup and food to the officers and soldiers of the legion. This is also my wish as a lord."
"Yes, I will go right away." One night, the Eastern Legion finally arrived at the border post. Since this was the last land with a lord before entering Provence from the Count of Burgundy, the legion commander, Viscount Geoffrey, ordered the legion to camp at the border post for a day of repairs. Art generously provided all the soldiers of the legion (excluding the tail) with a steaming soup of wheat paste. Of course, the food delivered to the officers' camps was definitely not just wheat paste that could reflect the shadows.
Lord Art's generous act was recognized by many soldiers and officers from top to bottom throughout the Eastern Legion. Even though it was just an inconspicuous bowl of hot soup, it also represented the wishes of the owner of the territory. Moreover, this bowl of hot soup would be the last rest and meal for everyone in the County of Burgundy.
At will also take the opportunity of the legion's march south to transport the 150,000 pounds of grain that has been hoarded at the border outpost with the army to the city of Kitzby for storage. Then, the newly formed southern caravan of the European Trading Company will transport the grain to the city of Aosta to trade with Baron Balian and the Provence court.
The next day, the Eastern Legion, which had been repairing near the border post all day, officially left the country and embarked on the long journey to Provence, heading to Kitzby to repair and standby. What awaited them would be brutal battles and killings one after another...