In the southeastern part of the Bode Plain, near the mountainous region of northern Hungary (later Slovakia). The area around Krakow, which later became the holy city of Christianity, is now the domain of the Crusaders. The banks of the Vistula River seem to have become a sea of tents. Countless crusaders gathered here. The flag of the red cross on a white background, fluttering high. The voices of blessings for the Crusaders rang out one after another.

"God bless you, Crusader warriors!"

"Christ is with you! Amen! ”

"This is the Holy Water of the Pope's consecration, drink a little! Crusader warriors, you will be invulnerable if you drink holy water......"

"Indulgence, come and receive it, with it your souls can ascend to heaven!"

"Holy Relic, does anyone want a Holy Relic? These are all relics that have been confirmed by the Pope from Jerusalem......"

"Lord Seris, do you need the Holy Relic Protection? How about this cloth? This is part of the Shroud of Christ, take it to battle, the Mongols' bows and arrows will not hit you......"

Chen Chongguan didn't know if he was dressed too well—a gorgeous silk robe, a silver steel helmet on his head, some fine jade hanging from his belt, and a rich face of Seris. Walking through the chaotic crusader camp, you will always meet a few priests who come to sell the "holy relics".

"Take it away, take it away, I don't need it!" Chen Chongguan frowned and looked at an old god stick with a gray beard and a smile on his face. The old god stick held a dirty and tattered rag in both hands, as if it were some kind of treasure.

"How much?" Qiao San, the second son of the Holy Roman Emperor Alphonse I and had just been made Marquis of Granada, walked beside Chen Chongguan. He was accompanying Chen Chongguan, who had only arrived with his troops last night, to visit the barracks. At this time, he became interested in the "Holy Relic Treasure" and stepped forward to inquire about the price.

"100 marks. Only 100 marks are needed. The old god said, "There is a certificate signed by the Pope himself!" Absolutely not. ”

100 marks are equivalent to 1,600 Tiandaozhuang half taels of silver. That's 1,600 yuan. This rag head is really expensive!

"What about the certificate? Take it for me to see. "Prince Chausanne's dress is not much different from that of an ordinary crusader, except that he is dressed in chain mail and covered with a white coat embroidered with the mark of a cross. So the god didn't recognize Josan as a high marquis—Prince Josan was very young and didn't look like a marquis.

"This is the certificate." A parchment scroll was handed to Prince Chausanne, and the young prince recognized at a glance that the signature on it was indeed from the Pope himself. He nodded, handed the certificate back, took out a silver ornament and handed it to the old god, and said with a smile: "Father, I am the son of Emperor Alphonse, the Marquis of Granada, Josan. Go to my tent and negotiate with the Bishop of Bozia of Granada. ”

To lie to the Bishop of Granada? That's a ruthless man who burned many Heavenly Sectists to death at the stake! The old god couldn't laugh or cry, and he had to thank him again and again and then leave in a gloomy manner.

"Why don't you get rid of these crooks?" Chen Chongguan asked puzzled.

"Liar?" Prince Qiao San just shook his head, "That certificate is genuine, it was indeed issued by the Pope. ”

"But the cloth is fake."

"With the Pope's certification is true, because the Pope is infallible." Prince Qiao San corrected with a serious expression.

The infallibility of the Pope is a great principle of the Ecumenical Church, which remains true to the 21st century, especially in the supposedly dark Middle Ages.

"Never wrong?" Chen Chongguan shook his head slightly. There is no infallible person in the world, even if it is a Ming saint, there are times when they make mistakes! It was a mistake for him to send himself to Europa! Maybe it's time to let the governor of Zhongmingzhou blindfold Europa. Meng's military talent is obvious to all, but he can only talk about it on paper.

Prince Qiao San smiled wryly and nodded. "The Pope must be right, and in Krakow we can count on only the Pope and the God he represents...... Relic Treasures, Holy Water, and Indulgence Certificates can give people the courage to face powerful enemies. ”

He pointed to his head, "Holy relics, holy water, and indulgences are used to arm here. Armed here, Poland has some hope for this battle. ”

When Chen Chongguan heard this, he was speechless for a while. The Ming army seems to be talking about brainwashing. It also talks about those who kill the Tartars and go to heaven. But the problem is that the Ming army is not only brainwashing. There is also strict training and discipline, as well as excellent equipment. There are also various advanced tactics. But what other skills did the crusaders here in Krakow have besides not being afraid of death?

As the two spoke, they had already entered the gates of Krakow. It was the former capital of the Kingdom of Poland and thrived on the nearby Wieliczka Salt Mine (the largest in Europe), which was overrun by the Mongols more than 20 years ago, slaughtering its inhabitants and burning the city. After the evacuation of the Mongols, the Duke of Krakow returned here and rebuilt the city. Relying on the income from the Wieliczka salt mines, the city has recovered some of its vitality. However, it is still much worse than before the Mongol invasion, and the only thing that surpasses it is the tall and sturdy walls of Krakow.

The city's proximity to Western Rus, ruled by Nahai Khan, made it frequently invaded by the Mongols, and only its tall, strong walls were able to protect its inhabitants and the workers of the nearby salt mines. So at least half of the revenue from the Wieliczka salt mine was used to build the walls.

The same was true of the Teutonic Knights' territory and Hungary, and throughout Eastern Europe, the feudal lords near the Golden Horde were building bunkers like crazy. But these bunkers could only hold back a small group of invading Mongols at best, and they were powerless in the face of the flood of Mongol armies.

"According to reliable sources, most of the Lithuanians had already taken refuge with the Mongols and were in the vanguard of their invasion. So we had no choice but to abandon most of the castles in Prussia and Livonia, abandon the people there, and at most hold on to a few ports with their backs to the Baltic, hoping to contain the Mongols......"

Inside Krakow Castle, the military meeting began after the arrival of Chen Chongguan and Prince Qiao Sang. The meeting was in French, and before Chen Chongguan had mastered the language, Prince Qiao San acted as an interpreter.

Now speaking is the chief of the Teutonic Knights, Hannon. Feng. Sangerhausen. The headquarters of the Teutonic Knights were in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem, but their main forces were in Prussia and Livonia on the Baltic coast. They have been working there for more than thirty years, building a large number of castles. But now I have to give it all up! Because the Teutonic Knights had a limited number of troops in Prussia and Livonia, less than 20,000 men, the main force of which were the knights in chain mail. It seems to be a bit wasteful to defend the city, and it should be concentrated and used in field battles.

"That's good! We should concentrate and fight the Mongols with the greatest number of troops! ”

Emperor Alphonse I nodded in agreement and said in French, "We have gathered the largest army in history, enough to fight a million barbarian armies!" ”

"How many are there now?" Chen Chongguan asked Prince Qiao Sang beside him in a low voice at this time.

"King Louis IX of France has arrived at the Elbe with 150,000 men. The Emperor's ten legions totaled 200,000 men, nine around Krakow, and the main force of the Iberian Legion was still in Bohemia, and the Emperor's strength in Krakow was about 160,000. Béla IV of Hungary sent 10,000 hussars, Magyar hussars, armed with spears, swords, and compound bows, similar to those of the Mongols. 20,000 men of the Teutonic Order, 3,000 of the Knights Templar, 2,800 of the Knights Hospitaller, and 2,200 of the Knights of Santiago. In addition, there were some troops of Polish nobles, nearly 20,000 men. By the way, you also brought fifteen thousand people. ”

"About four hundred and twenty thousand." Chen Chongguan did the math and came up with an approximate figure -- as for the more precise figures, no one knows. "There are quite a few of them, and if they were all mercenaries, they would be enough to defeat the Mongols."

420,000 mercenaries? Prince Qiaosan smiled wryly and shook his head. How many silver marks do you have to pay!

"How many mercenaries are there?" Chen Chongguan had no illusions about the fighting power of the feudal knights, not because these knights were not good at martial arts or afraid of death—in fact, the knights were quite brave, and most of them were superb in martial arts. But the knights were not really soldiers, and the army of knights was too poorly organized. Moreover, knights needed too many auxiliaries for combat. A knight often has several or even more than ten retinues to serve. Although some of these retinues were able to fight, they were as unorganized and undisciplined as the knights.

"If you count your 15,000 men, it's about 80,000 or 90,000." Prince Qiao San said, "It will definitely not exceed 100,000." In addition, there were about 30,000 knights, and about 30,000 heavy cavalry and light cavalry (all knights except the Hungarian hussars) who could ride into battle. ”

In other words, of the 4,120,000 crusaders, only 160,000 could go to war at most, and the remaining 2,560,000 were of little use. Chen Chongguan thought of the two numbers of 160,000 and 2560,000, and he had the urge to take over the crusaders and reorganize them and train them well.

An army of 4120,000 people, and there is no shortage of horses, nor is there a shortage of warriors with superb martial arts and who are not afraid of death. If it is rectified and turned into a real army, Kublai Khan's "million-strong army" will not be able to enter at all! But now it is used in this way - unorganized, undisciplined, untrained, relying on the bravery of individual knights and the courage of religious fanaticism. It can only be said that it is fooling around! (To be continued......)