I was the Queen of Persia

Page 159

"Secondly, the fact that they gradually assembled their troops a few weeks ago, and it took them a long time to gather all the feudal lords and head to the battlefield, indicates that their military discipline was lax."

"Thirdly, the various vassal lords each had their own interests, making it difficult for them to unite against the enemy, and their soldiers, armor, and warhorses were inferior to those of the Turks."

"As mentioned above, the outcome of this battle has already been decided."

The Qin scholar slowly concluded.

“Well said!” Nisa Sahinien smiled slyly, her hands becoming increasingly restless on the scholar’s ​​body. “Come to my room tonight to study military strategy in depth.”

"Ah, yes, yes, yes." The scholar blushed and became flustered due to nervousness.

Of course, the lustful succubus was not content with serving only a handsome young man; several strong and vigorous young men were also "chosen" to relieve the loneliness and emptiness of the female commander Sadar during her march.

So that night...

The house was filled with alluring melodies, and Nisa Sahinian went again and again in endless pleasure, leaving behind fragrant stains on the hard reed mat.

The productivity level of European Christian countries was still relatively low, and many comfortable bedding items were not available here, unlike the comfort and ease of life in the wealthy Samanid Empire.

But for a thirsty succubus, these are no obstacles to pleasure.

……

Meanwhile, on the battlefield outside Verdun.

Badges and flags of various colors gathered on the vast plains, soldiers stood in rows, and a huge cross stood tall.

This was an unprecedentedly large coalition in the Christian world. In order to resist the Turan invasion, the Church gathered nobles and knights from all Christian countries, including the Papal States, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Arles, the County of Burgundy, the Republic of Genoa, the Republic of Venice, Tuscany, Savoy, Naples, and more.

More than 3000 remnants of the Holy Roman Empire's princes' army also joined the ranks; more than 1000 remaining Hungarian knights who had broken through the encirclement also resolutely joined the army.

The Viking countries in Northern Europe, which were not yet fully Christianized, also responded to the call and sent 5000 troops to provide support.

Only the Christian countries of Iberia, busy with the "Reconquista," sent a small force of just over 600 men to participate in the war symbolically.

With various armed forces combined, the Crusaders numbered over 10 men, a scale comparable to the Battle of the Chalons six hundred years earlier. However, they were divided into numerous factions, each independent of the others, and constantly quarreled. Even as the battle drew near, they were unable to elect a supreme military commander.

Pope John XIX, though the supreme spiritual leader, did not command many divisions and lacked knowledge of military tactics and command, making it difficult for him to maintain overall control.

These constraints undoubtedly greatly weakened the Crusaders' overall combat capabilities.

Chapter 366 The Crusades End in Utter Defeat

AD 1027, October.

The Verdun plains were shrouded in dark clouds.

A light drizzle suddenly began to fall, and a gentle breeze carrying moisture from the Atlantic Ocean blew in gusts; this kind of weather is quite common in Western Christian countries.

Although the rain was light, the dense downpour quickly turned the poorly maintained roads into muddy messes. The Crusader supply convoys struggled to move forward on the muddy roads, their wheels frequently sinking into the thin layer of mud, with dozens of conscripted peasant soldiers pushing them forward with difficulty.

Suddenly a sharp sound was heard, followed by arrows flying from the side.

The Crusader convoy was shocked and hastily set up their weapons and formed a defensive formation. However, their small force was no match for the poorly trained and poorly equipped peasant soldiers, who could hardly put up any resistance. In an instant, the entire grain delivery team was wiped out.

"call--!"

One after another, fierce warhorses galloped with rapid hooves, carrying Turan light cavalrymen clad in steppe leather armor and wearing felt hats with fox ears. Each of them held a scimitar and had a whip in their mouth, alertly looking around.

The leader, Yuzbash (a centurion), gestured to his soldiers to seize food and supplies. Upon receiving the order, the men quickly packed and bundled the supplies, and before reinforcements arrived, they mounted their horses and fled, disappearing into the light drizzle.

……

Due to language barriers, mutual estrangement, and lack of communication among military orders, the various Crusader units had poor coordination and were difficult to mobilize. Moving their bases could take several weeks, making it difficult to deal with the swift and elusive Turan raiders.

A week later, Turan's main force was still nowhere to be seen, and a food shortage had already begun to emerge within the Crusaders.

The Zagreb Special Forces, realizing the feasibility of this plan, continued to send more highly mobile raiders to harass, raid, and sabotage the Crusaders' gaps and weaknesses, thus weakening the Crusaders' logistical support capabilities.

This strategy also worked.

To solve the problem of supplies, the various Crusader factions, which had originally come together, dispersed and deployed separately:

Several princes of the French Crusades redeployed their troops to nearby castles to obtain supplies.

When Burgundian Crusaders found themselves in dire need of supplies, they moved their troops to a location further from the main battlefield to obtain provisions.

The Norse Crusaders went so far as to carry on the remaining "Viking traditions," looting nearby undefended manors and farmhouses, which led to conflicts with the local lords' armed forces.

The Iberian Crusaders withdrew from the battlefield, preparing to return home...

The Crusader forces remained large, but their deployments were highly dispersed, with significant distances between units and poor communication, making mutual support virtually impossible in the event of battle. Furthermore, their logistical support system was underdeveloped, and various epidemics began to spread among the Crusaders, greatly weakening their combat effectiveness.

……

The Zaghli Special Forces had been waiting for just this opportunity.

After preliminary reconnaissance, raids, and plundering, Turan's army had figured out the battlefield's advance and retreat routes, as well as the deployment of the various Crusader units. They were recuperating and building up their strength, and their troops were becoming stronger and stronger, with high morale and fighting spirit among the soldiers.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered an attack.

July 29, 1027 AD.

Arash! Arash!

Accompanied by the battle cries that spread across the plains, Turan's main force appeared on the plains near Verdun. Banners blotted out the sun, armor gleamed, and spears with brown tassels outshone the dense forests of the Black Forest. The massive war machine moved slowly and steadily.

Before the Crusaders could react.

Turan's light cavalry first outflanked and penetrated, severing the junctions between the Crusader units and cutting off their communication. The massive "Hasha'r" slave cannon fodder then pressed forward, using numbers to wear down the enemy. Armored cavalry and arsenal followed.

The various Crusader camps and cities were surrounded, fighting independently and unable to coordinate with each other.

……

"My God! It's those Tatar infidels from the East!"

Upon seeing Turan's army approaching, the Crusader soldiers on the watchtowers of the camp were terrified.

With a formidable enemy approaching, and the headquarters lacking a supreme military commander capable of shouldering the great responsibility, how could they defend themselves? At this critical moment, it was Pope John XIX, with his unparalleled devotion to his faith, who raised the banner.

"Keng——!"

The enormous cross stood tall, the only sacred object among the leaderless armies of the various lords, capable of inspiring piety in everyone and allowing the Christians, who were fighting amongst themselves, to temporarily set aside their differences and unite against the enemy.

"People of Jesus!"

John XIX stood on the high platform and shouted to the Crusaders: "The enemy of evil is before us! You are the last line of defense for faith and civilization! Fight for honor! Our Lord Christ protects you!"

Without a unified military commander, he was the supreme spiritual leader who maintained the connection. Under his fervent call, the crusaders who had fought desperately to break through the encirclement and regrouped were inspired to continue their resistance, shouting "God bless!" as they joined the battle.

The thunder of hooves, the deafening roar of battle cries, and the mingling of shouts and wails were interspersed with the chanting and prayers of battle priests and missionaries.

The rain of arrows, like locusts, almost obscured the already gloomy sky. Burning fireballs drew trails in the air, and thick smoke billowed as the concentrated camps were set ablaze.

The fierce battle then began.

The sounds of clashing iron, roars and howls, the neighing of warhorses, and the flying flesh and blood mingled with the whistling of drawn bows and arrows, and the dull thuds of slingshots and heavy projectiles... all these sounds combined to form a stirring battle symphony.

However, the battle was already decided, and no matter how much they resisted, it would be futile.

"boom--!"

A burning fireball ripped through the sky and crashed down on Pope John XIX. With a violent explosion and burning sound, the spot where the Pope and his Battlefield Chants stood was instantly turned into a raging sea of ​​fire.

All that remained was the enormous, desolate cross, appearing and disappearing forlornly amidst the sweltering heat.

……

The gap between the two sides in terms of organization, armaments, and tactics was too great. Although the Crusaders had a slight advantage in manpower, they were simply unable to defeat the fierce Turan army.

Arash! Arash!

“Allahu Akbar!”

The Turan army, swept up in the euphoria of victory, tightened the noose around the encirclement, unleashing a rain of death with mounted archers, while armored cavalry charged in heavy armor, supported by a coordinated barrage of war munitions, firearms, and the "Hashar" squads.

The Crusader forces suffered heavy casualties, with one battalion after another collapsing.

At that moment, another Crusader cried out in terror, "God! Our cross has fallen!"

With morale shattered, the Crusader soldiers lost all courage to fight. Chivalry was forgotten, and nobles, lords, and soldiers trampled on one another, scrambling to flee the battlefield.

"You vile creatures, go back to your filthy lair!"

Amidst the chaotic rout of soldiers, a bearded figure brandished his weathered sword, desperately resisting the ever-surging Turan army.

With a sharp crack, the sword, still carrying its momentum, severed the leg of a Turan light cavalryman's horse, causing the rider to stumble and fall to the ground in a sorry state. The middle-aged Crusader swung his sword forward and instantly beheaded the steppe man.

But before the joy of killing the enemy could even surface on his face.

"Whoosh-!"

A heavy, armor-piercing arrow hurtled towards him and instantly pierced his chainmail vest. The sharp arrowhead pierced through his body, carrying tremendous force, and pinned him directly to the crooked, broken flagpole behind him.

“Charlie…”

The middle-aged crusader called out the names of his family members, looked at his own troops who had been routed, and slowly closed his eyes.

Chapter 367 The "King John" of the East

The sky was gray, and the drizzling rain continued to fall, washing the Verdun battlefield into a sea of ​​crimson blood.

This was a brutal battle; in the hymns of Christians, never before since the creation of the world had so many followers of Jesus perished on the battlefield.

Corpses of men and horses littered the ground, tattered flags and torn armor covered the fields.

The heads of the defeated soldiers, severed by Turan's troops, were piled up into pyramids of human heads. From a distance, these pyramids, one after another, resembled towering peaks, exuding a terrifying and deadly aura.

……

公元1027年5月末~6月初的波希米亚平野会战，1027年7月~8月初的凡尔登会战，这两场关乎欧陆命运走向的大战，图兰军队皆大获全胜。

They killed the Pope, seized the "True Cross," and slaughtered a large number of kings, princes, dukes, marquises, earls, nobles, and knights, crushing a large-scale force in the Christian world. Emboldened by the momentum of victory, they surged forward and drove straight into the heart of the Christian world.

France, Burgundy, Arles, Savoy, Aquitaine, Brittany, Normandy, the Low Countries... the former Christian kingdoms, duchies, counties, dominions, and city-states were successively conquered by Turan's army.

The brown flag of the nine sacred trees swept across Europe, and the iron hooves of steppe warhorses trampled the rich lowlands west of the Rhine, swept through the forests and plains of the Kingdom of France, and even crossed the Pyrenees Mountains to plunder the small Christian country of Iberia.

A small remnant of the Crusaders, numbering approximately 3000 to 4000, suffered repeated defeats and eventually retreated to a seaside castle in the County of Flanders. The castle fell, and the Crusaders were defeated, with most of them being annihilated, along with the inhabitants of the castle. Only a few survivors managed to board ships and escape to the British Isles on the other side.

"Run for your lives, you bastards! Ha ha!"

"Bah! Cowards! Weaklings! We will take your land and seize your wives and daughters, ha ha ha!"

On the shore, Turan soldiers pinned the heads of Crusaders to their spears, taunting and insulting the fleeing ships as they drifted away.

By this time, the old order of the Christian world had been completely overthrown, and an Eastern pagan empire forged through military force and war had risen on the European continent.

The territories of European nobles became the "Ulugh" of Turan Khan's Yabghu.

The estates of European lords were transformed into pastures for Turanian military slave owners.

The castles of European knights became the garrison for Turan's guards.

European peasants, serfs, and slaves became slaves under the rule of the Turan Khanate.

……

While the Turan Khanate was expanding westward, the Eastern Roman Empire was also accelerating its expansion.

Following the Battle of Verdun, taking advantage of the collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Roman army marched triumphantly into the Apennine Peninsula, capturing important cities of the former Western Roman Empire such as Ravenna, Milan, Rome, and Venice.

The Eastern Roman navy continued westward, capturing Sardinia and Corsica, and even landing in coastal cities of the Kingdom of Arles-Burgundy, quickly seizing these rich harbors before Turan's army could.

The Eastern Roman Empire continued to expand westward, but then clashed with Turan.

In the Iberian Peninsula direction, when the Eastern Roman navy arrived, there were sporadic minor skirmishes with the Turanian cavalry who crossed the mountain pass and headed south.

Meanwhile, in the direction of the Apennine Peninsula, several groups of Turan raiders crossed the Alpine passes and went south, plundering the rich Po Valley in northern Italy.

Even along the Danube River, Turan's army repeatedly crossed the river and plundered towns and villages under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Faced with the Turanian army's aggressive advance, Queen Zoe, the regent of the Eastern Roman Empire, was furious and cursed, "These filthy and barbaric 'Scythians' are indeed untrustworthy!"

He then ordered the deployment of heavy troops in the northern border military region to prevent Turan's army from advancing south.

All of these matters, through a network of intelligence gathering scattered across Eurasia and coordinated by the secret envoy Nisa Sahini, were eventually brought to Shahzani.

……

The Samanid Empire, Jahanshahr.

“Shahsha, the envoys of the Iberian ‘Taifa’ have come to request submission to your authority,” Farzana reported.