In the southeast of the Pod Plain, close to the mountainous areas of northern Hungary (Slovakia in later generations). The city of Krakow, which later became a Christian holy city, has now become the world of crusaders. The banks of the Vistula River seem to have become a sea of ​​camps. Countless crusaders gathered here. The flags of red crosses on white background flutter high. The sounds of blessings to the crusaders sounded one after another.

"God bless you, the crusaders!"

"Christ is with you! Amen!"

"This is the Holy Holy Water of the Pope, drink a little! The Crusaders, if they drink the Holy Water, they will be invulnerable..."

"Indulgence, come and receive the indulgence, with it, your souls will ascend to heaven!"

"Holy treasures, does anyone want holy treasures? These are all holy treasures that come from Jerusalem and confirmed by the Pope..."

"Master Seris, do you need the protection of the holy treasure? How about this cloth? This is part of the shroud of Christ. Take it to the battlefield. The Mongolian bows and arrows will definitely not hit you..."

Chen Chongguan didn't know if he was wearing a gorgeous silk robe, a silver-shiny helmet on his head, some exquisite jade hanging on his belt, and a rich face of Seris. Walking in the chaotic crusaders, you can always meet a few priests who are selling "holy treasures".

"Take it away, take it away, I don't need it!" Chen Chongguan frowned and looked at an old charlatan with a white beard and a smile on his face. The old charlatan held a dirty and torn head of cloth in both hands, as if it was some kind of treasure.

"How much?" Qiao Sang, the second son of Holy Roman Emperor Alphons I, walked beside Chen Chongguan, who had just been named Marquis of Granada. He was visiting the military camp with Chen Chongguan, who had just arrived last night. At this time, he became interested in the "Holy Relics" and came forward to inquire.

"100 marks, only 100 marks are needed." The old charlatan said. "There is a certificate issued by the Pope himself! It is absolutely not fake."

100 marks are equivalent to 1,600 Tiandaozhuang half a tael of silver coins, which is 1,600 guan. This rag head is really expensive!

"Where is the certification certificate? Take it to me and take a look." Prince Qiaosang's dress is not much different from an ordinary crusade. He is wearing a chain mail and a white coat embroidered with a cross mark. So the charlatan did not recognize Qiaosang as a tall marquis. Prince Qiaosang was very young. He didn't look like a marquis.

"This is the certification." A pampered roll to Prince Josan. The young prince recognized at a glance that the signature on it was indeed from the Pope himself. He nodded. He handed the certification back, took out a silver jewelry and handed it to the old charlatan, and smiled and said, "Father, I am the son of Emperor Alphons, Josan, Marquis of Granada, go to my camp and negotiate the price with Bishop Bozia of Granada."

Go and deceive Bishop Granada? That was a cruel man who used the stake to burn many Tianfang scholars to death! The old charlatan looked amused and crying, and had to thank him repeatedly before leaving in shame.

"Why don't you drive away these scammers?" Chen Chongguan asked in confusion.

"Scam?" Prince Qiaosang just shook his head, "That certificate is true. It was indeed issued by the Pope."

"But that cloth is fake."

"It is true that the Pope's certification is because the Pope is eternal." Prince Qiao Sang corrected with a serious look on his face.

The Pope was always an important principle upheld by the Grand Duke Church, and it still persisted until the 21st century later, let alone the medieval age that is said to be very dark?

"Yong?" Chen Chongguan shook his head slightly. There is no Yong in the world, even the saints of the Ming Dynasty have times when they make mistakes! It was a mistake for him to send him to Europa! Perhaps the military talent that the Governor of Zhongmingzhou should be hidden is obvious to all, but he can only talk about war on paper.

Prince Josan nodded with a wry smile, "The Pope must be right. In Krakow, all we can rely on is the Pope and the God he represents... Holy treasures, holy water and indulgences can give people the courage to face powerful enemies."

He pointed to his head, "The holy treasures, holy water and indulgences are used to arm the here. If we are armed here, there will be some hope for this battle in Poland."

After hearing this, Chen Chongguan was speechless. The Ming army seemed to be talking about brainwashing and killing the Tartars to the heavenly court. But the problem is that in addition to brainwashing, the Ming army also had strict training and discipline, excellent equipment, and various advanced tactics. But what are the crusaders here in Krakow, besides not afraid of death?

While the two were talking, they had already walked into the city gate of Krakow. This was the old capital of the Polish Kingdom. It flourished because of the nearby Vilicka Salt Mine (the largest salt mine in Europe). More than 20 years ago, it was captured by the Mongols. All the residents were massacred and the city was burned. After the Mongols evacuated, the Duke of Krakow returned here and rebuilt the city. Relying on the income of the Vilicka Salt Mine, the city recovered some vitality. However, it was much worse than before the Mongol invasion. The only thing that surpassed was the tall and sturdy walls of Krakow.

Because this city is close to Siros ruled by the Khanate, it is often invaded by the Mongols. Only by relying on tall and strong walls can the residents in the city and workers in nearby salt mines be protected. Therefore, at least half of the income of the Vilicka salt mine is used to build the city walls.

The same situation also occurred in the territory of the Teutonic Knights and Hungary, and throughout Eastern Europe, the feudal lords near the territory of the Golden Horde were building bunkers like crazy. However, these bunkers could only block a small group of invading Mongolians at most. They could do nothing in the face of the tide of Mongolian army.

"According to reliable information, most of the Lithuanians have defected to the Mongols and acted as the pioneers of their invasion. So there is no way, we can only give up most of the castles in Prussia and Livornia, abandon the people there, and can at most several ports with backs to the Baltic Sea, hoping to restrain the Mongols..."

In the Krakow Castle, the military conference began after Chen Chongguan and Prince Qiaosang arrived. The conference was in French. Before Chen Chongguan could master this language, Prince Qiaosang served as the translator.

The head of the Teutonic Knights is Hannon von Sangerhausen. The head of the Teutonic Knights is in Aka, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but its main force is in Prussia and Livornia along the Baltic Sea. They have been working hard there for more than 30 years and built a large number of castles. But now they have to give up all of them! Because the Teutonic Knights have limited troops in Prussia and Livornia, with less than 20,000 people, and the main combat power is the knights wearing chain mail. It seems a waste to use them to defend the city, and should be concentrated and used for field battles.

"This is great! We should concentrate and use the most troops to fight the Mongols!"

Emperor Alphons I nodded in agreement and said in French: "We have assembled the largest army ever, enough to fight against one million barbarians!"

"How many people are there now?" Chen Chongguan asked Prince Qiao Sang beside him at this time.

"The King Louis IX of France brought 150,000 people, and had arrived at the Elbe River. The emperor's ten legions had a total of 200,000 people, and there were nine legions around Krakow. The main force of the Iberian legions was still in Bohemia. The emperor's troops in Krakow were about 160,000. Bella IV of Hungary sent 10,000 light cavalry, the Magyar light cavalry, equipped with spears, swords, compound bows, and similar to the Mongols. Twenty thousand people of the Teutonic Knights, 3,000 people of the Templar Knights, 2,800 people of the Hospital Knights and 2,200 people of the Santiago Knights. There were also some army of Polish nobles, with nearly 20,000 people. By the way, you also brought 15,000 people."

"It's about 410,000 or 20,000." Chen Chongguanxin calculated and found a rough figure. As for the more accurate figure, no one knew. "There are quite a lot of people. If they were all mercenaries, it would be enough to defeat the Mongols."

420,000 mercenaries? Prince Qiao Sang shook his head with a wry smile. How much silver marks would he have to pay!

"How many mercenaries are there?" Chen Chongguan did not have any fantasy about the combat effectiveness of feudal knights. It was not because these knights were not good at martial arts or were afraid of death. In fact, the knights were very brave, and most of them were superb. However, the knights were not real soldiers, and the organization of the army composed of knights was too poor. Moreover, the knights needed too many auxiliary soldiers to fight. A knight often had several or even more than ten minions to serve. Although some of the minions could also go on battle, they were as unorganized and undisciplined as the knights.

"Including your 15,000 people, there are about 80,000 or 90,000." Prince Qiaosang said, "It will definitely not exceed 100,000. In addition, there are about 30,000 knights, and there are about 30,000 heavy cavalry and light cavalry (except for the Hungarian light cavalry, they are all knight entourages) who can ride on horseback.

In other words, among the crusaders with a total of 410,000 or 20,000, there are only 160,000 people who can go to the battlefield at most, and the remaining 250,000 and 250,000 are of no use. When Chen Chongguan thought of the two numbers 160,000 and 250,000 and 250,000, he had the urge to take the crusaders over and reorganize them and train them well.
Chapter completed!