1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 133 Roman Chariot
Cyrenaica, Billinge, Black Castle.

At the shooting range outside the castle, Charlotte Lusignan, wearing light leather armor, raised her bow and arrow, aiming at the straw man in the distance.

It was autumn, and the evening sun was warm and comfortable, shining on Charlotte's small body, casting a long shadow.

Sweat flowed down my forehead into my eye sockets, stinging me painfully.

Charlotte gritted her teeth and tried her best to slowly pull the special light bow to its full length. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looked at the target, and the three points formed a straight line, and the arrow was shot out.

blow--

The thin arrow was as light as a startled wild goose and hit the straw man directly.

"I'm hit!"

Charlotte cheered, seemingly forgetting the soreness from an afternoon of intense practice, and jumped high, running towards Isaac.

“Not bad, that’s some progress.”

Isaac patted her head and looked at Instructor Di Lin standing beside her.

"Her Highness Charlotte is very intelligent and hardworking. She is far superior to her peers in both martial arts and cultural courses."

When Charlotte heard Instructor Di Lin's comments, her mouth widened and she grinned foolishly.

Isaac looked at her lively and cheerful appearance, and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After the Cyprus War, Isaac obtained the crown of the Kingdom of Armenia, the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Cyprus and the guardianship of Charlotte, and brought the ignorant little princess to Birinchi.

From then on, Charlotte lived in the Black Castle and began to receive basic aristocratic training.

Before this, due to family reasons, her late father disliked her very much and was unwilling to regard her as his heir, let alone educate her carefully.

Now, as his guardian, Isaac was not going to keep anything to himself and tried not to train him into a fool who knew nothing. Instead, he arranged for the best military instructors and cultural teachers to teach him basic language, religion, history and etiquette classes.

When she was older, Isaac planned to send her to the Royal Knight Academy.

For a monarchy, the personal qualities of the monarch can often directly determine the direction of a country and affect the future of a nation.

Therefore, the training and education of royal children is very important.

Isaac already has two sons, Archduke Thomas gave birth to a son last year, and Constantine XI's new queen is about to give birth.

Therefore, it is imperative to rebuild an efficient royal education system.

Isaac already had a general idea in his mind about this matter, and he decided to try it out on little Charlotte. So far, the results are good.

"Uncle, you said last time that you would make me a knight after I officially enrolled in school. Is that right?"

Charlotte opened her eyes wide and was eager to try.

"Yes, in two months your mother will come to Bilinchi, and I will hold a ceremony for you then."

In fact, knights are a special product of the feudal system in Western Europe. They are both a universal honorary status and the lowest level of feudal aristocracy. The centralized Eastern Roman Empire itself did not have this class.

During the reign of Manuel I of the Komnenos dynasty, Western European systems began to flow into the Eastern Roman Empire in large numbers, causing to some extent widespread social shocks.

After the Fourth Crusade, the centralized system and bureaucratic system of the Eastern Roman Empire completely collapsed, and Western Europe became completely feudalized.

The situation in Isaac's territory was complicated, with the power of nobles, landlords, gentry, and tribes intertwined. Neither single centralization nor feudal decentralization was realistic. It was necessary to give full play to subjective initiative and make necessary compromises.

Isaac already has a vague idea about these issues, which will be implemented step by step later.

When Charlotte heard that her mother was coming, her eyes became even more joyful and she nodded quickly.

The island of Cyprus is not far from Cyrenaica, and Queen Jelena would take a ship to visit her daughter in Birinci whenever she had time.

In addition, Queen Leonor and Princess Helena were also very nice to her and did not treat her as a hostage or a puppet.

In general, she lived a happy life in Bilinchi. At least her life was stable and comfortable, full and fulfilling. She didn't have to endure humiliation and live in fear with her mother like she did in Cyprus.

"Your Majesty, there is a message for you."

The attendant came hurriedly and handed a letter to Isaac.

Isaac took the letter and glanced at it, a smile appeared on his face.

Isaac took the reins from the attendant, tied his cloak, said hello to Instructor Di Lin and Charlotte, jumped on his horse, and rode away with his personal guards.

……

There are some low hills in the southeast of Bilinchi. There is no trade route here, the land is barren, and it is sparsely populated.

There is a valley in the hills, which is surrounded by several small hills. Several mountain springs flow here, but you can't notice them at all unless you walk closer and take a closer look.

On the mountain road leading to the valley, Isaac waved the whip, and the horse in pain quickened its pace, splashing yellow sand all over the sky.

A small pass was erected between the hills at some point. The soldiers guarding the tower saw Isaac's flag, pulled aside the wooden fence, removed the chevaux de frise, stood on both sides of the road, and saluted Isaac.

Isaac nodded at them, without slowing down, he spurred his horse through the gate and threw the purse in his hand to the captain of the guard.

"Have a drink, brothers!"

The cavalry did not stop, but galloped into the valley in an instant, gradually disappearing from the guards' sight.

"What's going on? Your Majesty is so happy today?"

A young guard poked his head out curiously and looked in the direction the cavalry left.

"Don't interfere with things you shouldn't be involved in!"

The captain of the guard slapped the soldier on the head, causing him to grimace in pain.

Tossing the purse in his hand and feeling the pleasant sound of the ducat gold coins, the captain of the guard's usually meticulous face also showed waves of joy.

"I think we may be able to leave this damn place soon."

"What?"

The young guard rubbed his head, confused.

The captain of the guard nodded towards the valley with a shy look.

"I'm afraid the things inside are about to be done."

In the valley, a crowd gathered, looking at the entrance, eagerly waiting.

The dull thunderous sound of horse hooves came closer and closer. Isaac slowed down his horse, and the horse team trotted all the way to a stop in front of the crowd.

At the front of the crowd, a middle-aged man stood straight with a smile in his eyes and his hands folded, looking at the dusty Isaac.

His clothes were stained with dirt and sawdust.

On his chest, a peculiarly shaped pendant was swaying and flashing.

That was his family emblem, a lobster with bared fangs and claws.

Isaac looked at the joy that could not be hidden on his face and knew what was going on.

"Done?"

"Your Majesty, please review!"

"Well done, Georg."

Isaac dismounted and patted him on the shoulder.

Three years ago, introduced by Mansreti, this engineer from Bohemia came to Isaac's court and offered himself for the position of engineering consultant.

According to him, he was poor and was not welcomed by most monarchs in Western Europe due to his beliefs and identity. He was still single and wandering around the world until he was 35 years old.

However, there was once a famous person in his family.

Jan Česka, a famous military strategist, leader of the Bohemian Hussites, inventor of the Hussite chariot, and master of chariot tactics. In the history of European wars, chariots are not rare, and this kind of military machinery has been known to the whole of Europe for a long time.

However, it was only Jan Deska and his Hussite army that truly developed the chariot formation into a tactic, a clever way to counter heavy cavalry charges.

Under this tactic, the noble heavy cavalry from France and Germany had no way to deal with the Hussite chariot formations and suffered repeated defeats.

Until the end, neither the emperor nor the pope could truly defeat the Hussites, and this group of brave and loyal idealists ultimately perished at the hands of their own betrayal.

At present, the regent of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Jiri of Podebrad, is the leader of the Holy Grail faction in the Hussite movement.

The more radical Taborites either had to keep a low profile or flee to other places.

Mansreti of the Aulon Naval Shipyard and Georg Gerska are prominent representatives among them.

Georg had participated in the Hussite Wars with Jan Jerska and was involved in the specific construction process of the Hussite chariots, so he was very familiar with it.

Although it was a critical period for the Battle of Constantinople, Isaac immediately hired him and allocated a special fund for the construction and improvement of chariots.

The reason why later generations admired Jan Deska and his Hussite chariot formation so much, and even selected him as one of the top ten military strategists in the world, is because he was a rare general in Europe who broke away from the traditional military model and used infantry as the main military force.

In the late Middle Ages, most generals across the European continent were very fond of heavy cavalry, even to the point of obsession.

From France to Germany, from Iberia to Italy, all generals unanimously placed the direction of the war on the knights' lances, and the cavalry was the undisputed main force of the war.

In contrast, European Christian countries had almost no standing infantry forces and only temporarily recruited a militia as an auxiliary during wartime.

However, compared with infantry, the combat range of cavalry can be described as very narrow.

Swamps, sand dunes, mountains, urban areas, dense forests, snowfields... these places are simply not suitable for cavalry to carry out group charges, and the delicate horses' hooves can hardly move in the complex terrain.

However, miraculously, the generals of this era ignored all of this and insisted on bringing cavalry to the battlefield.

So, in the swamps of Crécy, the English infantry longbowmen defeated the French heavy armored knights.

Thus, in the mountains of the Alps, the Swiss halberd phalanx made the German feudal knights hesitate and dare not advance.

So, in the wilderness of Anatolia, the Janissary musketeers frightened Karaman's Turkish cavalry so much that both the men and horses retreated for several miles.

Thus, on the hills of Bohemia, the Hussite chariot array showed its power.

In addition, horses are also very sensitive to the weather. Rain, snow, thunder and lightning, and storms are common natural factors that can also sharply reduce the combat effectiveness of a cavalry unit.

Perhaps in the heyday of the Middle Ages, before two armies fought, they would agree on the time and place of the battle. The knights would charge towards each other shouting the name of their monarch, fighting a fair war with dignity, with flags fluttering on the plains and golden light shining on their armor.

However, times have changed.

This does not mean that cavalry has retreated to the background. The role of light cavalry in reconnaissance and mopping-up is irreplaceable, and heavy cavalry is still an important factor in war and the ultimate weapon.

However, with the changes in the war situation, the era when the direction of the war could be determined by just one round of knight hedging is gone forever.

Elite infantry began to appear on the historical stage, including English longbowmen, Swiss mercenaries, Hussite chariots, Janissaries, and even the later Spanish squares and Russian archers, all of which were the best.

For Isaac, in the early days of his business, in order to cope with the war in Constantinople, Isaac's regular soldiers were almost all infantry, which were more cost-effective in siege battles.

However, when facing the Hafsid cavalry in the west, the infantry appeared to be very rigid and slow in movement, and was easily divided, surrounded, and annihilated.

So Isaac thought of the chariot.

Chariots certainly did not make infantry faster; instead they slowed them down.

However, organized chariots can be formed into a chariot formation, thus quickly forming a small barrier, leaving the cavalry helpless while their own infantry hold on and wait for rescue from mobile forces.

In this way, Isaac could advance slowly and cautiously across the vast expanse of flat dry land along the coast of North Africa.

Before this, Georg Gerschka had already built several standard Hussite chariots, which were equipped with wheels and carried large tower shields with shooting holes for bows and muskets.

Some tanks are equipped with a single-barreled cannon, which can be placed in the center of a formation during war to fire at enemy forces charging head-on.

However, Isaac was very dissatisfied with this old-fashioned chariot. He put forward some ideas of his own and asked Georg to modify it.

"Your Majesty, this is the first chariot built according to your concept."

Georg drew back the curtain, and a brand new chariot appeared before Isaac.

The chariot had four wheels and was made higher to accommodate the traction of the camel. A large shield was installed to face the enemy, and a layer of cowhide was added to the hardwood shield to prevent fire.

Inside the chariot was placed a uniquely shaped firearm, with several small gun barrels fixed together, like an organ.

The organ cannon, also known as the Mitre gun, had more than twenty gun barrels sharing one firing port. It only needed to be lit once with the matchlock to ignite the gunpowder inside all the gun barrels at the same time, firing small-caliber lead bullets in a short period of time to form fire suppression.

This organ cannon has a detachable breech block. When using it, soldiers can load the propellant directly into the barrel without having to load gunpowder from the muzzle, which greatly improves the firing efficiency.

This detachable propellant chamber is called a "sub-gun". Artillerymen can prepare several sub-guns before the war, and directly replace the ammunition after firing. They can then hand over the empty chamber to the logistics soldiers to continue loading gunpowder.

In fact, these two technologies do not come from the future, but from "archaeology."

Organ cannons began to appear as early as 1339 and became a trend in the second half of the th century.

Before invading France, Edward III sent his ministers to build more than one hundred organ cannons for the expedition. Unfortunately, due to insufficient gunpowder, their power was limited.

In 1382, the Flemish in Ghent deployed more than two hundred organ cannons on the battle line and defeated the Count of Flanders.

During the Battle of Formini in 1450, the organ cannon appeared on the battlefield again, successfully disrupting the enemy's formation and forcing it to take the initiative to attack.

The caliber of the organ cannon was very small, not much larger than the matchlock gun. The projectiles it fired were enough to cause heavy damage to the human body, but they were helpless against stone walls or even solid wooden walls.

The function of this weapon is obvious. It is mainly used for defense rather than offense. Armies often use it to guard streets and city gates, and have achieved good results.

Compared to conventional artillery, in addition to its small size and light weight, the organ cannon also has a very important advantage - low cost.

A century ago, an organ cannon cost just over a pound to make, much cheaper than a typical siege gun.

Isaac planned to replace the bulky single-barreled cannon with an organ cannon equipped with a detachable chamber, install it on a new chariot, and suppress the charging enemy cavalry with firepower.

bang bang bang-

In the trial field, the smoke dissipated and a group of sheep used as targets screamed and fell in a pool of blood.

Isaac took a deep breath and his heartbeat quickened dramatically.

"Georg, in addition to the organ cannon, we can also load the crossbow and Greek fire onto the chariot to deal with different combat situations."

"I will continue to allocate funds. If you have any good ideas, just go ahead and implement them. Don't worry about the funds."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Georg was overjoyed.

Isaac nodded, pondering it to himself.

The tank troops must be formed as soon as possible, and the production of supporting gunpowder, projectiles and other parts must be accelerated. It would be best to directly set up a tank factory to be responsible for the production and construction of new tanks.

This type of chariot is certainly not omnipotent. Due to its own sluggishness, it can only passively defend and cannot actively attack.

Moreover, there are many nemesis of chariot formations, such as cannons, muskets, and heavy crossbows. These powerful long-range weapons can directly turn the organized chariot formations into a sieve, and the soldiers in the chariot formations have no way to fight back.

Fortunately, however, both of Isaac's neighbors were countries whose main military force was cavalry, and their expertise in firearms was almost zero.

In fact, with the exception of the Ottoman Empire, other Muslim countries were very averse to firearms.

Next, as long as the tank troops are formed, he can head west along the coast of North Africa.

By then, even the most elite cavalry of the Hafsid dynasty would be nothing more than lambs under the barrel of a gun.

Isaac stroked the slightly hot gun barrel on the chariot, as if he was stroking the hand of a lover.

"Let's call it the Roman Chariot."

(End of this chapter)