Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Attack

poor man in danger Still holding on to the hope of survival, Every heartache, will arouse the desire to survive. Hope is like a flickering candle, to light his way home, The night grows darker and darker, The candlelight is getting brighter. Goldsmith (note:) (Note:) Goldsmith (1730︱1774): British poet, playwright, and novelist. In a few days Louis learned with a smile of satisfaction that his desire for revenge had been fulfilled, that his former favorite and counselor, Cardinal Ballou, had groaned in pain in his cage.According to the design of the iron cage, he could not rest in any other position except lying on his back.Incidentally, for the next twelve years, he was locked in this iron cage, and no one cared about him.The reinforcements the duke requested from Louis had arrived.Louis took comfort in the fact that the number of troops, though very small, was far from enough to contend with the large Burgundian army had he so wished, but enough to protect his personal safety.He also saw that, when the time came, he could still carry out his plan of marrying his daughter to the Duke of Orléans.Though it was disgraceful for him now to have to go to war with his most eminent nobles under the banner of one of his vassals against the citizens of Liege whom he had instigated to revolt, he did not let the situation prevent him from Uneasy because he believed that one day in the future he would find an opportunity for revenge.Luck does have the potential to win a man for a while, he said to his faithful Oliver, but in the end it takes patience and wit to win.

It was with such a mood that King Louis set out on his steed one fine day just before the autumn harvest.Nor did he care that he was seen only as part of the victor's parade, not as an independent king surrounded by guard and cavalry.He led his troops on horseback through the Gothic gates of Peron Castle to join the Burgundian army that was advancing on Liege at the same time. Most of the noble ladies in the castle were dressed in festive costumes, standing in front of the battlements and bastion above the city gate, watching the majestic lineup of warriors going out.Countess Krevig also brought Countess Isabel to join the ranks of these ladies.Isabel felt very reluctant.But the Duke of Charles ordered that the lady who was the winner's reward must appear, so that the knights could admire her beauty before they went to the battle.

When the warriors stepped out of the arch, people saw newly painted designs on numerous banners and armor.To express the ambition of these warriors to win this wonderful prize.Some painted a war horse, jumping up to win the prize; some painted an arrow aimed at the bull's-eye; One has a skull and a wreath of laurels, illustrating his determination to win or die.There are also many patterns, some of which are so mysterious and obscure that even the wisest person has difficulty explaining their meaning.The knights rode majestically on their high-spirited war horses and walked past under the admiring eyes of the beautiful ladies and ladies.They smiled at them and encouraged them by waving their turbans and veils.The archers, chosen at random from the best of the Scots, were universally admired for their majesty and splendor.

One of these strangers had the audacity to show that he and Mademoiselle Isabelle knew each other, which even the noblest French aristocrats had not dared to attempt.This man was Quentin.Da Wilt.As he passed under the ladies with the procession, he stamped her aunt's letter on the point of his spear, and handed it to the countess. Why, indeed, said Lord Krevig, the lowly adventurer is quite rude. Don't call him that, Krevig, said Dunois, and I have every reason to testify to his bravery and gallantry, and to the lady. This is a letter from my unfortunate aunt, said Isabelle, blushing with shame and anger.She writes quite optimistically, but her situation must be bad.

Read it to us, and see what the bride of the boar has to say.Krevig said. Countess Isabel read to them.Her aunt seemed determined to whitewash the peace; and defended her hasty and dishonorable marriage by asserting that it was her great happiness to be married to a modern-day warrior who, by her own valor, had lately acquired the status of dukedom. comfort.She begged her niece not to judge her character by rumors till she knew her William (as she called him) well for herself.He might have his faults, too, but those were the faults of anyone she respected.William was fond of drinking, but so was her grandfather, the flamboyant Lord Godfrey.William was hot and irascible, but her brother, the late Reynolds, was just like him.Wilhelm spoke rudely, but it is true that there are few Germans who are not rude.William is a bit willful and arbitrary, but she believes that all men in the world love to rule others.The letter also said other things like this.At the end of the letter, she put forward a hope and request to Isabel, hoping that with the help of the letter bearer, she would try her best to escape from the clutches of the Burgundian tyrant and go to Liege to join her aunt's court.Once in Liege, any slight differences between the two of them concerning the succession of the Counties of Croyères could be settled if Isabel married a Earl named Ubertson.Earl Urberson was younger than she was, but from her (Lady Hamelin's) experience she did not think the age difference was so intolerable as Isabel imagined.

Countess Isabel did not read any further.The abbot said with a serious countenance that the lady had had enough of this frivolity.Count Krevig also blurted out: Fuck you, trick witch Hey, this thing smells like a piece of bad baked cheese in a mousetrap.Let this woman who kidnapped a girl go to hell! Countess Krevig gravely reproached her husband for being so rude.Lady Hamelin, she said, must have been deceived by Delamach's politeness. Will he be polite? !said the count, I do not think that manner of a hypocrite is entirely his fault.You might as well expect the politeness of a real boar to beautify a rusted gallows chain with gold leaf than to expect him to be polite.No!Stupid as that woman was, she was not so stupid as a goose who fell in love with the fox who caught her, let alone in the fox's den.But you women are all the same, sweet talk can win you over, and I dare say my pretty niece can't wait to go to her aunt's, live in her fool's paradise, and marry that little wild boar .

Not only would I not do such a foolish thing, said Isabel, but I very much hope that the murderer of the good bishop will be punished, because it will also save my aunt from the clutches of the villain. well!That's what the Croyers say!the count admired.There is no further talk about this letter. In the course of Isabel's reading of her aunt's letters to her friends, it is worth pointing out that there is a postscript to a letter which she feels unnecessary to read out.In this postscript Ms. Hamelin tells her niece what she is doing.She said she had put aside for the time being a gown she had sewn for her husband, on which the coats of arms of Croyet and Delamach were supposed to be embroidered together by marriage.But for the sake of strategy, her William has decided to let others wear his heraldic armor in the first battle, while she wears the Orleans coat of arms with the bastard mark on the left side, in other words, the coat of arms of Dunois.In the other hand the countess kept a small piece of paper, the contents of which she did not feel compelled to reveal, for it consisted of only this line: If you do not hear my good news soon, and by the trumpeter, You may conclude that I have died an honorable death.

Before that, a thought that had been regarded as whimsical and dared not to think about it, flashed very clearly in the depths of Isabel's heart at this moment.Women can always come up with some good ideas with their cleverness.So before the army officially set off, she had managed to send Hamelin's letter back to Quentin through the hands of an unknown person.Darwilt's hands.But next to that epistle were drawn three crosses, with a line of her own writing: The brave man who did not flinch when he saw the arms of Orléans worn on the bosom of its true master, How can you shrink back when you are on the chest of a brutal bandit leader and murderer?The young Scotchman kissed the message a thousand times, because it protected him on the path that would bring him honor as well as love, and that he held a secret that no one else knew. , so as to help him identify the bandit leader who can only realize his hope by killing him.So he kept this secret very carefully in his heart.

However, Davelt felt the need to treat the information provided by Hiradin with a different attitude.The raid planned by Delamach, unless carefully guarded against, is likely to bring a devastating blow to the besieger, because according to the chaotic way of fighting at that time, it was difficult for people to resist the night attack and stabilize their position.After much deliberation, he decided not to disclose this information to the two kings himself until they were present.Perhaps it was because he feared that, if Louis was privately told of this promising plan, it would be too much a temptation for the king, whose sincerity in reconciliation was still uncertain, to prompt him to be suspicious of the plan. Raids take an attitude of support rather than counterattack.So he decided to wait for Louis and Charles to meet to reveal the secret.But that opportunity is unlikely to come anytime soon, as neither monarch likes to feel constrained by meeting each other.

The army moved on, and soon the Allies entered the territory of Liege.Burgundian soldiers were at least partly made up of stragglers who had originally earned the nickname of expert skinners.Under the pretense of avenging the bishop, their treatment of the inhabitants also showed that they were truly worthy of the title.Their performance greatly damaged the righteousness of Duke Charles's crusade.As a result, those residents who could have taken a passive attitude in this war also resentfully took up arms in self-defense.Some cut off small groups of troops and harassed the main army to stop them from advancing, while others retreated to Liege before the arrival of the main army, thus increasing the number of those determined to defend the city and strengthening their will to fight to the death.The French army is small in number, but it is the best soldiers in the country.They all followed the king's order, sticking to their respective lineups and strictly observing discipline.The contrast formed increased Charles' suspicions.He could not help noticing that this behavior of King Louis' troops made them feel more like friends of the citizens of Liege than like allies of Burgundy.The allied army encountered no strong resistance along the way, and finally came to the fertile valley of the Maes River, and camped in front of the populous city of Liege.They found that Thornwald Castle had been completely destroyed, and learned that the only person who could perform as a military commander was William.Delamarch had withdrawn his entire force into the city, determined to avoid a confrontation with the Burgundian and French cavalry in the open.But the invaders soon learned that no matter how poorly defended a great city may be, it can be very dangerous if its inhabitants are determined to defend it.

Some of the vanguard of Burgundy saw that some walls were destroyed and some gaps were opened, thinking that they could easily enter the city of Liege without firing a single shot.So they shouted slogans: Burgundy, Burgundy!Kill, kill everything to us for Bourbon.Louie's revenge!Then drove into a suburb of Liege.But just as they were passing through the narrow streets in an orderly manner and scattered to rob, a large group of Liège citizens suddenly rushed out from the city and attacked them violently, causing a lot of casualties.Delamach even used different gaps in the city wall to divide the defenders into the suburbs that the two sides were contending for, attacking the attackers from the front, rear and flanks.This sudden and violent resistance made the invaders panic and unable to parry.The coming of night made them even more confused. Duke Charles was almost mad with anger when he heard the news.King Louis expressed his willingness to send French warriors to the suburbs to rescue the Burgundian vanguard, but this did not appease the Duke's anger.He curtly rejected the King's offer.He wanted to lead his guards to rescue these rashly attacking soldiers.It was only because Dan Bogu and Krevig begged him to leave the matter to them that he relented.These two famous generals marched into the battlefield from two different places, and with proper mutual support and good cooperation, they finally repelled the citizens of Liege and rescued the vanguard.Excluding the prisoners, this army suffered no fewer than eight hundred casualties, of whom about a hundred were warriors.There were not many prisoners, most of whom had been rescued by Dan Bogu.They then occupied the contested area and set up defenses facing the urban area, separated from the urban area by only five or six hundred yards wide, no man's land without buildings.There are many rocks between the city and the suburbs, and no moats have been dug.As soon as you leave the city gate, you will see the suburbs.It was therefore easy for people to get out through the gates, not to mention that Duke Charles had ordered two or three gaps in the walls after the outbreak of the St. Terence war, and now only the gaps were hastily filled with timber.Dambocourt aimed two heavy guns at the city gates and two more at the main breach in the wall to repel any surprise attack in the city, and then returned to the Burgundian camp.But he found the troops extremely disorganized. In fact, even when the vanguard had been routed and retreated, the main force and rearguard of the duke's army continued to advance, resulting in clashes and great confusion.In order to perform various duties of the commander-in-chief, that is to say, the general logistics, Dan Bogu sometimes had to leave the barracks, which added to the confusion of the troops.And to make matters worse, the dark night that seemed to swallow everything had fallen, and a sudden torrential rain turned the place where the siege troops had to use as a position into a muddy place, interspersed with many ditches. and canals.In this Burgundian army, the officers could not find the soldiers, the soldiers could not find the flags and officers, and the confusion was unimaginable.Everyone, high and low, seeks his or her own hidden respite.No one cared about the food and lodging of the exhausted and wounded soldiers returning from battle.Soldiers, ignorant of the evil that had transpired, pushed on, hoping to get a hand in what they mistook to be a merry robbery that was still going on. When Dan Bogu returned, the task he faced was incredibly difficult.But the duke lashed out at him without taking into account the more urgent matter he had just dealt with.Faced with the duke's unreasonable accusation, the brave general was finally too sad to bear it any longer.I left here to rectify the order of the vanguard, he said, I left the main force to His Highness to command personally.And when I got back, I couldn't find where was the front, where was the flank, where was the back; it was just a mess. Then we are more like a pot of herring, LeGlorier said, the Flemish army is born that way. This remark of the Fool made the Duke laugh.Perhaps because of this, he and his coach were prevented from continuing to quarrel. It was with great difficulty that a villa of the citizens of Liège was procured for the duke and his closest entourage as their headquarters.At last it was by order of Dan Bogu and Krevig that a guard of about forty warriors was placed in its vicinity.They demolished a log cabin in the villa and used its wood to build a roaring yellow fire to keep them warm. We have mentioned before that the Burgundian army had taken the suburb opposite the gate.Just between this suburb and the villa, there is another rich man's house not far to the left of the villa.It is surrounded by a garden and courtyard, and behind it are two or three small paddocks or farms.King Louis of France set up his own base here.Apart from his natural fearlessness of danger and his wise judgment, he is qualified to be called a general, and he doesn't think he has great military command ability.However, he always took great care to select some of the best military men for command positions, and placed due confidence in them.Louis and his closest entourage occupied this second villa.Some of the Scottish guards were housed in the grounds; there were huts and sheds for them to spend the night.The rest are stationed in the garden.The camps of the remaining French warriors were close together and in good order, with guard posts in case of surprise attack. As a precautionary measure, Dunois and Crawford, with the help of several experienced officers, among whom Le Balafrey stood out most prominently, demolished some walls, poked through some fences, and filled some trenches, etc., to facilitate the communication between the troops and the orderly connection of the whole garrison. King Louis, meanwhile, thought it necessary to go straight to the headquarters of the duke of Burgundy, in order to learn his plans and procedures of operations, and what co-operation was expected from him.Louis's arrival prompted Charles to call a war council that he hadn't even expected to have. Quentin saw this opportunity and begged to see him, saying that he had something important to report to the two kings.It didn't take him much trouble to get permission to meet.Hearing him calmly and clearly state William.Louis was very surprised by Delamach's plan to disguise himself as the French and launch a surprise attack on the siege side under the French flag.He would have been much happier if he could have obtained such an important piece of information in private.But now that the whole situation had been told before the Duke of Burgundy, he could only say that, be it true or not, such a piece of information was indeed of great importance to them. Not at all!Not at all!The Duke said indifferently, if there was such a plan as the young man said, it would not let a Scotch Guards shooter tell me. In any case, Louis replied, I beg you and your generals to take note, and in order to guard against the possible unpleasant consequences of this surprise attack, I will order my soldiers to wear white shawls du Noisy on their armor, and you are responsible for sending them out immediately. This order, of course, he added, depends on my brother and the commander-in-chief's consent. "As long as the French cavalry are willing to risk being dubbed knights in the shirt," replied the duke, I have no objection. That would be a fitting title, my friend Charles, said Le Glorier, for the bravest warrior will be rewarded with a woman. Wise man, you speak very well, Louis said, good night, cousin, I must go and put on my uniform.Incidentally, what if I had won the Countess with my own hands? Your Majesty, said the Duke in a different tone, then you must be a true Flemish. I hope I can convince my dear cousin, replied Louis, with the utmost sincerity, almost in a tone of confiding, that I am already a Flemish through and through. The duke simply replied by saying good night to the king, in a sound similar to the snort a rider makes when he mounts his horse, trying to lull him into standing still, and stroking him with his hand. I can forgive him for all his hypocrisy, the Duke said to Krevig, but not for thinking I would be foolish enough to be taken by his confessions. When Louis returned to his base camp, and Oliver.Dan spoke his mind."That Scotchman is such a shrewd and simple monster," he said, and I am baffled about him.God!He would be so unforgivably foolish as to speak openly of that honest Delamach's raid plan in front of Burgundy, Krevig and their gang, instead of whispering it to me so that I At least there is a chance to choose whether to encourage this plan or to foil it! Your Majesty, as it is now, Oliver said, if you attack Burgundy without declaring war and join forces with Delamach, many of your current followers will have concerns. Oliver, you are quite right.There are such fools in the world.But we also don't have time to reassure them with small favors.Oliver, at least tonight we must keep our word and be Burgundy's loyal allies.Time will give us better opportunities to gamble.You go tell everyone to get ready for battle.Shoot those who cry out for France and Saint-Denis as if for hell and the devil, if necessary!I myself would sleep in my armor.You're going to tell Crawford, let Quentin.Darwilt stood at the end of the cordon that was closest to the city wall.Let him bear the brunt of the first to reap the benefits of his leaked raids.If he is lucky enough to make it through, then he is considered lucky.But you have to pay special attention to Matthias.Galiotti, ask him to stay in an absolutely safe place in the rear.This guy is too adventurous, a kind of fool who loves to play big swords and talk about philosophy.Oliver, you do these few things.Good night to you May Our Lady of Crery and Saint Martin of Tours bless my sleep!