Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Chapter 220 Six: Bombarding the Empress Temple

"Teacher, are we really going to do this?" Joan of Arc stood in front of the artillery position, with a rare look of doubt on her face.

Because, the French army's next shelling target will be Citi Island.

Although the real purpose is to destroy the castles on both sides of the Ile de la Cité, guarding the waterway of the Seine, but with the artillery accuracy of this era, it is certain that the Notre Dame Cathedral on the Ile de la Cité will be accidentally injured to some extent.

For a devout Seven Saints believer, it is conceivable what kind of psychological pressure such consequences will bring.

Although Ma Youfu had already explained to Joan of Arc the necessity of bombardment for the entire battle plan, when things came to an end, even if he was as determined as Joan of Arc, hesitation still existed in his heart.

Ma Youfu had no choice but to comfort her as much as possible: "Don't worry, Jeanne. With the ballistic correction provided by the hot air balloon, the accuracy of our artillery will be further improved, and it will not cause too many accidental injuries. Even if Notre Dame was destroyed in the war, we It will also pay for its complete restoration. Jeanne, think about the civilians who have been tortured by the war. In order to end this war as soon as possible and restore peace to this country, it is just a cold stone building, so why not give up? ?”

Fortunately, Notre Dame de Paris today is only the cathedral of the Paris diocese, and does not have special historical significance like Reims Cathedral or Saint-Denis Church.

Besides, the cathedral will be destroyed in the fire anyway, so it doesn't matter if it takes a few stone bombs now.

The French themselves don't feel sorry for Lao Niang Niang Temple, so why should Ma Youfu, a Serese, empathize.

Holding the battle flag, Joan was silent for a moment, and finally made up her mind: "I understand, teacher. As you said, if you want to complete the cause of expelling the English, you have to pay some price. Fortunately, Isle de la Cité Apart from the garrisons and clergymen who are loyal to the English, there are no common people."

After convincing Joan of Arc, other things are easy to talk about.

Otherwise, if Ma Youfu only issued this order, the artillerymen would likely have conflicts or even resistance in their hearts out of awe of the belief of the Seven Saints and the Holy See.

"Fire!"

Following Joan's order, the eight mortars immediately roared and fired 24-pound stone bullets into the city.

For a long time, French artillery attacks on Paris have only targeted the city wall fortifications.Although the residents in the city lived in the shadow of war, they did not face the danger directly, and they lived a decent life.

But when the shells fell on the Cité one after another, the citizens of Paris realized that the war was by their side.

The shells hit the Seine River and set off a column of water, which also set off a stormy sea in the hearts of the citizens of Paris.Panic spread rapidly, and many prominent citizens' representatives gathered outside the Louvre, asking the Duke of Bedford to find a way to eliminate the threat of the French artillery as soon as possible.

However, in fact, the damage caused by the shelling of the French army at this time was minimal. Only five British soldiers stationed in the castle of Cité were slightly injured by the debris scattered by the shells breaking through the roof.

Moreover, with the further improvement of the accuracy of the French army's shelling, the number of shells hitting the city hall, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the university and other places near the Citi Island has also been further reduced.

But things are not that simple.

The concerns of the citizens of Paris can be regarded as groundless worries and ignored.The threat faced by the Louvre and the City Hall, he gritted his teeth and survived.However, the fact that Notre Dame de Paris is facing the threat of French bombardment at any time needs to be treated with caution and resolved as soon as possible.

Because this is where Henry VI will be crowned King of France.

Imagine that when the coronation ceremony gathered by high-ranking officials began, when the sacred singing of the choir resounded through the main hall of Notre Dame, when the Archbishop of Paris put the crown on the head of Henry VI, the French shells suddenly smashed in...

The picture was so beautiful that I couldn't even look at it.

If the luck was even worse, and His Royal Highness had an accident during the shelling, everything that the Duke of Bedford had worked so hard on so far would immediately fall apart.

Immediately after moving from the Louvre to the relative safety of Saint-Pol, the Duke of Bedford convened a meeting to discuss how to get the French to stop shelling—a necessary condition for the coronation at Notre-Dame.The crowning of Henry VI as King of France is the most important thing at the moment.

Present at today's meeting, besides several generals, was the Archbishop of Winchester, John Beaufort.

Because the Duke of Orleans had massively increased his troops before, the defense of Paris was getting tighter and tighter, so the Duke of Bedford wrote a letter to London for help.

Now that the little king was in Paris, the nobles in London naturally did not dare to neglect, mobilized, and pieced together a reinforcement army consisting of [-] longbowmen and [-] hoplites.

After all, England is not as good as France, the No. 1 country in Western Europe, and sending this army of less than 2000 people is almost reaching the limit of the island.

This army, led by the Archbishop of Beaufort, landed at Calais, then entered the Normandy area, gathered another group, and finally went south to Paris.

Due to the loss of Pontoise, the British army could only go south by land, and was attacked by the French cavalry led by La Haile on the way.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Archbishop Beaufort stabilized the morale of the army with high-level magic, and the troops did not collapse quickly under the surprise attack of the French army, and finally forced Lahaire back.

Finally, the Archbishop of Beaufort entered Paris with dozens of carts of food, about [-] infantrymen, and [-] pounds of military expenses.

Although the increase in personnel brought by Archbishop Beaufort effectively strengthened the strength of the Paris defenders, it did not help the entire battle situation decisively.

The radical generals around the Duke of Bedford even suggested that it is better to transfer most of the defenders in the Normandy area to Paris to defend the king.

However, the Duke of Bedford decisively rejected this suggestion.

Although the French had gathered all their forces under the city of Paris and had no spare energy to open up a new battlefield, the Burgundians had to defend.

In case Philip III led the army westward from the Picardy area after the defenders were transferred, it would definitely be able to occupy Normandy in a devastating manner.

Of course, radicals also have their own arguments.

First of all, Philip III experienced the textile workers' uprising last winter, and his vitality was severely damaged. Now he certainly does not have much desire to mobilize the army to fight against England.

What's more, the Duke of Burgundy is now focusing his energy on the direction of the Holy Roman Empire.

Just this spring, Philip III successfully made his nephew the bishop of Liege, and then sent troops to the border, preparing to coerce the diocese of Liege to obey him and become a vassal of the Principality of Burgundy.

Chapter 220 Seven

Under the current situation, the Burgundians should not be able to interfere in the war between Britain and France.

Moreover, Normandy is a territory directly under the King of France. Even if it is to be recovered, it should be handed over to the French army to do it.If the Burgundian army attacked Normandy, it would be suspected of overreaching, and it would also arouse mutual suspicion between the monarchs of the two countries.

In the end, however, none of these reasons were accepted by the Duke of Bedford.He is still cautious, leaving more than 1 defenders in the entire Normandy area.

Especially in Rouen, the capital, there are [-] troops.

When the Duke of Bedford strengthened the defense of Paris, he also transformed and strengthened the walls of Rouen.Without an army of at least 2 people and heavy artillery, it is impossible to capture this fortified city.

As long as one's own side does not make low-level mistakes, Normandy, as the rear of Paris, is still impregnable.

"This time Archbishop Beaufort brought hundreds of war horses, which is a timely supplement to our cavalry. If you want me to say, we should gather all the heavy cavalry, raid the French artillery positions, and destroy all the artillery that can threaten the city of Paris. Destroy," Bernhard said.

The Teutonic knight has been idle during the recent defense of Paris.

Although the knights were the best heavy infantry after dismounting, the Duke of Bedford didn't want these precious mobile forces to be wasted on the city wall like a flesh mill, so Bernhard was forbidden to attack.

Even the pagan orcs from wild Africa climbed the city walls to fight to defend the king, but the dignified Teutonic knights could only eat all day long, doing nothing, like a salary thief.Naturally, Bernhard is not satisfied with this status quo, and always wants to find opportunities to play.

But his proposal was quickly rejected by Fastov.

The experienced nobleman who climbed all the way from the grassroots to the position of commander said: "After several weeks of construction, the French camp has already become a solid line of defense. And now the command of the French army has been unified by Ma Youfu. That prudent And the wise Siris are not as easy to deal with as the Duke of Orleans. It is almost impossible to reproduce the brilliant achievements of Earl Talbot last time. If our cavalry attack rashly, it is very likely that they will be killed by the French army. The losses under the artillery were heavy."

Almost all military nobles agreed with Fastov and opposed Bernhard's proposal.

Since it is impossible to take the initiative to attack the weeds and eradicate the roots, we can only defend passively.

It was proposed that Notre-Dame be reinforced until the building could withstand French artillery shells.

Although this method is clumsy, it is simple and effective, and it is indeed feasible.

But the Duke of Bedford shook his head after calculating the large amount of money and labor required to strengthen Notre Dame.What's more, transforming Notre-Dame de Paris, a magnificent pinnacle of Gothic architecture, into an ugly temporary fortress, what glory is there when the king is crowned?

In addition, some people suggested that on the day of the coronation ceremony, a sufficient number of mages should be gathered, a large-scale magic ceremony should be performed, and a large-scale energy shield should be summoned to resist the French artillery bombardment, so as to ensure the smooth completion of the ceremony.

This scheme would indeed guarantee the dignity of the coronation.In the university district on the left bank of Paris, there must be enough mages to be found.

But to convince these smart and rebellious guys to obey orders, the price paid must be much higher than the fortification of Notre Dame.

The Duke of Bedford couldn't afford to spend all his gold coins on unreliable mages.The army is the cornerstone of protecting this city.To maintain the morale of the army and ultimately win this protracted war, money is essential.

Everyone discussed and discussed, but in the end they failed to come up with a good enough solution.

However, Archbishop Beaufort provided a new method for these nobles who limited their eyes to military means.

"I think we should negotiate with the French to stop shelling the Isle of Cité - at least on the day of the coronation of His Highness the King."

"Archbishop, although I have always admired your wisdom, can you use diplomatic means to obtain something that cannot be obtained on the battlefield? I doubt it very much." The Duke of Bedford frowned, his eyes full of doubts.

Archbishop Beaufort smiled, full of self-confidence: "This is not diplomacy, but politics. We should stop the enemy's atrocities from the root! Do you really think that the Sires ordered the bombardment of Citi Island to put Notre Dame in danger? , Can you get the support of everyone in the French army?"

Although Notre Dame de Paris is inferior to Reims Cathedral and Saint-Denis Church in terms of religious status, it is also a landmark building in Paris and the religious center of the French capital.

Moreover, the crown of thorns, a sacred object of the Seven Holy Cults, is also enshrined here.

Although the sacred objects cannot be destroyed by mere artillery fire.But such a sacred object, even if it is only dusty, is a blasphemy to the gods.

Even if Ma Youfu persuaded Joan of Arc, and then relied on the prestige of the saint to overwhelm everyone, and launched the bombardment of Cité Island, there must be many opponents secretly.

After all, attacking churches is inherently politically incorrect in this day and age.

Moreover, as time goes by, when the shelling of Citi Island does not achieve the desired effect, more people will doubt the necessity of this decision.

Does the French army really want to take the risk of faith and morality to carry out this kind of military operation without much benefit?

"The war lasted for half a month, and there were many prisoners on both sides. We can send a mission in the name of exchanging prisoners. Then, find an opportunity to condemn the crime of bombing Notre Dame and provoke other French generals to oppose."

The Duke of Bedford tapped the table, thought for a few seconds, nodded and said: "This is indeed a good idea. Then I invite you to go to the French army camp, Your Excellency the Archbishop."

Archbishop Beaufort had dealt with Mayouf in Burgundy. He has rich diplomatic experience and sufficient status. He is indeed the most suitable candidate.

"For the glory of my king, it is my duty. But..." Archbishop Beaufort said, "I still need a few assistants. They need to have contacts among the French nobles, and they can help me persuade the French generals to join forces against Ma Youfu."

"How about Madam Anne? She is the younger sister of Philip III, a member of the Burgundian family, and many French nobles have a good impression of her. I heard that when she was in Ghent, she got along well with the Siris Not bad."

"No!" Archbishop Beaufort immediately vetoed the proposal.

Of course, it was impossible for him to say the reason of "avoiding the Duke of Bedford from wearing a cuckold", so he had to find another excuse: "Lady Anne gets along very well with the king recently. We need her to appease the emotionally unstable due to the war." Your Highness."

Mrs. Anne is the aunt of Henry VI, so it is reasonable to take care of her little nephew.

"However, there is indeed a lady in the city who can exert great influence on those French people." Archbishop Beaufort said, changing the subject.

"You mean, Saint Elizabeth?" Earl Hogil raised his eyebrows.

Chapter 220 Eight Saintess vs. Saintess ([-]rd watch)

Earl Hogil originally wanted to blurt out "London fish girl" like a conditioned reflex, but fortunately he reacted in time and changed his name to "Saint Elizabeth".

Who told him that he was one of the instigators who created the saint of England? How could he respect that little girl as a real saint like everyone else.

But then again, that little girl named Elizabeth Fisher did a pretty good job.

After she arrived in Paris, she quickly won the support of the people of Paris by providing free treatment for the people and preaching the oracle gospel in various churches.

Even the little king would turn to Elizabeth for comfort when he was upset.

After the siege of Paris started, more and more frontline soldiers were killed and injured. Elizabeth spent most of the day in the hospital, taking care of the wounded.

This in turn won her the support of the military aristocracy.

Even Talbot, who once let Elizabeth treat the remaining injuries caused by Lahaile's great sword, praised the 14-year-old girl.

Archbishop Beaufort nodded and said: "That's right. It's her. Although Elizabeth is a little naive and lacks experience in life, she is indeed a kind and lovely little girl with a natural affinity. If she were to condemn the atrocities committed by the French army, I would rather Let's see how the French witch who claims to be the spokesperson of the Seven Saints and the savior of justice can argue. Even if the Sirisian is eloquent, he can't quibble when faced with the simple and clear truth."

"Anyway, those Frenchmen are simple-minded. Since they can be bewitched by a Lorraine witch, why can't they be inspired by a real saint?" Someone laughed.

The Duke of Bedford shook his head in disapproval of this frivolous language of contempt for the enemy.If the enemy is really that stupid, if Jeanne Darke is really only demagoguery, how could England be reduced to what it is now?