Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 641: The Mongols in Quanzhou are driven out, and when they think of the great power of the Yuan Dynasty, they will stand up straight
After the first successful battle, everyone fought more and more smoothly.

Guo Kang found that most of the enemies were not very strong in combat. In the battle, the new recruits on their side were able to suppress the enemy. You know, these people had only been training for a short time, and many of them were even seasick on the way. It took them only a short time to adapt to the situation, and they were able to suppress the enemy.

Of course, it could also be that the leader on their side was stronger. During this period, Master Hans adapted to life at sea very quickly. From feeling dizzy and wanting to vomit all day at the beginning, he could now flexibly use various footwork on the deck.

Guo Kang estimated that on the one hand, the sea here was indeed relatively calm and there were no turbulences, and on the other hand, he was a master of the school, and his ability to adapt to the environment and control his body must be far superior to that of ordinary people. In fact, according to his observation, nearly half of the armored enemies were killed by Old Hans alone. Although the others also played a lot of roles and created many opportunities in the battle, this efficiency was also very scary.

The new recruits in the brigade adapted quickly. These people were specially selected. Their courage and learning ability were good, but their foundation was a little weak. Moreover, many of them had participated in battles in the capital city before. The environment on the ship was similar to the streets in the slums. They all had some experience in how to form a team to fight.

Guo Kang originally thought that pirates should be very good at sea warfare, with specialized weapons and equipment, and sufficient training, and know how to maximize their advantages in special environments. Therefore, it is a bit of a waste for ordinary troops to fight them at sea.

But when the fight really started, he found that the situation was not what he thought.

Most pirates were not as strong as the new recruits from Ross who had been trained for a few months. They lacked both combat skills and the courage to fight a tough battle. There were usually a few or a dozen decent soldiers on the ship, who might be the pirate leader's confidants. Once these people were dealt with, the remaining ones would quickly lose their courage to fight.

Therefore, the battle looked fierce and the enemy was powerful, but after fighting for a while, they found that the pressure was just like that. After getting familiar with the environment, even Guo Kang personally chopped down a few enemies.

When they attacked the third ship, Guo Kang didn't want to attack it. He looked at the flags and found that these ships seemed to come from the same place. So after occupying the deck, he asked the captured enemies to be brought to persuade the others to surrender. The enemies hiding in the cabin heard the local dialect and put down their weapons and surrendered. The battle ended quickly.

Although he still had some strength left, Guo Kang felt that he should not be too arrogant, so he asked the soldiers to take turns to rest. Those who had rushed to the front returned to the ship with him.

Their cargo ship was very clumsy, and they had to rely on the enemy to come over and deliver it to them. But fortunately, the ship was large, and unlike the galley, it carried a lot of supplies. Therefore, they could even get some dry food and water and rest for a while.

Seeing him return, Joanna immediately came up to him.

"Are you okay?" She looked back and forth at Guo Kang, but immediately discovered that there were many traces of battle damage on his armor, and even two broken arrows.

Although this was a daily occurrence in battle, Joanna was still visibly surprised and reached out to pull Guo Kang's armor: "Take it off quickly, let me see."

"Don't, we're still at war." Guo Kang quickly refused.

"You know it's a war, so why are you still so reserved?" Joanna said, and she pulled him into the cabin, let him sit on a large box, then reached out to untie the rope and take off his armor.

However, Guo Kang's armor was indeed reliable. After a closer look, the arrow pierced through the armor plate, but it was just stuck there, and did not cause greater damage.

"See, I told you it's okay. I'm used to being beaten." Guo Kang said, shaking his head.

Joanna was obviously relieved and began to help him remove the arrowheads and broken armor pieces. While busying herself, she couldn't help but complain, "I told you too, don't charge in on a whim. At your level, you don't need to charge in on your own. If you run into danger, it will be even more troublesome."

"If I were leading soldiers from my hometown, I would definitely not charge." Guo Kang scratched his head. "But I have only participated in two battles so far, both times with these Russians who were temporarily recruited. I told Tuohuan before that whether it is Russia or Egypt, the key is not to manage the army, but to manage the people; not to conquer and occupy, but to establish trust. Only in this way can the people be organized. As a leader, if I don't go, how can others believe in me?"

Joanna was at a loss for words.

"The intensity of this battle is not that high, so don't worry." Guo Kang continued, "It looks like there are a lot of enemies, but if you look outside, more than half of them are prisoners. We can't hold them all here, so we can only find a boat and lock them up in the cabin."

"That's normal." Joanna was not surprised at all: "Most pirates are not serious warriors. People with formal training can definitely destroy them easily."

"Let me put it this way. The Mediterranean is a bit like..." She thought for a moment and then used a metaphor: "Like the Mongolian grasslands over there."

"Ah?" Guo Kang didn't react for a moment. What did this mean?

"People who live well won't become pirates. Who wants to risk their lives at sea when they can live well on land?" Joanna explained, "You should know the Greeks. They were too poor back then, and the land in their hometown was too small and barren, so they were forced to go to sea to make a living. Other pirate groups actually follow a similar logic."

"I've read a lot of information about Eastern society in your country before. This situation is the same as your country. The powerful tribes will farm on the edge of the Han area. When they have no other choice, they will go herding sheep, plundering, and live a completely nomadic life. It's the same principle."

"A large-scale pirate gang will definitely have some elite soldiers with combat capability to maintain the organization. But the vast majority of pirates are just low-level people. They usually do basic physical work on the ship and do not have enough time and conditions to hone their combat capability. When encountering a war, they will just fight with a knife. Even if they are killed, the leader will not feel sorry - these pirates are nothing but firewood. There are so many poor people who can't make a living in the Mediterranean, and some of them are substitutes."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that." Guo Kang nodded in surprise: "The combat effectiveness of these miscellaneous pirates is indeed similar to those small tribes on the grassland."

"But I heard that the enemy has hired a large number of regular pirates this time." He thought for a moment and added, "We haven't encountered them yet, but we can't take it lightly. If the intelligence is accurate, these people are still capable of fighting." "The intelligence should be correct. The Italian merchants at the port also told me about it." Joanna told Guo Kang, "The Sheikh and his men promised the Tunisian pirate leaders that as long as they participated in the holy war, they would be allowed to plunder the port of Alexandria after the city was captured. The reward was very attractive, so several big pirates came. But also because of the high reward and fast spread, this matter is basically known to everyone, and it can't be false."

"Is that so..." Guo Kang nodded: "Then this city is too miserable. When the Crusaders came, they looted it; now when the Jihadists come, they will also loot it. It seems that they are just grabbing the whole city..."

"It's because it has money." Joanna shrugged.

"These forces on the sea also have their own spheres of influence, and small groups will also submit to the big pirates." She continued to explain: "What we encountered may be these small pirates who were brought here by others, or peripheral forces that are not welcomed by the big pirate groups. This is normal - they are cannon fodder, and it is common for them to take the lead."

"I really haven't understood these things..." Guo Kang thought about it and admitted.

"That's normal. If it weren't for the special circumstances, these people wouldn't be enemies worth considering." Joanna said firmly: "With your status, it's reasonable for you not to understand."

"Ah? That's not the case..." She suddenly boasted about herself like this, and Guo Kang felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

"I'm serious." Joanna thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think of my strength?"

"What?" Guo Kang looked like he had never thought about this question before.

"I mean, my family's military strength," Joanna added.

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"Uh……"

"You see, this shows that you don't consider this as something you need to consider." She spread her hands and said, "In fact, this is the right way to go. Compared to Rome, our strength can indeed be ignored."

"But actually, although we started out in the banking industry, my family also ran a lot of commerce. After winning the war with Pisa, we in Florence also actively entered the ocean and participated in maritime trade." She introduced: "My father allowed me to travel around by boat because this business had just started and was a new industry in the city-state. Everyone was very interested, but there was a lack of manpower, so he let me go and have fun."

"Of course, even if we are a new force, we have enough financial resources and savings. Our fleet is not afraid of those pirates. Those pirate forces that you don't know about are not stronger than us - even our strength is negligible, let alone those pirates?"

Guo Kang had never thought about it from this perspective before, and was a little overwhelmed for a moment.

"You know, powerful pirates are definitely not pirates. They are more famous for being merchants." Joanna shared her experience: "Let me put it this way: if a group is famous for being pirates instead of merchants, then their strength must be just that of a ragtag group."

"Of course, there are stronger ones. However, these people will choose to go to land and exist as an ordinary regime. For example, Venice, although most famous for its maritime caravans, first exists as a state. Pirates like these who have established a country - or at the very least, pirates like the Knights Hospitaller, who have their own formal organizational structure and national status, can be considered true pirates."

"And you've seen that even Venice can only bully the declining and turbulent Greeks. If they really encounter a rising empire, don't worry, they will have no way to deal with it. They can be squeezed to death by others." Joanna said with emotion: "Rome is the most powerful country in Europe now, and you are the heir to the most powerful family in Rome. If it weren't for the special situation like now, there is actually no need to pay attention. I think it's normal that you don't care about news in this regard."

"so……"

"Well, now that I understand it, it's nothing." Joanna shook her head, helped him put the armor pieces in order, and put them back. "Everyone knows that the grassland tribes have a low development ceiling and poor combat effectiveness, but the Mongols conquered the largest territory to date. Who could have thought of this before?"

"Similarly, maybe the pirates can establish a similarly vast Khanate in the future." She laughed as she spoke, and it was clear that she didn't believe it herself. "Okay, I was just joking. Anyway, just treat it as learning some unpopular knowledge."

However, Guo Kang did not laugh, but became thoughtful. Now, Joanna felt a little uneasy, not knowing whether she had said something wrong, and could only stare at him awkwardly.

"Nothing. You are right." Guo Kang waved his hand and said, "Look, when Zhu Hongwu Khan first started, one of his main forces was the Chaohu pirates. One of the pirate leaders, the Yu father and son, was a descendant of the powerful Yuan Dynasty official Yan Temur. So his family is actually the Kipchak."

"During the Yuan Dynasty, there were many Mongolians and Semites whose families fell into decline and who were forced to become bandits. The descendants of powerful officials fell into such a state, let alone ordinary tribal herdsmen. As a result, Mongolian pirate groups were formed. These people also joined the Ming army in large numbers along with the Han pirates. It can be said that the famous Ming Dynasty navy today originated from these pirates."

"So, if we really want to compare, these are indeed somewhat related..."

"For me, this is also unpopular knowledge." Joanna felt relieved after hearing this and nodded.

At this point, Guo Kang felt that he had rested enough, so he put his armor in order and stood up to go out. Joanna advised him to rest a little longer and not rush around again. However, Guo Kang assured her that he had demonstrated it before, so he would not rush around again, and she felt relieved.

(End of this chapter)