On the vast meadow, two huge armies were already in formation, ready to fight.
This meadow battlefield is very wide, very suitable for large armies to launch decisive battles, and there is only part of the forest right to the edge of the meadow.
On that battlefield, many people could not help but call out the name of God, hoping that God would grant them a great victory and grant the enemy a ruthless death.
But as always, God will only silently watch this battle between Christians, and with such silent witness, will not help either party.
"Hey ha!"
With a uniform roar, Duke Bella's army began to advance. The soldiers directly belonging to the Duke held spears and long triangular shields, walked at a gentle pace, and slowly approached the opposite enemy line.
Duke Beira is surrounded by aristocratic nobles with gorgeous and complicated equipment. The ancestors of many of them were already galloping on the battlefield when the Magyars migrated to this land, and the horseback business has been passed down to this day.
And further behind are the Duke's cronies. They are recruited by the Duke from all over Hungary. They are his personal soldiers, his knights, people who are willing to die for him.
With the Duke's troops as the core, the armies of various princes were launched this time. Although the soldiers had different armors and weapons, they could be roughly divided into three types:
One type is soldiers wearing cotton clothes and iron helmets. These people are generally wealthy urban or rural residents. Their ancestors were either the first people to turn to farming, or those who achieved meritorious deeds in the conquests and plunders of those years.
They are very enthusiastic about fighting. After all, war is never unfamiliar to these people.
The other type is those nomads who wear armor of hard leather and fur, with their faces shrouded in leather helmets. Their weapons range from spears to short axes, and their horses are also of good quality and withered.
Although the equipment and horses are different, this group of people has a strong fighting spirit. For them, war is a business without capital. If they win, they will make a fortune. If they die, they will die. There is nothing worth worrying about.
From time to time they make various shrill screams. These sounds were the most feared by Western farmers a hundred years ago, because when these sounds sounded, it meant the arrival of those terrifying pagan cavalry.
The last type is the civilians who cannot afford weapons and armor at all and hold farm tools or old weapons from God knows what age. They are the largest group in Magyar society and are driven to the battlefield just because they need cannon fodder.
These people also have the most negative attitude towards war, but they also long for victory, because victory means spoils, which is the only reason that attracts them to the battlefield. At the same time, they are always paying attention to failure. If they fail, they will run away immediately.
The Magyar nobles surrounding the princes wore chain armor or scale armor. Some of them had flamboyant feathers on their helmets and carried riding bows on their waists, while others were dressed like full heavy cavalry from the Eastern and Western Empires.
Like a steel doll.
They all looked very proud. For them, war was a ceremony, a place where they showed off their martial arts and grace.
The Duke himself was wearing a simple long-sleeved chain mail, and he was the centerpiece of the crowd. Everyone in the enemy formation could clearly see this dense mass of horses and riders clad in iron.
The king's army opposite them had almost the same configuration. The king's elite were also spread out in the middle army, and then the good and weak soldiers from all walks of life were spread out all the way.
The king's dress was much more gorgeous than Duke Bella's. The holy crown was worn on the king's head, with a sword hanging on his waist. The gorgeous clothes concealed the king's weakness. He looked like a warrior god, surrounded by stars.
Nobles and generals like the moon.
Behind the king was the heavy cavalry of the Arpad family, which was composed of the best of the entire Magyar kingdom. Their leader was David, who had a close relationship with Edward.
This team is also the most powerful card in King Andrew's hand, and the card that Duke Bella is most afraid of.
This is the most militant unit among the king's army. These warriors are extremely eager to use the blood of the rebels to wash away the shame of the monarch's defection to the empire.
This is a red team, everyone is wearing red blouses, and their fighting spirit is as terrifying as red fire.
Needless to say, the main color of the two armies was originally red. After all, both sides were descendants of Arpad, and both claimed to be the legitimate king of Hungary.
But among the two reds, there are some different colors, which are really different.
On Duke Bella's side, the knights from Poland were either riding horses or on foot on the left wing. Some were dressed the same as imperial knights, while others were still in ancient Norse or Slavic attire.
Although the equipment styles are so different, they are all Polish knights. After all, Poland is still in the process of reforming from soldiers to knights, so it is natural for such a mix and match to occur.
Although the equipment is mixed, their combat effectiveness is not mixed. These are warriors who have experienced the test of the Polish Uprising. In terms of combat effectiveness, they are no worse than any warriors!
They were led by Sichech. This nobleman was now dressed as an ordinary warrior, just wearing an ordinary chainmail and a blouse, and was surrounded by a group of similarly dressed people.
They were civilian warriors promoted by Xichech. This nobleman did not take into account their origins when selecting talents, and appointed them as long as they were capable.
This kind of kindness made this group of people willing to die for him. They are also Sichech's sharpest swords.
For this reason, Sichich was also accused of not showing favoritism and only hiring low-status people, even the peasants who revolted, but Sichich never cared about it.
Sicech was a nobleman trusted by King Boleslaw and a high-ranking person in Poland. There was no need for him to care about the rumors.
This time he was given such an important task by the king to carry out the king's important strategic deployment. To this end, he brought all the power in his hands and must complete the king's instructions!
On King Andrew's side, opposite the Polish knights, the imperial army is located on its right wing, far away from the Poles. The Turin borderlander stands under the banner of the Archangel Michael, which is the imperial military standard.
Most of the Imperial Army are soldiers with conflicting weapons. Their equipment is much better than that of cannon fodder soldiers. These people come from the Emperor's direct jurisdiction and are the troops reinforced by the Queen to William Biangrave.
There is also a group of soldiers holding machetes in the imperial army formation. They wear domed helmets and chainmail armor under black smocks. These people are good soldiers who break the formation. They can capture anything with their hands when fighting and breaking the formation.
As for the knights, they stood beside William Bianbo. These steel dolls formed a powerful charging force of the imperial army. Several knights from the imperial border areas formed their main force, always ready to enter the battlefield.
In order to aid the newly conquered vassals, the empire is willing to spend some resources.
The current Queen Regent still remembers the ambition of her late husband. He wanted to rebuild the glory of the Roman Empire, but he struggled for this all his life but achieved almost nothing, and finally passed away with regret.
Therefore, for her husband's ambition, the queen is willing to devote resources and troops. Hungary is the empire's largest successful expansion area in recent years, and she must keep this area.
The two armies faced each other tit for tat on the predetermined battlefield, and the battle could start at any time. Both armies claimed that their ruler was the real King of Hungary, but who was the king ultimately had to speak with swords.
However, the next development was a bit embarrassing. No one was willing to launch an attack - both sides knew that with their shabby armies, whoever attacked would suffer.
On the king's side, although Edward's victory boosted morale, the problem of soldiers' morale and coordination with the imperial army still existed. If they took the initiative to launch an attack, they would definitely be at a disadvantage.
On the Duke's side, Duke Bella knew that his army was, after all, a mixture of the armies of various state governors. In terms of organizational coordination, it was probably worse than the other side. The Poles and his direct subordinates were certainly credible, but their numbers were real.
Too limited.
Therefore, everyone wants to be the defensive one, but this results in the phenomenon that no one is willing to take the initiative to attack, so the two armies can confront each other. Andrew and Bella are both calm, and they can both afford it. At worst, it will cost them as much as
In the evening, each retreated his troops.
But what no one expected was that the opportunity to break the embarrassing situation on the battlefield would soon come.
————————
Time continued to pass, and as the cool morning passed, the temperature immediately warmed up. Today, a bright sun was rare in this season, and the soldiers of the two armies became restless.
After all, in such weather, wearing a suit of armor and facing such a strong sun, although the physical exertion is nothing compared to fighting and killing, it makes people feel extremely tortured.
The people below are not as clear about the overall situation as the ones above. For them, the sooner the war starts, the better. It is too painful to waste time here.
As the feeling of suffering became more and more serious, they also became more and more rude to those big people. What were those big people doing? Is it fun to let them bask in the sun here?
This phenomenon is especially serious in Duke Bella's army. His army is full of rebellious Magyar nobles. For these people, only the death of the king can make them feel at ease. Therefore, they are extremely looking forward to fighting, and the sun makes them even more sad.
They were distraught, and their desire to fight became stronger.
Moreover, due to their superior strength and the influence of the Duke of Bohemia's withdrawal, their morale is now high and they are eager to fight the king's army immediately.
Therefore, under such circumstances, some nobles in Bella's army began to have crooked ideas. Anyway, if there was to be a war, they would just let it happen on the battlefield, and it would be too easy to let it start on the battlefield...
"Is this your son's first time in battle?"
On the flank of Bella's army, a state governor suddenly put his arm around the shoulder of a noble under his command, with a smile on his face and a message in his eyes.
"Yes, sir, this is his first time in battle."
The nobleman glanced at his son, who was irritated by the sun, and then at the governor's face. He seemed to understand something, but he remained calm.
"I believe he must be very curious about the front line. Take him to see it. Young people sometimes get too excited. You have to control it and not let him get lost."
Next, the noble just glanced at the governor, then at the stalemate on the battlefield, and nodded understandingly. The governor made it clear that he already knew what to do.
"I see."
The noble said submissively.
After a while, the noble's son led a group of horse archers through the forest on the left side of the battlefield, and then they naturally got "lost."
Then they met King Andrew's scouts, and they subconsciously pursued the king's scouts and arrived in front of the king's army.
The whole process was extremely natural, everything seemed to happen normally. No one could find fault, and no one was willing to find fault. The horse archers knew what they were doing, but they all cooperated silently.
Soon, the "lost" army started fighting with King Andrew's army. The sound of fighting spread quickly. After a while, the whole battlefield was filled with such sounds.
The sound of battle made everyone restless. This was the moment they had been waiting for for a long time, and even the most lazy soldiers were alert.
"Tell His Majesty the King that my men have gone to war with the enemy. I must advance the front and ask him to send support immediately."
The governor who ordered all this gave the order without changing his face, and following his words, his troops began to advance.
As his troops advanced, others followed him one after another. It didn't matter what his orders were. If someone took the lead, it meant starting a war. Just follow the team. If you don't follow, why don't you continue to wait here?
————————
"Asshole! What's going on with those people? Didn't I tell them to defend their position before? What are they doing?"
Seeing his troops disobeying his orders, and seeing the governors' troops advancing towards the enemy one after another under the effect of broken windows, Duke Bella roared like this. This group of people actually openly disobeyed his orders.
Facing the Duke's anger, everyone remained silent for fear of becoming the target of the Duke's anger.
"That's an order! How could he do this!"
When the messenger from the instigator governor informed the Duke of the governor's decision, the Duke's anger reached its peak.
Bella originally planned to use her time to consume her brother's army until the moment when her brother could no longer bear it, but now this was impossible.
"There is nothing we can do now."
When everyone thought that the Duke was still angry, the Duke suddenly changed his words, sighed repeatedly, and then returned to his usual calmness.
Just now he recalled what was going on. There was no need to investigate these matters at all. Bella could automatically deduce them based on logic. He could only say that everything was irreversible.
He should have thought that things would come to this, so he wouldn't have to be so passive now, and it was too late to say anything now. Then he could only use swords to prove who was more suitable for the throne.
"Go forward, the battle line cannot be disrupted."
Now the situation has forced the Duke to press forward with his entire army. If the governors' armies are allowed to fight there, they will inevitably be defeated. And if these people are defeated, it is obvious what the outcome will be.
Under the Duke's order, the horns sounded one after another, and these horns represented only one meaning - attack.
Under this horn, one by one Magyar troops began to move.
"Brother, it's time to end this."
Watching the movement of the troops, Duke Bella said, his eyes then became firm.
Looking at the movement of Bella's army, King Andrew, who was surrounded by the nobles, had a smile on his face. Then he said the same words as Bella, and his eyes became firm as well.