Chapter 28: Taking Life and Death Lightly

That evening, Carlo readied his gear, resolutely following Ressaritt to embark on an extremely perilous mission.

Ressaritt looked at Carlo, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes. He furrowed his brows slightly, his expression filled with concern. Reaching out slowly, he patted Carlo on the shoulder and urged him, "Carlo, this mission is fraught with danger. You had best stay behind."

However, Carlo refused firmly. He was no longer the ignorant, naive youth who had first arrived in France. After the trials of these past days, he had matured rapidly, now viewing himself entirely as a brave and fearless French esquire. Perhaps it was his recent experiences that had made him indifferent to life and death, while causing him to cherish bonds of friendship all the more. Furthermore, he knew well that Ressaritt truly needed his assistance for this task. As for Roberto, it went without saying that he would unconditionally support whatever Carlo decided.

They were part of a massive force of nearly a thousand elite French heavy cavalry, traveling in a grand procession while escorting a convoy of supply wagons. The soldiers were in high spirits, their horses' hooves thundering like drums as they advanced toward the city of Tournai, their goal to break through and provide reinforcements.

As fate would have it, the successful ambush that Ressaritt and Carlo had previously staged against Baron Morley had yielded a rich harvest. Not only had they seized a sufficient supply of English armor and banners, but they had also secured the perfect disguise for this operation. They intended to pass themselves off as an English royal cavalry unit to catch the enemy line off guard.

The force was led by Charles, Count of Alençon, a cousin of Philip VI. Though significantly younger than the King, he was already in his early forties. In the military circles of France, he was a noble of renowned achievements and great fame. In truth, Joan, Countess of Artois, had petitioned King Philip to lead this force herself, but the King had deemed that this mission—intended to show support for Tournai—must be led by a noble of closer relation and higher standing. Thus, he had rejected her request.

As Carlo and Ressaritt rode alongside the troop, Ressaritt turned to him while urging his horse forward. "As the war continues, King Philip is also practicing chivalry quite selectively. Do you know? After we captured those English royal knights and lords, they could not withstand the torture, and when compared with the testimonies of captured English soldiers, we obtained a crucial piece of intelligence: the English coalition is on the verge of collapse!"

A hint of excitement appeared on his face, though it was tinged with a measure of gravity.

Carlo asked curiously, "Why is that?"

Ressaritt continued, "King Edward III has become extremely anxious since the Battle of Sluys. This siege by the English coalition was too hasty, and he is suffering from a severe shortage of funds. Consequently, he has not equipped enough siege engines, such as trebuchets or battering rams."

Carlo nodded thoughtfully and asked, "And what of the current state of Tournai?"

Ressaritt frowned slightly, casting his gaze toward the distant city as he replied, "The defenses of Tournai are quite formidable. The garrison and reinforcements inside are all elite troops, and they are led by the illustrious Count of Foix. King Philip has also arrived with a large army, which has caused King Edward no small amount of headache, so he has chosen a strategy of containment, hoping to force Tournai to surrender through starvation."

Carlo’s eyes brightened. "Then, in fact, has Edward been massing his troops and maintaining a force larger than King Philip's simply to seek a decisive battle with France? I heard that Edward even sent messengers and declarations of war, with talk of chivalric duels and the like—all just to provoke King Philip into a final showdown, right?"

Ressaritt listened, pondering for a moment, a flash of admiration in his eyes. "The way you put it makes a great deal of sense; I hadn't thought of that. King Philip is indeed a renowned commander of our time, intending to use a proper, upright army to suppress Edward." He paused before continuing, "Edward's finances are extremely tight—exactly how tight, perhaps only the late Baron Morley truly knew. His camp is constantly visited by debt collectors from various Italian banks. His own troops and mercenaries have not been paid in a long time. Moreover, the English forces have been plundering the surrounding areas indiscriminately, which has already stirred deep resentment among the many Flemings in the coalition. As for the mercenaries, having received no pay, they have long been clamoring to disband, and several units have already departed. Ha! Were it not for the Duke of Brabant, Edward's largest creditor in Germany, straining to support him, the coalition's mercenaries would likely have all left by now."

Ressaritt laughed excitedly as he spoke. Carlo’s mouth fell open in surprise. "Wow, is it really that serious?"

Ressaritt smiled. "The interesting thing is that recently, the Duke of Brabant and van Artevelde of Flanders have also come into conflict."

Carlo asked curiously, "Is that so? What kind of conflict? Aren't they allies?"

Ressaritt described it vividly: "The English suspect that many German mercenaries, lacking pay, have actually been secretly selling grain and weapons to the garrison in Tournai. Recently, a piper from Brabant was caught red-handed by a Flemish pike regiment while conversing with the defenders at a blockaded section of the wall. That man van Artevelde is ruthless; he tortured the fellow within an inch of his life just to force him to admit that his actions were under the orders of the Duke of Brabant. Furthermore, during a meeting of alliance leaders held in the English King's tent, van Artevelde delivered a long, vitriolic speech. He accused the Duke of Brabant of being cowardly, incompetent, and useless. A knight of the Duke, unable to stomach it any longer, told him that van Artevelde should return to Ghent and focus on brewing beer. And do you know what happened? Van Artevelde reacted with extreme violence, drawing his sword and running the man through. In the end, it took all of Edward's diplomatic efforts to barely prevent the Duke from abandoning the coalition army immediately."

Carlo sighed, "Wow, so that's how it is. It seems if the English coalition doesn't get money soon, it really is on the verge of collapse."

Ressaritt nodded, his expression solemn. "Indeed, but Edward has clearly become desperate lately. He decided to take Tournai by force and launched several assaults, all of which were beaten back by the defenders. They captured some of the garrison and obtained information from within the city, so the English coalition has now intensified the siege. The situation in Tournai is extremely critical."

Carlo asked hurriedly, "Tournai? What happened?"

Ressaritt’s expression grew deeply worried, his brows locked in a tight knit. "This summer has been sweltering and windless, making it difficult to preserve food for long. The fodder within the walls has been rapidly depleted, and the livestock let out to graze at night have been hunted and eaten by the English. Tournai relied on the windmills in the suburbs, so with those lost, the supply of flour has been cut off. The food in Tournai is nearly exhausted. Grain prices inside the city have reached staggering levels. The English are convinced that Tournai is on the brink of surrender."