Swiss Arms

Swiss Arms

Chapter 122

-VB-

Hans von Fluelaberg

It took me a month to organize nine hundred and ninety troops from within my county (Rheintal and Fluelaberg) and Davos. It took another three weeks for further three hundred would-be soldiers to arrive and get tested from across the rest of the Compact. After weeding out a few spies and incompetents, I ended up with one thousand one hundred thirty-four soldiers, including my rangers prepared for the expedition, just under my command.

The breakdown of my army was like this.

Five people made up a squad. (5)

Three squads made a company. (15)

Four battalions made a regiment (360), and a regiment with more than four battalions was a "reinforced" regiment.

With barely any cavalry under my command, I only had infantry to work with. The only cavalry I did have were with my rangers, and they formed the 1st Ranger Cavalry Scout. I didn't intend to put those expensive horses into battle where I can easily lose them. They would be separate from any specific regiment for now.

As for the infantry, I divided them into three regiments.

The most veteran soldiers, volunteers, and fighters of the Fluelaberg-Davos area became the 1st Fluelaberg Militia, numbering in at four hundred fourteen soldiers. This made it a reinforced regiment and I was its commander.

Experienced mercenaries, soldiers, and fighters from the rest of the Compact formed the 1st Fluelaberg Irregulars. With exactly three hundred sixty soldiers, it was a regiment and headed by one of my rangers, Captain Jacob Bergmann.

Least experienced mercenaries, volunteers, and soldiers - the greenhorns - were grouped into the 2nd Fluelaberg Irregulars with three hundred sixty soldiers. They currently had a dozen of my more tactically aware rangers temporarily attached to them to train them. Its commander was also one of my rangers, Captain Gilbert Edelba.

These commander captains were given ranks that was the same as knights.

As for my knights, I had a few from purchasing Rheintal, and they all also answered my call to arms.

---

I watched as a man in full plate armor got off of his horse and marched up to the fort gate where I stood.

When he was but two arms' length away from me, he got down on one knee before taking off his helmet. Underneath the helmet was an old man of short gray hair and black moustache.

"Your knight, Daniel von Widnau of Widnau, came to answer your call to arms, My Liege," the square-faced gruff knight said. "With me are fifty young and able-bodied levies from my fief."

I smiled. "And I welcome you into my army, Herr von Widnau," I said as I reached down and helped him up.

This wasn't the first time I've met the old knight; we've already met when he first came by to swear his allegiance once proof of title transference was confirmed.

He looked around. "Fluelaberg is magnificent as I remember it," he said.

I chuckled. "It's only been a year since you came by," I commented.

"Indeed. And I am even more impressed by the number and quality of levies camping between here and the nearest village. The … rangers drill the soldiers extremely well.

I grunted. "I expect a certain level of discipline from them all," I told him. "I will personally flog anyone who indulges in pillaging and looting without my express permission."

The old knight looked approving of my words, but I could also see that he was going to reserve full judgement until he saw me actually following through with those words.

"Would you like to join me and my wife for dinner?" I asked him, and he grinned.

"I'd love to, my lord."

I paused before moving. "Do you know when Herr Emmanuel will be here?"

He shook his head. "No, milord. Last thing I heard from his village, Kriessern, was when I was passing by. He looked sick, milord."

I frowned. "I'll have to send someone to see what's going on over there. Thank you for informing me."

---

It turned out that Herr(Sir) Emmanuel von Churinstein of Kriessern was down with smallpox. The ranger messenger I sent was sure of it, so I sent a message to the young knight to stay put because I did not want an outbreak of smallpox in my army.

Smallpox was not something I could tackle right now, though, so I asked people to avoid Kriessern for now if they could until no one else suffered from smallpox in that village.

Anyways, Herr von Widnau was not the only figure of note to join my march.

---

Rudolf von Wittelsbach

Rudolf took a deep breath in and let it out.

Soon.

It felt like a lifetime ago that he had been the Duke of Upper Bavaria and the lord of his own home.

He looked at himself in the mirror, which showed a clear return image of himself. It was marvelous trinket. He'd have this mirror moved to Munich once this ousting was over.

But he looked … better now. Much better.

He used to be bigger before. Now, he was both fitter and healthier. It helped that Hans knew how to make some of the best dishes he ever tasted.

And the fact that despite his status being higher, Hans dragged him out to train with the rest of his soldiers. As painful as those training had been, it made him stronger, faster, and harder.

He shuddered.

Didn't mean he'd ever willingly train like that if he had a chance, though. Those rangers of his were crazy bastards of the highest order. Who thought that training with Hans was a good idea?

Apparently, all of his rangers.

… Not that they were wrong in theory, merely wrong mentally. There was a certain level of masochism one needed to possess in order to even consider training with the strongest man Rudolf knew of. Some of the training regimes the man put himself through was utterly insane… but it worked for him.

He flexed his arms and grinned at the bulging biceps. He made a turn and flexed his triceps.

Oh yes… he liked what he saw, and he was certain that ladies back home would also like what they saw if they ever saw him training without his top.

Perhaps this was the start of his summer?

Maybe the ladies will be more interested in him now.

"Your Grace."

He paused and looked over his shoulder where one of the few true servants of the fort stood waiting for him.

"Is it time?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

He hummed. "Find me a page to help me put on my armor."

She bowed and slid out of the room.

Yes. It was time.

Time to take back his duchy from his ambitious and scheming little brother.

… He flexed just one more time in front of the mirror. Maybe two more times.

Damn, he looked good.

---

It took some time to gather all of my forces for this fight, but I was ready within the expected timeframe.

By the end of March, I marched out of Fluelaberg towards Innsburg to take control of Duke Henry's army. And from there, I would march on Munich to oust Duke Louis.

-VB-

Albert II of Carinthia

Brother of Henry of Gorizia

This was the first time he met the "Count Killer" of Fluelaberg… and the rumors didn't do the man justice.

He watched as the man, not riding on a horse but walking alongside the few cavalry he had, did so with a giant slab of steel for a sword, and kept pace with the walking horses. And he knew that the count (because it was now known to most of his neighbors that he bought the County of Rheintal and this made him a count) had been walking at least a league with it on his shoulders because Albert had been watching from the top of his castle! He saw the man carry it around, and that glinting piece of metal was kind of easy to spot even from a distance.

So, no, the rumors didn't do him justice, because a man who can carry that long and thick of a castle-forged steel slab "weapon" was beyond human.

Perhaps even inhuman.

"Welcome to Innsburg, Count von Fluelaberg!" he greeted the new count with a grin and an extended hand.

The count set his sword down and clasped the extended hand and gave a shallow bow.

"I'm honored by your personal welcome, marquis. May this be the start of a long and fortuitous relationship."

"I hope so, too," he hummed as he patted the younger man's powerful arm while still shaking the hand a second longer before letting go. "Let's go inside for now. You must be tired after the travel."

"Ah, yes. It did take us half a week to travel this far…"

"How big of a force did you bring?" he asked the count as they walked inside.

"One thousand two hundred soldiers, milord."

Hoh… that was a lot for a small county and barony.

Perhaps this matter would be resolved as easily as his brother had implied.

If that was the case…

Well, Albert would enjoy adding more lands to their family's estate.

-VB-

Louis von Wittelsbach

Munich

"What?"

His grip of the arms of his ducal throne, a highly decorated but ultimately a wooden throne, tightened and soon he heard the wood underneath his hands cracking.

"T-The Compact has raised an army, Your Grace! Our spies report that they should be arriving in Innsbruck by today!" his spymaster reported with urgency, eyes wide with disbelief and fear. "And your exiled brother is with them!"

This was it, wasn't it? His enemies who had been ruining him from behind the scenes were revealing themselves. The Gorizia of Tyrol were out to get him. They were the ones who planned all of this!

It made sense. It finally made sense! The Gorizias used their influence over the small baron through proximity and marriage ties to … to mint the diluted coins. Then shipped them around so that they would find their way into Munich. The merchants - oh, the greedy merchants - would take the coins because they were good enough. And why wouldn't they be? Some of the best artisans of the region were in the rich Fluelaberg and Compact!

It all made sense now!

The upstart Gorizia thought that just because they held half a dozen count and marquis titles, they could fight against the Wittelsbach.

That they could bring war to the Wittelsbach.

This wasn't just an attack upon him. It was an attack on his house. He needed to gather the house - his relatives and peers in Lower Bavaria - and defend their holdings against the Italian dogs*!

It was clear that the Italians wanted to dethrone him because he was the closest fief to theirs as well as the one with the most problems.

With how Rudolf had gotten so many man-at-arms and knights killed last time, his duchy was currently had a deficit of manpower. Even if he were to call in the levies, he would be found wanting.

But just how many troops could the mountain hicks and their allies possibly bring forth?

"If they're collecting an army to fight me, then a fight we'll have," he hissed. "Call the banners! And find me someone who'll scout out ahead and get us some solid numbers on the Tyrolians!"

He needed just a month to get everything together, but if the enemy was already at Innsbruck, then that meant that he had maybe two weeks before they were upon him in Munich. But with how Munich was in a state of chaos ever since the crisis spun out of his control, defending from within his castle was not an option, not when he didn't know who was loyal and who wasn't.

He needed to go meet them out in the field where the crafty enemy couldn't possibly prepare ahead of time, which was what led to Rudolf's loss in the first place.

But where could that be between here and Innsbruck…?

-VB-

A/N:

*House of Gorizia started in Italy and that is also where the main "seat" of the house is at this point in the story.

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