ATPnovel Chapter 36 Reinforcements
Chapter 36 Reinforcements
The French launched a general offensive early the next morning.
This was expected by everyone. By dusk yesterday, all of Jarjo's turrets had collapsed, and the stone wall on the French side had completely crumbled, leaving only the rammed earth mound behind it. No matter how Henry organized the repairs, it was impossible to build a new wall overnight.
Suffolk, fully armed, led his generals up the rammed earth mound. Regardless of his feelings, he was the heir to the Salisbury will. He could fail, but he could not suffer humiliation.
He stood on high ground, watching the French crossbowmen set up cover and exchange fire with the longbowmen, while the artillery on the north bank bombarded the bridgehead. Armored soldiers, carrying ladders and other equipment, jumped directly into the trenches under the cover of the crossbowmen, set up ladders, and began to scale the city walls.
He turned around, forcing himself to be spirited, and faced the prepared British soldiers: "My friends, the Duke of Bedford knows our situation. He is leading a large army to our aid, and we will hold out until reinforcements arrive! We may fail, but not today!"
The British troops cheered in response. Suffolk turned his back, concealing the worry on his face, and continued to order: "Henry, my personal guard is in your hands. Today, you only need to hold the walls, nothing else—we cannot let a single Frenchman in!"
Henry solemnly accepted the order and led Suffolk's personal guard toward the trench.
The captain of the guard, fully armored, personally stood guard along the moat. Henry glanced at the collapsed city wall, estimated the angle, and shouted back, "Bring the slings!"
The attendants and militiamen quickly brought dozens of slings and several baskets of iron balls. Henry was about to demonstrate to the captain of the guard when the captain simply chuckled, picked up an iron ball, tossed it around to steady himself, stood behind the cover, and threw the heavy ball from the sling bag, smashing it into the French armored soldier climbing the trench. The ball struck hard, and the armored soldier cried out as he fell from the ladder, motionless.
The guards followed suit, raining iron balls down on the trench. The French were clearly unprepared for this ancient weapon; even those brave warriors who managed to scale the walls with shields had their arms broken and fell from the ladders. Half the morning passed, and the English had pushed aside or burned the ladders one by one; not a single French soldier could climb the walls. By noon, not a single armored soldier dared to attempt to climb the trench.
The captain of the guard stood majestically on the city wall, hurling iron balls like David in the epic.
Suffolk surveyed the battlefield, then suddenly pulled his adjutant aside: "Alexander, get him down! The French are setting up their cannons!"
He spoke a little too late. This time, Goliath did not underestimate David—at least three stone-throwing cannons aimed at him and fired simultaneously. After a cloud of dust, David's figure disappeared from the battlements.
The cannons continued to roar. Suffolk's SS were forced to retreat temporarily. When the cannon fire ceased, deafening cheers erupted from the French positions. The SS returned to the city walls, where a white fleur-de-lis flag led the charge, with countless French soldiers following that flag as they rushed toward the trenches.
The standard-bearer, with the flagpole slung over his back and a ladder in hand, leaped into the trench and began to climb. The Royal Guard, without Henry's command, focused their efforts on the uninvited guest. Suddenly, someone threw a stone—not an iron ball—that struck the man squarely in the helmet. He tumbled down the ladder, the large flag crashing to the ground.
The French cheers turned to sobs. The armored soldiers screamed as they leaped into the trenches, trying to rescue the strange man. The Royal Guard had barely breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the man rise from the ground, remove his dented helmet, wipe the blood from his face, and shout at the armored soldiers behind him in a woman's voice. Suffolk heard it clearly; it was French with a Champagne accent:
"Friends! Charge! Good luck has left the British!"
She had someone help her remove the large banner from her back, held it high pointing at the city wall, and continued shouting:
"Everything belongs to you! Be brave!"
Suffolk had heard about this scene from the remnants of Toulouse's army, and now it unfolded perfectly before his eyes. The French erupted in cheers, their armored warriors suddenly emboldened. No matter how hard the Royal Guard fought, they couldn't stop them from scaling the walls, and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Henry organized a counter-charge from the city's troops, but each attempt was less effective than the last. In the time it took to pray a few times, the French had already pushed the English off the walls. Suffolk was astonished to find himself on the front lines.
Suffolk snapped out of his daze. Desperate, he grabbed his adjutant: "Alexander, go find the priest—no, you go and beg for surrender yourself! Tell that witch, just one day! Just one day to collect the bodies!"
Alexander glanced at him, nodded with difficulty, took a white flag that had been prepared beforehand, and led a few guards to jog towards the trench.
As Suffolk watched the French advance further back on the English lines, and he was about to be forced into the last half of the tower, Alexander finally returned. But he was carried back—a crossbow bolt lodged in his abdomen, and only two guards remained with him.
Suffolk rushed over and grabbed Alexander's shoulders: "What's wrong? Say something!"
The guard who carried him back said dejectedly, "We shouted for negotiations, but the French wouldn't listen. One crossbowman took the opportunity to ambush you, sir, and the others got separated while covering our retreat."
Suffolk watched his brother's breathing grow weaker and weaker. Looking up, he saw that the English troops throughout the city were trapped. Jarrod was an isolated stronghold; after the French blocked the bridge, they had nowhere to escape. The bloodthirsty French showed no mercy and refused to accept anyone's surrender. Henry and his personal guard had disappeared in the final counter-attack, leaving only a few dozen men with Suffolk to retreat into the tower.
The French army was closing in, and Suffolk recognized their banners as those of the royal cavalry. He decided to make one last attempt. He handed the lifeless Alexander to the guards, removed his helmet, and walked out of the tower, holding aloft his family banner.
He shouted to the armored soldiers in front of him, "I am the Earl of Suffolk, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army! I surrender!"
The French troops halted. Several armored soldiers whispered among themselves for a moment, then one in Milanese plate armor stepped forward and asked, "We don't know who Suffolk is. What is the commander of the army?"
Suffolk thought for a moment: "In France, it would be the Royal Steward, an official similar to your Marshal Attil."
As soon as he finished speaking, the French soldiers erupted in commotion. Several men stared wide-eyed, ready to pounce. The armored leader turned and stopped them, then thought for a moment before replying, "We can accept your surrender. But those in the tower must first remove their armor and throw out their weapons."
Suffolk gestured to the British soldiers behind him to comply. Although reluctant, the men, urged on by others, began to remove their armor.
Suffolk stared at the leader's armor for a few moments, then couldn't help but ask, "May I ask who you are? I don't see a family crest on your armor; could you tell me?"
A snicker came from behind the man. The leader said helplessly, "Sir, I have no family crest. I'm just a sergeant."
Suffolk exclaimed incredulously, "How can a sergeant afford Milanese plate armor? Didn't you have any noble or knightly ancestors?"
The man was even more helpless. He took off his helmet, pointed to his face, and said, "Sir, this armor was a gift from Lord Atil. I am the mayor of Laflesh. My ancestors were not nobles, and I only received two years of servant training."
Suffolk was struck as if by a heavy blow, collapsing to the ground, unable to believe he had been captured by a civilian. He thought for a moment, then suddenly leaped up, drawing his longsword. Martin and the others were startled and also drew their axes and spears.
But Suffolk only sighed, "I am William de la Pole, the fourth Earl of Suffolk, England. To allow a nobody to capture me would be a disgrace to my family." He looked at Martin, "Sergeant Martin, would you like to be knighted by me?"
This time, it was Martin who couldn't believe it. He pointed to himself, and seeing Suffolk nod, he became even more confused.
Suffolk added: "Although I am an English nobleman, you can report my investiture to your superior—the same applies to French knights."
Seeing Martin still dawdling, LeBron kicked him from behind, sending him stumbling, and yelled, "What are you hesitating for? Can't you be knighted by an earl? Sir Martin!"
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The siege of Jarrod ended a few days after Jeanne d'Arc's arrival, and the process itself was unremarkable, far less intense than the repeated changes of hands at the strongholds near Mern in the west.
However, His Majesty was very interested in two anecdotes that occurred during this siege and specifically asked me to record them.
The first incident is a recollection by the Duke of Alençon himself. Joan of Arc once warned him to leave his position immediately, or a cannon in the town of Jarrod would "kill you." The duke, somewhat skeptical, walked away, and shortly afterward, the cannon struck Lord Druid, who was standing in his spot. This terrified him and made him admire Joan of Arc even more. My personal opinion is that Joan of Arc possessed an extraordinary talent for operating cannons; after all, I personally witnessed her learn how to use those complex trebuchets at the docks of Tours.
The second matter was reported to La Hire by a "knight" who had captured the Earl of Suffolk, the English commander-in-chief, during the battle. The Earl of Suffolk, unable to accept being captured by an unknown man, immediately knighted him. La Hire himself remained noncommittal, but His Majesty was intrigued, noting that such things were common in Agincourt—though at that time it was French nobles who knighted Englishmen. He decided to recognize the knighthood and, according to tradition, personally receive the armored warrior.
In any case, the successful recapture of the Loire Valley greatly boosted the confidence of the entire court—until the Duke of Dinois issued an alarm that the Norman army had been mobilized and the battle to retake the Loire Valley had to be ended quickly.
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Charles VII [France] Jean-Jacques de Uyssen