CHAPTER 6
...italian serpents...
The Year of Our Lord, 1415
The closing phases of the Portuguese Crusade
The Mamluks once more claim the title Defender of the Faith. They have apparently recovered from the rebellions and other internal strife.
The city of Marrakesh is besieged. The old king of Spain passes away earlier in the month. His son is interested in making a name for himself and sends his armies onto the shores of Morocco. He has a monumental, if frequently misguided, legacy to live up to.
The Crusade is officially over and many cardinals now back the King of England. However, our business is not quite done yet.
The strategically important fortress of Fez surrenders after months of starvation.
General Pereira personally leads the assault and our Crusaders crash through the streets of Marrakesh. The entire city is sacked and burns for days. The heathen warlords of Morocco are brought to the peace table. They are eager to end this devastating war so their entire realm doesn't collapse, and are fearful we'll make harsh demands. Luckily for them, we desire only two of their richest provinces-- Tangiers and Ceuta. Morocco is more than ready to cede these territories to our control. The Straits of Gibraltar is now controlled by Christians!
The Crusade ends with a humiliating defeat for the Muslim alliance. We are now at peace, with new territory flying the glorious flag of Portugal!
We hire a talented theologian to oversee the conversion of Tangiers and Ceuta. We also pass a new act of legislature that strengthens the authority of the Church. It will now be illegal for the peasantry and common folk to read and question the Holy Scripture without supervision of a priest. Our success is recognized by the Pope himself, and he grants us casus belli to continue the holy war against the heathen. We have no intentions to pursue, however.
Missionaries are sent into Tangiers and Ceuta to convert the populace to the True Faith.
We've accumulated a bit of infamy in the eyes of the world. It seems that rumors have spread suggesting our Crusade was simply a callous land-grab, and not truly righteous. This tarnishes our reputation, but Portugal remains a prestigious kingdom. In an effort to quell these unsavory rumors, we prove that we're an educated and enlightened realm by funding the Florentine School.
General Pereira returns to Lisbon with his Crusader army as a conquering hero. King João I celebrates this momentous occasion with a grand festival, inviting all of Portugal to attend. During the festival, the King's victorious commanders are awarded medals and new titles for their services. Finally, Pereira himself is honored by proposal of a new fortress to be constructed in his name, with stronger walls to protect the entire city of Lisbon from invasion. It is a grand affair that lasts for months, but seriously strains the Crown's treasury. King João I takes a loan from the local banks to pay for the extravagances.
The peoples of Ceuta see which way the winds are blowing, and embrace their new destiny.
Our shipwrights begin to experiment with new modifications, inspired by those used by Portuguese fishermen. There is promise in these new designs.
- - - - -
some time later - - - - -
A messenger arrives late one evening while King João I is having a meeting with his advisors concerning future policy.
"Your Majesty, we have a dispatch from the King of Milan himself. Forgive the interruption, but it is most urgent!"
Our King takes the scroll in his hands and unfurls it, reading the contents silently. With every sentence, his face grows pale with a look of horror. "My Lord?" one of his concerned advisors asks. The mood in the chamber changes instantly.
"This... this is preposterous! Those snakes in the grass!" King João I slams the scroll onto the table, "The King of Milan demands we renounce our claims on Naples and turn over our southern Italian lands to them. Apparently this ambitious fool thinks Naples is rightfully his! He's already sent an army to 'ensure' his claim."
We have no intentions of surrendering the Duchy of Naples to a foreign power. Portugal earned these lands many decades ago under the rule of King João I's honorable father. It was us who defeated both Naples and Sicily during the Italian Excommunication War. Thus the Papacy legitimized our authority to govern the new duchies, but the King of Milan ignored the Pope's decree. He attempted to continue the war, and Portugal was forced to defend her new holdings. After a brief battle that defeated the Milanese army, a white-peace was signed between the two nations. Apparently the issue was never settled in the eyes of the Milanese court. It's obvious that they still hold a grudge.
A call to arms is sent to our allies, both who answer. We feel England's entry to the war is purely ceremonial. However we hope the newly crowned Spanish king desires a fight. Likely we will need their assistance on the Italian mainland.
Word reaches our court that a huge rebellion has begun to sweep Naples. The peasantry is up in arms, though their grievances are unclear. It's likely that Milan has sponsored these rebels to pave the way for their occupation force.
It's obvious that Milan is committed to their plans to conquer Naples. Perhaps they have ambitions to unite all of Italy under a single banner.
We need more intelligence on the enemy. The last time we fought Milan, their army outnumbered ours. Let's see if that remains true.
May God have mercy on our souls!
Lithuania answers Milan's call to arms. However they are very distant and their entry is likely purely ceremonial. We'll be surprised if we see any Lithuanian troops in Italy.
General Pereira is called from his summer home outside of Porto. Portugal needs him to lead her armies to battle once more. His peerless leadership is unmatched within the realm, and without him we will surely be defeated. Privately, Pereira questions if it's even possible to win this war. He is more experienced now than when he first led our troops onto the shores of North Africa. However, our armies were fueled by religious fervor yet still lost 2:1. On the shores of Italy, the situation is much different. Outnumbered 3:1 and without religious fervor, and surely against better equipped soldiers... the prospects seem grim.
Regardless, General Pereira is given orders to muster an army to defend Naples. He collects the 11,000 soldiers waiting in Lisbon and boards the transports.
Admiral Aveiro is much more optimistic than the generals. He knows there are few navies in the world that can best us on the seas, and it is our allies who command such fleets. Portugal will remain safe so long as her ships are able to fight. The only question is whether Naples can survive the onslaught and if we can humble Milan's ambitions. Admiral Aveiro sails east with the Portuguese battle fleet, with orders to clear the Mediterranean of all hostiles and to blockade Milan's ports.
General Pereira makes a brief stop at Tangiers to collect 9,000 men under General Correia's command. This leaves a single regiment to oversee our new territory across the Straight. Correia hopes no new rebellions erupt during the war, as he has too few men to actually put down such a threat. However this brings our army up to 20,000 footmen and knights. Will it be enough?
Switzerland heeds the call and is drawn into the war against us. While it may be unlikely to see Swiss soldiers attacking Naples, if we manage to counter-attack into Northern Italy we may end up fighting Swiss pikemen.
Could this get any worse?
