Chapter 38 Border Conflict
At this time, Peter did not know that his mother had chosen a fiancée for him because he was currently in Bingjili. Alexandru followed him.
Binjeli Fortress is an important fulcrum of the Transnistria defense line, and its solid stone walls ensure the defense. News of the arrival of the Tatars could be conveyed quickly through the river, which also reassured the people who fled here.
Peter was getting ready to rest in the evening. Suddenly Alexandru reported that there was a large army outside the city.
"Coming so soon?" Peter had a question mark in his mind.
But he still hurried to the wall, only to find that the Tatar troops broke through the night and were rushing towards the city wall. In front of them was a troop that looked exhausted. The clothing and equipment of this army were very simple. In addition to the leader riding a war horse that did not look so fast, there was also a group of soldiers who were not even armored and were in disarray.
"Where did this army come from?" Peter asked.
"My lord, this must come from the Crimea," replied Alexandru. In line with the principle that the enemy of his enemy is his friend, he ordered all archers to be ready and aimed at the pursuing Ottomans.
"Open the door! Help! Help!" The leading cavalryman had already thrown away his own team and rushed to the city. Although exhausted, he still used the loudest voice he could make to ask for help from the army on the city wall.
"It's the language of Rus." Peter walked towards the lookout and ordered the guards next to him, "Ask them about their origins and purpose, as well as the reason for being hunted."
But before the guard could speak, the knight below shouted again: "We are from Crimea. We don't want to be slaves of the Crimeans. We need help."
It seemed that these were Slavs who were unwilling to be sold as slaves. Regarding them, Peter decided to let them into the city after thinking about it.
"Tell them we will give them shelter and hold on for a while under the walls and the gates will open."
After receiving the reply, the cavalry immediately turned their horses and commanded the defeated army to form a formation in front of the city gate. When they unfolded their posture, Peter discovered that there were actually many women and children in this group. They were protected in the center of the formation by the peripheral infantry. The real army that could fight seemed to only have one or two hundred people.
As the gate slowly opened, the women and children gathered under the city entered Binjili first. The archers, crossbowmen and artillery on the city wall have also been deployed. Just waiting for Peter's order, these will shoot at the enemy on the opposite side.
"put"
With Peter's order, crossbows and cannonballs were fired, heading towards the Tatar troops. Although the accuracy of shooting at night was poor, many people were hit by arrows and stones splashed by cannonballs in the Tatars' disorganized pursuit formation.
Although it was very useful, the Tatars soon came into contact with the defeated phalanx against the constant rain of arrows fired from the city wall.
To help them buy time, Peter pulled out his secret weapon. I saw a few big guys standing up, with small launchers inside, like a honeycomb.
As the fuses were lit, large amounts of ammunition were fired into the Tatar army. Everywhere he went there was wailing.
"Ah, my eyes."
"my head."
Some of them shocked the horses and overturned the soldiers. When the people behind saw this situation, they were all confused.
Because there were no siege equipment, the Tatars under the city wall could only rely on shields to withstand the attacks of bows, arrows and firearms.
Taking this opportunity, the last group of people retreated to the city. But seeing that the Tatars had no target, they began to retreat.
"Send someone outside the city to count how many people the Tatars have lost, and ask the leader to explain in detail what is going on."
"Follow your orders"
The arrival of the Tartars became the hottest topic in Bingjiri. The people were restless, and some businessmen even wanted to leave directly by boat. Fortunately, he was appeased.
After inspection outside the city, there were a total of 406 Tatar corpses. If injuries were included, it was estimated that thousands of people might have been injured.
And the man from Crimea also told everything he knew. The Tatars who originally lived in this area launched another plundering activity, and a large number of Slavs living on the Ukrainian plains became slaves. Not wishing to become the coin of the Tartars, they came hither with some others.
"In that case, let them settle here. If they don't want to, give them some food to take with them."
"Sir, you are so kind!"
Alexandru said to Peter respectfully, but Peter only thought it was just a small favor.
Of course, in the Middle Ages, as long as the lord reduced taxes for the people in the territory, he was directly said to be a benevolent existence. And you can’t find another example of Peter’s behavior in giving food to immigrants and pensions to fallen soldiers in Europe.
The news of Peter's pension to the fallen soldiers also spread throughout Dobroga, and when a new recruitment started, many people signed up.
The local people called Peter the Benevolent. When Peter heard this title, he just smiled. These people probably didn't know how cruel Peter would be to treat foreign enemies.
The Governor's inspection of the Transnistrian coast not only calmed the people on the border, but also stabilized the border defense. Borders with firearms were an important force in stopping nomadic tribes.
Peter began to build a standing border army, selecting some people from Moldovan natives and immigrants to serve in the military for life, and the government was responsible for paying them salaries and regularly patrolling the border areas.
In terms of equipment, some personnel use muskets and artillery. Everyone also has a uniform and must undergo a lot of training.
As the border with Lithuania and the Golden Horde, Transnistria is naturally more important. Peter's large-scale reform of the army and weapons was also to deal with their cavalry. You must know that most of Eastern Europe is plains, where the cavalry can exert its greatest combat effectiveness. For this reason, a large amount of long-range firepower is needed, and powerful firearms have become a new method.
Of course, Peter planned to build a castle behind the Dniester River as a logistics and transportation center. Because there are only a few villages and no towns between Iasi and Transnistria. So on his way back, he chose to build a castle next to the Bic River and granted it tax exemption for five years.
This time Peter paid completely out of his own pocket. He had to pay for the raw materials, labor, and tools. However, because the construction in Moldova attracted some construction engineering teams, Peter also outsourced some projects to them.