Chapter 423 - The Cowardly King Of Aragon (1/2)
Berengar sat upon horseback as he gazed into the distance towards the city of Zaragoza through his binoculars. He would never have guessed that the main Portuguese army would be defeated at the Southwestern Border.
It was because of this event, as well as the ruthless attack on Toledo, that the two remaining monarchs had grown cautious and withdrew half of their forces to defend their home territory. The result of which would have massive consequences for the Reconquista as a whole.
Upon seeing an army of a hundred thousand men gathered within the vicinity of the city of Zaragoza, Berengar knew that he had no chance of rooting out and destroying the Aragonese King with the 10,000 men under his command. Having come to this realization he stored his binoculars away before issuing the orders that would change the course of history.
”Fall back to the main defensive line. We do not have the manpower necessary to take this city.”
The men of Berengar's advanced force sighed in relief as they heard their King's orders. If he had insisted on taking the city with so few men, they truly believed they would be entering the gates of heaven. As such, the small force of roughly 10,000 men began to depart back to the main defensive line established on the borders of Andalusia.
King Felipe de Trastámara gazed upon the retreat of the Austrian forces and sighed heavily; he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart. Though it was only 10,000 men, he could not deny that his heart was filled with dread.
After personally witnessing the destruction of one of his armies at the hands of the Austro-Granadan alliance not long ago. The devastation he saw that day had forever imprinted itself upon his soul. In doing so he had resorted to hiding within the illusionary safety that his castle's walls provided.
With the King of Castile and his family now deceased at the hands of King Berengar the Accursed, Felipe truly believed that he was next in line to embrace the angel of death; in fact, he no longer had the will to fight against his enemies.
Castile was in a state of chaos as its Noblemen fought among each other for the right to rule, and Portugal had just suffered a humiliating defeat. Out of the roughly 500,000 men gathered to fight in Iberia, 200,000 or so now lie dead at the hands of their enemies.
The fact that one of the five armies of the Iberian Union was held off by a single regiment numbering no more than 2,500 Austrian soldiers was a shocking truth. Though all but one had perished in the attack, the brave warriors of Austria had managed to hold their ground long enough for reinforcements to arrive and annihilate the remaining crusaders.
Even the Crown Prince of Portugal was killed in battle, as for King Luiz de Avis of Portugal, he swore to avenge the loss of his son and heir. By now he had called upon Felipe to combine their forces and assault the weakest point in the Austrian defensive line.
However, King Felipe of Aragon dreaded the idea of leaving his castle and entering the fray once more. By now, reinforcements from Austria and its allies were bound to have arrived in the strait of Gibraltar, and the defensive line would no longer be spread so thin. Despite having 300,000 remaining soldiers, most of which were peasant levies from foreign lands, Felipe was not confident in Iberia's chances of winning this war.
His wife approached him as he watched the Austrians return to their defensive line. He would not rest easy until he could no longer gaze upon their backs. Seeing her husband frightened out of his wits and biting his nails like a child, the Queen of Aragon grasped ahold of his hands and asked the question on her mind.
”Will you not fight? These Heretics and Infidels have already caused so much destruction to our lands! You have lost so many men; how can you sit here like a frightened child and do nothing!”
Felipe immediately became enraged upon hearing his wife's remarks. She had not seen the horrors of this war; it was unlike any other fought in history. So few men could easily defend Granada from the massive army the Catholics had raised; the longer they waited, the more troops would arrive, and the more powerful the Austro-Granadan alliance would become. As such, Felipe freed himself from his wife's grasp and began to berate her for her ignorance.
”You do not understand! We cannot win this war! The enemy is more powerful than the Iberian Union; no matter how much support we receive from our allies, they will overcome it. I have seen the weapons they use and the destructive power they are capable of! There is no hope for victory, no matter how much Luiz thirsts for the blood of the men who killed his child.