Book 4: Chapter 89 (1/2)
“Your Majesty,” a member of the war council said with his eye twitching. “We specifically picked out this place to engage the Ottomans in combat because of the terrain. Their soldiers outnumber us, but with the marsh working to our advantage, we could’ve fought their army piece by piece. Why did you wait for their whole army to gather?”
Louis II snorted. “Fighting them like that, it wouldn’t be chivalrous.”
“Chivalrous? It wouldn’t be chivalrous?” the war council member asked, veins bulging on his neck. “Do you think the Ottomans will care about chivalry when they fight us three to one? Do you think they’ll care about chivalry when they invade the capital where our wives and children are waiting for us?”
“Quit your whining,” Louis II said. “Everything will be fine as long as we win.”
“Yes, everything will be fine as long as we win, but we don’t have to try out best to lose!”
Louis II rolled his eyes and turned his body away from the council member. “Oh, the keepers of the church are about to engage in combat with the witch. Is a girl that small really capable of punching down Belgrade’s walls?”
“Look,” the war council member said and pointed. “Those twelve keepers, they represent the highest order of the church, yet they’re preparing to fight one witch together. Do you think they’re unchivalrous because of that? Of course not! They’re doing what has to be done.”
“And, sometimes, what has to be done is unchivalrous,” Louis II said. “You can lose a battle, but you can’t lose your dignity. If you mention such things again, I’ll have you removed from your post.”
The war council member took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Then what’s your plan, Your Majesty? Evidently, you don’t want to work with us, so we’ll work with you instead.”
“We charge,” Louis II said and tilted his chin up, puffing his chest out.
The council member’s eyes bulged. “We charge? What do you mean by that?”
“A cavalry charge,” Louis II said. “What else can I mean? We break the enemy formation, and our infantry follows through. A classic tactic—the simplest plans are often the best.”