Chapter 704: Training!
"What is the meaning of this, Prince Leo, Prince Giovanni?" the old cavalry general asked sternly. "I understand that Prince Giovanni is in this troop, but what about Prince Leo? Why are you here?"
The two youngsters gulped in nervousness. This old man before them was Prince Giovanni’s horse-riding mentor, and Prince Leo had also watched how this general punished Giovanni for not cleaning his horse’s mane and fur thoroughly. This man was known to be strict not only with his cavalry but also with the two brothers.
"Uncle Khalid, we are here to learn about warfare tactics, specifically how infantry can defend against a cavalry charge," Giovanni Junior hastily replied, looking at the old general’s face.
"Is that true, Prince Leo?"
Leo nodded quickly.
Khalid relaxed his tone as he dismounted. "Giovanni, Leo, I am not trying to reprimand you. I am no longer your mentor, but I hope you remember that this, despite being an army exercise, is still a battlefield. You must understand that there are many uncertainties in battle. Bolts and arrows do not distinguish between nobles and common soldiers. In other words, you face the same risks as any ordinary soldier here."
The two brothers lowered their heads, not daring to breathe as they listened to the old general.
"Whose idea was this?" the old general asked, scanning the two youngsters while Commander Aurelian stepped aside, watching with amusement.
"It was mine, Uncle Khalid," Giovanni Junior answered.
"You are a soldier in the ranks. Call me General Khalid."
"Yes, General Khalid."
"What were you thinking, Giovanni?" Redness started emerging on the old general’s neck as he stared at the young lieutenant. "You are a soldier, so you ought to be here. But your brother hasn’t even gone through basic military training, and he is not even fourteen! What madness possessed you to bring him among the footmen? Have you considered the consequences?"
Cold sweat began to flush down Giovanni Junior’s cheeks.
"You’ve got Commander Aurelian to thank," Khalid continued. "He trained his regiment to the fullest, so it didn’t collapse during my all-out cavalry charge and certainly didn’t cause a stampede. Have you ever thought about what might have happened if a stampede occurred?"
Giovanni Junior gulped.
Commander Aurelian held his chest high with pride. "Thank you, General, for the compliment."
The general scanned the two young men before him in the silence.
The two young men exchanged glances, unsure of what would happen next.
"You mentioned that you want to experience warfare and the army, am I right?"
"Yes, General."
"Very well then." Khalid turned to Commander Aurelian behind him. "Commander, may I borrow your lieutenant for some time?"
"By all means, of course."
Khalid nodded as he mounted his horse again. "We will commence another exercise tomorrow. After that, I will come over and fetch you. In the meantime, get prepared!"
With that, the old general rode back to his army, leaving the two brothers standing there.
Aurelian walked up with a grin. "You heard that, my young fellows."
...
General Khalid fulfilled his promise, returning with his guards to fetch the two brothers after the conclusion of the exercise a few days later. Giovanni Junior and Leo were brought into the cavalry encampment, the troops that had been under Khalid’s leadership for decades.
"I understand your intentions, Lieutenant Giovanni, and since you want to let your brother understand army life and not be ignorant about military matters, then you, first and foremost, must be able to call yourself a satisfactory soldier."
"Yes, General."
Leo rode along quietly, not daring to say anything.
"Prince Leo," Khalid turned to his right. "I have informed His Majesty the Emperor about this, and he has agreed with delight, instructing me to train you to become a better rider."
Leo nodded and sighed in secret.
"Giovanni! You’ve stayed in an infantry regiment for too long. Now, let me assess your horseback combat skills! Go!"
With that, Khalid raised his whip and slashed it onto the back of Giovanni’s horse, making it bolt ahead. Khalid and his guards accelerated their horses, galloping forward on the road, leaving Leo behind, gulping as he watched them disappear beneath the horizon in a flash.
The two brothers spent the next period of time in what felt like living hell, literally.
Each morning, Khalid would begin his routine early, calling his guards to politely pull the two brothers out of their tents for a chain of exercises. Giovanni would then commence a series of horseback training sessions, riding alongside the elite cavalry of the empire, occasionally dodging incoming blades aimed at his head, and, as per cavalry tradition, eating the dust kicked up by the head rider.
Leo wasn’t spared either. Though not required to ride a mount and engage in combat training like his brother, he was ordered to help with various logistics operations and clerical work. According to the old general, this would help him understand the requirements and needs of an operational army. Leo was pushed into piles of paperwork, with Khalid and another lieutenant teaching him bit by bit how to fulfil these tasks.
And their training didn’t end there. They still had a final course of the day: building bonds with the animals, which involved washing the horses. The two brothers dragged their mounts to the water and started scrubbing them with buckets and brushes. According to the old general, a man who doesn’t tend to his horse doesn’t love his horse, and equally, he cannot expect to be loved by his horse on the battlefield.
"Giovanni," Leo asked, squatting and brushing the hooves of his mount. "How much longer must we endure this? Beneath the ’awesome’ care of the old general?"
Giovanni Junior, already nearly unconscious from the heat of the day, took a while to respond. "Just one more week, my brother... Just one more week. After that, I’ll be going back to the infantry, and you’ll be returning to father’s side..."
The two of them sighed and continued rubbing their horses as the sun slowly set, the last shades of sunlight disappearing beneath the horizon. They persisted in their efforts to get the dried mud off their mounts.
In the end, General Khalid retained them not just for one week but for an entire ten days before they were finally released from the rigorous training of the cavalry troops. By the time the two brothers ventured out of the main gate, they looked at each other with eyes of rejoicing, grateful to have survived the ordeal.
The skin of both young men had darkened considerably over the past days, but at the same time, Leo could feel that his arms, which had never really carried any weight before, had grown significantly more muscular, with veins now starting to show. The young boy now looked like a complete man, resembling a true soldier who had served for years.
Behind the two men, General Khalid gave them a pat on the back. "The emperor is now summoning both of you! I have written a letter for the emperor, commending you two on your performance over the past ten days. You have done me proud, especially you, Giovanni! Now, go back to the emperor! He should be waiting for you in Thessaloniki!"
"Wait," Leo was staggered. "My father is in Thessaloniki?"
"Oh yes, Prince Leo," General Khalid nodded. "Your father sent word to me two days ago. He is now in Thessaloniki with Lord Abdullah and Lord Alexios, meeting with the ambassadors from the Kingdom of Naples."
"Thank you, Uncle Khalid." Leo gave the old general a salute before hurriedly riding off on his mount alongside the four Varangians and, of course, his brother.
...
There is a reason why Antonius decided to return to Thessaloniki.
Lord Skanderbeg of Albania passed away near the autumn of 1477 at the age of seventy-two. It was indeed a sad event, seeing the defender of Christianity and the witness of peace between Venezia and Constantinople finally laid to rest with songs and prayers, succumbing to old age. However, this event brought about a significant problem; his heir, Gjon Kastrioti II, was still in the Kingdom of Naples. Until his return to Albania, no one knew if the ruler of Naples would attempt to take advantage of this opportunity, as any other warlord of this era might.
The King of Naples, Ferdinand I, was a figure well known to Antonius. Under Ferdinand’s leadership, the land of the Two Sicilies evolved into a period of prosperity. Even before the arrival of Abdullah, Ferdinand had sent word to the emperor through the seas and mountains, claiming that he had no intention of interfering with the affairs of Albania or becoming an enemy of the empire. He promised to send the next Dominus Albaniae straightaway and proposed an alliance with the Romans, trying to convince the emperor that their long-standing hostility should come to an end.
The emperor approved, and the fog of war vanished above the two countries.
