March

Laszlo's army marched along the Begej River for four days, successfully taking control of four towns that had already surrendered to him.

At Marjina, the roads wide enough for Hussite War Wagons ended.

Here, five more paths branched off: three led into the mountains, one short cut went directly to the middle section of the Mures Valley, and a longer route circled around to the first half of the valley.

Laszlo stood on the battlements of Marjina Fortress, gazing at the distant mountains shrouded in mist, his mind made up.

If he played it safe, he could choose the long route into the valley to link up with Hervoye's detachment, and then advance along the valley floor.

However, this would mean the army would waste over half a month traversing mountains, incurring unnecessary losses and dampening morale.

Therefore, there was only one path before him from beginning to end—through the valley from Marjina directly to the Mures Valley.

Hunyadi clearly understood this, so he would surely set an ambush in the valley.

But where would the enemy set an ambush in this narrow, slightly winding valley?

Laszlo gripped his sword hilt in frustration; this situation was truly helpless.

The great military strategist Sun Tzu once said that if the enemy occupies a dangerous position first, one should withdraw rather than engage them.

There were also sayings like "do not camp in dangerous terrain" and "for encircled ground, devise a strategy." One should not camp in dangerous places, and when facing a pass first occupied by the enemy, one must use flexible strategies, otherwise, one might easily be defeated by a smaller force and fall into a predicament.

About a hundred years later, in a narrow place like a barrel, a "great fool" used two thousand men to defeat an army of tens of thousands.

Laszlo did not want to be the one whose head was chopped off.

But retreating and taking a detour were not viable alternative options.

Charging in headfirst would be too foolish. Indeed, he should find an unfortunate soul to take the beating for him.

Laszlo's gaze almost immediately fell on Werner, who was standing nearby.

However, while Werner's mercenaries were tough, constantly making him take the blows would shake morale. This time, it was better to find another sandbag.

Werner suddenly felt a chill down his spine but couldn't tell where this feeling came from.

Fortunately, the feeling came and went quickly, so he didn't think much of it.

The emperor's gaze had already turned to Szécsényi. The Hungarian governor's injuries had not fully healed, but they did not significantly affect his normal activities.

In contrast, his uncle Sigismund, who had suffered lighter injuries, still looked quite weak at the moment.

Both of them were good candidates to serve as the army's vanguard and scout the valley first.

If the rebels blocked the valley's exit, they would need to attempt a siege. As long as they could take that pass, Laszlo was confident he could transport the main force of the army across within a day.

"Your Majesty, I have found the guide you requested, who is familiar with the mountain terrain," Matthias reported to Laszlo, leading a sturdy man.

The man wore a felt cap with a rolled brim, a feather stuck in its brim, a belted linen tunic, and a faded cloak over it.

He was tall, even comparable to some soldiers, with rough skin and deep, dense wrinkles around his eyes.

By the standards of this era, this guide could be considered half an old man.

He seemed somewhat nervous at the moment, slightly hunched, not daring to look directly at the young emperor.

"No need to be nervous. I just need you to answer some questions. First, tell me what you do?" Laszlo asked gently.

The guide took a deep breath and, hearing the emperor's question, quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I… I am a traveling merchant. I usually do business with the villages in the mountains, so I am very familiar with the mountain paths of Transylvania."

"Hmm, good," Laszlo nodded slightly, thinking that the man's appearance indeed looked like a merchant who spent his days braving the elements and traversing mountains.

So he continued to ask, "From Marjina to the end of the valley, are there any other paths leading to the Mures Valley?"

After arriving in Marjina, Laszlo had sent many scouts into the mountains to gather information.

From their reports, he learned the general situation of this mountain area.

Although it was mountainous, there were actually many winding small paths leading to certain small basins deep within the mountains.

Many villages were thus distributed in the mountains, maintaining close contact with the outside world.

The scouts did not dare to go too deep, only exploring the first half of the mountain path, from Kosava Village at the entrance to Bashtia Village in the mountains.

Near Bashtia Village, there was a relatively large open space where the army could temporarily encamp.

The large section of mountain road beyond that was like being enveloped in a fog of war; Laszlo knew very little about it, which was why he needed to find an excellent guide.

And this direct question was actually a simple inference made by Laszlo.

If he were setting an ambush, he would certainly prepare a retreat route in advance, to avoid being trapped in an emergency.

Therefore, the small paths leading to the Mures Valley were clearly the most likely positions for Hunyadi to set an ambush.

When he led his army halfway, Hunyadi would suddenly attack. The army, confined to the valley and unable to advance or retreat, would inevitably fall into chaos and suffer heavy losses.

Even if the ambush was discovered early, the rebels could calmly retreat and return to the Mures Valley to defend the pass to the death.

Hearing the emperor's tricky question, the guide thought for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, there are indeed such small paths.

In the latter half of the mountain road, there is a village called Ohaba. It takes less than half a day's mountain walk from Bashtia to get there.

There are many small paths leading to numerous villages in the mountains, and one of them, leading to Fântâna Village, connects directly to Gelend."

"Gelend?" Laszlo immediately recalled the map he had been constantly looking at these past few days; he had almost memorized all the place names in this area.

"I remember, Gelend seems to be in the Mures Valley… that is to say, it directly bypasses the valley entrance?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guide added. "However, that path is rarely used because you can exit the valley by walking another hour from Ohaba.

But taking that path would probably take several more hours, and it's very difficult to traverse."

"Then that must be the location," Laszlo understood, feeling a bit more confident.

He waved his hand, and Matthias took out a bag of silver coins and threw them to the guide, causing the man to repeatedly thank the emperor.

"Think carefully again. Is there anything you've overlooked? Tell me everything—afterward, you must travel with my vanguard and guide them."

"No problem, Your Majesty." Money was a good thing; these coins were worth many trips for him. He had no other thoughts and quickly started to brainstorm.

"Your Majesty, there are indeed no other paths leading to the Mures Valley.

However, I know the people in those mountain villages very well. I can have their village elders personally explain the situation to your men, which will make passing through the valley even safer."

"Good, do that. I will send scouts with you to accept their surrender," Laszlo decided to be cautious to the end. "If there's anything unusual, report it to my vanguard, and then send troops to take it down."

He turned to look at his generals, and everyone's expression tightened.

They knew the emperor was about to choose his vanguard.

"Sigismund, your troops will enter the mountains first.

Szécsényi, you will follow closely with your army. If the vanguard engages in battle, you must first stabilize your position before providing support, and at the same time, send someone to report to me immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"My troops and Werner's will form the center, and Karl will bring up the rear to protect the baggage train. No unit is to act without orders!"

"Yes!"

After making the arrangements, the generals returned to their respective camps to organize their troops, then entered the narrow valley in sequence, heading towards the Mures Valley.