Chapter 49 Chapter fifteen

Prince and Duchess Janusz took some of the court to Trersk for spring fishing, which they liked best, more than anything else.From Mykolaj of Drugolas the Czechs received many important messages, both personal and of war; When Mude planned to go to the Reservation, he had already gone to Warsaw a few days ago, where he found the Duke and his wife.As for the war, old Mikolai told him what he had already heard in Scittno.The whole Zumud rose up like one man against the Germans, and Duke Wittout refused to help the Knights against the unfortunate Zumuds, but he had not yet declared war on them, was negotiating with them, and at the same time he provided Shimud people money, manpower, horses and food.At the same time he and the Knights of the Crusaders sent envoys to the Pope, the Emperor, and other Catholic monarchs, accusing each other of treachery.The duke was sent by the shrewd Mykolai of Irsineva, who was able to debunk all the falsified plots of the Knights of the Crusader and convincingly prove that the land of Lithuania and Zemud was seriously violated. .

At this time in the council of Virno, the alliance of Poles and Lithuanians was strengthened, which seemed to put poison in the heart of the Crusader Knights.It is obvious that Achael, as ruler of all the territories under Duke Witout, will be on his side in time of war.Count Jan "Komto" Jan Sein of Grugya, and Count Schwarzbey of Gdańsk, both came to the King by order of the Grand Master and asked him what he intended.Though they brought him eagles and costly presents, he said nothing.Then they threatened him with war, but it was a bluff, for they all knew that the Grand Master and the Priests were terribly afraid of Achaean's power, and were anxious to delay the coming of this catastrophe.

①According to the Russian translation note: According to the treaty signed by Achail and Witout in Wilno in 1401, Achail granted Witout the power of the Grand Duke of Lithuania; and stipulated that Witout was the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Achael was the supreme duke of Lithuania. All their treaties, especially with Duke Witout, were torn to pieces like cobwebs.On the evening of Hlava's arrival, new news reached Warsaw.Zeiss Notz's Blonnich (court attendant to Duke Janusz), who had been sent by the duke to Lithuania to inquire, arrived, along with two important Lithuanian dukes.They brought letters from the Witout and the Zmuds.This is terrible news.The Knights are preparing for battle.Reinforce fortresses everywhere, grind gunpowder, make stone bombs, assemble soldiers ("Knehet") and knights on the frontier, light troops of cavalry and infantry are already near Ragnati, Gautsweed and other border fortresses crossed the border.Already the clamor of war was heard in the woods, in the fields, and in the country, and at night the fires blazed fiercely over the dark dense forest.Witout finally publicly took Khimudak under his protection.He sent officials, and armed people in chariots, and appointed Scovolo, famous for his valor, as his commander.He raided Prussia, burned cities and villages, and left them in ruins.The duke himself led an army to rescue Shimud.Some fortresses were also fortified; others, such as Kovno, were demolished to save them from falling into the hands of crusader knights.It was no secret that as soon as winter came and the swamps froze over, the great war would break out, sooner if the season was dry; the war would sweep through Lithuania, Zmut and all of Prussia.If the king rushed to the aid of Witout, sooner or later, the war would flood Germany or half the world, or be forced to return to the old river bed and remain in this state for a long time.

But these are all things of the future.The groans of the Shimud people can be heard everywhere these days, their desperate complaints of persecution, their calls for justice.In Cracow, in Prague, in the court of the Pope, and in other Western countries, one can also read documents concerning the misfortune of these unfortunate peoples.The nobleman brought with him an open letter from Blonich of Zeiss Notz to Duke Janusz.Many Majurs involuntarily put their hands on the swords at their waists, reconsidering whether to volunteer to serve under the banner of Witout.The Grand Duke was known to be delighted to have under his command daring Polish nobles who were as valiant in battle as the Lithuanian and Zemudian nobles, and better trained and equipped than they were.Some people are motivated by the old hatred of the Polish national enemy, and some are out of sympathy for the Polish nation, and they all want to join the war.

"Listen! Listen!" the Tzmuds appealed to the king, the duke, and the entire Zumud nation. "We are a free people with noble blood, but the Knights want to enslave us! They don't care about our souls, they only want our land and wealth. We are so poor that we have nothing, and we can only unite and resist insults, or we will die! Their hands They are still very unclean, how can we baptize us with the holy water of Christ! We want to be baptized, not with blood and sword. We want religion, but only some upright people like Achael and Witout Only the sovereign can guide us. "Hear our cry, and help us, for we are perishing! The Knights did not baptize us to enlighten us. Instead of priests they sent us executioners. Our hives, our cattle They have taken all the produce of our land. They have not even allowed us to fish or hunt in the wilderness!

"We beseech you to hear our cry! They are putting our necks under the yoke and forcing us to work in the castle at night. They have taken our children as hostages; they are raping us in front of our faces." wives and daughters. We groan, not speak. They burn our fathers at the stake; take our lords to Prussia. Our great men, Archaeologists, Vasigener, S. Both Volka and Songgeil were killed by them. "Listen! For after all we are not beasts but men. We earnestly beseech the holiest father to send us the bishop of Poland to baptize us, for we desire from the bottom of our hearts to be baptized. But baptism is with water, not with blood. ,"

This is the indictment of the Zemudians against the Knights of the Crusaders.This complaint was heard at the court of Masovia, and several knights and courtiers immediately offered to help them; The younger sister of Duke Toth.What made them furious was that they heard from Bronich and the two nobles that many noble ladies of Shimud were taken hostages in Prussia, because they could not bear the shame and cruelty, and their honor was violated by the knights of the crusaders. committed suicide all the time. Halaffa was very happy to hear the wishes of the Masovia knights, because he believed that the more people who joined the Duke of Wittout from Poland, the more intense the war with the Crusader Knights would be. The cause of the Knights of the Army became more and more powerful.He was also very happy that he had the opportunity to meet Zbyszko and the old knight Macko. He admired them very much, and thought it was a great fortune to meet them, and he could see some foreign countries that he had never seen before with them. Go to some strange cities that have never been seen before, knights and soldiers that have never been seen, and finally you can see the Duke of Wittout who was famous all over the world at that time.

These thoughts made him decide to hurry on his way--along the way, he did not stop at all except to give the horses the necessary rest. Besides the two nobles who came with Blonich of Zeiss Notz, there were Lithuanians from the court of the Duchess, who knew all the roads and byways, and could serve him and the knights of Masovia. Guide, and they drove from village to village, from city to city, across the silent, endless wilderness that stretched across Masovia, Lithuania, and Zumud.