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Chapter 36: Ready to take off

It\'s been two weeks since Charles robbed the monastery of its gold and silver, and the once-empty coffers are finally beginning to fill. Enough gold has been gathered from such avenues and taxes to support the expedition to retain French hegemony in Northern Italy, which requires the destruction of Conradin\'s army. The time for action has arrived, and both the Pope and Charles are determined to see their plans through to completion and finally vanquish Conradin. They\'ve both made their preparations and are ready to march and give no quarter to what they consider rebels, no matter the cost.

Charles was fully aware that defeating Conradin would be the final step in gaining complete control of southern Italy. He recognized that no one else could claim the throne with the same validity as Conradin did because of his ties with the old reigning house and his claim to the throne. With Conradin out of the way, Charles could govern freely, and his legitimacy would not be called into question. This was the final step in his plan, and he was determined to complete it no matter what.

Charles was correct in his assessment. Eliminating the last of Sicily\'s legitimate rulers would significantly lessen the opposition to his power and provide him with a solid base from which to rule.

To be honest, Charles had previously assumed that he had at least a few more years to prepare for the final showdown with the last member of house Hohenstaufen; however, his estimation was incorrect because Conradin decided to descend on Italy just one year after learning of his uncle\'s death. Charles was no fool; he knew Conradin was desperate to reclaim his realm; nonetheless, he expected the young ruler to try to gather more allies rather than launch a hurriedly planned expedition for Italy.

\'Mh from one part , my preparations had been hastily prepared on the other hand however I am sure that that boy\'s army must be a puny one , after all he did not spend much time preparing a larger force ,he is probably counting on the support of some of the last allies of his dying house\'\' Charles thought while analyzing his situation and estimating Conradin\'s force and plan.

Charles possessed a total army of 14,000 soldiers, including 2,000 archers, 6,500 men at arms, and 4,000 of the renowned French cavalry, which was his army\'s pride. The remaining 1,500 were common freemen armed with anything they could get their hands on. Charles\' army was undoubtedly one of Europe\'s most elite forces, especially given that standing armies were nearly non-existent at the time. The cost of maintaining such an army was enormous, and it is no surprise that Charles pondered lowering its size or disbanding it entirely in the future. His kingdom\'s current economy simply could not support such a massive force for long, and he planned to take this into account in the future.

Charles\' army was originally 24,000 strong; but, following the battle of Benevento, he lost nearly fifty percent of his force, attesting to the strength of the now-dead Manfred.

\'Well Overall, it was a stroke of luck\' Charles thought ,

the king understood that if all of his warriors had survived the battle with Manfred, he would have gone bankrupt by now , as such he regarded their death as a lucky and beneficial one.

Nonetheless, Charles required this elite force to sustain his power, and he did not dare to reduce its size. Charles wished to bring all of his soldiers to Northern Europe, and with the communes that were mostly guelphs, it would not be difficult to build an army of even 28,000 men, a colossal number. However, the cost of sustaining such an army would be prohibitively expensive, and aside from that, Charles could only bring a fraction of his force, as he would be a fool to leave his freshly captured realm inadequately protected, especially as he had just implemented unpopular reforms.

As Charles was aware that he could not afford to maintain his large army, he decided to start the campaign with a smaller force. He assembled an army of 6,000 soldiers, made up of 3,000 heavy knights and 3,000 men at arms, and left the remaining 8,000 soldiers back home. This force was deemed sufficient to keep order and prevent any potential uprisings from the citizens while he was gone. Charles understood that he had to remain mindful of the cost of maintaining his army and balance it with the needs of his kingdom.

Just before departing, he decided to write a letter to his wife and son.

*To my love, Beatrice, and my dear son, Charles

My mind is always full of thoughts of you, my love. Ever since I departed from Provence in order to conquer the kingdom back into Christian hands after Manfred made a pact with the devil, not a single day has come where the thoughts of the two of you have not infested my head.

Soon enough, I will allow you two to come to my court in Naples; however, that time is not now; there is still a spawn of the devil from the previous ruling Sicilian house, and Conrad of House Hohenstaufen is the last step to achieving full control over my kingdom.

But please do not worry; my love for victory is certain for me, since with the combined force of my army and that of the Guelph communes, Conrad does not have a chance of victory.

It is here that I bid you farewell, hoping that in the next letter I will write, I will tell you of my victory and give you permission to join me here in Naples, where you shall be my king and Charles my prince.

Your loving husband, Charles*

After finishing the letter, Charles sighed; he missed his son\'s grin and his wife\'s beauty and hoped to see them again soon.

A knock at the door brought Charles back to reality as he struggled not to be overtaken by the sorrow of missing his family. He gave the person outside access to his presence after calming down. The visitor was the Count of Butera, Jean de Breamiselve, whom Charles had recently ennobled. Jean had become one of the most famous noblemen in the French army and was regarded as one of Charles\' most trustworthy men in affairs of state, which enhanced his power significantly.

Charles was obviously paying attention to the count\'s comments, knowing Jean\'s position and the faith placed in him. Count Jean has arrived to inform his monarch that the campaign preparations are complete and they are ready to take off, prompting Charles to issue the order to begin the march.

Charles was a sight to behold as the charismatic head of his army, encouraging his men just by being present. At his order, they rapidly formed ranks and marched in formation towards Florence, with the goal of strengthening the Guelph party and reducing the Ghibellini authority in the city.

Because it was recognized that Florence was critical to sustaining French power throughout Italy, Charles was fully devoted to capturing its people and restoring order to the region. Inspired by him, his troops were resolved to do their part and complete their objective, not forgetting to account for all the riches they would receive after defeating the young and immature King Conrad III.

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