The return of the fallen king

Chapter 77: Sicilian affairs (2)

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Just after Corrado decided to embark himself and his men on a campaign to subjugate Calabria and stop the French from possibly crossing the strait, he was in his office with ink and feathers, writing many letters that would be useful for the success of his mission. The first one was directed to Conradin. This was clearly a busy and important time for Corrado, and all his attention and efforts were now focused on the task at hand. Sending out letters and messages was an important part of his strategy, and it was critical that he was able to keep in regular communication with his allies and future supporters.

* To His Majesty Conrad III

Dear Royal Highness, I hope that this letter finds you in good health, and I hope that God and the angels shall pave your way into a future of happiness, for here many successes were achieved in a short time, which will undoubtedly improve your mood.

In a short span of time, by acting as merchants we managed to infiltrate many Sicilian cities, stir up the people, and achieve control over many cities on the island. The entire island now flutters your goodness' banner. I am, however, pained to say that both rebellions in Messina and Palermo failed to achieve success, for the cities were heavily defended by many French soldiers.

This is a great danger for my mission in Sicily, for if the French manage to land in Sicily, most of our results will be nullified, for my forces are too small to effectively defend the island. Not having any choice, I have decided to cross the strait to subjugate Calabria. I have to make it so that the amount of sea that our fleet will have to cover will be effectively guarded without leaving the enemy any chance for an unopposed landing.

In order to do so, I have to request, however, that your highness send more ships filled with armaments and men so as to effectively garrison with more troops the cities that will have to withstand the siege of the French, for they will surely move once they get wind of what is happening.

I cannot express how important more weapons and men are for our cause, for our numbers are already low and we will be unable to effectively defend what we have gained.

I hope that this message will receive a positive response from Your Highness.

Signed Corrado Capece*

This would be an invaluable letter for Conradin, as it would allow him to stay updated with progress being made in Sicily and would ensure that he was able to make critical decisions based on accurate information from the ground. This was however not the only letter Corrado had to write, for he had also had to write to the muslim communities throughout the reign. The community of Girifalco, situated in Calabria, was especially important, for it would allow Corrado to employ some archers, which he desperately needed since most of his troops were not able to use the bow effectively since most of them were people from the cities. As such, the muslim archers would be a nice addition to the Sicilian army of Corrado.

This was an important and necessary action for Corrado to take, and it would surely benefit his mission as a whole. Having a strong and effective group of archers would be a great asset in their campaign and would surely help tip the scale in their favor. Any advantage they could gather would be valuable in their fight against the French, and so it was crucial that Corrado did everything within his power to ensure that his cause had as much support as possible.

* To the faithful Muslim subject of Conradin

I am sure that you must have received news of the descent of King Conrad III in Italy with the aim of liberating the people of Sicily from the tiranny of the French. Until now, his noble cause has seen only victory; however, he alone cannot do the impossible. As such, any help from his subjects will be more than needed and will be greatly rewarded once the time comes.

I, Corrado Capece, have sailed from Genoa to Sicily, managing to liberate the island from the French presence there, and I shall soon arrive in Calabria to liberate the people there under the name of his highness Conrad III. Here I request with great urgency that the loyal subjects of house Hohenstaufen deliver their promise to fight for their land on this occasion. Please do not think that you may be able to avoid conflict with the French, for in the unhappy possibility that his highness is defeated, the usurper will soon show the same treatment for you, for we all know that Charles will be more than happy to slaughter and enslave all of you if it means pleasing the pope, who has always had a hatred for Hohenstaufen for their protectorate over you.

As such, I once again ask you to please do what is right and support his highness once again in his rightful cause.

Signed Corrado Capece, marshal of all the forces in his majesty's reign*

Corrado set down the ink and feathers after finishing the letter, exhaling a breath of relief at having completed his task. He then handed the second letter to his assistant, instructing him to create duplicates and distribute them to the other Muslim settlements 'nel Regno'. Corrado then exited the room to hear his men's report on the overall amount of equipment they received. The accountant in charge of this work delivered an oral report to Corrado, detailing the information they had: a total of 1,500 swords, 450 chainmail, 1200 helmets, and 1200 spears dispersed around the island. This was a good quantity of gear, and it would undoubtedly be useful in future campaigns.

Corrado, on the other hand, realized that they would need more if they were to be adequately equipped and stand a chance against the French forces. If Corrado was to be successful in his next conflicts, he would need to collect more equipment from his friends and allies, as well as enlist fresh troops for his cause.

After some thought, he directed that the same man to whom he had given the letter to be sent to Conradin, to write to the knights in charge of the other rebellious city to raise an army with the equipment they had received and send it to Catania so that they could unite their forces and begin the invasion of Calabria.

This would give them a much better chance at success, and it would allow them to present a more united and cohesive front to the opposition. Nevertheless, he knew that what he was to get were simple peasants, poorly trained and ready to throw down their weapons upon the first sign of danger. As such, Corrado knew that if the cities in Calabria tried to put up resistance, there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

As Corrado was dealing with all the tasks he had to complete, he could not help but worry about the state of his liege's campaign in the north, wondering if positive or negative news awaited him after receiving the letter back from Conradin.

This was, of course, a very worrying time for Corrado, and he would be anxious to receive any news from the front lines in the north. So far, they had managed to make a good amount of progress, but it was clear that there was still much to do and that the risk of things going wrong was still very present. It would be important to be kept up to date on any developments in the campaign as they arose so that Corrado would be able to make informed and well-thought-out decisions on his own battles based on the situation up north.

Corrado did not know how many troops the French army had stationed down in southern Italy; he knew that they outnumbered him by a lot, but nonetheless, he did not know the clear number. Corrado's men were to be greatly outnumbered in this war, and so they would need to find creative ways to overcome this disadvantage by avoiding direct confrontation in order to win this conflict. Without knowing the precise numbers, however, this would be a very difficult task. It was clear that Corrado would need to invest a great deal of time and effort in gathering intelligence on his enemy and their army's location.

Corrado, however, had the advantage of time, as it would allow him to clear the way for a short span of time before the French would counterattack to stop Corrado in his tracks. What he had to do was capitalize on the inside to create an easily defendable border, which would be more than done if Calabria fell, for the mountainous terrain and steep paths would allow Corrado to bunker down in fortresses and slow down the French army.

They would need to be careful, however, so as not to overextend their forces and leave themselves vulnerable. It was possible that the French forces would be able to counterattack faster than they expected and take back some of the lands that they had recaptured, so it would be important to make sure that they were prepared for any eventualities and had plans in place to deal with them effectively.

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