7 Chapter 6 Defeat

CHAPTER 6 Defeat Charles VII was finally king. But the English still controlled many parts of France, including the capital city of Paris. Joan wanted to take back Paris for the French. She liked to make quick decisions and take action. The king didn't like to do either. Charles would not let Joan go to Paris. Instead, he made a truce—an agreement with the Duke of Burgundy, who supported the English. After fifteen days, the duke was supposed to hand Paris over to Charles.

查理七世最终成为国王。 但英国人仍然控制着法国的许多地区，包括首都巴黎。 琼想从法国人手中夺回巴黎。 她喜欢迅速做出决定并采取行动。 国王也不喜欢这样做。 查尔斯不让琼去巴黎。 相反，他与支持英国人的勃艮第公爵签订了停战协议。 15天后，公爵将巴黎移交给查理。

Secretly, Burgundy had no intention of doing this. Joan had freed Orléans and gotten Charles crowned, just as the saints told her to do. She had completed her holy mission. But she couldn't bear to go home without being sure that France truly belonged to Charles. Joan knew that the duke was lying to the new king, so she decided to take her army to Paris on her own.

私底下，勃艮第并不打算这么做。 贞德释放了奥尔姆斯，让查理加冕，就像圣徒们告诉她的那样。 她完成了她的神圣使命。 但她无法忍受在没有确定法国真正属于查尔斯之前回家。 琼知道公爵在对新国王撒谎，所以她决定独自率领她的军队前往巴黎。

City Defenses During the Middle Ages (around 500 to 1500) each town was its own fortress. The first line of defense against attackers was a wall. These took decades to build. They were usually made of a combination of earth and stone. City walls had large gates that let people come in and out of the city. At night, the gates would often be closed and locked. Sometimes a big ditch, called a moat, was dug outside the walls to keep out intruders. Moats were often filled with water, making it even harder for outsiders to gain access to the city.

在中世纪(大约500到1500年)，每个城镇都有自己的堡垒。 抵御进攻者的第一道防线是一堵墙。 这些都花了几十年才建成。 它们通常是由土和石头的混合物制成的。 城墙上有大门，让人们进出城市。 到了晚上，大门往往会关闭并锁上。 有时，人们在城墙外挖一条叫做护城河的大沟渠，以防止入侵者进入。 护城河经常充满了水，使外人更难进入城市。

After several weeks, Charles was finally convinced to take troops to Paris and help Joan win back the city for France. When the king arrived, Joan was waiting for him. The next day was September 8, a holy day. But Joan had waited so long, she thought just this once she would fight anyway. The battle started around noon. In the evening, after many hours of fighting, Joan led her soldiers to one of the city gates. There they stopped to figure out the best way to cross the moat into Paris. Joan stuck a lance in the water to see how deep it was. An English archer from inside the city walls took aim and shot at her. The arrow pierced her leg. Against Joan's wishes, the battle ended because of her injury. Even as she was carried from the field, she yelled that the city could have been taken.

几个星期后，查理终于被说服带着军队去巴黎，帮助贞德为法国夺回这座城市。 国王到达时，琼正在等他。 第二天是九月八日，一个神圣的日子。 但琼等了这么久，她想这一次她无论如何都要战斗。 战斗大约在中午开始。 晚上，经过几个小时的战斗，琼带领她的士兵来到了一个城门。 他们在那里停下来，想找出穿过护城河进入巴黎的最佳途径。 琼把一根长矛插进水里看看水有多深。 一名英国弓箭手从城墙内瞄准她射击。 箭刺穿了她的腿。 由于琼受伤，这场战斗违背了她的意愿而结束了。 甚至在她被抬出田地的时候，她还大声说这座城市可能已经被占领了。

The next day Joan was eager to start fighting again—only to learn that Charles had called off the battle. He had changed his mind yet again. It was hard for Joan to abandon Paris. Up until then, she had accomplished everything she had set out to do. Now, for the first time, she had failed.

第二天，琼迫不及待地想重新开始战斗，却得知查尔斯已经取消了战斗。 他又改变了主意。 琼很难放弃巴黎。 到那时为止，她已经完成了她打算做的一切。 现在，她第一次失败了。