Vol 3 Chapter 184: Offensive and Defensive Battle of Pisa (Part 1)

In front of Alexander, ten bronze artillery pieces were neatly placed.
To his surprise, these artillery pieces were all large fortified cannons. Because of the lack of a base, they looked like dolphins glowing round and round, and the patterns and words engraved on the artillery pieces clearly explained The origin and destination of these artillery pieces.
These artillery came from France, and a circle of crosses near the muzzle above and the inscriptions engraved around the body of the gun clearly stated that "I would like to use this weapon to give God ’s armed forces in the world, and may the great knighthood become resistant to pagan The warrior of the Lord's protection. "
Obviously, this is a group of artillery that was cast by the French and sold to the Knights of the Hospital on the Island of Malta.
Alexander looked at these artillery slightly unexpectedly. He knew that the French today are very advanced in artillery casting technology, and it is rare that their use of artillery and artillery tactics have a stronger foresight than others in this era. vision.
Whether it is Charles VIII today, or not long ago, he not only inherited his throne, but also inherited his wife, Louis XII, and even succeeded King Louis Francoi, who was called Knight King of France XII, for successive generations of France. The kings have played an important role in the development of artillery.
And let Alexander also notice that these artillery pieces were actually sold to the Knights of the Hospital on the island of Malta. It is no wonder why they are all city defenders.
The Ottoman threat to Malta has clearly attracted the attention of Europeans. Although it is not clear why these artillery pieces appeared in Pisa, the French should be preparing to strengthen the strength of the hospital knights in Malta.
But now that these artillery pieces fell in his hands, Alexander had no plans to send them out.
The city of Pisa is facing threats from the Venetians, and this crisis is clearly more imminent than the Maltese.
Alexander ’s conjecture has been confirmed, and his sudden whim did find a large number of soldiers for him. This is the sailors on the sea boat in the port of Pisa.
Although Pisa has gradually declined over the years, the port still has a large scale. What is more rare is that Pisa is located in the bend of the Tyrrhenian Sea, so for those businessmen who want to transport goods to the inland northeast of the peninsula, Pisa is still a good transit point, so the various types of sea boats staying in the port of Pisa are huge and numerous.
Alexander's arrival caused a commotion among the sailors on the ships in the port. From the beginning it was full of suspicion and even a little hostility. When they heard the number of commissions that made them want to move, the sailors couldn't help but start to calculate.
Looking at the sailors, Alexander believes that he will not be disappointed. Those who can leave home have a bold and adventurous personality, not to mention that many sailors of this era actually have another identity, that is, pirates.
These people may be a good man who looks abide by the law on the shore, but when they reach the sea, they may become robbers. Even for the purpose of self-protection, even those sailors who refuse to work part-time as pirates are also for their own safety. It has gradually become tough and dangerous. It can be said that so far no real navy has appeared in this world. All navies are served by armed merchants who also have the status of merchants. This is destined to even the most ordinary merchant ships. , Can also recruit a group of tough mercenaries.
Soon, the answer came out.
A small batch first, and then more and more sailors are willing to do this part-time job. When nearly three hundred sailor mercenaries stood in front of Alexander, Compatti was both surprised and excited.
For Gompati, the only thing he worried about was how long he could be the captain of the city defense.
As a member of the new city defense committee, although there is only one day, Gompati already feels that he is a newbie in Pisa City. No one has satirized him as a ruffian who only talks about in the tavern. People who are not up to him have already begun to talk to him very carefully, and even the heads of the old men ’s mercenaries are very kind to him.
Gompati hopes this kind of day will continue, preferably forever. He is tired of being a mercenary, and he hates the constant migration from one place to another. He hopes to settle down in this city, Then live a decent life.
There is now an opportunity before him, but the Venetian has become a stumbling block for him to seize these opportunities.
Compared with others, Gompati hopes to beat the Venetian more than anyone else, and also hopes that the current Gombrane from the Vatican, who has not yet known the true and false, can continue to stay in Pisa.
Gompati is still very self-aware, he is very clear not to say that he is occupied by the Venetians, even if Alexander left here, he no longer wants to continue to stay in Pisa.
Compati knows how Zaroni will deal with him once he returns.
"We have to transport these artillery pieces to the city wall as soon as possible. Even if we can't build a turret at night, we need to build a few reliable bases and use those stones," Alexander told him. The night was deep, but once he fell asleep No, tomorrow is destined to be a solid day.
"Master, rest assured, I know what to do."
Compatiti said, called a man, and after a while whispered, a series of sharp horns suddenly sounded on the streets of Pisa.
These horns sounded so harsh at night, and along with the horns were hundreds of sailors pushing the wooden carts with artillery on the streets and rumbling hard.
The Pizza people were awakened. Although there were so many things happening on this day, a riot had overthrown the government of the Republic they had just been familiar with, and I heard that it was actually planned by the pope ’s daughter and son-in-law personally. It's not a small news that we have been locked in the clock tower so far, but many pizzas who have been idle haven't thought it has anything to do with themselves.
It's just that the sound of the horn and wooden car passing the street outside can't stand them anymore, and someone started to walk out the door impatiently, or pushed the window to dissatisfaction, and then they were shocked by the scene they saw. .
Although the number of ten artillery is not large, it is still amazing in this era. The whole Pisa city is only a dozen artillery, and they are all distributed in different places, so when you see a wooden car The pizzeria couldn't help being curious and nervous when he got into those things.
"Why move the cannon out, do you want to fight?" Some people speculated suspiciously.
Speaking of which, Pisa has not participated in the major wars for many years. Although Florence has been threatening Pisa, before the reign of the Medici family, Florence and Pisa could still be at peace. As early as in Those wars on the sea were not clear to young people for a long time. Secondly, after all, they were at sea. But now that the artillery truck is passing in front of their house, the pizzas will inevitably start to get nervous.
"Pizza, go to the city!" Gompati ran back and forth along the edge of the convoy, shouting, "The Venetians are here, they are going to take over Pisa, and now we have enough troops to block them, and then the Pope's The reinforcements will come to our rescue and we need your help, Pisa! "
"Go to hell, that's your business. Neither Zaroni nor the Republican government have given me any benefits. Now the Venetians are not going to be any worse," a naked man peeked out the window. He came out and shouted on the street, "Hurry up, don't disturb me to sleep."
He said that he suddenly pulled back and pulled a woman covered with a blanket to his side and squeezed him together towards the window: "See if I am busy now."
A burst of laughter came from the street, and many people looked down from their windows. Obviously, Gompati was ridiculous.
"Oh, then you are unwilling," Gompati was not angry, he just shook his head indifferently, and then said aloud, "Since that is the case, the money will not be your share."
"What money?" A man shouted.
"It ’s the city defense fee issued by Lord Gombray. Do you know that mercenaries can get a full 6 cents tax on pizza, but you do n’t even want to get it yourself, you just watch those mercenaries eat your food and drink yours, even Then use your money to sleep the pizza woman. "
Gompati's sarcasm was arrogantly circulating on the street, which immediately caused the dissatisfaction of the pizza people. They all cursed loudly, and some people simply threw something at Gompati.
"It's useless for you to get angry. The money is no longer yours. No one can stop them unless you are willing to make it back." Gompati shouted indifferently. "Think about it, no. We need you to go to war, as long as you help put these artillery in place, you can get a good salary, so at least you can let the prostitutes around you stay for a while without having to wait for those mercenaries. "
"Hi, what you said is true? Is it possible to get money without having to fight?" A person's voice shouted in the dark, and no one saw who he was, but this caught the attention of people on the street .
"No need to fight," Gompati said deliberately with contempt. "Do you really expect you to fight the Venetians, that is, you can be a hero in your own home."
Gompati's contempt didn't make the pizza angry, but the person's question aroused their interest.
"So how much can we get?" Someone shouted again.
"Enough is enough," Gompati deliberately didn't say a precise number. "Listen, the government of the Republic has been overthrown. Now the new government needs to do a lot, and it needs a lot of manpower. You can make money without fighting. It ’s more, but if the pizza was occupied by the Venetians, they would n’t be so kind to you. Think about it. As long as you work hard, you can get the money, and then you can go home for the birthday. It does n’t matter if the Venetian comes. "
Gompati's words finally caught the attention of the Pizza.
The temptation to get a sum of money made them start their hearts. As Gompati said, as long as they can get the money, even if the Venetian defeats that Gombre afterwards, it has nothing to do with them.
"Just work all night?"
"Only one night."
"Then give money?"
"Give it when you are done."
"Okay, count me."
As long as the first person comes forward, there will be a second, third, fourth ...
Seeing more and more people on the street joining the ranks of the artillery trucks with various tools, Comparty's mouth showed a bitter smile.
Although the manpower had increased, Compatiti began to worry about the conditions he had promised before.
I don't know if the money and things collected from the city hall can support the Pope's reinforcements.
The road leading to the Arno River outside Pisa City has been dug several ditches that are not deep but crisscrossed. These gully not only cut off the road, but because of the interpenetration, they formed a vaguely facing Pisa , Irregular reverse arc-shaped obstacle zone.
Gompati stood on a slightly higher and looked at the road in the distance. In fact, he didn't look down on anything over there, but only then could he feel more at ease.
Just as a mercenary mocked him, Compati also felt that he had little courage, so even though he was already a juvenile mercenary, he still did not learn the courage of his companions to dare to face the enemy.
He always tried to find a bunker that he could hide from, or a tree or a stone. He would rather be ridiculed by others than expose himself to enemy arrows.
"Braveness and stupidity are not the same thing after all. We should have a better way to fear the enemy instead of becoming the enemy's prey."
Gompati felt that his thoughts were correct, which is why he did n’t want to continue to mix with those mercenaries. He was bored and wanted to have a stable home and stay in a wall that could protect him. Unlucky, he was beaten to death in the wilderness.
The emergence of Alexandria seemed to give Gompati hope. Although he still had doubts about the origin of the young men and women, he knew he had no way out.
A figure didn't catch Gompati's attention until very recently. He immediately lowered the cat's waist, grasping the hilt and clutching the dagger tightly in his left hand.
This is Gompatti ’s experience, and sometimes a close-knife dagger will play an unexpected role at a critical time.
"Venetian!"
When the figure ran to the front, Gompati had already recognized that he was the spy who sent the city to inquire about the news. When he saw the man running before him, he could not help but tense.
"Where is the Venetian?"
"It's in the village in front," the spy took a few more breaths before relaxing slightly. "They are many people. I saw some people wear them very badly, but their weapons look terrible, and the sword is as big as You can cut off the head of a horse with one wave. "
The spy said with a fearful expression on his face. For these mercenaries who have been used to a comfortable life in the place of Pisa, some people have forgotten how the hard days in the past came. In fact, it is not only Gompati. He I believe that as long as Alexander can really fulfill his promise, other mercenaries may give up his wandering mercenary life in his early years.
"How many people do they have, what weapons do they have, and are they preparing to attack?" Compatiti asked in a breath, then he said annoyed, "You will not be terrified by the Venetians Well, tell me something useful, otherwise I will let you whip your whip to wake up and continue to inquire. "
"Of course I have inquired clearly. I don't like you knowing to hide in the dark all day long." The spy was also very annoyed. He snatched the kettle passed by the person next to him and poured it into his mouth to continue. "There must be hundreds of people. , But these are just on the river side. I did n’t dare to cross the river, but I saw that the camp on the other side burned a large area, and there must be at least a thousand people on the scale. "
"Thousands of people?" The mercenary who just handed the spy water was startled. "If you add the river bank, there may be more than 2,000 people, then we can't stop them."
The words of the spy made it difficult to look on Gumpati ’s face. Although he scolded this person, he knew that this person was very reliable. No matter where he used to be, as long as he went out to investigate the news, he would not disappoint everyone. .
But this time Gompati really hoped he was wrong.
When Alexander saw Gompati, he knew from the gloomy look on his face that things might have changed. After hearing the scale of the Venetians described by the spies, Alexander couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
The Venetian's sudden attack on Pizza can be said to be beyond everyone's expectations, but it is cleverly amazing to think about this hand carefully.
The Vatican certainly did not expect him to come here. Even Florence, who was in front of him, even discovered the Venetian ’s behavior, but in view of the subtle relationship in all aspects, in addition to secretly praying that Pizza should not be surrendered by the Venetians so easily, There can be no other radical actions.
It can be said that the Venetian governor Barbarig estimated this result before he would risk sending troops to invade Pisa. Once Pisa was captured, the Venetians could cut off the retreat from the south, and then they and the city of Realo The Milanese joined forces, marching north and south, and surrounding Montina!
This idea was already in the mind when Alexander fled with Lucrezia, but now it is finally confirmed.
"I didn't expect that the war that should have happened in Montina would appear in Pisa," Alexander couldn't help feeling, and this accident also promptly sounded a vigilant alarm because of the recent smoothness and enthusiasm. .
"How is our artillery installed?"
"Working in a hurry, but I'm worried that it may be too late, maybe the Venetian will attack in cold weather."
Alexander nodded. He knew that Gompati guessed right. Since the Venetians wanted to take down Montina by sneak attacking pizza, then they would never drag on for too long. After all, this Venetian army is considered a lone army. Occupy Pisa as soon as possible so as not to make things unexpected.
After a long time, it is needless to say that the Vatican who has received the news will immediately send rescuers, even the cautious Florence, and other ideas will inevitably arise.
"Then let us see if it is a miracle," Alexander said and looked at Compati. "I told you that choosing me will not let you down. I want you to see for yourself whether your choice is correct."
Gompati nodded with a wry smile, and by this time he knew he could only go on.
Before dawn came, Alexander hurried back to the town hall. After giving the pisas who wandered in the town hall like headless flies, he came to Lucrezia's room.
To his surprise ~ EbookFREE.me ~ Lucrezia was not asleep yet. When Alexander walked into the room, she saw that she was looking through the book, but her eyes were a bit dull, obviously she was not thinking at all. on.
Alexander walked over and gently hugged Lucrezia from behind, feeling that the woman's body in her arms softened after a little stiffness. Alexander lowered his head and gently kissed Lucrezia's white neck.
"Listen, I'm looking for someone to quietly send you out of the city," Alexander whispered in her ear. "After you go out, you should leave Pisa and never stop."
Lucrezia froze for a moment, looked back at Alexander with some surprise, and after a while she shook her head gently.
"At this time, if you go out of town, you may be caught by the Venetians at any time, and can you safely send me away?"
Alexander sighed helplessly. He knew that Lucrezia was right. He could not rest assured that anyone like her would be handed over to such a beautiful woman.
"That's good, then stay in the city," Alexander once again pressed his lips against Lucrezia's slender white neck and kissed gently. "For you, I will also guard this city."