Vol 6 Chapter 52: Louis 12

Dharma King Louis XII walked in the wilderness with steady steps. A group of courtiers and generals followed behind him. When he saw the king blocked by a flag that fell on the ground, someone ran over and pulled the flag aside.
Louis XII continued to move forward. He stopped by a destroyed artillery and looked at it with interest. Then he was asked to pick up a piece of the artillery that was blown up as a memorial.
"There is a sentence engraved on it: 'Seized in the Battle of Bergamo in Lombardy in July 1499'." Louis said to the entourage who was busy with the record, seeing that the entourage had written down accurately, the king nodded in satisfaction Then move on.
People immediately followed again, and many people were not familiar with his temperament about this new king, so he had to be much more cautious in his service.
The French entered Lombardy a few days ago, and this time Louis did not allow the Piedmontese army to accompany Charles VIII, but ordered them to act as guards to protect the entire expeditionary force's rear and flanks.
Once entering the Lombardy region, the French army marched on the enemy's land, and whether it was Milan in the north or Genoa, which now has an ambiguous attitude, there was no small threat to the French flank.
Louis did not choose to directly enter any of these two cities, which was a surprise to many people and even his generals, and for the explanation of this move, Louis used the Count of Garroll de Bowwicken. The message sent back by the person is explained.
"Rome now knows that we are coming, but their attitude towards us is obviously very different. It can be seen from the letter from Count Bowwicken that they are afraid of us," the king's words caused a small laugh, and then People stopped immediately and waited for the king to continue. "But they are still ready to resist. We can understand this," Louis twelve smiled, but his eyes were sharp. "So we must teach them a clear lesson." It must be made clear to them that any illusion of trying to resist in the face of our powerful army is ridiculous. "
Louis said to the front of a pile of military flags piled up together. This was the seizure of the French in the battle of Bergamo just now. Looking at the piles of colorful flags, Louis XII showed his generals Say: "We have to defeat their army, capture their knights, destroy all their cannons and seize the more advanced flags to make them aware of this, and only occupying one or two cities is really just to show off their martial arts and completely The defeat of the enemy army is the key to victory, so I will not be tempted by the glory of occupying Milan, because I will get much more than this. "
The courtiers immediately issued a burst of timely praise. They praised the king's wisdom and enthusiasm and desire for true honor. They also laughed at the stupidity of the Italian city-state nobles who dared to fight such king and his army.
Compared with the positive greetings of the courtiers, the attitude towards the king's speech generals was much quieter.
They looked at each other with mutual encouragement and deliberate dodge in their eyes. Obviously these generals had their own ideas,
Louis XII was certainly aware of the slightly ambiguous attitude of those generals.
He knows the thoughts of these people and the whole army. For the soldiers to occupy the city means that they can get rich loot, and for the generals, it means that they can get more.
Before the expedition of Charles VIII received the strong support of the French because he promised people a good future, he promised that they would bring back enough rich loot, in addition to the amazing gold coins, there are those dazzling French art treasure.
And Charlie did it. After he quickly occupied several famous cities in Italy, he sent people back to France. The spoils of loot are so rich that the nobles in the castles of Paris and Loire Valley think that they are actually rural buns. It is just those beautiful costumes of various styles inlaid with year-old gemstones that surprised the French ladies to think that they were not much stronger than the village aunt.
Charlie did satisfy the French desire for wealth, but he personally became a loser in this expedition.
Louis XII believed that his predecessor was really too concerned about those cities, and was too attracted by the luxury and prosperity of the city, so that he was completely trapped in those cities, and his originally wise vision was confused by those strange things. , And even forgot the purpose of this expedition.
While sorting Charlie ’s relics, Louis accidentally discovered a letter from Savonarola to Charlie, in which the then Florence magistrate expressed his indignation and disappointment that Charlie was greedy for Florence ’s prosperity and did not actively enter Rome. Throughout the letter, Vernalola rebuked Charlie for his "no progress, only lying in the credits of the past", even he said in a very polite way, "I don't understand just There is nothing to be proud of occupying a city full of stones and precious metals, if in my opinion this is even a kind of stupidity, because your enemies are waiting outside to prepare to defeat your army, and you and your generals are still Being able to have some fallen things complacent, please wake up quickly, do n’t you know that only marching into Rome to expel the man who has defiled the Holy See is really fulfilling your mission as a messenger of God to save this fallen land ? "
Louis XII had no interest in Savonarola's religious admonishment, but some of the things mentioned in this letter aroused his interest and even deeply moved him.
The sentence "Your enemy is waiting outside to prepare to defeat your army" made Louis feel a unique but very accurate view of this Savonarola.
In Louis's view, occupying the city is only a matter of time, and defeating the enemy's army is the top priority, and as long as the enemy is completely defeated, then there is no other city that can get it.
In fact, Charles VIII was indeed too greedy for the prosperity of Florence, which led to the subsequent opportunity for the coalition to regroup and deploy. In this regard, Savonarola really predicted that the French army was about to face Crisis.
But Louis also knows that the army ’s emotions need to be taken care of, whether it ’s loot or comfortable beds, delicious food and wine, or gentle women used to comfort the exhausted soldiers who are covered in dust, these are really only available in cities, and these Things are the key to maintaining the morale of the army.
But Louis thinks that at least it is not time to occupy those cities. He knows that once he enters the city, his army will be difficult to get out of it, and during this time his enemies have enough time to gather. , And even forge new alliances to join in and become enemies with him.
No, even if you want to seize the city and loot is not now. Louis XII made a decision in his heart. Although he knew that this might cause dissatisfaction with some generals and soldiers, he was still somewhat sure that he could compensate them before the dissatisfaction gradually engendered to reach a wide range of emotions.
Perhaps the soldiers will be grateful to him because they can be satisfied in time, and now even if the benefits are given to them at this time, the gratitude of those people may not be much.
It is for these reasons that Louis did not directly enter Milan after entering Lombardy, but quickly moved eastward. He first briefly stayed in the suburbs of Savigliano, which was quickly occupied but did not enter, and then missed his enemies. When he thought he would stop temporarily in this small town, he suddenly dispatched troops to raid a barracks not far from Bergamo that was occupied by Milan and the imperial army sent to reinforce it.
This move was frightened by the hasty coalition, the Milan-based coalition forces immediately retreated, and then retreated after they realized that the enemy had only a small number of small forces, and then made this move. Seen as a separate operation of a small French army.
This obviously angered the coalition. They first felt ashamed of their panic at the beginning. Then, in order to cover up their timidity at the time, the coalition decided to teach these French guys.
So after some mobilization, a coalition army of about 7,500 men began to attack the French army, which was obviously deep in isolation. They tried to eat the enemy that came to the door in one fell swoop, giving the French a memorable head-on attack.
But this time the coalition was wrong again. When they found out that they were not facing an lone army but the main force of the French army led by French King Louis XII, everything was too late.
The defeat of the coalition forces far exceeded the expectations of the generals on both sides. Looking at the Milanese who ran away without even organizing a decent resistance with a single blow, many French generals couldn't help but feel weird.
Because it was almost here just two years ago, they were beaten by the same enemy opposite, and even the Piedmontese army vaguely had the idea of ​​leaving the French army and reconciling with the coalition forces alone for security.
But it is this same self, the same enemy, and even almost the same place, but the French army gave the coalition a head-on attack with a destructive trend. Did they become stronger? Is the enemy weak? Or was it not the last king?
In the face of the generals with different expressions, Louis did not pay much attention to it. In his mind, he still admitted that his predecessor was a rare military talent, but maybe he was too young to obviously withstand the temptation of Italy's drunken fan. Will gradually get lost.
And Louis does not think he will become like this. He is calm and knows how to get what he wants as soon as possible.
The Milanese suffered heavy losses in this battle, with nearly 5,000 Milanese troops out of 7,500. Louis estimated that this might have been more than one-third of the Milanese army, and Milan that escaped after the Battle of Bergamo With less than 1,000 troops in the army, Louis believes that such a loss is enough to make Ludviko injured.
With such a thought, the heart of the French king could not help but warm up slightly.
When Charles VIII was willing to send troops to Italy after receiving help from Ludovico, he may not have already saved his mind to take advantage of Milan, but when he entered this most prosperous city in Lombardy, he looked at the Duomo of Milan The magnificent dome, looking at the beautiful garden palaces on the banks of the Duluth, and the art treasures that can be seen in almost every house that can be seen by opening the door of the house, Charles VIII was completely After the city was conquered, he violently tore up the agreement with Ludovico, and it was recognized that Milan was under the rule of the French king. Such a decision angered Ludovico completely, but for Charlie, in order to get Milan, he was It can do anything against the reputation of a monarch.
Now this opportunity appeared again in front of Louis XII. He felt that he was more confident than his predecessor to seize this opportunity.
"How many troops are still available in Ludvik?" Louis asked casually in his heart.
He didn't expect anyone to answer his question. After all, the traffic and communication that was blocked in this era was destined to be difficult to accurately grasp the enemy's movements and strength, but what the king did not expect was that when he heard his words, someone actually spoke Answer: "Your Majesty, if I have not made a mistake, the Duke of Milan has about 6,000 to 8,000 troops in the army after this loss, but this is already the full strength of Ludvik, so the force he can really mobilize should be far. Far below this number. "
Looking at Henry de Charlene, Louis twelve eyes flashed with interest.
Louis has always been very concerned about the nobleman of the Savoy royal family, especially for the fact that he was able to lead the French troops stationed in Rome to evacuate Italy when Charlie failed successively. Louis expressed great interest from the west.
And let Louis realize that Charlene is not only a talent on the battlefield, but also his achievements when he sent an agreement between Pisa and Alexander.
This made Louis look at Charlene differently, and also placed hope on his role in the Savoy royal family.
"Are you sure about your judgment, General?" Louis asked after a little deep thought. After all, Charlene's judgment will determine his next plan.
"Your Majesty, this number should be accurate, because the news came from a person who had been in Milan for a while. He had spent time with many Milanese nobility in those days, including Ludovico himself and his generals, So I think the news about this person is still to be believed. "
Charlene's words made Louis look very interested. He asked a little curiously: "Is there such a person, I don't know if you can tell me his name, but he makes me a little curious."
"Your Majesty, that's a Moor," Charlene said congratulations.
"A Moorish, this is really an unexpected person," Louis XII said to the people next to him in surprise, seeing that the courtiers all showed the expression of "extraordinarily surprised", and the king continued curiously. Can the Moors do this? You are really a storyteller who makes me curious and tell me what is going on now. "
Just as Charlene was about to continue to tell the story about the Moors, a hurried figure came from a distance, and because he was in a hurry, he simply stepped over several bodies to attract Louis ’attention. The King frowned slightly and looked at the hurried Provence, slightly dissatisfied with his disrespect for the dead.
However, Count Garroll de Bowenken obviously did not think that his actions were wrong, and he did have urgent matters to report to the King.
Seeing the earl, the entourage around Louis immediately saluted, and Charlene shut his mouth slightly and stood aside indifferently.
"If there is nothing very important, I will blame you for your reckless actions," Louis XII said to the count. "A man no matter what sins or how humble he was in his life, even our enemies, but now His soul should already belong to God, so we should have enough respect for the dead. "
"Or it belongs to the devil," De Bowenken obviously disapproved of the king's attitude, but he still properly expressed his confession of his reckless move, and offered to take the initiative to be in this plain where a battle has just begun After apologizing for donating a church, the count immediately said of his intention. "Your Majesty, there is a man from Naples, and he asked to see you."
"Naples?" Louis showed a look of interest. Whether it was to fulfill Charles VIII's will or out of the need to penetrate the forces of the central Mediterranean, Louis XII was no less interested in Naples than his predecessor. ? "
"An Earl of Naples, Normezi of Julipe," Bowwicken said excitedly. "This man is a distant member of the royal family of Naples. He brought important news about Naples and Aragon."
"What is it?" Louis, who was originally concerned about Naples, heard about Aragon, and his expression became more severe. When and when Aragon would send troops, he and his generals had repeated many times. Consideration, but because there is too much information at hand, it is always impossible to make accurate judgments.
This annoyed Louis XII. He could even say that he rushed to find the enemy in a decisive battle as soon as he entered the Lombardy region. The purpose was to hope that he could rush to solve the enemy in the north before the Aragonese heard the dispatch of troops, and then he Only in this way can he confidently send his troops south, otherwise once he waits for Aragon ’s army to take part in the war, he is likely to face the dilemma of north-south attack.
But in addition to this, there is another reason why Louis paid attention to this Normezi from Naples, that is, the news brought by a ambassador from the Aragon court not long ago that made him have an attitude towards King Ferdinand I feel very puzzled.
The envoy revealed that Ferdinand did not seem interested in enemies with the French King, which made Louis suspicious of Ferdinand. Now that he heard about Aragon, Louis XII immediately showed little interest.
Normezi was allowed to see the king after a careful search, and he did not show indignation at this near-humiliating behavior, which made Louis pay more attention to him.
Because of the importance of the matter, not many people were able to stay with the king. Bowwicken was slightly surprised that the king actually allowed that Charlene to stay, and also let him stand not far from himself.
"Your Majesty, I brought you a message," Normezi saluted Louise and straightened up to look into the French monarch's eyes. "But I have to declare to you first that I was forced to convey this news. Mine is my enemy, but the news is true. "
There was a trace of surprise on Louis XII's face. He glanced at Charlene amusedly and said in a funny tone: "What day is it today? Is it because so many people want to win a battle?" Are you kidding me, I just heard that a Moor sent me information about the enemy, and now someone actually said that his enemy forced him to come and report it to me, Count, now tell me the story, Talk about who your enemy is, and he asked you to bring me news about the Aragonese. "
Normezi nodded. He first thought about what he should say before speaking: "Your Majesty, I have two enemies, but they are also enemies with each other," and he nodded after seeing the king seemingly understandable. Normezi went on to say, "One of them is the Aragonese you already know. To be precise, it should be King Ferdinand of Aragon, and the other enemy I do n’t know is it that you have heard of it, Count Alexandra · Julian Gumbre. "
Hearing Normezi talking about Ferdinand, Louis XII did n’t care too much though he was a little surprised, but when he heard Alexander ’s name, the king ’s mouth with a grinning smile was a little stiff, he Looked at Normezi with a fixed gaze, that look made Normezi stop and watched the king wait for his reaction ~ EbookFREE.me ~ I know this person, it should be said that I know, this is very interesting Young man, "Louis said, looking at Charlene. He remembered the fact that Charlene had once sent a mission to Pisa." General, I think you are no stranger to our young friend. "
"In fact, I was about to say this to you." Charlene looked at Normezi with a strange look.
"Oh, yeah, wouldn't you just tell me that the Moorish man you just mentioned was also related to this Gombré." Louis asked casually, but when he saw Charlene's look, the king raised his eyebrows. Well, I ’m ready to hear more new things today than in the past year, and tell me what ’s going on. "
"Your Majesty is wise, the Moorish I am referring to is indeed related to this Gombré. This Moorish man is called Ulliu. He is the servant of the Earl of Montina and the Duchess of Pisa. Court director. "
Hearing Charalon's words, the faces around them all showed different looks.
And very close to Louis XII, Bowwicken seemed to hear the king whispering: "It's very frustrating, young man."