Vol 2 Chapter 29: 1 Cosenza (Part 1)

Cosenza is a small town, and compared to Naples, Cosenza looks too young. It was almost a desolate wilderness a few centuries ago.
Hundreds of years ago, when the first-generation Count of Cosenza was building a city here, he was catching up with the Arabs' offensive. The brave offensive not only allowed the Arabs to take Sicily, their striker tentacles even pointed directly to the west bank of the Mediterranean.
At that time, all the city-states on the Italian peninsula were terrified. They thought they might eventually be conquered by the Moors like Granada.
Fortunately, although the Arab soldiers were fierce, when they got to Sicily, they were caught on the island.
They only want to enjoy the huge booty, and almost no one is willing to continue to attack the mainland across the sea, but hope to get more benefits in Sicily. Because of this idea, the generals of the Arab Empire finally sent to the army of the mainland Not as good as half of them when they first set off from the southern coast of the Mediterranean.
In the end, the Arabs were blocked by the Italian city-state coalition, whose fear was aroused by their fear. Thousands of casualties let the Arabs understand the danger of attacking the mainland. They quickly retreated to Sicily, but they enjoyed enjoying what they had gained. The victory went.
The ancestors of the Cosenza family at that time obtained this territory after that campaign.
Although Cosenza is already inland, there is still a small corner near the southeast corner of the territory that protrudes into the sea like a curved hook, and stands on a ridge formed by a branch extending from the northern foot of Mount Vesuvius , You can vaguely see the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The ridge of the volcano is very tall, blocking the wind blowing from the sea directly behind it, so when you cross the ridge into the city of Kosenza at the foot of the mountain, it seems that you suddenly entered the sultry blacksmith's shop from the cool garden.
Even looking down on the top of the mountain, you can see that the city at the foot of the mountain seems to be immersed in a piece of raspberry.
Perhaps in order to prevent the Arabs from invading again, Cosenza looks like a huge barracks. Not only is the stone-built house exceptionally strong, but years of fighting with the Arabs made the people at that time seem to never run out of Arabs. The number of troops created an indescribable fear, so the earl of Cosenza divided the city into several small blocks with tall walls, and each area was connected by a very narrow gate. The advantage is that even if a certain place of the city is broken, other places can resist. The disadvantage is that the city is so bound up, and hundreds of years have passed without expanding its scale.
"But we have enough things for our people to live with," Russa, sitting in a carriage, explained: "In the territory, there is the largest hunting ground, which contains the famous mountain antelopes and other small animals. You have to hunt beasts. We have bears here. "
Listening to the introduction of the countess, Alexander nodded and expressed satisfaction.
After leaving Belluny, Alexander started to enjoy the trip. In fact, he decided to leave Naples temporarily at this time, not just to help the Florentines escape. Gandosa ’s death made him suddenly the focus of attention for several parties. Whether it is the king or the Duke of Ferdinand, this time it needs the support from Aragon to stabilize its position or make a conspiracy.
And Alexander knew that he could not really support any of them. If he really wanted to support him, he could only choose the king.
Because as far as he knew, King Ferdinand II of Aragon had been coveting Naples for a long time, and a young and foolish king really met Ferdinand's needs.
And only Alexander knew that the young king ’s life was about to come to an end, and maybe he would hear his death soon, if Frederick asked him anything at this time, do n’t say he could n’t, even if he could It is not acceptable to do so.
"We still have a granary big enough," Ruosha said to Alexander as the team passed another stone gate. "In the past, in order to prevent the invasion of the Saracens, the Lord of Naples had built several large areas in Cosenza Granary, so our castle is very strong. "
Alexander pondered slightly, and only then did he know why Modillo was not nervous at all when he heard that he might be facing famine, perhaps because it was too long or some people concealed intentionally or unintentionally, even the nobles of Naples had already Not sure about the granary on Kosenza ’s territory.
After all, as a noble loyal to the lord of Naples, the Cosenza family continued for hundreds of years, but the ruler of Naples has changed more than one dynasty.
In particular, Modillo, the earl of Naples today, is almost like a royal.
Cosenza Castle is located at the highest point of the city of Cosenza. Behind the castle is a steep cliff. Some castle buildings are built directly on the rock protruding from the half of the cliff. Even half of the city wall is connected to the cliff. .
Such a castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but once besieged, if there is no reinforcement outside, it is a dead place.
The carriage entered the gate with a solid gate, looked up at the sharp wedges protruding from the bottom of the gate above, and then looked at the row of deep trenches at the foot of it. Alexander knew that once the gate of a strong enemy fell, the castle would It became a sturdy cage that could not get in or out.
"The people of the Cosenza family don't think so," Zuosha didn't care about Alexander's guess. "We have enough food, there are at least five water sources in the castle, and our walls are thick enough to withstand more than ourselves There are several or even a dozen times more enemies, and we have done this before. "
Rosa's words made Alexander nod in disagreement.
With solid fortifications and sufficient supplies, as long as it is not sold from the inside, such a castle is indeed difficult to capture without enough troops and time.
For most attackers, this is contradictory.
Enough of the army means that more supplies will be consumed, so the time cannot be dragged on for a long time, and the army reduced to save supplies is not enough to complete the task of capturing such a fortress.
"So the Fort Kosencha has only been broken once since its establishment, but that's because a traitor has appeared." Ruosha said proudly.
Alexander nodded again, but before he could speak, a middle-aged man in a sleeveless leather waistcoat riding on the horse with the sound of horseshoes appeared before them.
The man's hair was very short, and a handful of beards on his chin made him look a little long. His arms exposed outside the vest were strong and strong. When he urged the horse to come closer, Alexander had something to look at. illusion.
"Miss Count Cosenza."
The man's expressionless expression sounded a bit stiff. When he came to the carriage, he suddenly lowered his body and hugged Rusha when Alexander had not responded, dragging her from the car to the immediate side!
She screamed first, then Zuosha began to laugh, she also hugged the middle-aged man tightly, and then began to kiss his cheeks.
Alexander looked at the scene expressionlessly, although according to his ideas, maybe the girl in front of him would call his brother soon, but now that she is so close to other men in front of her, she still feels kind of saying Uncomfortable.
Alexander wouldn't think that the "this is my father" farce would happen next, because he had already listened to Zuosha's nonstop calling of this person's name: "Kaiser".
"So you're finally willing to come back?" The middle-aged man held Zosha carefully, and then he looked at Alexander. "I can see that you are already jealous to fight with me, but it also shows that you and Zosha Not yet familiar. "
"Why do you say that?" Alexander asked.
"Because," the middle-aged man smiled slightly. "She obviously didn't tell you that I was her brother, Keizer Kosenza."
Alexander ’s mouth opened slightly, and he looked at the middle-aged man who could obviously be their two fathers. Thinking about the earl of Cosenza who had such an elder son, he seemed to have known the absurd life of George Anne for a time How did it come?
"Luosha's mother is my father's third wife," Kaiser Kosenza explained while turning his horse's head and advancing slowly with them. "Although I don't like her mother, I like my little sister."
Alexander nodded once again in understanding. He imagined that Modillo could have given his sister to King Enrique of Castile. Then he could marry his sister to an old man who was enough to be her father.
"Then you are ..." Kaiser Kosenza looked at Alexander.
"Alexander Juliant Gumbre, the messenger sent by Sicily to Naples."
Keizer seemed to be a little fascinated for a while, then smiled: "Welcome to Cosenza, since Ruoshaken invites you to come, I think at least she thinks you are a person worthy of her attention."
As he raised his hand, he whispered: "Trust me, she is the proudest girl I have ever seen. My father has always worried that she would rather go to the monastery than marry any man in the future."
"Kaiser ~" Zuosha turned back and patted her brother's arm with some blame. "I just think those men are too stupid, such as that Alfred. If the men are like him, I would rather enter the monastery."
"What you said would make your father sad," Keizer said and looked at Alexander. Obviously he was interested in the young man brought back by his sister. "You don't look like a Sicilian."
"I grew up in a monastery since I was young," Alexander at this time was already able to put the long-awaited words into a circle. Compared with the various tests to be faced in the future, now he is only facing such as Kaiser This kind of inquiry was not deliberately skeptical, but he was still careful not to dare to be careless. "This is the first time I really left the monastery."
"A hermit," Keizer looked at his sister with interest and asked, "Luosha, have you heard? Your friend is like an Adam who has just come out of the Garden of Eden. Maybe Adam is still pure. "
"I don't think so, he uses swords, and he is also interested in weapons," Ruosha looked back at Alexander. "I think such a person is more suitable for the battlefield than the monastery."
"Then you may be disappointed," Keizer looked at Alexander with his expert eyes. "I can assure you that I only need a few breaths to knock down your friend."
"Don't compare with yourself," Zuosha glanced proudly at Alexander. "Keizer is the most powerful swordsman in the entire south, and all the masters of swordsmanship in Venice respect him very much."
Alexander was surprised to look at this brother Ruo Sha, although he could somehow realize that this person was not that simple, but he did not expect that this person would not be so simple.
Alexander did not think that Ruosha was bragging for her brother. Although he did not know how powerful Keizer was, he had already heard about the masters of Venetian swordsmanship that she said.
For a long time, people always thought that the medieval knights were completely dependent on the bull-like body and unruly rampage and the enemy killed and killed. This misunderstanding caused many people to die after going to the battlefield. Not clear.
Because they always think that relying on the solidity of the armor and their majestic body, they can unscrupulously defeat or even slaughter those opponents who look much smaller.
But in fact, when they face some opponents who are really good at killing skills, their armor and strength can't save their lives at all.
Most of this killing technique is a real fighting experience that continues from the battlefield through thousands of battles. Although many of these experiences have been gradually lost with the death of the user, there are still some that have become quite famous. The genre has been handed down, and the best known among them is the famous Venetian sword school.
The so-called Venetian Sword School is named after a group of people living in Venice who are skilled in swordsmanship. Although they are not a group, they gradually become famous because they are familiar with each other and often meet and communicate.
And Alexander knew these people because Sicily's city defense captain Bochum once studied under one of these experts.
And he learned some useful sword skills from Bochum. UU reading www.uukanshu.com
It ’s just that he always remembers what Bochum said to him when he taught those skills:
To you a piece of advice, if you meet an opponent who claims to have learned swords from the Venetian, whether his words are true or not, hurry Run away, otherwise this may be the last time you have a sword in your life. "
Alexander always remembered this sentence, especially after using the skills taught by Bochum to defeat Alfred neatly, not only did he not be proud, but he had a deeper understanding of this sentence of the mercenary captain.
Because the thought of even the mercenaries of Bochum who are not really afraid of death is so daunting to the Venetians, which shows how powerful those people are.
But now in a castle in Cosenza, he actually encountered a character who is said to be comparable to the master of swordsmanship in Venice. This surprised Alexander, but he was very interested.
It's just that Rusha's proud look made him uncomfortable.
Although seriously speaking, he really had nothing to do with the Countess, but seeing this "sister" praising her other brother in front of herself, Alexander felt that it was not good to start seeing Kaiser.