After the military meeting ended, Vitus led the guards and three cavalry battalions to set off first.
The key to this battle is to delay time. Vitus plans to temporarily call on Rome's defenders and command them to block the enemy for as long as possible.
While traveling nearly two hundred kilometers on the road, Emperor Rome saw Rome, whom he was not loyal to.
The sky was dark, the road surface was still covered with rain from last night, and the stone pavement became slippery. Vitus got off his horse and walked to the nearby hills with a better view, overlooking this thousand-year-old Eternal City from north to south.
According to later units, the total length of Aurelian Walls reaches 19 kilometers, and the enclosed urban area is approximately 14 square kilometers.
Coincidentally, the urban area of Constantinople is also 14 square kilometers.
The advantage of Constantinople is that it is surrounded by sea on three sides, only the west is land, and Theodosian Walls is only 5.5 kilometers away.
Assuming that the enemy attacks from land and places soldiers every one meter on the city wall, Constantinople requires more than 5,000 people, while Rome requires nearly 20,000!
From a military perspective, Constantinople is far better defensive than Rome.
Moreover, Constantinople guards the channel from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and sets its capital here, allowing Central Administration to obtain more taxes.
"Compared with other Europe cities, Constantinople is simply unique."
Vitus shifts the perspective from the city wall to the interior of the city. Most of the area is vacant, Ranch, ruins, and vegetable gardens abound, just like the Constantinople city decades ago.
Tiber River flows from north to south, like a winding silver ribbon, with tens of thousands of people living on both sides of the river in the city center.
Most of the ruins of Ancient Rome are located on the east coast, such as Pantheon, Rome Colosseum, and Trajan columns.
Apostolic Palace where Pope is located is located at Western District, not far away is Castel Sant’Angelo by the river.
This fortress was originally the tomb of Emperor Hadrian. It was later used for military purposes. Once the situation in the city was critical, Pope usually took refuge here.
During the tenure of his predecessor Pope Nicholas V, he invested a lot of money in urban construction and repaired churches, Elevated Aqueduct, and city walls. Rome's defense capabilities have been improved.
"These towers seem to be newly built and should be part of the construction plan of the predecessor Pope."
Soon, a group of well-dressed riders rushed out of North Gate. The leading clergy came to the hills and told Vitus: "Pope is looking forward to your Majesty's arrival. Just now, we talked with your scouts, 9
Entering the city is an extremely complicated matter, involving the face of the Holy See and the monarch. Whether the monarch rides into the city, where to dismount, and in what manner to meet the Pope, every detail is crucial.
Vitus interrupted the cleric's narration irritably, "French Army has already crossed the border, how can we have time to discuss this?
Since the ceremony of entering the city is cumbersome, we will not enter the city. I will dispatch the troops outside the city to delay the advancement of the French Army's main force. To be honest, how many people can you allocate?"
At eleven o'clock at noon, five Mercenary Regiment captains came to the northern suburbs manor and introduced their troops to Vitus one by one.
This was obviously perfunctory. Holy See did not send any formal members of Knights Hospitaller or Switzerland people, only a make-up of 3,500 mercenaries.
"You must be very reluctant to be pushed out by your employer and colleagues."
Vitus spent some time in the Italy battlefield in his early years, and is very aware of the style of this group of mercenaries, who bully the weak and fear the strong, and have low morale.
This kind of unit is only suitable for minor tasks of doing chores and delaying the enemy, and it comes in handy now.
The total distance from Rome to Naples in the south is about 200 kilometers. There are so many enemy troops that we can only advance along the main road.
They have two routes:
Appian Way near the coast.
Via Latina located inland.
The starting point of these two roads is Rome, and finally merges at Benevento in the southeast.
The known news so far is that French Army's advance troops appeared on both routes. However, Vitus thinks Richmond will take Via Latina because there are more plains here, making it easier to search for supplies.
He assigned three Mercenary Regiment to Via Latina, responsible for delaying time and damaging roads and bridges.
Throw the remaining two Mercenary Regiment to Appian Way on the west coast. The mission content is the same.
"Listen carefully, my requirements for you are not high. As long as the number of enemy troops reaches half of yours, you can withdraw from the battle.
If you escape early, I will suggest Holy See to deduct your military pay!"
What!
Mercenary Regiment was shocked and angry, but did not dare to get angry. The five people silently put away the map and left the manor hall respectfully.
After leaving the manor, the five of them felt the slightly contemptuous eyes of the nearby cavalry and whispered, "This is too much. How could the emperor treat us like this? Don't you have any affection at all?"
"When he was in trouble, the brothers helped him a lot!"
"Muzio? Why don't you speak?"
Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps of Muzio has the largest number of people, with one thousand combat members.
After just observing, he saw that the emperor's cavalry had average equipment and was not as good as some wealthy mercenary knights. However, the biggest difference between the two was their temperament. In a real fight, his own army was no match.
"Stop talking, he is the emperor now, what qualifications do you have to go and have friendship with him?"
Due to Vitus's early mercenary experience, his deeds were widely spread among Europe's mercenary group.
The most popular theory is that decades ago, Vitus was homeless in Florence and was rescued by a group of well-meaning mercenaries when he was hungry and cold.
Under the teachings of an old mercenary, he acquired amazing martial arts skills, mastering swords, spears, hammers, and halberds. He eventually took this martial arts skills to participate in martial arts competitions and captured the heart of the daughter of the Di Maggio family.
In the opinion of some Italy Mercenaries, Vitus is what it is today, largely due to the help of senior mercenaries.
Back then, the former commander of Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps fought together with Vitus, helped him a lot in Milan War, and taught him many tactics.
This time Vitus returns to his hometown. He should recruit more Italy Mercenaries so that the brothers can live a good life for a few days. How can they turn against each other?
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Muzio entered the city from North Gate.
The most trusted Hospitallers and Switzerland mercenaries are stationed around Castel Sant’Angelo, while Italy Mercenaries is not trusted and is stationed in remote areas.
Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps is stationed in the southeastern city. The streets along the road are deserted and deserted. In front of it is a fenced area of Ranch, with hundreds of sheep with dirty coats scattered everywhere.
Further ahead is a vegetable garden, where Muzio's mercenaries often steal vegetables, so he compensated the owner five Florin.
Boom!
The dull thunder came from deep in the clouds, and the autumn wind blew the fallen leaves swirling all over the street. Muzio cursed secretly and ran towards Rome Colosseum in front of him.
For hundreds of years, it served as a source of stone for residents, and all the ornate marble decorations were demolished.
The predecessor Pope had a plan to transform the Colosseum into a shelter for the poor, but only half of the project was completed.
Today, Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps is stationed on the south side of the Colosseum and a nearby street. Soldiers have built shacks among the ruins. There are stone stoves on both sides of the street, and the sanitary conditions are extremely poor.
After discovering that Muzio had left and returned, eleven captains came over to inquire about the news, "What did that Greece man say? Do you really want us to go out of the city to fight?"
"Boss, there were two little cubs who tried to escape just now, but I caught them. What should I do with them?"
"The church just sent a batch of ordnance. More than half of the Matchlock gun barrels are rusty and cannot be used."
Now being forced by his employer, Muzio really had no way to escape, so he coldly announced that he would leave the city to fight.
Under normal circumstances, Mercenary Regiment usually does not leave camp immediately after receiving the transfer order. They need to wait for their employer to pay additional wages and supplies, and pack up for two or three days before officially setting off.
This time the situation was different. Emperor Greece asked the army to set off before sunset, but Roman Curia acquiesced and regarded these mercenaries as a group of disposable little characters.
Muzio told the captains, "This time we will leave the city briefly to block French Army for a few days, and then return to Rome to station. The camp personnel and a lot of baggage will stay here, and we will travel lightly."
The horn soon sounded and the streets were in chaos.
The cavalrymen led the horses out of the stables, brushed their coats, checked their shoes, and tightened their girths.
Most of the heavy cavalry are the second sons or illegitimate sons of noble families. When they reach adulthood, they are given a set of armor and war horses by their father and brother, and they wander around ever since.
Work part time.
Thanks to the training they received since childhood, this type of mercenary knight has become Mercenary Regiment's strongest force. In wartime, the salary of a mercenary knight (heavy cavalry) reaches 80 Florin per year.
(In peacetime, mercenaries can only receive half salary.)
Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps has thirty heavy cavalry. This group of people and their attendants form a separate team. They receive the best treatment and have the most luggage with them. They have been busy for a long time and have not yet finished their preparations.
Muzio did not get angry at this group of powerful men. He set out with five centurions who acted quickly. The remaining troops could wait until tomorrow morning to take action.
Leaving the city gate, Muzio saw a group of Greece cavalry waiting in the suburbs. Half of them were equipped with chainmail and bows and arrows, and the other half were equipped with leather jackets. They carried a Matchlock gun behind them.
A young officer riding a white horse found Muzio, claiming to be Deputy Battalion Commander from the cavalry battalion, and came to assist friendly forces in combat and reconnoiter the enemy's situation.
Captain Mercenary Regiment complained in his heart, "You still have a damn mission to monitor us!"
Muzio disliked the young and energetic appearance of this man, so he agreed flatly and led the army to march along Via Latina.
October On the afternoon of the 9th, that is, one day later, Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps came to a place Three-Way Junction.
The emperor's original plan was to have mercenaries block the attack at the mountain col ten miles ahead, but French Army's advance was faster than expected, so Deputy Battalion Commander could only improvise and let the mercenaries defend here.
Muzio didn't talk too much. He asked some people to station in the castle on the south side of the road, and some people to go into the mountain to cut down trees. He took the remaining more than 200 people to destroy the road.
In the chorus of mercenaries' shouts, they used shovels and crowbars to lift up the surface paving stones, exposing the relatively soft foundation below.
The excavated earth and rocks are filled into the drainage ditches on both sides of the road. This process is very critical. When the drainage ditch is blocked, the rainwater has nowhere to go and can only accumulate on the road surface.
After being busy for a while, Muzio suddenly felt a cold feeling on the back of his hands. He raised his head and looked up at the sky, where the rain was falling.
Seeing this, the mercenaries put aside their original tasks and returned to the village at the intersection with their tools to rest.
The living environment in the village is crowded, and each farmhouse is crowded with more than ten soldiers. The team officers and veterans live in the second-story attic where sundries are kept, which is far away from the moisture on the ground and has a better living environment.
The remaining people stayed on the ground floor to make bunks, took off their soaked armor and coats, warmed themselves around the stove, and dried their wet clothes.
Muzio changed into dry clothes in the attic and climbed the ladder back to the ground.
"Smells so good."
He walked to the stove, where the crackling sound of firewood was burning. Wheat, peas, cheese and a small amount of rabbit meat were cooking in the iron pot, which was not the source of the aroma.
A mercenary pointed to the area on the north side of the village, where the Greece cavalry was stationed.
"I just asked, Greece army carries a kind of iron can food, the meat in it can be preserved for a long time, they are cooking this thing 99
After speaking, the mercenary looked out the door and took a deep breath, "Did you smell it? Under the smell of mutton and Thyme, there seems to be a smell of pepper."
"This is just your imagination. Vitus is stingy by nature, how could he give pepper to the lower-level soldiers?"
Muzio took a wooden bowl and scooped some wheat porridge, then sat at the door of the farmhouse, staring at the deepening dusk in a daze, and eating a spoonful of food from time to time.
According to legend, Grey Pigeon Mercenary Corps fought with the emperor decades ago and helped him a lot.
Muzio's uncle was the captain of the regiment at the time. His uncle's statement was very different from the rumors among the mercenary group.
In fact, Vitus has known Di Maggio's family for a long time. He has no experience of living in the countryside and helping the villagers cut firewood and cultivate the land.
Later, Florence declared war with Milan, and Vitus served as the commander of Artillery. The Mercenary Regiment formed were almost all Greece people, and there was no Italy Mercenaries...
"If my uncle had followed Vitus and had been here for so many years, he would have had endless wealth and land as far as the eye could see. I wouldn't have had to go out to work. It's all because of his poor vision."
The rain continued until dawn, and Muzio returned to the low-lying area in the east.
The road here is soaked in stagnant water, and the deepest part reaches the calf level. The stone slabs on the surface of the road have been lifted up, and the rammed earth layer below
If it is soaked in water, infantry and horses can forcefully wade through it, but the wheels of the baggage train will definitely get stuck in it.
Muzio drove the mercenaries out of the village and asked them to repeat yesterday's work: cutting down trees and digging trenches in the fields on both sides of the road.
Around noon, sporadic riders appeared in the southeast, only a few dozen of them. Some mercenary shooters used muskets and crossbows to drive them away.
Soon, more enemy cavalry arrived on the battlefield. They avoided the soaked road and tried to attack from the nearby fields.
Muzio found the young and energetic Deputy Battalion Commander, "Isn't it time to retreat now?"
The other party replied with Latin: "Retreat? There are less than 200 people on the opposite side. You have a thousand mercenaries, I have two cavalry companies, more than 1,200 people, do you have to retreat with this advantage?"
Forced by Deputy Battalion Commander, the mercenaries continued to dig trenches. Greece cavalry and mercenary cavalry went to the wheat fields and drove away the smaller French Army cavalry.
Judging from the exchange ratio, French Army is undoubtedly the loser. But Muzio knows very well that this is just an outpost. If we repel them this time, more cavalry will appear next time.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, he found Deputy Battalion Commander again. "Sir, tonight is the best time to retreat. It will be too late to retreat tomorrow!"
There are more and more French Army cavalry in the fields on the east side, but Deputy Battalion Commander no longer persists.
"There is a village five miles behind. Vulture Mercenary Corps is stationed there. Go and join them tonight and continue to block it tomorrow."