The battle had only recently ended, and the detailed reports for the day had yet to be compiled. Judging by the feedback from the various units, the troops they had defeated were mainly native Italian forces.
France's Decree troops retained their strength, and Vitus decided against pursuing them.
"The situation on the northern front is unclear. My main force has to keep an eye on the north, so I can only send some cavalry after Richmond."
At the meeting three hours earlier, Vitus had set Florence as their next objective.
The French main force had withdrawn south, effectively abandoning any hope of victory. They would subsequently be bottled up in Southern Italy until the two sides made peace, or until the coalition marched south and destroyed them.
"Tell Władysław not to be too impatient. The coalition has already won this war. If he needs grain, niter,
cloth, or other supplies, he can simply write and ask me for help."
On the morning of the twenty-first, after more than a day on the road, a messenger delivered the imperial decree to Xerxes.
The emperor's orders were clear: he was to feign defeat and lure the French army on the northern front as far south as possible.
"I've spent my whole life fighting wars, always thinking about how to win. Now I have to make the men pretend to lose. I'm not used to it at all."
Feigning retreat while secretly laying an ambush sounded simple, but putting the tactic into practice was complicated.
For one thing, Xerxes had to arrange the order of retreat so the units could cover one another in turn, preventing the enemy from exploiting any mistakes and turning a feigned defeat into a real one.
For another, he had to consider the positions of the troops on