The banks of the Covones River are eerily quiet.

Originally, there were always animals of all sizes coming to the river to drink water during this season, and the turn of spring and summer is also the time for animals to mate, whether it is hares and foxes running on the shore, or fish and shrimp in the water, they will become lively at this time.

That's why the banks of the Covones River can be very busy at this time of year.

But this year, there are no small animals running back and forth on the riverbank, and the fish that have jumped out of the water have disappeared.

The river was quiet, only the rumbling sound of cannons in the distance, and the smell of gunpowder and blood drifting in the wind.

Whether an army can withstand the test of the battlefield has a great deal to do with training in peacetime.

Rigorous training can make a soldier obey orders, and dull, almost impersonal repetitive movements may make a person completely forget what he is doing, but habit will make him instinctively perform a series of actions.

This is true for grenadiers, and it is also true for model armies.

These are two new armies, although slightly different, but from the very beginning of the army, which are very different from any army at present.

More complicated training than any other country's army, they have much more sophisticated combat skills than their peers.

You know, in this day and age, the troops that can be specially trained for a few weeks are already elite, and the vast majority of armies even send soldiers into battle just by asking them how to tell the difference between friend and foe.

So when the army of Castile and the rest of the Sicilian army were already exhausted by the hard fighting, and some had begun to collapse, the battle between the elites of the two sides became the key to the victory of this battle.

As if they had been discussed in advance, both sides coincidentally threw their elite troops into the battlefield.

The seemingly impregnable phalanx of spears and the neat battle formation engaged in a fierce battle.

This was the first time that the grenadiers had faced an opponent who was truly evenly matched, and even the French were insignificant compared to the model army on the other side.

The power of the phalanx of spears was evident at this moment, and it slowly but unstoppably crushed all the enemy, and several Sicilian troops even turned their heads and fled back because they were crushed, so that they almost charged the grenadiers behind.

This forced the generals to order all their troops to retreat to the flanks, to give way to the grenadiers, and at the same time to protect the flanks of the grenadiers on the flanks of the line.

Attention on both sides is focused on the center of the battle line, as victory or defeat here determines the outcome of the entire battle.

Jossa had reached the forefront, ahead of her was a group of grenadiers lined up in deep depth, and beyond that was Gonzalo's model army.

The officers were nervously and half-surrounded by the queen, and they were wary of their surroundings, ready to protect her if necessary.

Tsusha barely moved, and she twisted her body with a little disgust, so that the armor on her body would not be so uncomfortable.

In fact, she didn't like to dress like this at all, because she didn't understand why Sophia wore a heavy armor as a lady's long dress.

I remember when I was in Sicily, every time Sophia saw her, she was covered in armor, so that before she saw anyone, she could hear the sound of the toothache-inducing nail scraping first.

With these cranky thoughts to force himself to be distracted, he looked ahead, and two companies of 600 grenadiers formed a huge frontal 60 men, a total of 10 rows of firing formation.

The power of this formation lies in the fact that it can ensure that the fire is concentrated as much as possible on a wide front, and it can also ensure that the enemy is suppressed without interruption through the rotation of fire between the platoons.

However, Alexander did not seem to be very happy with this method of fighting, and he suggested that once the enemy attacked the flank, this formation could fall into confusion due to its bulkiness and inconvenience, just like the enemy phalanx on the opposite side, if a mobile and nimble force quickly inserted into the enemy's flank at this time, the Castilian phalanx would be in great danger.

However, Gonzalo obviously took this into account, so he placed a small phalanx in the four corners of each phalanx, which effectively hindered the threat of enemy penetration into the flanks, and at the same time, they also had cavalry to and fro from time to time, ready to meet the enemy who tried to break through.

"Gonzalo."

Jossa muttered softly to herself, she had seen the general, but she was still Countess Cosenza at the time, and neither of them could have imagined that one day they would meet each other on the battlefield.

The thought of the flanks made Tsusha's heart irritable again, and she kept forcing herself not to think about superfluous things, otherwise it would only make the situation in front of her worse.

However, Alexander has been leading the Catalans to attack the Castilians for a long time, but there is still no news, which makes Jossa have to worry about his brother's safety.

"I won't let you go."

Josha muttered to herself, she didn't know who she was talking about, whether it was Gonzalo, who would take revenge at all costs if something happened to her brother, or Alexander, who was reckless.

"Your Majesty, it seems that the enemy shelling is much less." A staff officer of the squire promptly reminded him: "From just now, we have found out that the enemy's artillery is not firing at us. ”

Hearing this, Ji Sha's body trembled instantly, and she secretly blamed herself for ignoring this little thing.

Although the enemy's artillery was fiercely suppressed by Sicilian artillery and suffered heavy losses, it was not completely annihilated because of the wide distribution of artillery positions.

In particular, the enemy's left flank artillery, because of the range, did not suffer much damage.

The occasional rumbling of the enemy's artillery positions could still be heard, but the shells that landed on their own lines clearly did not correspond to the speed of the shelling.

"Alexander!"

Almost without even thinking about it, Jisha quickly realized what the enemy artillery was shooting!

"Where's my brother now?!"

The queen's slightly anxious voice attracted the attention of the attendants around her, and someone hurriedly took the map, but Jisha could not make up her mind.

Calm down, calm down, you're not the bohemian wild girl with only boobs and no brains, nor is it Lucrezia's stupid woman who can only be coquettish, and even Barondi, haven't you never taken her seriously, you are the queen of Sicily, and you are the only one who can help Alexander, so you must calm down.

Zhosa forced herself to calm down, knowing that if she was hot-headed at this time, not only would she not be able to help Alexander, but she might even have to get into it.

What they want is victory, the replacement of the husband and wife who are destined to be ousted from power with the brother and sister kings.

So be sure to calm down!

"My brother must be trying to break through the enemy's left flank at this time, and if he succeeds, he will be able to form an angle with us," Gonçalo remembered that he had heard the Maldeno master who was building Marino Palace for them in Rome mention that the best angle of shooting in the castle's defense was ideal, "so Gonzalo concentrated all his artillery on his left flank, because he was aware of the danger. ”

Completely ignoring the look of the people around her secretly looking at each other, she just said to herself, and at the same time, her face, which was originally a little red because of nervousness, gradually calmed down.

"My brother did the right thing, as long as he broke through the left flank of the Castile, he could directly threaten the entire flank of Gonzalo."

"Then Your Majesty, are we going to hold out until the Duke comes with news?" The officer next to him stared at the two sides who were fighting each other on the entire front, "But Your Majesty, the situation is a little unfavorable for us now, except for the grenadiers, other troops may not be able to withstand the enemy's attack." ”

Her subordinates' worries didn't seem to affect her, she looked at the map, then at the battlefield, then down at the map, and then handed the command staff she had been holding in her hand to the person next to her.

"Prepare to attack."

Everyone was stunned by the Queen's sudden order, and they began to think that they had misheard, but from the equally surprised expressions of the others, they immediately knew that the Queen had indeed given the order to attack.

"I must attract enough enemies for my brother to force Gonzalo to send reinforcements from the flanks in order to keep the central front," said Jossa and looked at his left flank, "ordered the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grenadier Companies to stop the pursuit and turn to attack the enemy center as soon as possible, ordered the 4th Company and the Rifle Company to defend in place to stop the enemy's cavalry counterattack, and told them to hold off the enemy's right flank at all costs." ”

A series of orders made the attendants around them have to repeat again and again, and the generals listened to these orders with more and more solemn expressions.

"I'll take my grenadiers at the front."

She said calmly to the people around her, as if she was just preparing to go to the ball.

"Your Majesty, this is too dangerous."

The people next to him helplessly dissuaded, but they also knew that it didn't seem to be of much use.

"My brother is in greater danger, send someone to find him, tell him that I want him to come back alive to see me, not to be wrapped in a military flag and carried back, and I don't want to have a big funeral for him."

Someone hurried away, and Jisha was ready at this time.

She carefully examined the weapons around her, and although she knew that she didn't need to kill the enemy herself, she had to be prepared.

Seeing the worried looks of the officers around her, she waved her hand to them.

"Although the situation is not good, all this is still in our plan, okay generals, let's see who is the most powerful army in Europe."

Ji Sha's words made the hearts of his subordinates who were originally nervous suddenly excited.

They knew what the queen meant.

If this battle is lost, of course, they will end very badly.

But if they succeed, they will not only be the fathers of the unification of the Kingdom of Sicily, but they may even be the upstarts of the Kingdom of Aragon.

At that time, even the whole of Europe will bow its head before them.

"For the Queen!"

"For Sicily!"

The generals shouted excitedly, knowing that the next thing was to lose the battle to the death, and there was no room to retreat.

"For you, my Alexander."

Visa whispered to herself that she always called Alexander "my brother", whether in front of others or alone.

This is because she knows that they are only safe if they are always vigilant and do not reveal the true relationship between the two.

But in her heart, she cried out "my Alexander" more than once.

Now, in the face of a strong enemy, she has decided to do whatever it takes.

Although she still couldn't pronounce it, she still let out the cry of "my Alexander" in her heart.

"Grenadier on par ~ array, forward!"

The drums were beating rapidly, the guns were firing, and the grenadier companies on the entire front began to walk slowly but surely towards the phalanx.

Several soldiers carrying heavy arquebuses came out of the ranks.

Set up the bracket, mount the musket, and then tilt the muzzle to stuff the gunpowder and the large projectile into the muzzle, and use all the strength when ramming it with the bar.

And the waiting time after lighting the arquebus seems to be so long.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the heavy recoil slammed the shooter's shoulders backwards, and even though he was wearing leather shoulder armor specially designed to unload the force, and the butt was wrapped in a thick layer of leather, such a shot could not last long.

Although a large number of flintlock muskets were already armed, in addition to the grenadiers, many soldiers in the Sicilian army still used old arquebuses.

And all heavy muskets, too, are arquebuses.

Because of the tremendous momentum generated during firing, the slightly rough mechanical parts of today's flintlock pistols are often unable to withstand the failure caused by vibration.

In view of this situation, the heavy muskets of the Sicilian army were all fired by arquebus.

Heavy muskets are unusually slow to reload and rate of fire, but their immense power is a nightmare and hell for everyone who stands in front of them.

The knight who was hit by the musket did not feel pain, because his helmet was instantly deformed, and the sunken helmet directly sank into his forehead, which had been shattered by the huge impact.

The knight's body fell backwards and smashed to the ground, lifting up a small piece of turf.

The death of this knight caused a brief commotion, and the phalanx soldiers he led seemed to be at a loss for a moment what to do.

However, it was only for a moment, and the panic caused by the successive heavy musket shots, and the chaos caused by the subsequent counterattack, quickly annihilated the traces left by this originally noble Castilian knight.

The scorching sun overhead was parching to the mouth, and the constant fighting had exhausted many soldiers.

The distant cannon still rumbled, and the grenadiers moved forward with tired steps.

The ground was littered with the corpses of soldiers on both sides, and some of the lucky Castilian soldiers let out weak moans and cries for help, but then the Sicilian soldiers who heard the sound mercilessly poked their spears into a pool of blood.

The smell of blood wafted everywhere in the air.

At this time, this place, there is no mercy at all.

A group of Castilian soldiers in front of them was retreating in a hurry, their formation chaotic and disorganized, and even the flag slowly fell as they kept retreating.

"Prepare to charge," shouted the officer in a hoarse voice with his sword in both hands, and as he saw the soldiers draw their long swords from their waists, the officer looked up at the enemies who had fled a little further away with his tired eyes, "Catch them up, kill them all!" ”

The officer's words provoked a shout, and the Sicilians mustered up their spirits and began to pursue the enemy, who did not realize that not far from the flank, another group of the enemy was running towards them.

On the other side, the two sides, which were originally evenly matched, changed the situation due to the unexpected entry of more than a dozen grenadiers who were scattered by the enemy.

The concentrated fire of the grenadiers created a gap in the flanks of the enemy formation, and the Sicilian army immediately pounced on the enemy and began a fierce fight.

In every corner of the intertwined front, at every moment, someone has fallen and died.

Jossa strode over a puddle of blackened blood in front of her, followed by a group of heavily armed Guards grenadiers.

Not only were the soldiers armed with the latest single-cast short-barreled hammer muskets, but each was armed with two short guns and specialized swords.

These swords are short and wide, but with a sharp conical spike that can pierce ordinary breastplates, these swords are sharp weapons for hand-to-hand combat.

Someone in the front line was shot and fell to the ground, causing the guards to be nervous.

They surrounded the queen tightly in the middle, vigilantly watching movements near the battlefield, ready to deal with possible enemies.

The incessant sound of artillery from the right flank weighed on Tsusha's heart, but she knew her position was here, in the center of the battle line.

All she had to do was to keep putting pressure on Gonzalo on the other side, even if she couldn't force him to mobilize reinforcements from the right flank, she must not let him move a single soldier to the right flank.

"One more attack."

Jisha gave the order, and then he noticed the strange looks of the officers around him.

"Your Majesty, our troops may not be able to hold out, the soldiers are too tired."

A bloodied officer gasped and told Khisha that he had even taken off the armor he had considered proud, and now the man had torn half of his shirt apart except for a pair of crumpled trousers, revealing his chest blackened by gunpowder.

"But the enemy is also very tired," Jisha couldn't help but reach out to wipe the sweat on her face, and reprimanded the people around her in a stern tone, "I want you to remember that any vacillation after the battle begins is the main culprit of defeat, and the only thing you have to do is to firmly carry out the order, and now I want you to attack again!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The officers left one after another, only the officer who stood there before looked hesitant for a while, but finally gritted his teeth and turned away.

Jisha looked at the troops as they slowly moved forward. She knew that by this time she had almost reached the limit of the armies of both sides.

At this time, the battle lines of the two sides are like two completely taut strings, as long as a little more force is used, it will break in an instant!

"Brother, that's all I can do, and the rest is up to you."

Josha's hand clenched the conductor's staff hard.

Pagasus was angry.

Or rather, feeling offended.

Just now, a cannonball landed not far from it, and for a moment it rained down on its body like a rain of rubble turf.

Its beautiful fur was beaten to the ground, and a sharp stone even shaved off a piece of skin from its buttocks.

This made Pagasus instantly thunderous.

It hadn't been so angry since that sad day that had forever deprived it of its joy as a male.

So Pagasus rushed to the enemy's position with a madness that stunned everyone.

Before Scheer could keep up, and before the Castilian soldiers could react, it had rushed very close to the enemy's position.

Alexander was also surprised, or rather dumbfounded, because the scene in front of him was too familiar.

However, at this time, he had no other choice, and when the Castilian on the opposite side was at a loss for a moment because of his completely unexpected move, he raised the musket in his hand, and while he didn't even aim at the enemy, he pulled the bolt, and at the same time let out a loud cry: "Follow me to hunt the guards, rush forward!" ”

Alexander's roar caused the Balkans who followed him to roar like madness, and in a frenzy of "Keep up with the lord!" With a frantic shout, the Balkans charged at the enemy in front of them.

Another cannonball fell, and while it didn't pose much of a threat, the sludge from the puddle of water from the shell left a Catalan mercenary captain in disarray.

This finally completely infuriated the Catalans.

Led by the captain, the Catalans desperately rushed towards the enemy's artillery positions.

The Castilian commander, who had discovered this, immediately ordered the Catalans to be intercepted, but his order was disrupted by the probable men who suddenly rushed into his formation.

The Balkan hunting guards following Alexander, or rather Pagassos, rampaged through the Castrian formation.

Enemies farther away would shoot with muskets and closer with sabers, and they would come and go like the wind, and whenever the Castilians tried to surround them, they were able to get out of the encirclement with surprisingly coquettish movements.

Above all, the Castilians found that the enemy army seemed to be rushing with no purpose at all, so that sometimes they had just rushed in front of a group of enemy troops, and before the enemy army could breathe a sigh of relief, they suddenly rushed back inexplicably.

The flank confusion made Gonzalo a little worried, and he guessed that it was Alexander trying to break through his left flank.

And the sudden counter-charge of the Queen of Sicily in front of her also proves this speculation.

"My lord, the Sicilians are attacking us, and we have suffered nearly half of our casualties, and the line can't hold on," a knight galloped forward, one of his arms hanging weakly, and a shocking-looking dent in his shoulder armor, as if he had just been hit by something, "We need reinforcements." ”

"I don't have reinforcements." Gonzalo calmly said, "Go and tell your captain that it's either victory or sacrifice." ”

The knight looked at Gonzalo in amazement, then let out a desperate sigh and turned his horse's head and ran forward.

Looking at the knight running away, Gonzalo's expression became gloomy, and he lowered his voice and said to the knight Don de Kliard on the side, "We must stabilize the battle line, otherwise we will be finished." ”

"Maybe a part of the troops can be drawn from the left flank......"

"No, that's exactly what Gombray wants me to do." Gonzalo stubbornly rejected the advice of Don de Queliar, "I have to admit that I underestimated the queen, I thought it would be Gombray in the middle of the line, because this is where the difference between victory and defeat lies." ”

"I'll go."

Knight Don de Kliar suddenly said, "I will go to the left flank to resist the Duke of Thesia, but you must crush the queen's forces in the center, or we will all be finished." ”

Gonzalo glanced at Knight Don de Kgliar and thought for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Sandro, this is our last strength, you know what it means to us if we can't stop Gombray." ”

"Yes, sir."

The knight of Don de Kgliar answered, and called for his attendants to help him onto his mount.

"It's either honor or death." The knight of Don de Kliard waved his hand at Gonzalo on his horse, and then led the way towards the left flank, which was fighting fiercely.

On the other side of the line, Jisha, who vaguely saw the movement in the enemy's position, instantly tightened his heart.

At the same time, on the Castilian left flank, which had become extremely chaotic, Alexander finally rushed into the enemy's artillery positions with the Balkans.

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