In the dark of night, in the ruins of the ancient city of San Giragnano, bonfires echo the bright stars in the night sky.

However, the "bonfire party" under the night dome is not so warm and romantic.

A strong sense of defeat and despair gripped everyone in the French camp.

The soldiers gathered around and stared blankly at the burning fire, many of them had been sitting like this for a long time, everyone's face was dull, the experience of the whole day of the day had not yet relieved them from their panic, so that some of the soldiers who had just closed their eyes because of fatigue were suddenly awakened by nightmares.

The lightly wounded who were bandaged leaned together in a depraved manner, and many of them gritted their teeth and did not dare to let out a groan despite the pain, because as long as they remembered the wounded camp placed in a corner of the camp, they did not dare to leak it out easily, even if they had to endure great pain.

The mood of the French soldiers was further depressed by the terrible screams that came from the wounded camp, and many of them could not help but tremble at the sound of the terrible screams, and the thought that they might soon become one of them, and some of them were already on the verge of collapse because of fear.

The night was oppressive and heavy for the French army.

About 16,000 French troops, united by the forces of King Louis XII of France and the Duke of Louis de Bourbon, built a makeshift position on the ruins of the ancient city of San Girragnano.

On the north and south sides of the French army were the coalition of about 13,000 men of the anti-French coalition.

The coalition that had surrounded the French with fewer forces than the enemy was now like two hungry beasts, greedily fixing on their blood-soaked prey.

The smell of blood stirred up the cruel bestiality of the hunters, and although they still had the advantage in numbers, the French army was now like a dying beast, waiting for the last fatal bite of the terrible hunter.

Two chaplains roamed the stenching camp of the wounded, and every now and then a dying man struggled to reach out to them and beg for a final chance to repent, but there were too many of them for the two priests to keep busy.

This makes many soldiers still haunt their hearts even before they die.

"It seems that we should bring more priests with us when we send out our troops," Louis XII said to the Duke of Bourbon, looking at the scene at the wounded camp, with a slight self-deprecation, "If I have the opportunity to return to France, I will hold a grand state funeral mass for these fallen soldiers to comfort their souls, but perhaps this wish will be fulfilled by my successor." ”

The Duke of Bourbon's words were secretly frightened, and he looked at the king's side face uneasily, wondering how to revive the king, who seemed to have lost his despair.

"You have done a good job, Duke," said Louis XII, turning suddenly to the Duke of Bourbon, "through no fault of your fault in Florentine, and now I can stand here and lament my misfortune thanks to you." ”

"But your present situation is also caused by my mistakes," the Duke of Bourbon looked gloomy, he seemed to have changed a lot since the defeat of the battle, and now listening to the king's praise, he was not only not complacent but worried, but he had not forgotten his original intention, so he cheered up and tried to encourage the king, "Your Majesty, we still have Boweken and Scharlon, they will definitely come to relieve the siege." ”

"Really?" Louis XII asked rhetorically in a questioning tone, which made the Duke of Bourbon feel very uncomfortable for a while: "Actually, we all know that this should be a luxury, and now they may not be better off than us, and may even be worse." ”

The king's words made the Duke of Bourbon bow his head, he knew that Louis XII was right, the Roman Thesian army would give up the protection of Montina at this time and take the initiative to attack the main force of the French king, which means that they have already grasped the initiative in this war, so what is Montina like now, which makes the Duke of Bourbon tremble as long as he thinks about it.

"But Your Majesty, our army is still more than the enemy's, and now their encirclement is not tight, if we concentrate on attacking one of them with our existing forces, we may not be able to break them all." The Duke of Bourbon persuaded with some excitement, he feared that the king had given up hope, and as long as he thought that the monarch of Lancey had become a prisoner of the enemy, the duke could not help but tremble secretly.

The Duke of Bourbon at this time was far less ambitious than his children and grandchildren more than half a century later, and Louis de Bourbon at this time did not think that perhaps one day the crown of the French monarch would fall on the heads of his descendants, so when faced with the king, he was still a slightly frivolous but still loyal courtier.

"Do you think I'm discouraged," Louis XII looked at the Duke of Bourbon with some amusement, "Believe me, my friend is sober now, even more sober than before he went on the expedition, so don't worry about me." ”

"Then what is your decision, Your Majesty?" Although he was skeptical of the king's words, the Duke of Bourbon hastened to ask.

"Don't worry, maybe tomorrow everything will be clear." Louis XII looked up at the starry night sky, and then said in a slightly depressed tone, "Someone bring me some wine, I'm here to think about what to do next." ”

The Duke of Bourbon retreated worriedly, and when he was far away, Louis XII slowly sat down on the gap in an abandoned wall, looking at the old ruins in the night, imagining the glory of ancient Rome, and the French king could not help but let out a soft sigh.

Defeated.

Only when no one is around, Louis XII will calmly face the voice in his heart that constantly reminds him of the truth.

A more dismal defeat than Charles VIII, think about his predecessor, although he was defeated by the anti-French coalition, but after all, he did not face the situation of being besieged and could become a prisoner at any time, and he who has always been dissatisfied with Charles VIII in his heart ended up like this.

Louis XII smiled softly wryly, and he felt that this was a great irony for him, and the price of this irony was the lives of 1,800 French soldiers.

In the Battle of Siena, the French army retreated to the ruins of the ancient city of San Gilangnano at the tragic cost of 1,800 sacrifices, and what was even more terrifying was that the purpose of the coalition army was obviously to completely annihilate the main force of the French army.

"Is that what you intended?" Louis XII looked in the direction of Siena, where there was a young queen whom he had just befriended, and he was impressed not by her stunning beauty, but by the extraordinary talents she had displayed.

That night, while Louis XII was sitting in the city, Gompati, the commander of the northern legions of Rome Thesia, did not fall asleep, and he hurriedly inspected the position all night, so that the messenger sent by the Neapolitan camp made great efforts to find Gompati, who was shouting at a few lazy soldiers.

"Do you think you've won, and the French spoils have gone into your pockets?" Gompati dangled a stick in front of a few men, "Look at the trenches you dug, if the enemy wants to, maybe in the blink of an eye they can rush over and cut off your heads, well, for the sake of your victory, I will not beat your sticks, but I want you to dig a trench five feet deep before the roll call tomorrow morning, otherwise I will use your corpses instead of the flag to hang on the flagpole." ”

A few of the earth-colored soldiers nodded their heads, knowing that the general was not joking, the general who had fought against the Ottomans was said to be known for his harsh military law, so much so that many soldiers feared him more than the duke.

The Neapolitan envoy stood a little uneasy at a distance, he had already heard of the general's name, and in fact the general Oletta Gompati of Rome Thesia was definitely the most famous among the European nations today, but the messenger believed that after this evening, his reputation would be even greater.

"My victory was built on the support of Oleta Gompati." Even the Queen of Naples said so, and knowing her mission this time, the envoy was even more in awe of the general.

"Her Majesty wants me to command the coalition forces?"

Although Gompati was a little surprised, but it was not very surprising, the Duke and the Queen were really "family", which was well known to the cronies of the Duke of Rome Thesia, as for the degree of intimacy between the two brothers and sisters, although there were all kinds of speculations in the light and secret, and even some of them had touched on some taboos, but the point was that their family was enough.

Therefore, Jossa generously handed over the command of the coalition army to Gompati, which was normal in the eyes of the Roman Tescian army, and even in the slightly complaining Neapolitan army, the dissatisfied voice was calmed down because of the queen's tough attitude.

"The Duchess of Rome Thesia is an intolerant person, and she even sent her uncle to heaven, but this sister-in-law of mine has the advantage of not being matched by others, that is, she knows how to use her talents," said Jossa to her generals when she made her decision, "It was because of her trust that Gompati was able to successfully occupy Ferrara, do you think that in this respect she is not as knowledgeable as the Duchess of Rome Thesia?" ”

The Neapolitan generals were speechless by his words, and they knew that, as the queen had said, Gompati was indeed the most suitable candidate for the commander of the coalition after the queen, both in terms of war experience and prestige.

As for the queen herself, even the Neapolitans, who already had an almost blind admiration for the Tsusa, were well aware that they were not in fact suitable for direct command of the army.

"If we are going to attack, it will probably be tomorrow at noon," Gompati thought for a moment, "our men are tired, they need to rest, although the enemy can take advantage of the opportunity to rest, but this is not the same as us, they have too many wounded, and there is no way to retreat and provisions, the longer it drags on, the worse it will be for them." ”

At this point, Gompati motioned for the messenger to follow him to the map, but he said to the bewildered messenger from a few cities on the map: "The Venetians have arrived, and it is believed that the Austrians will soon arrive, and now the French troops in Pisa and Montina must be trying to retreat and join the French king." ”

"I'm sorry General, I don't know much about military affairs, but shouldn't we take this opportunity to attack immediately, if we wait for the other two French troops to arrive, the situation may be very unfavorable for us." The messenger asked worriedly.

"You are too polite, I can see that you still know a lot about military affairs," Gompati smiled at the envoy, and when he saw the envoy's slightly meaningful expression, Gompati's face suddenly sank, "But I think the queen will definitely support my opinion, so you just need to report my words to the queen." ”

Although Gompati's attitude was dissatisfied, considering his violent temper with those soldiers before, and the queen's resolute attitude in announcing that she would hand over all command to Gompati, the envoy could only nod his head in vague indignation to show that he understood.

Looking at the back of the messenger who came and went in a hurry, Gompati touched his chin with a thick short beard, and his eyes fell on the map.

"Sharron, you slippery head, hurry up and come to Daddy." Gompati muttered under his breath.

That night, she slept soundly.

The queen, who always seems to be so quiet and confident in front of outsiders, has a huge pressure in her heart that others can't imagine.

Before that, an alliance, no, it should be said that the fate of their brother and sister was tied to her.

Without Alexander, there would be no trade alliances, and then there would be no future, and all of this was built by their brother and sister from beginning to end.

Whether Alexander, who was far away in Iberia, would be able to fulfill the almost insane ambitions he had promised her, and whether he would truly build an empire of Alexander, which would be theirs in the future, was the inevitable battle!

The so-called strategic decisive battle is a big gamble, a gamble of the army, the country, the crown, dreams and ambitions!

They are half-siblings, at least nominally.

So their relationship is destined to be intolerable to the world.

But Jisha is still stubbornly in love with her "brother".

And now, she has to fight to realize the ideals and ambitions of her brother and herself.

And the fruits of victory will be enjoyed by their descendants.

After experiencing the joy of a great victory, she finally relaxed completely, and slept sweetly all night, without even dreaming a dream.

In the early morning, as soon as the sky was bright, the sleeping Jisha suddenly woke up, she lay on the bed and did not move, her eyes looking at the simple beams outside the silk mosquito net above her head.

There was a password for the change of guard outside, and she moved slightly, and a pain came from her body, and she snorted softly and lay back.

How many days have passed, and it is finally rare to be able to let yourself rest for a while like this, which makes Jisha very satisfied.

But listening to the faint whispered conversation and the gradual acceleration of the argument outside, Jisha sighed softly and barely got up.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her bare feet slightly touched on the cold ground, and her toes moved mischievously as white as snow-white silkworms.

"I want Sicily," she said suddenly and inexplicably into the empty room, as if she were coquettish to an invisible person, or like a child begging for a beloved toy, "Yes, I want Sicily." ”

This time, Tsusha's tone became firm, and there was a majestic look in her gaze, as if she had made some terrible declaration at this moment.

Omo and the messenger sent to Gompati, who were waiting outside the door, were whispering to the lady-in-waiting, who did have important military information to report to the queen, but the lady-in-waiting refused to report it on the pretext that the queen was resting.

"Your Majesty hasn't slept so well for a long time, you are men, but Your Majesty is a young lady, and this is not good for her body."

The lady-in-waiting complained dissatisfied, and she didn't say a word, that is, the queen was obviously very concerned about whether her beauty would satisfy the duke, and it was not a good thing to work too hard.

Just as Omo was about to say something, and the waitress had already made an unceremonious refusal, the door suddenly opened slightly.

Josha leaned out of the crack in the door and leaned out half of her head to look out, then she beckoned to the waitress who had turned her head to look at him, "Come and clean up for me, and then I'll summon them all." ”

It took a short time to surprise the other women, and she soon appeared outside the door, and by this time the Neapolitan generals had already arrived.

Looking at these people, Jisha's gaze finally stopped on the face of a new guest.

"I'm glad you came in person," said Shoop, who bowed to him, "and I'm very pleased with your support." ”

Skop knew what he was talking about, and he did not object to Shosha's decision to transfer full command of the coalition forces to Gompati.

This made even the Neapolitans secretly wonder why the commander of the Papal army was willing to relinquish command so easily, although this did not mean that the power of the army was also transferred, but there was no doubt that doing so would probably cost him the opportunity to gain more benefits.

"It is my pleasure to serve the Duke and you."

Skop watched Shosa's expression cautiously as he said this, he knew that he would probably anger the queen by saying this, after all, it was not only rude to put the Duke of Rome Thesia before the queen, but the point was that it was obvious that he was inclined and stood between the two.

Sure enough, Skop's words caused dissatisfaction among the surrounding Neapolitans, and the atmosphere became a little subtle for a while.

"I'm glad you can say that," a satisfied smile appeared on her face, although she had already dealt with Skop in Rome, it was a little surprising that he was now so clear about his support for Alexander, but it also made her happy, "Now we are a true Holy Alliance." ”

Skop noticed that the tone of his voice was slightly heavier when he said this, which sounded like he was praising his attitude just now, which made Skop a little puzzled, but Skosa obviously did not give him time to think about these things again, but said to the messenger, "Now you can tell me what happened to this mission." ”

The messenger saluted and then began to recount the news he had brought back from Gompati, and as the envoy recounted, the faces of the Neapolitan generals began to show bewilderment, then astonishment, then disbelief, and then disbelief and shock.

"What does he want to do with Gompati," it was Skop who broke the silence, and he whispered to Omo beside him, "doesn't he know that if the French army is concentrated, it is not a small number?" ”

"It's not a small amount," Omo glanced at Skop, who was actually a little disgusted by the man who had partnered with his brother to kill Caesar Borgia, but he knew that he couldn't show this emotion at this time, "But what if our forces are concentrated?" ”

"We have ......"

A Neapolitan general paused as soon as he spoke, and he looked at the people next to him, and saw the same shocked gaze.

"We have the Roman-Thesians," said Josa, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone in front of her, and at the same time speaking firmly and forcefully, "there are Neapolitans, Taranto, Pisa, Florence, and the Pope's army, Venice, Ferrara, and Austrians, and you tell me what Louis XII has?" ”

With the words of Khosha, the emotions of the people became agitated at this moment, and the emotions that had previously been apprehensive because of Gompati's audacity became irrepressible and extremely strong at this moment.

At the same time, a crazy thought, although no one said it, had formed in the minds of everyone.

Annihilate the French army!

Even the thought of this would make the whole body tremble of those present, and they looked at each other nervously, as if they wanted someone else to stop their crazy thought, and even more so that someone would stand up and speak out, but in the end, no one spoke.

They weren't afraid, although they were in awe of the queen's majesty, they knew that their queen was a just king, so they weren't afraid to speak their minds, but no one stood up now.

Everyone chose the idea at this moment that seemed unrealistic.

Capture Louis XII and annihilate the French army!

Since 1444, when King Władysław III of Poland was killed in battle with the Ottomans, there has been no great monarch in Europe who has been killed or captured in battle for half a century.

Monarchs have gradually ceased to stand in front of the battle like the great knights and kings of the past, and they prefer to maneuver in their own courts away from the flames and dangers of war.

Charles VIII of France was a wise monarch and a good commander, but he was unlucky not to have time to take his revenge again.

His successor is now in Italy, and is surrounded by ruins not far ahead.

The capture of a great king is a miracle of a soldier's life, and for a monarch it is more likely to be the cornerstone of his country's path to European supremacy.

"Annihilate the French army and capture Louis XII!"

The earth-shattering cry spread throughout the coalition camp and into the ruins of the ancient city of San Giragnano.

Listening to the shouts one after another, the French camp was panicked.

"Why isn't that Cambrai across from me?" Louis XII sighed.