From the Arno River to the north, passing through a small town called Paramet, not far from Pisa, there is a large road to the north.

The road is very wide and flat, and compared to the size of this road, Parame is a bit shabby.

There are regular-looking drainage ditches on both sides of the road, and if you look closely, you can even see granite paved in the ditches in some sections.

The road has a long history, as early as the Roman era, when the Romans sent a large number of slaves to build it, and Pisa was still a small fishing village near the sea.

The Romans attached great importance to this road to the north, because not only was it the main road to Lombardy, but more importantly, the threat from the northern barbarians was always a huge hidden danger for the Roman Empire, and even when Rome was at its strongest, those barbarian tribes that were conquered one after another were always resisting, provoking, being conquered, and then resisting and provoking repeated the struggle with Rome.

At that time, the Romans' desire for convenient transportation became important, especially in the early days, when the Roman legions, which traditionally valued the infantry, paid more attention to the convenience of roads.

Now, the glory of the Roman Empire has long been lost to the dust of history with the disappearance of Western Rome, and the country that claims to be the Holy Roman Empire has never really existed in the land that originally belonged to Rome for a single day.

Alexander stood in front of a stone that had been polished to a very smooth surface, he knew the stone, which centuries later would be carefully protected with railings, and then the locals would proudly say to outsiders that it was a monument left by the Romans to commemorate this great work when they built the network of roads in the north of the empire.

But now Alexander could only smell a strong, lingering smell of urine in front of the stones.

After inquiring, I learned that there seems to be a rumor that has been circulating in the local area for a long time, saying that if a man leaves his mark on this stone, he can become more energetic.

Alexander could not help but be a little stunned by such a distinctly pagan folk custom, because he remembered the pride of the locals when they told about the monument, and when he looked at the stinking stone in front of him, Alexander felt that the legends were all deceitful.

However, this path was indeed important to Alexander, because in addition to the Bohemians and the Chasseurs, his army, like the Roman Empire, was almost entirely infantry.

Oflei's figure appeared in front, and when he saw Alexander, Ofleiyi was accustomed to breathing a sigh of relief, and then walked over.

After separating from Alexander at the fork in the road in order to get rid of Nomerlo's pursuit, in order to attract the pursuers behind, Ofleiil took Bohemia and the huntsmen to act as bait unhurriedly, and he did not immediately lead people back after Nomelo found out that he had been fooled.

But to Oflaiil's surprise, Alexander, who he thought he should be found not far away, disappeared, and when he rushed back to the monastery to find Carlo in a panic, they unexpectedly discovered that Alexander and Lucrezia had disappeared inexplicably.

In those few short days, Ofleyi was as uneasy as everyone else, and even a little on the verge of collapse.

The Agri had begun to get used to their current life, and they could not imagine what it would be like to return to the fields and continue to work in the fields, nor could they imagine what they would have to face if they were reduced to a group of mercenaries after losing Alexander, so when they got the news of Alexander's whereabouts, everyone shouted with joy at that moment, so that Ofleiyi still heard in his ears.

This almost "lost" Alexander also left a small problem for Oflair, and every time he saw Alexander, he seemed to let go of his heart, as if he had finally found a lost item.

"My lord, we can keep going north along this road, our men are already patrolling far ahead," Ofleiyi habitually took out his nailed little notebook and flipped through it, and after seeing a few simple topographic maps drawn on the latest pages, he smiled with satisfaction, "We will now go north, just cross the tributaries of the North Arnaud and enter the plain of Montina." ”

Alexander nodded, he was pleased with the direction of Ofleiuil, in fact, when he arrived in the town of Parame, he already knew that as long as he followed the northern road, he would soon be able to enter the plain of Montina, but before that the team had to deviate from the road, otherwise they would be farther and farther away from Montina once they followed the tributaries of the Arno River.

Now it seems that Ofleiyi is doing a good job, at least he has found the right way forward, which can be said to be a very good adviser in this day and age.

"Did you find the ferry?"

Ofleiyi shook his head with a hint of disappointment: "I'm sorry, my lord, I didn't find a ferry port near here, but it is said that there is a small ferry port in the upper reaches of the river, but it seems to be too close to Reialo. ”

Alexander nodded slightly, although he did not know the details of the terrain nearby, but he knew that it was because of this tributary of the Arno River that the Milanese were somewhat hindered, so that they could not smoothly besiege the castle from the back of the Rearo to Montina.

But now the river, which was hindering the Milanese, was equally inconvenient to Alexander, for perhaps the soldiers could cross the river without a crossing, but the baggage that followed the party could not be easily crossed.

"Perhaps we can abandon our baggage for a moment," Ofleiuil cautiously suggested, "this is not far from Montina, and everything will be fine as long as we enter the castle." ”

Several of the officers who were with Alexander began to argue about Ofleiyi's suggestion, and some thought that it was not necessarily too rash, since giving up the baggage meant that with the food and weapons that the soldiers carried with them, an accident could turn into a disaster.

"The Milanese are still in Reialo, as long as we march quickly after crossing the river, it will be safe once we enter the plain of Montina, you must know that Montina has a garrison of nearly 700 men, and the castle has enough food and weapons for us, if it were not for that, the Milanese would have attacked a long time ago." A Genoese officer who supported Ofleil arrogantly said, "As soon as we enter the vicinity of Montina, the defenders of the castle will be informed, and they will send someone to meet us, and it will be nothing to fight the Milanese outside the city, but I don't think they will be stupid enough to do that." You must know that although the Milanese make armor, they are businessmen, not soldiers. ”

The Genoese man burst into laughter, as he said, although the Milanese were famous for forging weapons and armor, in the eyes of many they were more merchants than soldiers.

Alexander did not say a word, he left the heavy monument and walked slowly along the flat road, where the soldiers were resting in the shade of the trees.

"Ofrey, what do you think we're going to do this time?" Alexander suddenly asked Oflaiil, who was following him, and seeing his puzzled look, Alexander didn't give him much time, "I know you think that protecting the new castle of Montina is the most important thing, after all, my current title is Count of Montina." ”

"Isn't that so, sir?"

Ofraj asked curiously, something he was now trying to learn, from the experienced veterans, from the Genoese, and that what he had heard the most so far was "to stop the invasion of Montina by the Milanese".

"Oflair, if you want to be a good staff officer, you have to learn to take your eyes off the map so that you have a chance to see more."

After saying this, which did not seem to be convincing, Alexander simply ordered: "You can't give up your baggage, and if you can't use the ferry port upstream, then build a temporary ferry here, but if you do that, you must be prepared to prevent the Milanese from sneaking up." ”

Offrey looked at Alexander in amazement, although he knew the importance of baggage, but he still didn't understand why Alexander would rather give up the opportunity to enter Montina quickly, and risk being attacked by the Milanese to build the ferry.

Seeing the confusion in Oflaiyi's heart, Alexander pondered a little and felt the need to prepare his staff officer.

"It is indeed our mission to protect Montina from the invasion of the Milanese, but I think that in order to do this, it is not simply a matter of defending a castle," Alexander looked at Ofleuil, "not only to repel the attack of the Milanese, but also to make them understand that in their war with the Vatican, we must respect our rights in Montina, this is the most important thing, otherwise they will not give up after one defeat, then there will be a second or even a third war, How long do you think the Genoese reinforcements can help us? So we have to show the Milanese what kind of attitude we should have in this one. ”

Offrey paused, as if he had just understood what was coming, his face first showed a look of astonishment, and after a while he asked in disbelief: "My lord, you don't want to take the initiative to attack the Milanese, do you?" ”

"Of course I won't attack the Milanese," Alexander smiled at Ofleiuil's incredulous expression, but as soon as he was relieved, Alexandre continued, "but if they dare to cross the border between Royalo and Montina, I will immediately make them understand the consequences of this." ”

Alexander's words shocked Oflai's heart for a moment, and he looked at Alexander in surprise, and while he was surprised by Alexander's boldness, an inexplicable excitement was slowly brewing and rolling in his heart.

Leaving the remote Agri in Rome, Oflei, like all the Agri, saw a colorful world that he had never imagined before.

This world is so wonderful and fascinating that it is difficult to let go even if you know that you are in danger.

Among the Agri, Ofrei clearly knew better than anyone else what they were up against.

Ofrey's greatest hope was to succeed his uncle as a stonecarver, and if he had the chance, he hoped to learn from a famous master carver, but he knew that such a hope was slim, and he might not have the opportunity to meet a real master in his lifetime.

But suddenly, his life changed completely, and not only did he go to Rome, but he even met many big people that he never dreamed of meeting, and all because of the young man in front of him.

Offrey was now less interested in carving, but instead he was interested in how to carve victory on the battlefield, and now what Alexander said to him made him even more excited.

"The Vatican's army will be assembled near the Chimone Mountains, and the Genoese will meet the Milanes directly in the Lombardy region," Alexander sighed as he looked at the plains in the distance, "this is a good place for war, and probably everyone thinks it is worth fighting bloodily for this land." ”

"Don't you think so, sir?" Ofleiyi was a little strange, and he vaguely noticed the tone in Alexander's tone that seemed slightly mocking.

"I think so too, but this land is so small, so small that it can sometimes feel suffocating," Alexander said as he took a deep breath, savoring the smell of spring refurbished earth and wildflowers in the air, and Alexander stretched out his arms, "One day everyone will understand that what they see is so narrow, and that people will look at places they would never dream of in their lifetime." ”

Offrey looked at Alexander suspiciously, although he didn't understand the meaning of Alexander's words, but he could vaguely feel something that shocked him.

"It's a big world, Oflei," Alexander said, lowering his arms, the passionate look in his eyes growing brighter, "ordering the army to slow down as they advance, I think the Milanese must have known we were coming." ”

Offrey's heart tightened, and he immediately answered the order.

On May 2, 1497, the Vatican League, composed mainly of Agri and Genoese, first appeared far down the North Arnaud River.

The news immediately caught the attention of the Milanese who were stationed in Reialo.

Prior to this, news of the unexpected defeat of Venice's attempt to capture Pisa had reached Reialo a few days in advance.

The Milanese were not very sorry for the unexpected defeat of the Venetians, or some were somewhat gloating.

As for the Agri, the Milanese did not take them to heart, and even the Genoese army, which did not attract much attention from the Milanese because there were only a thousand in number.

They were mindful of the reinforcements of about 7,000 men who were departing from Genoa, as well as the Vatican troops.

Sure enough, on May 4, the news came that the Milanese had to send messengers urging the Venetians to speed up their march and meet as soon as possible.

The Vatican's 20,000 troops, led by Giovanni Borgia, Duke of Gandino, crossed the Chimone Mountains.

Then, on May 5, about 15,000 Venetian soldiers finally arrived in Loare to join the Milanese.

The Battle of Montina has begun!