A dry river stretches ruggedly into the distance, and because of age, the river has become a shallow ditch that is not very deep.

A gust of wind blew on the ground, and the dust was swept up by the wind and swirled over the dry earth and the depleted river, and then continued onward, through an open clearing, and finally stopped, and rose up in front of the rows of human walls, and into the eyes, mouths, and nostrils.

"Ah sneeze~"

The low-headed soldier couldn't help but sneeze and was seen by the officer passing in front of him, who waved a stick tied to his wrist with a rope at the little soldier, giving him a warning look.

The sound of horses' hooves came from a distance, and the soldiers turned their heads to see the fully armored Boweken and the carriage full of wine barrels following him, and some of them licked their tongues nervously.

Many veterans knew that Borwicken liked to go and see the first troops to attack before the battle, he would hand out wine to the soldiers, and if they were in a good mood, maybe a drink with their faces, and then he would order the unit to be the vanguard of the battle, and those who came back alive would get more wine, and those who died would be buried on the spot.

"Drinking good wine, or shedding blood, this is the fate and glory of a soldier." Bowwicken often said this to his men.

"French soldiers, I have brought you fine wine and orders," Borwicken shouted to the ranks in front of him, "our enemy is on the opposite side, and we are going to attack them, they are much smaller than us, and their generals are cowards, if any of you had fought a year ago, you should know that they are our defeated men, you only need to rush through the distance of a few hundred yards, and then slay your enemies as you normally would, and you will be victorious!" ”

Bowicken's shouts echoed in front of the battle, his gaze darting over everyone in front of him, and then turning his head to look at the looming Roman Tescian army on the opposite side.

In the dust, the Roman Thescian army in the distance looked a little indistinct, and with the faint noise, the heralds could be seen riding horses and running quickly between the formations, the reflection of the armor looming in the sunlight overhead.

"Rush forward, kill your enemies, seize their banners, and seize the spoils of war from them!" Bauwicken shouted to the team in front of him, "Me and the wine will be waiting for you here, long live France!" ”

Bursts of shouts rang out in the battle formation, and the French soldiers raised their weapons high to threaten the enemy on the opposite side, and the shouts passed through the open space between the two sides, and were carried by the wind to the front of the Roman Thescian army.

On a slightly raised hill, Gompati squinted at the French army opposite.

This is a short distance from the outskirts of Palma, and the silhouette of Palma can be seen in the distance.

On the other side of the dry river, about 4,000 French troops were already on standby.

As soon as the French army advanced on Milan and captured the largest city in northern Italy at almost no cost, Louis XII ordered Borwicken's force of about 15,000 men to be the left flank, with Louis XII himself leading the right flank, to quickly advance south in an attempt to reach Romagna.

"The French are there," Gompati whispered, for the present situation was very unfavorable to him, and that the situation that could have been in harmony with Milan and thus could have encircled the invading enemy in a favorable situation was completely failed by Constantine's escape, and worse, because there was almost no resistance, and the French army not only suffered little loss, but launched an attack on Romagna much earlier than expected.

Although Gompati was no less in force than the opposite Boweken, and even a little more to 6,600 men, his northern legion had to defend the long line from La Spezia to Parma, which was the worst situation for Gompati.

"General, it seems that the French are going to attack, what should we do?" A team officer rode over, the war horse also seemed to feel the depression before the battle, the four hooves were anxiously digging on the ground, the team officer pushed the helmet up hard, looking nervous waiting for Gompati's reaction.

"It's time to attack," Gompati pulled a leaf from a nearby low tree and put it in his mouth to chew, the green taste mixed with the earthy smell slowly spreading in his mouth, "to tell our people that the initial battle that follows is the most crucial. ”

The captain wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything, but nodded and turned his horse's head vigorously and ran into the distance, just as Gompati's eyes fell on a piece of ground beneath the dirt bag that had been deliberately trimmed and leveled.

A smile appeared on Gompati's face.

There were more than a dozen guns of various styles lined up, and in keeping with Gompati's idea of maximizing his firepower, he did not distribute the guns in different parts of the position, but concentrated them entirely in a natural bend near the dry river.

"Go and tell everybody," Gompati said to the heralds beside him, "I don't need them to be brave, I just want them to hold their positions for me, and warn them against the French cavalry." ”

The herald immediately jumped on his horse and galloped away, and looking at the smoke and dust rising from behind the horse's thighs, Gompati moved his mouth again, and then closed the leaf that had been chewed in his mouth and spat it on the ground with a mouthful of green spit.

A horn sounded from the other side, and Gompati stood up and looked across the river, watching the French approaching with the rising smoke and dust, Gompati turned on his horse with the help of his attendants.

The French army was already approaching, and from a long distance you could see the dazzling light of the armor rising and falling on the horizon, and as they approached, the French army could already be seen in a horizontal formation with several rows of depth.

Gompati's arm slowly raised, and he heard the rapid breathing of the herald next to him because of nervousness, and he turned his head slightly to look at the herald: "It's nothing, it's just French." ”

"I'm sorry, sir." The herald swallowed and nodded vigorously, even when he said this, his eyes were not at Gompati's face, but at his still half-raised arm, and several flags of different colors were inserted on a wooden stand in front of the herald, and when he saw Gompati's hand finally fall down, the herald, who had trained countless times, didn't even have time to think about it, he had already instinctively raised a flag high, and then used all his strength to keep shaking it.

"Open the gun~"

The nervous shouts of the artillery commander on the artillery position not far away could even be heard clearly by Gompati, and almost at the same moment, a deafening roar spread rapidly in all directions with a faint vibration from under his feet.

Bowwicken first heard the sound of cannonball, then saw the clouds of smoke rising from the opposite position, and he frowned, then smiled.

"Too anxious, Roman Thesians, too anxious." Bowwicken whispered, he knew that the other party obviously had to react because of the pressure he had put on them, maybe the roar of the artillery and the smoke in the sky did look very imposing, but it was really debatable how much damage he could do to himself by shooting at this distance.

Then, Bauwicken saw several dark shadows flying through the air, and then a splash of splattered flesh and flying stumps in the formation of the French army approaching the river.

There was a slight hint of surprise on the Frenchman's face, and he took a step forward as if to see more clearly, but then he stopped, carefully watching the movements of the enemy on the opposite side.

Several of the formations of the French army seemed to be slightly confused by the unexpected casualties, but then they quickly calmed down under the command of the officers, and although they could not help but fall behind the formation of the whole battle formation, they quickly continued to advance on the broken bodies on the ground and the slimy dark red earth.

"I'm in a hurry." Bowicken said again, and he glanced at the nobles around him, and when he saw that they were nodding, the Count of Proswan smiled.

The first strike can indeed give the enemy the feeling of being the first to strike, but it may not necessarily be useful when the two sides are preparing for a real big battle, especially when it is found that the enemy has not been confused and stagnant because of the damage, and it is inevitable that there will be a sense of powerlessness.

Bauwicken was very confident in his army, he believed that they would not be in trouble with a small attack, and in fact the French army did return to formation immediately after a short period of confusion, and looking at the French army that had reached the edge of the river, Bauwicken gave the order to the herald next to him.

For the unexpected range of the artillery of the Roman Thescian army, Bauwicken was somewhat surprised, although in the battle of Alexandria, the Montina army at that time had already shown its superiority in artillery, but Bauwicken was not there at that time, so he didn't care much about Louis XII's attention and vigilance of Montina's firearms troops, and now he saw with his own eyes the enemy's killing range beyond his imagination, and Bauwicken understood why the king cared so much about the Duchy army, He even did not hesitate to shorten the time spent in Milan and made the decision to move quickly.

Even so, Bauwicken did not see the Roman army as a threat to him.

Looking at the river stretching on both sides of the plain, Boweken's bearded chin twitched slightly, he knew that the enemy on the opposite side was planning to use the river to resist stubbornly, and according to the intelligence, the opponent's troops were indeed more than those in his direction, but this did not worry him, because there were about 15,000 people on the left flank of the entire French army, and the Gompati on the opposite side was less than 7,000 people even if the troops of the entire front were combined. And such a long line of defense was enough to tear his army into a pile of useless fragments.

"Attack!"

Bowwicken finally issued the first official order since the start of the war.

In the Romatesian army, Gompati kicked a hard clod of dirt under his feet and gave the same order.

"Array, forward~"

The first battle of the Third Romagna War, the Battle of Parma, began.

Barendi sat at a large table, and looked at the messenger standing opposite her with a heavy face, who had been sent by her father.

The man who wore one of the most fashionable three robes in Rome at the moment, embroidered with intricate patterns in every part of the clothes, and held the sleeves in place with a set of rings covering the back of his hands, was a secretary of the elder Rovere, whom Barendi had never seen before, but which just illustrated the attitude of old Rovere.

"Duchess, the Cardinal has urged your brother to send troops as soon as possible, and I believe that soon Ferrara's army will be able to reach Montina." The messenger carefully reported that old Rovere had warned him not to be too pretentious in front of Barendi, and that he was very clear about the daughter he had personally raised, but the messenger still had the illusion of convincing the duchess with the slightest hope that he would be able to convince the duchess.

"You mean, Duke of Ferrara, Constantin della Rovere?" Barondi asked expressionlessly.

The messenger felt a hint of unease, he could sense Barondi's indifference, but this was not the most important thing, what made him vaguely uneasy was Barondi's name for Constantine.

"Duchess, allow me to correct that your brother Constantine is the Duke of Milan and Ferrara."

The messenger was cautious but resolute, his gaze swept over Barondi's slightly ordinary face and avoided her by bowing his head, but he still secretly paid attention to the expression on Barondi's face.

Barendi looked at the person in front of her quietly, the intention of this envoy was obvious, he was reminding her not to forget the fact that they had supported Constantine as the Duke of Milan before.

Sensing the Duchess's indifferent gaze, the messenger bowed again.

"If I'm not mistaken," Barenti said in a slow tone, "the Venetians have openly questioned the identity of Duke Constantine of Milan, and I'm not surprised by that. ”

The messenger looked up in amazement, he knew that Barendi was angry, but he didn't expect her to say such something that would cause an uproar.

The messenger looked at Barondy in astonishment, and by this time he finally understood the meaning of what old Rovere had said to him.

"Resolute and in the same way as a man's will, Barondy is a testament to God's ambition to punish me."

When old Rovere said this, no one understood the meaning of his words, but now looking at the Duchess of Lomatesia, the messenger suddenly understood what the cardinal meant.

A wife who was more fit than a son to inherit the family business, but who had become a friend and foe to him, made old Rovere seem to hear God's laughter as he teased his fate.

"Madame, I think you should know that it would be very unwise at this time to make any move that might cause disputes and suspicions among the allies," the messenger could not help but remind, although it would be rude to know that this would be rude, but Barondi's words made him have to risk the anger of offending her majesty to correct it, "The French have arrived, and the attitude of the Venetians is very unclear, at least we have not heard the Venetians express their hostility with the French without hesitation, At this time, your words and actions may be the key to the fate of Milan and perhaps the whole of Lombardy. ”

Barendi listened attentively, her face cold and expressionless, and then she slowly rose from her chair.

The messenger immediately stared at Barondi.

Perhaps perceiving this man's unreasonable gaze, Barendi raised her eyebrows slightly, and then suddenly relaxed, and she looked at the messenger and said slowly in a slightly strange tone: "I think you can go back and tell my father that the Venetians have made a proposal to me, and they have promised that their army can join our war with the French as long as Rome Thesia gives up their claim to my Duke of Constantine Milan. ”

The messenger looked at Barondi dumbfounded, although he already knew that the duchess would never be moved by the so-called family affection, but he still did not expect that things would develop to such a point.

The Venetians' public declaration at the Vatican that they would no longer recognize Constantine as Duke of Milan had already attracted a great deal of attention from the Holy See.

Realizing that this might be a rare opportunity, the magnates did not hesitate to woo the Venetian envoys in order to gain the support of Venice, and even if this caused the displeasure of both Alexander VI and the elder Rovere, the glorious crown of the Duke of Milan attracted those who spared no effort to try to please the Venetians.

But none of this was as surprising as the news revealed by Barendi.

If even the Duchess of Rome Thesia, who was Constantine's sister, gave up her support for him, one can imagine what would have happened.

"I am sure that you will not do such an unwise act," said the messenger to Barentia in a low voice, "Madame, you know that if you do, you will also lose the support of Genoa, which is very bad for you, and do not forget that your husband, the Duke, also has a daughter in Pisa, and a pair of lovely children in Wallachia. ”

Barondi's face instantly darkened, and the messenger's words pierced her deep sore spots, and she knew that this person was actually hinting that she had many enemies in mind about her Duchess's throne.

If Constantine loses her status as Duke of Milan, it means that she will lose a strong backup.

At that time, both Lucrezia, who was hiding in Pisa, and Sofia, who was driven to the Balkans in the first place, may make a comeback.

At that time, maybe those bitter women will settle accounts with her.

Barondi looked at the person opposite her with a gloomy expression, and after a while she nodded slowly.

"You may be right, but you may not imagine the reason why my husband chose me to be his wife over other women, because he knew that I could bring him something that other women did not have," Barendi said with a strange smile on her face, "why do you think my husband chose me, you must know that it is in his interest for him to marry the daughter of the Pope or to the Archduchess of Wallachia, but why did he marry me in the first place?" ”

A trace of confusion flashed on the messenger's face, he was indeed very strange, after all, whether it was power or appearance, Barondi really could not be compared with the two in the legend, but in the end, Alexander married Barondi.

"My husband," said Barentia in a tone full of pride, "he has been able to rise from a country lord of Naples to the present Duke of Rome Thesia, not by virtue of his illustrious background, but by his wisdom and bravery, so what he needs is a wife who will do anything for his kingdom, an assistant, a woman who can be his wise man and companion, not a rag doll with only a pretty face, and not a woman who can cause him all kinds of trouble, so you don't have to worry about me at all. I advise you to rush back to my father at once, for soon Konstantin will have enough trouble. ”

The messenger looked at Barondi in a daze, he didn't know if this woman was crazy, but he knew that at least this woman was right, Konstantin's trouble this time was really not small.

Looking at the back of the messenger who was in a hurry to say goodbye, Barondi tightened her brows.

She couldn't show any anxiety and nervousness in front of this person, but in her heart, she couldn't calm down at all.

The Duchy of Romagna-Tuscany is facing a great crisis that threatens to collapse if not resolved in time.

Barondi walked over to the table and sat down, she needed to calm herself down first, what he had said to the messenger was indeed true, in order to obtain Venice's aid, she had seriously considered whether to agree with the Venetian's proposal to abandon Constantine.

Barendi took out a piece of paper, dipped the tip of her pen in ink, and began to write after a moment of contemplation.

"Dear Alexander, I miss you so much......"

After writing this sentence, Barondi's nose was sour, and a tear fell on the letterhead.

In mid-April, the French left flank met with the Roman army on the outskirts of Parma.

The strength of both sides is 4000 against 6600.

The French, under the personal command of the deputy commander of the expeditionary force, Count Boweken of Proswan, launched a fierce attack on the enemy.

The Lonathian army, on the other hand, opened the Battle of Parma with the first attack of musketeers with the trenches, low walls, and improvised obstacles that had been dug and piled up before.

The battle began by surprise on both sides in an unexpectedly tragic state, and it was at this time that the French unexpectedly discovered that their opponents were engaged in a fierce field battle in a way they had never encountered before.

The Roman-Thesians stubbornly hid behind their bunkers and trenches, and with the barrier-like river that crossed between the two armies, the musketeers did their best to fire at the French, who had not had time to form their formations across the river.

Bauwicken had to use the river to form a semicircular line of defense against the protruding side of the Roman Thesian army, and then he ordered a fierce attack on the enemy on the opposite side.

On the afternoon of the 12th, near dusk, the French broke through the right side of the Roman Thescian army at the cost of 400 casualties.

But then the Roman-Thesians continued to bombard the French army, which was gradually concentrated in the bend of the river, with unprecedented artillery fire.

The shelling posed a great threat to the French army, and at the end of the day on the 12th, Borwicken had to order a retreat, and the French troops immediately retreated to their original positions, and the two sides resumed the previous confrontation across the "river".

This result boosted the morale of the Roman Thescian army, and swept away the nervousness and confusion caused by the first defeat of the French army in Tarot Valley.

Everyone was cheering, and some were already in a hurry to collect the trophies from the corpses of the French soldiers who had not had time to be taken away.

Gompati was the only one with his heart on his own, waiting for news that could change the situation dramatically.

Sure enough, on April 13, the next day, just as the Roman Thescian army was preparing to fight the invading enemy again, an astonishing news suddenly came - the main force of the French army on the left flank led by King Louis XII of France suddenly broke through the defense of the Roman Tescian army from the eastern foot of the Magioracica mountain, and after destroying several fortified fortresses in succession, the right flank of the French army went straight down the way.

This time, Louis XII was once again in the town of Tarot Valley.

At the same time, Bauwicken's left flank was also mobilized, attacking the Roman Tescian army from east to west, echoing Louis XII.

Gompati's entire northern army is in danger of being cut off from retreat and completely annihilated!