Mount Diff is a hill that slopes in a north-south slope, not very high among all the hills in the Roman suburbs, with a relatively gentle slope to the north and a slightly steeper slope to the south.

The land of the Devil Hill is ideal for growing grapes, and in spring and summer you can see the green vineyards from the foot of the mountain, and in autumn the vineyards turn a fruitful purple color.

Because of its proximity to Rome, most of the grapes on Mount Dieffy were sold by the local mountain people to the wineries of the city of Rome, and a large part of the vineyards on the mountain belonged to the Church.

Although it has always been famously said that all roads lead to Rome, there is no such avenue from the city of Rome to the manor on Old Diff Hill, which is a rather steep cliff on the western slope of Divoe Hill facing the city of Rome, and it would be a bit too troublesome to build roads in this kind of place.

So to get up to the hill you have to go through the gentle slope on the north side, through a mountain road that spirals up the mountain, and then through a small monastery built halfway up the mountain, and you can enter the vineyards of the Devil Hill.

The clergy hired people to pick the best grapes and make wine, and many of them made a fortune during this time, so that villas and estates with very different appearances and luxurious interiors were built near the Devil's Hill.

The old Rovere's manor house is located at the southern foot of the mountain, where the sun is abundant and the air is fresh, and if the weather is good, you can directly see the coastline of the Tirenian Sea in the distance, and you can see the light white façade of the villa and the oval roof with a little pagan style.

Alexander's party made their way along the mountain path, which did not look high, but the road was much longer because of the need to take into account the mountainous terrain.

The team moved slowly, because there was no danger in the area, and this was Rome, so the trip was still very pleasant, the only thing that was not satisfactory was that the snow accumulated on the road due to the snow some time ago had formed a thick ice, which made the trip a lot more difficult.

Alexander did not ride a horse but sat in a carriage, which walked slowly along the mountain road, and had to slow down when it was necessary to turn a corner, and because the body was strong but rather inconvenient, it seemed to walk much slower.

"Maybe the carriage should be equipped with shock absorbers." The thought crossed Alexander's mind, and the carriage ride was not a very comfortable pleasure in these days, the terrible road conditions were enough to turn a pleasant trip into a disaster, and the absence of shock absorbers was a test of the quality of the carriage, and no one dared to guarantee that the next time the wheel fell into a pit, it would not break the axle, or simply smash the wooden wheel to pieces.

Even if the journey is smooth, the potholed road can make a long journey a torment, even if you put a thick cushion in the car, if the road is long, it is enough to shake a person to the point of falling apart.

However, Alexander didn't think about putting shock absorbers on the carriage for his own convenience.

The defeat in the battle with the French at Tarot Valley cost him nearly 20 guns, which was a heavy loss for Alexander, and it was this battle that made him realize that the power of artillery in the field is important, but flexible mobility is also an important factor that cannot be ignored in the field.

The bulkiness of artillery made it more difficult to maneuver, but as warfare gradually changed, mobility became an indispensable key to victory on the battlefield of the future.

The French had great artillery skills, and this Alexander had known for a long time, but after the battle of Tarot Valley, he had to re-understand the level of French artillery.

Alexander wanted to create a gun carriage that could move quickly on the battlefield and keep up with the infantry so that his artillery could deal with the French artillery as a formidable opponent while being faster than the enemy's rate of fire and more agile in covering most of the battlefield.

Another reason why he became interested in artillery carriages was the Aragonese people.

According to some information from the Greek side, Gonzalo's army had already landed on a number of islands in the Aegean Sea and had gone through several fierce battles with the Ottomans.

In these battles, Gonzalo's carefully trained Spanish phalanx rose to prominence, and the Aragonese army defeated several enemy armies in succession and captured several islands in the Aegean Sea.

This made Alexander smell the smell of danger, he knew that Gonzalo had not really fully comprehended the power of the phalanx now, it can be said that the current phalanx is still only a prototype, but even this is enough to show the power, and once the future Spanish phalanx matures, it may be a big enemy for him.

In Alexander's mind, the most effective weapon to deal with the Spanish phalanx, which is like a moving giant hedgehog, is artillery, and in order to deploy artillery that can pose a huge threat to the enemy anytime and anywhere on the rapidly changing battlefield, in addition to the need for the battlefield commander to grasp the situation, it is necessary for the artillery itself to have the mobility to respond at any time.

This required that while maintaining the power of the artillery, it was necessary to reduce the weight as much as possible, and at the same time to create artillery carriages that could be transported quickly and could be easily put into battle after arriving on the battlefield.

These thoughts were swirling in Alexander's mind, and the procession was almost halfway up the hill to the village.

This village is the main road leading from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain Diff, and because of the previous short mountain road, many people who pass by here will stop for a little rest before continuing on.

The arrival of the hunters attracted the attention of the people of the village for a moment, but perhaps it was the nobles who were often seen coming and going between Rome and the manors on the hill of Dieff, and after only a little attention, the villagers should do what they should do.

The village is not large, except for the original church, a well and the church built in the open space in front of the church form the center of the whole village, and the whole village is almost built around this place.

As the procession crossed the village road, the sound of horses' hooves and wheels crushing in the mud was monotonous and clear, and before you knew it, the village seemed to be suddenly quiet.

There is a well in front of it, and travelers always stop here to quench their thirst and horses to get water.

It was at this time that the assault began!

When the first gunshot rang out, one of the hunters who was at the forefront immediately fell to the ground, and then a chaotic but unusually dense burst of gunfire rang out from all directions!

Almost instantly, the whistling bullets flew towards the carriage in the middle of the procession, and in the dull sound of muskets, the walls of the carriage were scattered with sawdust, and the horses pulling the carriage were shot one after another, and in a terrible neigh, the two horses rushed forward a few steps before falling to the ground.

The hunters were instantly confused by this sudden attack, and some of the soldiers immediately rolled and dismounted, while others screamed and clamped their horses' bellies and galloped forward.

The muskets were chaotic, but they were unusually dense, and a few horses that had been used as shields were shot and neighed and ran wildly, and when the gunfire stopped and a shout rang out, the hunters could see where their attackers were.

Swords glittering with cold light emerged from the windows and doors of some of the village's houses, and a group of heavily armed soldiers who had already been in ambush in the village rushed out as someone shouted "In the name of God".

"Kill them!"

I don't know who made such a shout, and for a moment everyone rushed towards the carriage tightly surrounded by the hunters like a raging tide.

"Hold your ground!"

Schell let out a cry as he raised his musket in the face of the enemy who had already rushed closer.

The sound of a gunfire made the heart of an enemy who was already very close jump, but when he realized that he had not been shot, he immediately shouted and raised his sword again to lunge at Scheer, who was only less than ten paces away.

At that moment, the man saw the Balkan suddenly make a strange move.

In the face of the rushing enemy, Schell did not swing his saber to block, but suddenly squatted down, and at the same time shouted loudly to the huntsmen around him: "Get down!" ”

The attackers were puzzled for a moment, and then they suddenly saw the door of the carriage that was tightly enclosed in the middle suddenly open.

Then a neat and dense roar like a horse's hooves smashing the earth covered all the sounds around it.

The first to be hit

He didn't know what was happening when he fell, as if he had suddenly been knocked to the ground by an invisible fist, and even before the pain hit, the man tried to get back up.

But almost at the same time, his companions fell backwards like him, and for a moment the entire row of people who rushed to the front fell as if they had crashed into an invisible wall.

Choking smoke rose from the top and bottom rows of the carriage, and the murderous barrel of the gun appeared in the eyes of the assassin who was still alive.

There was no Count Montina who the attackers thought should have been in the car, only the horrific weapons that slaughtered a dozen people in an instant.

"What is this? What is it?! A man shouted in panic, staring blankly at the hunters on the opposite side, and then he suddenly let out a terrifying roar, "Trap! It's a trap! ”

The screams made the attackers around them agitated, and before they could understand what was happening from the fear, a strange trumpet suddenly sounded from outside the village, which made them feel inexplicably frightened.

Accompanied by the sound of the trumpet, there were one after another passwords.

"It's a trap!"

Someone shouted again, but this time no one doubted it, and at the same time, with a command, the short muskets in the hands of the hunters who had been around the carriage began to shoot fiercely at the oncoming enemy!

At the same time, a group of Montina soldiers, dressed in different costumes, but impressed by a single glance, surrounded the village from all sides in the direction of the church, and the uniform pace of the Agri musketeers at the front looked so terrible against the muzzles of the black holes that they were frightened by the first sight of the enemy behind them.

"Raise the gun~" a team officer customarily gave the order.

"Aim~"

"Put~"

The gunfire thundered and shook the sky over Mount Diff.

At this time, old Rovelle was in a room of the villa, and the glass in his hand was filled with the new wine made in the autumn of the previous year, in fact, the taste of this new wine was still a little sour and stiff because it had not been precipitated and fermented for a long time, but old Rovelle seemed to enjoy this slightly green taste, he took a sip and groaned, and then took another sip.

"Wine should still be left out for a few years," Constantine, who was sitting across from him, also took a sip and raised his glass and frowned, and when he saw that his father did not speak, he added, "Maybe we can drink some ......."

"Good wine does need to be stored for a long time," said old Rovere, glancing at his son, and actually raised his glass to the sun, "because time is the best means of preservation compared to all other methods, and you and my son, although you understand this truth, you only use this wisdom in the knowledge of wine." ”

Konstantin was silent about his father's sudden lecture, and watched old Rovere get up and walk to the window to look at the scenery outside, and after hesitating, he finally spoke: "Father, Gombray should already be on the way." ”

Old Rovere looked back at his son, and when he saw Konstantin's expression that seemed to be eager to try, he shook his head slightly and picked up his glass again: "As I said, since you understand the meaning of winemaking, why don't you understand that this principle also applies to other places?" ”

"But maybe we can ......"

Before Konstantin could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a sudden burst of gunfire from the other side of the mountain.

Konstantin, who heard the gunshot, stood up sharply, walked quickly to the window, and looked in the direction of the village to the north.

Then he suddenly turned his head and shouted excitedly to the old Luo Weilei next to him, who was also alarmed by the gunshot: "Father, it's done over there!" ”

"Yes," replied old Rovere, who looked back at the attendants and servants who had hurried in at the sound of gunshots, and then reached out sharply, grabbed Konstantin's arm, and said calmly but in a low and powerful voice, "Do you know what to do now?" ”

"Yes, father." With a slight nod, Konstantin waved to a few of his retinue and ordered: "Go and bring the horses." ”

As Konstantin walked briskly into the courtyard, one of the mounts that had already been prepared let out a long hiss, which had been waiting impatiently.

Konstantin lifted his thick robe, turned over on his horse, grasped the reins with both hands and forcefully went up, and as the horse's head lifted upward, two thick white gases erupted from the horse's nose like the flames of those ferocious dragons in ancient knight tales.

A group of soldiers who had gathered in the manor before had already prepared at this time, and looking at this team with weapons in hand, Konstantin gave a loud order: "Go!" ”

Then he led the horse and rushed out of the manor!