Oral is a very large town, and because of the topography, the whole town looks like a huge funnel, the opening of the funnel is to the east, and the mouth is to the west.

To the southwest of Oral, there is a section of high hills, which is not planted because of the difficult terrain, but is covered with a whole field of wild sweet pear trees.

The hills are covered with gentle slopes and layers of undulating terraces, the largest of which has a panoramic view of the entire town of Oral.

From the terrace, it is clear that a thoroughfare divides the town of Oral into north and south, and the avenue runs through the town from east to west, and it is this road that has brought Orar much more prosperity than other places for hundreds of years, and has also brought them a lot of trouble and pleasure.

Alexander remembers very well that every year on the first Sunday of summer, the people of Orar would gather on the avenue in their costumes, and the people who had been divided by the road on both sides of the town would seem strangely friendly and happy.

But if you're a foreigner from somewhere else, you're probably in for a disaster, because when the clock strikes 12 o'clock at noon, the townspeople stand on both sides of the road and throw their local specialty, wild sweet pears, to passing travelers.

It is said that this custom dates back to the Middle Ages, in honor of the unity of the people of the place against a band of robbers who tried to ransack the town, and the locals laid an ambush on both sides of the avenue to attack their enemies, but instead of the sweet and sour pear juice, stones and arrows were thrown.

Looking down from the mesa, Gompati couldn't help but adjust the angle of the artillery, for a person who likes to play with artillery, there is no longer a terrain to contain an area with artillery, and imagining the whole town completely under the range and coverage of his artillery, Gompati has the urge to immediately ignite the powder twist and watch the cannonballs flying out of the air blow up the town below.

"It's a nice place, isn't it, I feel like a king standing here," Gompati asked with a smile as he looked at the people around him, and finally pouted when he saw the way they looked at him, "I mean, if our beasts open their mouths, the people below will die immediately, but of course we won't do that." ”

The gunners shook their heads silently, they always felt a little unbearable to Gompati, especially after the defense of the Pisa Gate, many people found that Gompati seemed to be suddenly enchanted with artillery, he would walk like a dog next to the gun carriage, sleep with cannonballs as pillows, eat with cannon barrels as tables, and even talk to artillery nervously when he was fine.

In short, Gompati suddenly became a devout artillery all-rounder, and in his eyes there was no weapon in the world more pleasing than artillery.

Gompati leaned down again and stretched out his hand, he closed one eye, stretched his thumb forward, and calculated the angle and estimated distance of the cannon according to the ratio of the angle of the fingertip to the length of the arm, according to the ratio that Alexander had taught him, and then his face was slightly startled, and he gradually felt that something was wrong.

He straightened up, looked down at the artillery in front of him, then at the town below, and after pondering for a moment, his face slowly turned serious.

"Set up all the artillery as soon as possible, be quick, move and move," called Gompati to the artillerymen who were still slowly finding positions for the artillery carriages, almost all of whom were drawn from the ranks on an improvised basis, with the exception of the main gunner, many of whom had no interest in the artillery at all, and whose only pleasure was that they were at least much safer than in a head-to-head confrontation with the enemy.

Gompati didn't like such soldiers, and in his opinion even the slippery Pizza mercenaries were more reliable than these guys, because those mercenaries at least really liked their artillery.

"Captain, what are we doing here?" One of the gunners asked strangely, wondering how Gompati could suddenly go crazy and urge people to hurry, as if he were about to face a strong enemy at any moment.

"I don't know," Gompati replied honestly, "but I think something is wrong, so let's get ready as soon as possible." ”

What made Gompati feel that something was wrong was a strange phenomenon he had discovered while casually imitating the effects of the artillery bombardment, and he noticed that whether it was the height, distance, or direction of the artillery, it seemed that this mesa could really completely control the whole town, and even if he was a good gunner, he could pose a huge threat to the road below that ran through the town from east to west.

This is no coincidence!

Gompati realized something.

He didn't think Alexander would be so coincidental to put all his artillery in such a place.

Not to mention that just this place can pose a threat to the entire town.

Something must have happened, Gompati had a premonition in his heart, and an inexplicable throbbing.

He had always had an unusual interest in artillery, otherwise he would not have rushed to the streets with a cannon during the Pisa riots.

Then those government bureaucrats in Pisa surrendered under his guns.

Now he had 10 powerful new guns in his hands, which made Gompati even think he could conquer the whole world.

"Set up all the artillery, maybe we'll see them in action."

Gompati commanded as he argued with the gunners over how high the gun angle should be.

In fact, he was not a good gunner, let alone an artillery expert, but his preference for large firepower convinced Gompati that everything he did was definitely meaningful.

Although he had already arrived in Oral, Alexander was in no hurry to enter the town.

He was now standing on a hill slightly higher up from the terrace where Gompati was, looking down at the town.

The funnel-shaped town is in full view, and the road in the middle, which is slightly rugged with the terrain, but is very eye-catching, separates the whole town very eye-catching.

Alexander touched his somewhat dry lips, looked back, and saw the vigilant hunters behind him who were just staring around, and he felt that it was time to get Ulliu over as soon as possible.

Since Sofia left, Alexander has been somewhat alienated from the people around him, and he doesn't even let Ulliu take care of himself much.

Alexander knew very well that Sophia's departure was related to the people around her, and it could even be said that all of them were involved in the "conspiracy" move.

Among them are Sophia herself, Barendi, Carlo, Paolo Busaco, and Ulliu is indispensable.

All of them were involved in that "conspiracy" for their own reasons and reasons.

That's why he snubbed Uliu for a while.

But now it seems that it is time to bring the Moors back to their side.

Does this mean that I have actually forgiven myself?

Alexander asked himself in his heart, and then smiled bitterly.

In fact, when he became entangled with Lucrezia, Alexander knew that he was no longer the same person he used to be.

Is the ambiguous entanglement with Lucrezia really just because of that special encounter and her beauty at that time?

Or did you approach that woman with a utilitarian mind in your heart from the beginning?

In this case, what right do you have to blame others for Sophia's departure?

"Give me water."

Alexander reluctantly said to a hunter with a water bladder on his waist, and after taking a sip of water, his eyes turned to the town again.

"What a nice place," Alexander sighed slightly, then he looked at Carlo next to him, "What do you think of this place?" ”

"Very good, my lord," said Carlo with satisfaction, "I have heard that this place is very rich, and the local people have a lot of money, and maybe we can collect a supply here." ”

Alexander shook his head secretly, Caro's performance made him a little disappointed, but he was relieved to think about it, after all, Carlo was not a real soldier, although he fought before, but it was only better than the soldiers who were pulled directly out of Agri's grange, maybe he could become a good cavalry officer, but it seemed a little difficult to expect him to become a qualified commander who could take charge of himself.

"Look at what this town looks like?"

"It's like a funnel, sir."

Carlo looked at it for a long time and finally said, he looked at Alexander a little puzzled, and didn't understand why he stayed here and stared at the town and didn't go in, after all, they had already traveled a long way, and delicious meals and comfortable beds were what they needed most at this time.

"It's a funnel, everybody says so."

Alexander smiled lightly, this time Carlo was not wrong, even hundreds of years later, some people will use the funnel to describe some pictures of the town of Oral.

It's just that it's a dangerous funnel, a terrible funnel that can pour out life and blood like water.

Saying this to himself, Alexander looked back at the army that was marching towards the town.

The 1,000 Genoese troops had entered Orar from southwest of the town, while Agri and the Pisas had been placed by Alexander to advance slowly behind the Genoese.

The town was so large that even if nearly 2,000 people suddenly appeared, it would not be crowded, and the locals were standing under their roofs at this time, silently watching the troops who had long been accustomed to coming and going.

"Tell our men to camp only in the southwest of the town," Alexander told again, the second time he had given the order, "and to contact the Genoese as soon as they arrived." ”

"Yes, sir." Carlo didn't ask questions but nodded, as the size of the army gradually expanded, Carlo gradually felt that the burden was getting heavier and heavier, which made him feel a little breathless and began to feel faintly uneasy.

Carlo did not want to be left behind, as he seemed to have seen a crisis in which he was becoming less and less appreciated as Alexander's status increased, especially since the arrival of Gompati made him feel threatened.

Perhaps everything was much easier for Paul Busako, he only had to do his best to keep Alexandria safe, and he had no need to worry about his position at all, and the Moorish only had to take care of his court for his master, and as for Massimo, I heard that he mixed well with the countess, as can be seen from his frequent correspondence with Alexander.

But Carlo can't, he feels his position shaking, which makes him even more desperate to prove his worth with a victory of his own.

Carlo decided to carry out the lord's orders properly, and he needed to prove himself so much that he was even a little anxious.

After receiving the order, Carlo not only quickly gave the order, but also personally urged the army to march towards the town of Orar according to Alexander's orders.

To Carlo's surprise, he soon discovered that the only people Alexander had ordered into the town were Genoese and Agri, not only the artillery, which should have been more important, but not even the Bohemians.

Oddly enough, Alexander ordered his troops not to cross the area in the center of the town of Oral.

Carlo had a vague sense that Alexander seemed to be preparing for something, but for a moment he couldn't figure out the key to it.

And as one order after another was given, Alexander did not show any relief.

"Hopefully it's all superfluous."

Standing on the mesa looking at the funnel-shaped town below, Alexander muttered to himself.

The entire road that runs through the town of Oral is bounded by a monument in the center of the town, which is called Upper Oral Avenue and Lower Oral Avenue by the townspeople.

From the monument to the east, Upper Oral Avenue makes a slight southeast turn, and at the end of the slightly curved road, you can vaguely see the parapet built by the Oroars in the early years and several abandoned stone lookouts.

A boy sat on the half-collapsed parapet wall, holding a broken stone in his hand and throwing it into a dry well in the distance, listening to the hollow "knock" sound coming from the well, the boy threw the stone away in boredom, and then lay down and looked at the little white clouds floating overhead.

A nice open space outside the town was requisitioned yesterday by some people who suddenly came from nowhere, and the adults said that the strangers were very fierce, and they even just said a few words, "In the name of so-and-so, this place has been requisitioned", and it didn't take a single effort to drive many people away from the vacant lot, and even the bohemians who drove the caravan everywhere that the boy liked to see.

Thinking of the unhappiness, the boy sat up in a bit of a huff and grabbed a stone and threw it with all his might, but this time the stone did not miss its head and did not throw it into the well.

The boy bent down reluctantly to reach for a stone farther away, when the sound of horses' hoofs came from the town.

The boy looked in the direction where the sound of horses' hooves had come, and as a puff of smoke approached, he saw a group of strangely dressed soldiers galloping in his direction.

The Orals were not hillbillies, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were well-informed, but the boy had never seen an army dressed like this.

Although they also wore armor, the armor of these horsemen looked very different from the others, and the round appearance made the boy want to laugh, and only a few of them carried the imposing-looking spears, and many more only hung a saber by the side of the saddle, but the short swords on their bodies that were half draped behind their shoulders looked imposing, and when they galloped, the short swords would fly high behind them, which made the boy look a little envious.

The group soon reached the parapet not far from the boys, and one of them, a cavalryman with a two-bearded beard on his face, hurried his horse a few steps forward and looked up at the boy who was sitting on the wall staring at them blankly.

"Hey young man, is this the east end of the town of Oral," the cavalry asked in a slightly strange tone, and seeing the boy's suspicious eyes, the cavalry looked back at his companion behind him, and then took a coin from his bosom and shook it in his hand, "You can take this in answer to me." ”

The boy's face showed interest at the sight of the shiny coin, and he jumped off the parapet and looked up at the cavalryman.

"What do you want to know?"

"I heard there's a well nearby, can you tell me where it is?"

Hearing the horseman's words, the boy almost turned his head to look into the grass, but he immediately resisted the movement, and looked at the coin that was flying up and down in the air with a slightly cunning eye.

"If I tell you, will you give it to me?"

"I'll give it when I say it."

"Then you have to pay first."

"What a little slipper," muttered the cavalryman, tossing the coin over, "boy, listen up, if you lie to anyone, I'll tie you up and drag you around the town." ”

"I won't lie," said the boy, beckoning him to the grass, and then stopped before he had gone far, first reaching out to his feet, then suddenly turning and running.

At the same time, he shouted loudly as he ran: "The well you are looking for is there, you have to count, this money is mine!" ”

The cavalry looked into the grass in some astonishment, and when he found that the mouth of the well was covered by the grass a dozen paces away from him, the cavalry was stunned for a moment, and then looked at the boy who ran away and couldn't help laughing.

After laughing, the horseman turned his horse's head back to his companions, and looked at the companions who laughed at him being teased by a child, and the horseman did not get angry, but urged: "Go back and report to your lords, we have found the well he said." ”

The cavalry quickly disappeared into the distance, and it wasn't long before the boy's head popped out of the grass.

He first looked at it for a while, and after making sure that the cavalry was indeed gone, he immediately ran towards a forest in the distance.

He walked through a camp nestled in the woods, came to the outside of a caravan and knocked the towering caravan.

The face of a young woman appeared in the open window of the caravan.

"What are you doing again? Brat? The young woman asked in disgust.

"I'm coming for you," the boy's face turned red at this time, his breathing was a little rapid, and after looking to see that there was no one on either side, he lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you promise me that you could kiss me as long as you have money." Look, I've got money," the boy said, holding up the coin in his hand to show the young woman in the car, "Now can you kiss me, Shaskina?" ”