Christmas in 1512 was not peaceful. Two days before Christmas, seven thousand French cavalry suddenly gathered and appeared on the northeastern border of France. Then, creep through the silent Ardennes Forest, past the Dutch kingdom of Namurb, into the heart of the Duchy of Brabant, and continue north to Murdike on the south bank of the Rhine estuary......

At this time, the people of the Netherlands were unaware. Because, everyone is busy celebrating the biggest festival in Europe, Christmas.

The plan for the Christmas raid was proposed by Earl Charlie. After studying Marin's war thinking, he came to the conclusion that during major festivals, if troops are sent, the enemy will basically be defenseless, and it will be easier for our army to win easily......

"But wouldn't it be disrespectful to Jesus to send troops on a major holiday like Christmas?" Louis XII hesitated.

The Earl of Charles asked rhetorically:

"Your Majesty, what do you have to worry about? Worried about the Pope to blame? The king of France doesn't seem to need to look at the face of the Pope, right? ”

Louis XII reacted immediately - yes, when did the king of France ever fear the pope? Back then, the King of France also did the mess of kidnapping the Holy See, and he also got the Pope Avignon, didn't he have anything?

If it were the European monarchs in general, and even the Holy Roman Emperor, they would have to worry about offending the Holy See. But who is the king of France? That's the top European bigwigs. If the Holy See is not pleasing to the eye, you can even send troops to Rome and force the Pope to bow his head. Therefore, sending troops on Christmas is a hairy hair?

And, as Count Charles said, other countries are not as bullish as France, so naturally they do not dare to send troops on holy holidays easily (with the exception of Marin, because he is the son-in-law of the Pope and is not afraid of the reproach of the Holy See). In this way, the 2,000 Habsburg soldiers guarding 17,000 Swiss mercenary prisoners of war would certainly not have thought of it......

And in order to create suddenness, the Count of Charles suggested that the 7,000 French heavy cavalry dispatched should all take off their plate armor and trousers, and only keep the cuirass and helmet. Then, one man and three horses to enhance mobility.

In this way, 7000 French heavy cavalry, greatly increased in mobility, rushed to the vicinity of Murdike on the afternoon of Christmas Day, and dismounted to rest.

When night fell, the 7,000 French heavy cavalry, who had finished resting, turned on their horses and rode close to the temporary concentration camp in Murdijk......

At this time, the Dutch soldiers under the command of the Habsburgs who guarded the Muerdike concentration camp were holding a grand dinner to celebrate Christmas......

As for the unfortunate 17,000 Swiss mercenary prisoners of war, they had already finished their hard baguettes for dinner, and were now locked in a simple barracks to rest.

Approaching the Murdike camp, the French knights did not charge on horseback, but dismounted and led their horses on foot, lest the sound of horses' hooves startle the 2,000 defenders inside.

This was so because the French were afraid of the slaughter of unarmed Swiss mercenary prisoners of war by the enemy in despair. In that case, even if they kill all the defenders, it will be in vain. After all, their purpose was to rescue the 17,000 Swiss mercenary prisoners of war......

……

When they arrived at the gate of the temporary concentration camp, the French were surprised to find that the gate was unguarded...... It seems that the janitor also went to the concentration camp cafeteria for Christmas dinner......

So, the French knights sent knights who were proficient in climbing walls to climb over the walls, quietly opened the latch, and pushed open the gates of the concentration camp......

At this time, the atmosphere in the camp canteen was very lively......

Because it was Christmas, the food tonight was very generous. In front of each soldier there is soft bread (soldiers often eat black baguettes in normal times, so as to save money), and on the table, there are a lot of roast goose, roast suckling pig, and roast mutton......

Well, don't blame the Europeans of this era, French cuisine is just beginning, and all of Europe is eating dark cuisine, only the Italian food is slightly more exquisite......

At the same time, a lot of wine was also brought out from the concentration camp today to reward the sergeants. In order to make the soldiers have a good drink, a row of wine barrels was moved into the canteen - the officers drank wine, and the soldiers drank beer......

It was rare to have such an open opportunity to drink, and all the soldiers were very excited. Piles of soldiers gathered around the barrels, lined up with wooden spoons to scoop the wine out of the barrels, pour it into the wooden cups, and drink heartily......

He was so drunk that he didn't even notice that the camp gate was opened. After all, these soldiers would not have expected an enemy to attack at Christmas......

However, in the camp where the Swiss mercenary prisoners of war were held, they left 10 soldiers on duty to monitor the movements of the Swiss mercenary prisoners of war at all times. After all, these Swiss mercenaries were considered by the Habsburg soldiers to be dangerous people at the level of terrorists. They did not fear a foreign invasion (this was the heart of the Netherlands, after all), but they did fear the escape of imprisoned Swiss mercenary prisoners of war......

……

After entering the concentration camp, Baron Lavoisson, who was a fraction of the French army, waved his hand and ordered:

"Baron Pierre, you take 2,000 men to take control of the Swiss prisoner of war quarters and prevent the enemy from slaughtering Swiss warriors or burning down the houses in the quarters in desperation. Others, follow me! ”

With that, Baron Lavosson drew his two-handed broadsword and took the lead in rushing to the large canteen of the Murdijk temporary concentration camp......

At this time, the Habsburg soldiers in the canteen were drinking in a staggered manner......

……

The 10 night guards in the quarters of the Swiss prisoners of war were the first to spot the enemy invasion, drew their weapons and shouted warnings. But where is 10 people against 2000 people? What's more, these 2,000 people are all French knights with high martial arts.

Soon, 10 Habsburg night soldiers were cut down with two-handed swords and fell in pools of blood. Baron Pierre then used his two-handed sword to break open several locks and enter the dormitory to contact the Swiss prisoners of war......

On the side of the big cafeteria, the Dutch soldiers who heard the warning were stunned for a moment, and then their faces changed greatly......

They threw away their wooden wine glasses and hurried around the large cafeteria to find weapons. Unfortunately, they didn't bring much of their weapons with them. In addition, in order to facilitate the meal, they basically took off their armor and wore civilian clothes......

When Baron Lavoison rushed to the door of the large canteen with 5,000 French knights on foot, only a few hundred Dutch soldiers in civilian clothes came out with weapons in hand. Even, because some people did not find weapons, they could only hastily take the chef's kitchen knife out to meet the enemy......

"Kill!" After saying that, Baron Lavoison rushed up with a two-handed sword in his hand and slashed, and the French knights behind him were not far behind and rushed forward with their broadswords in hand......

How could the hundreds of Dutch defenders in civilian clothes be the match for the skilled French knights?

Within a few rounds, nearly 2,000 Dutch soldiers in the entire large canteen area were either killed or captured.

Baron Pierre then happily came over and reported that the "Swiss warriors" were unscathed. It's just that their shackles are not unlocked at night. Obviously, the Habsburgs were afraid of these Swiss mercenaries in the middle of the night......

After taking possession of the entire Murdijk makeshift camp, Baron Lavathon soon found a large number of shackle keys in the office of the camp chief, Divin. Then, 17,000 Swiss mercenary prisoners of war finally got out of a miserable life of coolies for several years......

.。 m.