In fact, Marin also knows that it is very unkind to do so. However, he couldn't help it. Although you want to pretend to be miserable and defeat, if you really want the soldiers and horses of the Beihai Kingdom headquarters to be defeated, there will be big problems.

What's the big problem? That is - the self-confidence of the invincible army of the North Sea State!

The self-confidence of a person is important, and the self-confidence of an army is even more important. With self-confidence, the soldiers can charge into battle without hesitation and without fear. If you don't have self-confidence, it's easy to be afraid of the battle, or even defeated.

For example, the border army of the Ming Dynasty and the Mongolian cavalry, is the gap between them really that big? As long as the soldiers of the Ming army dare to fight hard, even if the infantry can't compare with the cavalry, but the numerical advantage is there, as long as they dare to exchange their lives for their lives, they will definitely kill the other party.

But this is not the case, on the battlefield, the confidence of victory is often more important than the advantage of numbers. The Mongol cavalry was confident that they could finish abusing the Ming army, so even if there were few people, they dared to charge forward. And the border army of the Ming Dynasty, because of the many failures, has lost its courage. Even if they saw more than a hundred Mongolian cavalry rushing over, thousands of Ming troops could be frightened and overwhelmed.

The most exaggerated thing is that during the Jiajing period, the Japanese invaded Jiangnan, which frightened tens of thousands of Ming soldiers and guards in Jiangnan and did not dare to move. Can't those guards beat those dozens of pirates? Certainly not. The point is, there were rumors at the time that those would-be robbers were the embodiment of demons. Then, he was so stunned that the Jiangnan Ming Army was so frightened that he didn't dare to move. But after reacting, they sent people to chase them out to sea to find face......

Therefore, the army cannot lose its self-confidence if it loses anything. And the self-confidence of the army is an important part of the so-called military soul, and it is indispensable.

Because self-confidence is so important, in later generations, whether it is the German army, the devils, or the People's Liberation Army, they are desperately promoting themselves as "invincible", and will never say that they cannot win. Lao Mei is the same, on the recruitment propaganda video, all kinds of aircraft and missiles frequently appear on the scene, telling you - our weapons are advanced, we can beat people, not be beaten......

Therefore, although Marin wanted to deceive and make the enemy relax his vigilance, he was unwilling to break the myth that "the army of the North Sea Kingdom was invincible".

So, how to solve this problem? It's easy to do, find someone to take the blame......

And looking at Europe, who else is better suited to carry this black pot than Italian mercenaries?

……

In fact, the Italian mercenaries were not as bad as Marin thought. To say that they are inferior is also compared to the German mercenaries. However, the Italian mercenaries of this era are by no means as funny as the Italian mercenaries of World War II......

The Italian mercenaries of this era may be a little worse in discipline now, and the quality of individual soldiers is not as good as that of German mercenaries, but they are not so bad that they can't even beat the African old black in World War II.

Moreover, before that, King Louis XII of France had also hired more than 20,000 Italian mercenaries to fight the Spanish war. If the Italian mercenaries were too bad, the French would not have hired them.

But that war because Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba applied the Marin phalanx (Spanish phalanx) and a large number of muskets, and the French army was defeated.

After the war, Louis XII, in order to shirk responsibility, threw the black pot on the heads of Italian mercenaries, believing that they were dragging down the French army. After all, the French also have to protect the self-confidence of the French army. Therefore, the Italian mercenaries can only be used as a fig leaf......

After that, the reputation of the Italian mercenaries plummeted, and business deteriorated a lot. And the Swiss mercenaries, because they were defeated by Marin's army, were captured in large numbers. Then, with the invasion of Switzerland by the Habsburgs, the Swiss mercenaries also fell silent for a while. After all, people are also busy resisting the Habsburgs.

The Italian mercenaries carried a big black pot sent by the French, and the Swiss mercenaries were busy rebelling against the Habsburgs. Therefore, during this time, the most nourishing people were the German mercenaries.

……

Marin didn't want to destroy the "invincible" character of the Beihai Army, but he also wanted to be defeated. Then, anyway, the Italian mercenaries who had already carried a black pot from the French were just used to carry the blame - anyway, they had already lost to the Spaniards once, and if they lost to the Germans again, it would be nothing......

Moreover, if these Italian mercenaries lose, Marin will not only be able to rely on the subsequent commissions. At the same time, it can also avoid the collapse of the self-confidence of the Beihai army. After all, it was not the Beihai army that was defeated, but the Italian mercenaries who had a bad reputation......

……

Out of guilt, before the Italian mercenaries left for Oldenburg, Marin entertained Pargani and his Italian mercenaries with a lavish banquet. Of course, it was Schwartz who came forward to entertain him.

Then, on behalf of Marin, Schwartz also promised that the supplies that the Earl of Oldenburg had hidden into the city of Oldenburg would be called upon by them. This promise was a pleasant surprise to Pargani and his men.

However, what they didn't expect was that this promise was useless at all......

Because, once the city of Oldenburg is broken, these materials will be looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance, and will not be left behind by the Italian mercenaries. So, that's a blank check. However, before the city was broken, it was a great encouragement to the Italian mercenaries. After all, guarding the city of Oldenburg is the same as guarding their property......

……

But as soon as he turned his head, Marin arranged for spies to go to the princes of the Eight Kingdoms to inform......

What's the secret? Naturally, it shook off the bottom of Pargani......

Marin feared that the Eight-Nation Coalition had abandoned the Italian mercenary city of Oldenburg and attacked East Friesland proper. Therefore, he will arrange spies to tell the eight princes - this Pargani is a "often defeated general" in Italy, and the level is very scummy. Moreover, the city of Oldenburg was filled with most of the goods and treasures of the Count of Oldenburg......

In this way, the princes of the eight countries can be ruthless and fight the Italian mercenaries in the city. Then, buy Marin a lot of time......

While seeing off the Italian troops, Marin hid in the carriage and watched the Italian mercenaries leave for Oldenburg.

Among them, an interesting picture fascinated Marin deeply - the 800 mercenaries of Palgani's "Gentleman Mercenary Group" seem to have each brought a black iron helmet, and it is the kind of iron helmet with a brim, which is somewhat like the steel helmet shape of later generations.

However, at the time of departure, the 800 mercenaries of the "Gentleman's Mercenary Group" did not put those black iron helmets on their heads, but with straps, which were carried on their backs...... After all, the iron helmet is heavy, and it is quite a pressure on the head to wear it, and it is much easier to carry it on the back......

"How is this a bit like a black cauldron, and it's on your back......"

Marin realized, then burst out laughing, rolling in the carriage with laughter......

"Lord, what's so funny about this? They look very neat. Although the combat effectiveness is not good, the appearance is okay......" Kohler was a little puzzled. However, apparently Kohler didn't know the stalk of "Back the Black Cauldron", so naturally he couldn't get the laugh......

Then, Marin saw that Pargani was also carrying a "black cauldron" on his back. However, his "black cauldron" is more gorgeous. Moreover, it looks like there are gorgeous bird feathers stuck on the top of the hat......

"Hehe, you really deserve to be the 'king of the black cauldron' for you to carry such a big mouthful...... " Marin looked through the carriage window and looked at the high-spirited Pargani Naole......