Marin's previous worries were very prescient, and sure enough, the grain he had stored in the village of Clark in the west of Siena was snatched by the Sienese defenders who went out of the city to "collect grain", and not even a white slip was left.

A few kilometers away in the valley, in the village of Yarani, the second place in Marincho, is fine. Why? Because the village of Yarani is in the middle of the mountains, there is not even a major road to the outside world, so it is impassable for vehicles. Previously, Marin stored grain here, and hired a group of donkeys and mules who were good at walking mountain roads to carry grain into the mountains.

In such a place, even if you grab food, you can't transport it out without a car. You can't expect the mercenary men to carry the food themselves...... Therefore, the village, which is difficult to walk on the mountain road, was fortunate to escape the disaster of being sacked by the army......

In ancient times, there has always been a saying that "soldiers and bandits are not separated". In ancient times, officers and soldiers were generally more honest in peacetime. However, once the war broke out, these officers and men, who were supposed to "protect their homes and defend the country," immediately turned into evil bandits, and looted the people in the name of suppressing bandits while suppressing them. Therefore, in order to prevent soldiers from disturbing the people, the Ming Dynasty reluctantly set the rule that "guest troops are not allowed to enter the city". The so-called guest army is the foreign army passing by. If they are not allowed to enter the city, they are afraid that they will take advantage of the opportunity to rob the people in the city. There are many wealthy families in the city, and there are a bunch of shops. It would not be good if the passing guest army had bad thoughts.

The Chinese army, until the Red Army launched the "Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention", really did not disturb the people. The bald Jiang himself is not weak, but the army under his command is not well disciplined, and he robs the common people everywhere in the name of "bandits", ruining his reputation. Wherever the communist army went, they first sang "Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention" loudly to calm the people's hearts. In such a comparison, it is strange that the bald Jiang does not lose the country.

By the time Marin arrived in the mountain village of Yarani, he had stockpiled 50,000 pounds of barley, all of which had been bought at high prices from nearby villages. Moreover, the mules hired by Marin before have not been returned. Because Marin needs these mules to transport the grain out of the mountains. When the army arrived, the food would definitely have to go with the army outside Siena. And it is not impossible for the soldiers to carry the food out of the mountain, but it is too much of a waste of the soldiers' physical strength. Therefore, Marin rented a long-term contract in advance, so that these mules could help carry the grain out of the mountains and reach the front line.

Marin disguised as a merchant arrived at the village of Yarani in the valley and stayed there. Then, hundreds of Marin's men also came to the valley where the village of Yarani was located. They are mainly here to protect Marin's safety, after all, Marin is the real core of the North Sea Country. If there is an accident, the hegemony of the Beihai Kingdom will disappear. Moreover, after the arrival of these hundreds of people, a guard post was set up every day on the mountain road leading to the outside world, and the mountain people were not allowed to go out. Because they were afraid that the mountain people would go to the city of Siena to tell the truth. In fact, they are also too worried, and the people of Yarani Village have experience. During the war, they never went out to avoid being blackmailed by the rebels outside. Of course, their vigilance is not useless. At the very least, it can prevent outside troops from entering the mountains. If the enemy is discovered, it will at least buy time for Marin to escape into the mountains.

……

Marin waited for his men to arrive in the village of Arani, while Karn and the others were more miserable. Because, in the winter at the end of November, they will wade into the water......

The landing took place in the village of Jiao Erik, a small coastal fishing village in the northwestern part of the province of Grosseto in the Republic of Siena, northwest of the city of Grosseto.

The main reason why I chose this place is because of the proximity to ......

The village of Eric is less than 70 kilometers away from Siena in a straight line, and more than 10 kilometers closer than Grosseto is from Siena.

It's just that there is no decent road from the village of Eric to the city of Siena, even if it is a decent mountain road......

Of course, it's not that Eric Village really has no way to Siena. When we say "no road", we mean that there is no road where horse-drawn carriages can be walked. But if you are on foot, you can also go over the mountains to Siena. Moreover, the donkey and mule among the mules can barely walk the mountain road to Siena.

Before Marin specially walked this mountain road, found that this road has great ups and downs, one time up, one time down, people can walk on foot, and the carriage is absolutely not passable. Because, some sections of the road are too steep. Even if people pass by, they don't use walking, but "climbing". Therefore, this road is completely unsuitable for transporting goods, and only some pedestrians can walk. Alternatively, some donkeys and mules can also pass. But in some passages where the slope is too steep, donkeys and mules cannot climb over with their goods......

……

At the end of November, even though the temperature in Italy was higher than in Germany, it was still very cold. The soldiers waded into the water, most of them shivering from the cold.

Luckily, a spy had stored a lot of firewood in Eric Village earlier. So, as soon as they came ashore, they immediately sat down around the fire. At the same time, take out the sugar ginger slices that you have prepared long ago and chew them in your mouth.

On the first day, everyone wasted time landing and roasting the fire. It was not until the next morning that the army regrouped and prepared to march east.

Before leaving, the Italian spy sent by Marin to act as a guide suddenly asked if he could requisition a batch of donkeys and mules, so that a lot of baggage could be loaded.

Karn was a little surprised, and asked through the interpreter:

"Isn't it said that there are some sections of the road where mules are difficult to climb through?"

The Italian spy who had a hand in Kirnik explained:

"There are such sections, but there are relatively few, only a few sections. Moreover, it is difficult for mules to climb over because they carry heavy loads. If the mule's weight was unloaded on that limited stretch of the road and the warriors were to carry it over, the mule would still be able to climb over. ”

Karn was stunned, and then sent someone to a nearby village to collect donkeys and mules, but he did find dozens of mules carrying goods. The area is mountainous, and some farmers simply raise mules to help carry goods. By this time, their mules had been forcibly requisitioned by Karn. Of course, Karn gave the money, not for nothing.

Then, four generals, Kahn, Staad, Steindorff and Heynckes, led 15,000 soldiers with large backpacks and 50 donkeys and mules loaded with grain, and began a rapid march over the mountains of Siena......

Staad, who was experienced, ordered the army to be divided into two parts - the first part was 14,000 soldiers. In the back, 1,000 warriors escorted 50 donkeys and mules loaded with goods. Each mule carried about 300 pounds of cargo on its back. In addition to food, they were also responsible for carrying powder kegs. After all, although this army did not carry artillery, the musketeers also had to consume gunpowder. Stader had the musketeers bring some of their own gunpowder and the mules to carry the rest. And the 1,000 warriors who walked behind were not only responsible for protecting the donkey and mule convoys, but also responsible for carrying the goods and even pushing the mules' butts to climb the slopes when they encountered steep slopes......

In addition, the spears of all spearmen were also ordered to have their spears sawn off, leaving only 3 meters in length. This is because the five or six meters long Swiss-style spear is too heavy to carry on the mountain road. After sawing half of it, it is more convenient to carry. Not only that, but it can also be used as a walking stick for mountain climbing. Moreover, when they arrived in the city of Siena, when they were fighting in the streets, they could not use a spear five or six meters long. The army of the Beihai Kingdom has experienced many urban street battles, and has learned the lesson - street fighting spears, preferably two or three meters in length. Moreover, the top one is better than the sword and shield soldiers......

However, the wooden shield is heavier. Generally, those who are selected as sword and shield soldiers are those who have relatively large strength and can dance with their left hand to move a wooden shield. Or, simply left-handed, it is also convenient to use a wooden shield.

Therefore, in an army, the proportion of sword and shield soldiers is not high, and it can only be a minority. Ma Lin knew that in the Ming Dynasty at this time, a kind of rattan brand with an effect like a wooden shield was popular in the southeast. It's a pity that Marin has never seen a rattan brand, so he doesn't know what to do. Moreover, there must be an old rattan suitable for making rattan brands. In Qi Jiguang's mandarin duck array, there are rattan players with an important status. It is said that in the Qing Dynasty, rattan soldiers belonged to the elite special forces, named "tiger clothes rattan soldiers". Because Kang Mazi felt that the rattan soldiers were too explosive, he later ordered the people to prohibit the private manufacture of rattan cards. Then, some of the southern sword techniques handed down from later generations, people will find that their left hand is always waving blindly - in fact, their left hand should be equipped with a rattan brand...... It's just that the Qing court forbade the people to have rattan cards, and they could only make blind gestures with their left hands......

The advantage of rattan is that it is light, and it is not easy to crack like a wooden shield. It certainly won't work against muskets, but it definitely won't work against the natives...... If the whole army is armed with rattan cards, the attack of the natives will basically have no effect......

Of course, that's for the future. As far as the current situation is concerned, the 2,000 sword and shield soldiers selected by Marin can only carry heavy wooden shields covered with iron on their backs to cross the mountains and mountains...... Fortunately, with the support of their comrades-in-arms, they are also selected as strong men in the whole army. Otherwise, just carrying a heavy wooden shield to climb the mountain is very sad......