If you look down from above, you can see a peculiar Ouroboros pattern on the banks of the Ravenna River, the left flank of the Holy Alliance has been occupied by the Knights of the Edict and the crossbowmen of Gascogne, and is continuing to attack the flank and rear of the Holy Alliance, but on the right flank of the Holy Alliance, the Spaniards and Italians, with their muskets and artillery, are rushing towards the French army, although this momentum can only be said to be temporary, because the infantry and light cavalry that are attacking the French do not realize that their rear has been lostThey will be attacked on their backs, but they will soon find out.

Under these circumstances, the harassment of the Tuscan army (i.e., Cadiz, Florence, Lucca and Pisa, and Piombino), who were not valued by Cardona, gave Cardona a respite, and he ordered his light cavalry to meet the Edict Knights, separating them from Gascony's crossbowmen, while the Tuscan musketeers, who were almost choked by the Edict Knights, immediately turned their horses and bypassed the battlefield between the Edict Knights and the Spanish Light Knights. Attacking the crossbowmen, their short-handled muskets were no match for the heavily armored Edict Knights, but for the crossbowmen with only leather and chain mail, it was extremely terrifying. The Medici developed and perfected the short-handled musket with a range of up to 500 feet, which could fire six to eight times per minute, and in the rising smoke, the dense projectiles exploded in people's ears like thunder when they left the chamber, and some people were shot in the head and died immediately in agony, they were lucky, because the round lead projectiles would roll and deform in the soft body, and if they were shot in less lethal places such as the body and limbs, Even if they do not die on the battlefield, the current medical conditions do not allow them to be saved, and it is almost impossible for the lead projectiles to be dug out and left in the body, the lead will enter the bloodstream, and the injured will still be killed.

There is no doubt that the people from Tuscany are advantageous in terms of weapons and equipment, but they also have the inevitable shortcomings of the new army, that is, they have not experienced real wars, and they have previously obstructed the advance of the Edict Knights in the same game, and suppressed the crossbowmen of Gascogne, and can still be said to be at ease, or rather, they have not yet deeply felt the cruelty of the battlefieldWhen the first musketeer fell from his horse, he and his companions were taken aback, and even forgot for a moment what they had to do, he was immediately surrounded by crossbowmen who had drawn their short swords and scimitars, and stabbed them to death, followed by the second and third...... The crossbowmen seized the opportunity and launched a massive counter-attack, even driving the poor musketeers to the edge of the cavalry battlefield, and now the musketeers were caught between the French troops.

"Sure enough, it still doesn't work." Someone who had been closely following the situation on the battlefield said that he was none other than Ralph, who had been transferred back from Spain by Giulio, and that he had been doing business in Italy and the surrounding countries as a Spanish arms dealer that had caused countless people to gnash their teeth, and that he had encountered many dangers during the process, but that he was also well paid, and that was a real lord in Nuoro, and that was enough for him to have a fiefdom conferred by the Grand Duke, small and barren, but with a small and deep port, After all, he never lived off the fields and vineyards.

If you are a person who is willing to be mediocre, you can be satisfied with it from a mercenary to a lord, after all, the final outcome of the mercenary of the tenth ** is to die on the battlefield or get drunk on the side of the road, but don't forget, Ralph has the ambition of being like Sforza from the beginning, although he doesn't think that he can become an archduke, but a count, a lord, it is completely possible, after all, he is serving the future pope and the king of Italy, and he already has a wife, and several children, One port is not enough for him to live in peace.

So although his temples were frosty white, he still asked Julio. The Medici, his master earnestly pleaded, to come to this dangerous battlefield for sake.

He had expected such a situation for a long time, and after obtaining the Grand Duke of Nuoro, that is, Cosimo Jr. With Medici's permission, he led a group of mercenaries into the panicked musketeers, shouting loudly and fearlessly, even if such an act would make him a target for the crossbowmen, but the heavy armor like the knights of the edict made him only slightly wounded, and before more enemies could surround him, Ralph and his subordinates had gathered the Tuscan musketeers again, and more hollow iron balls fell among the crossbowmen, bringing flames and annoying smoke, At the same time, he led the musketeers back at a rapid pace, closing the distance they had made by closing the distance between them and allowing their crossbowmen to hurt them with their bows, and then entangled with them.

Their strengths are in distance and speed.

Cosimo. The Medici, the Grand Duke of Nuoro lowered his shoulders, although he still frowned and had a telescope, even if he was far away from the battlefield, he could clearly understand the coldness and bloodiness of war, those familiar faces, or unfamiliar faces, those companions, subordinates and enemies, they were all flesh and blood, alive, but on the battlefield, they were not much different from the slaughtered cattle and horses, the same blood splashed, the same flesh and skin, the same embarrassment and unbearable, completely different from the scene he saw in the picture books and booksThere are no dazzling swords, no gorgeous cloaks, no snow-white faces and handsome faces, everyone is hideous, with distorted facial features, and they can still maintain bright and bright clothes and armor before the battle, and after the frenzied fight and hasty escape, they are covered with the blood of themselves and their enemies, and there are flying dust, sweat or tears of fear or anger.

If Cosimo the Younger saw in Istanbul the ultimate of a king, then here he saw the ultimate of what a commander could achieve, there were thousands of people, but they would all live or die because of an order from the one who ruled them.

Cosimo Jr. even thanked himself for his prudence, and though he was willing to come to Ravenna as his father's voice and eyes, he did not arrogantly ask to be the commander here, and he could not think of how much pressure he would have been under if these musketeers, these good young men, had come to the battlefield on his orders, and had died a tragic death, or had been disabled for life, and though he would have to take on such responsibilities in the future, he could not help hoping that it would not come too soon.

And at this moment, the tide of the battle suddenly changed again, and that was Gaston. The artillery positions that Foiser had set up earlier on the other side of the Ravenna suddenly showed their sinister fangs, and just as the infantry under the command of Cardona charged towards the positions of the French, their flanks were completely exposed, of course, Cardona could not be blamed for this, he had always been a man of the rules, and in any case, he could not have imagined that the Ravenna was still a river, not a stream, and the location where they were now belonged to the French.

To add insult to injury, Gaston placed the same large artillery on the opposite side of the riverbank, which was also aimed at the city walls, with a long range and heavy shells, which could still plow bloody ditches through the crowd even if they were separated by a river.

It was almost a coincidence that the battle on both wings was in a stalemate, but even Cosimo Jr. could see that it was the French who might win in the end, because the composition of the Holy Alliance's army was more complex than that of the French, and the Italian mercenaries had developed a fear of this meat grinder, which was constantly generating huge casualties, and as soon as they realized that death would continue and could fall on them at any time, they would not hesitate to flee.

The soldiers led by Cosimo Jr. may not, but they are still novices, and there will still be problems that have arisen before, and even Ralph has to keep them away from the battlefield, using the advantage of horses and muskets to entangle the enemy, rather than attacking directly like a storm, and more fortunately, the French edict knights are also pursuing Cardona, the commander of the Holy Alliance, and for the time being, they will not care about the strangers who make them angry and manic.

The crossbowmen were defeated by the Tuscan army, but the knights of the edict did not, and the serpent was about to bite its tail and the French army was about to meet head to end, and in their "bosom" was the main force of the Holy Alliance.

Cosimo the Younger, who was outside the battlefield, could see this, and General Cardona, with his telescope and previous experience, could certainly see this, and now his army was divided into several parts, and one part was the cavalry of those who had ignored his orders, lost their minds because of the momentary losses, and had been captured by the knights of the royal order, and who were now either scattered, dead, or captured; Some were Italian mercenaries, who were surrounded by the edge of the battlefield or fell in the rear, as if they had little to do with the war; The other part, and the most valuable part of Cardona's existing army, was the Spanish phalanx infantry, Cardona had previously used the typical column deployment to provide sufficient reserves when defending the position, but after the battle, the poor Gascony crossbowmen withdrew from the territory they occupied, and Picardy's pikemen had to face an enemy several times their size, and they were easily routed, even after Gaston. Once again, Fuwa organized an attack, but it was still difficult to turn the tide.

When the Spaniards stood on the French position, the soldiers at the front even shouted with joy, for they thought they had been victorious, but as soldiers they could not see how their mid-waists were cut off by the artillery on the opposite side of the Ravenna River, nor how their tail was eaten little by little by the knights of the Edict, and defeat followed by a temporary victory, which was about to engulf them completely.

Cardona may not be a man with a talent for combat, but since he prides himself on being a man who has never suffered a great defeat, and he is not a fool when it comes to savoring the situation on the battlefield, he has clearly realized that the current chaotic situation is very unfavorable to his side, and he issued an order to let the soldiers around him gather and charge outward in a phalanx, defeat may be inevitable, but at least some losses can be recovered.

By this time Ralph had returned to Archduke Nuoro, although he knew that the current situation was not Giulio. The Medici and the Holy Father wanted to see, but as a mercenary captain, he had nothing to do, he could only do his best, as Giulio and the Medici requested, to ensure that their musketeers and infantry would not suffer too many casualties in this cruel war, yes, he understood that a soldier who had been through a great war was extremely precious, even if he was old or wounded, he was better than a strong hairy boy, look at those musketeers, they had almost completely calmed down in the face of death, People always grow fast.

And beside the young Grand Duke of Nuoro, the monk of the Order of Mercy, whose eyes had been following the Spaniard Cardona, after perceiving the attempt of this mediocre commander, the corners of his mouth curled in displeasure, and his already sinister and petty face became even more gloomy, and he looked at Cosimo Jr., "Your Highness, if you can, I think I need to leave for a while." ”

"What do you want to do?" Cosimo Jr. asked.

"I would like to try," said the friar, or rather Machiavelli, dressed as a monk, "I have heard that our enemy, the commander of the French, Gaston, is the nephew of King Louis XII of France, and though he has a great strategic talent, he is in fact quite young. ”

"What about young people?" Ralph asked curiously.

"Young people, especially young people with noble blood and outstanding talents, are always inevitably a little arrogant and arrogant." Machiavelli said, "Of course, not about you, Your Highness. He added in time.

Little Cosimo gazed at the chaotic battlefield for a moment, for they had begun the battle after morning prayer, and it was now noon, and the sun was scorching, and although the light of late autumn was no longer as hot as it was in summer, it was also dazzling.

"Go," he said, "but swear to me that you will return in peace." ”

"Of course," said Machiavelli, "I am also an Assasin." ”

Ralph watched Machiavelli and several strangers of the same unknown origin leave, and in the blink of an eye, these people disappeared without a trace, and he searched desperately for a while, but found nothing, "What are they going to do?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Probably," said Cosimo Jr., after a moment's thought, "look at Gaston. Morality. What a desire for a complete victory. ”