Just as I continued to sing with the excitement of turning over the serfs on my face, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly found me in the crowd who was naturally smirking, and the moment my eyes met made my back chill like falling into an ice cave, I had an intuitive understanding of the wise words of the ancestors who must be reversed, and my legs began to shake unnaturally.

How afraid I am of being caught by the emperor who plays the dead and sends him to death!

"I've heard that Nijmegen used a mysterious Incendiary Substance to defeat the heavy cavalry of Normandy during the Brabant Encounter, and now it's time for you to do something about your feudal." His Majesty the Emperor looked at me with a playful smile, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, waiting for me to offer it myself.

Grandma's, it turned out that I was calculating here, but fortunately I didn't show my wealth before, I breathed a sigh of relief, adjusted my expression, and complained with a sad face: "Your Majesty, I do have the kind of fire oil you said, but it is an alchemist, an inextinguishable fire extracted from the liquid transformed from the bones of the saint, only a little bit of it has been used on the battlefield, and now I only have this last vial for self-defense......"

As I spoke, I untied the bottle of oil I had brought with me from my belt, and explained with both hands: "What I said is true, and I can touch my chest and swear to God, that there is indeed nothing left, and it is a pity that I am really sorry, Your Majesty." ”

Emperor Otto played with the small bottle in his hand, as if he was obsessed with its mellow shape, and did not answer for a long time, which made my back chill for a while, for fear that his old man would not be in good spirits and send people to the camp to search randomly, and turn out the inventory at the bottom of the box will not jump like thunder because of the crime of bullying the king.

The waiting time was long, and many people's eyes kept wandering back and forth on my and Your Majesty's faces, like the pendulum of a clock, turning very frequently.

————————

————————

Outside Pisa, Italy, on the Madonna Plain......

15 February 999 Christ......

The sun was unscrupulously squandering its heat, and everyone in the armor was like sardines in a can, smelling and spoiling from the inside out, giving off a disgusting smell to themselves.

I struggled to restrain the excited horse under my crotch, and finally let it no longer step on the ground anxiously and kick up dry dust, but its bulging nostrils still showed the strength of the heart to try, which is not something that a simple rein can control.

As the followers of the Emperor's Central Army, the Nijmegen soldiers under his command were all broken up and reorganized into the Saxon coalition army, which was naturally separated from the usual inseparable Bull and Kohler.

I was mainly responsible for commanding a 100-man cavalry force, which was responsible for the defense of the front area of the left flank of the Emperor's central army.

The new horse under the crotch was sent by the Earl of Hanover last night, and he felt that my original war horse was not suitable for continuing to serve as a knight's mount, and in the earl's words: "It is clearly a donkey with a different coat color!" ”

This war horse is said to be a purebred Danish horse, inheriting the excellent genes of those ancestors who survived in the ice and snow of the north, from its tall body and beautiful muscle lines, I can guess its heroic appearance when it is draped in battle, but I did not expect it to be so bloodthirsty and belligerent, as soon as I heard the drum and horn contention, I couldn't help but want to raise my hooves and gallop, I wanted to run in front of all my companions to show off my handsomeness, I was not good at riding in order to control it, but it was so painful that I almost pulled the reins in my hand.

The army of the Duke of Carinthia and the Duke of Bavaria was indeed sent by His Majesty to be the vanguard, and in addition to punishing them for their disrespectful arguments in front of the Emperor yesterday, it was also hoped that they could cultivate a tacit understanding and eliminate their estrangement.

The Bavarian heavy infantry lined up three rows of overlapping battle lines, the flanks were protected by the Magyar light cavalry of Carinthia, and the archers of each principality were gathered and formed into several phalanxes under unified command, not far behind the forward camp, which could provide considerable firepower support at any time to protect the front of the phalanx from a nerve-wracking attack.

The coalition of Italian nobles on the opposite side, at least in terms of numbers, was still quite impressive, crowded and overwhelmingly piled up on the plain in front of them, the flags fluttering in their formations were waving to cover the sky and the sun, and the reflection of the weapons was so bright that people couldn't open their eyes, and they looked like gods descending from afar, which may be why they had the courage to dare to fight.

The main force of the rebels was a phalanx of pikemen composed of citizens of various cities, like the militia of later reserves, who could burst out in an instant, holding javelin-style spears characteristic of Italian pikemen, and throwing them en masse when the enemy charged, like their ancestors ancient Roman warriors, causing huge damage to the opponent in an instant.

Fortunately, there were not many cavalry rebels who were most feared in the plains, and even the number of people who could make a counter-charge was not enough.

"God forbid! It looks like the enemy isn't that tough to deal with, Your Majesty. ”

The Grand Duke of Swabia put his hand on the pergola and squinted his dim old eyes, carefully distinguishing the number of enemies, if he did not have reading glasses at this age, it was really embarrassing for his old man, only to see that the old duke observed the reality of the enemy clearly, and said to Emperor Otto with great confidence:

"Use the Magyar light cavalry of Carinthia to surround the enemy's pikemen phalanx, take advantage of the enemy's slow pace to fire back a few rounds, once their positions are loosened, immediately send knights to attack, and the heavy infantry will then be charged, and the enemy will only be left to be slaughtered in his own chaotic formation, and he will not even find a clear direction to escape."

His Majesty the Emperor nodded approvingly, he knew very well the true strength of both the enemy and us, and was full of confidence in Germany's victory, His Majesty easily twisted his beard, pointed to the heralds who were galloping back and forth in front of the enemy formation, and asked:

"The enemy's phalanx has some gaps on the right side, why haven't they been filled with new soldiers? Such a big hole could not have been the negligence of the commander. ”

As soon as His Majesty's voice fell, as if to answer him, the phalanx of the Italian rebels spread out from the middle, and a strange army in black clothes and black armor appeared on the horizon, densely and sullenly pressed up.

"Normans!"

Seeing the lion banner held by this strange army, many knights shouted in horror, and the superstition of the Norman knights to spread false and terrible records accompanied them through shivering nights since childhood, and then affected the others around them, and the fear of this thing was like a deadly contagion, which soon spread to everyone, making the German lineup a little restless.

"Looks like the Normans once kicked your ass, cowards!"

Emperor Otto saw that when his knights saw the heavy cavalry in Normandy, they were like cats and mice, and he was so frightened that he couldn't even ride his horse, and his temper of hatred of iron and steel was instantly ignited, and he scolded the knights closest to him, so that they couldn't even lift their heads.

"Have you forgotten that you are the great Romans? I was so frightened by the pirates' descendants that I wandered forward! God is always on Germany, how can we be defeated by this bunch of blonde brutes and cheer up! ”

As the emperor spoke, the heralds went out to all positions in the phalanx to deliver orders, and the nobles at all levels were also suppressing their soldiers, and the restless phalanx gradually quieted down.

The Normans spread out their army in an orderly manner, and arranged the phalanx next to the Italian rebels, as if they were conducting a field exercise.

The tall infantry in heavy armor plunged their heavy cast-iron shields into the dirt to form an airtight city wall, and laid out a layered defense in an orderly manner, protecting the archers behind them who had just made pre-battle adjustments, the latter were busy tightening their bowstrings and sticking arrows into the ground, and the Norman heavy cavalry, which was the most terrifying to the German knights, raised their spears and fiddled with the meteor hammer hanging on the other side of the war horse, cruising on the right flank of their own phalanx, and even the war horse under the crotch was bullying. With his chest held high, he let out a disdainful roar at the German knight's mount, and the moving torrent of steel was like a sharp steel knife, ready to pierce the soft ribs that the German had accidentally exposed.

The Duke of Franconia kicked his horse's belly and approached the emperor to express his opinion: "Your Majesty, judging from the distribution of Normandy forces, it seems that they have other plans for placing heavy cavalry on the right flank opposite our knights. We might as well send the Magyar light cavalry to feint on both flanks after the official battle will start later, and then concentrate the knights to attack the junction of the two formations, where the defense must be the weakest and the division of labor is unknown, perhaps a breakthrough that can be exploited, so that we have a chance to win a battle. ”

After the Duke finished speaking, he stared at the young emperor who was lost in thought and waited for his final decision, but to be honest, I think the Duke of Franconia had a point, and the idea of flowering at both ends, cutting in the center, and breaking each one was really worth trying.

"Your strategy is clever, and it is as easy as you can always capture the hearts of the girls, Duke."

His Majesty the Emperor touched the tip of his nose and nodded thoughtfully, and the Duke of Franconia smiled shyly, thinking that His Majesty would adopt his idea, but Emperor Otto's words immediately turned, and a big brain teaser flashed him:

"Unfortunately, I have other countermeasures, so I am afraid that this time I will not be able to tear through the enemy's defenses from the center, but you are still the commander of the Left Wing Alliance, and you can give orders on my behalf, may God bless you, Duke."

His Majesty obviously understood the way to slap a sweet date, and after vetoing the Duke of Franconia's suggestion in an unquestionable tone, he immediately gave him a new title to prevent the Duke's psychological gap from being too large.

"Everything is at your disposal, Your Majesty, God bless Germany."

The Duke of Franconia frowned, bowed briefly, and returned to his place on horseback.

(End of chapter)