The rebellion at the Doge's estate in Milan was instigated by the Sardinians.

In this way, the Sardinians tried to find out whether the Ming Empire's grip on Europe had weakened enough to continue to prevent the unification of Italy! They were also preparing for the unification of Italy.

The Sardinians sent a whole regiment of elite infantry regulars to take off their uniforms and disguise themselves as mobs to attack the mercenaries. And Zhang Cheng's position was the main flank breakthrough chosen by the Sardinians.

Once the Sardinians managed to break through, they would be able to flank the manor's main position not far away and crush the mercenary group. Therefore, the Sardinians threw a whole battalion of elite infantry here! They even forcibly transported more than ten wooden boats from more than 20 miles away in the way of people carrying them on their shoulders!

All actions were carried out in strict accordance with the tactical discipline, but when the Sardinia soldiers were about to arrive on the other side, they were stunned to find that the Ming army on the opposite side had actually counterattacked?

This counter-charge led by Zhang Cheng caught the Sardinians by surprise and plunged them into chaos in a short time.

The Sardinians were no longer suppressed by heavy fire at the moment, and the people on the boat were busy rowing. It was difficult to stop the mercenaries from approaching the river by relying on rifle fire from the other side alone.

"Ready!" A rare opportunity, Zhang Cheng quickly rushed to the riverside with people. At this moment, the more than ten wooden boats in the river were not far from the shore, and even Zhang Cheng could see that the Sardinians on the wooden boats were hurriedly turning their guns and pointing at them, ready to shoot.

"Two seconds! Pull! Zhang Cheng quickly shouted a tactical order. The mercenaries who had managed to follow him to the shore quickly pulled out their hand grenades, pulled the strings, paused for two seconds, and then threw the swarm of grenades near the wooden boats under the horrified gaze of the Sardinians on the wooden boats!

"Boom, boom, boom!!"

Successive explosions resounded across the river, and a huge shock wave churned the river into a pulp, and the column of water that rose into the sky was tens of meters high! More than a dozen wooden boats full of soldiers were mostly enveloped by the power of dozens of grenade explosions. There was even a super lucky one that landed directly on the wooden boat!

In the midst of the screams of grief, dozens of regular Sardinian soldiers died in the river!

"Two seconds! Throw! Zhang Cheng roared again. Another wave of dozens of grenades was thrown into the river. At this time, the sardinia on the other side finally reacted and began to fire fiercely at Zhang Cheng and them.

"Poof! Poof! In the midst of the rain of bullets, several mercenaries fell one after another around Zhang Cheng, who was half-squatting on the ground, but Zhang Cheng's face was not the slightest moved! In this moment of bullet rain, he has completely surrendered his life and death to the goddess of fate.

"Pull the strings! Two seconds! Throw! With Zhang Cheng's roar, another wave of grenades flew into the river. And after this time, there were no more intact wooden boats and living sardinians on the river!

"Run!" Ignoring the stray bullet that hit the dirt beside him, Zhang Cheng yelled and then turned around suddenly, hunched over and rolled all the way into the trench.

"Good job, boy!" The captain rushed over, took Zhang Cheng into his arms, and slapped him the back.

"They're retreating!" As the Sardinians on the other side of the river suddenly ceased fire and retreated, the mercenaries in the trenches all roared with excitement.

The Sardinians can't go anymore. All the wooden boats have been blown up, so should they be allowed to swim there with their weapons and equipment? After the failure of the assault, the commander of the Sardinia was also very decisive and immediately ordered the withdrawal of his troops. This was originally the main target of the assault, the main direction of attack was retreated, and the feint at the manor was also quickly over. The roaring gunfire over there gradually subsided.

Zhang Cheng closed his eyes and leaned into the trenches, panting heavily.

Just now, between life and death, he didn't have the time and mind to be nervous and afraid. It wasn't until the end of the battle that he realized that his back was already soaked with sweat. Beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead slid down his sideburns, and his heart was beating rapidly. His trembling hands tried to pull out his cigarette but couldn't catch it!

Zhang Cheng felt signs of stiffness in his body, and he knew it was the result of a rapid production of adrenaline. He just wants to take a break now.

No one can remain calm in the face of a real death threat!

"Good job, boy." The captain, whose wound on his face was finally bandaged, came to Zhang Cheng's side, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, with a relieved expression.

Today's battle is really thanks to Zhang Cheng's brave performance. Not to mention that the rear with reserves crushed the offensive of the Sardinians with a fierce counter-charge. It was his excellent marksmanship that solved the great threat of the sharpshooters on the opposite side, which enabled Maxim to exert a powerful suppressive power, which alone was enough to make a medal in the regular army!

Zhang Cheng smiled and didn't say anything more. He finally calmed down from his first bloody experience and lit a cigarette with a lighter. I took a deep breath and felt the spicy taste in my lungs. He exhaled a long smoke ring again, as if he wanted to exhale all the negative emotions in his heart with the cigarette.

At least two dozen mercenaries were killed in the fire, and many more were wounded in the trenches. As for the group of mercenaries who followed Zhang Cheng to launch a counter-charge, only half of them came back alive! At this moment, Zhang Cheng's body was still stained with the blood splattered by the mercenaries who were shot beside him!

In fact, Zhang Cheng believes that this battle should not have been fought like this.

They are mercenaries, and although they are paid a lot, their equipment is very average. The whole company was able to have two Makqin because the captain, the company commander's uncle, who was the regimental deputy, specially transferred one more. As for artillery, the entire mercenary regiment had less than ten light guns, and all of them were placed behind the main position of the manor. The navy's artillery support is there, but their accuracy and fire support are not to mention.

Of course, the Sardinians on the other side are even worse. Rotten here refers to their equipment, not training and courage.

Since the collapse of the HRE Empire, all Italians have understood a truth, the only stumbling block that still stands in the way of Italy's great unification and national rejuvenation is the Ming Empire, the empire on which the sun never sets, ruling the world!

Milan in the north, Napoli, Palermo in the south, and Taranto. These colonies were like sharp knives slashing at the hearts of Italians.

These colonies were not just ceded territory, but more importantly, they had garrisons of the Ming Empire, which was a huge military threat. And because of the defeat, all the Italian countries lost their economic dominance! Their customs, salt taxes, etc., were all in the hands of the Chinese people as collateral to repay the war reparations!

In this case, even the most powerful Sardinians in the Apennine Peninsula were poor jingles. Although elite soldiers were trained with the support of France, it was already a long time to equip all the soldiers with weapons and equipment, and it was too difficult to add heavy weapons.

The Sardinian army that participated in this battle this time was an elite infantry regiment among their kings. But even this elite infantry regiment had only a handful of heavy weapons.

A main battalion of the Sardinians in the direction of the main attack on this side was equipped with only two Maxims as supporting firepower. As for artillery, their entire infantry regiment consisted of only six light guns. In order to cover the direction of the main attack, these six guns were all used in the main position of the manor to make a feint.

The mercenary commanders' misjudgment of the battle situation was outrageous. The intentions of the Sardinia were already so obvious, but Zhang Cheng did not get reinforcements from a single person. These officers are conservative and stubborn in their thinking, and their brains are very rigid. Compared with European countries that are rapidly changing both technology and tactics, the Ming Empire has obviously begun to fall behind.

To put it bluntly, this battle was a bloody battle between two brave, poorly equipped armies fighting for their lives. As for the cause, it was just that the governor of Milan of the Ming Empire wanted to protect his family's estate.

According to the laws of the Ming Empire, the colonial governor could not mobilize the local garrison. This was primarily to prevent colonial rebellions.

In the centuries-old colonial history of the Ming Empire, there have been many outbreaks of colonial governors supporting their own troops and rebelling for independence. The largest and most far-reaching was the rebellion of the colonies in the New World.

That rebellion directly led to the loss of control of the New World of America by the Ming Empire, as well as the independence of the United States! Although the Ming Empire has fought against the rebellion of the New World several times. But because the distance is too far, the cost is too great. Even if the expeditionary force of the Ming Empire had twice captured the capital of the United States, they finally had to hold their noses and admit the reality that the New World of America was out of control.

Since then, the Ming Empire has severely forbidden the governors of the colonies everywhere to wield military power! The local garrison had its own commander, which was regularly rotated. And it is absolutely not allowed to merge with the governor. This also led to the fact that the governor of Milan had to organize mercenaries at his own expense in order to suppress the tax-resistant Sardinian tenants.

As for the navy, there are not so many words, and after the governor of Milan sent a sum of money to the commander of the Mediterranean fleet, several old warships sailed out of Taranto to ** Bay. As for the loss of shells or something, a training loss report will solve it.

"Are you interested in joining the regular army?" After lighting a cigarette for himself, the captain looked at Zhang Cheng with burning eyes. Who doesn't want such a good soldier?

The officers of this mercenary unit were all officers of the colonial garrison of Milan. Although the army cannot move, these officers can come out in various names to make extra money. Originally, everyone thought that this was just an ordinary armed march to suppress the mob, and no one expected that the regular army of Sardinia would actually participate in it. I didn't expect the battle to be so fierce.

"Regular Army?" Zhang Cheng's expression froze and looked at the captain on the side.

The official title of the regular army mentioned by the captain is the Royal Army of the Ming Empire. This was one of the main military forces of the Ming Empire, and together with the Royal Navy, they formed the cornerstone of the Ming Empire's world domination.