Bad people live to eat and drink, while good people eat and drink to live. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

- Socrates (famous ancient Greek thinker, philosopher, and educator)

After the 3,000 shield cavalry was dispatched, there were more than 24,000 troops left under the command of Botricott; Combined with the cavalry of the personal guards subordinate to Botricott himself, the full battle is only 25,000 troops.

However, Bautracott felt that sending the 3,000 shield cavalry out to block the Fourth Legion of the Augustus family, which had gone north to reinforce Córdoba, was the best way to use those long shield cavalry.

Because the next battle must be an all-out attack by the main army of their own side against the remnants of the Third Legion of the Augustus family, which was defended by Córdoba; In frontal siege warfare, the presence of cavalry is almost worthless.

Of course, if Bautricott's army was only trying to blockade Córdoba, rather than taking it in a hurry; Then the role of cavalry is still very large, at least in terms of mobility, it is not comparable to infantry.

Unfortunately, the most important thing in Botricott's established war plan was the grasp of time; Although Beautrocott believed that it would take at least two months for the Augustusian family's native reinforcements to arrive, that was only the best estimate of Beautrocott.

War is never a sure thing, and the progress of war is full of unexpected factors; Therefore, Botricott did not dare to pin all his hopes on the time delayed by the slow reinforcements of the House of Augustus, and he had to complete the occupation of the province of Betica as soon as possible.

Otherwise, even if the Augustan family's native reinforcements were difficult to arrive for a while, the garrison of the family in the province of Betica might turn defeat into victory, and the entire military plan of the Kingdom of Spain would be in vain.

In order to put an end to the occupation of the province of Betica as soon as possible, to put an end to this war that should not have broken out, and to quickly turn everything into an established fact; Botracott sent all the cavalry under his command at all costs.

For Botracott, the loss of three thousand long shield cavalry was not unacceptable; As long as they can buy enough time for their main army to take Córdoba, then their sacrifice is worthwhile and acceptable.

Perhaps, such a decision is not fair to the three thousand shield cavalry, but wars are always for the benefit of a small number of people at the expense of the interests of the vast majority, and it is better throughout the ages!

Once the success will be done, this sentence is not just talking; If this war, which was initiated by the Kingdom of Spain, is won under the command of Botricott, then Botricott will naturally become a great hero and a famous general of the entire Spanish Kingdom.

However, the casualties paid by the army under its command in the war are not the so-called dry bones? In the battle of the sneak attack alone, the army of Botrakot lost more than 5,000 men; What about the more tragic siege battles that followed? What about the encirclement and annihilation of the 4th and 5th Army Corps?

It is no exaggeration to say that before the outbreak of this war, the Kingdom of Spain mobilized 15,000 troops under the command of Botricott himself, and formed a new army of 30,000 recruits, and later mobilized the garrison corps of the Iberian province; That's nearly 50,000 troops!

And how many soldiers can survive to the end of the war and enjoy the joy of victory and the honor of heroes? Before the start of the sneak attack, Botrecott's mental expectation was that it would cost 15,000 casualties to accomplish all the strategic objectives.

With the end of the sneak attack, Botrecott reassessed the combat effectiveness of the Augustan army, as well as the combat effectiveness of his own army; Now, the expected casualties in Botracott's heart are already the cost of 30,000 soldiers.

In other words, in the opinion of Botricott, who is the commander of the Spanish army, if the Spanish army wants to completely occupy the province of Betica and defeat the three legions of the Augustus family one by one, it will need to pay at least 30,000 casualties!

Such a price was too heavy for the weak kingdom of Spain; Botricott was almost certain that even if the Spanish kingdom succeeded in taking possession of the province of Betica, it would no longer be able to wage war with any other enemy, and would have to recuperate.

Judging from the current situation, Botrecott also regretted supporting Charles VII in starting this war; The Augustan family is still stronger than everyone imagined, is it worth it for the Kingdom of Spain to pay 30,000 casualties for a province of Betica?

Worthy or not, the war has already begun, and there is no room for Botricott to regret it; Therefore, Botrecott can only do his best to fight and win a more decent end for the Kingdom of Spain as much as possible!

Two days after the 3,000 shield cavalry had been dispatched, Beautracott's army slowly appeared outside the city of Córdoba; The defenders on the city wall looked at the Spanish troops densely packed outside the city, but they showed two contrasting expressions.

The officers and men of the Third Legion, when they saw the Spanish army, immediately showed extremely hateful expressions; They recalled once again the sneak attack that night, and the tragic death of countless brothers in the robe and the wounded after the final break.

In their hearts, there was no fear of the sheer strength of the Spanish army, only an unforgettable hatred of the shameless enemy; They just clenched their short swords tightly, ready to fight to the death against the Spanish attacking army at any time!

Compared with the common hatred of the officers and men of the Third Legion, the more than 1,000 soldiers of the Guards of the province of Betica were much more cowardly; Except for a few centurions who were veterans of the Augustus family, the rest of the ordinary soldiers showed fearful expressions.

Their fears were seen by Marcus, who was the supreme commander of the defenders, but Marcus said nothing; After all, those guards were just civilians who had just taken up arms, and they were not even well trained, so how could they not be afraid?

The role that war can play in the growth of a warrior is simply not something that words can describe; Marcus knew that as long as the guards had gone through a day of life-and-death fighting, they would also become fearless from the day after the sun rose.

The total number of defenders who were waiting for them was only 1,300; Among them, 1,000 were soldiers of the 3rd Legion, whose task was to defend the main force, and the remaining 300 soldiers of the Guards were responsible for lifting the columns and stones on the city walls and smashing the enemy.

In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the defenders on the city walls, Marcus divided all the defenders into four groups; The first three groups, each consisting of 1,000 officers of the 3rd Legion and 300 soldiers of the Guards, were divided into three shifts each day to defend the walls.

As for the reserve group composed of 600 guards with relatively good combat effectiveness, it was led by Marcus himself and was responsible for the support of the defense of the city wall; In the event of a lack of support in the defense of any group, these 600 men are the direct support.

When the Spanish army slowly appeared outside Córdoba, Marcus still only prepared the first group of soldiers on the city walls to fight; The remaining second and third groups, as well as the soldiers of the reserve group, are still resting near the city walls, waiting for their shifts!

When he approached Córdoba, Botracote did not immediately attack the heavily defended Córdoba, but continued to lead his army forward until about 500 meters from the city of Córdoba, when Botracote ordered the army to halt its march.

After that, Botrecott did not prepare his soldiers to attack; Botrecott also knew that after a day's march, the soldiers under his command would not have much energy to attack the city for a while, so it was better to have a good rest first.

More importantly, Botricott's army has not yet built siege equipment, even the most basic siege ladder, there is no one in Botricott's army, and the walls of Cordoba are so tall, how can they attack without siege equipment?

Therefore, on the one hand, Botrikot let the most elite soldiers of the directly subordinate legion under his command strictly prevent the defenders in the city from taking the initiative to attack, and on the other hand, he asked General Tekomin's First Army to immediately start cutting trees on the spot to build a temporary military camp.

General Gazka's Second Army had another task, which was to build the necessary siege engines for the entire army; Of course, Gazka's Second Legion didn't all build rudimentary siege ladders, they had other tasks.

In fact, as early as when the Roman powers sent emissaries to negotiate an alliance with the Kingdom of Spain against the House of Augustus, the leaders of the Roman powers had already begun to prepare for the Spanish army's attack on the province of Betica.

The weapons and equipment that were enough for 30,000 men were just one of them, and the other more important preparation was to send some experienced craftsmen to build siege engines to help the Spanish army build more powerful siege equipment.

There is no doubt that these craftsmen sent by the Roman powers were at this time commanding the soldiers of General Gezca's Second Legion to build siege equipment; In addition to the most primitive siege ladders, they will also build powerful siege towers and siege cones!

Siege warfare with only siege ladders and siege warfare with siege towers and siege cones can really belong to two levels of siege; It is not very difficult to defend against the siege of the former, but it is not very easy to defend against the siege of the latter.

And this is the secret weapon that belongs to Botricht! Beautracott believed that as long as his army had a sufficient number of siege ladders and siege cones; Then, the city defense of Córdoba will soon be broken by your own army!

In order to allow his army to devote enough forces to the siege at once, Botricott gave orders to the Second Legion to build fifty ladders and four siege ladders, as well as two siege cones; These are the confidence of Botracott to attack Córdoba! (To be continued.) )