Because it's a mountain man.

So I'm sorry I don't have much knowledge.

So I'm sorry for not being polite.

So I'm really sorry I don't know the rules.

So I'm really sorry to be illiterate.

So I'm sorry I don't have any money.

I'm sorry that the land is not suitable for farming.

So I'm really sorry that I can only be a mercenary.

That's it. This is Egil's impression of the so-called "mountain people". This is true of the Scots, and the same is true of the Swiss. However, there is a slight difference between the two, and this difference lies in the degree - the Swiss are poorer than the Scots, the land is less suitable for farming, and there are more mercenaries.

That's it.

Speaking of which, Egil still has a high opinion of the legendary Swiss, who invented the tactics of attacking with phalanxes. Speaking of which, most of the regular armies of this era are not capable of fighting these Swiss mercenaries. Although poorly equipped and rarely armoured, they were united by their rich combat experience, tenacity, and sense of identity with the concept of "Swiss". The fighting power of the Swiss mercenaries is impressive. It's just a pity. Because Switzerland is really poor. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve reading autonomy. Therefore, the surname is often controlled by other powers. However, Switzerland's unique mountain culture cannot be accommodated by other peoples. Therefore, regardless of which country is controlled, the Swiss have a very high tendency to read.

So it's very difficult to manage.

Charles of Burgundy sought to consolidate his rule in the southern part of France and strengthen his position within the Holy Roman Empire. It took several years to send out an army and finally take Switzerland into his pocket, and add a crown of the Swiss prince to himself.

And then he regretted it.

As it was said before. Territory that can't bring you income is rare for nothing. And the Swiss territory, as I said before, cannot bring Charlie any benefits at all. The little taxes collected from the Swiss are not as much as the military money spent to suppress the various defections of the Swiss. All of a sudden, Switzerland became a big burden for the Duchy of Burgundy. Every year, more than one-third of the taxes of the Duchy of Burgundy were embezzled. Charlie even felt that if he had lost the territory of Burgundy, he would not have been able to read successfully a few years earlier.

Duke Charles was dismayed by this, but he was also a clever man, and finally came up with a clever idea - he could not do such a thing as letting Switzerland read power from his hands. If he dares to do so, then tomorrow his most important source of finance, the Netherlands, will also have to make a fuss. If you read it like this, the Duchy of Burgundy will fall.

Hire Swiss as mercenaries.

Moreover, it was massive, in batches, employing Swiss. As soon as there was a disaster and famine, the Swiss were hired as mercenaries. Wait until the environment is better before firing. As a result, the Duchy of Burgundy had a semi-standing army of twenty thousand half-professional and half-mercenary hostages, composed entirely of Swiss. Extremely combative. It can be said that the entire Duchy of Burgundy has mobilized its army, and the combat strength of 20,000 people can account for at least one-third of the entire Duchy.

Egil looked at this group of Swiss mercenaries, and he was very envious in his heart. Although he has a more effective dwarven chamber guard, he acts as a mercenary with a super long spear. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the dwarven chamber guards is even greater than that of the Swiss, but the stronger the combat power means higher employment costs and more difficult to replenish. Egil was the land of the Norman kingdom. There are only 5,000 dwarven room guards under his command. On the battlefield, it can only be used to stabilize the front, not to attack. As a result, Egil also tried to reorganize the Normans' professional super-pikemen units. But alas, it didn't work out.

Speaking of which, the Normans still specialize in tomahawks. As a universal hoplite, it is naturally competent. But as a super long spear unit, it is not qualified enough. Therefore, after the research of ultra-long spear technology, the Norman kingdom only added the spear militia, which is a class. And there are no real, regular, professional super-long spear units. And Egil's newly conquered Scotland, although the Scots are very suitable for the super-pikemen, but it is still very inconvenient:

First, Scotland is now at least nominally the domain of his wife, Artoria. Recruit yourself from Scotland, if it's just a militia it's fine. If it's a regular army, it's not the same thing.

Second, Egil looked down on the Scots because they were too poorly disciplined. Charge at every turn or something. is not as obedient as the Swiss, the Swiss mercenaries work hard for their employers, and they don't have a word on the knife mountain and the sea of fire. Quite easy to use.

Therefore, Egil was very envious of Charlie, who had 20,000 Swiss mercenaries in his hands. And think that Charlie's use of these soldiers is a tyrannical thing.

"Give them ten acres of land each, two slaves, and let them become military households and specialize in war. After that, each person was given a set of chain mail and a covercoat of the same style. Formation of professional troops. That's it. "Egil completely ignores the fact that Burgundy did not have so much land at all, like the Normans. It's very easy to talk about the wind and cool things. At the same time, plans are made to dig up the corners of this ally. I can't tell him about it.

In fact, just after the coalition entered the Apennine Peninsula, Egil deliberately began to woo some of Charlie's largest Swiss mercenary generals. And succeeded in gaining the favor of these people.

Of course, Egil's behavior was completely useless. At the same time, it is not necessary. After Egil had enough favorability, he nervously asked them tentatively if they would be willing to hire them for three times the price of Charlie.

So the mercenaries nodded: Of course we do, we will eat this bowl of rice.

Egil was overjoyed.

It's just that before he had time to rejoice, the mercenary leaders said such a turning point: but.

However, we will not be able to re-enter into a new employment contract until the employment contract between us and Duke Charles expires.

Egil said it was understandable. Frugal mercenaries are liked. If they ditch Charlie for triple the commission, they will definitely abandon Egil for a higher commission. No one will be relieved of such an unruly mercenary.

So Egil then asked: "How long does it take for your contract with Duke Charles to expire?"

The mercenary leader replied: Actually, this contract is a little different, that is, it is a contract that can only be unilaterally terminated. And there is no time limit. That is, as long as Duke Charles does not want to break the contract. And always be able to afford to pay commissions. Then the employment contract will not be annulled. Egil was speechless for a while, and at the same time, he was a little impressed by Charlie, this big grinning guy.

After confirming that Charlie would have little chance of letting go of the mercenaries, at least until the war was over, Egil dismissed the idea. Started to kill people seriously.

Kill the Venetians.

And for a very good reason, just five words: heresy!

Such.

Egil's army dug three or four circles of trenches under the city of Bologna, and prepared for a long siege and reinforcements. At the same time, hussar units were sent to burn and loot in northeastern Italy, spreading fear. In order to force the Venetian army out of the city of Venice, and then go head-to-head.

Egil made such a decision, but it was because Venice is known as a water city, surrounded by the sea on three sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Now that Egil's offshore fleet is still roaming the Black Sea, it won't be there for a while, so Egil really doesn't have the confidence to bargain for such a messy city. If there were too many losses against Venice, the next war with the Eastern Romans would not be easy.

So, let's be forced to fight.

Egil's light cavalry numbered 8,000, with professional hussars and Finnish light cavalry splitting half. At the beginning of the all-out war between the Catholics and the Eastern Romans, Egil gave half of the light and heavy cavalry to his wife Artoria, so that he had 4,000 light cavalry under his command, and these 4,000 light cavalry had hardly fought any decent battles from Normandy to Genoa. So there are almost no losses. It still maintains a very strong combat effectiveness. The Apennine Peninsula is mostly mountainous and hilly. But the city-states, and the larger towns were built on the plains, the plateaus.

So, the Venetians are out of luck.

The Venetians, nobles, commoners, poor people, rich merchants, and cavalrymen were all treated equally, and they were cut down on charges of heresy, and then their heads were stacked neatly on the north side of Venice, near the mainland, where crossbows could not be fired. Such a bloody scene frightened the comfortable Venetians. And the lawless hussars also openly dug up the Venetian cemetery outside the city in a place that could be seen on the Venetian city walls, and at the same time robbed the tombs, they also took out the bones of the Venetians and burned them next to the city of Venice.

Seeing the bones of their ancestors treated in this way, the Venetian soldiers and civilians wept bitterly and were excited, and held a rally in front of the Doge's Palace in Venice to coerce the Venetian governor Dandolo to quickly send troops.

Seeing this situation, the nearly eighty-year-old Dandoro felt helpless. The old fox, who was accustomed to seeing wind and waves, naturally understood that the Normans did this nothing more than to lure the Venetian defenders out of the city to fight, and then defeat them in one fell swoop. But what's the use of knowing? Who will listen? The conversion to Orthodoxy had already aroused strong resentment among the Venetians. Now, if he refuses to send troops again, he will be the doge of Venice.

"Let's send troops. ”

Old Dandoro said this to his son, little Dandoro said helplessly.

(To be continued)