1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 42 Pavia

For a moment, Galwen thought he was going to die.

He lay down on the mud, covering his body with the smelly mud, leaving only his nose and eyes exposed.

He had an arrow in his shoulder blade, one leg was sprained, and his body was covered with small wounds.

He and three teammates formed a reconnaissance team and went to the vicinity of the enemy camp to record the number of enemy troops and investigate the fortifications.

Galwin quietly followed an officer at night to a farm, where several heavily made-up women opened the door for the officer.

Galwin and his teammates sneaked into the farm, strangled the officer and several women, and found a military camp defense map and a letter from the officer.

Unfortunately, they failed to find a woman hiding under the bed and the news leaked out.

The woman's shrill scream alarmed the soldiers on patrol.

One teammate was shot dead and the others were scattered.

With his speed advantage, he passed through the dense forest, ignoring the sharp branches, and temporarily avoided the enemy's scouts.

Galwin was very clear that he was not completely safe. When sneaking in, the team encountered a total of three waves of patrols, and now the outermost wave should be the only one left.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the bushes.

He gritted his teeth, turned over, and looked out through the gap in the bushes.

Four cavalrymen slowly walked towards this side. Judging from their attire, they should be hired riders.

This should be the small team patrolling the outermost area.

They walked slowly, speaking Latin which Galwin could hardly understand.

After the initial quality-oriented teaching, the Royal Knights Academy began to teach students in different departments based on academic performance and personal ideals.

Some people choose the Knights' Academy and focus on practicing riding and lance, and at most add some horse archery skills.

Some choose the Hoplite Academy, which focuses on strength training and physical development.

Some children of civilians were assigned to the Sergeant's Academy due to their poor quality, and they will serve as junior officers in the army in the future.

I registered for the Command Institute with the third place.

This is the most demanding department. Not only do students need to study all the courses of the Knight Department, but they also need to learn languages, reconnaissance, and battlefield command.

In addition to Greek, which is required for all departments, the Command School also has to learn Latin and Arabic.

Galwin had just started learning Latin and was still at the stage of memorizing words. He could not understand the enemy's strong accent at all.

Galwin turned around and accidentally twisted his injured leg, his face twisted.

We must seize a horse, otherwise there is no way we can get back alive.

Galwin watched quietly as the enemy cavalry headed south without stopping.

broken!

Galvin was anxious.

My legs and feet were injured and I couldn't run far. There were pursuers behind me and blockades in front of me. It seemed like I couldn't escape even if I had wings.

Suddenly, a cavalryman stopped, said something to his teammates, and then walked in the opposite direction alone.

His teammates cursed a few times, ignored him and walked away.

Galwin watched the trooper stop beside a tree.

He dismounted, urinated, and looked back at his teammates.

After making sure his teammates had gone far away, he chuckled, climbed up the tree, took out a gold necklace from the bird's nest, and kissed the necklace fiercely.

Good man, hiding the loot, huh?
Apparently, he's a veteran.

The cavalryman hummed a little tune and walked towards his horse in a swagger.

As he passed by a bush, a hand reached out and grabbed his ankle like a pair of pliers.

Half a minute later, he was tied up tightly, his clothes and weapons were taken away, and even the gold necklace that he had hidden with great difficulty was stuffed into Galwin's waist pocket.

The cavalry looked angrily at the Monferrato spy who had deprived him of everything, then mounted his horse and rode away.

After a while, the pursuers from behind arrived and discovered the poor cavalryman.

"Over there! The spy ran that way!"

The cavalry gnashed their teeth.

"Chase!"

The pursuers immediately chased in that direction.

In the other direction, Galwin gently clamped the horse.

He deliberately spared the lives of the cavalry in order to mislead the enemy's pursuit.

The arrow wound on his shoulder blade began to bleed again, and the excruciating pain in his leg returned.

Consciousness gradually became blurred.

can not sleep!
A sword stabbed the horse's buttocks, but he ignored the severe pain in his shoulder blade and held on to the horse's back tightly to prevent himself from falling off.

The horse felt pain and ran away.

Siege camp outside the city of Pavia.

After receiving reinforcements from the Grand Duchy of Soult, Isaac and John believed that the time was ripe and laid siege to Pavia.

The city of Pavia, the center of the Lombardy region, is close to Milan and Monferrato.

Currently, the Republic of Ambrosia is under attack from three sides and is internally unstable. The forces in Pavia have long had rebellious intentions and are just arguing over who to surrender to.

Sforza had anticipated today's situation long ago and had placed his confidants in several major cities such as Pavia to infiltrate the local parliament.

However, Sforza could not have imagined that Monferrato would bring so many reinforcements.

In total, more than 10,000 people surrounded the entire area of ​​Pavia.

The siege had been going on for a week, and both sides were very restrained. The Monferrato army did not launch a large-scale attack on the city, but only captured a few castles and towns outside the city.

The city of Pavia is located on the banks of the Po River. The garrison is stationed inside the city to guard the city walls, and mercenaries are stationed outside the city to block possible large-scale attacks by the enemy.

"This attack on the city is more like a siege. Our main goal is to coerce and bribe the forces in the city to surrender to us."

In the army camp, Isaac and John were holding a military meeting.

"We cannot waste our available forces in a head-on battle with the defenders in the city. We must conserve our strength so that we will have confidence when we get to the negotiation table."

"So, our most important task at the moment is to blockade the entire Pavia. It would be best if we could persuade the mercenaries outside the city to surrender or directly defeat them, and crush the morale of the defenders inside the city."

"Besides, we must make a quick decision. Sforza is currently being held back in the south, and we cannot wait for him to free himself."

After Isaac finished this long speech, he looked at the audience.

The language was Latin, and among the people in the audience, the Slaves Legion Commander Erdosh, who was born a slave, could not understand anything and yawned.

The tribal shekhs that Isaac had recruited also didn't understand and looked confused.

It doesn’t matter. They just obey Isaac’s orders and attack wherever he tells them to.

Then, John reported on the army’s recent achievements in battle and the situation of military supplies and food.

Overall it is not bad. There are fertile fields and farms everywhere outside the city of Pavia. With years of accumulation, there is no problem with food and fodder for the army.

If there really is a problem, then let the people of northern Italy suffer even more.

"Your Highness!"

The guard pushed open the tent door and came forward to report.

"Instructor Di Lin from the Royal Knights Academy came to report that it seems that the spies they sent out discovered important intelligence!"

……

"I heard...you are...a student?" In the dense forest, Erdush asked Galwin in clumsy Greek.

With his strong will, Galwin finally managed to return to the military camp.

The scratches on the body are not serious, and the arrow wound on the shoulder blade has been treated and will be fine for the time being. It will have no impact as long as you don't use it too hard.

After His Highness Isaac personally examined his sprained leg, he insisted that it was a dislocation of the bones.

Ignoring the doctor who strongly recommended bloodletting therapy, His Highness asked an experienced hunter to do it, and with a click, the pain in his leg was gone instantly.

"You have made a great contribution this time. I will reward you later."

Galwen remembered what His Royal Highness Isaac had said to him.

At that time, I was just smiling foolishly and forgot to thank him. Even my father Di Lin, who was always serious, seemed to smile.

Galwin's memories were interrupted by a large hand waving in front of him.

"The child... is he okay?"

Galwin turned his head and saw Erdosh's rough face.

He nodded and continued riding forward.

This time, they will act as a sniper and raid the granary of the Pavia Mercenary Corps.

The raid was conducted by North African light cavalry led by Slaves Corps Commander Erdosh.

I heard that they were all slaves of tribal nobles. The leader of the army, Commander Erdosh, was very grateful to His Highness Isaac for redeeming them and recognizing their talents. I wonder if it is true or not?
"Captain Erdosh, we are about to reach the designated location. Our goal is to set fire to the granary and lure the main force of the enemy out of the camp. The rest of the army will ambush the main force of the enemy and give them a fatal blow."

"Do you speak Arabic?"

Galwen nodded.

This is much easier to learn than Latin.

The army continued to march, and Galwin relied on his memory to lead them to the designated ambush site.

"arrive."

The army stopped. They were currently on a high ground blocked by dense forests. There was a small river below, which seemed not to be deep and horses could walk directly across.

After crossing the stream, there is a trench with a suspension bridge on it. Across the trench is the enemy's granary.

The brothel disguised as a farm was not far from the granary.

It was dinner time, and the enemy soldiers sat together in groups of three or four, scooping lumps of paste from the stew pot and slowly feeding them into their mouths with small spoons.

Compared with the last time, there are obviously more patrols here, and the soldiers on the two arrow towers don't dare to continue gambling.

However, in the face of absolute military advantage, these are nothing.

"Charge! For the glory of His Highness!"

Erdosh yelled.

Behind him, rows of cavalry rushed down the hill, heading straight for the granary.

"Kid, you stay here!"

After saying this, Erdosh rushed down the heights with his personal guards and took command on the battlefield.

The cavalry crossed the stream and rushed straight to the drawbridge over the trench.

The soldiers guarding the bridge shouted and tried to raise the drawbridge.

Erdosh roared, and the cavalrymen took out their bows and fired a volley of shots, turning the several soldiers guarding the bridge into sieves.

The half-raised wooden bridge fell down heavily, and there was nothing left to stop the light cavalry of the Slatos Legion.

The quality of the enemy troops was quite good. When these veteran mercenaries saw so many enemy troops rushing towards them, they immediately dropped their bowls and picked up the weapons beside them.

The junior officers responded immediately, sending out cavalry to report the news, while abandoning the outer positions, gathering their forces, and defending the granary.

The granary is located in a small castle. If we can defend the city until the main force arrives, there may be a chance of a turnaround.

Seeing that the enemy troops outside had been wiped out, Erdosh let the remaining soldiers hide in the castle and began to gather their forces.

"Prepare the kerosene!"

The cavalry passed by the castle, throwing bags of kerosene at it as they passed.

The officers in the castle felt a chill in their hearts when they saw the fire gradually growing.

The castle was made of a mixture of wood and stone, so it was not so easy to burn down, but it was certain that they would not live to see that day.

Thick smoke and high temperatures are life-threatening.

Besides, the enemy didn’t seem to want to take any prisoners.

In a dense forest a few hundred meters away, Isaac and John looked at the thick smoke rising in the distance and felt relieved.

The plan was half accomplished.

Judging from the intelligence brought back by Galwin, there seemed to be many conflicts between the enemy's garrison and the mercenary group. The cause was that when the mercenary group entered the city, they were greedy for money and robbed many merchants in the city, which angered the parliament.

The corps commander had no choice but to retreat and set up camp outside the city.

The city would deliver food to the granary every once in a while, which was just enough for consumption.

So Isaac concluded that the enemy would come to rescue him.

Sure enough, after a while, the enemy troops that had been hiding in the castle rushed towards the granary in a hurry.

"The enemy is out of touch and vulnerable. Charge with all your forces!"

Marquis John roared and commanded his knights to take the lead.

Isaac also ordered his army to surround the enemy from the side.

With more people against fewer, and a surprise attack, the battle was no longer suspenseful.

In this battle, the Pavia mercenary corps was completely wiped out. Among more than 4000 people, more than 2000 were killed on the spot, and the rest surrendered.

That night, Isaac and John took the captured military flags and prisoners to the city of Pavia, running back and forth and showing off their military power.

The next day, Pavia opened its gates and surrendered.

Subsequently, at Isaac's suggestion, the coalition forces quickly captured several small towns in the surrounding area and demanded that nearby lords pledge allegiance to John.

At this point, Monferrato’s strategic goals for the first phase have been fully accomplished.

While John was busy appeasing the gentry, meeting with small lords, and negotiating with merchants, Isaac was not idle either.

As the war spread to northern Italy, many refugees lost their homes, and a considerable number of mercenaries scattered across the countryside, gathering together with local thugs to become the main force of robbery.

At present, Northern Italy is the region in the world with the strongest Renaissance atmosphere, and enlightened thinking has promoted the advancement of science and technology and culture.

Isaac decided to put this wealth to good use.

So he gathered his team and started to make arrangements.

"First, the First Guards Corps must not participate in the looting. You can set up refugee camps at some checkpoints and find a way to send them to Soult;"

"Second, Erdosh's Slaves Corps and the Sheikhs of each tribe can pretend to be robbers, plunder everywhere, provide food and money to the refugee camps, and transport the surplus directly back to the port of Surt;"

"Third, all refugee camps must vigorously recruit talents. All those who can read and write must stay, especially those who can engineer and shipbuilding talents."

"Carpenter, blacksmith, leatherworker, weapon maker, draftsman, cannon maker..."

"I want all the special talents, and the troops that find them will be rewarded handsomely."

"Let me make it clear, the loot must be turned in and distributed after the war. Anyone who keeps it will be killed!"

The generals took the order and left.

Isaac paced to the window and saw a blood-red sky in the distance, accompanied by bursts of smoke.

It must be a restless night.

(End of this chapter)