I Am Louis XIV

Contrary to what people imagined, such a huge battle was unusually boring at the beginning.

The coalition forces have decided to defend the city, and the Ottomans cannot bypass Kamnico. You should remember the high ground on the Kamnico side. If the Ottoman army dares to ignore the coalition forces and enter Austria from the Loibl Pass, If they then go north to threaten Vienna, then the coalition forces can cut off their army like a big snake and seal off their supply lines. Maybe they will disperse in Austria without fighting.

Therefore, Slovenia is the battlefield decided by the coalition forces and the Ottomans.

Louis XIV and Vauban, or any European general who had fought against the Ottomans, knew that the Ottomans had made almost no progress in tactics for hundreds of years. They were the slaves of the Sudan except for the Sudan. They were deformed. The extreme political system prevents them from establishing a regular modern army. Although their army is like a giant beast, it is just a bloated and stupid beast. In contrast, they are still making continuous progress in armaments. .

After the Ottomans were stationed outside the city of Kamnik, they began to build fortifications in an orderly manner, dig trenches, and make siege engines. The Ottoman siege engines used the latest metal connectors. Under Med's threat and temptation, they quickly stood up outside the city. Each one was as high as a city wall. The base at the bottom was as big as a house. The top could accommodate more than ten soldiers to attack the city. At the top of the vehicle is a small suspended bridge. Once the siege vehicle can get close to the city wall, it will be lowered, and the soldiers hiding in the siege vehicle will quickly run up the spiral staircase on the siege vehicle to the top. Enter the city wall.

Thirty such siege engines have been erected, but Ahmed did not feel that it was enough, and his supervisor was urging like crazy - fortunately, before the war started, there were too many people and too fine work here. They couldn't do it, but they could still prepare materials for siege engines and other equipment. There were probably thousands of people carrying axes and entering the nearby forest. After the war, there were few wild animals and humans here for several years. , because almost all the forest trees were cut down by the Ottomans.

After the metal connectors were used up, only cowhide ropes were used to fix the wood. Hundreds of tents were dismantled, and their cowhide was covered on the siege vehicles and poured with water to prevent fire. Oil and arrows. Including the cowhide used to secure rafts and lay pontoons, nearly 10,000 people lost their tents.

But this kind of behavior makes some smart people feel sad. Ahmed is undoubtedly telling them that only by capturing Kamnik can they have a place to live, otherwise they can only breathe in the wasteland like wild beasts. rest. However, time did not allow them to continue thinking about it, because on the morning of the third day after arriving in Kamnico, the Grand Vizier's horse-tailed flags were erected, and they surrounded the Grand Vizier's tent, like Death's fluttering robe.

Then there is the military band, also known as the Mehter Army Group. They are all devout believers in the True God. The leader wears an open cardigan robe with a white tight-fitting top and velvet loose trousers underneath. He put a machete on his shoulder and wore a white hat like a teapot with a handle on his head. The orders he gave were the baton. The other musicians all wore white shirts and open waistcoats. Wearing embroidered trousers and boots, the three at the front carried huge flags.

They walked very strangely. Everyone had to take their right foot first, stop on the third step, turn right and then left, salute to the people on the left and right. They marched solemnly between the tents, playing while playing, First came the reed flute with a sharp sound, then the horn, then the banging brass drum, small cymbals, and the leather drum that almost hit people's hearts. Behind them came a line of priests, who were blessing as they walked. Soldiers about to go to the battlefield.

Before the military band and the priests had returned to the Grand Vizier's tent, the first batch of soldiers had already begun to attack the city.

Judging from the records, this kind of siege was extremely boring. There were no clever tactics or cunning plots. The Ottomans gradually advanced towards the city wall of Camnico based on trenches and fortifications, while the edge built by Vauban The fort struck them from both sides and from the front - Grand Vizier Ahmed continued to build thirty siege engines, and people still complained, but now they have all shut up, because the addition is in The artillery on the city walls and bastions only required two or three shells to disable a siege vehicle.

The Ottoman artillery was also roaring, but not only were they incomparable in terms of quantity, but also in quality. Vauban's bastion used the same cement bricks that the Ottomans had seen before, mixed with iron slag. They are expensive but worth the money, and their bases are all rammed earth. The Ottomans also adopted the previous method of digging trenches to the bottom of the city wall. In this way, the weight of the artillery, the recoil and the weight of the city wall itself will cause the ground to collapse. .

But this method was used by Vauban in Flanders. The artillery had a shooting angle, but the grenade thrower did not. For this battle, considering the number of enemies he would face, Louis XIV did not even let the factory make more There were many metal grenades - this kind of thing was very lethal and had a considerable range, but the production speed was too slow to meet the needs of this battle and the king. So in the later period, people put gunpowder and stones into small wine barrels. Fill it up and put a fuse on it. The small wine barrel is used by Bordeaux to store wine. It has a capacity of only one liter and is lighter than the original earthen jar. The problem is that it is not durable for storage. But here, this problem is Not a problem anymore.

The grenadiers threw these gunpowder barrels towards the trenches covered with cowhide. Sometimes they were not so accurate, landing only on one side of the trench, or failing to break the cowhide and the wooden boards below, but the people inside would still be shocked. Their noses and ears were bleeding, and their hearts were broken and they died. These people were quickly dragged out and replaced by another group of engineers.

The siege tower was falling down, and the people inside could not help but fall from it, or be crushed by the heavy tower body. There were also those Azap who were moving forward like ants crazily, forward, and constantly forward. It seems endless, even if the corpses accumulate like hills under the city wall, they don't care.

This kind of fighting continued until dusk. Both the Ottomans and the coalition forces changed several batches. However, the people who were rotated in the former probably could not go back to their tents, while the latter could still go back to the camp to eat, drink and rest, and the injured could also get Proper care - after several times, the wounded soldiers all know that the places where white, blue and red flags are hung, but all uniformly embroidered with golden lilies are hospitals.

Before the concept of a hospital became popular, no one but Louis XIV built a hospital here. The Spanish general Juan Patiño did not even frown when he walked in the mansion that was newly painted with chalk and sprinkled with herbs. There were not only French wounded here, because according to the agreement, After the French defended Ljubljana for a week, the armies of the three electors would face the Ottomans. The Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia had already been flirting with Louis XIV. Although Saxony and Bavaria They were on the Habsburg side, but their position was not so firm. After their soldiers were sent here, they thanked God and the King of France in addition to thanking God. Such emotions were very detrimental to their future plans.

But can he stop it? Not to mention these soldiers from the Holy Roman Empire princes, even the Spanish soldiers, asked them to leave the clean and tidy houses, simple but warm beds, effective herbs and devout monks, and let them return to the camp Fever, go shenyin, go scream and wait for death, Juan Patiño will be torn to pieces by the mutinous soldiers immediately and thrown into the blazing bonfire.

He stood at the window of a room and looked inside. A thick candle burned inside, and every soldier was shouting in a low voice with excitement because the monk was carefully opening a glass can - which was not even beef. , pork or potatoes. Judging from the transparent juice swaying in the candlelight, it should be some kind of canned fruit. Ah, he saw it. The monk poured all the contents of the can into a large white porcelain bowl. That was citrus. , citrus is not a very unusual thing, but Juan knew that the French added a lot of sugar to their canned fruits to ensure that they would not rot easily.

Only the King of France, who grew sugar beets in Flanders and sugar cane in Martinique and other places, could afford this kind of expense. Of course, his cans also sold for a very high price. In any case, its The shape and color are beautiful, and it tastes sweeter than honey. Even Leopold I, who hated Louis XIV so much, had to add such a snack to breakfast, dinner, and banquets, let alone Someone else.

Juan Patiño, as a new rich man in Spain, not only bought it for his wife and daughter, but also for the Queen Mother and King Carlos II of Spain. He knew the price and also knew how much the French King brought with him this time. Without these cans that can almost be used as rewards, King Ludwig I of Poland had three carriages here, and other generals of the coalition also received this favor. There is such a box in Juan's room, but canned fruits are indeed Minimal.

Even a person with self-control like Juan can't help but salivate when he sees the plump golden pulp and the sticky juice falling into the porcelain bowl, let alone those who have almost never tasted the good stuff. The soldiers stood up - they cocked their noses, sniffing the sweet fragrance in the air greedily, their mouths opened involuntarily, their tongues stuck out, and their eyes widened in anticipation. The monk was like a mother treating her many children, holding a porcelain bowl and distributing a spoonful to each person, ensuring that each spoonful contained a piece of fruit pulp and a large spoonful of soup. When the soldiers ate it, they almost wanted to eat it. The spoons were swallowed down the throats, and those who ate had their cheeks bulging. Except for the first time, no one would swallow it rashly. They lay there, the pain and fear seemed to disappear, revealing the child. A normal innocent smile.

Juan took a deep breath, turned and walked away.

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Not only the Austrians, Spanish, British, and even some French people felt that their Sun King had too many soldiers, but for this king these people were far from enough - the king's army would never It is single. When people divide mounts, dogs and clothing into several levels and uses, the classification of the king's soldiers and officers will only become more complicated. He needs pure new troops, loyal guards, and He needs traditional dragoons, but also the most advanced artillerymen and musketeers. He also needs a navy that can gallop on the sea, and even powers in the other world that mortals should not touch.

He and Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire were destined to be enemies, so he would seize every opportunity to weaken the enemy. As a Catholic country, and as an era when religious beliefs could trigger wars, he could not refuse Vienna's request for help. , so is it possible for him to take the opportunity to gain the most benefits from this battle? Letting his army go through such a big battle is one thing, and exploring the enemy's details is another. In addition, Schaumberg also gave him some inspiration. Since Schaumberg can become a French general, other Austrians, or Can’t other people from the Holy Roman Empire?

Since they are all mercenaries.

Mercenaries meant that anyone could hire them, and Louis XIV needed more soldiers to complete one of his subsequent grand plans.

What Juan can think of, others can think of, but this is entirely Louis XIV's conspiracy. They have no right to ask the soldiers to refuse treatment and care from the French. Some soldiers have even begun to treat these monks and nuns (of course, We all know they are some witches) cleaning up nearby mansions and expanding the hospital, they can get paid or not paid, after all, no one knows who will be carried off the battlefield next.

Expanding the hospital was necessary, because the Ottoman offensive gradually became more fierce the next day. The advantages gained in armaments and fortifications were bluntly leveled by Grand Vizier Ahmed with numbers, and the Azaps stepped on them. The bodies of their companions climbed up, and the Ottoman artillery was pushed forward again and again. They didn't care even if they entered the range of the defenders' artillery. The artillerymen were not comparing experience and calculation ability, but simply comparing speed. Sometimes the artillery on the bastion was overturned, and sometimes the attacker's artillery exploded - the number of artillery on both sides was considerable, but there were always one or two artillerymen of the defenders who cherished their own lives.

After a breach was opened in a bastion, the Ottomans immediately swarmed in. The siege tower was pushed to the city wall for the first time. Although the explosive barrel was immediately thrown down, it leaned against the city wall and corpses after falling. Among the accumulated hills, some of the strongest Azap immediately climbed up with knives in their teeth. They landed on the city wall and started fighting with the defenders. Fortunately, this situation was discovered immediately, and more defenders The army rushed up and finally threw these Ottomans off the city wall.

But such progress undoubtedly inspired more Ottomans. If you stand on the wall of Kamnik, you will find that except for your back, there are enemies on the left, right and in front. They are like falling from the sky. The rain, the lava that comes out of the ground, you can kill one, ten, a hundred, but then there will be a thousand more.

The person who had his turn to hold on to the city wall during this period was none other than the Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich William. His wife was the Orange daughter who had raised and supervised William III of the Netherlands. He had been with France. It is true that the people fought for the Netherlands, but now he has begun to intend to form an alliance with the king in his prime. Although Louis XIV's eldest princess has regrettably become the queen of the Swedes, he still throws out He gave birth to his own son and planned to marry Louis XIV's brother Philippe, the daughter of the Duke of Orleans.

After his son Frederick returned from Paris, he further received more detailed and reliable information, which made his idea stronger, although for the time being he still ostensibly sided with Leopold I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. here, but his heart already belongs to the Sun King.

It was also based on this idea that among the coalition forces, he was second only to the King of Poland and the most ambiguous with the French. For this reason, he purchased a lot of arms and equipment from Louis XIV and used it as a defense against the city wall. When there were more than three siege towers, he touched his beard and made a melancholy gesture: "Take those out and use them."

"Now?" asked the general beside him.

"Do I have to wait until the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Turks comes to ask me to kneel before I take it out as a gift?" Friedrich said angrily.

"But it was really scary."

"There is nothing more terrible than these heretics," said Friedrich.

A white-skinned Azap was climbing up the city wall at this time. He was surrounded by his companions, which gave him incomparable courage. The enemy he faced was just a young soldier. He was holding a musket and was a hundred meters away from the enemy. He might have remained calm when he was 2 feet away, but the distance between them seemed to be pulled to face to face in an instant. He could smell a strong smell of a slaughterhouse—the smell of blood and the stench of animals. He saw something like a jackal. His eyes, usually looking for prey, shone in the dusk light. He raised his gun, intending to use the bayonet at the end of the musket to fend off the enemy, but as if in the blink of an eye, the musket flew out of his hand.

The white-skinned Azap infantryman raised his hammer, ready to strike again. Before it was a musket, now it was a man.

The Christian raised his hands, as if praying, begging, or surrendering, but nothing could stop Azap from hitting him with the hammer. First his arm broke, then his head burst open, and the young soldier fell to the ground. , the face is strangely not ferocious.

Azap gasped and straightened up, and then he saw a light brighter than the sun.