The Eagle of Eastern Europe

A duel between the two sides was inevitable, and the two armies faced off in Daruwal, 60 kilometers away from Salegbu.

The Croatian side has 10,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and 2,000 Venetian reinforcements, with a total strength of 15,000; the Roman side has 14,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 1,000 noble troops willing to be loyal to Rome, with a total strength of 19,000. There were also 2,000 Cossacks plundering in the west.

The two sides faced off at Daroir for two days. Louis knew that only the defense had a chance of survival, so he ordered the troops not to go out to fight and to wait for reinforcements.

But the nobles under their command couldn't bear it. If they had ignored the provocations in the past, who would have thought that the other party had so many tricks. First, they insulted them as cowards, and then asked people to give each of them a piece of female clothing, which was the most revealing. .

How could this be tolerated? Two nobles led their troops directly to fight. As a result, one was taken away by artillery, and the other was caught, stripped naked, and thrown at the gate of their camp. This made the hatred of the nobles even deeper. They believed that the failure was caused by the king's inability to hold on, and they unanimously asked Louis to fight to the death with the Roman army.

Louis couldn't resist, so he had to bite the bullet. The two sides faced off on the plains of Daroir, and Louis also addressed the soldiers.

"This is our decisive battle with the Eastern pagans. Croatia's independence must not be ruined in our hands. Let's fight against them. God will bless us."

Peter also addressed the troops.

"Warriors of Rome, you have gained victory after victory in the east. Now, new opportunities are before you. For more land, more wealth, and more honor, attack!"

Both sides began to attack, with the cavalry being the first to engage. The two sides fought back and forth. Croatia was mainly composed of noble cavalry. They were equipped with relatively good armor and weapons. Under the threat of annihilation, they burst out with amazing combat effectiveness, so they once had the upper hand in the battle with Rome.

Louis did not expect that the army could fight so well. After one day, it not only resisted the attack, but also pushed back a little. This gave him hope that he would definitely defeat the Roman army.

At night, the excited Croatian cavalry took advantage of the darkness to sneak attack the Roman military camp. However, they were quickly repulsed, and Peter's army fell into a rare state of low morale.

"Look at what you look like. One failure is all. Even genius generals like Hadrian or Basil will fail sometimes, not to mention that this is not a failure now. Cheer up, tomorrow will be different. Same."

Peter's words boosted some morale. Little Croatia had the upper hand this time, and the real battle had just begun.

The next morning, some cavalrymen fought without permission despite the orders from above, intending to break the enemy's army while their foothold was not stable. But they found that the enemy this time was much more difficult to fight than yesterday, and they also used artillery and muskets much more frequently. As a result, less than two-tenths of the soldiers came back.

Even so, they brought all their troops to attack Rome. Intend to recreate the glory of yesterday.

They move forward, while the opponent just moves forward steadily and then sets up to defend and attack. Muskets and light artillery showed off their might, constantly injuring the enemy. The spearmen outside did not allow the cavalry to move forward, so they could only circle outside, hoping to find a flaw.

To the north of the battlefield, the right-wing army commanded by Constantine gradually repelled the Croatian attack. Upon seeing this, Louis quickly ordered some troops to support the left-wing army. They did not defeat the army at the beginning. Coupled with the underestimation of the enemy brought by yesterday's victory, their flaws were finally revealed in front of the Roman army.

"Quick, now."

The cry of a Roman officer kicked off the counterattack, and the large square gradually moved forward. Musketeers and artillery were still attacking the enemy troops. The continuous offensives frightened some timid Croatian soldiers, who put down their weapons and ran away.

If one person escapes, there will be a second and a third. After all, it is not a standing army. The miscellaneous elements in it make the command system very complicated, and no one among the nobles obeys anyone. The king could only maintain the balance through mediation, and now it was about to become unbalanced.

The Roman army gradually counterattacked. Constantine had repelled the northern cavalry troops, and then turned around to attack the central army, directly blocking their retreat.

"No, it's impossible!"

Louis saw his army being divided, surrounded and annihilated by Rome. He had no choice but to do anything. Now he was helpless. The plan for now is to run as fast as possible, the faster the better.

"Come on, kill them, grab something."

Some soldiers quickly rushed to the Croatian camp, and Louis was also very fast. He disappeared in an instant. However, he had not taken away the 20,000 ducats, seals, flags, etc. in the camp, so it was considered A consolation prize for the Roman army. By evening, all the fighting was over and it was time to clean up the battlefield.

The Battle of Daruvar lasted for two days. 6,000 Croatian troops died, 2,000 disappeared and fled, and 7,000 were captured. Rome only suffered 1,100 casualties, and more than 600 of them were Croatian nobles. They made a fortune.

This battle directly broke down Croatia's defense, and the road to Salegbu can be said to be unobstructed. Two days later, the Hungarian army that had entered Croatia gave Peter a big surprise.

After Louis fled the battlefield with his soldiers, he originally wanted to return to Zaregbu as soon as possible. But when passing through a forest, he was caught by the Hungarian army ambushing here. Although he had sent troops to the border, some troops were still able to enter the territory before they could react. After capturing Louis, they headed for Rome The eldest prince ordered them to conduct business between the army and the camp. It was very reasonable to make some extra money.

"Thank you for your hard work, go get your money."

After confirming that this was Louis, Peter asked someone to give them 100,000 gold coins, which was also his transaction money.

Then Peter walked up to him. Showing a sinister smile.

"This should be our first meeting. Let me introduce myself. My name is Peter. I am Caesar of the Roman Empire and Despot of Illyria."

Louis also understood the Latin introduction, but he didn't want to say a word to this person. So he said nothing.

"It seems he doesn't want to talk. It doesn't matter. You won't have to say anything soon."

Peter thought of hundreds of ways to deal with Louis. It's impossible to put him back, he's not asking for trouble; he's not worried about being exiled to the monastery, just in case someone rescues him. Therefore, accident is the best.

"I know what you are thinking, but the world is like this, and your ancestors also made a lot of mistakes, so just think of it as atonement."

Peter waved his hand and dragged Louis down. The next day the news spread that King Louis of Croatia had been killed on the battlefield.