The Rise of the European Emperor

The birth of Prince Marin filled Sigismund I with excitement and fighting spirit.

"Looks like I have to grab the Principality of Mazovia for my son!"

The Duchy of Mazovia does not currently have an official duke, but the regent of Anna Radziwiu, the wife of the former Duke Conrad III. Stanislav, the eldest son of Anna Radziwiu and the former Duke of Mazovia, Conrad III, is only 11 years old, one year older than Caesar, and not yet the age to be canonized as a duke. So, temporarily by its regent.

And Anna Radziwiu's background is not small - her father Mikaroyos Radziwiu, who was the Prime Minister of Lithuania, was also a former subordinate of Sigismund I.

Mikaroyos Radziwiu was a powerful lord and general in Lithuania, who controlled an army of up to 10,000 people. At the beginning, he did not have a good relationship with Sigismund I, who had just ascended the throne, and even bullied the new king by virtue of his strength. Therefore, after Sigismund I ascended the throne, he did not live in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, like his brother Alexander, but returned to Krakow, Poland.

However, Mikaroyos Radziwiu died in 1509. If it were not for his death, Sigismund I would not have dared to touch the principality of Mazovia, the regency of his daughter Anna.

In fact, Anna Radziwiu is not strong. Although she is the regent of the Mazovia Principality, the power is in the hands of the powerful ministers. Before, it was also decided by her powerful ministers to fight against the Jagiellonian royal family. However, she had to carry the pot. Who called her the regent?

...

Moreover, Sigismund I actually had the ambition to annex the Duchy of Mazovia. Historically, he annexed the Duchy of Mazovia in 1529. However, that was mainly because Poland had fought a big battle with the Teutonic Kingdom in 1525 before that, forcing the Teutonic Knights Kingdom to bow down. After solving the confidant of the Teutonic State, he had the energy to deal with the Principality of Mazovia, which refused to obey the orders.

But this time, the situation is different. With the support of Marin, Prince Philip of the Lamarck family became the head of the Teutonic State and pursued a policy of friendship with Poland. Therefore, Poland (including Lithuania) has been at peace with the Teutonic Knights all these years.

In this way, King Sigismund I of Poland has spare energy to clean up the domestic opposition...

It just so happened that the Duchy of Mazovia, because of the stupidity and short-sightedness of its internal officials, was installed on the muzzle of Sigismund I. Sigismund I was worried that he had no excuses, how could he miss this good opportunity? So, without hesitation, he mobilized a large army and invaded the Principality of Mazovia...

In fact, Sigismund I could mobilize more than 15,000 troops, but double it.

However, such a scale is needed to fight a national war. And the scale of 15,000 people is sending a signal to the outside world - this is a private grudge between the royal family and the Duchy of Mazovia, don't interfere...

Therefore, Sigismund I did not ask for help, and only dispatched the troops of the Jagiellonian royal family. In this way, the nobles in Poland have no reason to send troops to help the Principality of Mazovia.

Of course, the Principality of Mazovia is not bad either. Although they didn't have an army of 15,000, they also made up an army of 13,000, which seemed to be evenly divided.

But Sigismund I knew that his side definitely had the upper hand. Because, he has a killer in his hand-winged cavalry...

This was suggested by Marin when he got married a few years ago. Under Marin's suggestion, Sigismund I recruited 4,000 uninherited children of knights from Polish and Lithuanian noble families who were close to the Jagiellonian royal family, and formed 20 A squadron of Polish winged cavalry.

Its tactics, and even equipment, were done exactly as Marin suggested. The winged cavalry abandoned their heavy horse armor for flexibility. In order to facilitate the cavalry to mount, the plate armor trousers were abandoned, and only the upper body plate armor and helmet were retained.

As for the weapon, the spring lance provided by the North Sea Kingdom was also used instead of the bulky oak lance.

After several years of training, 20 squadrons of Polish wing cavalry with a total of 4,000 people have achieved considerable combat effectiveness. The only thing missing is practical experience.

So, this time to attack the Principality of Mazovia, Sigismund I took out the secret weapon of the winged cavalry...

...

In order to lure the army of the Principality of Mazovia out of the city for a decisive battle and avoid a tough battle, the army led by Sigismund I deliberately hid at first, and fought evenly with the army of the Principality of Mazovia.

As it happened, the son of Sigismund I was born, and the army of the Jagiellonian royal family simply set up camp in the southern area of ​​the Principality of Mazovia and stopped the attack.

And Sigismund I, after spending a few days with his wife and children, hurried back to the battlefield...

...

Because the army of the Jagiellonian royal family did not move, the army of the Principality of Mazovia couldn't hold back and took the initiative to provoke. Prince Sigismund deliberately lost a small game, which greatly increased the confidence of the army of the Principality of Mazovia.

Then, Sigismund I suggested that because of the birth of Prince Marin, he had no intention of fighting a war of attrition with the Duchy of Mazovia. Therefore, he suggested a head-to-head battle on the plain outside Warsaw, where the outcome would be determined in one battle...

The Principality of Mazovia is not far behind, and the previous small victory has greatly increased their self-confidence. Moreover, they also misjudged the situation, believing that Sigismund I had just had a son and had no intention of fighting for a long time. So, the Duchy of Mazovia foolishly agreed to a head-to-head confrontation...

It was only after the war that the Principality of Mazovia regretted it...

After the war, Sigismund I did not immediately show the winged cavalry, but let the winged cavalry hide in the back. And in the front is the most basic defensive spear formation. Then, there are 1000 plate knights who decorate the facade.

"Ha, there aren't as many knights on the other side as us!" Lazynski, the general of the Principality of Mazovia, said contemptuously. Because, the principality of Mazovia has a full 2,200 plate knights.

In the traditional Polish war, the number of heavy cavalry often determines the outcome of the war. Therefore, the army of the Principality of Mazovia couldn't help but feel a little...

As for the concern that Sigismund I hid the plate heavy cavalry behind? The generals of the Principality of Mazovia were not worried. Why? Because the plate armor knight is too heavy, the time for the horse to charge is limited. Therefore, it is not cost-effective to hide the Plate Knights behind the formation. Because, when the horses and knights circled from the back to the front, they were out of breath. How could they still have the strength to charge again?

Therefore, the general army will only put the plate knights at the front to save the stamina of the horses and knights. Therefore, the generals of the army of the Principality of Mazovia also judged that there were no more plate knights for their opponents. Even if there were cavalry, it was light cavalry.

And the light cavalry has little to do in the face of plate armor and heavy cavalry, so they can't help but despise their opponents...

...

"Array, prepare to attack!" Sigismund I ordered loudly. The herald next to him, with a louder voice, conveyed the orders of Sigismund I loudly. As the order was issued, the banner of the Jagiellonian royal army began to wave, commanding the army to form...

On the side of the army of the Principality of Mazovia, Wazinsky also ordered:

"Tell our knight boys to prepare to charge! We have to overwhelm the opponent's cavalry at one time and take the lead! As long as we defeat their plate armor, we will win!"

But he didn't notice that after the opposite Sigismund I ordered the attack again, he waved his hand and let a messenger go around the back of the line...