The Rise of the European Emperor

The Spaniards were also taken aback by this raid. Fortunately, the raid point chosen by the Italian mercenaries was not far from the city gate where General Torres was located. He sent his elite warriors to support him in time to avoid the city wall from falling.

Next, General Torres no longer dared to be careless. He ordered that even if the other party was a peasant, as long as the other party dared to climb the ladder and rush towards this direction, they would not hesitate to fire...

But after playing for a while, Torres felt something was wrong again...

"That's not right. If we keep fighting like this, our ammunition will not be wasted on these farmers? But we don't have much ammunition at all... How can we break it?"

At this time, in front of a certain cloud ladder, a Spanish soldier who was planning to use a warhammer to smash the cloud ladder suddenly waved his warhammer and swept the several Neapolitan farmers who came up with the broken door down the cloud ladder, causing them to fall off the tall The ladder, immediately fell...

General Torres suddenly brightened his eyes and said:

"This method is good, use the warhammer to deal with the broken door!"

The local farmers who charged with the breaking boards had no weapons at all. The warhammer was specially designed to deal with plate armored soldiers. Faced with the farmer holding the breaking board, it seemed that they could also smash them back, or even smashed the ladder. After all, those farmers were basically holding the door with both hands, without weapons in their hands, and there was no threat to the defending soldiers. Archers really can't take them, but warhammers can knock them back or fly away...

So, the inspired General Torres ordered loudly:

"All warhammers, gather! Use warhammers against those farmers with door panels in both hands! Hit me, don't use muskets, save ammunition!"

As a result, hundreds of soldiers with warhammers were assembled. They are all responsible for solving the fallen enemy plate knights in the "Marin Phalanx". Ordinary swords can't deal with knights in full plate armor, even if they are in Rome. However, except for the soldiers who use the warhammer... In the face of the heavy blow of the warhammer, even if they wear a full set of plate armor, they can't stand it...

In addition to several hundred soldiers using warhammers, more than two hundred brutal soldiers using two-handed axes were also sent to the city walls. These two-handed axe warriors come from the Basque Country in the western foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in northern Spain, and most of them are fierce Basque mountain people. They have long and narrow faces, high noses, dark skin, and stick to traditions, refusing to be assimilated by the Iberian majority nation. For example, the two-handed axe in their hands is a tool used by the Basques to chop wood in the mountains, and they are very skilled.

As it happens, the Spanish army also needs a group of melee warriors to deal with the enemy's plate armor. The two-handed axe, like the two-handed hammer, is a sharp weapon against plate armor. The difference is that the two-handed hammer smashes directly, while the two-handed axe will smash the opponent with the back of the axe when facing plate armor and shields.

In the face of an unarmored enemy, it will switch to an axe to slash frontally...

Coincidentally, in Torres' army, there was a tomahawk company composed of more than 200 Basque mountain people. Therefore, General Torres simply let them cooperate with the Warhammer team to smash the local farmers who were trying to rush to the city wall with broken doors.

...

Seeing that the Spaniards actually stopped firing their muskets and used warhammers and tomahawks to deal with the farmers, Pastor was in a hurry. So, he asked the men who were mixed in with the farmers to draw out the daggers, holding the door in one hand and using the daggers in the other, intending to deal with those who used warhammers and tomahawks.

In the beginning, he really hurt a few people. However, the Spaniards quickly thought of a countermeasure - the musketeers were on the side...

If the ordinary farmer raised the door with both hands, the musketeers would not shoot. If you find someone pulling out a short knife and wanting to hurt the warhammer and the Basque battle axe, they will fire directly and fly away...

Then, after a day of fighting, Pastor found that the plan to use the local farmers as cannon fodder to attract the Spaniards to shoot went bankrupt...

...

In the evening, Louis XII's face was very ugly, and Pastor, who attended the meeting, was trembling. Finally, Louis XII said:

"Pasto, don't play tricks. Come on, tomorrow you will send swords and shields to follow the peasants who are holding broken doors. Even if the enemy musketeers wound some people, as long as you can use them as cover to get close to the city wall. "

Pastor's face was bitter and he had to agree. what else can we do? Now these Italian mercenaries have been kidnapped by the French. If you don't fight with the Spaniards, the French will really kill them...

So, from the next day, the Italian mercenaries started their career as cannon fodder again. It's just that the Italian mercenaries learned a bit better this time-they let the local farmers who broke the door walk in the front and on the sides, so that even if the enemy in the front shoots, they will hit the unlucky farmers first. And these mercenaries can also die a few less...

Relying on the peasants as cannon fodder, the Italian mercenaries rushed over the city wall several times. However, he was killed by the Spaniards again. In particular, those Spanish armored warriors wearing "backless suits" are still very skilled in martial arts. After all, most of those people are also children of Spanish nobles, strongmen who have been practicing martial arts since childhood. In the face of such elites, the average Italian mercenary is really not enough...

What? You ask if there are any plate armor warriors who have practiced martial arts since childhood in the Italian mercenaries? Yes, but not many.

why? Because many children of the Italian knight family who do not have the right to inherit did not follow the tradition and go to work as wandering knights, but... ran to do business...

That's right, most of the sons of the nobles in Italy, except the eldest son who has the right to inherit, most of the other sons have gone to do business, and few are willing to work as wandering knights or mercenaries.

No way, the Italian business atmosphere is too strong. The states of Venice, Genoa, Siena, Pisa and Lucca were all medieval commercial republics. Not to mention those businessmen, even ordinary Italian farmers, all know how to do some small business.

As for the literate children of Italian nobles, of course they can also do business. Moreover, they are richer than ordinary people and have a higher starting point for doing business. Generally speaking, only the children of nobles who failed in business would go to become a mercenary officer with a high risk factor.

This is the adverse effect of a strong business atmosphere. You see, in Germany in this era, most of the children of nobles went to work as wandering knights and worked for their employers. Therefore, it is easy to find wandering knights as officers in Germany. But in Italy, where everyone does business... It's hard to find a noble son who works hard...

Just like in later generations, if you go to a place with a strong commercial atmosphere like Wenzhou to recruit troops, it will be very difficult. Everyone's family is in business. If the family has money, they will be willing to join the army if they are crazy... The same reason, where the business atmosphere is too strong, it is difficult to recruit good soldiers... Moreover, Qi Jiguang's principle of recruiting soldiers, do not want the city People and businessmen. Because this kind of person is too cunning and easy to desert. Moreover, people's lives are worry-free, and they don't despise the drudgery of being a soldier...

Just like Pastor, who was originally a son of a nobleman. In the beginning, he was also in business. It's a pity that it wasn't that kind of material. After losing a lot of money, in desperation, he joined the army. After all, being a mercenary is also a business. For example, when robbery, the profit is still very high...

As for Spain, the business atmosphere is better than that of Germany, but much weaker than that of Italy. Therefore, in Spain, many noble children who are willing to join the army can still be recruited. Moreover, most of Spain is mountainous, and the main body of soldiers and soldiers are also mountain people. Although not as savage and rude as the Germans, they are far more powerful than the shrewd and cunning Italians.

Therefore, in the next few days of fighting, Italian mercenaries rushed to give the Spaniards their heads...

It's just that these Italian mercenaries did a good job of completing the task that Louis XII gave them - consuming the ammunition of the Spaniards...