In front of Alexander, ten bronze cannons were neatly placed.

To his surprise, these cannons were all large garrison guns, because they lacked pedestals, they looked like round dolphins, and the patterns and words engraved on the cannons clearly explained where these cannons came from and where they went.

The cannons came from France, and the ring of crosses near the muzzles and the inscription around the barrels of the cannons clearly read, "I give this weapon to God's arming on earth, and may the great knights be warriors against the infidels and be blessed by the Lord."

Apparently, this was a batch of artillery forged by the French and then sold to the Knights Hospitaller on the island of Malta.

Alexander looked at these cannons with a little surprise, he knew that the French today are very advanced in cannon casting technology, and it is rare that they have a more forward-looking vision of the use of artillery and artillery tactics than others in this era.

Whether it is Charles VIII today, or Louis XII, who not only inherited his throne but also his wife in the near future, or even King François, who succeeded Louis XII as the knight king, successive generations of French kings have played an important role in the development of artillery.

And let Alexander also notice that these cannons were actually sold to the Knights Hospitaller on the island of Malta, so it is no wonder why they are all city defense guns.

The threat of the Ottomans to Malta had apparently attracted the attention of the Europeans, and although it was not clear why the artillery was in Pisa, it was assumed that the French were preparing to strengthen the Knights Hospitaller in Malta.

But now that the cannons were in his hands, Alexander had no intention of sending them away.

The city of Pisa is facing a threat from the Venetians, a crisis that is clearly more imminent than that of the Maltese.

Alexander's conjecture had been confirmed, and his whims had indeed led to a large source of soldiers, the sailors on the ships in the port of Pisa.

Although Pisa has gradually declined in recent years, the port still has a large scale, and what is even more rare is that Pisa is located in the bend of the Tirenian Sea, so for those merchants who want to transport goods to the northeast inland of the peninsula, Pisa is still a relatively good transit place, so the various ships staying in the port of Pisa are large and numerous.

Alexander's arrival caused a commotion among the sailors on all the ships in the harbor, who at first were suspicious and even slightly hostile, to when they heard of the amount of commission that pleased them, the sailors began to make calculations.

Looking at those sailors, Alexander believed that he would not be disappointed, those who could leave home and go to sea had a bold and adventurous character, not to mention that many sailors in this era actually had another identity, that is, pirates.

These people may often be a good man who seems to abide by the law on the shore, but when they get to sea, they may become robbers who kill people and overhaul goods, and even in order to protect themselves, even those sailors who are unwilling to work part-time as pirates are gradually becoming fierce and dangerous for their own safety, it can be said that there is no real navy in this world so far, and all navies are also armed merchants with the same merchant status, which is destined to recruit a group of fierce mercenaries even on the most ordinary merchant ships.

Soon, the answer came out.

First a small group, then more and more sailors were willing to do the part-time job, and when the mercenaries of nearly three hundred sailors stood in front of Alexander, Gompati was both surprised and excited.

For Gompati, the only thing he worries about is how long he can be the captain of the city defense.

As a member of the new city defense committee, although it was only one day, Gompati already felt that he was the new upstart of Pisa City, and no one caricatured him as a ruffian who only talked about it in the tavern, on the contrary, some people who had not looked down on him before had begun to talk to him very carefully, and even the leaders of the mercenaries of Daddy's people were much more polite to him.

Gompati wanted this to continue, preferably forever, he was tired of being a mercenary, and even more so of being on the move from place to place, and he wanted to settle down in the city and make a decent living.

Now there were opportunities in front of him, but the Venetians were a stumbling block for him to seize them.

Therefore, more than anyone else, Gompati hopes to defeat the Venetians, and he also hopes that the current Vatican Master Gombray will continue to stay in Pisa.

Gompati was still very self-aware, and he knew very well that he should not be occupied by the Venetians, and even if Alexander left here, he should no longer want to stay in Pisa in peace.

What the Zaloni family would do to him once they returned, Gompati knew very well.

"We must get these cannons to the city walls as soon as possible, and if we can't build them overnight, we must build a few reliable bases to come out, just use those stones," commanded Alexander, for the night was already deep, but if he did not have the mood to sleep, the morrow was destined to be a solid day.

"Don't worry, my lord, I know what to do."

Gompati called one of his men as he spoke, and after a moment of low command, a series of shrill horns rang out in the streets of Pisa.

The horns sounded so piercing at night, and with them were the rumbling of hundreds of sailors pushing wooden carts loaded with artillery as they dragged down the streets.

The Pisians were awakened, and although there had been so much to do on that day, a riot had overthrown the government of the Republic with which they had just become acquainted, and it was heard that the Pope's daughter and son-in-law had personally planned all this, and that the former government officials were still locked up in the bell tower, many of the Pisans, who had always been idle, did not think that it had anything to do with them.

But now they couldn't stand the sound of the horns outside and the wooden carts passing through the street, and some people began to walk out of the door impatiently, or push open the windows and chatter dissatisfiedly, and then they were startled by what they saw.

Although the number of ten cannons is not much, it is still very amazing in this era, and there are only a dozen cannons in the entire city of Pisa, and they are all distributed in different places, so when they see the huge black objects on the wooden carts, the Pisan people can't help but be curious and a little nervous.

"Why do you want to bring out the artillery, do you want to fight?" There is some suspicious speculation.

Speaking of Pisa, it has been many years since Pisa participated in a major war, although Florence has been threatening Pisa, but when the Medici family ruled before, Florence and Pisa were still at peace, as for those wars at sea earlier, firstly, the young people are not clear about the old age, and secondly, it is at sea after all, but now seeing the gun carriage passing in front of their own door, the Pisan people inevitably began to get nervous.

"Pisa, go to the city!" Gompati ran back and forth along the edge of the convoy, shouting "The Venetians are coming, they are going to take Pisa, now we have enough troops to stop them, and then the Pope's reinforcements will come to our rescue, the Pisians we need your help!" ”

"To hell, that's your business, neither Zaloni nor the republican government have done me any good, and it won't be any worse now that the Venetians are here," a shirtless man leaned out of the window and shouted into the street, "Hurry up, don't disturb my sleep." ”

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled back and pulled a woman with a blanket to his side and huddled with him towards the window: "See, I'm busy now." ”

A burst of laughter came from the street, and many people looked down from their windows, apparently thinking Gompati was ridiculous.

"Oh, then you don't want to," Gompati was not angry, he just shook his head indifferently, and then exclaimed, "In that case, you don't have your share of the money." ”

"What money?" A man shouted.

"It's the city defense fee issued by Lord Cambrai, do you know, the mercenaries can get a full 6 cents of the pizza tax, but you don't want to get any of it yourself, you just watch the mercenaries eat and drink your food, and even use your money to sleep on the pizza women later."

Gompati's sarcastic voice spread through the streets, which immediately aroused the displeasure of the Pisa, who cursed loudly, and some simply threw things at Gompati.

"It's useless for you to get angry, the money is not yours anymore, and no one can stop them unless you are willing to earn it back." Gompati shouted nonchalantly, "Think about it, you don't need to go to war, just help put all these cannons in place, and you can get a good salary, so that at least you can let the prostitutes around you stay for a while and not have to serve those mercenaries." ”

"Hey, what you're saying is true? Can you get paid for just working without going to war? A man's voice shouted in the darkness, and no one saw who he was, but it caught the attention of people on the street.

"There is no need to fight," said Gompati in a deliberately disdainful tone, "do you really want to fight the Venetians, that is, you can be a hero in your own home?" ”

Gompati's contempt did not make the piscons angry, but rather the words that the man asked aroused their interest.

"And how much can we get?" Someone shouted again.

"Enough," Gompati deliberately did not say a certain number, "Listen, the government of the Republic has been overthrown, and now the new government needs to do a lot of things, and it needs a lot of manpower, and you have more opportunities to make money without having to fight, but if Pisa is occupied by the Venetians, they will not be so merciful to you, think about it, as long as you are willing to work, you can get paid for the pen, and then you can go home for a peaceful birthday, and then it doesn't matter if the Venetians come." ”

Gompati's words finally caught the attention of the Pisa.

The temptation to get a sum of money made them excited, and as Gompati said, as long as they could get the money, even if the Venetians defeated the Cambrai later, it didn't matter to them.

"Just working overnight?"

"Just one night."

"And then give the money?"

"I'll give it when I'm done."

"Okay, count me in."

As long as the first person comes forward, there will be a second, a third, a fourth......

Seeing more and more people on the street with various tools joining the ranks of pushing the cannon cart, the corners of Gompati's mouth showed a wry smile.

Although the number of people has increased, Gompati has begun to worry about the conditions he had promised again.

I don't know if the money and things seized from the town hall will be able to support the Pope's reinforcements when they arrive.

The road outside Pisa leading to the Arno River has been dug out of several small but criss-crossing ravines, which not only cut off the road, but also vaguely form an irregular reverse arc-shaped obstacle belt facing the city of Pisa.

Standing on a slightly higher slope and looking at the road in the distance, he didn't really like what was there, but that was the only way to make him feel more at ease.

Just like a mercenary mocked, Gompati felt that he was very bold, so although he had been a mercenary for many years, he still did not learn the courage of his companions to face the enemy.

He always found a way to find a shelter for himself to hide, or a tree or a rock, and he would rather be ridiculed than exposed to the arrows and bullets of the enemy.

"Courage and stupidity are not the same thing after all, and we should have a better way to make our enemies afraid than to fall prey to them."

Gompati felt that he was not wrong, which was why he didn't want to continue to mess with the mercenaries, because he was tired of having a stable home and staying inside a wall that would protect him, rather than being killed in the middle of nowhere.

Alexander's presence gave Gompati a seeming hope, and although he was still suspicious of the young man's origins, he knew that there was no way out.

A figure did not catch Gompati's attention until very close, and he immediately bent down, gripping the hilt of his sword while clutching the dagger tightly in his left hand.

This is the Gompati experience, and sometimes a close-fitting dagger can do an unexpected job at a critical moment

"Venetian!"

When the figure was about to run closer, Gompati had already recognized it as the spy who had sent out the city to inquire about the news, and he couldn't help but gasp when he saw the man running in front of him, and Gompati's heart couldn't help but be nervous.

"Where are the Venetians?"

"It's in the village ahead," the spy gasped a few more times before relieving himself slightly, "there are a lot of them, and I see that some of them are very worn-out, but their weapons look terrible, and the sword is so big that it can cut off the head of a horse with a single swing. ”

The spy said with a look of fear on his face, for these mercenaries who were used to living a comfortable life in Pisa, some of them had forgotten how they had come through those hard days in the past, in fact, Gompati was not alone, he believed that as long as Alexander could really fulfill his promise, the other mercenaries might give up the wandering mercenary life in the early years, just like him.

"How many people are there, what weapons do they have, and are they preparing to attack?" Gompati kept asking, and then he said with some annoyance, "You can't be frightened by the Venetians, tell me something useful, or I'll have you whipped up, sober up, and continue to inquire." ”

"Of course I've inquired about it all, I don't know how to hide in the shadows like you all day," the spy was also annoyed, he snatched the kettle handed by the person next to him and poured it into his mouth, and continued, "There must be hundreds of people, but these are only on this side of the river, I didn't dare to cross the river, but I saw that the camp on the other side burned a large area, and the size must be at least a thousand." ”

"Thousands?" The mercenary who had just handed the spies the water was startled, "If you add the ones on the riverbank, there may be more than 2,000 people, then we can't stop them." ”

The spy's words made Gompati's face look ugly, although he scolded this man, but he knew that this man was very reliable, no matter where he was before, as long as he went out to find out the news, he would not disappoint everyone.

But this time Gompati really hoped he was wrong.

When Alexander saw Gompati, he knew from the gloomy look on his face that things might have changed, and when he heard about the size of the Venetians described by the spies, Alexander couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The Venetian's surprise attack on Pisa can be said to be unexpected, but when you think about it, it is amazingly ingenious.

Although the Vatican did not expect him to come to such a hand at all, even if Florence was close at hand, even if he discovered the actions of the Venetians, but in view of the delicate relationship between all aspects at the moment, except for secretly praying that Pisa would not be surrendered by the Venetians so easily, there could be no other radical moves.

It can be said that the Venetian governor Barbarige estimated this result and took the risk of sending troops to invade Pisa, and once Pisa was captured, then the Venetians could cut off the retreat from the south, and then they would march north and south with the army of the Milanese in Ciudad Realo to surround Montina!

This idea had been in Alexander's mind before when he was fleeing from Lucrezia, but now it had finally been confirmed.

"I didn't expect that the war that was supposed to take place in Montina would appear in Pisa," Alexander couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and this accident also sounded the alarm bell in time for Alexander, who couldn't help but become a little fluttering because of the recent success and high spirits.

"How's our artillery going?"

"It's in a hurry, but I'm worried that it may be too late, maybe the Venetians will attack when it's cold."

Alexander nodded, he knew that Gompati's guess was right, since the Venetians wanted to take Montina by sneaking up on Pisa, then they would never delay it for too long, after all, this Venetian army was alone, and only by capturing Pisa as soon as possible would things not be unexpected.

After a long time, it goes without saying that the Vatican, which gets the news, will immediately send rescue troops, even the cautious Florence will inevitably have other ideas.

"Then let's see if it works a miracle," Alexander said, looking at Gompati, "I told you that I will not let you down when you choose, and I want you to see for yourself whether your choice is the right one." ”

Gompati smiled wryly and nodded, and by this time he knew he had to keep going.

Before dawn came, Alexander hurried back to the town hall, where he made his way to Lucrezia's room after giving the orders to the pisbians who were wandering around the town hall like headless flies.

To his surprise, Lucrezia had not yet slept, and when Alexander entered the room, he saw that she was holding a book and looking at it, but her eyes were a little glazed, and it was obvious that her mind was not on the book at all.

Alexander walked over and gently hugged Lucrezia from behind, feeling the body of the woman in his arms soften after a little stiffening, Alexander lowered his head and gently kissed the back of Lucrezia's snow-white neck.

"Listen, I'll get you out of town quietly," Alexander whispered in her ear, "and then get out of Pisa, and don't stop." ”

Lucrezia was stunned for a moment, then looked back at Alexander in some surprise, and after a moment she shook her head slightly.

"At this time, if you go out of the city, you may be caught by the Venetians at any time, and can you trust the people who will send me away?"

Alexander sighed helplessly, he knew that Lucrezia was right, and he couldn't trust anyone to give a beautiful woman like her.

"Well, stay in the city," Alexander put his lips to the back of Lucrezia's slender white neck and kissed it gently, "for your sake, I will defend the city too." ”