Throughout the night, there was an intermittent noise and terrible shouts and curses in the camp, which did not calm down until dawn.

Alexander didn't sleep all night, he hugged Sophia and leaned against a big tree, listening to the sounds in the camp, his heart couldn't help but rise and fall.

He was not worried about the possible mutiny due to the forced march and causing too much damage to the entire food convoy, because he knew that as long as the vast majority of the people could hold out, there would not be much of a problem.

But he still couldn't calm down, and it was clear that Nashan was harshly and even brutally pacifying the soldiers who had fallen behind or made trouble.

These people were undoubtedly the first victims of this expedition to the north, and although he knew that these people were doing badly now, and that they were unlikely to survive the battles that might take place in the future, Alexander could not help but feel helpless about the decision he had made.

Finally, as the day began to dawn, the camp was calm, and Alexander, who had not slept well all night and had always held Sophia, felt that his whole body had almost lost his intuitive numbness, even if he wanted to move even slightly, and the soreness and pain and dizziness caused by exhaustion made him sway, but at this moment, Nashan suddenly appeared.

Although Nashan had not changed much after an unquiet night, he was still in good spirits, and when he saw Alexander leaning under the tree, Nashan walked over and unceremoniously took Sophia from his arms, and then grabbed Alexander's shoulders with his other hand and dragged him up.

"It's time to teach your little cubs a lesson," Nashan nudged Alexander on the back, "I'm sure they'll think they're a lot better behaved when you see them again." ”

Alexander rubbed his face vigorously to force himself to sober up, and then he looked back at Nashan with an inquiring look.

"Few men," whispered Nathan, "have hanged a few of the most violent, and a few others have been driven to the plains, and they will soon know what the result of spending the night there will be, and the others are much more honest." ”

Alexander knew, of course, that things weren't as simple as Nashan said, but he didn't ask.

When he decided to let Nashan solve all this, he was ready to face a potentially worse scenario.

And whether the sacrifice was worth it was only necessary to look at the soldiers who were already waiting in line before dawn.

Alexander didn't think that the soldiers would change anything in just one night, and he didn't see anything change in these people except a little more obedience and fear, and if there was, it was that they had become more obedient.

The soldiers who had been sent to march quickly again did not raise any objections, and it was evident that they had been deterred by Nashan's ruthlessness the night before, and that they had now become obedient lambs, and it was up to him whether they could become a flock of wolf cubs who would pounce on the enemy for food, as Nashan said.

After making a slight adjustment to the manpower that had been left vacant because of those who had fallen behind the previous day, Alexander ordered the troops to move forward at once, and this time he did not delay any longer, but ordered the whole group to begin to advance rapidly along the southern bank of the Agri River.

Although there are still many detours, the faster teams more than make up for the time wasted by the long detours.

This time, Alexander was stern, and he ordered the troops to march in the same groups as they had previously arranged to protect their share of the grain carts, while the Bohemians whistled forward and backward and urged the whole team.

Nathan's harsh punishment at night obviously worked, this time no one was easily left behind because of exhaustion, and the soldiers began to learn to grit their teeth and stick to the others, because they knew that in such a place, it would be dangerous to fall behind, even in the daytime, and Nashan had already told them not to expect to be left behind and that there would be Bohemians to meet them.

"That's it, maybe we can really train an army," Nashan was somewhat surprised by the changes in the soldiers, which made him look at Alexander a little differently, "I didn't expect you to have this way, these cubs have become much more honest, it's a good thing for them to be honest, at least on the battlefield, as long as they are obedient, they won't lose their lives easily." ”

Alexander agreed with Nathan's assertion that if the cavalry maintained their bravery and vitality with unruliness and plunder, then the infantry had to rely on strict discipline to exert their strength.

Because without the strong offensive power and mobility of cavalry, and without the terrible fire of artillery, infantry can only survive in close groups, and infantry alone or with poor discipline cannot survive on the battlefield.

Strict adherence to orders was the only way to keep the infantry disciplined.

"Outside the team is a plain full of dangers, and only by following the team can you get rid of these dangers," Alexander looked around, of course he knew that it was still safer during the day on the Agri Plains, otherwise people would no longer want to farm and survive here, but it was because he deliberately ordered the team to speed up when it was almost dark, so there would be people left behind at that time, and it was not safe on the plains at night. For these soldiers, they will become more willing to walk with everyone and not be left alone, "Alexander exhaled, "this is our biggest success so far." ”

"But the price of your success is not small," Nashan said after a careful thought, "it seems that the peasant soldiers you have gathered are more than two hundred people." ”

"279, my lord," Uliu said cautiously, "and the 70 mercenaries recruited later. ”

"Oh, you remember it well," Nashan glanced at Uliu, and then continued, "There are a total of 22 people who were left behind yesterday and were punished at night, which is not a small number, let me calculate how many people you still have ......"

"My lord, there are 257 men and 70 mercenaries," said Ulliu carefully, "and the hundred or so Bassimians you brought, and we now have about five hundred. ”

"It's incredible."

Nathan looked at Uliu in surprise, and at this time Sophia was about to reach out to take the jug from the side, and looked at the Moor, who immediately ran over to get the cup for her daughter, Nashan turned to Alexander and said, "This Moorish can actually write and count, if you want, I will buy him with two Bohemian mares." ”

Uliu, who was pouring water, shook his hand slightly, raised his head and looked at Alexander a little nervously.

Alexander shook his head, looked at Uliu and smiled lightly: "That's not good, I want him to be my head in the future." ”

Hearing Alexander say this, Nashan shrugged indifferently, he was only a little curious about the Moors.

In Nathan's view, a Moorish who could write and count was obviously no more useful than a bohemian who could wield a sword.

"It's a cost to break the bill for some deaths, but you're not at a loss," Nashan continued, "and those who survive the first battle will become very good soldiers, and if they can't compare with the Bohèmes, they're a good reward for you." ”

Alexander's harvest was of course more than that, and when the grain team that had walked a long way was almost unable to support it, he finally saw a large road ahead, and at this time Orion Carlo brought back news that was not surprising to him.

The party of the Queen of Naples, Joanna, was encamped on the road ahead.

In fact, the queen had been camping for two days at the fork in the road through which the Agrics had to pass.

When she had heard from Orgala a few days earlier that Alexander was about to lead his party north, the queen knew that this was a good opportunity to mend relations with him, and that she really needed someone to protect her on the road.

Alexander with a convoy of several hundred people was undoubtedly the best choice.

So the queen immediately ordered the servants to be nimble with their hands and feet, and that they could not do with the worthless things, even if they were too bulky, and they could be sold on the spot.

Joanna was well aware of her situation, and if nothing else, once she left Naples she would rarely have a chance to come back, and the new king would not tolerate the queen of the previous king always running to his country to point fingers, so if it wasn't for something too significant, this departure would probably be a permanent relationship with Naples.

Joanna was not sad, since she knew that Ferdinand had left her not only no possessions, but a lot of debts and troubles, Joanna had long since become tired of staying here, especially since she had to be forced to move out of the palace and live in a cramped house, which made it even more unbearable for her.

So once she decided to leave, Joanna's hands and feet became a lot more nimble.

Alexander had plenty of time to prepare enough food and cotton for Agri, so when she set out on the road according to the time Orgala had told her, not only did she not appear to be in a hurry, but on the contrary, after walking some way out of the city of Naples and stopping to camp, she waited for nearly two days before seeing the Agri.

The queen Alexander took only Nashan with him, but left Sophia in the ranks.

He knew very well that Joanna was a typical aristocratic woman, and she would only express contempt and disregard for Sophia, which he absolutely could not accept, on the contrary, Josa was much better in comparison, although she was also a nobleman, but despite her contradictions with Sophia, she did not show the arrogance of a noble lady, which made Alexander feel that his sister was still very cute.

The queen's camp was built in a grove not too far from the road, and in late autumn the woods were littered with yellow leaves, and Joanna, the former queen of Naples, sat in a tent set up on this blanket of fallen leaves.

Because the weather was already cold, Joanna changed into a thick fur travel suit, and when she saw Alexander approaching from afar, the queen's body moved, making herself look more imposing.

It's just that when she saw Nashan beside him, Joanna was slightly surprised.

"Your Majesty." Outside the tent, Alexander stopped and bowed, and then walked into the tent, which was actually supported by only a few braces except for one roof.

"Agri's Gombray." Joanna nodded, and when she saw Nashan walking in with her, her originally slightly sparse eyebrows furrowed, but she didn't say anything.

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce," Joanna's look fell on Alexander's eyes, making him feel that he was right not to bring Sophia, this woman did not even hide her disgust for the gypsy, but if she knew that this gypsy she looked down on was actually the lover of her husband and aunt, she did not know what kind of expression she would have, Alexander wondered in his heart with some malice, "Queen of Bohemia, the captain of the guard Nathan." ”

Joanna's face showed a hint of surprise obviously, she looked at Nashan a little strangely, I don't know if it was because of his identity, or because of some kind of special intuition that women are born with, her gaze at Nashan changed slightly.

"Your Majesty, I've heard that you're leaving Naples?" Alexander didn't want to talk nonsense, of course he knew why Joanna camped in such a place where there was no village and no shop, and he was not opposed to letting her hitchhike, after all, having a queen with him would at least save a lot of trouble: "If I can get you to do it, I hope to have the privilege of traveling north with your team, after all, the French have not been completely defeated yet, they even occupy Rome, it will be safer to travel together, and it will also make your trip more comfortable." ”

Joanna was a little reserved, but only for a moment, she nodded slightly, her original purpose was also for this, in addition to the safety of the road, she also hoped to use this trip to repair the slightly stiff relationship with Alexander.

Groningen taught Joanna the power of wealth, and although the young man in front of her could not help her more financially than Groningen, Joanna could sense that Hubert van Groningen seemed to value Alexander by a woman's intuition.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent that Olgala specifically to deliver the news to her.

This made Joanna feel the need to reconsider not messing up relations with Alexander, and in this era of kingdoms and warlords, no one can guarantee that there will not be a second Sforza-like family that takes advantage of the turmoil.

Of course, Alexander didn't know what Joanna was up to, he just wanted to use Joanna's identity to add insurance for his trip, although it seemed that Joanna might not even be able to protect herself.

Alexander ordered the party to camp near the queen's camp, because the queen's party would join and the whole team would be reorganized, and Alexander decided not to rush that afternoon, rest for half a day, and then continue the next day.

To Joanna's surprise, the caravan stopped, but instead of staggering to rest on the spot as they had imagined, the Bohemians began to run along the edge of the camp with a whistle, and the soldiers escorting the grain also dragged their heavy steps to help the coachmen and peasants to gather the grain carts together.

"It's still a little slow," Alexander said as he watched the procrastinating procession, his eyebrows furrowed, "If there had been an enemy attack at this time, everyone would have died a long time ago." ”

"Do you still expect these men to be able to hold off the enemy," Nashan laughed sarcastically, "only the infantry of less than four hundred men can't deal with a large number of cavalry, not to mention that many of them have never seen blood at all, I think you are still wasting your time, if you must arm your small territory, I can find you some more bohemians, and the price will not even be very high." ”

Looking at Nathan, who looked like a businessman, Alexander was a little suspicious of how much gypsy blood he had.

However, although the old man promised to give a preferential price, Alexander knew that even if it was cheap, a large number of Bohemian cavalry could not be afforded by him today.

What's more, in his plan, he didn't expect to rely on pure mercenaries like Bohemian cavalry to develop his own strength.

Sforza's lesson had already alarmed all the monarchs of Italy, and it only took one thing for a mercenary to overthrow his employer and take the duke's crown himself, and no one wanted to be the second unlucky person to be robbed of power by his own men.

Alexander knew better than the monarchs how dangerous it was for a country to rely solely on mercenaries, and that was enough to learn from Milan, now seized by Sforza, and from the Roman Empire, which had risen and fallen earlier.

What's more, he knew very well that the more the war would become more and more brutal in the future, and the scale of the war would become larger and larger, and it was obviously no longer enough to rely on the mercenaries who received honorariums, and even as the number of troops needed increased, even those monarchs who were famous for their wealth would one day be overwhelmed by huge honorariums.

"I'm going to train my own army." Alexander looked at the team that was working slowly and hastily, the strict discipline that had been imposed on them had somewhat helped, at least there were far fewer people left behind today than the night before, and as long as the leader gave the order, the soldiers struggled to do their work despite their exhaustion.

But that's not enough, he needs not a bunch of obedient laborers but soldiers, and that requires him to find more ways to make these people active.

"Maybe there's already a good chance," Nashan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the queen's camp not far away, and his gesture reminded Alexander of the gesture Sophia made every time before she was going to do something, "What could impress those wolf cubs more than this." ”

"You wouldn't have had the idea of beating the queen, would you?" Alexander looked at Nashan in some surprise.

"No, don't you think that the queen is carrying a little too much, so it will be very inconvenient along the way." Nashan pouted, "Don't look at me like that, I'm the bohemians you are talking about, don't we just live by stealing and robbing, and besides, these things are enough to feed a lot of people, don't tell me you don't blush." ”

"But you can't just rob the queen," Alexander shook his head, "and she's still useful to me, this woman is the 'key' to Rome." ”

"What are you going to Rome for?" Nashan asked strangely, "Aren't you just sending grain to the north, what did you say was the name of the person who received the goods, by the way, James Columbus, what a bad name, when you heard it, he was a guy with bad luck." ”

Alexander looked at Nashan speechlessly, it seems that Nashan inherited the strong divination ability of the gypsies, but just casually, but the ill-fated James hexagram is almost inseparable.

"Don't touch the queen," Alexander reminded Nashan again, "it's not safe on the road, and if we don't want to get into too much trouble, we have to make sure that the queen gets to Rome without any problems, she is important to us." ”

Nashan nodded helplessly, he sometimes felt that this son-in-law was really a bit of a bull's horn, if it weren't for the fact that there seemed to be no ambiguity between him and the queen, Nashan would have suspected that this kid might have something else in mind.

The weather in late autumn always changes quickly, and the sky is clear at noon, but suddenly becomes cloudy in the afternoon.

A large icy cold wind poured in through the cracks in the vehicle, making a screeching "whirring" sound.

Alexander sat in the tent, and Sophia curled up beside him watched him draw something on the paper.

"Huh~?" Sophia spoke up and then pointed to the strange patterns on the paper.

"What is this, you ask," Alexander asked with a smile, and when he saw Sophia nodding, he took her and explained, "This is called a phalanx, and it is a battle formation that needs to be deployed in advance during the battle, and I will use the time on the road to train our infantry to learn this kind of phalanx, so that in the event of a battle, it will not be too passive." ”

Sophia's face immediately showed uneasiness, and she looked at Alexander with some concern, as if he was about to go to war.

"Don't worry, I'm not so unlucky, but this phalanx must be trained as soon as possible, otherwise we will not always be safe," Alexander kissed Sophia on the forehead comfortingly, "and this phalanx is somewhat different from the Romans or Macedonians in the past, in addition to strict discipline and bravery, the soldiers also need to be familiar with working with others, they must master how to flexibly change formations in the face of strong enemies, and learn to cooperate with the musketeers among them. Even be able to cover the musketeers when needed, buying them even a short time. It's a bit difficult, but if you train successfully, you can exert unimaginable power," Alexander said, his eyes glowing with excitement, and he had even forgotten that he was chatting with Sophia, completely immersed in the idea of the opposing formation.

Unlike others who may have little confidence in this assumption, Alexander clearly knew that what he described was completely achievable, and he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart when he thought of the miracle of war that this kind of phalanx could create in this era: "I have decided, since this phalanx is composed of Agri, then call it the Agri phalanx!" ”