Many years later, a military theorist once proudly wrote in his book: "After studying the performance of many ancestors and contemporary giants on the battlefield, I have mastered the most wonderful secret of mankind's victory in military activities for thousands of years." ”

When these words were written, the man was quite proud of his insight, but he did not know that another soldier of his time, who also studied war and military history, wrote almost the same words: "I found that generals, no matter how genius, follow only a few established laws that lead them to victory." ”

Louis de Bourbon considered himself victorious because he felt that his enemy had lost the means of relent, and that he had more powerful artillery than his enemy, which ensured him an overwhelming superiority in both strength and firepower.

But he was so preoccupied with the enemy in front of him that he ordered all the forces at his disposal to ensure that he could take Florence that evening, with the result that he had no idea that an enemy army had cut through the not-so-wide gap between him and Louis XII's main force, and then attacked him from a place close enough to get under his nose.

Busako was gasping for breath on a gray horse, but it was the Duke who was most grateful to him at this time.

The road from Bologna to Prato is not very long, but it is quite difficult, and from Prato to Florence is not so easy either.

In order to be able to get to the place as soon as possible, Busako had to reluctantly order to throw away a few large-caliber guns halfway, and then rush away with some of the small guns that were quite flexible.

It was on this road that Busako truly realized the significance of Alexander's non-stop long march, although the 6th Regiment of Bologna was no longer the original Agri musketeers, but it was the experience of those times that allowed Busacko to temper his troops in the same harsh way in the later training of the Bologna Regiment.

The timing of the Bologna regiment's attack on the French was just right, and even after the small but nimble field guns fired the first rounds of shells from the flanks and rear of the densely formed French troops almost without having time to aim, the Bologna regiment began to charge in the direction of what appeared to be a supply camp in the rear of the French army.

Busako knew that his strength could not be compared with the French army, and his sixth regiment, although it had been repeatedly expanded, was still less than four-fifths of the original formation, which made him never think of attacking the main French army bravely but stupidly.

His only cavalry of less than 200 men was his reliance and greatest bargaining chip, as Barentia had given him a small number of Bohemian cavalry in order to quickly respond to Constantine's invasion of Ferrara and occupy Bologna.

These Bohemian cavalry became the most important force in the Bologna regiment, and just as Gompati saw artillery as the key to victory, Busakos regarded them as his last bargaining chip.

This time, he threw the chip down from the beginning.

The Bohemian cavalry, wielding their sabers, rushed into the supply camp in the rear of the French army in a whirlwind, and the Bohemians, with their sabers in one hand and short muskets in the other, frantically attacked all the living targets they could see, and then followed the smoke and dust through the camp, causing a roaring dragon in their back.

Louis de Bourbon was a little dazed for a moment, he didn't react even when he looked back and saw that the supply camp behind him was on fire, he just wondered where these enemies had come from, and who they were.

These questions made him forget for a moment how to deal with the enemy in front of him.

It wasn't until several powerful explosions in the camp that shook the ground that he woke him up that de Bourbon realized that this was not the time to find out where the enemy came from.

However, it was evident that not everyone had completely forgotten about the accident like the king's attendants, so several groups of French troops had already reversed their formation, and the gunner of a nearby artillery had ordered the clumsy cannon to be slowly reversed before he could hear the order.

A piercing roar passed through the gap in the ranks, and a wave of heat hit him, as if he had fallen into a scorching hell.

Immediately after that, a loud muffled sound came from behind him, and an earth dragon that was rolled and jumped up drew a long line on the ground.

The cavalry couldn't help but be surprised by this sudden attack, and at this time, the cavalry captain who rushed to the front kept shouting to his companions: "Don't stop, charge, don't stop, don't stop~"

The Bohemians picked up speed again, their formation became much thinner due to the threat of artillery, but this did not prevent them from inflicting damage on the enemy.

They cunningly did not make contact with the French army, but a small group of more than a dozen people kept rushing towards the rear of the French army full of supplies and various supplies, and there were not many people to guard the lone enemy, and after rushing or destroying the enemy's supplies, they quickly ran away, and then looked for the next target.

Busako, however, had been keeping an eye on the movements of the French army under the city, and when he noticed that several French troops had turned around and were approaching him, Busako immediately ordered the troops to retreat to the rear.

Bussac's purpose is clear, he knows that your own numbers simply can't fight the French army in front of you, so it is his goal to contain the enemy and buy time for the defenders of Florence.

Looking at the Bologna regiment that began to retreat, Louis de Bourbon was a little confused, he did not know whether to continue the attack on the city walls or destroy the sudden enemy in front of him, but while he was still hesitating, his enemy had already made a choice for him.

The head of Florence was once again in the city, and this time even Machiavelli was standing on it.

When the French army was about to attack the city walls, Machiavelli was actually ready to surrender, for him the war was more like a transaction, when the business was losing money, he might continue to increase his weight, but when he found that no further investment could guarantee a profit, he would shrewdly choose to stop the loss.

Machiavelli believed that he had done his duty so that even the Duke should no longer reproach him, so he chose to surrender at the right time, which did not violate his code of conduct.

It was just that he had never expected such a change, which made Machiavelli secretly glad that he had not acted hastily, although he thought that even if he did, the Duke would not blame him too much, but it was always good to be able to avoid an embarrassing situation.

The delayed French attack gave the Florentines precious time to breathe, and even though there were no more artillery in the city, this did not prevent the Florentines from counterattacking the French troops below with muskets and crossbows, although such an attack did not cause many casualties, but it dealt a great mental blow to the French army.

As the later military theorist put it, "When the two sides are fighting hard, a new force suddenly appears on one side, which is enough to stimulate and boost the morale of friendly forces and to strike a deep blow to the enemy", and it is clear that this is the case now.

Louis de Bourbon was so frightened and devastated that for a moment he forgot that he still had many more troops than the enemy, so his first reaction was to defend.

He tried to form a formation to defend himself, but as soon as the order was issued, he was met with strong opposition, and some experienced officers soon discovered that the enemy reinforcements did not appear to be superior in strength, and even noticed that the enemy's purpose was only to buy time for the Florentines.

Several officers eagerly begged Dede Bourbon to allow them to attack the new enemy, and they advised the Duke not to stop the siege.

The Duke of Bourbon hesitated, he was somewhat frightened, although the officers' words were very reasonable, but he was worried that his division of troops might lead to the inability of both sides to ensure superiority, so after a not so short period of hesitation, the Duke of Bourbon ordered an attack on this new enemy.

"The city of Florence is out there, but I can't let them escape easily from this new enemy," the Duke defended his decision, "and since they are in front of me, why can't I take the opportunity to destroy them, and remember that Your Majesty also believes that destroying the enemy's army is more important than capturing a city." ”

Although they knew that this was actually somewhat quibbling, the officers still reluctantly obeyed the order, and what the Duke of Bourbon said was not unreasonable, the city of Florence was indeed there, and even if such an inexplicable enemy army appeared, the court still did not think that the Florentines would dare to come out of the city to deal with this enemy army.

In fact, de Bourbon's speculation still has some truth, looking at the French army that is changing direction, there is also a brief dispute over the head of the city of Florence.

The officers of the Chamber of Commerce's convoy made a request for a counterattack, but this was immediately rejected by Machiavelli, whose reasoning sounded equally reasonable, that Florence could not be missed as the center of Romagna and the Duchy of Roman Thesia, and since his task was to defend the city, he only had to ensure the safety of Florence.

The officers were obviously not satisfied with this reason, and they vehemently asked Machiavelli not to be so inflexible, but it was clear that he had made up his mind, so that Machiavelli stubbornly gave the order to hold the city, even though Busaco's army had to face the entire French army alone.

The French army in the distance was moving in an orderly formation, albeit in a hurry, which made Busacko aware of the danger, and he looked in the direction of Florence with some expectation, but then turned his head with a snort in his throat.

"My lord, aren't the Florentines going to help us?" An officer ran up to him out of breath and asked, "This is a good opportunity, at least to keep the French busy." ”

"Do you think so?" Busako asked with a smirk, "Maybe we all think so, but that Machiavelli would never take that risk, he's ...... person."

Busako, who didn't say anything more, shook his head, and then gave an order to the herald beside him: "Order the artillery to attack the French, shoot all the shells, and then blow up the artillery, we don't need it." ”

The herald was visibly stunned for a moment, then turned his horse's head and galloped away, looking at the herald's back, Busako snorted again.

"What are we going to do next, my lord?" The officer asked a little dazedly, the passion for the attack on the French army just before was like pouring cold water on this change, looking at the enemy who had gradually restored order and approached his side, the officer's face showed a faint hint of nervousness.

"Continuing to fight, of course," Busako laughed, "aren't we here to help the Florentines?" ”

"But ......"

"Alright officer, go back and command your troops," Busako interrupted the officer's inquiry, "Look, we're going to have a long time to rest." ”

A horn came from the French position, and looking at the enemy who seemed to be advancing on his own, Busako shook his head helplessly.

In fact, as the officer had said, he did hope that Machiavelli would cooperate with him, but Busako soon felt that this idea was a bit naïve, and like everyone else, he knew that Machiavelli was not a soldier but a politician, which meant that he would only think in his own best interests.

The French offensive began, but the first to speak was Busako's field artillery, which was mounted directly on the carriage and was about to fall apart after a bump in the road, at this time some of the artillerymen simply removed the artillery from the carriage and placed it on a temporary earthen gun emplacement, and launched a heavy fire on the French according to Busako's order.

"No, it's the right thing for us to keep Florence at this time!" Looking at the battlefield outside the city, Machiavelli didn't know whether to convince others or repeat this sentence himself: "The Duke once said that Florence is the key to everything, and now it is time for us to prove how important this key is, so how many people can sacrifice themselves for Florence?" ”

Machiavelli's words made the officers of the convoy look at each other.

Indeed, they were only soldiers, and because they were far from qualified to know the truth, they knew that they had to defend the city, but they did not understand what was really important about Florence.

"Is Florence the future of the Duchy of Rome-Thesia, and perhaps even the capital of the future Duchy, or do you think Montina can really assume that position?" Machiavhe asked the officers in a questioning tone, "In that case, how can you think that you can take this city lightly, and now I order you to hold the line tightly, and no one is allowed to act rashly." ”

With that, Machiavelli ventured to the city wall and looked down carefully.

"Busako, don't let me down." Machiavelli muttered to herself.

A loud roar sounded on the enemy position, and a smile hung on the corner of the Duke of Bourbon's mouth, he was a little embarrassed by his previous gaffe, but he thought that as long as he could win, no one should pay attention to this small flaw, the panic caused by this sudden appearance of the enemy army was short-lived, and now the embarrassed Duke who watched them have to retreat was not only quite proud of his decision.

Especially when the officer in front sent someone back to report to him that the enemy had even thrown away the artillery in order to flee for his life, the Duke of Bourbon finally couldn't help but let out a smug laugh.

"I don't know who this man is, but I bet he's the stupidest fool I've ever seen," the Duke began to make jokes about his not-so-funny jokes to the people next to him, "I'd love to meet this commander now, or let him meet that Machiavelli after the capture of Florence, I'm sure it would be a great spectacle." ”

"My lord, the enemy seems to be fleeing," shouted a lookout standing on the top of a tree, "their cavalry is still attacking us, but the rest of the troops have begun to retreat." ”

Are you going to run away?

The thought crossed the Duke of Bourbon's mind, and at the same time, a wave of anger suddenly welled up in his heart.

Although the sudden appearance of the enemy did not change anything, the embarrassment that had caused him to almost panic before made him angry.

And it is indeed a very troublesome thing to think that there is such an enemy by his side all the time, so the Duke of Bourbon decided to completely deal with this enemy army that appeared out of nowhere.

"Perhaps I am destined to be disgraced in the presence of the king," said the duke, a little helplessly, to the people around him, "so remind me not to leave anything in the clerk's hand so easily next time." ”

After saying that, Louis de Bourbon shouted to the herald, "Go and tell the people in front that if they want to get more loot in Florence, they should first get me the commander on the other side," and he shrugged his shoulders again, "but if he is unlucky, it is okay to bring his body to me." ”

The spears glistened coldly in the scorching sun, and the entire row of busts looked from a distance like a glowing wall.

It was not easy for the French to maintain formation in such hot weather as they advanced slowly through the fields, but on a few occasions some of the adventurous troops tried to approach the enemy and were counterattacked, but decided to deal with the enemy in this slightly clumsy but steady way.

After all, they are about to win, and no one wants to risk their lives at such a time.

Because the enemy is retreating to the Arno River.

As long as this continues, this enemy who has appeared out of nowhere will soon be forced to have no way out.

"We're victorious, aren't we?" Louis de Bourbon first looked at the people around him with a little interest, and then shook his head with a pretended regret: "If that Machiavelli could have been more decisive, maybe the result would have been different, but after all, there are only a few people who can make the right decisions on the battlefield." ”

"And you have done it," said one of the attendants, flattering him without losing any time, "I would not be at all surprised if in the future you were to be called one of the greatest generals of France." ”

The Duke of Bourbon smiled reservedly, and despite his noble status, he preferred to be called a general, presumably because of the influence of his ancestral lineage in the time of Louis IX, but he had never thought that he had a chance to show his ambitions.

"Do you think they'll surrender before sunset?" The Duke looked at the enemy, who seemed to be crumbling, and asked lightly, "Or maybe they want to impress me with their bravery, and if that then I don't mind helping them and letting them cool off in the river." ”

The duke's sneer once again caused a burst of laughter from the crowd next to him, who seemed to have no way out of the enemy army.

"Did they attack us from here before?" The Duke of Bourbon pointed to the edge of an open field where his own army had already arrived, and Busaco's troops had not been detected before, because there was a small raised hill on either side of the open field, which blocked the view of the French army.

"Yes, my lord, that's where they started their attack." Someone next to him hurriedly responded.

"In that case, I'm going to attack them from here," the Duke straightened up, his solemn demeanor as if he were performing some kind of ritual, "but their attack has only caused us a little trouble, and our attack will be the beginning of their downfall." ”

As he said this, the Duke noticed that the clerk beside him was struggling to write, and the corners of his mouth moved as if to prevent the clerk from writing down this sentence, after all, his reckless act of letting the clerk record the days of the capture of Florence would definitely be ridiculed afterwards, so he felt that he should be more cautious.

But then he gave up on the idea.

No matter who he is, there is no way to escape from the enemy on the other side.

"Let's attack." The Duke of Bourbon gave the order.

The French began to advance into the open field, and although the enemy occupied a slightly raised hill on the outskirts of the open field, it was obviously of little practical use compared to the overwhelming strength of the French army.

"My lord, our artillery is all lost," an officer whispered to Busako's side, "so ......"

"Then what do you want, let me use my magic to conjure a cannon for you?" Busak asked with some annoyance, "Or do you think someone will be generous enough to give you a batch of artillery?" ”

Seeing Busako's dark face, the officer licked his lips and hid aside.

"Here we are." Busako looked at the French army that was already gradually unfolding in the open ground and muttered a low word, then he stood up and took a deep breath, "Okay, let's see what kind of prey this decoy of Florence attracts." ”

As soon as Busako's words fell, an earth-shattering cannon burst out from the hills on both sides of the wide open field!

Florence, the most tempting bait, suddenly turned into a bloodthirsty and terrible monster, baring its hideous fangs at its prey.