The Rise of the European Emperor

A few days later, Julius II tried his best to amass enough 14,000 horses for the army. Among them, most of the horses were draught horses, bought by force from peasant families around the city of Rome.

Due to the urgency of the war, Julius II could not control so much, and directly adopted the means of forced buying. Of course, the money given is not a lot. After all, Julius II is not bad for money, especially, after copying the Borgia family, he has a lot of money. Of course, in fact, he didn't need to take the money himself, he just took it directly from the treasury of the Holy See.

On the other side of Florence City, the information of the Medici family came soon - it was ready there. According to the agreement, Stade's army will arrive at the east gate of Florence, and near the east gate, there happens to be a follower of the Medici family, who has a large house here, suitable for ambushing soldiers and horses. According to the agreement, as long as the army arrives and shoots two cannonballs in the air, the other party will start to snatch the east gate and put it into the army.

At this time, there were 5,000 Italian mercenaries in Florence. However, according to the intelligence of the Medici family, these Italian mercenaries were disorganized and often disturbed the people. Machiavelli, the official leader of the Republic, threatened to dismiss all mercenaries and establish a national army.

In fact, this suggestion of Machiavelli has indeed been realized. However, that was only achieved in 1505. At present, the officials of the Republic of Florence are quarreling endlessly about whether to abandon the mercenaries and establish a national army instead. Piero Soderini, the governor of the Republic of Florence, supported Machiavelli's idea of ​​establishing a national army. He also felt the lax discipline of mercenaries and the harm to the people in the city. However, Florence is a republic, not an autocratic state. Although as the governor, Piero Soderini can only support Machiavelli's proposition, try to win over as many members as possible, but cannot arbitrarily decide. So, this matter is temporarily unsolved.

However, Machiavelli's remarks annoyed the mercenaries in charge of defending the city. After all, Machiavelli is going to ruin their jobs. Therefore, the mercenaries did not have a good look on Machiavelli. If Machiavelli hadn't been a high-ranking official, the group of Italian mercenaries would have beaten him up.

The mercenaries still go their own way, continue to harass the people in the city of Florence, and from time to time they harm big girls and little wives. Of course, the Italian mercenaries are not as brutal and rude as the oriental devils. These Italian mercenaries came by means of hooking up.

In this era, even in the prosperous city of Florence, there are still many poor people. This group of Italian mercenaries had money, so they bought a lot of food, or bought some flowers and cloth, to hook up with big girls and little wives in the city.

Not to mention that this method is really tricked by women. After all, Italian women are not good at all. A slap in the face can't make a slap in the face. When both men and women are coquettish, some large scales are staged...

The city hall kept receiving complaints from ordinary citizens (mainly cuckolded men) demanding severe punishment for the rambunctious mercenaries.

These men are not lacking in courage, but in the face of organized soldiers, revenge is futile, and the command makes them even more unlucky. So, complaining is the only way. However, there are also divisions within the republic. Some Florentine bosses believe that these broken things are all short-sighted by the parents and are not worthy of official action. Moreover, as long as those mercenaries are not using their strengths, they are not illegal... With the support of the official boss, those mercenaries are even more arrogant...

According to the information provided by the Medici family, every night, out of the 5,000 Florentine mercenaries, 3,000 of them are guarding the barracks and the city walls. The remaining 2,000 people have all gone to pick up girls... Therefore, if a raid is launched, the success rate is still very high.

Stade was nervous, after all, this was the first time he had led an army alone on a very important mission. Before, he had followed Marin or Schwartz, and everything was under command.

Of course, Stade is also excited. He knew the opportunities this war brought. If the city of Florence is successfully won, then he will become a hero of the Papal State. Where is the Papal State? That is the center of European religion. His Excellency the Pope is also the leader of Christians in the world and the spokesperson of God in the world.

Stade can be sure that as long as he takes Florence for the Papal State, his master Marin will certainly gain huge benefits. But at the same time, as the chief general of this battle, he will also be famous for eternity and will be rewarded by the Pope. Therefore, Stade is very attentive to this raid.

Because it was a rush attack, the army did not bring any baggage this time, and everyone only brought a small bag of dry food. If it fails, the army is immediately in trouble.

Moreover, the distance of this raid was too long. Along the Roman Avenue, the total marching distance reached about 280 kilometers. Although the straight-line distance between the two places is only about 230 kilometers, the terrain of the Italian peninsula is complex, and some places need to be detoured. Therefore, if you take the Roman Avenue, the total distance has reached about 280 kilometers.

And if one person and two horses are on the road, if you cherish the horsepower, you can run about 120 kilometers a day at most. However, in this way, it will take more than two days.

After thinking about it, Julius II decided to let Stade go on the road with all his strength, even if he ran some horses to death, it would be nothing. The death of a few horses is nothing compared to the huge gains of the Florentine Republic.

So, Stade took his army and started to hurry at a speed of 150 kilometers per day...

Two days later, when the army arrived near Florence, 4,000 horses died when they were counted. And the 10,000 horses alive are also depressed.

Fortunately, each of the soldiers brought a small bag of oatmeal. After feeding the horses some oatmeal, Stade quickly let everyone take the opportunity to rest. At the same time, he released his riding post, rode a warhorse with good physical strength, and went to patrol around, intercepting everyone who went to Florence City, so as to avoid leaking information. This good habit is what Marin has always emphasized. In every raid, confidentiality is the top priority.

After a long rest, it was almost 10 o'clock in the evening. At this point, Stade arranged for the horses to be gathered together for a look. And he himself, with his soldiers, quietly touched the east gate of Florence...

At 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, in the silent night, two explosions suddenly sounded - it was the people of Stade who were firing guns...

The best-friends of the Medici family who were hiding in a large courtyard near the East Gate in the city of Florence were stunned for a moment, and then they realized that the opportunity had come...

As a result, about 150 guards and servants with high military force sent by a number of follower families of the Medici family, armed with swords, gathered their courage and rushed to the city gate of the east gate...

However, these Medici-connected raiders, unlike the professionals sent by Marin, all wore full plate armor and held shields. They are all dressed in ordinary clothes, just holding swords in their hands, not very professional.

Although, these people are also considered to be good people in martial arts. However, due to the lack of protection, they suffered great losses when they stormed the city gate.

After hearing about what happened to Rome, Machiavelli attached great importance to the defense of the city gates. As an officer in charge of military affairs, he repeatedly asked mercenaries to perform their duties at night. And, to send enough people to protect the gates of the city...

Originally, according to Machiavelli's vision, the number of soldiers and horses guarding the gates of the city should be increased from thirty to forty to about 200. This order, he has indeed been conveyed down.

It's a pity that half of the 200 mercenaries guarding the east gate went to the city to pick up girls that night...

If the 200 mercenaries were all there, then the 150 dead men who attacked the gates of the city would probably be doomed. Fortunately, because of the poor discipline of the Italian mercenaries, only 100 were on duty.

With the suddenness of the raid, the dead men of the Medici family caught the Italian mercenaries by surprise. But the defenders, after all, had the advantage. As a result, the two sides fought fiercely, and alarmed the defenders at the head of the city...

Stade saw that it was broken, and there were troops running down from the top of the city. It seemed that the raid was in trouble. Suddenly, drops of cold sweat dripped from his forehead. If this operation fails, it will be in big trouble. And, he would also lose all his glory.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered a few grappling hooks brought from Frisland. It is said that that is what Marin intends to use to form "special forces". It's just that there is no shadow of the legendary special forces. According to Marin's plan, the agile Dietmarshen general Cage should be the most suitable special forces leader. However, Cage's current loyalty is not enough, and Marin has also postponed the formation of special forces. It will not be too late to wait until Cage is more loyal.

Stade was more interested in the kind of claw hooks used to climb the city wall, so he asked a few to come over, and played with a few of his own soldiers, playing it as an entertainment item.

However, the situation is urgent, and Stade can't sit still. If the Medici family in the city failed to attack the city gate, then everything would be over.

So, Stade was heartbroken and shouted to the guard:

"Bring me the claw hook!"

Several guards looked at each other, wondering what the madness of their boss was. The claw hook is usually used in games, isn't it...

"General, what do you want?"

"Climbing the city wall! There's probably something wrong with the Italian bastards in the city. Now they have to climb the city wall, and move fast! Otherwise, no one will want to break into the city!"

"No, you are the general and cannot take risks. According to military law, if you take risks and get hurt, we will all be executed!" Several guards were shocked, for fear that Stad could not think of it. Marin's military law is very strict.

"Then you go, you must capture that section of the city wall, and then support the battle in the city gate hole!"

"Yes!" Several guards gritted their teeth, but were also forced to be helpless.

Coincidentally, it happened that the dozens of mercenaries on the city wall that Stade's army faced had all gone down to reinforce the direction of the city gate. So, a few guards from Stade ran directly over to throw the claw hook...

After trying several times, all the five hooks that Stadler usually wears hooked on the city wall...

Then, several guards took the lead and climbed up...

Then, Stade let another group of warriors climb up the rope of the grappling hook...

After a total of 30 people climbed up, the Italian mercenaries who were in a panic at the top of the city discovered that someone was climbing the city wall. So a group of Italian mercenaries rushed up.

However, the city wall was very narrow, and under the desperate obstruction of 30 elite soldiers who climbed up the city, hundreds of Italian mercenaries rushed over to be blocked.

Then, more elite soldiers climbed up along the rope...

Hundreds of elite soldiers climbed up and immediately defeated the group of Italian mercenaries on the city wall. Then Stade shouted from under the city:

"Don't worry about the group of trash on the city head, go down to reinforce the city gate hole, be sure to open the city gate!"

As a result, hundreds of elites went down the city wall directly down the stairs and headed straight for the city gate hole in the east gate...

At this time, a fierce battle was going on in the doorway of the East City Gate. Although the dead men of the Medici family have eliminated most of the city gate guards, there are still more than 40 city gate guards who are still struggling to guard the city gate with obstacles such as shields, tables and chairs.

At the same time, about 200 Italian mercenaries descended from the city walls and were attacking the dead soldiers of the Medici family from behind. At this time, it has reached a very critical juncture. Of the 150 Medici dead, there are only 80 left. In just a little while, they'll be screwed...

At this critical juncture, suddenly, a group of soldiers rushed down from the top of the city and rushed towards the 200 Italian mercenaries who were attacking the younger generation of the Medici family, and quickly defeated them.

This is Stade's guards who arrived with a group of elites. After defeating the Italian mercenaries who attacked the city gate, they did not hesitate, rushed in and launched a fierce attack on the last 40 guards of the city gate...

After a while, the guards were finally eliminated. Then, the east gate was opened. Stade took this opportunity to lead the army into the city of Florence...