I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 333 Sava River (Three shifts in one))

Although he is already an adult, it may be a long time before the crown prince Louis will realize the deep meaning of Louis XIV's words - this is the era where people still can't understand what a unified country and nation is, let alone die fighting for it. This involves democracy (not modern democracy) that has been deeply rooted in people's hearts since ancient Greece and ancient Rome, enfeoffment and territorial ownership (as large as a country) that are constantly changing due to marriage, war and even buying and selling.

Why did Louis XIV build the Palace of Versailles, why did he build four art academies after the victory of Flanders and the Netherlands, why did he forgive the Huguenots, why let the Viscount Turenne and his third son Halle Duke Bull went to Holland and Flanders precisely because he could no longer bear these nominal ministers, real princes. In the far east, even children knew that they had to clench their fists to attack. The lords and knights are always eager to tear the country apart.

Although standing in their position, this is only natural and justified, but it is conceivable that without a series of battlefield and shopping mall victories for the king to have a voice, Louis XIV of France is just another Leopold I. -Even if your own country is threatened, you must rely on the assistance of friends and even enemies.

"But don't be in a hurry," Louis shook his son's hand: "What I want to hand over to you must be a complete and powerful France. You..." He thought for a while, but did not continue speaking, the three sons Among them, his favorite is little Luciano, that is, the Duke of Colonna, but the most biased is little Louis. Little Louis will have to bear more responsibilities than other children in the future. He may even be called by others. He was a mediocre man—because the Sun King's brilliance could still shine on Europa for half a century, and now Louis XIV already had Holland, Flanders, and France, as well as a large colony, with no one. The comparable land army left little room for the future Louis XV, but he will continue to develop, and the pace will not stop until the last moment.

  Louis has expectations and guilt for this child.

  ———

Dauphin Prince Louis may not yet understand Louis XIV, the strict requirement that a country can only have one voice, but the current General Vauban, Marshal Schumberg and Count Henry, and King Ludwig I of Poland are not. I have deeply understood the meaning of it.

Especially Vauban, although he was born under the command of the Prince of Condé, but the Prince of Condé was quite skillful in governing the army, and when he was under the command of Louis XIV, he was slowly spoiled - of course, what is said here It is purely for a soldier, he is used to His Majesty the King standing silently but firmly behind him like a battle flag, accustomed to the unimpeded logistical supplies created by the Marquis of Lois, and accustomed to the sophisticated Armored and plentiful of horses, accustomed to spirited, well-groomed soldiers who strictly abide by military regulations and are determined...

When he was sticking to Ljubljana, because he was surrounded by almost all French soldiers, he didn't feel anything, but when he evacuated the Sava River and merged into the coalition, he was like stepping out of a magnificent, clean and well-organized palace. Son entered a chaotic, dirty and smelly slum.

   There are people everywhere.

These people, you can't even call them soldiers—worse than what Vauban had seen in Kamnic before, because at least the generals and princes' personal soldiers roamed Kamnic, and some of them looked Just like beggars, some look like lunatics, and some look like robbers, not to mention weapons, they are even ragged or simply naked, and only casually live some fur or fabrics on their bodies.

As Vauban's procession passed through the so-called camp, their eyes were fixed on their clothes, muskets, horses and carriages, especially those who were wounded, and a Tatar ran up and said something to Vauban, Vauban ordered all the soldiers to draw their weapons, and arranged more soldiers beside the carriage of the wounded, to avoid the subsequent tragic accident - the guards beside the carriage were slightly negligent, and the wounded in the carriage were immediately dragged out of the carriage, and they Seeing this shocked, he immediately rushed up to hit him with the **** of his gun and stabbed him with a bayonet before snatching the man back from the group of soldiers.

The wounded who was snatched back was naked within a few seconds. His silk underwear, his beautiful trousers and coat, his boots, socks, the cross on his neck, and even the bandages on his body were cut off. He took it away, and the wound collapsed. When he returned to the castle, he found that his beautiful chestnut hair had also been cut off in a large lock.

  Because hair can also be sold for money.

   He said later that he had no doubt that if the other French soldiers hadn't taken him back, they might have eaten him raw, and he also showed others the bite wounds.

There are still many people like this, and it is precisely because of this incident that Vauban remained silent during the subsequent trip, even if he saw that the trenches, bunkers and protective walls he designed were either shoddy or shoddy. It does not exist at all. Those cement, iron tools, and even sand and so on can be exchanged for money, and those soldiers would rather die in the subsequent battles than spend their energy on fortifications.

They had a bit of luck - they were separated from the Ottoman Turks by the Sava River, and they had burned all the boats they could find before. Maybe the pagans couldn't cross the river at all, and even if they could, they were exhausted. Even if they still have the strength to swing their knives and shoot, the person who died may not be themselves, so why bother themselves.

  Vauban crossed the so-called coalition front, frowning, and as soon as he returned to Kamnic, he went to see the king and asked him to retreat further afield.

   "I suspect that as long as the Ottoman Turks cross the river, they will be able to drive straight in," Vauban said bluntly.

Schaumberg on the side blushed a little, but he was from the Holy Roman Empire before, and of course he knew what the virtues of those mercenaries, especially those who were arranged at the forefront, must be the worst and most worthless kind, he It is conceivable that these people are ready to flee as soon as the battle begins, and Leopold I must have prepared enough supervisors for them.

"You may not trust our allies," said Louie, "but you must trust the fortifications you have built for me, my dear friend, and if you think there is any safer place around you than Castle Hill, then point it out. bring it on."

Earl Henry on the side was still a little worried before - for his father Ludwig I, he has to laugh now. After all, the Castle Hill has been reinforced by Vauban for several months, which is almost equivalent to rebuilding. There is a large amount of storage here. There are enough food and arms, enough soldiers, and water from deep underground, free from pollution. He even dared to guarantee that the castle would never be breached within three months, and that the French reserve army was at the border and could be launched at any time.

   "And I can't leave either," said Louis. "You haven't forgotten that I'm the commander-in-chief here."

   Everyone leaned over and saluted. Louis XIV wanted to compete with Leopold I for the position of commander-in-chief, just to ensure that Leopold I could not be the fisherman in the snipe and clam competition.

"With all due respect," said the dauphin, little Louis, "Father, Leopold I never had the slightest kindness towards us, towards France, and would certainly be our enemy in the future, so why should we come to our aid? What about him?"

  Louis leaned on the table and propped up his chin, "Sounds loudly, this is a battle of beliefs. We are a natural alliance. As a Catholic country, we should of course put aside our prejudices when facing infidels and be consistent with the outside world."

   "How about a less high-sounding one?"

"I'm going to look at the power of Leopold I, look at his allies, look at the Ottoman Turks - also look at ours, this is the first war our soldiers and generals have encountered - I mean , Vauban," he called suddenly, and Vauban hurriedly stood up straight: "You haven't thought of this scene before, right?"

   "It was completely beyond my imagination," Vauban said.

"Against the enemy, no matter what kind of imagination is useless," Louis said, "the only way is to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and feel with your own eyes." He held Little Louis' shoulders: "Although I should put you Sent back to Paris, but after the war I still want you to see it."

   "Your Majesty..." The people present said in unison, and they also showed quite unanimous expressions of dissatisfaction.

"Gentlemen," said Louis XIV, "when do you think the Dauphin will next see this grand scene? Is he still like this, just a spectator? He can still say, I want to return Paris?"

   "But Your Majesty..."

"The Prince of Orleans is still in Paris." Louis said lightly: "If you really have no confidence in me, in yourself, in the dauphin-then I tell you, Paris has a third and fourth heir. "This sentence is too heavy, no one dared to answer, but the crown prince, Louis, stood up: "I can understand everyone's feelings, considering your worries, but I am here to support my father, My king, I am an adult, I may be the commander in the next war, I must stay here, gentlemen, I trust you to keep me safe with my father, I will be with my father to see you serve France Victory!"

  Louis touched his son's shoulder comfortingly.

   "Then this is the end of the matter," he turned to little Louis: "Go back to your room now and have a good rest."

   Little Louis, the crown prince, knew that the next thing was not something he could participate in, so he bowed to the king and withdrew.

Louis had sent Vauban to Ljubljana, not to show off, but to prevent the capable general and his army from being forcibly drawn into the chaotic battle that followed—of course he saw More than Vauban, the intelligence sent by his spies every day can fill an entire room - mainly because the coalition is too chaotic, as the so-called "the vassal of the vassal is not my vassal", Leopold I did not have it. How many troops can be directly commanded, he still relies on several powerful princes, and the knights and knights under these princes also have their own thoughts - not necessarily bad thoughts, but even good intentions, soldiers who cannot obey orders will also lead to worst consequences.

Here you can see the biggest difference between the professional army and the mercenary army. The generals in the professional army can implement their will to the smallest team, and even the highest-ranking head and captain in the mercenary army may not obey the commander's orders. - The orders they receive are often broad and general, such as guarding a village or something. That's the only way. The more precise the machinery, the harder the gears are. Whether these people can complete the task is still a question. In between, let's not let them do complex work like detouring to decentralized aggregation.

   "Do you know what the Ottomans have?" Louis said: "Their army has only one voice - the Grand Vizier."

The number of    coalition forces could not be compared with that of the Ottoman Turkish army, and they had too many voices here.

  Vauban nodded: "The Ottoman Turks have no tactics, but their soldiers are not afraid of death."

   "As long as there are the Grand Viziers," Louis said, "they will fight to the last man."

   "It's a strange tradition," says Schaumberg, "so in general, the enemy of the Ottoman Turks will focus on the center battalion."

"It was also surrounded by several powerful legions, like a stamen wrapped in petals." Louis said: "So I took Vauban as the vanguard and went to Ljubljana, and my generals did not It was a brilliant victory for me.”

   "It's all because you gave me enough gunpowder and cement," Vauban said.

   "But only you are willing to obey," said Louis. "I have shown my sincerity, so they can't ask us to do more, so these cowardly villains start to coerce His Majesty Ludwig I."

Speaking of which, Earl Henry couldn't help but look angry and worried. As a Polish king with unstable foundations, it was undoubtedly the most important thing to subdue the great nobles and Schlachtta and win the battle against the heretics. It's a good method, but the problem is that Prince Condé is already in his fifties. Although he is strong, he has fallen from the peak. "From tomorrow, you will go to your father." Louis said: "Bring medicine with you. and wizards."

  There are also wizards in Poland, but Kongdai dare not use these wizards.

   "And Marshal Schumberg, your task tomorrow is to plunder for Ludwig I."

  Schaumberg stood up, bowed slightly, and sat down.

"Vauban and I stay in the rear." Louis said to Count Henry again: "Go and tell your father that tomorrow you can attack tentatively, but I don't think our victory will come so easily, but it doesn't matter, as long as Life is safe, we can still try many times, but the Ottoman Grand Vizier may not be able to do this."

   "Do you think we might stick to Kamnic?"

   "This is the greatest possibility." Louis said: "Fighting 250,000 people head-on, unless I'm crazy."

The fortified walls and the wilderness are not only to remove or burn all the food, poison the water source, all the ships within a hundred miles upstream and downstream of the Sava River are gathered and pierced, the sentry of the Grand Vizier Ahmed This news has been sent back.

   So the ravens of the wizards saw this sight.

Thousands of slaves—almost all young men, plundered by the Ottoman Turks from neighboring villages and towns, which usually belonged to the Grand Vizier in wars, and That is to say, as long as the rich and powerful people in the town pay enough ransom, they can continue their past lives, but because of the early purge of the coalition forces, the Ottomans' supply line has become long and far, and the Grand Vizier does not. Playing the trick of tolerance and enlightenment again, all Christians have been annihilated, the old and the children are the first to be killed, then the women, then the men, the most popular slaves of the past are all returned army.

Several daring Ottoman merchants and soldiers disobeyed the orders of the Grand Vizier and wanted to secretly send a boy as beautiful as the bright moon to Istanbul. A very terrifying point, especially since this war is doomed that they can't get too many slaves, and the price may go up.

They bribed a lot of people, but this matter was discovered by the eyes and ears of the Grand Vizier who had been watching everyone for a long time. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the slave was burned alive, the soldiers and merchants were stripped of their clothes, Fill the ranks of slaves.

Muteferika's cavalry, dressed in bright clothes, galloped from tent to tent, constantly reiterating the orders of the Grand Vizier, as well as his promises, he promised not only Ljubljana before, but any later. A city, any city when he returns, he will not take a penny, and he is willing to take the reward that the Sultan gave him and distribute it to every soldier here.

The dwarfs and attendants of the Grand Vizier kept walking up to the soldiers, depicting how shiny the golden crowns on the heads of the Catholic kings and lords, how silky the fur coats were, and how plump the women around them were Beautiful, how luxurious the mansion is, all they eat is fat venison, and all they drink is sweet wine, each of them is worth a city or even a country, as long as you catch one of them, not only can you get more Such as the ransom of leaves, but also to obtain official positions and fiefs.

Even if they can't catch those kings, being able to catch a knight is enough for them to develop, those shiny armors, those beautiful muskets, those tall horses...everything can be sold for a handsome price in Istanbul, And the knight's ransom, or simply selling it as a slave—it's okay, it's okay!

  Go, go, go to war, you can get everything if you win, go to heaven, it doesn’t matter if you lose, you can go to heaven as well, there are countless virgins waiting for your favor! Go, go, go!

Such words will certainly make nobles or generals sneer, but for those poor people who have hardly seen anything in the world, it is like a shot in the arm, their eyes bulged out and their noses are wheezing Even if his cheeks were sunken because he hadn't had a good meal for a long time, a bright red glow of happiness appeared on his face.

   They whipped the new slaves without hesitation, wielding whips, sticks, and anything else they could get their hands on.

These slaves have just been plundered into the army. They are not like old slaves who have become weak after long-term labor. Even after a lot of starvation, they still have the strength to be under the threat of swords. Drag the cement block.

Probably Vauban would not have thought that after removing the concrete blocks he had thrown on the road to hinder the march of the Ottoman army, the Grand Vizier did not just leave them on the side of the road, he ordered the soldiers and slaves Cut down the trees from the woodland on both sides, remove the bark, cut off the head and tail, and roll them under the concrete block, so that they follow the army all the way.

This method was once used by the ancient Egyptians to transport the stones for the construction of the pyramids. The stones generally weigh about two tons. The cement blocks poured by Vauban are about two cubic meters in size, and their weight is coincidentally similar to the pyramid stones. - But unlike the former Egyptian slaves, the Ottoman slaves could not drink beer or eat bread, they killed each other, or waited for their companions to fall, and then shared their corpses, they dragged insensitively The heavy cement blocks kept walking all the way—although there were such records in this war, it was really hard to believe that more than 20 such large cement blocks were transported to the Savoy River.

No one knows how many slaves died on the way, but a soldier called the priest for help because he couldn't lift his arm, not because he was carrying rocks or wood, but because he was constantly being pulled from the rope and fell on the spot. Caused by a slave who can no longer get up.

   After more than 200 years, when the Ottoman Empire finally completely disappeared, people can still see the remnants of these cement blocks by the Sava River.

The current Grand Vizier Ahmed can't think of what will happen next. He can only focus on the front. This is the narrowest part of the Sava River within a hundred miles, only three hundred feet. He also saw the fortifications on the other side. With the army, bridges were torn down, ships were scuttled, but he didn't care, just waved, and his squires raced down to give orders - the remnants of slaves and those hired soldiers were busy cutting down more. trees, and transport them to the river.

   The large cement bricks lined the tent along the river. They looked like a line of taciturn soldiers. The tent was cut open and woven into strong cowhide ropes. These ropes are used to hold rafts made of wooden poles, which are connected to each other, and then pushed down the water by a group of strong Tatars, and the river immediately pushes them to the southeast - the rafts of the rafts have one end of the cowhide rope fixed to the cement block , it was immediately stretched straight.

  Some of the cowhide ropes were broken, some not, and Ahmed immediately ordered the heads of the slaves to be cut off—if they had made the broken cowhide ropes. The remaining slaves were then forced to continue weaving more cowhide ropes.

  More Cossacks who were good at swimming jumped into the water. They only had swords and axes on their bodies, but they were facing fortifications and muskets.

In the bright noonday sun, the Cossacks rushed forward fearlessly, one fell, two fell, but the third might have broken through the defense line—Vauban's initial worries were not without a reason, if The coalition dug standard trenches and built fortifications in accordance with his requirements. The Ottomans' offensive will not be as smooth as a red-hot blade cutting through congealed butter, but their slack eventually led to their great defeat.

There were more Cossacks than this group, many more Cossacks swam over the three hundred feet, with a rope around their shoulders, and as soon as they got ashore they began to pull it up and pull the raft on the other side of the rope towards themselves - ridiculous, Without those perfunctory fortifications, it may be difficult for them to find something to fix the ropes - after all, this is a wide river beach, but these failed to protect the coalition soldiers, but provided convenient cement blocks for the Ottomans, they can directly Iron anchors are stuck in the gaps and ravines of those things.

Looking down from the sky, the Sava River is like an empty loom, the Cossacks are clipping longitudinal silk threads, the rafts are like beads on the silk thread, linked together one by one, they are fixed Once straightened, more soldiers reinforced it, Ottoman priests offered prayers, the military band played music, and countless soldiers ran like ants across the pontoon of rafts in a hurry but orderly manner. .

   "These pontoons can't let the artillery go through," Ahmed said to the Grand Master.

  The Grand Master gave him a stern look: "We are here to ensure that our brave soldiers are not harmed by the curse of the devil."

   "It's for victory over the Christians," Ahmed said. "That's what the Sultan said."

  The Grand Master looked at him with a frown, but Ahmed just waited motionless.

   "Mosang, you go with him." The Grand Master finally looked away.

  Mosan was a priest, and his younger brother died in Ahmed's tent not long ago. He bowed to the Grand Master and followed Ahmed away.

  ———

   "What are the Ottomans shouting?" asked a mercenary commander dissatisfied.

   His deputy handed him a telescope, looking very ugly: "Their artillery has passed the pontoon, and they are cheering."

how can that be! ? The mercenary commander almost screamed, but it was the fact that these Ottoman demons were coming towards them.

Leopold I really knew the virtues of these mercenaries very well. Those supervising teams were not fake. They forced the mercenaries forward and collided with the Ottoman Azap infantry. This was a terrible torrent, although The mercenaries originally planned to escape, but in fact once they were involved, almost no one could have this opportunity and time, they could barely breathe, and could only shout and brandish swords - muskets were almost useless at this time, Because even the latest burst guns can only hit two or three enemies, and the damage caused by the muskets is hard to make these Azaps panic - only knife and axe cuts, **** stumps, flowing internal organs, shrill Howling will make them change their way.

  Once these mercenaries fell, a few Azapus would rush to collect his belongings, then new axes or swords would be cut on them, and then others would avenge them. The Tatars and Cossacks rode on horses and held muskets, constantly wandering outside their positions, looking for opportunities to break through. When they saw the supervising team, they wanted to defeat or disperse them, because without the supervising team, these hired Soldiers who come will flee.

But Leopold I's supervising team is different from these mercenaries. It should be reminded here that the supervising team is not as people think that they are people who are greedy for life and fear of death. They are the trustworthy people of the generals. Supplies are the best, and they are always separated from the Ottomans by the army of mercenaries. They are separated from the chaotic crowd, like wolves and dogs around the sheep.

In the ranks of the mercenaries there were also a group of poor people, the herdsmen of the former highlands, because they were dissatisfied with the coalition forces who plundered and invaded their homeland, and deliberately introduced the Ottoman Crimean Tatars into Ka Munic, almost accidentally hurt the crown prince of King Louis XIV of France.

The more than 200 piercing columns can only be said to be the revenge of the Tatars who served the French. The revenge of the coalition forces was to drive all the herdsmen they could find here. They did not have any weapons except clubs. Facing the Ottomans and the supervising team behind them, they were all dead whether they were going forward or backward.

Maybe some of these herders are desperate - these outsiders are obviously more hateful than the Ottomans, but once the battle begins, they can't be controlled - the Ottoman Azap doesn't care if you are forced or voluntary, everything stands in their way Everything in front of you will be destroyed!

This battlefield can hardly hold any more people, but there are still soldiers pouring in on the pontoon bridge. Some soldiers even jumped off the bridge and climbed wetly onto the river beach from waist-deep water. Unable to suppress the blood in his heart, he slashed at his comrade with a knife.

This situation may have lasted for more than ten minutes. It is completely different from what the poets imagined and described. The entire battlefield is like being trampled and bitten by a group of beasts. The supervising team has retreated, leaving a desperate crowd. Wailing surrendered, but the slaughter didn't stop until Grand Vizier Ahmed gave the order.

At this time, there were not many people belonging to the coalition forces on the battlefield, and even very few people were injured. They were all dead. The bodies were laid on the beach into a gorgeous long blanket, and the Azaps were methodically stripping their booty. , just as those mercenaries did to the wounded in Vauban, these dead mercenaries could not escape the fate of being emptied of the last bit of value.

  The artillery didn't play a role in this battle, it doesn't matter, there is still a chance later, it's not far from Kamni.

   This victory boosted the morale of the Ottoman army until they saw Kamnik.

In the Middle Ages, almost all cities had high and thick walls, otherwise they could not resist the looting of enemies or thieves. Kamnic was no exception. Vauban did not bother to rebuild the walls, only outside the original walls. The bastions and outer city walls were added, because the time was tight, and there was no need to consider the cost and aftermath. These bastions and city walls were rough and cumbersome, and some places were even unreasonable, but this roughness and cumbersomeness are all unreasonable. In order to increase the defense of the city, it is correct to say that the increase in defense against the Ottomans gave the defenders in the city a great sense of security.

The joy of the Grand Vizier Ahmed disappeared when he saw the bastions and the protruding gun muzzles, and the Ottoman tents were spread out again under the city walls like continuous fungi. The tent is the most visible.

   "Surrounding him are Janiceri, Mutefirica and Sipaci," Anwar said.

The Prince    looked down from the tower, knowing that these enemies couldn't get in here - he trusted his father, but in this situation - he felt dizzy and grateful that he had finally decided to stay.

Of course, it is impossible for Ottoman's twenty-five armies to be all here. There may be tens of thousands of people here. That is already densely packed, as if covering the entire earth. They seem mighty and endless. They are at night. The torch is like a star in the sky falling to the ground.

   This is a scene that makes you feel numb when you look at it.

   (end of this chapter)