Viscount Gronob stood in the open space in front of the fortress, watching the gradually moving grain transport team. Beside him, a group of soldiers were transporting trucks of wheat into the fortress in small wooden chariots. A gust of cold wind blew, and the viscount couldn't help but coughed gently.

The follower knight next to him wanted to help him, but the viscount refused.

Looking back at the not-tall fortress behind him, this was built temporarily by King Charles ordering last year, and it was part of the guards of the Roman defenders' periphery.

But now, Viscount thinks this is an irony. A group of farmers who were obviously just on the battlefield defeated the French army, which made him feel that the glory of the French was slowly fading away.

Then through the open door, looking at a group of people who were staring at him with cold eyes. Viscount began to feel that this winter was going to be difficult.

"Maybe I did something wrong," Viscount Gronob seemed to be talking to himself and asked the person next to him. "Now my honor is gone, and the Gronob family is about to decline completely in my hands."

"But at least you gave us something to eat," the entourage comforted the viscount. "It is said that the Roman army was not better than us, and maybe we will leave here soon."

Viscount nodded. He had already heard about some things that happened in Rome, which was also the reason why he had taken people away from the fortress before. In addition to patrolling the valley, he also hoped to find food for the people in the fortress to live.

But he never expected that food would be obtained in this way.

Less than thirty war horses and a large number of equipment were exchanged for his freedom and the food around him that seemed to be enough for them to eat for a while.

"Maybe it doesn't need so much," Viscount suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly. "We will probably leave here soon. Since this way, we can still pay less horses and equipment."

The follower didn't say anything, and his eyes also looked at the team that was almost disappearing in the distance.

Behind the team, you can vaguely see the Bohemian cavalry escorting behind the rear twice vigilantly, in order to prevent the French in the fortress from taking the opportunity to attack.

The entourage suddenly felt a little sad. He did not feel sorry for the war horses and equipment, nor even for the viscount who looked bad around him. Somehow, the entourage felt that it seemed to belong to the great knight era, as the war horses left, they were slowly moving away from their side.

The crisp neighing of the horse sounded from a distance, and Alexander saw Carlo running through the side of the team, and soon disappeared into the jungle in front.

Looking back, Alexander smiled.

There was indeed a little less food behind me, but other things were piled up on the carriages.

The French in the Bruini Valley were actually "very poor". When Alexander asked them to buy the food they needed for 2,000 Durant, both the Viscount, his entourage or the slick-looking general looked surprised.

It is obvious that the French believe that 2000 Durant is a huge amount that they cannot bear. Then after the two sides bargained for a while, Alexander had to make some concessions. In the end, both sides sold for 1400 Durant, which was much lower than the price Alexander wanted. What made Alexander a little depressed was that even so the French had no cash.

The French paid for sheepskin, velvet blankets, jewelry, a batch of tableware, as well as paintings and marble statues that had been looted from somewhere.

The Agris moved the food from the cart down and flew it with the cart, and then they watched the things loaded with a few cars before they were finished.

The whole process was not short, and the Bohemians always watched the French in the fortress with vigilance.

In order to reassure the Naples, the cavalry's horses were handed over in advance, which seemed to cause a riot on the French side. Although I don't know how they solved it in the end, Alexander could see that this matter should have a great impact on the Viscount.

But this doesn't shake Alexander's decision.

Disarming the French cavalry in the Bruini Valley is the only way for him to ensure that his people will not be attacked again before leaving your place.

Looking at the spoils in the carriages behind him, Alexander knew that many of his eyes had turned red, and he was not a stingy person, and he knew what it would take to keep an army strong.

Alexander sighed a little that it was not difficult to mobilize the morale of the army, whether it was hundreds of years ago or hundreds of years later.

More than two hundred years ago, Pope Urban made the Europeans bring their own weapons with just one generous speech, and the one who brought their own dry food to launch more than a dozen holy wars against the Saracens, big and small, with red eyes.

In the future, with the rise of nation-states, as long as the banner of patriotism is pulled out, countless people will voluntarily enter the battlefield.

But now there is no such possibility.

The rise of mercenaries has made war full of the smell of commercial smell. Behind each war is the bargaining between employers and mercenaries. The result of this kind of war that is completely "buyed" with money can often be imagined.

Naturally, the mercenaries will not fight for a temporary employer, and the captains of those mercenaries will not be willing to lose all the team they have worked hard to build for someone.

Therefore, at least on the Apennine Peninsula where mercenaries are prevalent, war often becomes a playful thing. Often, after hiring mercenaries at high prices, they suddenly talk about leisure time after meeting enemy mercenaries on the battlefield. Even those more dedicated mercenary teams often refuse to work hard to preserve their strength.

Alexander still has to organize his own army.

Alexander knew that he would not follow the path of relying on mercenaries, just as the Bohemians were very easy to use, except for the Bohemians who were willing to stay in Agri, he would not hand over his destiny to the Bohemian cavalry of Nashan.

Of course, Alexander never thought of forming his own French cavalry.

This is not only because he knows that with his financial resources, he can't afford such an army at all, and even no king in Europe can afford such a cavalry.

The strength and scale of the French cavalry are due to their own huge knight class. These knights who prepare their own war horse equipment do nothing but fight all day long. Such a large group of guys who do not produce but consume a large amount of food and fish every day rely on their respective territories, large and small, rather than their monarchs.

Alexander obviously could not produce so much land. He could use cheap land to support a group of Bohemians. This was his limit. If he was asked to support a French cavalry, Alexander believed that he would not need others to plot against him, and his own people would soon eat him down.

However, in addition to the lack of financial resources, more importantly, Alexander knew clearly that the era of the Knights that once rampant in Europe was about to end!

The changes in weapons and the development of war, everything indicates that the end of the Knight's Age has begun. Even nearly a hundred years ago, the British had already used the dense rain of arrows from longbowmen composed of country farmers to prove that in front of a strictly organized army, the heavy armor of the spears of French nobles was a tragic fact.

The emergence of the firearm made even the most conservative general understand that even a trivial soldier could easily kill a brave knight with a noble origin and full of clothes in the distance.

This is an era of great change.

Whether it is military or art, whether it is interpreting faith or creating wealth, or even the entire old world's territory is constantly being subverted, and new sparks are bursting out in constant innovation.

Alexander took the notebook with him and started writing it. He needed to record all these ideas and some possible things in his memory. Maybe it seems useless now, but in the future...

Carlo appeared in front of the team again and again, and he also began to take the previous Agri hunters, which made Alexander feel that the hunter still knew exactly what to do.

The scout ranger assigned to several stairs can ensure the vigilance around the team to the greatest extent. Alexander did not send out Bohemian cavalry. In addition to taking the opportunity to train Carlo and others as scouts, more importantly, he needed every Bohemian to maintain a good condition at any time. Once a battle occurred, he could not count on Agri's musketeers.

Joanna's entourage appeared next to the carriage, and he was very careful and respectfully told Alexander that His Majesty, "Please go over there."

The battle in the Bruini Valley had a lot of impact, one of which was Joanna's change in attitude towards Alexander.

Joanna didn't care about Alexander's selling food to the French. In fact, it was not strange to have business dealings while fighting, especially for Alexander, who owned Agri territory, but strictly speaking, he was a Sicilian. In the eyes of many people, his behavior did not make people think there was anything worth criticizing.

Of course, it would be another matter if Alexander sold all the food that was shipped to the north to the French.

As for now, Joanna even thinks that this Sicily-born country bumpkin is not that stupid.

"Maybe I can arrange something for this person." Joanna planned so.

Some of the so-called things Joanna calls is that she hopes not to be harassed by the French after entering Rome.

It's a bit strange to say that the Rome that Joanna was about to enter was now occupied by the French who had occupied and seized the crown of Naples, which made Joanna's situation somewhat subtle, although no longer the queen of Naples.

Joanna was not worried that the French would refuse her outside Rome, but entering the city occupied by the enemy was dangerous after all, and no one knew what would happen.

So she hopes that Alexander's army can protect her.

As for the price he would pay for it, Joanna was not worried.

As long as this trip to Rome goes well, the Hanseatic merchant who came from the Lowlands of the Netherlands will naturally pay her bills.

Joanna touched a humble handbag with her, which contained a secret letter from Groningen to the woman named Orgala to be brought by her to Pope Alexander VI.

The real purpose of Joanna's trip can be said to be entirely for this secret letter.

No matter how despised the woman named Orgala, she knew that this woman was Groningen's eyes and ears in Naples, and perhaps that man had other subordinates who had not appeared, but that woman could be a messenger of the Lowlands, so she had to take it seriously.

So Joanna listened carefully to Orgala, or Groningen's advice, that was Groningen's hope that she would give her advice in front of the pope. As for the secret letter, Joanna guessed that besides Groningen's request, there must be something else that could impress Alexander VI.

It is precisely because of this that Orgala revealed to her that Alexander was about to travel to the north.

But Joanna never expected that this time, which I thought it should be a smooth trip, but encountered so many changes.

Joanna knew that the battle in the Brueni Valley would spread soon, and she didn't know what the French would react if they heard the news, but Alexander did leave a deep impression on her.

A Sicilian who was braver and more bold than those Naples nobles.

This is Joanna's impression.

It was this impression that made Joanna hope that this Sicilian could continue to follow her.

When she heard the follower report that Alexander had arrived, Joanna sat a little straightened. She looked outside the carriage seriously. When she saw Alexander appearing at the door, she nodded slightly, looked at him carefully, and then slowly asked:

"How long will it take for us to arrive in Rome?"

"Your Majesty, I think there are two days left."

Alexander thought about it. Although he had actually entered the jurisdiction of Rome after passing through the Bruini Valley, he believed that both the French and the nearby coalition forces should have paid attention to his own team.

So he needs to be more cautious.

And if James Columbus is still nearby, he should have heard of his arrival, so Alexander will definitely slow down the team in order to meet him.

Joanna thought for a while and finally spoke: "If I ask you to protect me to go to Rome, what price should I pay?"

Alexander raised his head in surprise. He didn't expect Joanna to make such a request.

This made him feel that the problem that he thought might not be easy, but suddenly he found that he had solved it himself.

In Alexander's eyes, Joanna was his "guidance" to enter the city of Rome, and he was thinking about how to convince Joanna to allow her to agree to walk with her.

Now, Joanna herself made this request. Alexander was surprised, but she felt that there was an invisible big hand leading him to the way forward.

Just as he finally embarked on the road to Palermo in Sicily, whether voluntarily or not, there was still a line that was pulling him in a certain direction.

"It is my honor to serve you," Alexander bowed gently as he rode his horse. "I think we can enter Rome in two days."

"That's great," Joanna finally smiled at the corner of her mouth. "Then we'll follow your arrangements next, Captain."

The queen deliberately aggravated the title of captain.

Alexander bowed again, and then he couldn't help but turn his head slightly to look west.

Crossing the Bruini Valley will enter the plain, and there is a magnificent city on a hill on a left bank called the Tiber River.

That city is undoubtedly the center of Europe in this era and the new birthplace of Europe's future civilization.

There is a huge impact on everything that happens in this world, whether in the past, present or in the future.

That city is called Rome.

…………

Just as Alexander was thinking about the West, he didn't know that on a huge Garen boat in the Mediterranean, a man with a broken leg was also looking in the same direction.
Chapter completed!