In front of Alexander, ten bronze cannons were placed neatly.

What surprised him was that these cannons were large city guards. Because of their lack of base, they looked like round dolphins. The patterns and words engraved on the cannons clearly illustrate the origin and destination of these cannons.

These artillery came from France, and the circle of crosses near the muzzle and the inscriptions engraved around the cannon body clearly state "I would like to give this weapon to God's armed forces on earth, and may the great Knights become warriors against the pagans and be protected by the Lord."

Obviously, this was a batch of artillery cast by the French and then sold to the Knights' Hospital on the Island of Malta.

Alexander looked at these artillery with surprise. He knew that the French today were very advanced in artillery casting technology, and what was rare was that they had a stronger forward-looking vision of the use of artillery and the tactics of artillery in this era than others.

Whether it is Charles VIII today, or Louis XII who inherited his throne soon, or his wife, or even King François who later succeeded Louis XII to be the king of knights, the French kings of several generations played an important role in the development of artillery.

Alexander also noticed that these artillery were sold to the Knights of the Hospital on the Island of Malta, so it is no wonder why they are all city guard cannons.

The Ottoman threat to Malta has obviously attracted the attention of Europeans. Although it is not clear why these artillery appeared in Pisa, it seems that the French should be preparing to strengthen the power of the Knights' Hospital in Malta.

But now that these cannons fell into his hands, Alexander did not intend to send them out again.

The city of Pisa is facing threats from the Venetians, and this crisis is obviously more imminent than that of the Maltese.

Alexander's conjecture has been confirmed, and his sudden whim did find a large source of soldiers for him, the sailors on the sea boats in Pisa Harbor.

Although Pisa has gradually declined in recent years, the port still has a large scale. What is even more rare is that Pisa happens to be located in the curved part of the Tirenian Sea. Therefore, for those merchants who want to transport goods to the inland of the northeast of the peninsula, Pisa is still a relatively good transit place. Therefore, the various types of sea ships staying in Pisa Port are huge in scale and numerous.

The arrival of Alexander and others caused a commotion among sailors on various ships in the port. From the beginning, they were full of suspicion and even slightly hostile, to the time when they heard about the commissions that made them excited, the sailors began to make plans.

Looking at the sailors, Alexander believed that he would not be disappointed. Those who could leave home and go to sea all had a bold and risky personality. What's more, many sailors of this era actually had another identity, that is, pirates.

These people may often be good men who seem to be law-abiding on the shore, but when they arrive at the sea, they may become robbers who kill and robbers. Even for self-protection, even sailors who refuse to work part-time pirates gradually become fierce and dangerous for their own safety. It can be said that there has not been a real navy in this world so far. All navies are served by armed merchants who also have merchant identities. This is destined that even the most ordinary merchant ships can recruit a group of fierce mercenaries.

Soon, the answer came out.

First a small group, then more and more sailors were willing to do this part-time job. When nearly three hundred mercenaries of sailors stood in front of Alexander, Gompatti was both surprised and excited.

For Gompatti, the only thing he was worried about was how long he could be the city defense captain.

As a member of the new city defense committee, although it only took one day, Gompatti already felt that he was a newbie in Pisa City. No one mocked him as a gangster who only talked loudly in the tavern. On the contrary, some people who had not looked down on him before had begun to talk to him very carefully, and even the leaders of the father and the mercenary were much more polite to him.

Gompatti hopes that this kind of life will continue, preferably forever. He is tired of being a mercenary and hates the constant migration from one place to another. He hopes to settle down in this city and live a decent life.

Now there is an opportunity before him, but the Venetian has become a stumbling block for him to seize these opportunities.

So in comparison, Gompatti hoped to defeat the Venetians more than anyone else, and he hoped that the Lord Gombre from the Vatican, who had no idea what is true and what is wrong with him, could continue to stay in Pisa.

Gompatti was still very self-aware. He knew very well that he would not be occupied by the Venetians, even if Alexander left here, he would not want to stay in Pisa safely.

Gompatti knows very well what will happen to the Zaloni family deal with him once they come back.

"We must transport these artillery to the city wall as soon as possible. Even if we cannot build a turret overnight, we must build a few reliable bases and just use those stones," Alexander instructed. The night was already very deep, but once he was not sleepy, tomorrow was destined to be a solid day.

"Don't worry, sir, I know what to do."

Gompatti said as he called a subordinate over, and after a while of whispering, a series of sharp horns suddenly sounded on the streets of Pisa.

These horns sound so harsh at night, and accompanied by the horns are the rumbling roars of hundreds of sailors pushing wooden carts with cannons dragging them on the streets.

The Pizza people were awakened. Although there were too many things that happened on this day, a riot had overthrown the Republican government they had just known, and it was said that it was the Pope's daughter and son-in-law who were personally planning this. It was quite a bit of news that former government officials were still locked in the bell tower so far, but many Pizza people who have always been idle do not think it has anything to do with them.

But now the sound of the horns and wooden cars passing by the streets made them unable to stand it. Some people began to walk out the door impatiently, or opened the window and chattered dissatisfiedly, and then they were startled by the scene they saw.

Although the number of ten artillery guns is not large, they are still amazing in this era. There are only a dozen artillery guns in the entire Pisa City, and they are all distributed in different places. So when they saw the huge black objects on wooden cars, the Pisa people couldn't help but become curious and nervous.

"Why should we move the cannons out? Should we fight?" Some people speculated suspiciously.

Speaking of which, Pisa has not participated in a major war for many years. Although Florence has been threatening Pisa, when the Metic family ruled, Florence and Pisa were still in peace. As for the wars at sea earlier, it was a bit old. Young people did not know it. Secondly, it was on the sea after all. But now when seeing cannon cars passing by in front of their homes, the Pisa people inevitably became nervous.

"Pissa, go to the top of the city!" Gompatti ran back and forth along the edge of the convoy, shouting, "The Venetians are here, they are going to occupy Pisa. Now we have enough troops to stop them, and then the Pope's reinforcements will come to rescue us. Pisa we need your help!"

"Go to hell, that's your business. Neither Zaloni nor the Republican government gave me any benefits. Now that the Venetians are coming, it won't be bad," a naked man leaned out of the window and shouted to the street, "Go away now, don't disturb me to sleep."

As he said that, he suddenly pulled back and pulled the woman with a blanket beside him and squeezed out the window: "See, I'm busy now."

A burst of laughter came from the street, and many people looked down from their windows, obviously thinking Gompatti was ridiculous.

"Oh, then you don't want to say that," Gompatti was not angry. He just shook his head indifferently, and then shouted "Since that's the case, there's no share of this money."

"What's the money?" a man shouted.

"It is the city defense fee paid by Lord Kombre. Do you know that the mercenaries can get a full 6-point tax on Pizza, but you can't even get it by yourself. Just watch the mercenaries eat yours and drink yours, and even use your money to sleep with the women who sleep with Pizza later."

Gompati's sarcastic voice spread across the street, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the Pizza people. They cursed loudly, and some people simply threw things at Gompati.

"It's useless for you to get angry. The money is no longer yours. Unless you are willing to make the money back, no one can stop them." Gompatti shouted indifferently. "Think about it carefully. You don't need to go to war. Just help put all the cannons in place. You can get a good salary, so that at least you can leave the prostitutes around you for a longer period of time without having to serve the mercenaries."

"Hey, are you talking about it true? Can you get money without fighting and just working?" A man's voice shouted in the dark. No one saw who he was, but this attracted the attention of people on the street.

"No need to fight," Gompatti said deliberately in a contemptuous tone, "Do you really want to fight the Venetians? You can only be a hero in your own home."

Gompatti's contempt did not make the Pizza people angry, but instead what the person asked aroused their interest.

"Then how much can we get?" someone asked again.

"Enough," Gompatti did not say a correct number. "Listen, the Republican government has been overthrown. Now the new government needs a lot of things and requires a lot of people. There are more opportunities for you to make money without war. But if Pisa is occupied by the Venetians, they will not be so kind to you. Think about it carefully. As long as you are willing to work, you can get a wage, and then you can go home and have a peaceful life. Then even if the Venetians come, it doesn't matter."

Gompatti's words finally caught the attention of the Pizza people.

The temptation of getting a sum of money made them start to be moved. As Gompatti said, as long as they can get the money, even if the Venetians defeated that Gombre later, it would have nothing to do with them.

"Just do one night's work?"

"Only one night."

"And then give the money?"

"Give it to the end."

"Okay, count me."

As long as the first person stands up, there will be a second, third, and fourth...

Seeing more and more people on the street joining the ranks of cannon-pushing cars with various tools, Gompatti smiled bitterly at the corner of her mouth.

Although the staff became more and more numerous, Gompatti began to worry about the conditions he had promised before.

I don’t know if the money and things I searched from the city hall can support the arrival of the Pope’s reinforcements.

The road leading to the Arno River outside Pisa City has been dug out several crisscrossing gullies, although not deep, but crisscrossing gullies not only cut off the road, but also some of them are intertwined, and a irregular reverse arc-shaped barrier belt facing Pisa City.

Gompatti stood on a slightly higher slope and looked at the road in the distance. In fact, he looked down on anything there at all, but only in this way could he feel at ease.

Just like a mercenary mocked him, Gompatti felt that he was very brave, so although he had been a mercenary for many years, he still did not learn the courage of his companions to face the enemy.

He always finds ways to find a shelter for himself, or a tree or a stone, and he would rather be ridiculed by others than expose himself to the enemy's arrows and guns.

"Braveness and stupidity are not the same thing after all. We should have a better way to be afraid of enemies, rather than becoming prey to enemies."

Gompatti felt that his thoughts were correct, which was why he didn't want to continue to get along with those mercenaries anymore. He was tired of having a stable home and staying in a wall that could protect him, rather than being beaten to death in the wilderness one day if he was unlucky.

Alexander's appearance made Gompatti seem to see hope. Although he is still full of doubts about the origin of the young man and woman, he knows that he has no way out.

A figure caught Gompatti's attention until very close. He immediately lowered his waist, holding the hilt of the sword while holding the dagger tightly in his left hand.

This is Gompati's experience. Sometimes a close-fitting dagger will play an unexpected role at critical moments.

"Venetian!"

When the figure was about to run closer, Gompatti had already recognized the spy who had sent the city to inquire about the news. Seeing the man running to the front and gasping, Gompatti couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Where are the Venetians?"

"It's in the village ahead," the spy took a few more breaths before relaxing slightly. "They have a lot of people. I saw some people wearing very bad clothes, but their weapons looked terrible. The sword was so big that it could cut off a horse's head with just one swing."

The spy said, showing a look of fear on his face. For these mercenaries who had been used to comfortable life in Pisa, some people have forgotten how the hard days came about. In fact, it was not just Gompati. He believed that as long as Alexander could really fulfill his promise, other mercenaries might give up the wandering mercenaries in his early years like him.

"How many people do they have, what weapons do they have, and are they preparing to attack?" Gompatti asked in a breath, and then he said with some annoyance, "You are not scared by the Venetians, tell me something useful, otherwise I will let you whip and wake up and continue to inquire."

"Of course I've found out clearly. I don't know how to hide in the dark all day long," the spy was also very annoyed. He grabbed the kettle handed over by the person next to him and poured it into his mouth and continued, "There must be hundreds of people, but these are just from the river. I didn't dare to cross the river. But I saw that the camp on the other side was burning a lot, and the size must be at least thousands of people."

"Thousands of people?" The mercenary who just handed to the spy water was startled. "If there were more than 2,000 people on the river bank, we might not be able to stop them."

The spy's words made Gompatti look ugly. Although he scolded this person, he knew that this person was very reliable. No matter where he was, he would never disappoint everyone whenever he went out to inquire about the news.

But this time Gompatti really hoped he had read it wrong.

When Alexander saw Gompatti, he knew from the gloomy look on his face that things might have changed. After hearing about the size of the Venetians described by the spies, Alexander couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The Venetian's sudden attack on Pisa was beyond everyone's expectations, but if you think about it carefully, this move is so clever that it is amazing.

Although the Vatican had never expected that he would do such a move, even if Florence, which was close to him, even if he discovered the actions of the Venetians, given the subtle relationships in all aspects, there would be no other extreme actions besides secretly praying that Pisa would not be surrendered by the Venetians so easily.

It can be said that the Venetian Governor Barbarig predicted that he would risk sending troops to invade Pisa. Once Pisa is captured, the Venetians can cut off the retreat from the south, and then they will advance north and south with the army that joined the Milanese people in the city of Realo, and surround Montina!

This idea was already in the past when Alexander fled with Lucrezia, but now it has finally been confirmed.

"I didn't expect that the war that should have happened in Montina would appear in Pisa," Alexander couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This accident also promptly sounded the alarm for Alexander, who had become a little fluttering because of his recent success and enthusiasm.

"How are our artillery housed?"

"I'm rushing to work, but I'm worried that it may be too late. Maybe the Venetians will attack when they are cold."

Alexander nodded. He knew that Gompatti was right. Since the Venetians wanted to take Montina by sneak attacking Pisa, they would never delay it for too long. After all, this Venetian army was alone and could only occupy Pisa as soon as possible and things would not be unexpected.

Over time, it goes without saying that the Vatican, who received the news, will immediately send reinforcements. Even the cautious Florence will inevitably have other ideas.

"Then let's see if it's a miracle," Alexander said, looking at Gompatti. "I told you that I will not disappoint you if I choose. I want you to see if your choice is correct."

Gompatti nodded with a wry smile. At this time, he knew he could only continue.

Before dawn came, Alexander rushed back to the town hall. After giving the Pizza people who were wandering around the town hall like headless flies, he came to Lucrezia's room.

To his surprise, Lucrezia was not asleep. When Alexander walked into the room, he saw her looking through the book, but her eyes were a little dull, and she obviously didn't think about the book at all.

Alexander walked over and hugged Lucrezia from behind, feeling the woman's body softened after a little stiffening. Alexander lowered his head and gently kissed Lucrezia's snow-white neck.

"Listen, I'll find someone to send you out of the city quietly," Alexander whispered in her ear. "After you go out, hurry up and leave Pizza, never stop."

Lucrezia was stunned for a moment, looked back at Alexander in surprise, and after a while she shook her head gently.

"If you leave the city at this time, you may be caught by the Venetians at any time, and can you feel at ease to send me away?"

Alexander sighed helplessly. He knew that Lucrezia was right. He could not rest assured to anyone who gave a beautiful woman like her.
Chapter completed!