The Battle of Fornovo was said to be a battle, but it was actually a farce. Because neither side fought for life. The only fierce battle was the Venetian infantry crossed the river to attack the Swiss phalanx. And that battle lasted for more than an hour in total.

Of course, there were many casualties in this battle, with more than 1,000 Swiss casualties and more than 2,000 Italians. Including those who were scared away and fled, the Italians lost about 5,000.

But what's strange is that Mandova, who was responsible for surrounding the French army, and Milan's light cavalry, went to pick up gold, silver and treasures on the way.

This was also a plan by Charles VIII. He knew that the coalition had thousands of light cavalry. He was naturally not afraid of facing a head-on battle, but he was worried that the group of Italian cavalry would surround him from the side.

So, in order to get out as soon as possible, he gritted his teeth and scattered all the gold, silver and treasures that he had never been willing to throw away on the roads on both sides of the French army's needlework...

I have to say that Charles VIII's strategy was very successful. You should know that most of the soldiers of this era were mercenaries, who fought for money. Charles VIII gave up money and indeed attracted the group of Italian cavalry. Then, 6,000 Italian cavalry also forgot that they came to fight with the French, so they dismounted and picked up treasures...

Charles VIII was not interested in fighting at this time, so she quickly took people out of the battlefield and returned to the camp first, leaving only the Swiss and Venetians to confront each other. After that, the Swiss also withdrew the French camp. The remaining 5,000 infantry soldiers in Venice (in addition to the 2,000 killed, 3,000 others were disbanded by the Swiss), did not dare to chase the Swiss, but retreated at the same time.

In the French camp, the French and Swiss camps were separated. The Swiss camps were on the northeast side, facing the direction of the coalition forces. The French knights were stationed on the southwest side, separated from the Swiss camps.

After returning to the camp, Charles VIII had already made plans to escape at night. So he went straight to the man who was both the horse and the horse to start resting. The scouts were responsible for finding bridges and ships across the river.

In fact, this road was originally the route for the French army to go south. Therefore, the French scouts did not go too deep into the two northbound roads to investigate, and did not find Marin's ambush.

Moreover, it was too late and the scouts could not look too far. After a few kilometers of reconnaissance, the French scouts confirmed that there was no problem. Moreover, the coalition camp was also monitored by the French scouts. After confirming that the coalition forces returned, they ate and drank, preparing to rest...

At about 9 o'clock in the evening, Charles VIII confirmed that according to the French scouts, the Italians in the coalition camp had basically rested, so she began to assemble all the French knights and prepare to run away.

At this time, the French scouts happened to collect enough wooden boats and built a pontoon bridge to cross the small Tarot River so that the French knights could cross the river.

Then, at around 10 o'clock in the evening, the French army began to cross the river somewhere in the western section of the Taro River far from the coalition camp. At this time, the Swiss were still kept in the dark and they were abandoned by Charles VIII...

At around 12 o'clock in the evening, all the French knights and war horses crossed the Tarot River. Then, under the command of Charles VIII, they began to march along the riverside avenue, like the northeastern direction.

But after walking 10 kilometers, we happened to arrive at the place where Marin dug the river embankment...

"What's going on? Why did you stop?" Charles VIII, who was in the middle of the team, asked immediately.

"Your Majesty, the river bank seems to have collapsed due to heavy rain. Now, the roads and farmland are flooded by rivers. Cavalry is difficult to pass..."

"What should we do? Can we just look back?" Charles VIII said helplessly.

"Your Majesty, I remember there is another road leading to Asti, and that road saves more distance than this road." Recommended a scout officer.

"Oh, there is such a road? Why didn't we take that road last time?"

"That's right, it's a mountain road, and it's okay to pass by people and horses, but it's hard to get through the cannons. Last time we came, there were too many cannons and it wasn't suitable to take that road."

Indeed, when the French army came to Italy last year, they brought a hundred or dozens of artillery. It was indeed difficult to walk on the mountain road. But at this time, the French army had already lost all the artillery. Even the carriages carrying treasures were spread out because the treasures were not needed.

It is still possible to ride a horse through a less steep mountain road in a hilly area. After all, horses are four-legged animals, not carriages with high requirements for roads. When encountering mountain roads with small slopes, horses can pass. However, the roads flooded on the plains cannot pass easily. Because the roads and farmlands flooded by floods will be very soft. The French knight in heavy armor has an astonishing total weight. When passing through the flood area, the horse's hooves are easily trapped in the mud and difficult to get out.

Moreover, Charles VIII was worried that the coalition forces would be informed of the information and rushed to surround him. Therefore, in order to hurry up, Charles VIII decisively ordered to turn around and walk the legendary mountain road and plunged into Marin's trap...

In fact, Charles VIII was in vain even if he was cautious. Because the French scouts could not see far at night. Even if he walked into the ambush circle, he would not be able to see the ambush as long as he did not fall into the trap and the trenches.

At the same time, because the French sent many scouts to investigate the Italian coalition camp, they repeatedly confirmed that the Italians did not send people or troops. Therefore, as smart as Charles VIII, they did not expect that someone would wait for him early.

When the French turned around and rushed, Marin taught his men to speak French:

"Brothers, we will ambush the fleeing Frenchmen later. There are many people, and we will not have a chance to win when we fight hard. However, in the middle of the night, the French cannot see clearly, so we can scare them."

"Come on, everyone tell me 'Surrender and not kill' (French)..."

"Surrender and not kill (French)..." The soldiers were a little confused, and at the same time, a little nervous.

But Marin fooled them, saying that the French army was defeated and their morale was low. Otherwise, if these grandsons knew that they were facing 8,000 unscathed French heavy cavalry, they might not have the courage to fight. However, they were ambushing on the high slopes on both sides of the road, and the French cavalry could not rush up the high slopes, so they would not worry. Moreover, even if the French found that they were few, they would not stop and put their strength to attack the high slopes on both sides. Because the French were running away and were most afraid of disturbing the Italian coalition. As long as they withstand a few waves of attacks, the French would not continue to attack and waste time.

And Marin did not intend to completely destroy the French army. His plan was to severely inflict the French army. At the same time, he used the night to scare the French army, causing the French army to be disorganized. If he could kill or catch Charles VIII in the chaos, it would definitely be a great achievement...

Because it was at night, it was difficult for the French to observe how many people Marin had under him. As long as Marin pretended to be powerful, he could suppress the French army.

"Charles VIII is dead (in French)!" Marin taught everyone to shout again.

"Ah?" Some soldiers who know French are inexplicably ignorant. Isn't this a rumor?

Marin wanted the effect of spreading rumors. In the middle of the night, the French were attacked suddenly and they would be panicked. And when he shouted in French, "Charles VIII is dead", it would definitely cause great chaos to the French army. However, Charles VIII did not have a loudspeaker to defend himself. 8,000 French troops, there would always be someone who would be scared by this fake news.

This move was learned from the "Battle of Feishui". The 800,000 troops of the Former Qin Dynasty were deceived and retreated. Zhu Xu shouted behind the formation, "The Qin army was defeated." Then the group of big-headed soldiers of the Former Qin Dynasty were unknown, but they really thought they were defeated, so they changed their retreat to escape. So, the 800,000 troops of the Former Qin Dynasty lost inexplicably to tens of thousands of Eastern Jin troops...
Chapter completed!