I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 334 The Battle of Kamnik

   Contrary to people's imagination, such a huge battle was unusually boring at the beginning.

The coalition forces have decided to defend the city, and the Ottomans cannot avoid Kamnik. You should all remember the highlands on the Kamnik side. If the Ottoman army dares to ignore the coalition's army and enter Austria from the Leuble Pass, If they go north to threaten Vienna, then the coalition can cut off their army like a serpent, block their supply lines, and maybe they will be scattered in Austria without fighting.

   Therefore, Slovenia is the battlefield decided by the coalition and the Ottomans.

Louis XIV and Vauban, or any European general who ever fought against the Ottomans, knew that the Ottomans had been tactically unprofitable for hundreds of years, they were slaves of the Sultan except the Sultan, deformed The extreme political system makes it impossible for them to set up a regular modern army. Although their army is like a giant beast, it is only a bloated and stupid beast. In contrast, they are still making continuous progress in armament. .

After the Ottomans were stationed outside Kamnik, they began to construct fortifications in an orderly manner, dig trenches, and make siege vehicles. The Ottoman siege vehicles used the latest metal connectors. Under the threat and temptation of Med, they quickly stood up outside the city. Each was as high as a city wall. The top of the car is a small bridge that is suspended. Once the siege car can get close to the city wall, it will be put down, and the soldiers hiding in the siege car will quickly run up the top floor along the spiral ladder in the siege car to attack the city wall. into the city wall.

Thirty such siege vehicles have been erected, but Ahmed does not feel that there is enough, and his commander is urging like crazy - fortunately, before the war, there are too many people here, and they work too finely. It can't be done, but it is still possible to prepare materials for siege vehicles and other equipment. There are probably thousands of people carrying axes into the nearby forest - after the war, there are few beasts and people here for several years, because Almost all the trees were cut down by the Ottomans.

After the metal connectors were used up, the only thing that was used to hold the wood was the cowhide rope. Hundreds of tents were torn down, and their cowhide was covered in the siege vehicles, and when they were watered, they were protected from fire. Oil and arrows. In addition to the cowhide used to fasten rafts and lay pontoons, nearly 10,000 people lost their tents.

But this kind of behavior makes some smart people feel worried. Ahmed is undoubtedly telling them that they can only have a place to live if they capture Kamnik, otherwise they can only breathe in the wasteland like beasts. rest. But time did not allow them to think about it any further, because on the morning of the third day after arriving in Kamnic, the Grand Vizier's ponytail flag was erected, and they surrounded the Grand Vizier's tent, like a Death's fluttering robe.

Then came the military band, also known as the Mehter army team. They were all devout true gods. The leader wore an open robe with a white tight top and velvet loose trousers. He put a machete on his shoulder and wore a white hat like a teapot with a handle on his head. The command he issued was the baton. The other musicians were all wearing white shirts and open vests. With embroidered trousers, boots, and the front three carrying huge flags.

It's strange how they move, everyone takes their right foot first, stops at the third step, turns right and then left, salutes to the left and right, and they march between the tents solemnly, playing, First the sharp-sounding reed flute, then the horn, then the thumping brass drum, the small cymbal, the leather drum that almost hit the hearts of the people, and after them came a line of priests, who gave their blessings as they walked. Soldiers about to go to the battlefield.

   Before the marching band and the priests had returned to the tent of the Grand Vizier, the first soldiers had already begun their siege.

For the record, such a siege was extremely boring. There were no clever tactics and no deceitful conspiracy. The Ottomans gradually advanced towards the city walls of Kamnic according to the trenches and fortifications, while the ridges built by Vauban The fort gave them blows from both sides and the front - Grand Vizier Ahmed continued when he built thirty siege vehicles, people still complained, and now they are all shut up because the addition is on the wall With the artillery on the bastion, it only takes two or three shells to destroy a siege vehicle.

The Ottoman artillery is also roaring, but they are not only incomparable with the coalition in quantity, but also in quality. Expensive but worth the money, and their bases are all rammed earth. The Ottomans also took the old method of digging trenches to the bottom of the city wall, so that the weight of the artillery, the recoil and the weight of the city wall itself will make the ground collapse. .

But this method was used by Vauban in Flanders. The artillery had an angle of fire, but the grenade thrower did not. For this campaign, considering the number of enemies to be faced, Louis XIV did not even let the factory make more A lot of metal grenades - this kind of thing has a lot of damage and a considerable range, but the manufacturing speed is too slow to meet the needs of this battle and the king, so in the later stage, people will put gunpowder and stones into small wine barrels Filled up, fuzes, those little casks that Bordeaux use to hold wine, only one liter in capacity, a little lighter than the original crock pot, the problem is that it doesn't hold up well, just here, that's not the problem problem.

The grenadier threw the powder kegs at the cowhide-covered trench, sometimes not so accurately, only falling on one side of the trench, or failing to break the cowhide and the wood below, but the people inside would also be shocked to the mouth Bleeding from nose and ears, bursting to death, these men were quickly dragged out and replaced with another group of sappers.

The siege tower is falling down, and the people inside will inevitably fall from it, or be crushed by the heavy tower body, and those Azapus who are madly moving forward, moving forward, and moving forward like ants. It's like it's endless, even if the corpses pile up like hills under the city walls, they don't care.

This kind of battle continued until dusk. Both the Ottomans and the coalition troops changed several batches, but the former ones who were rotated probably couldn't go back to the tent, the latter could go back to the camp to eat, drink and rest, and the injured people could also get Proper care - several times down, the wounded know that the place where the white, blue and red flags are hoisted, but all embroidered with golden lilies, is the hospital.

  When the concept of the hospital was not yet popularized, there was no one who built the hospital here except Louis XIV. The Spanish general Juan Patinho did not lift his brows as he walked in the newly chalked and herb-sprayed mansion. It was not only the French who were wounded here, because according to the agreement , after the French held Ljubljana for a week, the army of the three electors will face the Ottomans next. The Grand Duke of Brandenburg-Prussia has long been flirting with Louis XIV. They stood on the Habsburg side, but their stance was not so firm. After their soldiers were sent here, in addition to thanking God, they thanked the king of France. Such emotions were very detrimental to their future plans.

   But can he stop it? Not to mention these soldiers from the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, even the soldiers of the Spanish, asked them to leave their clean and tidy houses, simple but warm beds, effective herbs and devout monks, let them go back to the camp Fever, go to shenyin, go cry and wait to die, Juan Patinho will be torn to shreds by the mutinous soldiers and thrown into the roaring bonfire.

He was standing outside the window of a room looking in, where a stout candle was burning, and each soldier was wailing excitedly as the monk was carefully opening a glass tin—and it wasn't even beef, Pork or potatoes, judging from the transparent juice shaking in the candlelight, it should be some kind of canned fruit, ah, he saw, the monk poured all the contents of the can into a large white porcelain bowl, it was citrus, Citrus is not a very rare thing, but Juan knew that the French canned fruit added a lot of sugar to ensure that it does not perish easily.

Only the king of France, who grows sugar beets in Flanders and sugar cane in Martinique, can handle such a cost. Of course, his cans also sell for a high price. Anyway, its The shape and color are beautiful, and it tastes sweeter than honey. Even Leopold I, who hated Louis XIV to the bone, would add such a snack to breakfast and dinner, when holding banquets, let alone someone else.

Juan Patinho, as a new rich in Spain, bought it not only for his wife and daughter, but also for the Queen Mother and King Carlos II of Spain. He knew the price and also knew that the French king brought a lot of money this time. There is less canned food that can almost be used as a reward. King Ludwig I of Poland had a troika here, and other generals of the coalition also received this favor. There is such a box in Juan's room, but the canned fruit is indeed The least.

Even someone as self-controlled as Juan can't help saliva when he sees the plump golden pulp falling into a china bowl with sticky juice, let alone someone who has almost never tasted good The soldiers were gone—they cocked their noses, sniffing greedily at the sweet scent of the air, their mouths opened involuntarily, their tongues stuck out, and their eyes widened in anticipation. The monks are like a mother who treats her many children, holding a porcelain bowl and distributing a spoonful to each person, making sure that each spoon contains a piece of fruit pulp and a large spoonful of soup. The spoons were swallowed down their throats, and everyone who ate it swelled their cheeks. Except for the first time, no one would rashly put it down. They lay there, the pain and fear seemed to disappear, revealing the child A generally innocent smile.

   Juan took a deep breath, turned and walked away.

  ———

Not only the Austrians, the Spaniards, the English, but even a part of the French feel that their Sun King has too many soldiers, but they are far from enough for the monarch - the king's army will never be Single, when people divide mounts, dogs and clothing into several grades and uses, the classification of the king's soldiers and officers will only be more complicated. He needs a pure new army, a loyal guard, and also needs. The traditional dragoons need the most advanced artillerymen and musketeers, they also need a navy that can gallop on the sea, and even the power that mortals should not touch in the inner world.

He and Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire were destined to be enemies, then he would take every opportunity to weaken the enemy, and as a Catholic country, as a country still in a time when religion could lead to war, he could not refuse Vienna's call for help , so is it possible for him to take the opportunity to get the most benefit from this battle? It is one thing to let his army go through such a big battle, and it is one thing to find out the details of the enemy, and Schaumberg also gave him a little inspiration, since Schaumberg can become a French general, other Austrians, or Can't it be someone from the other Holy Roman Empire?

   Since they are both mercenaries.

   Mercenaries means that anyone can hire them, and Louis XIV needs more soldiers to complete one of the grand plans in the future.

What Juan can think of, others can think of, but this is entirely the conspiracy of Louis XIV, they have no right to ask the soldiers to refuse the treatment and care of the French, and some soldiers have even begun to provide for these monks and nuns (of course, We all know it was some witches) to clean up the nearby mansion, expand the hospital, they can get paid, or not, after all, no one knows who will be carried off the battlefield next.

The expansion of the hospital was necessary, because the next day, the Ottomans' offensive gradually became fierce, and the advantages gained in armaments and fortifications were forcibly leveled by the Grand Vizier Ahmed with a number of people, and the Azaps stepped on. The corpses of their companions climbed up, and the Ottoman artillery was pushed forward again and again. Even if they entered the range of the defending artillery, they didn't care. The artillerymen were not comparing experience and computing power, but simply comparing speed. Sometimes the artillery on the bastion was overturned, and sometimes the artillery of the attacking side exploded - the number of guns on both sides was considerable, but there was always one or two of the defending artillerymen who preferred their own lives.

After a bastion was opened, the Ottomans rushed in, and the siege tower was pushed to the side of the city wall for the first time. Although the explosive barrel was immediately thrown down, it leaned against the city wall and the corpse after it fell. Between the accumulated hills, some of the strongest Azapus immediately bit their knives and climbed up. They landed on the city wall and fought with the soldiers of the defending army. Fortunately, this situation was discovered immediately, and more defenders. The army rushed up, and finally managed to throw these Ottomans off the city wall.

But this kind of progress has undoubtedly inspired more Ottomans. If you stand on the wall of Kamnik, you will find that there are enemies on the left and right and in front except your back. They are like dumping from the sky. The rain, the lava spilling from the ground, you can kill one, ten, a hundred, but a thousand more after that.

It was the elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm, who was the turn to defend the city walls at this time. His wife was the daughter of Orange, who had raised and supervised the Dutch William III. He had been with the French. It's true that people have fought for the Netherlands, but now he has begun to deliberately form an alliance with the king in his prime, although Louis XIV's eldest princess has unfortunately become the queen of the Swedes, but he still throws He married his own son, and was ready to marry Louis XIV's brother Philip, the daughter of the Duke of Orléans.

After his son Frederick returned from Paris, he was further provided with more detailed and reliable information, which strengthened his ideas, although for the time being he ostensibly stood by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I Here, but his heart already belongs to the Sun King.

It is also based on this idea that among the coalition forces, he is second only to the King of Poland and the most ambiguous with the French. For this reason, he purchased a lot of arms and equipment from Louis XIV. When there were more than three siege towers, he stroked his beard and made a melancholy gesture: "Take those out and use them."

   "Now?" the general beside him asked.

   "Do I have to wait until the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Turks asks me to kneel before I take it out as a gift?" Friedrich said sullenly.

   "But that was horrible."

   "No more terrible than these heretics," said Friedrich.

A white-skinned Azap was climbing the city wall at this time. He was surrounded by companions, which gave him incomparable courage. The enemy he faced was just a young soldier. He might be able to keep his composure when he was a foot tall, but their distance seemed to be drawn to face each other in an instant, and he could smell a strong slaughterhouse smell - the smell of blood and the stench of animals, and he saw it like a jackal Looking for his prey's eyes, shining in the light of the evening, he raised his gun, intending to use the bayonet at the end of the musket to fend off the enemy, but as if in the blink of an eye, the musket flew out of his hand.

   The white-skinned Azap infantry raised his hammer, ready to strike again, before it was a musket, now a man.

Christian raised his hands as if praying, begging, or surrendering, but nothing stopped Azap from hitting him with the hammer, first his arm was broken, then his head burst, and the young soldier fell to the ground , his face is strangely not hideous.

  Azap panted and straightened, and then he saw a light brighter than the sun.

   (end of this chapter)