Chapter 434 Attacking the City of Rome (1)

Chapter 434 Attacking the City of Rome (1)

The attack in the direction of the Papal State really went as Peter imagined. The so-called pilgrim army was scared away by their artillery before they even got close. However, their monks' fighting will was still very tenacious and kept blocking them, greatly slowing down their speed.

"This is your first time participating in a war. I hope you won't disappoint me."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, we have trained for so many years just for this day. Please take care of it."

Tuaruski, the commander-in-chief of the new army, swore to Peter that they would definitely wipe out this ragtag group of people.

Since the King of Naples had opened the Strait of Messina, the Roman fleet soon arrived in the Western Mediterranean. And protected by the Naples fleet along the way, relying on the other party's supplies, they quickly landed at Fiumicino in the Papal State.

Unable to withstand their attack, the Papal State army had no choice but to retreat, and quickly asked the Pope for help and sent reinforcements quickly, otherwise Rome would not be saved.

It was very close to Rome, so Gregory XII learned the news quickly. He hurriedly summoned a meeting of cardinals, but when he arrived at the chapel, some of them did not come. Later he learned that they had gone out to summon the army.

"God will punish these people, but they ran away in fear. They are really unworthy of their position."

The Pope angrily rebuked these people for their greed for life and fear of death. How did they become cardinals? But, aren’t the current bishops all bought? The money brought by selling the priesthood is a lot, and after buying the position, they try their best to squeeze it and earn back the money quickly. Moreover, most of the people in power are rogues. How can the Catholic Church survive like this?

Forget it, when it comes to life and death, we still have to rely on the help of the bishops. If you have money, you can provide money, and if you have strength, you can contribute. At least you have to spend money to stabilize the morale of the army.

But, when it comes to paying, the bishops, including the pope, are cash-strapped. On the one hand, they don’t want to get involved in a war with no chance of winning, and on the other hand, their property was lost in the last catastrophe of Rome. lost heavily. After finally relying on smelting the gold vessels of the monastery, selling indulgences and restoring the priesthood, it was impossible to find money now.

So you all made symbolic contributions, 100 for this one and 500 for that one. The Pope gave more, 1,000 florins. In the end, I didn’t even have 10,000 yuan to collect, which was really depressing.

Seeing that they could only scrape together so much money, they tacitly agreed to do another thing: run away. Rome was in ruins and had to run away. Fortunately, they learned a lesson and moved their property outside the city, which only required transportation.

So when many residents of Rome defended the Holy City on the city walls, those bishops ran out of the city in the name of looking for reinforcements and prepared to flee to Florence. Because of his identity, Gregory stayed in Rome, but he wrote a letter to Peter in his own name, hoping that the other party would withdraw his troops.

The army led by Duke Giang of Allgäu has already launched an attack on the remaining lands of the Papal State. The fanatical believers' efforts to stop it only delayed the fall of the town by two days. Except for the border of Naples, there was no movement. All other borders of the Papal State were silent. Being cannibalized.

"Your Highness, a letter from the Bishop of Rome."

Peter put it aside without even looking at it. This matter was no longer something he, the Pope of one-third of the world, could control. He could still survive if he ran away now.

"Is there any movement in other countries?"

"The Palatinate, Cologne, Bavaria and other countries announced that they would form armies. Salzburg and Austrian armies were preparing to enter from Milan. Burgundy also wanted to attack, but was blocked by the Duke of Orleans and the Duke of Normandy."

John wanted to ask France to send troops, but the Duke of Orleans objected. After all, there was still one in Avignon, which happened to drive away the Romans and set him up. The Duke of Normandy persuaded the other party in the tone of a loyal minister. France's main enemy is England at present. After dealing with him, he can deal with others.

John couldn't find any refutation for such a high-sounding reason, so it seemed that he could only delay it. Even if the reinforcements of the HRE can enter the Apennine Peninsula through Milan, the Romagna lying in the middle will still be a problem. It will take time to defeat it.

The Roman army would not give the opponent a chance to breathe, and would directly attack from multiple sides. The Papal State's army was exhausted.

No one could stop Peter from entering the city of Rome. Just ten days after gathering the army, Gregory XII took advantage of the night and escaped from Rome with his cronies and took refuge in Florence. These people directly left more than 300,000 subjects of the Papal State and 20,000 civilians and monks who defended the Holy City to face the artillery fire of the Roman army alone.

"Ah, Rome, do you miss me?"

Peter looked at the city wall and said, but I believe that if the city of Rome speaks, she will definitely say no. The harm he brings is no less than a barbarian invasion. He hasn't recovered from the last injury, and now it's coming again. He really can't stand the injury anymore.

But Peter didn't know this. The only thing he knew was that the residents of Rome would not welcome them and a large-scale immigration was needed. Moreover, the city of Rome is too dilapidated. Didn’t the Pope repair it?

Peter asked the army to conduct an artillery attack. At the same time, the infantry, under the cover of chariots, approached the moat in an orderly manner. Compared with the siege warfare of ordinary troops, the new army's siege tactics were different. It was useless for the infantry to advance into the moat. After filling the river, he did not rush across the river to climb the city. Instead, he relied on the equipment in his hands to build a ladder bridge.

"What is this?" The defenders at the head of the city hid in the corner and looked outside the city, risking artillery fire. They watched the Roman army outside the city put together ladder-like frames one by one, and then formed a wooden structure. With a bridge-like structure, these things were directly erected on the moat, like building blocks to form ready-made wooden bridges. These wooden bridges are extremely reliable in terms of width and sturdiness.

Seeing the Roman army coming, the defenders at the top of the city fought back desperately. Not only the cannons on the city roared, but also the rockets and rocks from the infantry were thrown down, with the purpose of destroying their defenses on the moat. A ladder bridge was built to prevent it from approaching the city wall.

However, the Roman army attacking outside the city had been prepared for a long time. When the defenders poked their heads out of the city, the Roman army, which had been prepared for a long time, immediately began to counterattack. Amidst the bursts of cannon and gunfire, the opponent suffered huge losses. However, under the general's order, the defenders moved forward without flinching. They had just erected five ladder bridges, but three of them were destroyed at once, and two more were about to follow suit.

Most of these defenders came from Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans and other religious orders. They were very loyal to the Catholic Church, and many of them had military experience. When they learned that the Romanian army was coming, they quickly came from France, the Catholic Church, and other religious orders. Luo and Aragon rushed to Rome, hoping to defend the Holy City.