Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 778 Double Pay for the Ming Army
The Tyrolean infantry's first battles were against nobles under the guidance of Swiss instructors. Because training levels were generally low and weapons were scarce, they relied heavily on spears, as they were among the cheapest and easiest weapons to learn.

However, in the subsequent wars, the local soldiers did not completely follow the Swiss direction, but instead continued their own practices, developing in a direction more similar to that of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, according to Guo Kang, there are similar cases in the military history of Seres that illustrate this Swiss approach.

While both spears and halberds appear to be long shafts, their roles as weapons differ. The Swiss term "halberd" is a general term for a large category of two-handed heavy weapons, including, according to the Seresian naming conventions of that era, various weapons such as two-handed axes, two-handed swords, and even hook-and-sickle spears. They are positioned similarly to two-handed greatswords.

In the Seres' experience, this type of army, which primarily uses two-handed weapons, wasn't mainly focused on countering cavalry, but rather on charging into enemy formations and inflicting as much damage as possible. It was a strategy of "putting all points into attack."

Guo Kang said that the closest example of this approach is actually the ancient Qin army—which also preferred to concentrate ranged weapons at the front and deploy a very high proportion of heavily armored melee infantry, wielding long-handled swords that were taller than a person. It's clear that they relied primarily on heavy infantry charges to strike the enemy.

However, the Swiss phalanx truly gained fame thanks to Italian propaganda. But the Italians' primary memory of the Swiss infantry is of their dense array of spears.

At that time in Europe, Italians were among the most cultured, and their works were widely circulated. Therefore, the general impression of the Swiss became that of a phalanx of spears.

The reason for this situation is simply that the Italian infantry line was too weak—they usually couldn't hold out until the veterans charged into the middle of the formation before being overwhelmed by the Swiss, so they generally only had the impression of a spear charge. Although, in reality, it was the home team's front line attacking, while the main force hadn't even moved.

Swiss lances were actually not very long, generally about 10 Italian feet, or roughly 298 centimeters. While some lances were 18 feet (5.5 meters) long, they were rare. The Swiss believed that excessively long lances would hinder maneuverability and turning, and preferred to avoid them altogether.

On the contrary, it was the Italians themselves who most favored using extra-long spears. Moreover, as time progressed, and the Renaissance came to an end and the power of various city-states declined, the spears actually grew longer and longer.

In contrast to the Swiss infantry formations, which were quite similar to those of the Qin people, by the time the combined use of cold and hot tactics had fully matured, the Italian infantry formations had already taken on the style of the Song Dynasty.

In the late 15th century, King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy. The French army's widespread looting and plundering aroused widespread discontent among the local population. Their attempt to occupy Italy and refuse to leave also alerted other powerful nations. Through the mediation of Venice, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian, King Charles VIII of England, Ferdinand, ruler of Aragon and Castile, and local powers such as Naples, the Papal States, Milan, and Venice reached an agreement to form an anti-French alliance against the French.

Meanwhile, the French army was constantly attacked by locals and faced supply difficulties. Moreover, due to the inherent characteristics of the French, a syphilis outbreak occurred, resulting in the deaths of half the soldiers, with many others surrendering or deserting.

Charles VIII originally had an army of 35,000 men, but in the end, only 8,000 core cavalry and 4,000 Swiss mercenaries remained. At this time, the sea routes were also blocked by Venice, so he could only hastily head north, hoping to escape back to France. Milan and Venice in northern Italy then assembled troops to intercept him.

The starving French army retreated to Fornovo, a small town near Parma, and began looting. This led to them being overtaken by a coalition force of 20,000 men, forcing them to engage in battle and face the coalition across the river. The Venetians deployed 10,000 infantry, along with 4,000 dismounted knights from the coalition, tasked with crossing the river and launching a frontal assault. Milan and Mandova provided 6,000 cavalry, planning to flank the enemy from the rear during the initial engagement.

At this time, the Italian infantry used a layered formation.

The Song army's layered formation placed long spears at the front, with soldiers seated and not allowed to move. Behind the spear formation were archers responsible for ranged attacks; behind the archers were the long-range crossbowmen. This was a purely defensive formation, intended to counter enemies with cavalry superiority.

The Italians followed a similar pattern. At the forefront were infantrymen wielding extremely long spears. They planted the ends of their spears into the ground and held them steady with their hands, adopting a purely defensive posture. Behind the spear formation were javelin throwers responsible for ranged attacks; further back were crossbowmen with even greater range. It could be said that this was quite similar to the Song Dynasty's approach, sharing a remarkable similarity.

However, this formation was ridiculed by the Swiss.

The Venetians crossed the river first and engaged the Swiss infantry. The Swiss, while using their spearmen to hold them off, simultaneously dispatched three hundred soldiers wielding two-handed greatswords, who suddenly charged into the enemy ranks. These men cut through spears and swiftly charged into the heart of the enemy formation. The Venetian infantry were greatly shocked and began to waver. The entire formation of ten thousand men collapsed in less than an hour.

At the critical moment, the Venetian commander, Pitigliano, personally ran into the ranks with his sword, warning the soldiers that the river was behind them and they should stop fleeing, or none of them would escape. Only then did they barely manage to hold on.

However, the cavalry they sent to flank the enemy remained silent for a long time. The French cavalry, considered their elite force, also failed to appear.

It turned out that Charles VIII, believing the situation to be dangerous and fearing he would be trapped, ordered the army's treasures to be abandoned and then led his knights in a hasty retreat, leaving the unsuspecting Swiss soldiers stranded on the battlefield. The allied cavalry were also busy looting the abandoned goods, and therefore none of them joined the battle.

Upon discovering that their employer had absconded, the Swiss had no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield, thus allowing the alliance to declare victory.

After the Swiss left, Pitigliano took stock of his men and discovered that more than 5,000 were missing. He was very worried, fearing he wouldn't be able to explain himself to the Senate. Fortunately, after cleaning up the battlefield, it was confirmed that only 2,000 men had been lost.

It turned out that despite fighting a desperate battle, several thousand Venetian soldiers managed to escape the battlefield and hide. They only returned gradually after the battle was over. Perhaps they were better swimmers—if the early members of the Purple Horde had been such good swimmers, Guo Gai and his men would be laughing in the middle of the night…

Therefore, in theory, spears were not actually used as offensive weapons in Europe during that era.

Of course, this doesn't mean that spear formations couldn't be used for charges. It's just that in this era, the army that best fit the stereotypical image of a "spear charge" wasn't here, but in the East. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Jianghuai region was in chaos, with various "bandits" carving out their own territories, sometimes fighting the Yuan army, sometimes attacking each other. During this period, leaders of various armed groups liked to give themselves nicknames to distinguish themselves—much like in the Water Margin. And here, many nicknames emerged that used spear-like weapons as a symbol.

In the Huaihe River region, there was an active "long spear army" led by Zhang Mingjian. After Zhu Yuanzhang captured Yangzhou, Zhang Mingjian surrendered, and his troops were incorporated into the Ming army; in addition, there was an active "flower spear army" in the Taihu Lake region.

In the Xuanzhou region, the territory was occupied by "Marshal Zhu Liangzu, the Long Spear General." Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the charge, and Zhu Liangzu, unable to defeat Zhu Yuanzhang, surrendered with his troops after his defeat. In Ningguo Road, there was "Marshal Xie Guoxi, the Long Spear General," who was later defeated by Deng Yu, dispatched by Zhu Yuanzhang. In Jiande Road, there was also "Marshal Yu Zizhen, the Long Spear General," who was defeated by Deng Yu, Zhu Wenzhong, Hu Dahai, and others dispatched by Zhu Yuanzhang. In addition, there were those with lower ranks, such as Qu Tong, who rose up in the Jianghuai region and was nicknamed "Commander of a Thousand Spears," who later also joined Zhu Yuanzhang.

Perhaps due to this popular trend, the early Ming army attached great importance to the use of long spears.

The standard spears of the Ming army were about 4.1 meters long, slightly longer than those of the Swiss. However, contrary to European observations, longer spears were not generally weaker and only suitable for rigid defensive tactics. On the contrary, they reversed the Song dynasty's approach, emphasizing offense and mobility.

In battles against the Yuan army, the Ming army repeatedly used the rapid movement of spear formations to intercept, flank, and even encircle Yuan cavalry. Cases of Ming soldiers actively using spears to charge at cavalry were also quite common.

Therefore, when it comes to spear formations, the Ming army in the Central Plains was far more experienced. And only there were spearmen not used as cannon fodder or new recruits, but as the main attacking force.

The Yuan-Ming War had a far-reaching impact, affecting not only the Purple Horde but also subtly influencing the Wu Kingdom located in the west.

Because of similarities in environment and needs, when developing training manuals based on the existing experience of Tyrolean infantry and the Swiss, Zhu Wenkui, Jessica, and others actually emphasized the presence of the spear and believed that spearmen should not be content with "standing still" but should make full use of the offensive weapon.

Of course, the Poles were unaware of this.

After Tang Sai'er returned with her troops, Zhu Wenku went to ask her how she felt about the fame of the Polish cavalry. He hoped she could share her experience so that everyone could devise a countermeasure.

However, Tang Sai'er believed that the Polish cavalry was not too difficult to deal with because their impact was poor.

While Jessica and the others were somewhat surprised, they considered it and said they could understand. They also brought up Guo Kang's suggestions when drafting the "War Regulations," arguing that the reason the Central Plains infantry had abandoned large formations composed of two-handed melee weapons so early, sacrificing their higher killing efficiency in favor of spears, was likely due to the gradual development of cavalry there. Compared to heavy two-handed weapons, spears were more effective against cavalry, thus their proportion increased significantly, leading to a different outcome than in Europe. Therefore, it was normal for her to think the Poles were no match.

Zhu Wenku thought she was exaggerating. However, Tang Sai'er insisted that she had actually been on the battlefield. The impact of the Polish cavalry's charge was less effective than that of Zhu Wenku's uncle. If she had to explain, it might be that her previous battle experience made her feel that the pressure here wasn't so great, but she was definitely not exaggerating.

This time, Wu Fan's infantry had their first opportunity to confront Polish-Lithuanian cavalry.

The centurions, who formed the main force, were considered relatively experienced troops, with about 40% of them being government-certified "veterans" who were entitled to double pay during wartime. The assessment criteria included weapons handling, as well as proficiency with other weapons, especially firearms.

These people also valued flexibility, and using scattered formations like this was quite common. Once permission to attack was granted, they would form small groups of five men each to fight, rather than the traditional horizontal or vertical lines. When they encountered enemy cavalry, they would use their spears to hold them off, and then the axeman in the group would step forward to chop down the horse's head and legs. Once the enemy fell, they would finish them off in one fell swoop.

The remaining person is usually a ranged weapon shooter.

Previously, influenced by the Swiss, they primarily used crossbows. However, later, through cooperation with Venice, the government became increasingly wealthy, and the weapons and equipment they received were upgraded. Now, these veterans all wear Italian-made armor and are widely equipped with muskets that Zhu Wenkui brought from Rome. While the others fight, the musketeers follow behind, specifically targeting the most threatening enemies.

The Ming army's combat efficiency was astonishing; silently, they carved out gaps in the enemy ranks. The Polish-Lithuanian cavalry attempted to organize a counterattack, but command was extremely difficult at night, and they could only issue simple requests and authorizations. Moreover, their rear was now in disarray, making timely deployment impossible.

Even at this distance, the rockets launched from Dalian could still penetrate the leather armor and thick felt of Eastern European light cavalry, causing considerable damage. Of course, more importantly, the smoke-generating materials they carried were remarkably effective.

Upon landing, the rockets exploded, releasing strangely colored, pungent toxic fumes. While they couldn't immediately kill the enemy, they still caused those nearby to flee in terror. And while humans could endure it, warhorses certainly couldn't withstand it.

In an instant, the explosions, flames, and poisonous smoke startled a large number of horses, causing them to run wild and become unruly. This threw the enemy into complete disarray. Subsequent support could no longer be expected.

The veteran vanguard continued their advance, quickly either killing or driving away the enemies near the gate. They also established direct communication with Father Prokop's wagon camp.

It was only then that Prokop learned of the message brought by Jessica's messenger. The messenger told Prokop that Jessica had already made arrangements with the Crown Prince to send Italians to raid the enemy camp again. However, Jessica hoped that this wouldn't affect his own performance on the spot. Therefore, as the frontline commander, he had the authority to decide on the next steps.

(End of this chapter)