Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

When war breaks out, the conscription of the French Imperial Knights is similarly conducted in the form of a knight squad (Lance). A knight squad consists of one fully armored Imperial Knight as the leader, one half-armored armed retainer cavalry, one to two unarmored retainers caring for horses and equipment, plus two to four light cavalry archers. Combined, they form a 6-8 person cavalry combat and support unit.

A hundred such squads form an Imperial Knight Company (Compagnie), comprising approximately 100 armored heavy cavalry, 100 medium armored charge cavalry, and 300 light cavalry, totaling around 500 combatants. And three thousand Imperial Knights mean a full 30 Royal Cavalry Companies, 15,000 light and heavy cavalry! This is the strongest royal force under the King of France!

Throughout all of Europe, apart from the King of France, there is almost no kingdom that possesses such a large and reliable class of military knights, with such powerful heavy cavalry!

Perhaps twenty years ago, when the Duke of Burgundy, "Daring Charles," was still alive, Burgundy could muster several hundred, if not over a thousand, Imperial Knights across the country, barely enough to contend against the King of France. But after Charles’s split skull and the partition of the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of France no longer faced this critical balance of power, breaking the last chain restraining its southward advance into Italy.

Most of these Burgundian knights became part of France’s "3000 Imperial Knights," while a few joined Austria, becoming part of the Shenluo Emperor Maximilian’s direct cavalry regiment. And just recently at the Battle of Fornovo, the former Burgundian knights were divided between two sides, each familiar to the other. As the French King led a breakthrough of the main force, the Shenluo cavalry did not pursue but instead focused on seizing the spoils of war, perhaps having talked it over beforehand...

Compared to the resounding and invincible charges of the ever-ready French cavalry, the quality of French infantry lagged far behind, perfectly fitting the medieval knight literature trope of "lord knights and conscripted serfs." In this era, French infantry had not yet assembled reliable "Holy War Veterans Corps" like Castile, but relied mainly on conscripted militia, used as needed. Their combat strength was not even necessarily superior to the city-state militias of the Italians.

Therefore, in the Italian campaigns, the infantry core that King Charles relied upon was never the conscripted infantry of his own country but rather the long spearmen hired from the Swiss mountains and the mercenary groups long employed by the Shenluo States.

And five months ago, when Castilian General Gonzalo was defeated at the Battle of Seminar by the French Imperial Knights and Swiss long spearmen, and personally experienced this invincible "Iron Hammer and Anvil," the ideas on how to resist the Imperial Knights began to emerge based on the existing Holy War Army of the Castilians.

Clearly, only the long spearmen could barely hold the line against the charge of the Imperial Knights. But what if the Imperial Knights maneuvered to the flanks or rear? How could such highly developed plate armor opponents be pierced and shattered?

The existing medieval crossbows and axes had long been proven in battles dominated by knights to be unable to withstand large-scale cavalry charges. Meanwhile, for the emerging matchlock guns and cannons, the Castilian army had already accumulated extensive operational experience during the Granada Holy War. It could be said that the Castilian Holy War Army is currently the most experienced with firearms combat in all of Europe.

If the matchlock guns are made heavier and organized into formations, and combined with the Holy War Veterans’ spear companies and great schiltrons, what might happen? ...Then, the Spanish great schiltron, an entirely new land combat system that would replace the knight-dominated warfare system, would naturally arise! And where this would first appear would undoubtedly be in confrontations with the French, possessing elite infantry corps and firearms experience, emerging right after the Holy War—Spain!

"May the Almighty bless! Commander Antonio, have no fear! The Queen has not the slightest fear of the French. And King Fernando has also seen through the French weaknesses, and is certain they cannot achieve victory!..."

"The weakness of the French? What is it?"

Deputy Commander Antonio was quite curious. Knight Captain Alvaro wiped his greasy hands, looked around, narrowed his eyes, lifted a corner of his mouth, and, imitating "King Fernando’s" tone, coldly laughed and said.

"Ha! Charles fights well, but he lacks brains. The fiercer he fights, the more enemies there are. The more enemies, the more endless wars he faces! And he can never completely eliminate any opponent, be it Venice, Milan, Rome, Austria, or us. Even if he wins temporarily, it is useless..."

"May the Almighty bless! In Italy, with such a long and narrow peninsula, with such a location open in all directions, where small and big city-states and nobility, the Vatican and the Pope, all squeeze together... how could it be possible to conquer it by warfare alone? Yes, when he gathers the French knights and advances as a grand army, indeed no one can stop him. But once his army has passed, those Italian city-states behind the lines will switch flags again, becoming his enemies!"

"Indeed! If he does not divide his forces, he won’t occupy much territory. If he does, he won’t be a match for the Holy Alliance Army. Ultimately, he has too many enemies! South of the Alps, he cannot hold down any piece of land! The Shenluo, Venice, and Vatican will stop at nothing to fight him to the end! Hmm, and we are also his enemies."

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