Long March

"Your Majesty, the Venetians left behind a large amount of baggage, which has now been completely captured by our army! They brought enough provisions for ten days!"

The Quartermaster, with the joy of a bountiful harvest on his face, reported the rich spoils of war to Laszlo.

Laszlo's face lit up, then he regained his composure and turned his gaze to Joachim.

"Your Majesty, our army's total losses in the two battles were around 3,500, with no more than a thousand killed in action. The Venetians left behind over 3,000 bodies, and more than 2,000 people became prisoners, a considerable number of whom were wounded. How do you wish to deal with these people?"

Joachim reported with a hint of excitement. The Imperial Army had achieved a significant victory, severely damaging the main Venetian army and successfully establishing a foothold on the Friuli Plain.

From now on, with steady advancement, the Imperial Army's progress would be unstoppable.

Laszlo pondered the question Joachim posed. He considered many things, but one thought in his heart remained unresolved: "Can these prisoners be used to ransom?"

"It's difficult, Your Majesty. Most of them are wounded and have little combat value. In fact, if we leave them unattended, some will soon die."

"We must prioritize caring for our own wounded! Gather these prisoners... and execute them all!"

"Your Majesty, this…

The few people in the tent exchanged glances. The Emperor himself seemed undecided, and such an act felt too cruel.

"I will not allow surrendered Italians to join my army or remain as prisoners in the camp; that would only increase our losses. Think of the brave warriors who fell! Italians will never be grateful to the Emperor for favors. Let us move them with swords and death."

Laszlo's mind was made up, and the others no longer tried to dissuade him. The order was quickly passed down and executed efficiently.

When Laszlo made this decision, his mood was unusually calm.

He considered many factors. To quickly defeat Venice, the best way was, of course, to dismantle the Venetian army.

Most of the Venetian army consisted of temporarily hired mercenaries.

These fellows who worked for money, if you say they cherish their lives, they do life-threatening work; if you say they are not afraid of death, they often slack off in battle.

Mercenary leaders are shrewd individuals, most skilled at preserving their strength. If they constantly charged recklessly in battle, their brothers would soon be wiped out, and then what good would being a mercenary be?

He had to make these mercenaries understand that daring to oppose the Emperor would incur a heavy price.

The Imperial Army quickly cleared both battlefields, properly burying the fallen soldiers, inventorying the captured supplies, and piling up the bodies of the Venetian soldiers to burn them, preventing the outbreak of plague.

Having captured some provisions, the army's urgent need was relieved. Laszlo decided to encamp here for rest and recuperation, and to wait for the Hussite War Wagon, baggage, and artillery units from the rear to arrive.

During this time, Laszlo summoned his generals to discuss the upcoming marching route.

"This region has three important cities: Cividale, Aquileia, and Udine. Udine is the regional capital.

Cividale is a strategic choke point, and Aquileia is near the coast, an important sea and land hub."

Joachim marked the positions of the three important cities on the map.

Laszlo looked at the locations of the three cities and began to consider the upcoming tactical arrangements.

Cividale was in the hilly area upstream of the Natisone River, an important Venetian border city.

Laszlo looked at his generals and ordered: "Albrecht, take 3,000 men to attack Cividale."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Marshal, who had already received treatment, looked as lively as ever. Being hit by an arrow was not a major injury for him, given his robust physique.

Aquileia was the closest city to the main army, and the road conditions were good, allowing for a quick arrival from here.

There were also several mercenary generals in the tent. Laszlo chose Otto, the general with the highest stats, to lead 4,000 troops to capture Aquileia.

He himself would lead the main force to attack Udine.

According to scout reports tracking the fleeing enemy, the Venetian army did not retreat in the direction of Udine, and their numbers dwindled during their escape.

Laszlo was well aware of what this meant.

Udine, backed by the foothills of the Alps and with one side facing water, would normally be highly defensible, but that was all.

The defeat in the Natisone River battle meant that the Venetians had lost the ability to defend the Friuli Plain. Being besieged in Udine would only result in running out of supplies and total annihilation.

Marco Antonio might have realized this, or perhaps fear overwhelmed him, as he actually planned to take his troops directly back to Treviso.

During this process, the mercenaries displayed their traditional skills.

After a devastating defeat and heavy losses, many small mercenary groups unilaterally terminated their contracts with the Venetian government.

Only some trustworthy mercenary groups and those with long-term cooperation with the Venetians chose to stay.

After pillaging the Friuli region, some light cavalry units returned to Marco Antonio's command.

These Ottoman and Greeks came to Italy not just to fight for the Venetians, but more to earn money.

When the gains outweighed the risks, they chose to make a quick buck and run.

This meant Marco still commanded nearly 5,000 mobile troops.

However, these troops could not change anything. Marco himself was arrested by the Republic of Venice for "treason" after returning to Treviso.

A renowned general with a reinforcement of 4,000 men arrived in Treviso, took over Marco's position, and began actively strengthening Treviso's city defenses.

Of course, Laszlo currently knew nothing of this. A day after Albrecht and Otto led their troops to attack Cividale and Aquileia, the slow Hussite War Wagon, baggage, and artillery finally passed through the hills and reached the plain.

At the Emperor's command, the army marched northwest along the road, crossing the Natisone River, their vanguard heading directly for Udine.

The fertile plains south of the mountains provided the army with ample provisions. After overcoming the supply crisis, Laszlo did not slow down his troops.

After entering the plain, the road from Friuli to Verona was unobstructed. In Laszlo's own words, this situation was ideal for a blitzkrieg.

As a Dane, Karl did not fully grasp what the Emperor meant by "blitzkrieg," but he knew this plain was the ideal scenario for the Hussite War Wagon.

In a small village near Udine, villagers clearing weeds in the fields suddenly noticed the ground seemed to be shaking,

and a rumbling sound came from afar.

Someone shouted, "The Austrians are coming!" Everyone hastily dropped their tools and fled home, fearing they would be caught and killed by the Imperial Army if they ran too late.

But strangely, the army passing through the village didn't even look at them. The cavalry at the head carried two majestic double-headed eagle banners fluttering in the wind, advancing at an extremely fast pace.

Following behind were Hussite War Wagons, pulled by two horses, resembling boxes, packed with infantry. Their wheels made heavy thudding sounds on the packed dirt road.

Several hundred Hussite War Wagons passed in succession, followed closely by baggage carts laden with provisions.

These were "donated" by the towns and villages ahead, and since they were already full, they did not stop here to accept "grain donations" but intended to rush directly to the outskirts of Udine.

Behind the baggage carts followed a strange unit, escorted by heavy cavalry on both sides, with sturdy iron pipes on wheels, pulled by horses, moving down the center of the road.

Of course, some well-informed people immediately recognized them as cannons, but these Venetians had never seen cannons pulled by horses on the road.

In fact, up to this point, only the armies of France, Burgundy, and Austria had implemented such horse-drawn, light artillery carriages.

Most cannons still needed to be disassembled and transported by wagons for long distances, then reassembled on suitable carriages when needed.

Such a fast-moving force reached the walls of Udine from the banks of the Natisone River in less than three days. Karl immediately directed the Austro-Hungarian Army to prepare for the siege, awaiting the arrival of the main army.