Go into the city? Go into your head. Do you take me for a pig?
Othello cursed inwardly, but his face remained amiable: "All my troops are cavalry. Cramming them all into the city would not only prevent them from maximizing their combat effectiveness but also needlessly consume your provisions.
It'd be better if my troops remained outside the city, forming a pincer movement with yours. This way, my troops can advance or retreat freely, constantly harassing the enemy to prevent them from focusing on besieging the city, and also disrupting their supply lines. When reinforcements arrive, we can then sandwich the enemy. Wouldn't that be better?"
After speaking, Othello gave an order and turned his horse around, intending to leave.
Seeing that one ploy failed, and Othello wanted to escape while reinforcements were still delayed, Claudio, in his desperation, provoked him: "Othello, stop making these high-sounding excuses! Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? I heard there were supplies and you wanted a share, but now that there's danger, you want to abandon us and save yourself. The cannons on the city wall won't agree to that!"
Now, both sides were feigning ignorance, and each knew the other was doing the same. As long as Othello turned back to argue, Claudio could buy a little more time.
"No! Don't be rash. Since you don't trust me, I won't leave."
At this range and density, taking concentrated fire from so many cannons would cripple his cavalry. Othello knew Claudio was stalling for time, but fearing Claudio would open fire, he remained in place, feigning compliance, while signaling his soldiers behind him to spread out.
Noticing the subtle movements of Othello's troops behind him, Claudio no longer hesitated. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of cannons, already prepared, roared simultaneously.
Due to significant technical issues with both the cannons and the gunners, many shells went wide, but a large number of shells still landed among the Venice cavalry, who had not yet spread out their formation.
Where the cannon fire passed, men and horses were shattered. Corpses and broken armor, mixed with dust, scattered flames and blood into the sky. The neighing of horses and the wails of men mingled, indistinguishable, instantly resembling a living hell.
Othello understood what was happening, but his soldiers had no idea: how could the Papal States rebels, who had just been discussing plans to repel the enemy with their general, suddenly open fire on them without warning? Confusion quickly vanished, replaced by the terror of death.
If men were like this, horses, having received no prior warning, were even more terrified. Many unhit horses bolted uncontrollably, and many heavily armored Venice cavalrymen were thrown heavily to the ground, dying instantly.
"Retreat!" Othello's eyes were bloodshot as he roared with all his might.
Facing an enemy so close, he hadn't fired a single shot and was shouting "retreat" instead of "attack." What an utter humiliation! Yet, to preserve Venice's fighting strength, he had no choice but to do so.
"Fire! Fire quickly!"
Witnessing the enemy suffer heavy casualties, Claudio felt no joy. He had intended to lure Othello's entire force out and annihilate them, but only a mere two thousand cavalry had been drawn out. Strategically, it was already a failure.
If Othello could be killed here, it would still be a gain; however, the most promising first round of shelling hadn't harmed Othello in the slightest, and reinforcements were still delayed. If Othello were allowed to retreat with his remnants, then it would have been a complete waste of effort.
Just as Claudio was looking on with anticipation, Claudio's vanguard, over two thousand Field Army cavalry, finally arrived.
Duke quickly surveyed the battlefield and gained a general understanding of the situation. After a brief thought, he did not immediately charge the Venice cavalry. Instead, he led his troops directly behind Othello, cutting off Othello's retreat, while using firearms to further deplete Othello's cavalry.
Seeing this, Othello's heart tightened. As an experienced veteran general himself, how could Othello not understand Duke's intention?
If Duke charged with his cavalry for close-quarters combat, the cannons on the city wall would become useless, and once engaged in close combat, with similar numbers, he could always find an opportunity to lead his army to break through.
But this way, the cannons on the city wall could continue to be effective, the direction of the breakthrough was restricted, and how to organize the disoriented soldiers to launch a breakthrough at a single point was also a major challenge.
More importantly, Othello knew that since this was a trap set for him, the enemy couldn't have just this many people; there must be a large army behind them. If he couldn't break through quickly and the enemy's main army arrived, being completely annihilated would be the inevitable outcome.
Thinking of reinforcements, Othello remembered that he wasn't without them. The six thousand infantry he had left for Capello should still be on their way.
Regarding Capello, Othello both hoped he would come and hoped he wouldn't: if Capello came, his chances of breaking through would greatly increase, but this place was dozens of kilometers from Verona, and under the enemy's several-fold numerical advantage, those six thousand infantry would almost certainly be completely wiped out here. With only the small remnants he brought back, it would be impossible to defend the city; if Capello realized the situation was wrong and decided to turn back directly, he could save those six thousand soldiers, and the city could still be defended, but he himself would likely not make it back alive.
Weighing his options, Othello would rather Capello not come. If he died on the battlefield, having fallen for the Papal States' scheme, although not very dignified, it would still be a fitting death. As long as the main defending force could be preserved, he would not have failed in his duty. However, whether Capello came or not was no longer something Othello could decide.
The sound of cannon fire continued, but as the Venice cavalry had completely spread out, the power of the cannons was far less than in the first round. Most shells no longer caused direct casualties.
Othello weaved through the cannon fire, reorganizing the Venice cavalry who still had combat effectiveness, preparing to launch a final charge to the north. Whether they could escape to safety depended on this one action.
Just then, a huge square formation appeared within Othello's line of sight, slowly approaching the rear of Duke's blockade. The Golden Lion banner fluttered above the formation.
Capello had come after all. The Venice cavalry's morale soared. Othello's heart was a mix of joy and sorrow, but at this moment, there was only battle!
Seeing the large Venice army approaching, Duke dared not face the pincer attack from both the Venice cavalry and the square formation with a mere two thousand men. He decisively lifted the blockade on Othello, still not rushing to attack Othello, aiming to exhaust the Venice cavalry's desperate fight, and then, once his own main army arrived and morale reversed again, to crush all Venice forces in one fell swoop.
Seeing the Venice land army arrive as reinforcements, Claudio, far from being dejected about letting the big fish escape, was overjoyed. Luring out and annihilating the vast majority of Venice's defenders was the original intention of this plan. As long as this goal could be achieved, even if ten Othellos escaped, it wouldn't cause much trouble!
The Venice cavalry, who had been pushing hard to break through, suddenly felt they had nowhere to exert their strength when they saw the blockade lifted. Charging the Papal States cavalry, who had already lifted their blockade, lost its original meaning, and charging the Ferrara city walls was even more impossible.
Othello could only first lead the remaining Venice cavalry out to link up with Capello's formation, and then he too became awkward. Retreating all the way back to Verona like this was completely impossible; the enemy's cavalry weren't idle. But knowing there was a huge numerical disadvantage, waiting in formation here was tantamount to waiting for death. Leaving a portion of infantry to cover the retreat was unreasonable in every sense, and it wasn't even certain to have any effect.
Noticing the cannons being moved on the Ferrara city walls, Othello knew the enemy intended to move their artillery positions forward, while he himself hadn't brought a single cannon. He could only retreat as far as possible before the enemy's main army arrived.