King of German Mercenaries

In the Tyrol region of Austria, Maximilian I has just finished the spring ploughing work in the Austrian region. For spring ploughing, he even suspended the operation to seize the Graubünden region of Switzerland.

There is no other reason, because spring ploughing is too important to the feudal lords. In this era, there was not much industry, and the income of the nobles mainly came from agricultural taxes and commercial taxes. For the underdeveloped and landlocked regions of Austria, agriculture is crucial. Therefore, even a major event such as the capture of Graubünden must temporarily make way for the spring ploughing.

Because, marching into Graubünden is not only a matter of the army, but also has a lot to do with farmers. Generally speaking, when the army has more than 5,000 people, it needs many civilians to transport food and materials in order to continue fighting.

But the last time Marin took East Friesland was an accident, because Marin already had the means to break the city, so the war lasted for a short time. Therefore, there is no need for civilian transportation. However, if a protracted siege is to be fought, there will be thousands of troops and a lot of people needed. In fact, the number of people who are needed is no less than the number of soldiers.

Marin's strategy, although it can ensure that Maximilian I can quickly win several important cities in the Graubünden area. However, the emperor can also imagine that there will be fierce resistance at that time. After all, the Swiss region has strong folk customs. Although after winning several important cities and passes, the emperor will definitely win. But in the middle, a large amount of material supply is also needed to deal with the counterattack of the local forces.

Therefore, this time the emperor will not only bring tens of thousands of troops, but also tens of thousands of people and animals who carry supplies. However, during spring ploughing, all the people and livestock must go down to the fields to cultivate the land. Therefore, if the emperor wants to act, he must wait for the end of spring ploughing. Unless, he wants a famine in Austria after the autumn harvest...

After the end of the spring ploughing at the end of April, the emperor urgently began to gather troops, horses and civilians to prepare to "enter Rome"...

After returning to Austria in January, Maximilian I began to prepare for the layout...

First of all, the emperor sent an emissary with 20,000 gold coins to Rome to bribe Pope Alexander VI's illegitimate son Caesar, revealing to the other party that he was going to "pretend to march into Rome" this time, asking them not to worry and not to act hostilely.

Although he felt that the emperor was stingy and gave little money, Caesar Borgia still accepted the emperor's bribe instead of Alexander VI. After all, 20,000 gold coins is not too little. For the poor ghost emperor Maximilian I, it is a big blood. Anyway, the Pope has nothing to lose this time, just watch the play. When the emperor stops marching into Rome as promised, then make a statement that doesn't hurt or itches... As long as the other party doesn't really bring troops into Italy, there is no need for the Holy See to be the enemy of the emperor...

In addition, the emperor also sent people to carry out extensive propaganda in the Austrian region and the Swiss region, and even in the northern regions of Italy...

It is also very tragic to say, although Maximilian I is supposed to be the emperor. However, he has yet to officially go to Rome to be crowned. Therefore, his official title now should be "King of the Roman People" or "King of Germany", not "Holy Roman Emperor". Generally speaking, many foreigners think that Maximilian I is just a "King of Germany", not even "King of the Roman people". But in the German region, people still generally recognize that the emperor is "the king of the Roman people", and even, in addition to the opposition, most Germans also recognize that Maximilian I is the Holy Roman Emperor, but he lacks a coronation ceremony. .

In any case, Maximilian I was going to Rome to be officially crowned. Therefore, most people understood that Maximilian I was impatient and wanted to "enter Rome". After all, Maximilian I had been king for 12 years (King of Germany in 1486) and prospective emperor for 5 years (his father Frederick III died in 1493).

Now, impatient and wanting to go to Rome to be crowned is also very reasonable.

Therefore, like the Graubünden area, there is no opinion on the emperor's use of the road to Rome. After all, in the history of Europe, there has never been such a despicable thing as "fake Taoism to cut down Guo". Therefore, not many people will be wary of this.

Moreover, if Maximilian I really took the opportunity to capture Graubünden while crossing the border, he would have no face to come out and mess around in the future...

But the people of Graubünden didn't know that behind the emperor, there was a sinister guy like Marin, who gave the emperor an immoral idea of ​​"fake assassination". As long as the emperor was "assassinated" while passing Graubünden, it would be reasonable for the emperor to capture Graubünden in a fit of rage. After all, no matter who, as long as he is a normal person and was almost killed, he will have the idea of ​​counterattack and revenge.

Because the emperor publicly declared that he was going to be crowned in Rome, the German region was divided into two distinct viewpoints:

One faction was the emperor's supporters, who believed that it was only natural and legal for the emperor to go to Rome to be crowned. It is best for the emperor to bring more troops and horses to show the prestige of the Germans.

The other faction is the princes who oppose the emperor. They will not openly oppose the emperor, but generally look down on the emperor, and privately hope that the emperor will hit a wall, and it is best to fail the coronation. Because if the emperor's coronation is successful, his prestige will rise to a higher level, suppressing those princes. Because the imperial power and the autonomy of the feudal lords are naturally antagonistic, and it is the relationship between one and the other...

However, except for the emperor and Marin, and the few who knew about the emperor's plans, they never doubted whether the emperor was really going to Rome...

This is also the strength of Marin's plan. After all, the emperor did have the motivation and necessity to go to Rome to be crowned, so that outsiders would not have doubts.

Therefore, the target of the conspiracy - the various forces in Graubünden, the calculation at this time is - to hide the property, so as to avoid the emperor's army passing by.

The military discipline of this era is very poor. The difference between a large army crossing the border and a locust crossing the border is not too big. Therefore, the Swiss in Graubünden wanted to try to prevent their belongings from being discovered by the passing emperor's army. As for more, I didn't think much about it.

When the emperor gathered the army, the Graubünden people were not nervous at all, just worried that the army would loot easily when they crossed the border.

In their opinion, when the emperor's army passed by Graubünden, everyone put away their belongings and closed the door, and it was almost the same...

In fact, Maximilian I has always been a very chivalrous king, known by later generations as "the last knight". Usually, he is also a very chivalrous person. Therefore, his reputation is still very good. No one thought that he would use such immoral methods as "fake Taoism" to expand his territory.

In fact, this is also because Maximilian I was deeply influenced by Marin. Marin relied on the shameful means of ambush, which severely damaged the army of knights led by Charles VIII, and gained a lot. Even if Marin only handed in half of the spoils, it made Maximilian I, who was accustomed to being poor, gain a lot of wealth, and it drove him crazy.

It was precisely because of seeing the methods adopted by Marin that although they did not look very bright, but the benefits were enormous, Maximilian I became interested in Marin's methods and was willing to give it a try.

The most important thing is that Marin's intrigue will not damage his name. Because the planned "fake assassination" would throw all the blame on the Graubünden people. And the emperor, still the gracious king, everything is the fault of the people of Graubünden...

Seeing the bright prospect that his reputation would not be damaged, but that he could easily acquire a large territory and important passes, Maximilian I resolutely put down his psychological burden, calmly adopted Marin's strategy, and prepared several times for it. month...