King of German Mercenaries

On Christmas Day 1498, Emperor Maximilian I thought about his son again, but the handsome king Philip had no intention of thinking about his father. Therefore, the old Maximilian I had no choice but to go to Ghent in the Netherlands to see his son and reunite for Christmas by the way.

However, on the way to Ghent, Maximilian I sent someone to East Friesland and called Marin to meet in Ghent after the New Year...

The reason to meet Marin was because Maximilian I had been hesitant in the conflict between Swabia and Switzerland. On the one hand, Swabian was a staunch ally of the emperor, and of course he had to support it. On the other hand, the emperor also wanted to win over the Swiss and make the Swiss mercenaries work for him.

Therefore, in the war of the Swiss invasion of Swabia, the emperor has been mediating, hoping that the two sides can stop the war and make peace. However, the emperor finally found out that the Swiss didn't even ignore him...

Therefore, the emperor decided to change his position and completely stand on the side of the Swabian Union. However, the biggest problem is that the emperor has no confidence and has not finally decided to fight the Swiss. So, taking advantage of the opportunity to see his son, he wanted to ask Marin's opinion for reference.

Just after the New Year, Maximilian I did not return to Austria, and Marin also rushed to Antwerp by boat, and then rode to Ghent to meet the emperor.

"Happy New Year, Your Majesty!" Marin bowed and saluted the emperor who was waiting for him.

"Happy New Year, Marin, sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Congratulations, Marin, doesn't it feel good to take back the ancestral territory?"

"It's only half good. If His Majesty can declare my legitimacy, I think I will feel very good."

"Cough... This, you know, the Duke of Saxony stopped me from doing this, I need the votes of the nobles of Saxony, so I can't turn against him. However, I still refuse the unreasonable request of the Duke of Saxony to declare you illegal. Understand……"

"I know, it's just the great ambition of the Duke of Saxony. When he expands everywhere, when will he be the leader? The Wetting family is growing stronger and stronger, and it is not guaranteed that it will be the next Habsburg family..." Marin sighed with emotion. With a little provocation.

Maximilian I didn't say a word, but his expression clearly agreed with Marin's statement...

"Marin, do you know anything about Switzerland and the Swabians?"

"I have heard that the Swiss were ambitious and sent troops to capture a large area of ​​the Swabian Union..."

"Yes, I originally wanted to mediate, but the Swiss don't buy my face at all..."

"The Swiss can't buy your Majesty's face. Because many of their lands were taken from the Habsburgs. In order to prevent your Majesty from taking back those old Habsburgs' territories, they It's hard to stand on His Majesty's side..."

"So, I decided to completely stand on the side of the Swabian Union and start a war with the Swiss. By the way, Marin, you are a very intelligent young man. It is said that there are still rumors about you being a 'God's Blessed One'. Where's the daimyo...do you have any good suggestions?"

"Hehe, where are the 'God's favored ones', they are all blown out by those bards..." Marin smiled embarrassedly.

"As for the war with the Swiss, I think Your Majesty still needs to be more cautious..."

"Oh, what to say?"

"Your Majesty must have seen the fragile combat power of the Swabian Alliance. Therefore, I do not recommend that Your Majesty directly encounter the Zurich Legion directly..."

"What do you mean?"

"I suggest that Your Majesty capture the Graubünden region in southeastern Switzerland. As for the conflict in the northeastern region of Switzerland, let the Swabian Union and the Swiss face off first..."

Unlike the original history, when the Swabian War broke out in 1499, the Zurich attack on the Swabian League had basically ended.

Therefore, when the emperor attacked Graubünden, he ushered in the main force of the Swiss.

In this life, because of Marin's relationship, the Zurich people postponed the invasion time, resulting in the war between Zurich and Swabia, which has not yet ended.

And the emperor, at this time, wanted to intervene in the Swiss issue. It was also Marin who provided the emperor with enough funds to make the emperor want to expand his ambitions. At this moment, the emperor did not seem to capture Graubünden, but he wanted to confront Switzerland...

"Why capture Graubünden?" The emperor was puzzled. Originally, he was planning to help the Swabians drive out the Zurichs.

"Your Majesty, please send someone to bring a map..."

Soon, a map of the Swiss region was sent up. Marin pointed to Switzerland and explained to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, this is Graubünden... This place, called the Mistyr Valley, is an important passage connecting Switzerland and Milan, Italy, and its strategic location is extremely important. At the same time, he is also the Tyrol region under His Majesty's control. An important pass connecting the Milan region. As long as you control the Mistyr Valley, your Majesty's ability to influence Italy will be greatly enhanced, and you can attack and defend..."

"Sure enough!" Maximilian I nodded.

"Also, the Graubünden region, which is still an autonomous region, has not yet joined the Swiss Union."

"But what if they turn to the Swiss for help?"

"Your Majesty, haven't they joined the Swiss Alliance? We suddenly sent troops to surround Graubünden, and then block any passage to Switzerland..."

"What is it for?"

"Intercept the messenger! As long as the Graubünden people don't send the messenger to Switzerland, the Swiss can't take the initiative to announce that they will recruit Graubünden? They are not a group..."

"That's a good idea..."

"My minister estimates that it will take a lot of time to take Graubünden. However, as long as the army of the Swiss Union does not come to help, taking Graubünden will not be a big problem. Your Majesty, you have so many cavalry, block it. Graubünden should not be a problem, right? Besides, Graubünden is also a mountainous area, and there are not many roads leading to the outside world, so it should be well blocked..."

"The conflict between the Naswatans and the Zurichs?"

"Forget it, let's take the Graubünden area first. After taking Graubünden, His Majesty's territory has expanded, and he has also mastered the choke point to connect the Italian region, and it will be easier to participate in Italian affairs in the future. Even, learn It is not a problem for the ancestors of the emperor to enter Rome..."

Marin's last sentence "March into Rome" made Maximilian I's blood boil. In the past, when the Holy Roman Emperor wanted to be crowned, he usually took a large army and marched into Rome, Italy, where he was crowned by the Pope.

In fact, the march to Rome was not only for the coronation of the Pope, but also for the purpose of showing off force and deterring the Italian region. After all, northern Italy (north of Rome, with the exception of Venice) is also legally within the territory of the Holy Roman Empire.

However, although Maximilian I's father, Frederick III, was also crowned in Rome, he went to Rome peacefully and asked the Pope to be crowned, instead of deterring Rome by force like his predecessors and forcing the Pope to be crowned. of.

And Maximilian I, an ambitious emperor, naturally had the idea of ​​learning from his predecessors and playing "invading Rome". Therefore, Graubünden soon became the object of conquest that Maximilian I attached great importance to.

Not only that, because Maximilian I continued to marry the daughter of the Duke of Milan as his wife. Therefore, Maximilian I also has a certain chance to obtain Milan. In addition, the Mistyr Valley is indeed a major transportation route to Italy, so Maximilian I firmed up his plan to conquer Graubünden.

...

After talking about the Swiss side, Maximilian I suddenly started to gossip, concerned about the details of how Marin won East Friesland. Moreover, Maximilian I also asked a question that was difficult for Marin to answer:

"Marin, I heard that you have dispatched five or six thousand troops to retake East Frisland this time, but as far as I know, it takes a lot of money to gather five or six thousand troops and keep them for a long time. Baron, how can you be so rich?"

Marlin was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't say it clearly, saying that the French knights who were captured at the time were sold half to Venice. If he said that, the emperor would definitely peel him off...

So, Marin began to think of excuses on the spot...

Soon, a good excuse came up...

"Your Majesty, as you know, I am a descendant of the Brock family..."

"Um...then what?"

"The Blok family has ruled East Friesland for hundreds of years. Can you not have some collections?"

"You mean? You used the property left by the Brock family? However, when the Brock family was overthrown, their assets should have been taken away by the Ukner family..."

"You are right, but what was taken away was only the wealth in the treasury. However, the ancestors of the Brock family quietly set up a treasure, and kept a lot of gold and silver..."

"Treasure?" Maximilian I suddenly became interested and wanted to hear the story...

Marin quickly conceived the idea, simply combined the plots of some treasure-related movies in later generations, and then made up a story on the spot and told it to Maximilian I. Its plot, ups and downs, shocking...

"How many treasures are there? Is there a lot?" Maximilian I suddenly burst into a gleam in his eyes, as if he was coveting...

"Uh... not a lot, only more than 200,000 gold coins, all of which have been used by the minister for the great cause of restoring the country..."

Maximilian I was a little disappointed for a moment. Originally, if there were a lot of treasures, he planned to "borrow" money from Marin...

For a long time, Maximilian I was skeptical that Marin had the money to buy this and that, and to recruit a large army. Because this is so abnormal. It was not until today that Marin made up a lie about the "Brock Family Treasure" on the spot to explain the problem clearly.

In order to divert the emperor's attention, Marin quickly changed the subject:

"It's such a pity, Your Majesty, if it weren't for the fact that the minister wanted to guard against the attack of the Saxons, he might have brought a large army to help His Majesty fight the Swiss..."

Maximilian I's eyes lighted up at first, but quickly dimmed, and he was also very disappointed that he could not use such a powerful fighter as Marin...