The Rise of the European Emperor

The next day, after the daytime entertainment was over, Julius II summoned Marin, Schwartz, and the newly appointed Stade, and held a meeting, mainly on matters concerning the attack on the Republic of Florence.

The Republic of Florence is too rich, and the famous Florin gold coins are from Florence. The Venice Ducats that are now popular in Europe are all copied from Florin gold coins.

Although, under the autocratic rule of the Medici family, the Florentine Republic, which was once as famous as Venice in business, was gradually left behind by Venice. However, the skinny camel is bigger than the horse. Even if it is left behind by Venice, the economy of the Republic of Florence is still in the forefront of Italy. The level of commercial prosperity ranks in the top three, surpassing the Papal States.

Therefore, the annual tax revenue of the Florentine Republic is no less than that of the Papal State. And the Papal State, whether it is the Pope or the cardinals, is drooling over the rich and oily Florentine Republic...

However, the problem is that the Republic of Florence recognized France as its big brother. If you want to move the Republic of Florence, you have to ask France whether it will agree or not.

At present, although France has been defeated for a while in the conflict with Spain, there are still more than 30,000 people left in the 40,000-strong army, which is far from being able to compete with the Papal States.

Therefore, if you want to attack the Republic of Florence, you must wait for the Spanish to defeat the French. In fact, according to the report of Marin's eyeliner in Naples, the Spaniards had long planned to drive the French out of the kingdom of Naples. It's just that the Spaniards are waiting, and they will fully start after the autumn harvest is over.

Because, sending troops at this time, tens of thousands of troops will fight, it will inevitably bring damage to the crops. And, by this time, the autumn harvest in southern Italy has already partially started. The Spaniards simply waited for the end of the autumn harvest, and then concentrated their forces to attack the French and drive them away completely.

Julius II obviously understood this, so he was willing to wait until the Spanish defeated the French before taking the opportunity to attack Florence.

However, the Pope still has doubts about whether the Spaniards can attack the French defense. After all, in terms of numbers, there are more than 30,000 French people and 20,000 Spanish people. Even if the Spaniards have mastered Niubi's "Marin phalanx", they can abuse the French in positional battles, but if the French choose to stick to it, the Spaniards are helpless because of their numerical advantage.

When Julius II expressed his concern, Marin laughed:

"Yue... uh, His Majesty the Pope... Your worries are unnecessary, have you forgotten my tricks when I attacked the city in Denmark?" Among the people present, Schwartz instructed Julius II to be Marin father-in-law, but Stade did not know. Therefore, Marin did not call out.

"You mean... the tactics of bombarding the city gate + blasting the powder keg?" Obviously, Julius II knew about the Danish war situation, and Marin didn't hide it from him.

"Yes, according to the information, although I used this tactic on the Danish battlefield, this tactic has only a greater impact in the northern region of Germany, and many cities have replaced the Iron Gate."

"However, other European regions, except the northern region of Germany, continue to use oak gates. For example, in Naples, the French have no intention of replacing the iron gates. At that time, I only need to provide a batch of heavy artillery to the Spaniards. It’s not a trivial matter for the Spaniards to break the city? As long as they break through several major cities such as Naples, the French will have to collapse across the board…”

"However, the French still have the Duchy of Milan to rely on..." Julius II said worriedly.

The Principality of Milan is a powerful country with developed industry, commerce and agriculture. It has a well-supplied Principality of Milan as a logistics base. As long as the French retreat to the Principality of Milan, it will not be difficult for the French to make a comeback.

"Don't worry this year, I have seen His Majesty Maximilian I last night.

You know, Ludovico Sforza is currently taking refuge in Graubünden, with thousands of soldiers and a lot of money and rations around him. I have already advised His Majesty Maximilian I to support Duke Ludovico Sforza and take advantage of the opportunity when the main force of the French army was dispatched to the Kingdom of Naples to confront Spain and take the opportunity to retake Milan! "

"Good idea! In this way, once the French are defeated by the Spaniards, there will be no way to retreat, but to retreat to the homeland. That way, the French army can be completely driven out of Italy!" Julius Sis II exclaimed.

"Well, yes, at that time, it will be our chance to send troops to attack Florence. The core of the Republic of Florence is the city of Florence. As long as the city of Florence is captured, the Republic of Florence will be over."

"Or use the tactic of combining the inside and the outside? Send someone to sneak into the city to open the gate and put the army in?" Julius II asked with concern.

"I'm afraid there is something wrong..." At this moment, Schwartz suddenly interjected.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Both Marin and Julius II looked at Schwartz with concern.

"After the capture of Rome, I have already sent a caravan to Florence. However, I know why, the inspection of Florence has become particularly strict. It is said that it was ordered by a high-ranking official named Machiavelli. Foreign chambers of commerce, stationed in Florence and buying a separate yard must stand up and accept the official inspection of the Republic of Florence, and it is strictly forbidden to carry armor and other prohibited weapons. Otherwise, they will all be arrested and hanged..." Ancient countries generally did not prohibit swords very much, but Armor is definitely a contraband, both in Eastern and Western countries, and the qualification review is very strict. In ancient China, the possession of armor was definitely a major crime of treason, killing the whole family together with the dead relatives and the whole family.

"Machiavelli..." Marin had a headache... Although he really wanted to recruit this talent, he didn't expect that this guy had already caused himself a problem.

Obviously, Machiavelli heard about the process of the fall of the city gate of Rome from nowhere, and knew that the city gate was breached from the inside by a make-up German "caravan". Moreover, there are still 100 elites wearing full-body plate armor and holding swords and shields. Therefore, people have already guarded against this.

In this regard, Marin also has a headache...

"Then let's blast it with bombardment + gunpowder keg..." Stade interjected.

"Difficult, we must attack the city of Florence after the Spaniards defeat the French. The Spaniards must use this method first when they attack the French fortress. At that time, Machiavelli's shrewdness may respond accordingly. ." Marlin said with a headache.

It was only a month after Schwartz's army took Rome in a coordinated manner, and Machiavelli responded appropriately. If Spain attacked the city where the French army was stationed, it used the tactic of artillery bombardment + powder barrel blasting. With Machiavelli's ability, he would definitely be able to come up with a countermeasure. After all, this method has actually been used in Denmark. It is not difficult to get the information as long as you arrange for someone to inquire carefully.

"Then what should we do? Storm? As far as I know, there are six or seven thousand defenders in the city of Florence. It's impossible to attack Florence by a force of 7,000 East Frisian troops..." Julius II said helplessly.

Marinto frowned and thought for a long time, then seriously said to Julius II:

"I thought of a way, but there may be a price to pay..."

"What way? You said..." Julius II said with interest.

"Working with the Medici family..."

"What?" Julius II was a little surprised.

The Medici family was originally the tyrant of Florence, and they cooperated with the Medici family to win Florence. Who knows if they will make a wedding dress for the Medici family...

In the original history, after the Papal State army captured Florence in 1511, the Medici family swallowed most of the victory soon. When Julius II died, Pope Leo X, who was born in the Medici family, became the new Pope. Florence was completely annexed by the Medici family, and then split from the Papal State and became the "Grand Duchy of Tuscany". "…

Marin fully understood the concerns of Julius II. However, under the current circumstances, only the Medici family has the ability to silently install hundreds of armored elites in the city of Florence without being discovered.

After all, Machiavelli looked for outsiders. The Medici family was the local tyrant, although the main members were driven out of the city of Florence. However, there were many more peripheral members of the Medici family in Florence. It was very easy to arrange a hundred soldiers, smuggle hundreds of sets of weapons and armor, and avoid the eyes and eyes of the defenders.

In the end, Marin's advice to Julius II was that after taking Florence, never give the Medici family a chance to get in on the army. As for other interests, share it with the Pope and other cardinals. Anyway, to divide the benefits, there is not much more than one, and there is not much for less...

After repeatedly emphasizing to Julius II the truth that "power comes from the barrel of a gun", Julius II finally agreed to this plan and began to contact the Medici family, asking the other party to help arrange hundreds of elite soldiers and Smuggled hundreds of sets of weapons and armor into the city. At the same time, under the premise of avoiding the guards' investigation, arrange the hundreds of elites near the city gate, so that when the hundreds of elites attack the city, they can quickly kill the city gate, open the city gate from the inside, and welcome the army. into town...