The Rise of the European Emperor

The genius remembers the address of this site in one second:

Although a warning letter was issued, Marin was not at all worried that Lithuania would be able to respond. why? One is that it took a long time for the letter to reach Sigismund I because of the inconvenient transportation. In addition, Marin deliberately did not speak in detail in the letter, and his words were vague. To be on the safe side, Sigismund I will definitely need to send someone to Austria for further investigation and verification.

After this back and forth, time has passed for a long time, and Glinsky has already returned to Moscow with the artillery. Moreover, even if Sigismund I confirmed the news that Glinski had bought back the artillery, and spread the news to Vilnius, the Lithuanian Noble Council Great Sejm would start quarreling, and the quarrel lasted for several months. This is the characteristic of a parliamentary system, endless quarrels. It is difficult for them to make up their minds until the enemy actually makes a move.

By the time they finished their quarrel, an autocratic country like the Grand Duchy of Moscow would have assembled its forces to surround Smolensk.

This is an important reason why in the Tsarist era, Tsarist Russia was poor and its tactics were backward, but it was an important reason for deterring Europe-their execution was strong, and the Tsar had an order, and the whole country was mobilized. Although the mobilization efficiency is very slow, people have a unified mind.

In World War I, the reason why Tsarist Russia was so miserable was because the tactics were severely restrained by German machine guns. Tsarist Russia's tactic is to charge bayonets on gray animals, charge intensively in groups, and fight hand-to-hand with the enemy. Ketmeow's German guy uses a machine gun to shoot a metal storm, specializing in intensive charges...

Therefore, Tsarist Russia lost miserably against the Germans in World War I. However, facing Austria, they had a good record. Of course, facing the German machine gun array, it was not the Tsarist Russian family. The French also rushed in front of the machine guns and lost a generation. As a result, the French lost the courage to resist in World War II.

This is a problem at the tactical level, but at the political level, that is, the British and French systems have big problems. The British Parliament quarrels all day long, and even fights. The opposition parties are trying to tear down the ruling party all day long, even if they drag you down, they are still aboveboard.

France is even worse, changing tumours is as diligent as changing internal libraries, or even more frequent. Its internal friction is more serious than that of the United Kingdom. On the German side, whether it's Wei Er or Mustache, they can make decisions without any hindrance. Therefore, maybe Germany cannot compare economic strength with Britain and France, but when it comes to war, Britain and France are both younger brothers. The United Kingdom also relied on the English Channel to block it and bully the German landlubbers, otherwise it would have been beaten out.

Therefore, the more centralized a country is, the stronger its war capabilities will be. Therefore, we can see that during the Cold War, the old United States was richer, and Western European countries were also richer. However, in the face of Soviet Russia, they are passive and afraid. There is no way, the bald commander of the Soviet Union can do it directly when he gives an order, while Europe and the United States have to quarrel for a long time before deciding what to do. Even before a critical moment, it is difficult for them to make up their minds.

...

Coincidentally, the current Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland are both such quarrelsome countries with dispersed power. Therefore, it is doomed that they cannot face the centralized Grand Duchy of Moscow alone. But even if they are united, the two countries still have their own ulterior motives, and there will always be selfish thoughts that "dead friends will not die poor people".

Therefore, not only Lithuania will quarrel and delay the war opportunity, but even their ally Poland may have a long quarrel over whether to send troops to support their ally Lithuania. I am afraid that the only one who firmly supports Lithuania is Sigismund I, who is also the monarch of the two countries.

This is mainly because the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Poland are separated by Lithuania, and the Poles do not feel the direct threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, so they are not so concerned.

If it were replaced by the common enemy of the two countries, the Teutonic State, the Poles would be very concerned and active. There is no way, both countries have enmity with the Teutonic state, and their interests are highly unified. When fighting the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the interests of Poland and Lithuania are inconsistent. Therefore, the Poles are destined not to make up their minds to fully support them. Even, it is possible to gloat.

Waiting until Lithuania is crippled by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Poles may worry about harming themselves,

Only then did I make up my mind to fully support Lithuania. But at that time, it was a bit late.

Of course, this was exactly in line with Marin's expectations. With the help of the Poles, the Muscovites would not destroy Lithuania in one go, leaving enough time for Marin to prepare. Moreover, the Polish army can also attract the attention of Moscow's army and is a good target for sharing hatred.

In fact, Lithuania is also struggling right now. It faces strong pressure from the Grand Duchy of Moscow to the east, the Teutonic State to the west, and Turkey and the Crimean Khanate to the south. It can be said that it is surrounded by enemies on three sides. Ukraine is rich, but it cannot be well developed because it is surrounded by enemies. Therefore, Lithuania later ceded Ukraine to Poland, which also meant to throw away the burden.

...

However, Marin suddenly thought of a question-if a war broke out, what would Simon do?

Simon is now the Earl of Kyiv and a prince of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Moreover, there are now two or three thousand soldiers and horses here. If it weren't for Marin's suppression, this guy might have increased his troops to tens of thousands.

However, Simon is not "one of his own" in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Once a war breaks out, the noble councilors in Da Sem, Lithuania will definitely drag Simon to be cannon fodder. It may be asked to be the vanguard to rescue Smolensk, and no matter how bad it is, it will follow the army.

However, Marin knew that the Grand Duchy of Moscow had artillery, as well as the Turkish chain artillery tactics, which restrained cavalry. Even if Simon had two or three thousand cavalry, it would not be enough to bombard him.

If Simon died in the battle in Smolensk, not to mention that the old Hoffman would cut himself, he couldn't bear it. However, as a Lithuanian feudal lord, Simon was obliged to send troops to help in the war. Moreover, according to the regulations, he himself should be in battle...

"Damn it, this trick came and went, and it fell on my younger brother?" Marin suddenly had a headache...

Seeing that summer is coming, the spring plowing in the Grand Duchy of Moscow is almost done. When the time comes, Simon will definitely not be able to escape when the war begins!

Moreover, with Simon's belligerent character, even if he persuaded him not to go, he might not listen, but would choose to rush ahead. Facing the chain artillery formation, Simon has a high probability of being smashed in half by iron ball shells...

Thinking of this, Marin broke out in cold sweat. However, it couldn't stop Simon from going out. Otherwise, the title of Earl of Kyiv would be considered in vain. Once he refuses to go to war, Lithuania's Great Sem will definitely take back Simon's title fief. The most important thing is that Simon did not choose to avoid the battle in humiliation...

Marin had a headache, so he called a few confidants to discuss this issue. Everyone also felt that it was tricky, and Kohler and Sauer, who had high hopes from Marin, couldn't figure out a way. On the contrary, Kahn, who was eating duck legs while having a meeting, said nonchalantly:

"What's so difficult about this? Doesn't Simon like to fight? Send him to North America to print Indians! Master, you call Simon to help in the battle under the pretext of attacking the 'evil orcs'. As for Lithuania, leave everyone behind." For part of the army, arrange a general to lead it. When there is a war in Moscow, let this general lead it to the exhibition. Even if it’s all gone, you won’t feel bad about it!”

"Besides, Simon won't be condemned by his conscience for avoiding the war. There is nothing wrong with Lithuania's Great Sem. After all, Simon has gone to sea, who can blame him for avoiding the war? Right now, the war has not broken out yet. , it's a good time!"

"Hey, you brat can come up with such a good plan? It's impressive! I'll add some chicken legs to you later!" Marin laughed happily.

Everyone here is familiar with Simon, he is a brainless militant. Right now there is no war in Eastern Europe, this guy is bored to death. Before, he often took cavalry to the Ukrainian prairie to wipe out horse bandits. But the horse bandits were not stupid. They were suppressed several times by him, and they all stayed away from Kyiv and hid far away. So, now he is so idle.

After Marin's letter of invitation to play arrived in Kyiv, Simon jumped up for joy, and quickly returned to Beihai with his wife, Anna of Lamarck. Along with him are 100 of his most trusted cuirassiers...