The Rise of the European Emperor

The Austrians' military expansion was very fast, and the military expansion was completed in a few months. Of course, it's not that the Habsburg family is strong in execution, but that they have been prepared for a long time.

Before, when Marin told His Majesty the emperor that he could provide leather armor with steel sheets inserted, Maximilian I began to prepare for recruitment. However, it was delayed because the money was not in place. However, before that, Maximilian I had already dispatched capable men to contact them everywhere, especially the children of the knight family. Therefore, those knight children who were recruited were actually already ready to apply. The emperor sent immigrants three times. After receiving the money, the knights were notified immediately and rushed to the Graubünden region in southeastern Switzerland to gather.

It is also very easy for Frundsberg to recruit 10,000 infantry, because these people are actually old mercenaries. In the last Swiss war, they actually accepted the employment of the emperor. Everyone is familiar with it, only about 2,000 people are complete recruits. But it doesn't matter, recruits, when they line up, they are at the bottom, and they just follow behind to pick up the cheap. If you lose...well, there's nothing to say, let's finish playing together...

The 8,000 old mercenaries mainly came from some vassal states that were pro-Habsburgs. In the last war, they accepted the employment of the Habsburgs and the leadership of Frundsberg. The set of command and training is already familiar. If it weren't for the Habsburg family being too poor, they might not have disbanded and returned home. Therefore, the combination of infantry is actually much simpler than cavalry and heavy armored infantry.

It should be pointed out that although heavy armored infantry is infantry, it is a special existence. Because they are all descendants of nobles, or descendants of nobles, and they are different from ordinary infantry.

It's no wonder that these people have high martial arts skills, but it's no wonder. After all, he was born in a noble family, so he was not very lucky for Frundsberg, who was born as a low-level knight. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor specially arranged for a group of aristocratic officers with relatively high titles and good backgrounds to command this heavy armored infantry. Of course, those officers were also under Frundsberg's command.

In fact, if there is enough time, Frundsberg also has time to impress these noble children. But His Majesty the Emperor felt that time was running out, and there was no time for Frundsberg to slowly recover those rebellious noble children. Therefore, finding a high-born noble officer to suppress those noble children is the quickest and most trouble-free way.

In order to prevent France and the princes from reacting, His Majesty the Emperor only gave Frundsberg a month of training and grinding time. A month later, whatever the circumstances, the Habsburgs had to send troops to western Switzerland in a big way.

As for the tactics, after the exchange of opinions between His Majesty the Emperor and Marin, they decided to adopt the tactic of "surrounding the spot to fight for aid". Of course, we must first go straight to Bern, the home of the Resistance Army in western Switzerland. This city is the headquarters of the Swiss Resistance Army. Once the city is surrounded, whether it is the Resistance Army from other parts of western Switzerland or the French, they will have to rescue Bern. Because, once Bern is lost, the Swiss Resistance Army will lose the confidence to resist. After all, Bern is the leading brother of the anti-Habsburg family in western Switzerland and the spiritual pillar of the Resistance Army.

certainly,

This mainly speaks of the German-speaking area. In the French-speaking areas such as Geneva in the west, even if Bern falls, it will certainly continue to resist with the support of the French. Speaking of it, the most difficult to accept the rule of the Habsburg family is probably the Swiss in the French-speaking area. After all, the German-speaking area and Austria have the same roots, and both were once lands ruled by the Habsburg family. On the other hand, the French-speaking area in the west has basically never been ruled by the Habsburg family, and has been greatly influenced by French culture, so it is very unpopular with the Habsburg family.

However, the French-speaking area of ​​Switzerland was very small in this era, and there were only a small number of French-speaking people in the area around Lake Geneva in the southwest and the border area near France in the west. Moreover, the proportion of the French-speaking population is much lower than the 20% of later generations, less than 10%, less than half of that of later generations.

This is also a very normal thing. Switzerland was deeply influenced by France later, but now, Switzerland has not yet left the German cultural circle, and its sense of identity with France is not strong yet.

In addition, the increase in the French-speaking population in Switzerland is related to the environment during World War I and World War II. At that time, wars were raging in France, and Switzerland was a neutral country. Many French people near the Swiss border fled to Switzerland to avoid the war, increasing the proportion of the French-speaking population in Switzerland. But now, the French are crazy to come to Switzerland. Because Switzerland is now a poor mountainous area, and only the bravery of the mountain people remains. The watch industry in later generations was only promoted when Calvin was engaged in the religious reformation in Switzerland decades later.

In other words, the current local economy in Switzerland has no watch industry and precision instruments at all, let alone the banking industry. The biggest source of income for the local area is actually earned by the mountain people who left their hometowns to work as mercenaries. This is similar to the Gurkhas in Nepal in later generations, who expect to exchange their lives for money...

...

Because of the early preparations, the military expansion on the Austrian side went very smoothly and quickly. And the hostile forces of His Majesty the Emperor were all taken aback when they heard the news. Especially the opposition princes, who were closely watching every move of the Habsburg family, were extremely shocked by the efficient recruitment of the Habsburg family this time. Then, a group of princes hurried to Wittenberg, the seat of the Elector of Saxony, to discuss countermeasures together.

"What should we do? The Habsburg family's recruiting is too fast this time, so fast that people have no time to react. How should we deal with it? Ladies and gentlemen, if His Majesty the Emperor swallows the entire Switzerland, his strength will greatly increase. From now on, everyone will not It's better. Maybe, His Majesty the Emperor will think about annexing the whole of Germany!" Antony, Duke of Lorraine said uneasy.

As a supporter of Germany and the French, the Principality of Lorraine is the last thing that wants the Habsburg family to be strong. Because, as a rebellious boy, when the Habsburg family becomes stronger, the first one to be cleaned up is myself. Therefore, he does not want the Habsburg family to be strong more than other princes.

After the Elector Frederick III of Saxony bowed his head in thought for a long time, he suddenly raised his head and laughed:

"Everyone, don't panic. Look at the map. If His Majesty the Emperor takes over the western part of Switzerland, what will he face?" Frederick III stood up and pointed to the map hanging on the wall.

Duke Anthony looked at the map and suddenly realized:

"You mean, France?"

Frederick III nodded and said:

"That's right, France! We don't want the Habsburg family to be strong, and the French don't want it either. Moreover, His Majesty the Emperor took over the western part of Switzerland, and he will face the French. At that time, the most uncomfortable thing is not us, but the Kingdom of France." So, I guess at this moment, the French are also worried."

"You mean, we are going to form an alliance with the French this time to deal with Maximilian I?" Anthony, Duke of Lorraine said happily.

Frederick III shook his head and said:

"We didn't have an excuse to send troops this time. Last time we forcibly found fault with the Earl of Baden. If we do this again, our reputation will be bad. After all, His Majesty the Emperor is the Emperor of the Germans. If we publicly To ally with the French against him would be tantamount to treason and would be a bad name."

"Then what should we do? Seeing that the Habsburg family is strong?" Duke Anthony said irritably.

The Principality of Lorraine is just to the north of Switzerland. His Majesty the Emperor finished cleaning up the western part of Switzerland, and his next target might be his Dukedom of Lorraine.

"No, no, no, we can't send troops on the surface, but we can do it secretly!" Frederick III said.

"What's going on?" The other princes were very concerned.

"Mercenaries... Everyone, it's hard to say anything else in Germany. There are definitely a lot of mercenaries. We can't openly send troops, but we can always pay for a group of mercenaries and go to Switzerland to accept the employment of the Swiss Resistance Army?" Fett Lie III laughed.

"That's not a problem, but where can the Swiss get the money to hire them?" a little prince asked.

"Let's do it privately, and the French will do it too..." Frederick III sighed. He knew that this time, they were going to do bloodletting again.

The emperor's troops seem to be strong and strong, and if they want to stop them, they must send a large number of troops to support them. But mercenary troops cost a lot of money. Although the French will pay a lot of money, they will definitely pay a lot. Hundreds of thousands of Gulden gold coins can't escape...