The Rise of the European Emperor

In Europe, since the news of Marin's annihilation of 50,000 elites of the Allied Forces of Bossa outside the city of Lübeck spread, it has caused an uproar.

The German princes are okay. Although they knew it early, they were already drawn into the anti-Marin alliance by Frederick III. With their confidence in group fights, they were not too afraid. It is not unreasonable that the Holy Roman Empire is divided, but it can stand proudly in the middle of Europa. A German prince is a rookie, and a group of German princes is a powerful pack of wolves.

But in the rest of Europe, everyone was stunned...

The French were shocked by the size of Marin's army and its powerful fighting power. Now, whether it is a court banquet or a ball, the French nobles are discussing this unprecedented war on a rare scale in European history. Even the flirtatious French aristocrats had nothing to discuss with the betrayal object. Although their military views were relatively naive, the incident was still hot, and the whole of France was hot.

The French nobles only used this battle as entertainment after dinner, but King Louis XII of France didn't think so...

As a capable monarch, Louis XII discovered a terrifying fact-that is, if the 40,000-strong army of Marlin, if they act together with the army of the Habsburg family, the Habsburg Dynasty will be invincible , whether to unify Germany or fight against France.

Therefore, Louis XII has been worried recently, his appetite is not good, and even his interest in making offspring is somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, good news soon came from Germany - the defeated Elector of Saxony, Frederick III, organized most of the German princes, coerced Marin to bow his head, and even forced Marin to openly draw a line with the Habsburg dynasty. . Although knowing that Marin publicly announced that he was forced to draw a line with Maximilian I, Louis XII felt very happy.

In fact, what Louis XII didn't know was that Marin publicly announced that he would make a break with Maximilian I, and he looked reluctant, but in fact he was very willing.

As a traveler with 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers, how could Marin be willing to subdue? It was also a last resort to rely on His Majesty the Emperor. Now that my wings are hard, it is time to fly solo.

However, if he betrayed the emperor rashly, Marin's face would be gone. Now, when the princes forced him to draw a line with the emperor, Marin was very unhappy on the surface, but he was actually happy in his heart. Will help His Majesty the Emperor worried.

After that, a bigger bad news came-because almost all the mercenaries in Switzerland had left, the Swiss mainland was extremely empty. As a result, the "cunning" Maximilian I ordered a general named Frenzberg under his command to lead a 10,000-strong army and suddenly invaded the birthplace of the Habsburg family, the Swiss canton of Aargau.

This is not all, the army of the Habsburg family, in one go, not only captured the canton of Aargau, but also the canton of Zurich, the most powerful canton in Switzerland, and is about to perish the canton of Zurich.

For France, this is terrible...

The canton of Zurich is the most powerful of the ten cantons in the Swiss Confederation. Its usual standing army is maintained at around seven or eight thousand people. It is the most powerful existence among the ten primitive cantons in Switzerland, and it has always been the head state of the Swiss Alliance against the Habsburg family.

If Zurich falls, the Swiss Alliance will lose its most powerful force and "leader brother". Although the western canton of Bern is also powerful, the canton of Bern is more mountainous and not as populous and economically developed as the canton of Zurich.

The terrain of Switzerland is high in the south and low in the north, with Zurich in the north and one of the flattest cantons in Switzerland. The canton of Zurich has also been the most populous canton in Switzerland until now. If the canton of Zurich falls, the good situation of the Swiss Union against the Habsburgs will be utterly ruined.

The reason why Louis XII was extremely worried about the situation in Switzerland was because Louis XII saw that Maximilian I was playing a big game.

What big chess? Louis XII saw that Maximilian I was determined to open up the communication channel between Austria and Burgundy...

The county of Burgundy is located in the later Franche-Comté region, just northwest of Switzerland. Between it and Austria, it happens to be separated by Switzerland.

Now, Maximilian I has won the Graubünden area in southeastern Switzerland. If he takes Aargau and Zurich, he will go east to take St. Gallen, or go south to capture the Habsburg family. Schwyz (the origin of the Swiss name), Walden and Uri, and then looking for an opportunity to annex the northwest canton of Basel, then, the two major territories under the Habsburg family - Austria and Burgundy The country will be joined together. And this is what Louis XII worried about the most...

Why was Louis XII worried that the Habsburgs' territories would be contiguous? It has to start from the Burgundy side...

At the beginning, Maximilian I inherited the huge territory of the Duchy of Burgundy after marrying the only daughter Mary of Charles the Bold. This territory includes what is now the County of Burgundy (later Franche-Comté), the Duchy of Burgundy (later French Burgundy), which was annexed by France, and the Netherlands.

However, because of the daring death of Charles, taking this opportunity, the then French King Louis XI (the father of Charles VIII) took the opportunity to occupy the area of ​​the Principality of Burgundy (Burgundy Region), and to the Burgundy Counties countries and the Netherlands. Fortunately, Maximilian I defeated the French invasion at the Battle of Ginegate. However, because of lack of strength, Maximilian I only kept the Netherlands and Burgundy counties. The fertile and fertile duchy of Burgundy (Burgundy Region) near Paris fell into the hands of France.

In fact, France had no choice but to seize the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy. Because, the geographical location of the Principality of Burgundy is too special - it is located in the southeast of the Paris Basin in France, very close to Paris...

If Maximilian I took control of the Duchy of Burgundy, then his army could easily reach Paris. On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to snore? For the safety of Paris, the French royal family must die and take the Duchy of Burgundy (Burgundy Region)...

But the problem is, from the point of view of Maximilian I, it is obvious that France has robbed him of a large piece of land, and he must be dissatisfied.

If Maximilian I opened up the connection and road between Austria and Burgundy (Franche-Comté), then France would be in trouble...

Maximilian I must have wanted to take back the Burgundy duchy area that the French robbed, but the French would definitely not give it back to him for the safety of the capital. So, at that time, it must be the two sides to engage in...

If the road from Austria to Burgundy was clear, the Habsburgs would be able to bring in a steady stream of soldiers and supplies from Austria, which could pose a huge threat to the French. Moreover, people have good reasons - I have come to reclaim my homeland...

Therefore, Louis XII never wanted to see that the Habsburg family really occupied Switzerland and opened up the connection between Austria and Burgundy. Because this means that the army of the Habsburg family can threaten the hinterland of France...

Therefore, after careful consideration, King Louis XII of France made a decision to fully support the Swiss against the Habsburg invasion. To this end, he decided to send all the Swiss mercenaries in the French army and the army of the Principality of Gede to Switzerland through France, first to defend the second strongest canton of Bern in Switzerland, and then to counterattack...

However, what worries Louis XII the most is whether Marin will join the war...

If the 40,000-strong army under Marin also participated in the war, then the fall of Switzerland was almost inevitable. If Marin didn't go to war, the Swiss would have a chance...