King of German Mercenaries

Groningen, the capital of the Frisian aristocratic republic, is also one of the cities of the Hanseatic League. The members of the noble council secretly received distinguished guests from France...

"Good afternoon, Baron Denier!" greeted Fyskefrijheid, Governor of the Friesian Noble Republic.

Baron Denier was a secret representative sent by King Charles VIII of France. As early as 1477, after the death of "Charles the Bold", the Duke of Burgundy, the French also sent Baron Denier to the Friesland region to secretly assist him. The Frisians resisted by force and took the opportunity to break away from the rule of the Duchy of Burgundy. Of course, Baron Denier was only a knight and very young. Today's Denier, who is 50 years old, has also been promoted to a baron.

"Lord Governor, it's a pleasure to meet you, as well as the lords of the Frisian Council. It's a great honor to meet you!" Denier is a very kind-hearted person and is also good at dealing with people. Although he was a special envoy sent by "TC Shangguo" from Grand France, Denier did not have any expression of contempt for these "small country" natives. On the contrary, Denier was very polite to the nobles of the Friesian Noble Council, which made the members feel respected.

After some polite greetings, Governor Fyskefrijheid asked curiously:

"Mr. Special Envoy, don't you know what is the important thing that His Majesty the King of France sent you here?" Fyskefrijheid couldn't think of the French's intention to send a special envoy at this time, because the last time the French sent a special envoy was nearly 20 years ago. things before. At that time, the French sent a lot of money, a lot of weapons and armor, and a group of war horses, which gave them the confidence to betray Burgundy.

But why this time? You know, the French and the Frisians agreed that France would not ask the Frisians to cooperate with France in attacking Burgundy. This time, will the French have to change?

The Frisians have no confidence in confronting Burgundy. You know, against Burgundy, the enemy you face is not only Burgundy, but also Austria. Most importantly, Maximilian I, King of Germany, could call on allies for help. Just like in 1491, Maximilian I had no time to quell the rebellion in Flanders because of his confrontation with the Hungarians, so he simply asked Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, to send troops to help.

Therefore, both Fyskefrijheid and other members of the Friesland nobles were all worried, afraid that the French would ask them to attack Burgundy.

Baron Denier also seemed to see everyone's worries, so he said easily:

"Everyone, don't worry too much, our king will not ask you to attack Burgundy. I know that is also a very difficult thing."

Hearing this, the Frisian nobles here were all relieved...

"My lords, you should know about Marin Hoffman, right?" Baron Denier threw a new topic.

"Of course I know, this little bastard has deceived hundreds of fishermen under my rule, and I have to reduce my taxes a lot!" The important controller of West Frisian - Baron Zettel of Leeuwarden gritted his teeth.

The West Friesland region, including parts of Groningen and Drenthe, does not have the rank of nobility as an earl. If there were, the country would have been established long ago. No Viscount either. The local power is the council jointly controlled by the 9 baron lords who control the region. The seat of its parliament is Groningen, the largest city in the territory and also a city in the Hanseatic League. The governor of the Friesian noble republic is the most powerful Baron of Groningen.

As for Baron Zttel, who controls the second largest city in Leeuwarden and a large area nearby, he is already the number two boss in the Friesian Aristocratic Republic.

As a direct victim, Baron Zither naturally tends to attack Texel Island.

And snatch back the fishermen who originally paid him taxes. However, apart from him, the other 8 barons in the council did not agree to use the sword rashly. Of course, other MPs have absolutely no favorable impression of Marin. It's just that they believe that the conflict with Marin has not risen to the point of using force.

Baron Denier observed and found the coping expressions of the other 8 barons, knowing that the others had no grudges against Marin, so he decided to instigate:

"My lords, you must know the news of what happened in Italy, right?"

Everyone nodded, no matter how slow the spread of news in the Middle Ages, the spread of news was still very fast in a big war. Those that travel slowly are generally less important news happening in remote areas. News of the defeat of Charles VIII reached the Friesian aristocratic republic a week later. However, the news that Charles VIII was ambushed by Marin did not spread immediately because Marin deliberately kept it secret and ran away on the spot. Later, it was Maximilian I who took the initiative to spread the news. However, in order not to lose face, the French also spread the real news-Marin ambushed Charles VIII in the middle of the night...

"Marin Hoffman is a daring, crazy, and insidious guy. Don't underestimate what he is doing now. When he was just a phalanx commander, he dared to ambush the king of our country. Now that he is weak, he dares to openly kidnap your country's fishermen. If he is strong, he may covet your country's territory..." In fact, although Baron Denier was just making up nonsense, he did not Be careful to tell the truth.

"Yes, yes, I will say, this little brat, Marin, is very ambitious. Don't think that he is only kidnapping the fishermen under my rule. In the future, maybe he will kidnap the people under your rule!" Baron Zitter quickly echoed. . He had long been unhappy with Marin, and wanted to send troops to teach him a lesson. However, his strength is not enough, he only has 50 knights and 400 spearmen, and he has no confidence to defeat the legendary cunning Marin.

The other 8 barons began to whisper, discussing the possible future harm of Marin...

Baron Denier saw that there was a door, and decided to add a fire, and by the way, he also stated his real intention:

"That's right, my lords. My king is very dissatisfied with the despicable Marin who plotted against him, but it is not convenient for my king to send troops to teach him. Therefore, my king would like to invite everyone to send troops to Texel Island and teach that bastard a lesson. …”

The meaning of the king... Several noble members looked at each other, and then suddenly there was some brilliance in their eyes...

why? Because, since the French king asked someone to do business, he would definitely not open his mouth in vain. The last time they supported the independence of the Frisian aristocratic republic from Burgundy, the French were generous. This time, asking them to come forward will definitely benefit a lot...

"If you are willing to attack Texel Island and completely destroy the houses and farmland on the island, my king is willing to sponsor 20 sets of plate armor and 50 war horses for each of the adults..."

20 sets of plate armor, with an average of 50 gold coins per set. 50 warhorses, each with at least 100 gold. In total, the French give each member of parliament 6,000 gold coins. This price is enough to make people crazy. You know, in 1512, the Grand Commonwealth of Lithuania paid 15,000 gold coins to buy the Crimean Khanate to send troops to attack the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Of course, the Crimean Khanate is a poor country, and 15,000 gold coins can make them submit. And the Friesian Aristocratic Republic has nothing to do with the poor people of the Crimean Khanate. Therefore, Charles VIII took out a total of gifts worth 54,000 gold coins.

The 9 barons were immediately moved, and after Baron Denier told them that there were only 400 soldiers on the island (because of the lag in news, the French did not know that Marin had recruited a phalanx), everyone was relieved immediately... …

After discussion, the nine barons unanimously decided to send 3,000 troops to attack Texel Island. Although you can't break the rules and kill Marin, you must also destroy the houses and crops on the island, plunder the livestock, and cause the greatest damage to the economy of the island...

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