The Rise of the European Emperor

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Although the Republic of Siena has many mountains, it is not without plains and valleys, and there are naturally autumn harvests. It's okay for Marin to disguise himself as a grain merchant to buy grain.

Because his wife, Angela, is an authentic Italian girl, and she gets along day and night, Marin naturally also learned fluent Italian. Not only Marin can speak Italian fluently, but his sons Caesar and Robert can also speak Italian. Little Robert even speaks Italian much better than German, because his mother Felice is also an Italian girl.

Speaking fluent Italian, with a few authentic Italian spies from the Italian branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce, Marin began to wander around the countryside of the Republic of Siena. Of course, this is also in line with the behavior of a grain merchant. After all, food is produced in the countryside, not in the city.

In order to pretend to be a grain merchant, Marin really went deep into many villages in the countryside of the Republic of Siena, talked with local landlords about grain purchases, and offered a good price.

Marin really bought Siena's grain, not for nothing. Because, he also plans to use the food produced locally to supply his own army...

In addition, he went to a village to the west of Siena, paid for a yard, and planned to temporarily store the grain purchased from nearby villages in this yard. When Marin's army arrived here, they used the grain purchased in the yard as military food. Because it was purchased in the local village in the name of a grain merchant, it is difficult for the Siena authorities to doubt it...

In addition to negotiating food business with local villages, Marin made a few trips along the road from Siena to the coastal province of Grosseto on the west coast. Along the way, the mountains and mountains are very difficult to walk. Moreover, in order to find the nearest path, Marin deliberately took the most difficult path.

In fact, the spies of the Italian branch of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce had already selected several shortcuts and asked Marin to decide. What can Marlin do? You can only go and feel it yourself.

The distance from Siena to Grosseto is not far, the straight-line distance is only about 80 kilometers. However, most of the middle are difficult mountain roads. In later generations, the Italians naturally dug tunnels into the mountains and made a road. But now, if a carriage is used to go from Grosseto to Siena, they can only go east along the valley and flatlands, and then turn north, making a big circle. Of course, if there is no carriage to drag you, you can also take the mountain path, but it is very difficult to walk.

Marin walked all the trails and was almost exhausted. He is not a mountain dweller from southern Germany, he was also from a plain area in his previous life. Therefore, he was not used to walking on mountain roads. In the end, he chose the best path to follow. Although it is a bit detoured, it is much shorter than taking a big road around a big circle. As for the Fourth Army that came later, because they were carrying supplies and artillery, they could only take the relatively devious road.

After finishing this difficult road exploration, Marin didn't bother to walk the mountain road anymore. He decided - he disguised himself as a businessman before the war and stayed in the countryside of Siena. As for the journey, Marin decided to let Kahn lead the team over the mountains. Kahn was originally born in the southern Wurttemberg Mountains, and he is very good at walking on mountain roads. In addition, Marin will send a spy who explored the road with him to lead the way.

Of course, Marin would not sit in the countryside near Siena and wait. While waiting, he would hoard some supplies to supply the incoming army.

Moreover, because he was worried that the Siena army would go out of the city to force food during the war, Marin gave up the previously selected hoarding of food in a small village not far west of Siena.

After investigation, he moved the location of the grain storage a few kilometers to the west, and moved directly to a small mountain village in the mountains. Going from this small village in the valley to Siena requires crossing mountains and ridges. Even if the defenders in Siena go out to collect food, they will not come to such a remote place.

The only trouble is that it is difficult for the Siena army to enter this small mountain village. Similarly, it is difficult for the food and supplies raised by Marin to be transported to this small mountain village...

In order to facilitate the transportation of materials, Marin had to rent a group of donkeys and mules who were good at walking mountain roads at a high price, and specially carried the collected grain and various materials to this small village in the mountains to hide...

...

In addition, Marin also specially inspected the two teams that mixed into the city and dug tunnels outside the city. The excavation team outside the city is making good progress and will probably be able to complete the task before the siege. And the team in the city is not ideal, because it is very difficult to dig tunnels in the city and transport soil. In order not to attract the attention of the Siena defenders, these people were careful every time they transported the soil out of the city. Due to the difficulty in transporting the soil, the progress of the tunnel digging team in the city was very slow.

However, Marin didn't blame them either. Anyway, when attacking the city, as long as there is a tunnel through it is enough. At that time, Marin can send sword and shield soldiers to sneak into the city from the tunnel, break through the city gate from the rear, and open the city gate to welcome the army.

In addition, for the sake of insurance, Marin specially hired a group of dead soldiers to sneak into the city. If there is a problem with the tunnel digging, these dozens of dead soldiers will attack the city gate with swords and shields in hand, and join forces with the army outside the city. Moreover, for the sake of safety, Marin made the two tunnel-digging teams and the team lurking into the city independent, and neither of them knew the existence of the other two teams. In this way, even if one team is unfortunately exposed, or even someone is arrested, the other two teams will not be exposed because of traitors.

...

After staying in Siena for a few days, Marin returned to Rome again. Of course, he didn't go back to Rome to relax and play, but to discuss matters with his brother Giovanni Di Lorenzo de' Medici.

Because, Marin suddenly remembered that in this era, Florence and Siena seemed to be sworn enemies. In later generations, Florence was famous, but Yena was unknown. But in this era, Siena was actually a commercial city comparable to Florence. Of course, Siena is still worse than Florence. The difference lies in the inconvenience of transportation. Because Siena is in the mountains, and the transportation connection with the outside world is not as convenient as Florence. Of course, this also made Siena's mountains and rivers so strong that it was difficult for the outside world to invade.

The reason why the Holy See is interested in the Republic of Siena is precisely because Siena is a trade, financial and artistic center comparable to Florence. If the Republic of Siena is won, the financial level of the Holy See will be greatly improved. Among other things, the group of bankers in Siena alone is enough to make people drool. The group of bankers in Siena, although not as well-capitalized as the Florentine bankers, can be regarded as ranked in Italy. If Siena is occupied, it is equivalent to controlling this group of bankers in disguise. Then, naturally, these bankers' money can be used for their own services.

You know, Julius II, known as the "Pope of the God of War", was keen to unify Italy by force. In this era, once a war is fought, money will be spent. Although the Holy See is rich, it is the Pope himself and the cardinals who are rich. The treasury of the Holy See does not actually have much money. After all, the pope, the cardinals, and the tens of thousands of priests in Rome are all thinking about the treasury... Sometimes, the papal state treasury doesn't have enough money, and if they want to send troops to fight, they need to borrow money from bankers. Occupying Siena and controlling the group of bankers in Siena, there is no need to worry about military expenses for the war...

As Siena's mortal enemy, Florence will definitely pay attention to Siena's intelligence collection. In addition, it is very common to plant a group of spies in Siena. The purpose of Marin looking for Giovanni Di Lorenzo de' Medici is naturally to obtain the information collected by the other party in Siena. In addition, if the opponent's power in Siena is very strong, maybe they can use their power to open the city gate...