The Rise of the European Emperor

Not long after the North Sea Army and the 20,000 people in Frundsberg withdrew, the princes of the Alliance of Princes also began to discuss withdrawal. Why? Because they don't have enough money. What's more, it's already December, Christmas and New Year are coming, these princes don't want to spend Christmas and New Year in Basel...

At the meeting of princes, Frederick III said with regret:

"Since the French are unwilling to send troops, it is meaningless for our army to stay here. Instead, it will waste money and food. After all, the Habsburg family annexed Switzerland, and France should be the most anxious, not us. Since they Don't be in a hurry, why are we in such a hurry? Let's all go back!"

Anthony, Duke of Lorraine said worriedly:

"But, you are gone, what will His Majesty do if he takes revenge on me?"

The Principality of Lorraine can be regarded as the initiator of this alliance of princes, and it has always been very close to France. If the allied forces of the princes leave, he is very afraid that the army of the Habsburg family will attack him...

Frederick III thought for a while and said:

"Well, anyway, most of the mercenaries will be disbanded after we go back. Before we go back, we will select the most elite 10,000 mercenaries from the more than 20,000 elite mercenaries to stay and help you protect the Principality of Lorraine. These 10,000 elite mercenaries, combined with the original 4,000 veterans of the Principality of Lorraine, should be enough for you to defend Nancy. If the Habsburg family really retaliates against the Principality of Lorraine, we will regroup our troops to rescue... "

"But...but I can't afford to support so many standing troops..." Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, had a bitter face.

Although the Principality of Lorraine plays the role of Lorraine Iron Mine, the largest iron mine in Western Europe, its fiscal revenue is not bad. However, because there is no industry in Europe at this time, there is very little demand for steel. Even if he has iron mines at home, Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, has no money to support tens of thousands of people all the time...

When Frederick III thought about it, it seemed that the Principality of Lorraine was indeed not too rich. So, he thought about it and said:

"How about this, we will secretly support you a little bit, and you can go to France to ask for some more, at least we can hold on for a few months before we talk..."

Subsequently, the alliance of princes sent envoys to Paris to inform King Louis XII of the decision to withdraw the coalition forces of the princes.

Louis XII was in a hurry - without the cooperation of the 37,000 princes' coalition forces, the more than 20,000 "Swiss Resistance Army" supported by him may not be able to defeat the 35,000 troops of the Habsburg family...

At this time, Charles, the former Earl of Geldon, who had been in Paris for a long time, gave Louis XII an idea...

...

After Charlie, the former Earl of Gelden, escaped by boat from Gelden, he went all the way down the Rhine River. The ship entered the North Sea, then sailed close to the shore to the mouth of the Seine, and successfully arrived in Paris.

King Louis XII of France didn't like to see Charlie, a loser. He thought he was incompetent, so he didn't want to talk to him. But Charlie is very cunning. Because he ran early, he brought out a lot of property.

When leaving Gelden, Charlie basically emptied the treasury of the Earl of Gelden and brought out all the gold and silver of the Earl of Gelden. Moreover, among these gold and silver, there is also the dividend of the Earl of Gelden, which robbed the money from the North Sea State. The total number is as high as 300,000 gold coins. In particular, more than half of them were snatched from Beihai. Less than half of those that originally belonged to the Earl of Gelden.

Seeing that Louis XII didn't like him very much, Charlie simply sent 150,000 gold coins to Louis XII, bluntly saying that he would buy a fief in France and become the lord himself.

The French lords are different from the German lords. The German lords can make their own decisions, which is equivalent to princes. And the great lords of France are just equivalent to the king's high-ranking horsemen. Therefore, the price of the French lord was not expensive, and the bribe of 150,000 gold coins gave Charlie the title of Earl of Nantes.

Of course, it was impossible for Louis XII to seal a big city like Nantes to Charles, but he only sealed part of the rural areas near Nantes to Charles as a fiefdom. The size of its territory is also a little larger than that of ordinary baronies.

However, Charlie was also very satisfied. Because, he is now an earl anyway. Although the counts of France are not as powerful as the counts of Germany, they are recognized by the whole of Europe after all. Although there is no benefit, at least there is still some face when going out.

After buying the title of earl, Louis XII finally looked at Charlie. After all, Charlie's money also made it easier for Louis XII to prepare for the Italian war. As a result, as the newly promoted French count, Charlie became a frequent visitor to the Paris palace...

...

This time, after hearing the news that the coalition forces of the princes were planning to withdraw their troops, Charles, the newly promoted Earl of Nantes, who has always been more thoughtful, asked Louis XII to see him and offered a plan——

"Your Majesty, I think that since the coalition forces of the German princes are about to withdraw, the mercenaries who account for more than half of them will definitely be disbanded afterwards. Why don't we send someone to contact the German princes and ask them to keep those mercenaries, and then Incorporated into the 'Swiss Resistance Army'. In this way, the number of 'Swiss Resistance Army' will reach 30,000 to 40,000, and there is no need to worry about the 35,000 troops of the Habsburg family!"

After listening to Earl Charles' suggestion, Louis XII's eyes suddenly brightened—yes, anyway, those German princes don't need those mercenaries anymore. If the 20,000 mercenaries vacated by the princes were hired to join the Swiss Resistance Army, they could completely compete with the 35,000 Habsburg army. Even, you can gain a little upper hand...

However, Count Duert, the favorite of Louis XII, expressed his objection——

"Your Majesty, if we hire the 20,000 German mercenaries who were laid off by the German princes, we can certainly withstand the attacking pressure of the Habsburg family. But, Your Majesty, have you thought about the cost? The daily cost of a German mercenary is several deniers (French silver coins). For 20,000 German mercenaries, the daily cost is more than 100,000 deniers... If His Majesty does not plan to use troops in other places, the cost will be natural Nothing. However, His Majesty intends to send troops to the Italian region, so it will be very difficult to come up with the expenses..."

Louis XII calculated carefully, and then he was a little scared...

The daily commission for each German mercenary, according to the German price, is at least 3 pfennigs per day. The daily commission expenses of 20,000 people would be 60,000 Finneys, roughly equivalent to 1,000 gold coins. If it takes a year, it will cost 365,000 gold coins...

What's more, among the 20,000 mercenaries, many cavalry and officers have more commission expenses. Calculated in this way, the annual expenditure of these 20,000 mercenaries is as high as 400,000 gold coins...

However, the current annual royal revenue of the Kingdom of France is only about 1.2 million gold coins. If these 20,000 German mercenaries are to be hired, the annual expenditure will consume one-third of the French budget...

Therefore, Louis XII decisively persuaded...

...

Seeing that all plans failed, Earl Charles did not give up. After thinking for a while, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he said:

"Your Majesty, I have a good idea! This time, His Majesty can get tens of thousands of the most elite fighters without spending commissions to help fight against the Habsburg family!"

"Is there such a good thing?" Louis XII didn't believe it.

However, after Earl Charles explained, Louis XII suddenly realized...