The Rise of the European Emperor

However, no matter how much Louis XII wanted to do something to Italy, he would not choose to do it before spring plowing. After all, this era is an era of agriculture, and France is a big agricultural country. Louis XII was crazy, so he gave up spring plowing and went directly to Italy.

After all, the logistics of a 60,000-strong army requires at least 60,000 civilian men. Even, this time more than 80,000 civilian workers may be used. why? Because the proportion of French knights is too high. 20,000 plate armored knights, the logistical pressure is by no means smaller than 40,000 infantry, or even greater.

For example, war horses eat five times more food and grass than ordinary soldiers every day, which is much harder to serve than humans. As for the pack horses used by the knights to change passengers, there is no need to pay for the whole process. However, the food consumed is also more than that of ordinary infantry.

Moreover, choosing to send troops after spring plowing also has logistical considerations. The reason is simple - after spring plowing, pastures have grown, which can be described as "abundant water and grass". When troops are dispatched at this time, the pack horses can mainly eat grass, supplemented by fodder. Even war horses can eat some fresh and tender grass, which can replace a lot of food, which is very economical. If a large-scale cavalry is dispatched in winter when the vegetation is withered, because green grass cannot be used to replace part of the food consumption, the consumption of food and grass is simply unbearable...

Such a huge food consumption caused France to dare not summon too many soldiers and horses to fight, although it had a huge potential to explode troops. Without him, food and grass are in short supply. If the army exceeds 50,000, even the king of France will easily go bankrupt.

Fortunately, because the Venetians hated Spain this time, they provided France with a large sum of money, so that Louis XII could dispatch an army of 60,000 including 20,000 plate armor and heavy cavalry this time. Otherwise, Louis XII really has no confidence.

It is not easy to fight a national war. Louis XII has learned from the blood and tears left by his hapless predecessor, Charles VIII, so he is naturally too cautious. In addition to dispatching 60,000 troops to march into Italy, Louis XII also ordered the southwestern region bordering the Kingdom of Aragon to prepare for the invasion of the Kingdom of Aragon. For this reason, the local lords have already made plans to recruit more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. Of course, their mission is relatively simple. They don't need to repel the Spanish army, they only need to defend the many cities and fortresses in the southwest. After all, in this era, in order to ensure the smooth flow of the supply line, no army will bypass the Fortress of Fortress, lest the army's logistics supply line be cut off. As long as the important cities and fortresses in the southwest are well defended, the possible Spanish counterattack army can be held back.

On the other hand, the Venetians were not idle either. In order to drag the 20,000 troops of Spain in Morocco, the Venetians provided a large amount of weapons and supplies to the remnants of the Wattas dynasty in Morocco, encouraging the remnants of the Wattas dynasty to attack everywhere, so as to drag Spain to station in North Morocco The 20,000-strong army made it impossible to support the Italian battlefield. Moreover, the Saad tribe south of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco has also received funding. Anyway, as long as Spain dares to transfer the 20,000 troops stationed in northern Morocco to the Italian battlefield, the remnants of the Wattas Dynasty and the Saad Ministry, the two major Moroccan local forces, will take the opportunity to attack northern Morocco, making Spain unable to look after each other...

...

But so far,

The Spaniards didn't even realize that the French were going to attack them. why? Because, the Spanish intelligence personnel in Paris have been cleaned...

Speaking of which, this matter has an important relationship with Marin. Since training a group of formal spies, Marin's intelligence personnel have become more professional and powerful.

Then, when more than a dozen professional spies sent to Paris were collecting information, they suddenly discovered a group of fellow spies—Spanish spies...

Of course, the Spaniards' spies were not professional, and their professional level was still at the level of ancient elaboration, and the level of secrecy was not well done. The professional spies of the North Sea country easily found out several Spanish spy dens in Paris.

In order to prevent the French from being stunned all of a sudden, Marin deliberately let the spies of the North Sea State in Paris, through John Lafite, sell the intelligence of Spain to Earl Duert, who was in charge of intelligence in the Kingdom of France. In this way, several Spanish spy dens in Paris were uprooted by the French. As for the Spaniards, for a period of time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to control the actions of the French.

In this way, it is guaranteed that once the French attack the Kingdom of Naples, Italy, the early stage will definitely be smoother. However, when the Spaniards with strong financial resources react later, it will definitely be difficult for the French to get cheap. After all, the Spaniards now have enough financial resources to gather a sizable army to fight against the French because of the huge profits from the Indian spice trade.

Moreover, the Spanish army is currently very strong. If preparations were made in advance, no matter how many knights France sent out, it would be useless. Because the musketeers of the Spanish infantry are especially suitable for defending the city. Don't wait for the French to send out a large army and not even be able to take down a big city. That would be a lot of fun.

After all, Marin's original intention was to weaken France and Spain at the same time through this war, and it is best for the two sides to fight for many years. Therefore, there must be no situation where one party is hanged and beaten. Best of all, both sides will lose a lot.

In this way, Spain will not be able to obtain information in advance. Otherwise, with the strength of Spain's current army power (Spain is really a bug in this era, the army is very strong, the navy is also very strong, it looks like the protagonist of destiny), plus Gonzalo de Cordoba The famous general will definitely treat the Frenchman as a grandson.

As for France, only on the premise of winning the Kingdom of Naples first, will it have a greater chance of coming and going with Spain. After all, once the French occupy the city first, the Spaniards have nothing to do even though their army is strong. Because, after all, the side that defends the city is more advantageous.

What? You said you were worried that France would beat Spain? That's unlikely. Regardless of the strength of the French military, the tactical thinking is backward, and the number of people is not very useful.

What's more, Spain now has a lot of money through the monopoly of the spice trade. Although Spain is currently at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, as long as they are willing to spend money, it is not a problem to gather tens of thousands of troops. Among other things, there are tens of thousands of Italian mercenaries waiting to be hired. The existence of the famous general Gonzalo de Cordoba and the existence of the Spanish phalanx now known as the "Marin phalanx" have made Spain invincible. Even if you are unlucky in the early stage, you can always find your place in the later stage.

If it doesn't work, Marin will help Spain even if he suffers a loss in the early stage. How to help? Of course, it is suggested that Spain "surround Wei and save Zhao". Your French army is strong, right? No problem, I can't beat Naples, so I'll just attack the core area of ​​mainland France.

Anyway, the Spanish navy has an absolute advantage over France. At that time, it will be very convenient to besiege Marseille or Bordeaux. Even, if England is willing to cooperate, it can directly send troops to besiege Paris. In this way, the heavy troops accumulated by the French in Naples are meaningless-if they lose their homeland, what is the point of occupying the Kingdom of Naples?

Anyway, Marin has decided to act as a shit-stirring stick. At that time, no matter which side occupies a relatively dominant position, Marin will secretly support the weak side, try to ensure that the two sides are evenly matched, and fight endlessly on the Italian battlefield, it is best to fight until the end of time...

This is the stunt of the British guy known as the "European Shit Stirrer" in later generations, and it has been tried and tested. However, at this moment, the person acting as a shit-stirring stick became Marin, and the time was hundreds of years earlier. Perhaps, the history books of later generations of France and Spain will write like this-Marin Hoffman, that is a "European shit stick", doing some immoral things...