The Rise of the European Emperor

Once upon a time, Louis XII took Milan very seriously. Because the Po River Plain where Milan is located is the largest plain and agricultural area in Italy. Milan is also the largest city in Italy.

However, since knowing the fertilizer effect of volcanic ash soil, the situation in Louis XII's eyes has changed-the Po River Plain around Milan, which was originally ranked in the forefront, is no longer his primary pursuit. What he is pursuing first now is the fertile volcanic soil of the Kingdom of Naples...

Moreover, Louis XII did not capture the Duchy of Milan in his original plan for this expedition. It was already a surprise to be able to capture the city of Milan and search it all over the city. Therefore, Louis XII didn't care about losing the Duchy of Milan. Anyway, in Louis XII's view, if he could defeat Spain, he would be able to kill Ludovico Sforza with one finger. And if you can't beat Spain... Milan can't hold it...

Therefore, even though Ludovico Sforza publicly declared war on France after taking money from the Spaniards, Louis XII remained indifferent-declaring war on France? Does Milan match?

Seeing that the French were indifferent and just rescued Milan without dividing their troops, the Spaniards were in a hurry. Even Gonzalo de Cordoba, Spain's number one general, was a little impatient:

"Why haven't the French divided up yet?"

A Spanish spy who disguised himself as a fisherman to spy on the Kingdom of Naples reported:

"No, it seems that the French don't take Milan seriously!"

Gonzalo de Cordoba was a little irritable, and a general next to him suggested:

"How about, let's go to the wild continent again, get a woman with syphilis back, and quietly send it to the surrounding area of ​​Naples, and infect the French again?"

What he was talking about was the reason why France's first expedition to Italy failed - more than half of the whole army was infected with syphilis, and they collapsed without a fight...

But the secret agent shook his head and said:

"My subordinates have heard that during the Southern Expedition, the French army allowed robbery, but they never allowed random women! So, I'm afraid this one won't work..."

The French are not fools. The painful lessons before are there. Louis XII even participated in the expedition 19 years ago. How could he make this mistake for the second time? So, this good plan was ruled out.

Of course, it is not without effect. For example, the Italian mercenaries hired by the French didn't have much control over their lower body. However, in the eyes of the Spaniards, those Italian mercenaries were never opponents. If there is no problem with the main force of the French army, then everything will be useless.

Gonzalo de Cordoba shook his head,

road:

"Well, it seems that we can only wait for the army to arrive before we start. By the way, Savaro, when will the German mercenaries be in place?"

Right now, Aragon's 20,000 people are basically in place. On the other side of the Kingdom of Castile, the promised 20,000 troops are also gathering and will soon be transported to Sicily. And now, Gonzalo de Cordoba is staying in Sicily waiting for the last batch of German mercenaries.

Savaro, the adjutant in charge of liaison, frowned and said:

"According to the news delivered by the carrier pigeons, there is something wrong with the German mercenaries. The main reason is that they were blocked by the Venetians. Originally, the 20,000 German mercenaries hired by Spain planned to gather in Austria after they assembled in Austria. The place where the northern border meets Austria crossed the Alps. Unfortunately, it was rejected by the Venetians. Obviously, the Venetians are on the side of the French this time..."

It's no wonder that Venice was robbed of the lucrative spice business by Spain and Portugal. Can you have no complaints? And these 20,000 German mercenaries are fighting for the Spaniards, it is strange that the Venetians can let them cross the border...

In desperation, 20,000 people had to return, heading west from Austria and passing through the Tyrol region in the west. Then, enter the Graubünden region currently controlled by the Habsburg family, and enter the Italian region southward from the only passage to Italy in the south of the Graubünden region—the Müstair Valley.

But after entering the Principality of Milan from the Mistel Valley, they also encountered problems on the way to the seaside-they were made things difficult by the people of the Republic of Genoa.

According to the normal route, they took the Republic of Genoa in the south of the Principality of Milan, and taking a boat from the port of Genoa City to Sicily to meet Gonzalo de Cordoba was the shortest distance.

But the problem is that the Republic of Genoa is France's traditional ally in Italy...

Historically, France annexed the Republic of Genoa after 1498, when Louis XII became the French king. Then, after France was defeated by Spain, the Republic of Genoa took the opportunity to restore the country, and since then parted ways with France and became a loyal ally of the Spaniards. Even later, the Spanish Empire often borrowed money from the bankers of the Republic of Genoa. It's just that the bastard Philip II, the son of Charles V, invented "national bankruptcy" and abruptly repaid the loans from the Genoese bankers. Then, the Republic of Genoa also declined. And the unlucky ones accompanying the Republic of Genoa are the Austrian super tycoon Fugger family. Because the Fugger family is also a big creditor of the Habsburg family. What kind of "national bankruptcy" did Philip II commit? His debts were lost. As creditors, whether it is a Genoese banker or the top German banker the Fugger family, they can only vomit blood and wait for their decline...

Truth be told, national bankruptcy is really rogue. Ordinary people go bankrupt and are probably doomed. Because, even if you earn money in the future, there will be a bunch of creditors coming to collect debts. The creditors are not very reasonable, and many lenders are black and evil forces. Even if you go bankrupt, as long as you get the money, you have to pay them back. Otherwise, you will be so repaired that you can't take care of yourself...

However, the country is bankrupt, and the creditors are really helpless... That is a country, a country with violent institutions. Which evil forces dare to press the country for debts? The army is a display? It crushed you every minute... So, being repudiated by the country is really a very helpless thing. Even if you want revenge, you don't have the ability...

It's like the bankruptcy of Greece and Iceland, two developed countries in later generations. At that time, a group of women were watching the excitement and reading newspaper reporters bragging about it, as if the two countries were finished.

However, after a few years, everyone discovered—Nimmad, why are these two countries still developed countries? Especially in Iceland, it is more moist than in the past...

Therefore, the state is the state, the individual is the individual, and the bankruptcy of the two is not the same thing at all. You owe the state money, and the state puts you in jail. The country owes you money...do you dare to rant? Resign yourself to fate... So, don't look at the shutdown of the old American government in later generations, and think that the old United States will die. It's just a process of internal repudiation and bullying. Your uncle is still your uncle... Don't think that Huaxia will be able to stand up and become an uncle just because they shut down... Unless the US military is disbanded, the US emperor will still be your second uncle... …If one day, the U.S. military fails to pay its military salaries, and the army mutinies, that will be the beginning of the decline of the old United States. The closure of the government office or something is nothing more than internal factions. It's not that there is no money, but that the parliament did not agree with the appropriation and deliberately slapped a general in the face...

...

Well, digressing. Because of the intervention of Marin, the traverser, the French suffered more losses in the First Italian War and paid too much ransom. Therefore, there is no ability to annex Genoa. Therefore, the Republic of Genoa is still the younger brother of France and has not changed its camp.

Since the camp has not been changed, Genoa will naturally not let the German mercenaries hired by the Spaniards use their ports and ships to gather in Sicily.

However, the 20,000 German mercenaries Genoa could not afford to provoke. So the Genoese themselves burned down the long bridge wharf in their own port. Then, all the ships on the dock were driven away... There were no boats and docks, and the German mercenaries could only stare blankly...

Fortunately, the guide has pigeons in hand to contact Sicily. After Gonzalo de Cordoba heard the news, he gave an order-the whole army transferred to the Republic of Lucca in the southeast of Genoa, and stood by on the pier of Lucca. Then, the Mediterranean Fleet of the Kingdom of Aragon went back to pick up their...

In this way, 20,000 German mercenaries came to Lucca, and the Spanish Aragon fleet also came to pull people...