The Rise of the European Emperor

The knights of Poland and Lithuania are unfortunate. Because of the hostile relationship between the two countries and the Teutonic Knights, the wandering knights of the two countries cannot go to the Teutonic Knights or the Livonian Knights. Knights group.

Not only that, because of the close relationship between the Teutonic Knights and the German region, it is not easy for the wandering knights in Poland and Lithuania to find work in the German region. Moreover, the German region itself has too many wandering knights, and the competition is very fierce.

As for places outside Germany, the odds are also low. The Grand Duchy of Moscow to the east is an Orthodox country, which conflicts with the Catholic faith of Poland and Lithuania. Not to mention Turkey in the south, it is a proper pagan...

Therefore, the wandering knights in Poland and Lithuania can only choose to mix in the country. Or, go to the kingdom of Bohemia, which also belongs to the Jagiellonian royal family.

But whether it is Poland and Lithuania, or Bohemia, their demand for knights is not very big. Germany is different, Germany is a fragmented place with many vassal states. For the sake of hegemony and security, each prince will recruit a group of knights to protect the security of the princely country. In Poland, Lithuania and Bohemia, although the internal nobles also govern their own affairs, there is no battle between the princes for hegemony, so there is not much demand for wandering knights.

In this way, the choice left to the Polish wandering knight is very small. And serving the royal family has become a very important way.

It is precisely because of this that Sigismund I, the king of Poland, was able to easily pull up a team and form a large-scale winged cavalry in history. In fact, there is no other way out for the domestic knight disciples...

Wandering knights who want to get into titles and fiefs can only serve the king or great nobles. However, Poland and Lithuania are nominally unified countries, and there is no need for the German princes to compete for hegemony. Therefore, there are many unemployed wandering knights in Poland. In order to find opportunities for meritorious service, he had to join the king's army.

Therefore, despite the fact that the monarchs of Poland and Lithuania have no real power, there is actually no shortage of wandering knights willing to serve them. However, because the monarch's own financial resources are limited, the scale of the winged cavalry has been maintained at a scale of several thousand to more than 10,000 people. It's not that I can't recruit people, but I don't have the money to support so many people...

Marin estimated that there are many children of knight families who cannot find opportunities in Poland and Lithuania, at least tens of thousands, or even more than 20,000. Historically, the winged cavalry was formed by the Kingdom of Poland. This is not because only Poland has so many knights, but because Poland is richer. As for Lithuania, there are not many children of knights, but there is no money to form a large-scale winged cavalry. Therefore, the winged cavalry is also called the Polish winged cavalry...

And now Marin put Simon in Ukraine and provided enough money to let him recruit wandering knights from Poland and Lithuania. It is estimated that many people will be recruited.

and,

Marin's heart is not dark, as long as a few thousand winged cavalry is enough. This will be a king bomb in his hand in the future religious war, which can cooperate with him to attack from the east of Germany to the mainland. As long as it is used well, an army of ten thousand people including several thousand winged cavalry can destroy many German vassal states.

When they are idle, these winged cavalry can also help themselves mobilize or capture local Cossacks on the Ukrainian steppe, forcing them to emigrate to the North Sea or serve themselves. No matter how tough the Cossacks were, they couldn't beat enough Polish wing cavalry. After all, the Cossacks were pure light cavalry, while the winged cavalry were semi-heavy cavalry. In addition to practicing martial arts since childhood, the combat power is much stronger than that of the Cossacks...

As for the title of "Flying Wings Knights", it was just a name that Malin thought of with a slap in his head. After all, recruiting wandering knights requires a signboard. The name of a knight order is very attractive and justifiable. It would be strange if Simon dared to openly recruit as an earl and not be suspected by the nobles of the Lithuanian Principality-you little earl, why do you want so many wandering knights? Want to rebel?

And it is justifiable to get a knight group out and recruit wandering knights. After all, the knights of others want to recruit a lot of wandering knights.

As for the Order of Knights requiring the approval of the Church to be established? This is not a problem at all. No, Marin wrote a letter to his father-in-law Julius II, and then the Holy See's decree to allow the formation of the "Winged Knights" was issued. Then, without a wandering knight to flee, Simon became the head of this empty knight order...

Moreover, in the decree allowing the establishment of the "Flying Wings Knights", Julius II also gave a very reasonable excuse-Ukraine is located on the front line of Catholicism and faces challenges from the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Green Church in the south. important place. Simon was stationed in Ukraine with the "Flying Wings Knights" to "protect Christian civilization"...and also "a barrier to the Catholic world"...Look, how tall...

...

The negotiation between Simon and Sigismund I went well, because Marin had passed the gas with Sigismund I before. For Simon's request, Sigismund I naturally had a bottom line.

At first, Sigismund I opposed Simon's solicitation of thousands of wandering knights from Poland and Lithuania. After all, no monarch wants to have such a powerful army. But Marin explained to him that this was a soldier he had secretly hid. Moreover, it is impossible for Simon to have the money to support so many soldiers and horses. Only then did Sigismund I agree. After all, the North Sea State of Marin was no threat to Poland. Instead, the North Sea state needs Poland as an ally. Because, Sigismund I also knew that the newly promoted Hoffmann family was relatively excluded and hostile among the German princes, and it was normal for Marin to hide some soldiers and horses abroad...

With the basis of talking with Marin before, the communication with Simon is naturally not a problem. Sigismund I readily agreed to Simon's request to form a knighthood, and agreed to send dozens of wing cavalry officers to help Simon train the wing cavalry.

After the team arrived in Krakow, the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, Sigismund I did not get off the bus, but let some winged cavalry protect Anne back to the palace. And he himself accompanied Simon on a trip to Kyiv to participate in the founding ceremony of Simon's "Winged Knights".

In addition to the presence of the monarch Sigismund I, many powerful members of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also attended. Then, a team came from the west, an envoy from the Holy See who read the Pope's decree...

After the envoys from the Holy See read the decree of Julius II in public on the square in front of the Kyiv Royal Palace, Sigismund I, as the Grand Duke of Lithuania, publicly announced his approval for Simon to form a knighthood. Of course, Simon, the new leader of the Knights, also swore in public by touching the Bible - without the permission of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Parliament of the Grand Sejm of Lithuania, he would never lead his troops north to meddle in the internal affairs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...

And after Simon swore that he would not arbitrarily lead troops to interfere in the internal affairs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, several members of the Grand Sejm of Lithuania present were obviously relieved-they were also afraid that Simon would rely on force to fight for Lithuania's right to speak...

After the official establishment of the Flying Wings Knights, Simon, the polished head, immediately sent people to all parts of Lithuania and Poland to carry out propaganda, recruiting the children of the knight family who could not find the opportunity to act as members of the knights...