The Rise of the European Emperor

The arrears of hundreds of thousands of gold coins is really just a drizzle to Marin. Because, the total wealth in Marin's hands is estimated to be tens of millions. But it is a pity that they are all food and other goods, not cash.

There is no way, the whole of Europe is facing a money shortage, and every year, a lot of gold and silver are spent to buy spices from India, or various Asian specialties from the Middle East. Therefore, even though Marin's wealth is amazing, he can't afford much cash to pay. In particular, last year he fought a battle with the princes of the eight countries. Although the eight countries were eliminated, the cash was almost spent. Otherwise, he would not support the Fugger family to develop the Tyrolean silver mine.

The benefits of supporting the Fugger family are also obvious. For example, Marin, who is short of money, can get cash flow support from the Fugger family.

It's like Marin promised to pay hundreds of thousands of Gulden gold coins for Hungarian prisoners of war, and he could easily borrow them from the Fugger family. The Fugger family obviously has a branch in the big city of Prague. The branch manager Dijol had already received instructions from the Augsburg headquarters through a letter from the pigeon, and came to the Prague Palace in person, willing to provide a loan guarantee for Marin to pay the Hungarian prisoners of war. In this regard, Vladislas II naturally raised his hands to welcome. After all, the Fugger family, which has several million cash, is currently the richest man in Germany. Their guarantee reputation, that's a big deal.

The only thing that depressed Vladislas II was the reply from the flying pigeons from the Hungarian capital Pest - the Hungarian nobles agreed in principle to sell prisoners of war to Marin, but they had to split two-thirds...

In other words, if Marin paid 300,000 gold coins for the prisoners of war, the Hungarian nobles would divide up 200,000 gold coins. According to the normal rules of dividing the spoils, Vladislas II, the monarch, should be divided in half. But the Hungarian nobles believed that many of those prisoners of war were serfs under their rule. If they were sold to Marin, they should have more points...

But in fact, those Hungarian nobles didn't care about the life and death of those serfs at all. Because, the Kingdom of Hungary has no shortage of people!

At this time, the Kingdom of Hungary had a population of more than four million. Moreover, although the Hungarian Great Plain has been developed to a certain extent, only a small half of the 100,000 square kilometers of the Hungarian Great Plain has been developed. On the vast plains, there are still a large number of free herdsmen, or hired semi-serfs. If those rebellious serfs are gone, at worst they send troops to the grasslands to catch some free herdsmen and come back as serfs. Anyway, taking advantage of the great opportunity of suppressing the rebellion, as long as they are charged as "rebellious accomplices", free herdsmen and self-cultivating farmers can be arrested and returned home as serfs. Anyway, these people can't argue, if they are disobedient, they will be killed as rebels...

Therefore, it is no pity for the Hungarian nobles to sell tens of thousands of serfs. It's a big deal, and then send people to catch some free people and come back as serfs. These days, there is no law, what the nobles say is the law...

Originally in history, this group of nobles did not hesitate to kill 50,000 Hungarian peasants who participated in the uprising. But now that Marin, the "receiver", is willing to buy prisoners of war, they must be reluctant to kill prisoners of war. Because, that's all money!

Moreover, these Hungarian nobles were also overjoyed. Because, this war to suppress the peasants, which was destined to lose money, not only does not need to pay a large amount of commission, but can also make money in reverse. For the nobles who are generally in a bad economic situation, it is definitely a pie in the sky... …

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According to the current plan, Marin is willing to send 15,000 troops, and Sigismund I can also get a few thousand winged cavalry. In addition, Vladislas II himself was able to make up 10,000 Bohemian fighters, plus the seven or eight thousand people raised by the Hungarian nobles themselves, the total could reach 37,800.

However, Vladislas II was still more scrupulous about the combat effectiveness of the more than 30,000 hussars in the Hungarian rebel army with a total of more than 80,000.

Except for the part of the Magyars who have been peasantized, the rest are born warriors on horseback. More than 30,000 hussars,

Gathered together, the fighting power is definitely very strong. If it weren't for this characteristic, the Holy See would not have chosen to come to Hungary to form a crusade-they just took a fancy to the Magyars' fierce folk customs.

If more than 30,000 hussars charged on the frontal battlefield, they would definitely overwhelm the sky and shake the earth. And the total number of troops he gathered was more than 30,000, so he was not confident.

There is an essential difference between the peasant uprising army in Hungary and the peasant uprising army in Württemberg, because the quality of the officers on both sides is completely different.

The leaders of the Württemberg peasant uprising army were also illiterate peasants, or craftsmen such as blacksmiths, and there were no professionals who understood military affairs and could command the army.

The Hungarian Peasant Rebel Army is different. Their leader, Dorao George, is an officer of the Hungarian Kingdom's border guards who came from a small noble family. In his crusade, there were many professional low-level officers. In addition to the peasants who accounted for the majority, there were also a group of fanatical missionaries and fanatical young students.

Moreover, before the expedition, Dorao George also conducted professional training for the army. Therefore, they are much more powerful than the peasant rebels in Württemberg who don't understand anything. What's more, they still have more than 30,000 hussars...

The only good news is probably that George Dorao divided the army into three parts because he was afraid of insufficient food and grass. Among them, the group of civilian troops responsible for monitoring the capital Pest has been eliminated. In the northern mountainous area, there are also 20,000 to 30,000 people. As for the main part of the south to Szeged, there are as many as 50,000 people...

If the current 80,000 people gather together, the more than 30,000 mercenaries assembled by Vladislas II will be really difficult to deal with. However, if they split into two parts, that would be their own death.

After all, even the main force of the rebel army, that is, the more than 50,000 people led by George Dorao, most of them are new farmers. Most of the mercenaries formed by Vladislas II are veterans of many battles, and the abilities of the two sides are completely different.

The only thing that made Vladislas II fearful was the more than 30,000 Magyar hussars that George Dorao pulled up from the grasslands in the south.

Without this cavalry, Vladislas II could send an army of 10,000 at will, and it would be able to wipe out tens of thousands of peasant troops. But once the opponent has cavalry, even if it is not very professional cavalry, on such a large scale, it can pose a huge threat to the suppressing army.

"How should I deal with the 30,000 hussars (hsar)?" Vladislas II said distressedly.

And Marin, who was planning to resign from Vladislas II, thought of the way to deal with the Württemberg Peasant Rebel Army, and his heart moved, saying:

"Your Majesty, maybe... I have a way..."

"What way?" Vladislas II asked expectantly. He is also very clear about Marin's tricks. All the German nobles who were defeated by him yelled at him for his "insidious and despicable". Because, Marin often does not use normal means to deal with his opponents...

Then, Marin recounted his idea of ​​giving chin bean powder to the horse feed of the Württemberg peasant rebel cavalry, which aroused Vladislas II's great interest:

"Really? Is there such a magical drug? I don't know, can we also send people to infiltrate the mud-legged rebels in Hungary and drug their horse feed?"

Marin shook his head and said:

"It's too late. The opponent has been in the army for a long time. Sending spies in at this time, it is impossible to get into an important position. If the status is not enough, it is impossible to be in charge of feeding the horses..."

Marin's words were very pertinent. Wolfe and his gang had mixed into Casper's rebel army from the very beginning. Moreover, there is also the life-saving grace of "covering the other party's escape from the city". Afterwards, he also led the ambush campaign of the Württemberg nobles' allied forces, and gained the trust of the leader Kaspar.

On the other side of Hungary, the rebel army has long been formed, and the positions of officers have long been determined. Sending people in at this time can only start from the bottom, who knows if they can reach the top. If you can't handle the feed for the horses, even if you have crotons, it's useless.

"Then what should we do? That croton you mentioned is useless?"

Marin shook his head:

"No, it's still useful!"

"how to use?"

Marin explained:

"It is definitely difficult to get a high position by sending people in now. However, when we send people in, we can get in touch with the quartermaster of the rebel army! The feed for the horses must be distributed through the hands of the quartermaster. As long as we spend a lot of money to buy the quartermaster Officer, on the eve of the decisive battle, mixing croton powder into the feed for the horses before leaving the station the next morning, can definitely destroy the combat effectiveness of the opponent's cavalry!"

"Are you sure you can buy the other party's quartermaster?" Vladislas II was a little uncertain.

Marin said to himself:

"I heard that the quartermaster of this rebel army is a local Hungarian Jewish businessman who is proficient in arithmetic. If it is someone else, I am not sure, Jewish businessman... Hehe, as long as you pay enough money, you Promise a noble title, sure!"

Vladislas II suddenly realized—Nima, it is indeed easier to buy a businessman, let alone the most profit-seeking Jewish businessman...

If the opponent's most threatening 30,000 hussars can be abolished, then the final decisive battle will definitely be won, and it will be won lying down. After all, without the impact of the overwhelming 30,000 hussars, even if there were 80,000 peasant troops, they would be nothing more than 80,000 lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Without horses, those hussars with sabers could never beat well-trained mercenary infantry. What's more, there are 5,000 Polish hussars and 5,000 Cossack light cavalry in this coalition army. Facing the Hungarian peasant army that lost its cavalry, the outcome already has an answer...

Thinking of the benefits, Vladislas II did not hesitate to agree to the plan of using a title plus a lot of money to buy the Jewish merchant quartermaster of the other party, and selected a spy from the Magyars to join the rebel army. Go south to implement this plan.

And Marin also plans to send someone to use flying pigeons to pass the letter, ordering the country to grind all the remaining crotons that were originally intended to be planted into croton powder, and send them to Prague to be brought to Vladislas II's spies. Hungary. As for the croton without seeds, this problem is easy to solve. Big deal, next time I send a merchant ship to Daming and buy some back...