The Rise of the European Emperor

Frankly speaking, even if Marin sent someone to release the termites, it couldn't stop the French man-made ships. After all, termites can't chew through all wood. But what Marin wants is not to completely stop French-made ships, but to greatly increase the cost of French-made ships.

For example, it is clear that X cubic wood is needed to build a boat, but because of termite damage, the French need to prepare twice or even three times more wood. Then, the cost of French man-made boats is greatly increased.

The cost of this thing may have little impact in future generations. After all, the officials of later generations are very rich and can afford a little loss. But this era is different. The dignified Kingdom of France, the top power in Europe, has a fiscal revenue of only more than 1.2 million gold coins a year. It is not as good as Venice or the North Sea Kingdom. France has a large country, many officials, and many troops, and its financial expenditure is very huge. Among them, the military's horse feed consumption is the bulk of the consumption. Therefore, the French do not have much money to spare.

The increase in shipbuilding costs will allow France, which is not well-off, to only compress the number of ships it builds. At that time, if there are not enough ships, it will be difficult to pose a real threat to England. In short, this is a very stealthy soft knife, no threat is seen, but it works well. On top of that, the French don't know it yet...

...

Why did Marin weaken France at this time? Quite simply, he is paving the way for Caesar to win England!

Both Louis XII and François I were ambitious and coveted England. Two generations of French emperors, who have been plotting against England for a long time. If Marin went to marry England at this time, the French would be furious!

The secret of Edward's infertility, the French apparently knew. Therefore, the marriage of Caesar and Princess Margaret means that they will be able to unite England in the future. But for the French, who had been plotting England for a long time, Caesar's acquisition of England was absolutely disastrous. Because the navy of England is already strong, and the navy of the North Sea is not weak. In particular, the North Sea Army is still very strong. If England and the North Sea are powerfully united, France will not be able to move England in the future.

Therefore, if Caesar and Princess Margaret marry, the enraged France may not be able to cross the sea to attack England, but it is absolutely capable of attacking the North Sea country that is also located on land.

At this time, Marin was not ready for a decisive battle at all, and there were only 30,000 or 40,000 people in the country. If the enemy is only France, Marin is confident that he can withstand it. However, if the German princes also join in, it will be less fortunate...

Therefore, before Caesar and Princess Margaret got married, Marin thought that he had to beat France hard and keep France low-key and honest for a while. In this way, there is no way to interfere with the marriage of Caesar and Princess Margaret. When France slows down, it's a done deal, and they can't change it.

...

In fact,

England was geographically more of a threat to France than Spain. Although Spain is an army power, it is far in the southwest. The core area of ​​France is in the Paris Basin in the north, beyond the reach of the Spaniards.

The English, on the other hand, can go up the Seine and attack Paris directly...

Of course, this is only in theory. Because the English Army is too scumbag, it can only harass the northern and western coasts of France, and has no ability to invade Paris. Because, even if they attack Paris, the English army is not the opponent of the French knights.

But the French are also afraid that England will suddenly have a powerful army! If nothing else, if it merges with Beihai Kingdom, it will definitely be a dual land and sea power, and it will have the ability to directly threaten Paris.

Therefore, if the North Sea Kingdom is to merge with England, it will really stimulate France too much, and Marin has to guard against it!

...

The best choice is to take advantage of the current internal instability of the French, and the English can unite with Spain and Austria to slash the French together and beat the French honestly.

Originally, this opportunity was actually great. For example, Maximilian I added a new army of 16,000 to Goodendorf. If the 16,000 people of Goodendorf can be transferred to the Netherlands, they will attack Paris from the direction of Belgium. At the same time, England also mobilized a large army from the mainland to join them and attack Paris together, which will definitely bring bad luck to France.

You know, Paris is not without siege. Back then, the daring Charles joined the then Dukes of Berry, Bourbon and Brittany to form a "public alliance" against Louis XI, surrounded Paris, and almost succeeded in subverting Louis XI's rule. If it wasn't for Louis XI's timely division and win over the "public welfare alliance", causing internal conflicts to arise, the Valois dynasty might have been subverted by the bold Charles.

Moreover, attacking Paris from Belgium would be a smooth ride. As long as the Habsburg family can send an army of 16,000 people, plus 20,000 to 30,000 people in England, they can push it all the way to Paris. Not to mention destroying France, it can definitely force France to sign the alliance under the city.

After all, the main force of the French army is still in Naples. At this time, it is absolutely difficult for the French to attack from the north.

However, Maximilian I had his own plans. His Majesty the Emperor did not believe in the English's ability to fight on land, and he preferred to annex Switzerland while the French had no time for him. When the western part of Switzerland is annexed, the Habsburgs' domain will be joined together. At that time, Austria, Tyrol, Switzerland and Franche-Comté will be connected into a whole region, which is more conducive to rule.

Moreover, Maximilian I actually had his own thoughts - he was a little jealous that Spain could swallow the rich kingdom of Naples! Although they are allies, the emperor is not willing to take advantage of allies!

In addition, if Spain takes the opportunity to completely defeat France, then it will be difficult to say whether Spain is an enemy or a friend in the future. Therefore, Maximilian I felt that it was better to have France and Spain evenly matched and fight each other to the death.

And what Marin means, he also understands, is to unite the forces of the British and French troops left behind in the mainland to fight to the death on the Great Plains of northern France, to destroy the living forces of France. As long as the more than 10,000 French knights left behind in Paris can be eliminated, then France will surely suffer greatly...

It is said that this is good for Austria, but the emperor is worried that the decisive battle on the plains will fail. Because, the plain is very conducive to the play of the French heavy cavalry. Also, if France is really crippled, no one will curb the expansion of Spain... Well, these are actually excuses...

...

As for why His Majesty the Emperor chose to do so? Because he learned from his daughter Queen Margaret the secret that the volcanic ash in the kingdom of Naples can increase agricultural production.

After hearing this secret, Maximilian I was so jealous! He also wanted to gain the kingdom of Naples, but the Habsburg family was not strong enough to interfere in Naples' hegemony.

As always, His Majesty the Emperor became jealous. Originally, he should have united England to repair France and make France suffer a big loss.

However, because of his strong jealousy of Spain, His Majesty the Emperor chose a more short-sighted choice-to concentrate on getting Switzerland first. As for the Fa-Spanish hegemony, he just watched the fun. Unless France has the upper hand, he is willing to help Spain...

His mind was as complicated as Marin, and for a while he did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would choose not to help his in-laws and ally Spain because of jealousy. He just wondered why His Majesty the Emperor suddenly became so short-sighted, and felt very annoyed...