The Rise of the European Emperor

Just when the Danish monarchs and ministers planned to use the power of France and the Grand Duchy of Moscow to save Denmark, they didn't know that the French were also in trouble...

It turned out that after the signing of the Treaty of Granada, France and Spain divided the kingdom of Naples. The French occupied the northern part of the kingdom of Naples, including the city of Naples. The Spaniards, on the other hand, occupied the southernmost part of the Apennine Peninsula.

Strictly speaking, the Spaniards suffered, and the French took advantage. After all, France is the most powerful country in continental Europe. Spain, on the other hand, was not as strong on land as Shinra and Poland. Of course, this is under the condition that the open Turkey does not participate in the competition...

However, when the Treaty of Granada was signed, an area called Capitanata at the junction of the two sites was ignored.

However, this Capitanata is a very important area. The land there is fertile and it is an excellent pasture. Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that it is a huge valley, and it is also an important area on the Apennine peninsula to travel from south to north.

The cattle industry in the Kingdom of Naples is relatively developed. Every winter and summer, a large number of cattle will pass through the Capitanata area to spend the summer in the north or spend the winter in the south.

When a large number of cattle pass through this place, local officials can set up cards to collect "transit tax", and the number is not small.

In this era when the king can only rely on customs duties, commercial taxes, entry taxes and transit taxes, transit taxes are definitely an asset that cannot be ignored.

And, more importantly, both France and Spain are very unhappy with the other party sharing the rich kingdom of Naples with them.

As a result, the two countries quarreled over the Capitanata area, which could collect a lot of taxes, and neither of them would give in...

Originally, the French were dominant. Because there are so many French people. France is too strong. There are as many as 20,000 standing heavy cavalry alone, which is not even infantry. Moreover, they can also recruit Swiss mercenaries to fight, which is regarded as the top power in Europe.

However, Spain is not bad either. In particular, Gonzalo de Córdoba also went to East Frisian to learn the famous "Marin phalanx" from Marin. The biggest feature of the Marin phalanx is that it restrains heavy cavalry. Therefore, the Spaniards are not afraid of the French.

Although Gonzalo de Córdoba has only 10,000 men, most of whom are infantry, he is not afraid of the French. As early as last winter, he began to boldly confront the French army for the transit tax. .

When the news reached Paris, France, Louis XII was very upset. Moreover, he has long had the idea of ​​kicking Spain out of the kingdom of Naples. Therefore, Louis XII suspended support for the confrontation between the Swiss and the emperor, and hired 13,000 Swiss mercenaries from Switzerland. This move temporarily halted the Swiss offensive against the Graubünden area controlled by Maximilian I, and also relieved the emperor.

In addition, Louis XII also planned to hire 17,000 Italian mercenaries from the Italian region, and then 10,000 French heavy-armored cavalry from the mainland to gather 40,000 troops to go south, compete with Spain, and then completely drive the Spaniards out of the Kingdom of Naples. .

When the Danish Foreign Minister Eriksen arrived in Paris, Louis XII had already planned to lead the army south...

So the Danes' dream of getting military support from the French side was shattered when the French had a battle to fight...

However, Louis XII did not want Marin to be arrogant. Although it is not possible to directly send a large army to support Denmark. However, the French still generously sent 50 6-pounder rear-mounted bronze guns and a large amount of gunpowder and shells to Denmark from the arsenal to help Denmark guard Copenhagen.

In addition, Louis XII lent 200,000 gold coins to King Hans of Denmark,

Encourage him to hire more mercenaries to fight against the four-nation coalition. With this money, the Danes had no problem recruiting an army of 10,000.

The most important thing is that the 10,000-strong army may not be the opponent of the 30,000-strong coalition army commanded by Marin. However, it is enough to guard Copenhagen with its tall and strong walls.

After all, there are tens of thousands of troops, and if you send thousands of people to block the city gate, they can block the city gate...

In this way, Eriksson left France with a little disappointment. However, he didn't come home empty-handed either. With so many artillery and ammunition, and 200,000 gold coins that can hire tens of thousands of mercenaries, I can have an explanation when I go back. However, it was inevitable that they had not received the expected support from the French army.

In fact, what Erickson didn't know was that Marin's musketeers specialised in restraining French knights. Even if France sends a large army to support Denmark, it may not be effective. The French did not come to support Denmark, but they escaped.

However, when the French army went south, they would have to face a Spanish army of 10,000 who also used the "Marin phalanx", so it was not good. Because, since Gonzalo de Córdoba returned from his studies, he has practiced the "Marin phalanx" with his 10,000-strong army for a year or two. Moreover, Ferdinand II generously equipped him with 50 rear-mounted bronze cannons, which further enhanced their firepower.

This is not to mention, since Columbus acted as a leading party and brought back a large amount of spices from the Americas with the Spanish fleet, by selling spices, the Spanish double kings made a profit of one hundred million gold coins and suddenly became rich.

So, Ferdinand II, who had money, ordered another 10,000 Spanish mercenaries to be hired. After passing through Sicily, they were sent to the Spanish-controlled area of ​​the Kingdom of Naples, under the command of Gonzalo de Cordoba.

The information returned from Paris showed that King Louis XII of France led an army of more than 20,000 people to the south (he did not know that Louis XII had already sent people to Italy to recruit more than 10,000 mercenaries). Now that he is rich, Ferdinand II is not willing to admit it. So, he added 10,000 troops and planned to have a good fight with the French in the Kingdom of Naples. Best, to be able to defeat the French and drive them out of the kingdom of Naples completely...

In this way, while the war was raging in the Nordic region, the two major powers in southern Europe, Italy, France and Spain, also began to secretly accumulate their strength, all thinking of driving away each other and taking over the Kingdom of Naples...

In order to create momentum for the conflict, the kings of Spain and France have begun to pass diplomatic instruments, accusing each other of provocation and making excuses for their own troops. It is best to allow yourself to stand on the side of justice...