Before Marin set off, he received a very special news—the Swiss expanded eastward...
To be precise, it is the expansion of the most powerful Zurich state in the Swiss Confederation...
The state of Zurich is the most populous and most powerful state in the Swiss Confederation. Under normal circumstances, the Zurich State maintains a standing army (Zurich Legion) of 8,000 people, which is very powerful. In general, small Swiss states have a standing army of only 1,000 people.
In this era, a European superpower like France only had a standing army of more than 20,000 people. The Habsburg dynasty only had a standing army of 16,500. A small state like Zurich can maintain a scale of 8,000 Swiss mercenaries, which is definitely considered a strong combat force.
With this growth, the people of Zurich are dissatisfied with their small territory. You must know that not only Zurich, but even the whole of Switzerland is dominated by plateaus with few flat lands.
But in the German Swabian region not far from Zurich, there are a lot of fertile plains...
Moreover, the Swabian Alliance is only a loose alliance, and in terms of individual forces, it is actually not strong. Especially some of the princes near the Zurich state are relatively weak.
Right now, the people of Zurich seem to be very cautious and carry out tentative attacks. Of course, before attacking, they will find some excuses or something, at least they must be reasonable.
In fact, in the original history, the people of Zurich began to expand to the northeast of Swabia in 1496. However, that was mainly because the conflict between Austria and Hungary broke out in 1496, and there was no time to look around. Moreover, Shinra did not appear to participate in the Italian War, and there was no deterrence at all.
But this time and space is different, because of the appearance of Marin, the Holy Roman Empire made a big splash in the first Italian war and made a lot of money. Therefore, Hungary was too scared to move. Austria and Hungary did not fight, and Zurich did not dare to move for a while. But after a year or two, the people of Zurich gradually recovered from the coercion caused by the victory of the Holy Roman Empire on the Italian battlefield.
Then, the representatives of Zurich believed that the German army may be very strong on the plains (they also scare themselves), but in the Swiss highlands, the Swiss are still not afraid of anyone.
Therefore, during the period from the end of 1497 to the beginning of 1498, the people of Zurich began to frequently provoke the lords of the Swabian region in order to find an excuse to attack.
Even, Zurich had already fought a battle with the lord of the Singen area in the northeast, and occupied many towns including Gailingen and Gottmadingen at once.
Therefore, the news reached the Wadden Islands through the passing of merchants who went to do business in the south. Moreover, what is strange is that although the Swabian League has begun to mobilize to fight against the Swiss, Emperor Maximilian I, the biggest backer of the Swabian League, is still silent and has not clearly stood up to support Swabia. alliance.
Of course, Marin could guess what the emperor was thinking. He didn't give up on the Swiss, and thought that he might hire Swiss mercenaries in the future. However, Marin felt that the emperor took it for granted. Because the Swiss occupied the original territory of the Habsburg family, which naturally had conflicts with the emperor.
If the Swiss join the emperor's army and help the emperor fight. Maybe one day, the emperor will become more powerful and will come to recover the former ancestral land...
In the face of huge irreconcilable contradictions such as land ownership, it was difficult for the emperor and the Swiss to come together. Therefore, the emperor took it for granted.
It is precisely because the most powerful emperor in the alliance did nothing and allowed the Swiss to do anything wrong, which led to the continuous expansion of the results of the Zurich state. Later, the people of Zurich had occupied more than 200 towns of the Swabian League, and almost destroyed the Swabian League. At this time, the emperor finally realized that something was wrong, so he stood up and spoke for the Swabian League.
But it was too late for the emperor to stand up. The Swiss had shown strong self-confidence and refused to stop. So at the beginning of 1499, the emperor finally sent troops and started fighting with the Swiss. Thus, the "Swabian War" broke out...
However, in front of the high-morale Swiss army, the emperor's army also retreated steadily, and the top general was killed. In the end, in desperation, the emperor had no choice but to sign a contract with the Swiss, indirectly acknowledging the independent status of the Swiss in exchange for the return of the occupied Swabian Alliance territory by the Swiss. Since then, the Swiss have become de facto independent and no longer accept imperial management. After the end of the "Thirty Years' War" in 1648, the Swiss saw the weakness of the empire and simply declared complete independence...
After receiving the news that the Zurich people began to expand, Marin realized that the prelude to the "Swabian War" had begun...
Historically, this war had a great impact on the emperor. Because of the defeat in this war, the emperor's prestige plummeted, and he was almost conspired to be abolished by the gangsters of the Imperial Parliament.
Of course, in this time and space, because of the arrival of Marin, the emperor may not lose in the Swabian War. Because, the emperor still has the trump card of Marin. The Spanish phalanx created by Marin is very restrained against the Swiss spear formation. Even if the mercenaries in the front row of the Swiss wore breastplate armor, they could not resist the powerful impact of the powerful musket guns. Moreover, Marin also placed special emphasis on digging trenches in order to stop the Swiss spear charge.
As long as his own army goes out, it is difficult for the emperor to lose. However, considering Marin's own interests, he would not respond to the emperor's call from the beginning. Because, if Marin sent troops prematurely and successfully helped the emperor defeat the Swiss, then there might not be any benefits in exchange.
Only when the emperor and the Swabian alliance were all defeated, Marin appeared at this most difficult moment, collided with the spears of the Swiss as a forward, and defeated the Swiss in an upright manner, in order to exchange the greatest benefits with the emperor.
Moreover, if Marin can defeat the Swiss, he can also make a name for himself and become a popular fried chicken in the mercenary world...
All in all, Marin's plan is to let the emperor and the Swiss fight first. Wait until the emperor is beaten black and blue by the Swiss, and then appear on the stage, and charge forward as a savior, repelling the Swiss. At that time, not only will he be able to exchange for the maximum benefit from the crisis, but he will also be able to gain a huge reputation.
However, according to history, the Swiss and the Swabians fought for more than two years before the emperor finally intervened. Even if history changes, it is unlikely that the emperor would intervene in the first place. Therefore, Marin does not need to worry too much. When things happen, God knows it will be the Year of the Monkey.
In the time before the occurrence, there was enough time for Marin to prepare and train. At least, Marin can win East Frisia and consolidate its rule during the previous period...