Maximilian I didn't know what he thought of, and suddenly frowned...
After a while, Maximilian I said to Marin:
"Marin, I suddenly remembered that although the Graubünden region did not join the alliance, last year and the year before last, the three local alliances seemed to have formed a secret alliance with the Swiss Alliance. In other words, I besieged In the case of the Graubünden area, the Swiss Union may send troops because of this... ”
"This..." Marin also frowned. He knew the combat effectiveness of the emperor's army and the Swabian army, which was not weak, but compared with the Swiss mercenaries, they were scumbags.
Although, relying on blocking news can also keep the Swiss unaware for a period of time. But even in the Middle Ages when news transmission was backward, it’s okay for you to block news for ten days and half a month. If it takes a long time, it will definitely show your feet. Because, if a region has not communicated with the outside world for more than a month, people in other places will definitely be curious about what happened. As soon as I investigated, I was exposed.
Moreover, Marin didn't think that the emperor's army could sweep the Graubünden area within a month. If the Swiss reinforcements arrive, and there is an internal and external attack, the emperor may fail.
However, as an important channel connecting Tyrol to Italy, if it is not taken down, its influence on the Italian region will be greatly reduced. Originally, in history, it was because of the failure to compete for the Graubünden area that Louis XII successfully cleared away Shinra's ally, the Duchy of Milan, when he marched into Italy. And because he couldn't seize Graubünden, a channel directly connected to Milan, Maximilian I couldn't even rescue Milan. Coupled with the war with the Swiss, in the original history, Maximilian I watched France annex the Duchy of Milan.
"Mistel Valley... the main road... Milan... Italy..." Marin began to ponder. Maximilian I, on the other hand, was drinking from the sidelines without disturbing him. But he knew that Marin was holding back some bad ideas again...
Sure enough, almost half an hour later, a traditional Chinese strategy formed in Marin's mind...
"Your Majesty, if you are willing to officially recognize the status of my earl, I am willing to offer a plan to help you take the Graubünden region without any effort..." Marin said confidently.
"Oh? You still have such abilities?" Maximilian I was very surprised when he arrived. You must know that the Graubünden area is not small, about twice the size of East Frisia. Moreover, there are high mountains and dangerous terrain, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Marin said that it was effortless, which really made Maximilian I a little unconvinced, thinking that Marin was bragging in order to seek his own recognition of his earl status.
"Of course, this is a conspiracy that Mr. Einstein gave me back then. The effect can be compared to the ambush of King Charles VIII of France!"
"Really?" Maximilian I was immediately interested.
Graubünden has an area of six to seven thousand square kilometers, which is very large. Moreover, it borders the emperor's territory, the Principality of Tyrol, to the east. For a long time, the Habsburg family has also been infiltrating the Graubünden region in an attempt to control the region. It is precisely because of the pressing force of the Habsburg family that the three local forces in Graubünden have quietly formed an alliance with the Swiss Union.
Although there are more mountains in the Graubünden area, there are also many fertile valleys. Moreover, the local wine is also a good place. If it can be taken down, the emperor will indeed make a lot of money.
"Of course, do you think I'm a liar? We can sign a written agreement. If His Majesty easily takes Graubunden, you will recognize my earl status. If you can't take Graubunden, you won't recognize it." I will..."
"So confident? Well, tell me."
"Let's sign an agreement first, shall we?" Marin is the one who doesn't see rabbits or hawks. Western emperors are not as inviolable as Eastern emperors, so on one condition, it's fine. Moreover, Marin now controls an uncle country, and he barely has the confidence and qualifications to negotiate with the emperor.
"This..." the emperor hesitated. After all, if he really recognized Marin's status, he would offend the powerful Duke of Saxony.
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Louis XII may enter Italy this year and capture the Duchy of Milan..." This is true. Historically, in 1499, Louis XII would indeed invade the Duchy of Milan and occupy the entire territory of the Duchy of Milan. Drive away the Sforza family. At that time, Maximilian I was busy fighting with the Swiss, and did not obtain the important pass of Graubünden, unable to support his ally Milan, he could only watch the Duchy of Milan being occupied by France.
"What you said is true?" Maximilian I immediately paid attention.
"Of course, according to the information provided by my informant in Paris, the French may collude with the Venetians to carve up Milan..." In history, it was indeed the Venetians who invited Louis XII to clean up the Duchy of Milan. Because the Duchy of Milan is very strong, which has affected the expansion of Venice in Italy. For this reason, Venice did not hesitate to invite the French to swallow up the Duchy of Milan and help clear the obstacles for itself.
"Your Majesty, as you know, after the Visconti family that ruled Milan became extinct, it was originally agreed that Charles I, Duke of Orleans, would succeed him. But the locals of Milan established a republic, which was later taken advantage of by the Sforza family. According to From a legal point of view, the Duke of Orleans and his descendants can be regarded as the legal heirs of the Duchy of Milan."
"The Duke of Orleans, Louis of this generation, has become King Louis XII of France. That is to say, the new French King Louis XII has a reason to invade the Duchy of Milan. Therefore, Your Majesty, you must control the Mistel Valley, To facilitate the support of the Duchy of Milan."
"You are right, I must support the Duchy of Milan. Because, my queen is still from the Sforza family."
Moreover, the Duchy of Milan was an important ally of the emperor in Italy and a bridgehead for the emperor to intervene in Italian affairs. Therefore, its importance can be imagined.
Not only that, there are only two ways for the emperor's army to enter Italy:
One is the western route from the Mistel Valley into the Principality of Milan; the second is the eastern route from the east into the territory of the Republic of Venice.
However, the Republic of Venice is a powerful country, and it doesn't have much to do with the Holy Roman Empire. If they want to intervene in Italian affairs hastily, the Venetians may not allow the emperor to enter Italy.
Therefore, the western channel connecting the ally, the Principality of Milan, is even more important to the emperor.
Thinking of his grand blueprint for planning Italy, compared with the wishes of the Duke of Saxony, it is obvious that his grand blueprint is more important.
Finally, the emperor nodded:
"Okay, let's sign the contract. It's settled, according to your method, you can't let me lose too much..."
"Don't worry, you!"
…
After signing the document, the emperor asked here:
"Can we talk now?"
"Well, of course. The strategy I'm going to talk about comes from the far east. He has a name called 'False Dao Fighting Guo'..."
"False Taoism?" It took a lot of trouble to translate this sentence in German, and the emperor didn't understand it...
So, Marin had to start explaining:
"In the far east, a king wanted to attack two neighboring small countries. However, these two small countries helped each other and formed an alliance... blah blah blah... The king of Yu State accepted the benefits from the king of Jin State, so he allowed Jin State The army of the state crossed the border... After the Jin army defeated the Guo state, the troops returned to the court. When they passed the Yu state on the way, they intentionally stopped the army near the capital of the state. The King of Yu State went hunting. When the King of Yu State accompanied the King of Jin State to go hunting, the Jin State Army took the opportunity to cooperate internally and externally, and captured the capital of the State of Yu State, and easily controlled the King of State of Yu State who followed the King of Jin State to hunt out of the city... "
After hearing this, the emperor thought for a while and said:
"You mean, let me pretend to go to Italy with the people of Graubünden, and then occupy Graubünden in one fell swoop while the people of Graubünden are not paying attention?"
"Yes, that's what it means!"
"But, what excuse do I use to go to Italy? With a large army, I can't use the excuse of attacking our ally, the Duchy of Milan, right?"
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? You are the emperor, but unfortunately you haven't been crowned yet..." Marin reminded.
"What do you mean?" The emperor was a little surprised.
"March into Rome! Who would doubt such a good excuse? Every generation of emperors has to go to Rome. Whether it is to march into Rome or go to Rome in a low-key way, you must go to Rome once. Your Majesty, you use this as an excuse, Graubin Would people suspect it?"
"This... this... but isn't this a bit too much?" Maximilian I was a little tongue-tied. Marching into Rome is provoking the Pope. It's okay to succeed, but it's shameful to fail...
"No, no, you just need to secretly write a letter to the Pope and explain..."
"That's right, it's a good way..."
"Your Majesty, it is reasonable for you to march into Rome with an army of tens of thousands, right?"
"Of course, 10,000 people are too few..."
"And Your Majesty, you are resident in Innsbruck, the capital of the Principality of Tyrol. Therefore, it is normal to take the western route, right?"
"That's right!"
"Make it public and public. That way the people of Graubünden won't suspect your motives..."
"But how can the local chiefs be lured out of the city?"
"This is easy. You need to make it bigger, but you have to accept the congratulations of the lords along the way, and entertain the lords along the way. When you arrive near Chur, the capital of Graubünden, you can also invite local people, including the local archbishop. Celebrities, attend your banquet..."
"Then, when they go to the banquet, catch them together?" The emperor finally understood...
"That's it!"
"How can I make them trust me and go out to the city for a banquet?"
"Didn't you say that, you started from the Tyrol region and started to entertain the lords along the way. It doesn't matter if you walk slowly, and you must let the Graubünden people in Chur know the news. Let them know, to participate in the emperor's It doesn't matter at the banquet, it's because the emperor is about to be crowned, and I'm happy..."
"Then, after entering the Graubünden area, starting from the border area, you entertain the local gentry all the way to the vicinity of the city of Chur. The people in front of them are all fine, and the people of Chur will naturally not feel that they are in danger. …”
"When the important figures in Graubünden in the city of Chur came to the banquet together, they happened to catch them all..."
"If you catch them, will you be able to open the city gate?"
"Not necessarily, but I have a way! You can find a Graubünden lord who is willing to surrender, and let them take the elite guards you have accepted, pretending to be the guards of the big man, and enter the city together. Then, the inside and outside should cooperate , Take down the city gate with one sentence, and you can enter the city with an army..."
"This... this... is really a clever plan, and it's very poisonous..."
"However, Marin, if I do this, I can easily win Graubünden. However, my reputation will be bad in the future... Moreover, the march into Rome will not end well..."
The emperor was right. If Graubünden was blatantly overshadowed this time, the lords in other regions would know about it. In the future, if the emperor's army wants to borrow it, who would dare to borrow it? In the future, the emperor's army will not have to go out of Austria...
"This... Rong Chen think about it..."
When it was almost night, Marin figured out a way:
"Yes, Your Majesty, at that banquet, you can send your subordinates to pretend to be local nobles and pretend to assassinate Your Majesty..."
"Pretending to assassinate me? What do you mean?"
"That fake local nobleman assassinated you, do you have an excuse to get angry and take Graubünden? After all, they plotted to assassinate the emperor..."
"That's the truth..."
"And, afterwards, Your Majesty, you can also pretend to be seriously injured and bedridden. In this way, you don't have to go to Italy, and just cancel the 'March into Rome'..."
"What a good idea!" The emperor yelled.
In this way, the emperor had a good excuse to seize Graubünden. Moreover, the emperor's deceitful injury can also win the sympathy and support of public opinion. Then, "Race to Rome" can also be canceled. Everyone is seriously injured, why don't you go to P's Rome? Naturally, there is no need to really conflict with the Pope. So, this method really kills two birds with one stone...
Moreover, if it takes a short time to occupy the Graubünden area, even if the Swiss Union wants to rescue, it will not be able to respond. By the time they reacted, the emperor had already deployed defenses against the Swiss army.
Although the Swiss spearmen are ferocious in field battles, their siege capabilities are average. Because the spearman holds a spear several meters long, and it is not convenient to climb the city wall. And climbing the city wall with a short knife, even if you climb up, you will be overturned by the spearmen defending the city... Therefore, the emperor's army cannot defeat the Swiss in field battles. But if you defend the city, you can completely withstand the Swiss attack...
The only problem is to communicate well with Pope Alexander VI in private, so as not to misunderstand the Pope. The situation of Maximilian I was not too good. If the pope called on the whole of Europe to oppose the emperor, then Maximilian I would not be able to eat it...
In this regard, Marin's suggestion is simple - send money. Pope Alexander VI and his son are the most greedy for money, as long as they give enough money, they will not have any opinions...
In this way, the emperor smiled slyly, and made a conspiracy with Marin to seize the Graubünden region in southeastern Switzerland...