In the Tyrol region of Austria, Maximilian I had just finished his spring plowing in Austria. For spring plowing, he even suspended the operation to seize the Graubünden region in Switzerland.
There is no other reason, because spring plowing is too important to feudal lords. In this era, there was not much industry, and the income of the nobles mainly came from agricultural taxes and commercial taxes. For the commercially undeveloped and landlocked Austrian region, agriculture is crucial. Therefore, even such a major event as the capture of Graubünden must temporarily make way for spring plowing.
Because the march to Graubünden is not only a matter of the army, but also has a lot to do with the farmers. Generally speaking, if the army exceeds 5,000 people, many civilians are needed to transport food and supplies in order to continue fighting.
But it was an accident that Marin seized East Friesland last time, because Marin already had the means to break the city, making the war last very short. Therefore, there is no need for civilian transportation. But if there is a protracted siege, thousands of teams will need a lot of civilians. Even, the number of civilian husbands needed is no less than the number of soldiers.
Although Marin's strategy can ensure that Maximilian I can quickly win several important cities in the Graubünden region. However, the emperor can also imagine that there will be fierce resistance at that time. After all, the folk customs in Switzerland are aggressive. Although after taking several important cities and passes, the emperor will definitely win. But in the middle, a large amount of material supply is also needed to deal with the counterattack of local forces.
Therefore, the emperor will not only bring tens of thousands of troops this time, but also tens of thousands of civilian husbands and animals carrying supplies. However, during spring plowing, all peasants and livestock have to go to the fields to plow. Therefore, if the emperor wants to act, he must wait for the spring plowing to end. Unless, he wants a famine to break out in Austria after the autumn harvest...
After the end of spring plowing at the end of April, the emperor eagerly began to gather soldiers, horses and peasants to prepare to "march into Rome"...
After returning to Austria in January, Maximilian I began layout preparations...
First, the emperor sent a secret envoy to Rome with 20,000 gold coins to bribe Caesar, the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, and revealed to the other party that he was going to "pretend to march into Rome" this time, asking them not to worry and not to act hostile.
Although he felt that the emperor was stingy and gave little money, Caesar Borgia accepted the emperor's bribe on behalf of Alexander VI. After all, 20,000 gold coins is not too little. For the poor emperor Maximilian I, it was a bloodbath. Anyway, the Pope has nothing to lose this time, just watch the show. Wait for the emperor to stop marching into Rome as promised, and then make a statement that doesn't hurt or itch... As long as the other party doesn't really lead troops into Italy, the Holy See doesn't need to be an enemy of the emperor...
In addition, the emperor also sent people to carry out extensive publicity in Austria, Switzerland, and even northern Italy...
It is also very tragic to say, although Maximilian I should be the emperor. However, he has not yet been officially crowned in Rome. Therefore, his official title now should be "King of the Roman People" or "King of Germany", not "Holy Roman Emperor". Generally speaking, many foreigners think that Maximilian I is just the "King of Germany", not even the "King of the Roman People". But in Germany, people still generally recognize the emperor as the "king of the Roman people". Even, except for the opposition, most Germans also recognize that Maximilian I is the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, just lacking a coronation ceremony. .
In any case, Maximilian I was going to Rome to be officially crowned. Therefore, most people understand that Maximilian I was impatient to wait and wanted to "enter Rome". After all, Maximilian I had been king for 12 years (became king of Germany in 1486) and quasi-emperor for five years (his father Frederick III died in 1493). Now, it makes sense to be impatient and want to go to Rome for the coronation.
Therefore, like the Graubünden region, there is no objection to the emperor going to Rome by way. After all, in the history of Europe, there has never been such a despicable thing as "counterfeiting". Therefore, not many people will be wary of it.
Moreover, if Maximilian I really took the opportunity to seize Graubünden while crossing the border, then he would have no face in the future...
But the people of Graubünden didn't know that behind the emperor, there was such an insidious guy as Marin, who gave the emperor a wicked idea of "fake assassination". As long as the emperor was "assassinated" while passing by Graubünden, it would be reasonable for the emperor to seize Graubünden in a fit of anger. After all, no matter who, as long as they are normal people who are almost killed, they will have the idea of counterattack and revenge.
Because the emperor publicly declared that he was going to be crowned in Rome, the German region was divided into two completely different views:
One faction is the supporters of the emperor. They believe that it is natural and legal for the emperor to go to Rome to be crowned. It would be best for the emperor to bring more soldiers and horses to show the majesty of the Germans.
The other faction is the princes who oppose the emperor. They will not openly oppose the emperor, but generally look down on the emperor, and privately hope that the emperor will hit a wall, and it is best to fail the coronation. Because if the emperor is crowned successfully, his prestige will be further improved, which will suppress those princes. Because the imperial power and the autonomy of the princes are naturally opposed, and there is a relationship between the ebb and flow...
However, except for the emperor and Marin, and a few who knew the emperor's plan, they never doubted whether the emperor was really going to Rome...
This is also the power of Marin's plan. After all, the emperor did have the motivation and necessity to go to Rome to be crowned, so that outsiders would not have doubts.
Therefore, the target of the conspiracy—the various forces in Graubünden, the plan at this time is—to hide the property well, so as to prevent the emperor’s army from taking the sheep by the way...
The military discipline of the army in this era is very poor. There is not much difference between the passage of a large army and the passage of locusts. Therefore, the Swiss in Graubünden wanted to avoid the discovery of their property by the passing emperor's army. As for more, I didn't think much about it.
When the emperor gathered his army, the people of Graubünden were not nervous at all, they were just worried that the army would rob them when they crossed the border.
In their view, when the emperor's army passed by Graubünden, everyone put away all their belongings and closed the door, and that's about it...
In fact, Maximilian I has always been a very chivalrous king, and was called "the last knight" by later generations. Usually, he is also a very chivalrous person. Therefore, his reputation is still very good. No one thought that he would use such an immoral method as "false roads to attack Guo" to expand his territory.
In fact, this is also because Maximilian I was deeply influenced by Marin. Relying on such a disgraceful method of ambush, Marin severely damaged the army of knights led by Charles VIII, and gained a lot. Even though Marin only handed in half of the spoils, Maximilian I, who was used to being poor, gained a lot of wealth, which made him crazy with joy.
It was precisely because of seeing the methods adopted by Marin, although they did not look too bright, but the benefits were huge, that Maximilian I became interested in Marin's methods and was willing to give it a try.
Most importantly, the conspiracy and tricks designed by Marin will not damage his name. Because, that well-designed "fake assassination" will throw all the blame on the Grisons. And the emperor, still the very handsome king, everything is the fault of the people of Graubünden...
After seeing that his reputation would not be damaged, but he could easily obtain a large area of territory and important passes, Maximilian I resolutely let go of his psychological burden, calmly adopted Marin's strategy, and prepared several for it. month...