At the end of February 1495, news came from Vienna that the emperor finally decided to expand the army again...
At this time, King Charles VIII of France had led 60,000 French and Savoy coalition forces to the Kingdom of Naples, and on the way, the troops of other Italian city-states were pushed aside by them. Even the Papal States were crushed by Charles VIII. Charles VIII marched into Rome with an army, and forced the Pope to crown him King of Naples.
The terrible power of Charles VIII pushing across the Apennine Peninsula made the countries in the Italian region feel fear. Therefore, under the leadership of the most powerful Venice among the states and the most prestigious Papal State, the Italian countries decided to establish a "Holy Alliance" to jointly fight against the French who coveted the Italian territory.
And the Holy Roman Empire, as the powerful faction and the mortal enemy of the French, was naturally invited. You know, the Duchy of Burgundy had a huge area at the time. In addition to the current Duchy of Burgundy (the Franche-Comté region), there was also the Duchy of Burgundy (the later Burgundy region of France), and the Netherlands. .
But after Charles the Bold died in battle, the French took advantage of the internal chaos in Burgundy and cut away the large Duchy of Burgundy (Burgundy region), making Maximilian I, who inherited his father-in-law's legacy, Only the smaller counties of Burgundy (Franche-Comté) and the Netherlands were obtained.
Therefore, Maximilian I and the French had a hatred for robbing the territory. Therefore, Maximilian I will actively prepare for the battle without the Holy Alliance. Of course, he will also put on a show, saying that he does not want to get involved in Italian affairs. In fact, he was posing with the Venetian for the benefit of it.
As we all know, the Republic of Venice is estimated to be the country with the best financial situation in Europe at present. Although Venice is small, its commerce is extremely developed. These days, the Ottoman Empire has just begun to rise, and has not yet competed with Venice for hegemony in the Mediterranean. The new sea route is still being developed, and the Portuguese have not yet arrived in India, and have not yet been able to challenge Venice's maritime trade status. Therefore, Venice is still in a strong stage. The powerful Venice has more than 3,000 galleys and 36,000 sailors.
Although the total population of Venice is less than 200,000. However, the Venetians are rich. In this era, if you have money, you can hire a lot of mercenaries to work for you. Therefore, rich Venice has great potential for war. Even Austria, the strong neighbor on the side, did not dare to make any crooked brains about Venice.
The Venetian state is so small, but its finances are in excellent shape. Little Venice's annual financial income is as high as 2 million ducats. In France during the same period, it was only about 1.2 million.
However, Venice is just a small city-state with a population of less than 200,000. France is a big European country with a population of 15 million...
Of course, in this era, the Netherlands has not yet risen, and Spain and Portugal are still exploring their way at sea. Therefore, no country in Europe can compete with Venice financially.
Although France's fiscal revenue cannot keep up with Venice, it is stronger than Britain and better than Shinra. why? Because France established permanent taxation rights during the time of Charles VII, permanently taxing the country (however, this excludes the fiefdoms of those vassals, so this cannot be regarded as a universal taxation system). This makes France's financial situation among the best in Europe, otherwise, the French would not be able to dispatch tens of thousands of troops to invade Italy.
Britain is also okay, Henry VII also began to imitate France to centralize power, but has not yet implemented a fixed tax system like France. Therefore, Britain's finances are far inferior to those of France, but there are still 120,000 pounds per year, equivalent to 480,000 ducats.
The Holy Roman Empire looked quite big, but the emperor had no permanent taxation power at all, and could only collect taxes in Austria and Burgundy. Among them, taxation in Burgundy is still very difficult. Therefore, the financial level of the huge Holy Roman Empire is slightly better than that of Britain, which has not yet stabilized, and much worse than that of France.
If it weren't for the fact that during the war, the emperor could still ask the Imperial Parliament for help and levy a war tax throughout the empire, the Holy Roman Empire would not have the strength to compete with France for hegemony.
Therefore, in terms of financial resources in Europe during this period, Venice is the well-deserved leader. The Holy Roman Empire is just that the emperor has many younger brothers, which is more bluffing.
Therefore, facing Venice, the emperor also used his brains, wanting Venice to help pay some military expenses...
Venice is naturally rich, and they can also hire mercenaries from various Italian states. However, Italian mercenaries are not as good as Germans. Because Italians love business and are busy doing business. Or, obsessed with literature and art, busy picking up girls. The German region is still relatively martial. The Swiss Union, which is rich in mercenaries, is also considered to be in the German region.
Therefore, the combat literacy of the Shinra army is higher than that of Italian mercenaries. Because of this, Venice is thinking of wooing Shinra. Otherwise, if the Italian mercenaries were strong, Venice would have dominated Europe long ago.
The Venetian envoy was naturally clear about the emperor's intentions. However, the Venetians didn't care much either. Because, compared to the poor Emperor Shenluo, they are more afraid of the rich and powerful France.
Therefore, the envoy promised that as long as the Shenluo Empire assembled its troops and drove to Italy, Venice would provide some subsidies to satisfy the emperor. The reason for doing this is also because they are afraid that the emperor will not work after taking the money. When the emperor assembled his army and entered Italy, he would not fight for nothing.
Coincidentally, Burgundy's taxes have also arrived. Although the Imperial Parliament has not let go, the money from Burgundy can make the emperor's life much easier. Anyway, when it comes to Italy, Venice also promises to pay part of the money. If you win, there will be war dividends.
The emperor who had money naturally trembled. Then, the second batch of recruitment announcements were also sent to various places. The second round of recruitment has officially begun...
After getting the news, Marin quickly pulled out the camp and loaded the supplies into the ox cart. And all the soldiers, all on foot, went to Vienna. After more than a month of abuse by Marin, these mercenaries have no pressure at all on the march.
You know, every day, Marin will force them to carry backpacks "designed" by Marin, armed with spears, and go off-road for 5 kilometers. At first, just do a 5km every morning. In the later stage, it is already 5 kilometers in the morning and evening.
You know, these days, there are no cars, and the infantry must march by themselves. Even horses are expensive supplies. Also, horses eat more than people. If it is not in a hurry, ordinary officers will not let soldiers ride horses. Unless, it is to engage in cavalry.
Therefore, the infantry marched entirely by walking. Fortunately, this era is the Middle Ages, and these mercenaries from poor backgrounds are also used to walking. Wherever they go, if it is not too far away, they basically walk by themselves. It is normal to walk dozens of miles a day. Unlike modern people, who are used to riding a car, they probably wouldn’t be happy to ask him to walk 5 kilometers.
Under Marin's high-intensity training, everyone now feels no pressure on long-distance marches. Each of them, carrying a linen backpack with belongings and holding a spear, lined up in a neat line, silently walking on the road to Vienna, no one talked or laughed. Because, some of them talked and laughed during the march before, and then they were suppressed by whips and sticks... So, everyone formed the habit of marching quietly. Moreover, they are also accustomed to obeying Marin's orders, and this more than a month of training has made this an instinctive reaction of everyone...
Marin led everyone to march all the way, and it took a day to march 50 kilometers, and finally arrived outside Vienna. Then, Marin found that everyone was a little tired. After all, the longest marching distance before was only 20 kilometers. 50 kilometers, although we can run, but everyone is tired. In this era, the average infantry team can travel 30 kilometers a day, which is not bad. Marin led the team to travel 50 kilometers a day, which made everyone a little tired. But he knows that this is not the limit. You must know that the Red Army Tubalu is much more perverted than this pervert. It's just that it's the first time for everyone to run so far in a day, and they are not used to it. You know, the physical training that Marin gave these people is very abnormal.
In order to save energy and show a better state in tomorrow's selection, Marin asked everyone to camp outside the city to recharge their batteries and prepare for tomorrow's selection. And Sauer, who was riding a horse, was sent to find out where the infantry was recruited because of his low physical consumption. Of course, he went on foot to find out the news. After all, he is not tired, but the horse he rides is tired...