While Marin was working on development on Texel Island, many major events happened on the land of Western Europe. After a tug-of-war negotiation, Maximilian I finally got the coveted ransom of more than one million gold coins from the unlucky Charles VIII. In order to pay the high ransom, Charles VIII emptied the savings of the treasury and borrowed a large sum of money from the big Jewish merchants and the merchants of Genoa.
But Charles VIII had to pay the ransom, because if he didn't care about the life and death of the captured soldiers, no one would work for him in the future.
Looking at the piles of gold and silver coins, the poor and crazy Maximilian I woke up laughing many times from his dreams. Then, Maximilian I decided to expand the standing army under the Habsburg family from 16,500 to 25,000.
In addition, Maximilian I also allocated a large sum of money to establish a number of military factories in Innsbruck, Austria. As a knight controller, Maximilian I began to personally participate in the research and development of the later famous Maximilian armor. Originally, this was developed by the emperor around 1500 in order to meet the needs of war. Now, with sufficient funds, he certainly started research and development ahead of schedule.
Moreover, in order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the army, Maximilian I also purchased a batch of artillery and equipped the army. Maximilian I was a man who knew military affairs, and the century-old Anglo-French war gave him a lot of inspiration. The French began to be defeated frequently in front of the British longbowmen, but later, the French not only equipped with plate armor with stronger protection, but also began to use a large number of artillery to fight against the longbowmen, and gradually won the victory and expelled the British from France go out.
The French often used hundreds of cannons at every turn when fighting. If they bombarded together, it would be easy to open a big hole in the frontal battlefield. In the last battle in Italy, the coalition forces were actually very lucky to win. In addition to being affected by syphilis and eager to run away, the French discarded their artillery before, which was also an important reason for their failure. If Charles VIII took hundreds of artillery pieces and bombarded the Italian coalition forces together, the French would probably be able to defeat the Italian coalition forces. Therefore, Maximilian I, who was inspired, purchased 50 light bronze guns for his army. In addition to the original dozens of cannons, the emperor's army also possessed more than a hundred cannons.
It's just that the artillery of this era does not have a suitable gun mount or ear. To carry artillery on the road, you must bring a large number of heavy carriages to transport the artillery. At this time, the artillery is generally a thick barrel. Every time there is a battle, someone must be sent to lift the barrel from the carriage to the front of the battle, put it on the ground and put it away. Therefore, infantry artillery is generally not heavy, and the caliber is not large. Because, if the gun body is too heavy, the soldiers can't lift it at all. In order to place the artillery, engineers also need to dig a hole to block the recoil of the artillery. In short, it is very troublesome to use artillery these days. Unlike later, a light cannon with wheels pulled by a horse can travel quickly.
Transporting artillery with a carriage is very susceptible to terrain. Because of the mountainous terrain, the carriage cannot pass through at all, and the artillery cannot be transported there.
During the Swabian War in 1499, it was difficult for the emperor's army to transport artillery to the Swiss plateau. As a result, the emperor's coalition forces were severely taught by the Swiss spearmen.
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However, for the emperor, he has obtained great benefits, and others are jealous...
Moreover, it is not outsiders who are jealous, but the insiders of the Habsburg family...
Therefore, when Maximilian I was full of ambitions, the members of the close and side branches of the Habsburg family, such as Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Upper Tyrol, Lower Tyrol, Stie Leah's... Wait, wait, a bunch of family dukes and counts came to Innsbruck, where Maximilian I always lived, to play the autumn wind...
Maximilian I was very popular. In his vision, these more than 1 million gold coins were the key to the re-emergence of the Habsburg family. If it was given to this group of guys, what would he use to rise up? Originally, he planned to strengthen the army again after the development of the new plate armor, and defeat his biggest competitor, Hungary first. Then, one by one, the princes who disobeyed themselves were cleaned up, and finally the Habsburg family truly became the controller of the German region, rather than the nominal owner.
However, his long-term vision does not mean that his relatives have long-term vision...
Just like how many relatives came to borrow money after someone broke out in Huaxia in later generations, the various branches of Habsburg also came to "borrow" money...
In this era, due to underdeveloped agriculture and the beginning of great voyages, most nobles' finances were very poor. It is normal for nobles to owe money to the Hanseatic League. Because of this, the Hanseatic League gained a lot of trade privileges in Germany by lending money to the nobles.
Just like the emperor himself, he also owed a debt of hundreds of thousands of gold coins before. But after receiving the ransom, the emperor's finances suddenly improved. However, the relatives who were staring at the money also came to the door...
Moreover, the emperor is different from ordinary civilians. Ordinary civilians can just take care of themselves. They can choose not to lend money to relatives, and at most they will be scolded a few times. However, the emperor could not ignore his relatives. Because, his relatives are not simple stuff.
The offshoots of the Habsburgs, to say the least, are also barons, dukes, and earls. As a nominal monarch, Maximilian I needed the support of these noble relatives very much. Without this group of people, he would not even have the confidence to quarrel with the princes in the Imperial Parliament. After all, there are hundreds of princes and only one emperor. If you quarrel with hundreds of princes by yourself, you will definitely lose. Therefore, he had to win over his relatives, as well as the nobles of the Swabian Union, to help him quarrel and fight...
Therefore, the emperor could not ignore the demands of these noble relatives, especially his important supporters.
Of course, the emperor can't follow the wishes of these guys. According to what these guys want, it would be better for everyone to share the million gold coins together.
After much wrangling and even quarreling, the emperor took out 200,000 gold coins very sadly, and blocked the mouths of his relatives. That's it, many people are not happy about it. If the emperor hadn't moved out of the righteousness of the family's future, the relatives would even divide up all the ransom money.
Unexpectedly, immediately afterwards, the dukes and earls of the Swabian Union also came to "borrow money"...
The Swabian Alliance is now the emperor's greatest force, and it is even more unoffensive than the emperor's relatives. Otherwise, no one would support the emperor. Those relatives of my family can go to the Imperial Council to help quarrel. In terms of combat effectiveness, they are all war scum. To fight, you have to rely on the Swabian coalition and your own mercenaries (most of the officers are nobles and nobles from the Swabian alliance).
For this reason, the emperor endured the reluctance and pain in his heart, and "borrowed" another 200,000 gold coins to the great nobles of Swabia. Moreover, it is said to be "borrowed", God knows when these guys will pay it back. According to the virtues of nobles in this era, it is "not bad for a thousand years, not repaid for ten thousand years"... Anyway, Maximilian I felt that when he was alive, he would not be able to see these guys pay back the money...
His own people knocked away 400,000 gold coins one after another, which made the emperor's heart bleed, but he still couldn't say anything. Politics is all about the exchange of interests. If you get rich, if you don’t bring friends to play, you won’t even think about having allies in the future. In order to show the prestige of the country, the emperor made a big publicity that he had got 2,000 high-level French prisoners, which made the whole country know it. Everyone knows that relying on this group of captives, the emperor will definitely receive a large ransom. Therefore, these guys have long planned to beat the emperor, and it can be said that it has been planned for a long time. Moreover, the emperor couldn't help expressing something, he was really aggrieved...
Afterwards, the emperor was alone, hiding in bed and crying for a long time. It's not that the emperor felt sorry for the money, but that Maximilian I's great dream of revitalizing the Habsburg family and integrating Germany was nearly half destroyed by his relatives and allies. Unfortunately, the emperor still couldn't get fit. So, he had to hide and cry by himself...