Chapter 856

Episode 856: Their Ambition (7)

Although the Medici family was the ruler of Florence, rivals to the Medici family still existed.

Like the Medici family, families engaged in banking and the woolen business attempted to win the competition with the Medici family and take the Medici family’s enormous wealth and influence for their own.

However, the problem was that as Cosimo’s bold investments, which were considered gambles, succeeded one after another, the possibility of winning the competition disappeared.

Judging that there was no chance of defeating the Medici through competition, the rival families decided to use the most time-honored methods.

The traditional methods they chose were assassination, kidnapping, and coup d’état.

Medici’s rivals were secretly plotting, but there was a crucial loophole.

Underfunded and underfunded troops.

They also encountered the same obstacles that the Young Men’s School faced.

As I mentioned earlier, most of the competitors were operating the same financial and woolen industries as Medici.

However, as they lost out in competition, their wallets were empty. It was not easy to recruit skilled experts who could carry out assassinations or kidnappings in a situation where it was only possible to maintain the status quo.

The same was true for the troops.

There was not enough money to hire mercenary units. It was said that even if the assassination or kidnapping was successful, there would not be the military power to oust the Medici family and take control of Florence.

In the end, they had no choice but to ask the tyrants of other cities for support.

It was the same choice as the young scholars who visited the kings of France and Spain, the Holy Roman Empire.

And their choice ended in failure.

The tyrants who received their request decided to support them, but this was because the tyrants of other nearby cities who learned of this fact informed Cosimo in advance.

It was not in good faith that they gave information to Cosimo.

If the Medici of Florence were to fall, it was obvious without looking that other tyrants who supported their rivals would devour Florence.

If that happened, Italy’s power structure would change and they would lose their vested rights.

“I don’t care what happens to Medici, but I can’t lose what’s mine because of it!”

In order to protect their vested rights, the tyrants informed Cosimo in advance.

And those who plotted were immediately suppressed and disappeared.

As these attempts became more frequent, Cosimo decided to go into hiding.

On the surface, it was put forward as ‘old age’, but in reality, it was to escape the risk of assassination and kidnapping.

As the ruler of Florence, the external activities that Lorenzo had to do were to protect the control of the family by managing the financial business, which was the core business of the young and energetic Lorenzo family, while Giovanni, who had reached the point of maturity, controlled the situation from a safe place.

When the reorganization of the Medici family was completed, the young scholars of Florence approached Lorenzo.

“If Lorenzo de’ Medici is young, he must be as ambitious as he is, right?”

“He is a person who will do anything to surpass his grandfather’s achievements and reputation.”

“If it’s Giovanni de’ Medici, who’s like a snake, he won’t listen to us, but if it’s Lorenzo de’ Medici, it’s totally possible.”

Judging by this, the youth school came into contact with Lorenzo and brought him into the fold.

Lorenzo was lured in with the sweet lure of being ‘the ruler of a unified Italy.’

* * *

“Hmm... Considering the case of Japan, isn’t it impossible?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you really think it’s possible?”

“It’s entirely possible!”

“Whoa~.”

In response to Lorenzo de’ Medici’s answer, Cosimo placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

To overcome their weak military power, city-states contracted mercenaries to defend their cities.

Early mercenary units were composed of foreign soldiers and commanders.

However, as time passed and the mercenary army grew in size and made money, its composition began to change to include Italian soldiers and commanders.

Noble children who had nothing to receive because they were not the eldest sons and commoners who dreamed of making a fortune flocked to the mercenary group.

And the notoriety of Italian mercenaries began to grow.

Mercenaries were those who gathered together for money. This was the same for all Italian and other European mercenaries.

However, the Italian mercenaries cared for themselves to the extreme.

Battles between Italian mercenaries looked grandiose and fierce on the outside, but if you look at the reality, most of them ended without significant damage.

Additionally, the condottieri, the mercenary commanders, were ‘symbols of capriciousness.’ Even in the midst of a war, they often switched sides to offer more money.

Because of this situation, even Cosimo hired and dispatched foreign mercenaries rather than Italian mercenaries during the last Suez War.

* * *

“I repeat, this is the era of ‘guns and cannons.’ “The Italian mercenary army is now over.”

Lorenzo decisively declared the end of the Italian mercenary army.

Cosimo and Giovanni did not raise any objections to Lorenzo’s declaration.

In particular, in the case of Giovanni, he was the first to see the ‘age of guns and cannons’ from the front lines.

“Lorenzo is right. Italian mercenaries are now a product of a bygone era.”

Cosimo also nodded at Giovanni’s words.

The main force of the Italian mercenaries was cavalry. It was also a heavy knight wearing full plate armor.

Of course, it was gorgeous to look at, and it looked like a fierce battle was going on.

However, as they were protected by strong armor, mercenaries were unlikely to be killed or injured unless they encountered an unfortunate event such as falling from a horse.

However, mercenaries from other countries during this time were armed with guns and cannons.

In particular, mercenary commanders who had experience in international wars such as the Suez War mobilized all kinds of connections to form troops by introducing imperial style rifles and similar European-made rifles.

However, Italian mercenaries still remained in medieval arms and warfare.

It was the symbol of a ‘frog in a well’.

* * *

“That’s why we need your grandfather’s decision.”

“My decision? Something?”

“I want to select young people and send them to study at the empire’s military academies.”

“Imperial Military Academy?”

“Yes, isn’t the Imperial Army the ones who have the best use of guns and cannons in the entire East and Europe, and who use that army most effectively?”

Giovanni intervened in Lorenzo’s comment.

“you’re right. “I can guarantee that.”

“Not really. But...”

Cosimo, who paused for a moment and quenched his thirst with wine, pointed out what they had not said.

“It is also the military that spends the most money throughout the East and Europe. To put it bluntly, ‘When the imperial army tries to move, the empire’s finance ministry comes out with a gun first. There is even a joke saying, ‘Because it works cheaper.’ As Lorenzo said, the most powerful army in the ‘war of guns and cannons’ is the imperial army. Therefore, sending someone to study abroad at an imperial military academy is not a bad decision. However, learning at the imperial military academy means that everything will be in line with the imperial military standards. The best but most expensive to maintain are the imperial army’s weapons. “How will we solve this problem?”

In response to Cosimo’s question, Lorenzo immediately looked at Giovanni. Giovanni, who received Lorenzo’s gaze, responded with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“It is possible to a certain extent, but not like an empire. If you do that, you will be bankrupt.”

Lorenzo looked rather happy at Giovanni’s words.

“I’m glad if it’s even to some extent. With a standing army armed with imperial weapons and properly trained, it is possible to start small. “The more regions we integrate, the more funds we can secure, and we can grow our power based on those funds.”

It was an idea that, if I had smelled it, I would have snorted and said, ‘Should I pay for it?’