Chapter 85： The emperor was blackmailed

While Marin was immersed in development on the island of Texel, there were many major events on the ground in Western Europe. Maximilian I, after hard-working negotiations like tug-of-war, finally got the ransom of more than one million gold coins from the bad luck of Charles VIII. In order to pay the high ransom, Charles VIII emptied the savings of the treasury and borrowed a large amount of money from the great Jewish merchants and the merchants of Genoa.

But Charles VIII had to pay the ransom, because if he didn't care about the death or life of the captured soldier, no one would kill him for the future.

I watched the pile of gold and silver coins, the poor and crazy Maximilian I, woke up laughing many times. Then Maximilian I decided to expand the number of standing troops under the Habsburgs from 16,500 to 25,000.

In addition, Maximilian I also invested a lot of money to set up a number of military factories in Innsbruck, Austria. As a knight control, Maximilian I began to personally participate in the development of the later famous Maximilian armor. Originally, this was developed by the emperor around 1500 in order to adapt to the needs of the war. Today, with sufficient funds, he certainly started research and development in advance.

Moreover, in order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the army, Maximilian I also purchased a number of artillery and equipped the army. Maximilian I was a military-savvy person, and he continued to be inspired by the century-long British-French war. The French began to be defeated frequently in front of the British longbowman, but later, not only was the French equipped with more protective plate armor, but also began to use a lot of artillery against the longbowmen, and then gradually gained victory and expelled the British from France. Go out.

When the French fought, they often used hundreds of artillery and bombarded together, it was easy to open a big mouth on the front battlefield. In the last battle in Italy, the coalition forces were very lucky to win. In addition to being affected by syphilis and eager to run away, the French abandoned their artillery before, which is also an important reason for their failure. If Charles VIII carried hundreds of artillery and bombarded the Italian coalition together, the French would probably be able to defeat the Italian coalition. Therefore, Maximilian I was inspired to purchase 50 light bronze guns for his army. In addition to the original dozens of artillery pieces, the emperor's army also had more than one hundred artillery pieces.

However, the artillery of this era does not have a suitable turret or ears. To carry artillery on the road, you must carry a large number of heavy carriages to carry artillery. At this time, the artillery is generally a thick gun barrel. In each battle, someone must be sent to lift the gun tube from the carriage to the front and set it on the ground. Therefore, infantry cannons are generally not heavy and of small caliber. Because if the gun body is too heavy, the soldier can't lift it at all. In order to place the artillery, the engineers need to dig wells to block the recoil of the artillery. In short, using artillery is very troublesome these days. Unlike later, a horse-drawn cannon with a wheeled cannon could quickly rush.

运送 Carrying artillery in carriages is very susceptible to terrain. Because of the mountain terrain, the carriage could not pass at all, and the artillery could not be transported.

In the Swabian War of 1499, it was difficult for the emperor's army to carry artillery to the Swiss plateau. As a result, the emperor's coalition was severely taught by the Swiss spearmen.

Uh ...

However, for the emperor, he got great benefits and others were jealous ...

Moreover, it is not the outsiders who are jealous, but the internal staff of the Hapsburg family ...

Therefore, when Maximilian I was complacent, members of the near and side branches of the Habsburg family, what was Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Upper Tyrol, Lower Tyrol, Stie Leah's ... wait, wait, a bunch of my Duke and Earl came to Innsbruck, where Maximilian I lived, to fight the autumn wind ...

Maximilian I was very hot. In his vision, these more than 1 million gold coins were the key to the rise of the Habsburgs. If it was given to these guys, what rise would he take? Originally, he planned to strengthen the army once the new type of plate armor was developed and defeat his biggest competitor, Hungary. Then, one by one, the princes who were dissatisfied with each other, finally made the Habsburgs truly the masters of the German region, not the nominal owners.

Alas, his long-term vision does not mean that his relatives have a long-term vision ...

Just as many relatives came to borrow money after someone broke out in Huaxia in the later generations, the branches of Habsburg also came to "borrow" money ...

In this era, because agriculture was underdeveloped and the great voyage was just beginning, the finances of most nobles were very bad. It is not uncommon for the noble to owe money to the Hanseatic League. As a result, the Hanseatic League relied on loans to the nobles to obtain many trade privileges in Germany.

I was like the emperor himself, who had owed more than 100,000 gold coins before. But after receiving the ransom, the emperor's finances suddenly improved. But the relatives staring at the money also came to the door ...

Moreover, the emperor is different from ordinary civilians. Ordinary civilians can manage themselves by themselves. They can choose not to lend money to relatives, and they will be scolded at most. However, the emperor could not ignore his relatives. Because his relatives are not simple goods.

Hubsburg's side branches, say less, are also a baron or something, the Duke and the Earl are also a bunch. As a nominal monarch, Maximilian I needed the support of these noble relatives. Without these people, he didn't even have the energy to fight with the princes in the Imperial Parliament. After all, there were hundreds of princes, and the emperor was alone. If you quarrel with hundreds of people by yourself, you will definitely lose. Therefore, he had to draw in his relatives and the nobles of the Swabian Alliance to fight and fight for himself ...

Therefore, the emperor cannot ignore the demands of these noble relatives, especially his important supporters.

Of course, the emperor can't follow the meaning of these guys. If you follow the meaning of these guys, we will share the million gold coins together.

After repeated quarrels and even quarrels, the emperor painfully took out 200,000 gold coins and blocked his relatives' mouths. In this regard, many people are not happy yet. If it wasn't for the emperor's righteousness of his family's future, relatives would even have to divide up all the ransom.

I didn't expect that, immediately afterwards, the Duke and Earl of the Swabian League came to "borrow money" ...

The Swabian Alliance is now the emperor's greatest force to rely on ~ www.novelhall.com ~ more offensive than the emperor's relatives. Otherwise, no one would support the emperor. Those relatives of their own family, let them go to the Imperial Parliament to help fight, as far as fighting power is concerned, they are all fighting. To fight, you have to rely on the Swabian Army and your own mercenaries (the officers are also mostly nobles from the Swabian Alliance).

For this reason, the emperor endured his perseverance and pain, and "lent" 200,000 gold coins to the large nobles of Swabian. And, say "borrow", God knows when these guys will pay back. According to the virtues of the aristocracy in this era, it was "not bad for thousands of years, not for ten thousand years ..." Anyway, when Maximilian I felt that he was alive, he couldn't see these guys returning money ...

He was knocked down by his own 400,000 gold coins one after another, making the emperor's heart unstoppable, but he could not say anything. Politics is about exchanging interests. You're rich, don't play with friends, don't even think about having allies in the future. In order to show the national prestige, the emperor advertised that he had obtained 2000 high-ranking captives in France. Everyone knows that with this group of captives, the emperor will definitely have a large ransom. Therefore, these guys have long made plans to knock on the emperor. It can be said that they have been planning for a long time. Moreover, the emperor could not help but express his feelings.

After the incident, the emperor was alone, crying for a long time in the bed. Not that the emperor was distressed by the money, but that Maximilian I's great dream of rejuvenating the Habsburgs and integrating Germany was destroyed by almost half of his relatives and allies. It happened, the emperor could not attack. Therefore, he had to hide himself and weep ~ www.novelhall.com ~ Welcome the book readers to read, the latest, fastest and hottest serial works are all in ~ www.novelhall.com ~ Mobile users please read.