Chapter 246： Warning in Milan

He was talking, and Royal Guard Captain Tranmere suddenly came in, as if there was something to report. Tranmere looked at Marin, who was chatting with the emperor, and looked at the emperor, and found that the emperor did not mean to avoid Marin, so he directly reported:

His Majesty, "Sir, there is news from France. Louis XII has arrived in Lyon, southeast France with 20,000 French troops. However, they stopped there."

"Oh? Stopped? Why?"

"It seems to be recruiting more Swiss mercenaries. Louis XII feels that the 20,000 army does not seem to be enough, and it seems that it wants to recruit another 10,000 army ..."

"Not enough? Haha, he really thought that 朕 went back to Italy? I didn't even think about going to Italy, he would have enough to take 10,000."

In fact, the French army is powerful and the plate knights cross the European continent. The other 10,000 people are the most powerful infantry in Europe-Swiss mercenaries. Therefore, 20,000 people is absolutely enough.

Alas, Louis XII was still recruiting people. Obviously, Marin guessed that Louis XII was not in the emperor, but in Italian territory ...

As a liberal arts student who studied European history, Marlin naturally knew that in the original history of Louis XII, he sent troops to Milan and Naples, and also achieved success. Had it not been defeated by Spain in Naples, Louis XII would have dominated Italy.

No wonder, the Sforza family is too capable. Over the years, the Principality of Milan, under Sforza's inspirational management, developed agriculture, and industry and commerce were very powerful.

It can be said that the Duchy of Milan is one of Italy's richest regions. If it were not for Venice's richness in business, Milan would be Italy's richest region.

The rule of Milan by the Sforzza family should be regarded as the lord. Because the father of the Duke Sforza, originally a mercenary general, was forcibly ascended to the position of the Duke of Milan by force and an illegitimate woman who had married the original Duke of Milan. According to the original plan of the extinct Visconti family, it was intended to be inherited by the then Duke of Orleans, the father of Louis XII. However, the Milanese did not agree at the time and formed the republic themselves, but were later annexed by the Sforza family.

The Fezforza family also knew that they were in a bad position, so they tried to please the people and build water conservancy in the Principality of Milan, which led to the great development of agriculture in Milan.

米兰 And Milan's handicraft industry is also very developed. Very early, Milan plate armor has become a popular product of European knights. The handicrafts of other industries in Milan are also very developed.

In the Middle Ages, European cities were mainly composed of nobles, army, artisans and merchants. Nobles account for a small proportion of the population, and the number of troops does not occupy the mainstream. Although there are many businessmen, they are not the most important. Generally speaking, the citizens of medieval cities were mainly artisans and their families.

The city of Milan, with a population of up to 100,000, ranks first in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. It can be seen that there are many artisans and merchants in Milan. The population of western European cities in this era can directly reflect whether the city's economy is prosperous. Ghent, the most prosperous city under the control of the Habsburgs, has a population of 75,000 and ranks second in the Holy Roman Empire. The reason why Ghent has so many people is because Ghent is a wool textile center in the Flanders region. Naturally there are many craftsmen and the taxes provided to the Habsburg family are also many. At the same time, Austria had only 20,000 people.

With such a prosperous city and such advanced agriculture, it is no wonder that the Duchy of Milan is not attractive. It happened that Louis XII, the new king of France, happened to recall the fact that his father was chosen as the Duke of Milan and asked for the Duchy of Milan.

In fact, as early as Charles VIII launched the first Italian war, Louis XII entered Italy with the army and tried to win the Duchy of Milan. However, at that time Charles VIII focused his energy on the Kingdom of Naples and did not have the energy to manage Milan. Moreover, the theoretical heir of the Principality of Milan was Louis XII, but not Charles VIII himself, and Charles VIII was naturally unconscious. Not only that, when Louis XII took thousands of men and horses in an attempt to occupy the Principality of Milan, he was besieged by the 30,000 Milan army and had to obey the soft run.

This shows that the strength of the Principality of Milan is still very powerful. Of course, don't look at the Principality of Milan capable of raising 30,000 horses, but that was also recruited temporarily during the war. Under normal circumstances, the Principality of Milan also maintains a standing army of about 10,000.

However, this time, Louis XII was very cunning, and led troops southward under the banner of "Supporting the Pope", without even publicly requesting the Principality of Milan. In this way, the Principality of Milan will not have much preparation at all, and when the French army is killed at the door, it will be too late to raise enough troops ...

Thinking of this, Marin immediately said to Maximilian I:

"Your Majesty, the Principality of Milan is in danger!"

"Ah? The Principality of Milan? What danger do they have?"

"Louis XII this time, I am afraid to seize the Duchy of Milan!"

"Why do you see it?"

"If it is to" support Rome "or capture Naples, will Louis XII need to recruit another 10,000 Swiss mercenaries? With the French army's elite, whether it is to deal with His Majesty's army or fight against Naples, 20,000 elite troops are sufficient. However, Louis XII is not enough. Obviously ~ www.novelhall.com ~ Louis Twelve also has to deal with the equally powerful Principality of Milan ... "

"Duchy of Milan? You mean, Louis XII will revisit his father's election to the Duke of Milan?"

"Yes, he will do it!"

"But why didn't he raise it early, but used the slogan of 'Marching into Rome'?"

"Have you entered Graubünden to open the flag openly?"

"This is also true. I did not expect Louis XII to be so cunning. Oops, I hope the Duke Ludovico can be prepared ... No, I have to send someone to inform!"

"Will I go for a trip?"

"You? Don't need it, 朕 there are so many people ..."

"That's right, the minister just needs to go to Milan, recruit some craftsmen, build weapons and armor for the minister, etc. You know, Milan's craftsmen are famous ..."

Marin's statement is reasonable, but in fact, he was not interested in making plate armor, he just wanted to hire some skilled craftsmen who are good at making steel clockwork.

Only relying on the current craftsmen to create steel clockwork, the production speed of clockwork guns is too slow. Therefore, Marin intends to recruit a few more craftsmen to return in the handicraft city of Milan. Of course, other types of artisans can recruit a few more if they have the opportunity.

"Well then, please take this trip." Now that Marin offered to ask for help, the emperor thought it would be fine. Anyway, Marin came to his side to cooperate with the acting has been done, really helped him deal with the wound, and told his doctor the secret of handling the wound. Therefore, Marin actually has no need to stay. Therefore, the emperor commissioned him to go to Milan to warn the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, to prepare him in advance to guard against the French ...