Chapter 423 The overall situation has been decided
Looking from Trieste, you can also vaguely see several sailboats docked in Venice. Originally this was the busiest port, but in recent months there have not been many ships coming to trade.
Giang was watching on the city wall in the direction of Venice, and the mayor on the side was still telling the Duke that he could support the army with supplies at any time.
"Have a rest today and start heading to Venice tomorrow."
The continuous offensive of the Roman army plunged the Venetian region into complete chaos, and the Romagna army also oppressed Venice from the west. Padua and other towns were captured. Except for the civilians who resolutely resisted, everyone else who had a way out had already fled.
When everyone fell into pessimism, Muccio Sforza, who was eating melons on the sidelines, finally brought his army to Venice. This made the people of the city welcome them and pin their last hope on this mercenary. team leader.
Domenico swept away his previous decadence and greeted him at the door of the Governor's Palace with his cabinet members.
"Welcome, my friend."
Domenico stepped forward to hug Muccio, and Sforza also enjoyed the moment. He said confidently.
"The Roman army does all kinds of evil, please don't worry Governor, I will lead the army to defend this city."
Hearing the other party's words, the Governor was about to jump with joy. He quickly said that he would listen to him in all military operations and would find a way to get whatever he wanted.
It seems that they all hope that the army led by Sforza can turn the tide, and the captain is also confident that he will lead Venice to victory...
That’s weird!
Sforza ate melons not far from Venice for a long time. After learning the news about Rome's capture of Zaregeb, he made a judgment that Venice was about to die.
If that's the case, then why do these 2,000 soldiers have to die? It's better to take advantage of the last opportunity to make a fortune. He requested a large amount of supplies and money from the Governor, with a total value of 500,000 florins. The Governor and his government had to spend a lot of effort to raise only 250,000 florins.
In order to obtain more things, they had no choice but to reach out to civilians and forcibly collect their property to use as military expenses. Sforza saw all this but did nothing.
Seeing that the other party was really unable to squeeze out any profit, Sforza said that he would immediately lead his army to attack Romagna. Everyone is happy. They have witnessed too many disappointments in the past few months and hope that Sforza can reverse the situation with a miracle.
Sforza's army stayed in Venice for five days and then left. The majestic convoy of hundreds of vehicles was so majestic. They did go to the West, but they only transported treasures back to Milan.
"Hahahaha, these fools think I am their savior. I wonder if Venice can be saved now?"
"Master, isn't it good for us to do this?"
The mercenary's financial management asked a little worriedly, but Sforza told him back.
"What are you afraid of? There's no way they can be saved anyway. It's not a loss if you blackmail them and leave immediately."
With such a sum of money, Sforza could continue to fight for the family's status. It would be good to take advantage of Milan's chaos to improve his social status, and to continue to expand his mercenary group. You must know that there are countless mercenary groups in northern Italy, and you must roll them up.
Domenico looked forward to news of Sforza's victory every day, one day, two days, three days. There was no news. On the fifth day, he finally got the news: Duke Giang and his 20,000 troops had blocked the land passage of Venice, and they were surrounded.
As before, Venice destroyed land bridges and scuttled all ships to impede the Roman navy. Giang was not in a hurry and just ordered other armies to continue sweeping other areas. As long as the blockade remained, they would not be able to escape.
Ljubljana also surrendered immediately. The local gentry hoped that the army could spare his life, but they had no capital to bargain now. All they could rely on was the emperor's grace.
Seeing that Rome had basically pacified Venice, Austria had no intention of continuing to cause trouble. Albrecht discussed the next plan with Sigismund. Brandenburg's proposal to add electors had already received support from many princes, and they also needed to add their supporters.
Albrecht is bound to win the Elector. It was a pity that they did not get one during the Golden Seal. Now they must have one.
There were other countries that wanted to elect the emperor. Vlad also took the members of the Berlin League to Prague. At this time, the scope had reached most of the northern region. They wanted equal status with other princes. This was an opportunity.
Vlad took this opportunity to collect a wave of money from the people, but he did not use it indiscriminately, but used it for land reclamation and trade road construction. Strive for every manor and knightly territory to be connected to Berlin, and the Hanseatic League is willing to give him the best deal for trade, so that the surrounding small territories will be concentrated around Brandenburg, and the Elector will take the opportunity to turn the Berlin League into A long-lasting alliance.
Vlad also read in the book, saying that it can maximize the influence of the dominant country, and maybe even annex this place. What kind of book are you talking about? It's just a history of the Peloponnesian War.
In order to protect themselves, the small princes in the HRE often formed alliances to deal with other things. For example, the Swabian League, which was established decades later, was established to resist Bavaria.
The largest country in the Berlin Union was Brandenburg, followed by Pomerania, Brunswick, Lunenburg, and the Hanseatic League members of Lübeck, Hamburg, Stralsund, and Rostock.
If they wanted more status, they had to support Brandenburg. Vlad also knew that they could not be distracted, so he set up an alliance meeting with a total of 39 representatives, including 14 from Brandenburg and 14 from Pompeii. 6 in Rania and 1 each in Hamburg and other cities. The Speaker is appointed by Brandenburg and the two Deputy Speakers are elected by vote. The headquarters is also located in Berlin.
The bill proposed at the meeting requires a two-thirds majority to pass, but Brandenburg occupies 14 positions. To be passed, it requires the consent of the elector, which is also a disguised veto power.
You know, the princes in the north are poor. They are either swamps or forests. In addition, climate agriculture is really not good. Commerce and mining are the big ones. It is thankful to be able to eat rye bread. White bread is unthinkable, let alone spices. and other luxuries.
Now Vlad is here. He has brought many spices and grains to the northern princes, and there is also a trade route. It was finally their turn to be rich and wealthy, and they had to stay close to the elector.