Shortly after the Beihai Army and Frenzberg's 20,000 people retreated, the princes of the alliance of princes also began to discuss withdrawing their troops. Why? Because they did not have enough funds. Also, it was December, Christmas and New Year were coming, and these princes were unwilling to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Basel...
At the meeting of the princes, Frederick III said regretfully:
"Since the French refused to send troops, it would be meaningless for our army to stay here, and instead consumed money and food. After all, the Habsburg family should be most anxious about the annexation of Switzerland, France, not us. Since they are not in a hurry, why are we still so anxious? Let's go back!"
Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, said worriedly:
"But, you are leaving, what should you do if His Majesty the Emperor takes me out of anger?"
The Principality of Lorraine was the initiator of the alliance of princes, and it has always been very close to France. If the alliance of princes left, he was afraid that the Habsburg family's army would come to deal with him...
Frederick III thought for a while and said:
"Let's do this. Anyway, most of the mercenaries will be dismissed after we go back. Before we go back, we will select the most elite 10,000 people from more than 20,000 elite mercenaries to help you protect the Principality of Lorraine. These 10,000 elite mercenaries, cooperate with the original 4,000 veterans of the Principality of Lorraine, should be enough for you to defend Nancy. If the Habsburg family really takes revenge on the Principality of Lorraine, we will gather troops to rescue again..."
"But...but I can't afford to support so many standing troops..." Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, looked bitter.
Although the Principality of Lorraine is the largest iron ore in Western Europe, the fiscal revenue is quite good. However, because Europe has no industry yet and has very little demand for steel. Even if there is an iron ore at home, Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, had no money to support ten thousand people...
Frederick III thought that it seemed that the Principality of Lorraine was not very rich. So he thought for a while and said:
"Let's do this, we secretly support you. If you go to France, you need a little more, at least you can hold on for a few months before talking about it..."
Subsequently, the Alliance of Princes sent envoys to Paris and informed King Louis XVI that the coalition of princes was about to withdraw.
Louis XII suddenly became anxious - without the cooperation of these 37,000 vassal coalition forces, he would probably not be able to defeat the 35,000 army of the Habsburg family with more than 20,000 support...
At this time, Charles, the former Earl of Gelden who had been in Paris for a long time, gave Louis XII an idea...
...
After Charles, the former Earl of Gelden, escaped from Gelden by boat, he followed the Rhine all the way downstream. The ship entered the North Sea, then sailed to the estuary of the Seine along the shore, and successfully arrived in Paris.
King Louis XII of France didn't like Charlie, the loser, and thought he was incompetent and didn't want to pay attention to him. But Charlie was very cunning. Because he ran early, he brought out a lot of money.
When leaving Gelden, Charlie basically emptied the treasury of Geldenberg and brought out all the gold and silver from Geldenberg. Moreover, among these gold and silver, there were dividends from Geldenberg, which snatched money from the North Sea. The total number was as high as about 300,000 gold coins. In particular, more than half of these were stolen from the North Sea. Less than half of them were actually belonged to Geldenberg.
Seeing that Louis XII didn't like him very much, Charlie simply gave Louis XII 150,000 gold coins and said bluntly that he wanted to buy a fief in France and be the lord himself.
The French lords are different from the German lords. The German lords can make their own decisions, which is equivalent to the princes. The French lords are just equivalent to the king's senior horsemen. Therefore, the French lords are not expensive, and the bribe of 150,000 gold coins was exchanged for Charles' title as the Earl of Nantes.
Of course, Louis XII could not have sealed a large city like Nantes to Charles, but only part of the countryside near Nantes as fiefs to Charles. The size of his territory was only a little larger than that of an ordinary baron leader.
However, Charlie was also very satisfied. Because he is now an earl. Although the French Count is not as powerful as the German Count, it is recognized by all over Europe. Although it is not affordable, at least he has some face to go out.
After buying the title of Earl, Louis XII finally looked at Charles. After all, Charles' money also made Louis XII much easier when preparing for the Italian War. Therefore, as the new French Count, Charles became a frequent visitor to the Palace of Paris...
...
This time, after hearing the news that the coalition of princes planned to withdraw their troops, Charles, the new Earl of Nantes, who had always been more interested, asked to meet Louis XII and offered a plan-
"Your Majesty, I think that since the German princes coalition is about to withdraw their troops, then more than half of the mercenaries will definitely be disbanded afterwards. It is better to send people to contact the German princes, let them leave those mercenaries and then incorporate them into the "Swiss Resistance Army". In this way, the number of 'Swiss Resistance Army' will reach 30,000 to 40,000 people, and there is no need to worry about the 35,000 troops of the Habsburg family!"
After listening to the advice of Count Charles, Louis XII suddenly lit up - Yes, the German princes could not use the mercenaries anyway. If the 20,000 mercenaries vacated by the princes and joined the Swiss resistance army, they could completely compete with the 35,000 Habsburg army. They could even gain some advantage...
However, Count Dult, Louis XII's favorite, expressed his opposition—
"Your Majesty, if we hired the 20,000 German mercenaries cut by the German princes, we can certainly withstand the pressure of the attack of the Habsburg family. But, Your Majesty, have you ever thought about the expenses? A German mercenary costs several Transnier (French silver coins), and 20,000 German mercenaries, and the daily expenses exceed 100,000 Transnier... If Your Majesty does not plan to use troops in other places, this expense is naturally nothing. However, Your Majesty plans to use troops in Italy, so this expense will be difficult to get out..."
Louis XII calculated carefully, and then became a little cowardly...
The commission for each German mercenary is 3 Finneys per day, according to the German price, and the commission cost of 60,000 Finneys per day is 60,000, which is about 1,000 gold coins. If you make a year, it will cost 365,000 gold coins...
What's more, among these 20,000 mercenaries, many cavalry and officers have more commission expenses. In this way, the annual expenditure of these 20,000 mercenaries is as high as more than 400,000 gold coins...
The current annual royal income of the French Kingdom is only about 1.2 million gold coins. If you want to hire these 20,000 German mercenaries, one-third of the French finance will be spent every year...
So Louis XII decisively cowarded...
...
Seeing that the plan failed, Count Charlie did not give up. After thinking about it, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said:
"Your Majesty, I have a good idea! This time, you can get the most elite warriors without spending commissions, but you can get tens of thousands of the most elite warriors to help fight the Habsburg family!"
"There are such good things?" Louis XII was a little disbelief.
Chapter completed!