"Or what if we attack the Netherlands and force the Habsburgs to divide their troops?" At this time, a French general who was not worthy of his name suggested.
François I immediately shook his head:
"Inappropriate, sending troops requires legitimate reasons. The Habsburg family has an excuse to attack Switzerland, because Switzerland was indeed the fief of their family, and Bern was established by other families. We must have a suitable excuse to attack the Netherlands at this time."
In fact, this is not absolute. If a strong country bullies a weak vassal state, the reasons will be far-fetched. But the problem is that the Habsburg family belongs to the great powers, so they cannot make excuses casually, and there must be sufficient reasons.
The Earl of Dult, who had fallen out of favor, thought for a while and suggested:
"Or what if we send our elite subordinates to pretend to be bandits and attack the Netherlands?"
François I's eyes lit up, but John Rafi retorted:
"Mr. Dult, I'm afraid it won't work. I heard that Duke Philip, the ruler of the Netherlands, was a kind-hearted man. He didn't even care about his own father, would he care about the Dutch civilians attacked by the 'bandits'?"
"And if you pretend to be a bandit, you cannot carry artillery and siege equipment. After all, bandits cannot have those things. But in this way, you cannot break through Ghent and it will be difficult to threaten the safety of Duke Philip. In this way, you will not be able to distract Maximilian I. I heard that Maximilian I was very determined this time and vowed to take Switzerland. It is difficult to divide his troops with a general level."
"Even this time, because of the large number of people, even the food and grass, the Austrian army was escorted by large troops. A small team could not successfully attack the Austrian army that was escorting food and grass."
After hearing John Rafi's explanation, everyone was silent. After a long time, François I sighed and said:
"That's it, send more elite warriors to put on Swiss clothes and enter Bern to defend the city. In addition, we are mentally prepared for the failure of the Swiss Resistance Army. Therefore, we need to send troops to Lausanne in Vaud. With the excuse of protecting the French-speaking people, we will then build forts and defense lines in the Vaud to prepare for the Swiss Resistance Army to retreat here."
Faced with the fierce Austrian army, the French monarchs and ministers no longer had hopes to defeat them. However, they would never watch Austria annex the Vaud, Frime, two areas that did not belong to the Habsburg family. As for how the French army publicly sent troops to Vaud? Isn’t it enough to let the Bishop of Lausanne publicly invite the Bishop of Vaud? Even, you can send troops first and then force the Bishop of Lausanne to send a "invitation letter"...
...
In addition to the French monarchs and ministers who were concerned about the Swiss situation, most of the German princes, that is, the princes of the anti-Habsburg faction, were also worried about the Swiss situation. However, they had no excuses to get involved than France. After all, in name, they were still subordinates of His Majesty the Emperor.
They planned to secretly support the Swiss resistance army, but the emperor had already sent people to block the mountain roads in eastern and northern Switzerland. The south was the Alps... So, they had to detour France first, which was very inefficient. However, they had no other way, they could only take one step and take one step.
...
In the North Sea Kingdom, just when the French and German princes were attracted by the Swiss war, Marin began to prepare for the war wildly. In addition to transporting various supplies to Murmansk and Petersburg in advance, the "agent recruitment" in the southern mountainous areas was also in full swing.
This time, no one sent by the Beihai Kingdom to recruit troops did not show up publicly, but secretly hired locals to form various mercenary groups. However, because Poland and Lithuania have not yet been defeated, these agents had no reason to recruit people in large quantities, so they could only slowly build the framework of the mercenary group. As long as the backbone is in place and when the "bad news" comes, they can recruit people in large quantities based on these backbones.
Only Shiber, the leader of the "Sharp Sneaker Mercenary Group" who originally defected to Marin, was the leader of the mercenary group and was a local, would he recruit soldiers publicly. However, because there was no sufficient reason at the moment, that is, there was no suitable war, he could not recruit soldiers on a large scale, but could only recruit soldiers on a small scale. As for the war in Switzerland, everyone knew in their hearts that the princes opposed the emperor, but they could not publicly recruit soldiers on anti-emperor, so they could only carry out quietly.
Of course, although we cannot recruit soldiers publicly, we can do some preparations. For example, we contacted many young and strong mountain people who wanted to go out for a stroll in advance...
...
This is a solution that Malin and his subordinates discussed for a long time before they came up with. Specifically, although they cannot recruit mercenaries at the moment, they can contact each other first!
How to connect with each other? Of course, it is to hold a banquet to eat and drink!
Marin is an oriental and understands the culture of wine tables. Germany is not bad, and everyone loves to drink. The only difference is that Oriental people drink white food, but they like to drink beer. In addition, Oriental Chinese cuisine is much better than German cuisine in this era. Even in later generations, it is still much better.
Marin sent someone to send a letter to ask his subordinates to instruct the agents who came forward to hold a banquet every now and then, to invite all the heroes from the mountains to drink big bowls, eat meat in big mouthfuls, and contact each other. At the same time, he brags to each other at the wine table, saying that he wants to do something big in the future. That attitude is like the heroes on Liangshan who agree to do a way for heaven. During the meal, the agents still, with the hint of the "messengers" in the dark, expressed obscurely that they would form a mercenary group and go out to the mountains to "do something big."
The mountain people are poor and have no food to eat. Don’t be too happy to be able to come and have a meal. If you are grateful, you will naturally agree. But those who are timid will hesitate. After all, those who come out to join the army will fight desperately. And these people will be recorded in small notebooks by the "messengers" who are peeping in the dark. The next time they are at the banquet, they will not have their share. After all, wine and meat cannot be wasted, and it is also a expense.
However, the mountain people are generally fierce and are afraid of death. If the serfs in the plains are timid and afraid of death, they will be afraid of death. The people in the mountains are different, and they are relatively free. Although they are inevitably exploited by the lords, they will not be forced by the lords to do farm work all day long, nor will they be worn away by the whip of the supervisor.
These mountain people who are still in the corners often hunt in the mountains, fighting against jackals, wild boars and bears in the mountains. Many of them are very brave. Otherwise, Marin would not have made any decisions about them.
Of course, the dishes that the mountain people can’t be treated with braised pork and stir-fried dishes from Beihai Country. Because this is so representative. When others look at it, they know that it is the work of Beihai Country.
Therefore, at these banquets, we drank ordinary beer produced nearby and in wooden barrels. Most of the food was boiled meat and barbecue, which means that the salt was relatively sufficient. After all, Marin was a big salt owl and did not lack salt. This was very good for people in the mountains.
Because the people in the mountains are poor and cannot afford salt. Because they often hunt, they are not short of meat, but they lack salt. Many times, they cook meat with a little salt. And boiled meat with enough salt is considered delicious to them.
It's interesting to say, it's said that it's an agent to treat people to dinner, but many mountaineers in southern Germany who were invited did not come to dinner empty-handed, but brought prey with prey. For example, a hare, a wild boar leg, a large piece of venison, or something like wolf meat and bear meat, which brought meat. The agent mainly provides cookware and seasonings, as well as a lot of firewood cut in advance. Of course, the big head is still beer. After all, cooking utensils and firewood are not rare in the mountains... Well, it's not right, iron pots are also quite precious in the mountains... and beer is carried in by the agent with a group of friends from outside the mountains.
Therefore, it is said that it is a big banquet, but it actually doesn't cost much. It's mainly because of beer, plus some salt expenses and iron pot expenses. But salt actually doesn't cost money, and iron pots are nothing in Beihai Country. Beer is a lot, but it won't be transported over long distances. Because beer is very cheap, and shipping from Beihai Country to the southern mountainous areas, the shipping fee alone is far more than the value of beer, so it's better to purchase it locally.
After eating and drinking, everyone will be able to brag and look forward to the future, and they will be active, that is, competitions.
After all, they are all men in the mountains and they can fight in a shallow battle, which is trained during the hunting process. After the banquet is over, the agents will propose to fight each other after the digestion in their stomachs becomes much smoother. Generally, they fight with fists and feet. If they know how to use weapons, they will use wooden sticks to fight without weapons to avoid hurting people.
At this time, the "messengers" who have been hiding beside to peep will get busy again. What are they busy with? Record the evaluation of the battle!
Like the Beihai Kingdom's military selection standards, the "messengers" do not record victory or defeat, but only record the victory or defeat and courage. Even if they fail in the battle, as long as they are competitive and not afraid of being injured, they are good soldiers. However, even if they win, they are afraid of being injured and show timidity, they are not within the priority range. Those who are obviously timid will make a cross and will not consider it in the future. Even if they will not invite them at the next banquet, they will directly kick out of the "circle".
...
In this way, through banquets and battles every now and then, the "messengers" sent by Marin used up many notebooks, and the notebooks were filled with lists and evaluations from each person, which were used as reference for recruitment in the future.
The number of young and strong mountain people who reached a verbal agreement to "go out together" with the agents has reached more than 40,000, and it is still increasing in the number of banquets and competitions. I believe that when the news of the defeat of Poland and Lithuania comes, it should be able to reach 50,000.
Chapter completed!