Chapter 302: Struggling to Hold On

Andreas found that as long as he found a good backer, wealth and status would come.

Now he was no longer a poor noble who became an envoy of Genoa, but the Duke of Romagna with a certain status in Italy.

"This is incredible"

When Peter left Romagna, he stationed some troops here. They would help Andreas train his own army and eradicate the land nobles.

Andreas placed the entire Della Rovere family in the dukedom. He stuffed one of his sons into the Orthodox Church, and the heir Julian followed him to fight to unify the dukedom.

"Father, do we really have our own fiefdom?"

Andreas wanted to slap his son. Isn't it obvious? He really has a fiefdom, and the hope of reviving the family lies in him.

He also knew that his honor and status were given by Rome, so he would do whatever Rome asked him to do, and he would never have second thoughts.

Previously, the Pope had only nominal feudal sovereignty over Romagna and the Papal States, and the Papal States was actually divided and divided. To do this, unification must be implemented first and then other places can be developed.

In terms of diplomacy, Romagna needs to rely closely on Constantinople. At least for now, Romagna needs to rely on the military power of the Roman Empire to protect itself.

The same is true for the newly established Emilia Republic, but they don’t have many choices. Following Rome is their only way out.

The economy of northeastern Italy has been hollowed out by Peter, especially the handicraft industry. Skilled craftsmen were taken to the East as slaves, leaving only a few people to settle down elsewhere.

Not only craftsmen, but all local cultural and religious relics were taken away. Church land was confiscated, and all nuns and priests became serfs of the Orthodox Church. Agriculture has become the local economic foundation.

Peter encountered little resistance on his way north, and Florence and Siena were eager to send this great god away. Milan and Savoy wanted to make a last gamble, but their armies could only protect themselves. If they wanted mercenaries, there were no more in Italy, so they decided to go north to hire those old farmers in the Swiss region to fight.

However, before crossing the Alps, 30,000 Roman troops led by Constantine had entered Milan and wiped out many stragglers. They then stationed in Piacenza near Milan, ready to retreat at any time.

Peter agreed to continue negotiations with the two countries as long as the money given to Rome was enough. How could the two rulers not seize the opening? They were ready to hand over the amount given by Florence. For this, the people in the country should suffer first.

The war in northern Italy was basically over, and Rome obtained more than 5 million florins in cash and more than 10 million worth of items and personnel. The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Bologna perished, replaced by the Dalmatia Province, the Republic of Emilia and the Principality of Romagna. The political landscape of northern Italy was completely rewritten.

At the same time, due to the looting of the Roman army, northern Italy suffered a loss of tens of millions of florins and the death of hundreds of thousands of people. A large number of craftsmen were arrested, which weakened the local handicraft industry. The local economy suffered a certain blow, but there was still some foundation.

Next is the south, where Laszlo continued to put pressure on the Catholic League. Since there was no pressure from the north, he could attack the whole army to the south.

Laszlo led the army in person, and he settled his wife who was three months pregnant to avoid assassination by assassins in the city. At the same time, he received news from Peter that he had sent troops to support Naples.

Constantinople also actively expanded after the victory of the naval battle, and Crete and Rhodes were surrounded. The military supplies orders placed from there also arrived in Bari through Dyrrachion and then transported here. This made Laszlo more and more certain that the original alliance was correct.

In order to give his heir a strong country, Laszlo made a ruthless decision on the local nobles in Naples. Through this Catholic League War, Laszlo has ordered the confiscation of their fiefdoms and manors. And promoted some capable ministers to the central government, and the internal affairs of Naples were much better than before.

Aragon also encountered troubles. Influenced by the East, a popular uprising also broke out in Sicily. They were dissatisfied with the rule of the Kingdom of Aragon and began to rebel under the leadership of Orthodox priests and Eastern merchants. Influential families in the inland areas also joined in, and they were ready to negotiate with Naples or Constantinople on this basis.

Within a week of the uprising, more than 1,000 Aragonese were killed. They wrote to Laszlo and Mircea for help, in exchange for which they would offer the crown of the Kingdom of Sicily.

The sudden change caught Martin off guard, and the first thing he did was to ship himself, his family and treasures to Barcelona. Then he assembled an army from there to prepare to quell the rebellion, but his escape directly broke the morale of the local garrison. Those who had the conditions ran, and those who didn't had the conditions hid, and Sicily was involved in the turmoil of the war between the East and the West.

Austria in the north heard that the Roman army was preparing to go north, and was frightened and at a loss. Vienna sent people directly to Buda to request peace talks, and withdrew the troops stationed in the Bishopric of Trento to defend the capital.

The princes in the Holy Roman Empire and France who were ready to make a move had no intention of doing so. They were either too far away or had nothing to do with the matter. Also, the other side was too strong, and even the Elector was almost captured. If something went wrong, what would happen to his fiefdom?

The only countries that still have some ideas are Poland, Lithuania and Castile. Poland and Lithuania are not used to the benefits Rome has gained and want to send troops. Castile has a simple sense of religious mission and wants to fight against heresy.

But these three countries also encountered their own difficulties. Glass needs to face the pressure of the Cossack Emirate and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and Castile is overwhelmed by the unstable domestic political situation and the harassment of Granada in the south. They want to send troops but they are unable to do so.

Rome also sent diplomatic letters to various countries, saying that this expedition is entirely for revenge against the initiator of the Fourth Crusade. After the mercenaries were divided according to nationality, they basically came from the city-states in northern Italy, so two hundred years later, their hometowns were cleaned up together.

This made everyone stunned. No, it must be written so clearly. How do you know that those soldiers are from these city-states? Who can guarantee that there is no water in it? However, they could only say this in their hearts. At least Rome did not attack their territory. It had only been a few years, and Venice, once a powerful force in the Mediterranean, had disappeared. They did not want to experience such a strong combat capability. Their own little piece of land was the most important.