Chapter 363: Strategies for Italy and Central Europe

Francisco governed his territory in Ancona. Although it was close to the sea, agriculture was still the most important thing in this era. The most fertile Po River Plain in Italy was in the hands of Milan, Savoy, and Rome. In contrast, although there were many rivers and plains in the central and southern parts of Italy, they were all small-scale.

In terms of business, Romagna had a coastline and controlled two important commercial cities, Ancona and Bologna. With the political reshuffle of the Roman army here, the local nobles and urban factions disappeared, and Francesco was committed to eradicating local separatism, making Romagna the most centralized state in northern Italy.

"Sir, do we really want to take Lucca now? Milan won't watch."

The subordinates asked Francesco. At present, taking Lucca's local rule is not very solid, and it is also vulnerable to the attack of Milan and Florence. It is better to change the strategy, take Florence first, and then go north to fight Milan.

Francesco also had his own ideas for attacking Lucca. Lucca is not far from Bologna, and the other side is small and has few people, so it will surrender soon. Moreover, it can cut off Milan's way to support Florence. As long as Florence, Pisa and Siena are annexed, he will have the capital to compete with Milan.

In order to gain the support of Constantinople, he has been working hard in recent years. The other side is Orthodox, so he promotes it in his territory and suppresses Catholicism. If they want to be a pawn, then they can be one. As long as they have a certain amount of capital, Rome will pay attention to them.

"How is the loan from the bank going?"

"It's going smoothly so far, a total of 180,000 florins, with wine tax and salt tax as collateral."

The Duke nodded. As far as he knew, all the states in Italy were in a financial crisis. In order to save money, they began to cut military and infrastructure expenses, and the welfare for the poor was gone. The people of various countries were somewhat dissatisfied, and this was an opportunity to expand their strength.

Facing the offensive of Romagna, Florence and Milan felt nervous. After all, they were already seriously injured, and they had all experienced the turmoil of changing rulers.

Gian died of plague after the war, and his 13-year-old eldest son Gian Maria Visconti, who succeeded him, suffered from mental illness and factional fighting (the eldest son even joined forces with his half-brother to kill his mother and regent Caterina), which plunged Milan into civil strife.

As for Florence, it was because of John's resignation that the justice standard bearer was re-elected, and the local families argued endlessly, and finally the Pazzi family won this position. Then began the plan to annex Pisa.

Italy's interests are not only local interests, but also mixed with the forces of other countries. Rome is needless to say, Aragon controls Sardinia, France wants to expand its territory to the west of the Alps, and the Holy Roman Empire also wants to regain control of these disobedient countries. The rapid rise of Rome forced them to re-align themselves, otherwise they would die without a burial place.

The anti-Roman faction within the Holy Roman Empire and Rome are still fighting in Central Europe, and the factions within Hungary intend to depose Queen Mary and re-enthronize Sigismund as king. But each time they were easily suppressed by Prince Bozzoni's army, and Mary confiscated their territory and redistributed it.

The queen's rule in recent years has been relatively smooth, and Hungary has recovered from the previous turmoil. Those opposing nobles have also been almost cleared, not only for her rule, but also for her children to be safe and smooth in Rome.

Yes, she has a child. It was the night of lovemaking with Peter a few years ago, but only a few people knew that she had a child, after all, illegitimate children were still not allowed to be on the table.

After ten months of pregnancy, Mary gave birth to twins. For various reasons, their life experience cannot be told to anyone at present. Mary named them Lajos and Arno, one was sent to the manor to be educated by Count Pinsk, and the other was sent to the church to join the clergy.

Peter also knew that he had an illegitimate child. How to say it, he felt that he was the same as Charles V. But he was not a person like Louis XIV and XV. It was actually good to have more children. Illegitimate children were also a tacit secret of the rulers at this time.

Peter set aside a piece of his fiefdom in Hungary as a fiefdom for his illegitimate son and provided him with living expenses. He was not a sentimental person, he just hoped that the Bartland family would last forever.

Hungary covers an area of ​​330,000 square kilometers, occupies the fertile Pannonian Plain, has rich agricultural output, and also has the water conservancy of the Danube River. Whoever owns Hungary can control the middle reaches of the Danube and the agriculture that is no less than that of France.

Mary also knew that Hungary's independent future could not be preserved, and Rome helped her too much, so she planned to use this throne as a gift to thank Rome. The Angevin Dynasty has become history, and Hungary is about to become a part of Rome, as long as everything goes well.

Austria is unwilling to watch Rome annex Hungary. If Hungary is annexed by Rome, there will be more borders between the two countries, and Hungary also needs a barrier to protect the plains, and the best one is his Vienna.

Vienna is less than 100 kilometers away from Pozzoni, and the other side can attack his capital at any time. The Archduke will not let this happen, so he supports his relative Sigismund, so that he can also obtain the Hungarian throne by marrying Habsburg.

The series of games around Italy and Hungary can also be said to be a fight between the Bartland family and the Habsburg family for the Luxembourg heritage. Bartland chose Wenzel, the Habsburgs chose Sigismund, and the Jagiellon family and the Valois family also planned to join in the fun. Facing the great powers of Central Europe, they all wanted to divide up this huge country.

Jobst was ready. As the uncrowned Holy Roman Emperor, Jobst had the right to redistribute his own and his extinct land. Jobst would not let the defeated Sigismund have an easy time.

Wenzel had the same idea. This younger brother was too dangerous. All kinds of conspiracies and tricks could be thought of. Anyway, the direct line of the family had been cut off in their generation. It would be better to hand it over to the people of the Eastern Roman Empire to rule, and it would not be considered a disgrace to Charlemagne's legacy.

The eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire has entered a state of religious chaos. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church fought to the death. In Bohemia, the two sides were almost tied. In addition, there were people who called for reforms to carry out propaganda in Prague, and people's lives were divided because of religion.

Rome's recent rapid expansion of territory made them feel a sense of crisis, fearing that an emperor would come out one day to unify Europe. They planned to establish a long-term alliance against Rome, and self-protection was the most important thing.