Chapter 369 Pizza War
Zheng He sold a lot of goods here, but he still exchanged money for items such as gems. After all, they planned to go to the West next and needed to give a great gift to the Roman emperor.
"How do you feel, envoy?"
Mason asked Zheng He about his feelings in Ceylon, and the other party's answer did not disappoint him.
"The scenery here is really pleasant, the products are abundant, and it is a treasure land."
Zheng He thought Ceylon was the land of Rome, so he admired it very much. This made Mason very useful, but no matter how good the city is, you always have to leave, after all, there are better ones waiting for them ahead.
In Italy, the consequences of the war caused by the Roman invasion have not gone away, and new war clouds have appeared again.
The cause of the incident was Pisa. In 1399, Pisa became the autonomous territory of the Visconti family and was sold to Florence in 1402. But the local people did not agree with Florence's rule, so they restored the republic and fought desperately, but the longer the time, the more difficult it was for them to support it. Seeing that the city was about to be broken, they decided to blow themselves up and drag the surrounding countries into the water.
They set up a committee, announced the establishment of the city of Pisa, and incorporated it into the Duchy of Romagna. They also sent people to Ancona to tell the Duke that they hoped to lead troops into Pisa for defense.
"This, are you really willing to give Pisa to me?"
"Yes, sir, we have always believed that only you are worthy of ruling this city. Florence is just a regime formed by a group of greedy businessmen. They are not worthy."
The words of the envoy moved Francesco. This good thing really can't be let go. Moreover, Pisa is an important port in the north. Taking it can not only enter the western Mediterranean, but also cut off the ground connection between Florence and Milan. For this, he will never let it go.
But before that, he still has to ask. I heard that Pisa has elected the Pope, what about them?
The envoy spit, and then denounced the ruthlessness of the cardinals. Pisa provided them with a place, but when they were in trouble, these cardinals fled directly to Milan.
This is really God helping him.
"Order our troops to assemble immediately, and let Fitzgerald lead some people to Pisa first."
Romagna began to assemble its own troops, and Francesco also hired 2,000 mercenaries to prepare for a long war with Florence.
Warfare in this Italy is very fast because your army is unimpeded. Unless the other side has an army to intercept you, it will be a matter of turning against you in a blink of an eye.
The news of Romagna's troops soon reached Florence, and it was no surprise that this situation caused discussion in the parliament.
"We should send troops immediately. If Pisa is taken by Romagna, it will cut off our connection with Milan."
"Our current finances are not enough to support a war. The fiscal deficit caused before has not been resolved. We need time to solve all this."
The justice standard bearer and his ruling group were overwhelmed. Not to mention the money spent on recruiting troops, there was not much money in the Florence treasury. Previously, they obtained financial relief by selling monopoly rights, but this move directly halved the income for the next year. Coupled with the squeeze of Florence by the textile industry of the Roman Empire, the number of local bankrupts has been increasing year by year.
After Pazzi came to power, he began to take back the exclusive agency rights. He directly took back the bankrupt ones and redeemed the others at a high price. As for the money, he negotiated with the bankers in Genoa, even if the interest was higher, he had to take it back.
In addition to arguing in the parliament, the guilds were also arguing about this matter. There were a total of 21 industry associations in Florence, including 7 large guilds and 14 small guilds. Among the 7 large guilds, the lawyers' guild had the highest status. Next in line were the wool industry guild, the silk industry guild and the wool industry guild.
The members of the remaining small industry associations were ordinary businessmen, including butchers, tanners, leatherworkers, blacksmiths, chefs, stonemasons, carpenters, wine merchants, innkeepers, tailors, armorers and bakers. They basically had no chance of high political positions, but they could discuss.
Seeing that the parliament did not propose a solution, Pazzi decided to hold a citizens' council. This was their proud tradition.
Once a crisis came, the consuls would ring the big bell in the bell tower of the town hall. Because the bell sounded low, like the mooing of a cow, the bell was named the Cow Bell. When the bell rang throughout Florence, all male citizens over the age of 14 had to gather in their own communities, and then march to the city hall behind the flag representing the community to form a citizen council. Generally in this case, the ruling group must first confirm that the number of people present exceeds two-thirds of the total number of citizens before they can ask them to approve the proposal to form a Supreme Judicial Council, which will represent the people to deal with the crisis facing the city.
The Florentines are extremely proud of their political system and tout it as a guarantee for the freedom they boast about. The Florentines firmly believe that the governments of other Italian states are not as good as theirs. But when faced with major issues, they keep arguing, which is also a common problem of all parliaments.
As expected, the parliaments composed of young and old people quarreled from morning to night. Sometimes they said they would send troops to support, and sometimes they said they would send people to negotiate, and the committee was divided into two factions, and no decision was made for a long time.
The parliament was arguing endlessly, but Romagna would not show any mercy. Within a week, they crossed Italy and arrived at Pisa, opening the city without bloodshed, and the neighboring Lucca was forced to submit to the duchy.
The news of Romagna's move shocked the Apennine Peninsula. Milan also wanted to take action, but the domestic situation had not been resolved, so it temporarily stationed its troops at the border to prevent the other side from attacking.
When the Florentine troops saw the Romagna troops coming, they did not dare to fight and had to station not far away. Francesco sent people to send letters to Florence and Milan, saying that the people of Pisa had made this choice and hoped that they would abide by their choice.
At the same time, he sent a letter to Constantinople, telling the emperor that Pisa was what the people wanted and that he had no ambitions. He himself was also a loyal minister of the Roman emperor and would never drag your country into the war.
Look, can you find a second loyal minister like him in the world? His loyalty is clear to all.
In order to prevent other countries from ending up, Francesco personally wrote to Naples, Genoa, Savoy and other countries, saying that occupying Pisa was the general trend and hoped that they would not come in.
Laszlo had to govern Sicily recently, and he also had to expand the army and other constructions, so he didn't have enough money. In order to obtain money, the title of Count of Provence had to be sold to the Duke of Orleans. France gained a section of the Mediterranean coastline.