Chapter 423 The Overall Situation Has Been Determined

From Trieste, you can vaguely see several sailing ships docked in Venice. Originally, this was the busiest port, but there have been few ships coming to trade in the past few months.

Gion looked towards Venice on the city wall, and the mayor on the side told the Duke that he could support the army with supplies at any time.

"Rest today and start heading to Venice tomorrow."

The continuous attack of the Roman army has plunged the Venice area into complete chaos, and the Romagna army has also pressed Venice from the west. Towns such as Padua were captured, and except for the civilians who resolutely resisted, others who had a way out had already run away.

When everyone was in a pessimistic mood, Muzio Sforza, who was eating melons on the side, finally brought his army to Venice, which made the people of the whole city welcome them and put their last hope on the captain of the mercenaries.

Domenico swept away the previous decadence and greeted them at the door of the Governor's Palace with cabinet members.

"Welcome, my friend."

Domenico stepped forward to hug Muzio, and Sforza also enjoyed this moment. He vowed to say.

"The Roman army is abusive. Please rest assured, Governor. I will lead the army to defend this city."

Hearing the other party's words, the Governor was so happy that he wanted to jump up. He quickly said that all military actions would be carried out according to his will, and he would find a way to get anything he wanted.

It seems that they all hope that the army led by Sforza can turn the tide, and the captain is also confident that he will definitely lead Venice to victory...

No wonder!

Sforza had been eating melons not far from Venice for a long time. After learning that Rome had captured Salageb, he made a judgment that Venice was about to fail.

In this case, why should his 2,000 soldiers die? It would be better to take advantage of the last opportunity to make a fortune. He asked the Governor for a lot of supplies and money, with a total value of 500,000 florins. The Governor and his government spent a lot of effort to raise 250,000 florins.

In order to get more things, they had to reach out to civilians and forcibly confiscate their property as military expenses. Sforza saw all this, but did not take any measures.

Seeing that the other side really couldn't squeeze out any more money, Sforza said that he would lead the army to attack Romagna immediately. Everyone was happy. They had witnessed too much disappointment in the past few months. They hoped that Sforza could reverse the situation with a miracle.

Sforza's army stayed in Venice for five days and then left. The fleet of hundreds of vehicles was so impressive. They did go to the West, but they only transported treasures back to Milan.

"Hahaha, these fools think I am their savior. Don't you see if Venice can be saved now?"

"Master, is it not good for us to do this?"

The financial management of the mercenaries asked with some concern, but was told back by Sforza.

"What are you afraid of? Anyway, they can't be saved. It's not a loss to extort them and leave immediately."

With such a sum of money, Sforza can continue to fight for the status of the family. It is good to take advantage of the chaos in Milan to improve social status, and continue to expand his mercenary group. You must know that there are countless mercenary groups in northern Italy, and you must roll them up.

Domenic looked forward to the news of Sforza's victory every day, one day, two days, three days. There was no news, and on the fifth day, he finally got the news: Duke Gion had blocked Venice's land passage with 20,000 troops, and they were surrounded.

As before, Venice destroyed the bridges on land and sank all ships to block the Roman navy. Gion was not in a hurry, but ordered other troops to continue sweeping other areas. As long as the blockade was still there, they could not escape.

Ljubljana also surrendered immediately. The local gentry hoped that the army would spare his life, but they had no capital to bargain now. They could only rely on the emperor's grace.

Seeing that Rome had basically pacified Venice, Austria had no intention of continuing to make trouble. Albrecht discussed the next routine with Sigismund. Brandenburg's proposal to increase the number of electors had been supported by many princes, and they also needed to join their supporters in it.

Albrecht was determined to get the elector. It was a pity that they did not get one when the Golden Seal was issued before. Now they must have it.

There are other countries that want to elect the emperor. Vlad also took members of the Berlin Alliance to Prague. At this time, the scope has reached most of the northern region. They want to have equal status with other princes. This is an opportunity.

Vlad took this opportunity to collect a wave of membership fees. He did not use it indiscriminately, but used it for land reclamation and trade route construction. Strive to connect every manor and knight's territory with Berlin, and the Hanseatic League is willing to give him the best discount for trade, so that the surrounding small territories will be concentrated around Brandenburg. The elector took the opportunity to turn the Berlin Alliance into a long-term alliance.

Vlad also read it in a book, saying that it can maximize the influence of the dominant country, and may be able to annex this place further. What book do you say, it's just the history of the Peloponnesian War.

In order to protect themselves, small princes in the Holy Roman Empire often form alliances to deal with other things. For example, the Swabian League, which was established decades later, was established to resist Bavaria.

The largest country in the Berlin Alliance was Brandenburg, followed by Pomerania, Brunswick, Lüneburg, and the Hanseatic League members such as Lübeck, Hamburg, Stralsund and Rostock.

If they want more status, they have to support Brandenburg. Vlad also knows that he can't let them lose their minds, so he set up a league meeting with a total of 39 representatives, including 14 from Brandenburg, 6 from Pomerania, and 1 from Hamburg and other cities. The speaker is appointed by Brandenburg, and the two vice speakers are elected by vote. The headquarters is also set up in Berlin.

The proposals put forward at the meeting need to be passed by a two-thirds majority, but Brandenburg occupies 14 positions. In order to pass, the consent of the elector is required, which is also a disguised veto.

You know, the northern princes are poor, either swamps or forests, plus the climate and agriculture are really not good, trade and mining are the big ones, and they are thankful to be able to eat rye bread on weekdays, and they dare not think about white bread, not to mention spices and other luxury goods.

Now Vlad is here, he has brought a lot of spices and food to the northern princes, and there is also a trade route. This overwhelming wealth has finally come to them, and they have to stay close to the elector.