Chapter 433 War Breaks Out in the North

The Papal States' diplomatic efforts failed, and they could only rely on internal strife in Rome or pressure from other countries to force them to withdraw.

While sending people to Constantinople, the Pope also sent people to Cairo, Egypt, to meet with the Mamluk Sultan Faraj. He proposed that if the Sultan could send troops, the Pope could make the decision and hand over Antioch and Anatolia to him, and Jerusalem would not be needed, and only the pilgrimage would be guaranteed.

But the Sultan said, who do you think you are? He wants the north, but he is not stupid. Now he will be the one who will suffer in the end if he goes up to confront Rome head-on.

Seeing that the sacrilegious alliance could not be established, the Pope could only rely on other Catholic princes for rescue. John of Burgundy felt a headache looking at his teammates, and was particularly jealous of Peter. Others were already killing people at the age of 20, and he was still in the Ottoman prison at the age of 20. (John was born in 1371)

But he still had to be saved, but the price had to be negotiated. He couldn't send troops for nothing, there had to be benefits.

Gregory XII was at a loss when facing the Roman army, so he could only think of running away. This army was not enough to fill the gaps between the enemy's teeth.

As for why other countries did not move, the reason was that they were too busy. France was busy, Poland was busy, and Lithuania was busy. Why were the two Eastern European countries busy? Because Novgorod had something wrong.

Mihaly has been making a lot of noise recently. First, he encouraged trade with the Hanseatic League, and then built a fortress on the border with the Kalmar Union. He was also recruiting soldiers on a large scale, and the money was spent without regard for life. The people recruited were still people who had lived in the extremely cold northern region for many years.

The money Novgorod has spent in recent years is almost catching up with the income of a small country for several years. Mihaly also went to other places to borrow money and ordered a batch of artillery gunpowder from Rome.

Many people didn't know what Mihaly was going to do, but they soon found out. He directly attacked Sweden with nearly 9,000 soldiers and 15 artillery pieces. After crossing the Karelian Isthmus and heading west, it was easy to occupy a large area because it was sparsely populated.

Margaret was so busy, I don't know why Novgrod attacked me. But suddenly I remembered that Novgrod had written to me before, saying that he was willing to buy the eastern part of Sweden with 10,000 lei gold coins. But she ignored it at that time. Now it seems that the other party is determined to do it.

This land is sparsely populated, with only a small number of nobles and towns in the Turku area, and it is only part of the Kingdom of Sweden, but the local Swedish nobles are not interested, which makes it difficult for their army to assemble.

In addition, the Swedish army at this time is not as strong as Gustav II's army, so it can't stop the other side's actions. Most of Mihaly's soldiers are adapted to the cold weather and northern terrain, so it is easy to attack.

And Mihaly also pays attention to building good relations with other ethnic groups, in Ruthenia it is the Circassians, and in Novgrod it is the Sami.

The Sami live in the northernmost part, accompanied by ice and snow all year round, and make a living by gathering and hunting. After Norway and Sweden in the south were integrated into the Christian society, in order to obtain income, they followed the practice of the Hanseatic League and Genoa to set up trading posts in the north to obtain wealth. Previously, Norway, Sweden and Novgorod divided this place into their own spheres of influence, and many Sami people had to pay tribute to the three parties, and their lives were not satisfactory.

But the situation changed a lot after Michael took office. The policy of oppression and wealth extraction was changed to assimilation and control. The trading post was changed to a chartered town, and a large number of missionaries were sent to preach to the Sami people, and they also sold them alcohol such as kerosene, which were the two things that could destroy their bodies and spirits the most.

It can be said that their changes made some Sami people submit to Novgorod, of course, their number was not large. However, Michael's actions naturally made Lithuania feel a crisis, fearing that they would be beaten next time.

Vasily looked at his brother-in-law so boldly, and didn't say anything. The border between Moscow and Sweden had not been properly negotiated, and now it was just determined. It's just that those boyars were too annoying, and they said that this would cause a chain reaction, and Poland would probably take action.

"Then fight. Lithuania still occupies the land of Rus, so it's just right to take it back."

Vasily has not been idle in the past few years. He probably farms and trains the army, ready to march west to Lithuania and let Moscow enter the pass at any time. Now Lithuania has been seriously injured in the war with Teutonic, and can only station troops on the border to prevent the other side from attacking.

Mikhail's attack picked a good time. The temperature in the north is relatively suitable these days. Taking advantage of this weather, he immediately attacked and quickly occupied Vyborg, and then attacked along the Baltic coast. It will soon reach the city of Turku.

Just when Novgrod attacked the Finnish region, the Berlin Alliance in the south also took action. The Duchy of Westphalia joined the alliance under the pressure of the alliance. At the same time, in order to strive for independence, the Swiss Confederation of Zurich also sent representatives to express its participation.

At this time, the Swiss Confederation did not know how to make watches and strictly observe neutrality. Their largest export was mercenaries. As flexible and reliable main infantry, they were equipped with lances, halberds and short swords for melee combat. On medieval battlefields, they relied on dense infantry phalanxes to effectively resist any melee infantry offensive.

Their highlight moment was undoubtedly the later Burgundy War. The army of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who was well-equipped and well-supplied, was defeated again and again, and he himself died in the Battle of Nancy. At this time, they were still at their peak, but because the price was too high, only wealthy monarchs could afford to hire them.

Originally, the Habsburgs also started here, but later a rebellion broke out here. The Habsburgs suppressed it for hundreds of years but it didn't end, and an emperor was also involved. (King Albrecht I of Germany was killed by his nephew John on the way to suppress the rebellion)

Now a state in the Swiss region directly said that they wanted to join the alliance, which was not good news for the Habsburgs. In order to fight against the Habsburgs, other confederation states also rushed to join, but Vlad felt that this needed to be considered.

At this time, the Habsburgs should be considered more. Whether to give up Switzerland in exchange for their neutrality is a difficult problem. After all, it is not easy to explain that the place left by his ancestors is gone, and the faster and faster expansion of the Northern Alliance also makes the southern princes hate Jobst, and a conspiracy is unfolding.

This is okay. The north and the south are in chaos, and they are all related to the Bartram family. These princes are all old generations. How could they be bullied by an upstart? And they have been bullied more than once. If their ancestors saw this, they would want to beat them to death. Why are they so cowardly?