In this era, Europe was full of wars and chaos. Of course, no matter how chaotic it is www.biquge.info Italy can't be compared. King Louis XII of France had completed his occupation of the Kingdom of Naples and had returned to the court.

As in history, the French did not completely occupy the entire Kingdom of Naples, but jointly occupied the Kingdom of Naples with Spain. Of these, France occupied the northern half of the region, while Spain occupied the southern region. The southern region is also the southernmost point of the Apennine Peninsula.

Originally, Louis XII was not willing to share the fruits of victory with the Spaniards. However, if they did not share territory with the Spaniards, the Spaniards would support the Kingdom of Naples against France.

You know, Sicily, to which the Kingdom of Aragon belongs, Spain, is right next to the Kingdom of Naples. The Spaniards wanted to support Napoli, not too simply. Not only could they use Sicily as a base to support the Neapolitan resistance, but they could also use Sicily as a base for exiles in the Kingdom of Naples. In any case, Spain is not happy, and the French are not to be happy.

In desperation, Louis XII decided to compromise and give the southern part of the Kingdom of Naples to Spain. And Spain, according to the agreement, gave up the patronage of the Naples royal family. Eventually, King Frederick IV of Naples was captured by the French and brought back to France by the Spaniards for refusing to shelter him, and was deposed as King of Naples. Louis XII forcibly exchanged the name of a French count to his Kingdom of Naples. And the southern part of Naples that Spain acquired was actually the poorer part of Naples. The core of Naples is still in the northern part of the Romagna region, with the city of Naples as the center.

In fact, both King Louis XII of France and King Ferdinand II of Spain had their own evil intentions, which also laid the foundation for the two countries to fight for Naples in the future.

Of course, it was precisely because the monarchs of the two countries turned their faces for the Kingdom of Naples that in the original history, it led to the emergence of the Spanish phalanx that had been rampant in Europe for a hundred years. And because of the emergence of the Spanish phalanx, the Spaniards also defeated the French army, which had the advantage of knights, and annexed the Kingdom of Naples alone.

However, in this time and space, because of the appearance of Marin, the Spanish phalanx appeared a few years earlier. What's even more strange is that the Spanish phalanx is no longer called the Spanish phalanx in this time and space, but the "Marin phalanx". What's even more interesting is that the original creator of the Spanish phalanx, Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba even came to learn this "Marin phalanx" from Marin......

To be honest, Ma Lin, the "Li Ghost", met the genuine "Li Kui" Gonzalo, and at the beginning, he was still very weak-hearted. But after a long time, Marin's cheeks became thicker, and he was ashamed to point out the original creator Gonzalo......

And Gonzalo. Morality. After Córdoba learned the "Marin Phalanx" from Marin, he was also shocked, and immediately saw the ability of this phalanx to restrain the French knights.

To be honest, Marin's phalanx, if it encounters obscene Mongolian cavalry archers, may be abused as dogs. Therefore, Marin specially formed the black-shirted knights and lancers. Because, the biggest disadvantage of this phalanx is the lack of offensive power, which is more suitable for playing defense.

However, this is not a problem for Spain. Because, Spain had a lot of light cavalry, which could completely deal with such a class of troops as the Mongolian cavalry archers. Moreover, the opponents of the Spaniards, the French, were mainly armoured by the Plate Knights and Swiss Spearmen. These two arms just can't cause trouble for the Spanish phalanx. So, Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba attached great importance to this phalanx and, with the authorization of Ferdinand II, formed several of them, supplemented by a large number of hussars (melee light cavalry). Even, Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba has already planned that when his "Marin phalanx" is mature, he will be able to turn his face with the French......

……

On the French side, Louis XII also left Paris for a long time. Therefore, he was a little anxious to return to Paris to take charge of the government. After all, it is not safe that the power of the government has been in the hands of others for a long time.

So, having left part of his army to garrison the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan, Louis XII returned to Paris with half of his army.

And in the Duchy of Milan, the situation has also changed. Originally, after the French left Milan and went south to Naples, the Duchy of Milan Ludovico. Sforza was supported by some Swiss mercenary leaders, got Swiss mercenaries, and recovered the Duchy of Milan.

But on this plane, because the Swiss fought with Maximilian I, they were unable to spare troops to help Sforza. Therefore, Sforza has not been able to find a chance to get enough mercenaries to counterattack Milan until now. Of course, this is not his misfortune, but his luck. Because, the Swiss mercenaries who originally helped him recover Milan in history, after the French sent a large number of Swiss mercenaries to suppress him, they used the so-called "Swiss do not fight the Swiss" as an excuse to directly abandon him, so that he spent so much money in vain, and finally ended up fleeing in a hurry. Therefore, although he did not get the opportunity to counterattack, he did not waste money to hire the Swiss either.

Upon his return to Paris, Louis XII received Count Edward warmly and offered to provide him with mercenaries to help him compete with Henry VII for the English throne.

In order to win over Count Edward, Louis XII also arranged for Anna, the daughter of a French nobleman, to marry Count Edward as his wife, and became engaged. Thus, if Edward became King of England in the future, his wife would be French......

However, Louis XII was willing to support Count Edward with enough money to hire mercenaries, and was willing to introduce some French and Swiss mercenaries to him. However, Count Edward lacked territory and had no place to place his army.

Louis XII, on the other hand, was not happy with Count Edward's placement of troops in France. Because, that would be dangerous for France. You know, mercenaries aren't a good thing. Where they are stationed, God knows what bad things they will do.

To confront Henry VII, Count Edward would need to recruit at least 10,000 mercenaries. An army of 10,000 is a great scourge wherever it is placed, and it may also endanger the security of France.

Therefore, Louis XII asked Count Edward to recruit all the mercenaries, and then go to take Calais, the last stronghold of England on the mainland, and then use the Calais region as a springboard to attack England.

However, Britain was able to keep Calais from being taken away by France, and it is clear that the defense here was very well done. The fortress of Calais is also a fortress that is difficult to overcome. Moreover, the Calais fortress was close to the sea, and the British could easily support the Calais fortress by sea. Therefore, the Calais region is very difficult to conquer. Even if there is an army of 10,000, it will have to pay a heavy price and take a long time to capture.

However, mercenaries are people who fight for money after all, not Count Edward's die-hard men. If the task is too difficult, they may not accept it, or they will not be able to do it. Especially in a battle to the death such as the attack on the fortress of Calais, few mercenaries were willing to participate. Because, accepting such a task is thankless.

In fact, Louis XII also wanted to use Count Edward to bring him to the death with the English army in the fortress of Calais. When the two sides were tired of fighting, Louis XII might come out to pick peaches. This is because the fortress of Calais was the last British stronghold on the European continent. As long as the nail is removed, Britain will become an island nation through and through, and no longer have a springboard to meddle in the European continent.

Count Edward was clearly not a fool either, and he knew that Louis XII was trying to use him to storm the fortress of Calais. Unlike Louis XII, the Count of Edward was the king of France, and if he attacked Calais, he would be met with strong resistance from the local British.

And the Earl of Edward, the only male heir to the York dynasty, in England, there are many supporters. Let him attack the fortress of Calais will give the British who are defending the fortress mixed feelings, and they may not be able to resist to the death. With a bit of luck, someone might surrender. However, if you are unlucky, it is difficult to say. Even if he had taken the fortress of Calais, Louis XII might have added the fortress of Calais to French territory in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, for Edward, it is not cost-effective to storm the Calais fortress, and it is also a very bad choice. Therefore, Count Edward was very depressed, so he went to the secret representative of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce secretly established by Kohler to complain.

This secret representative of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce quickly sent the information back to East Friesland. Kohler then sent the information to Marin's desk, who had just returned from Worms......

"So, Count Edward has no foothold now, so he was forced by the King of France to attack the Calais region as a foothold?" Marin asked after reading the information.

"Yes, young master, Count Edward has now recruited 5,000 mercenaries, among which there are quite a few French and Swiss, and the combat effectiveness is not bad, but it lacks a foothold, it is difficult to obtain supplies, and can only rely on France."

"That's a problem, if Edward doesn't attack Calais, Louis XII doesn't give him a place to squat, then it's sad......"

"Then young master, where do you think he should go?"

"Where should I go? It would be best if you went to England, but it would be too dangerous. After all, Edward had been imprisoned for many years, lacking allies in England proper. If you land on English soil rashly, you will be defeated quickly. ”

"How about going to Ireland?" Kohler suggested.

"Ireland...... Well, that's a good idea. However, the forces on the island of Ireland are not weak...... 5,000 people, newly formed, are not skilled enough to cooperate with each other. If you fight in the field with those princes on the island of Ireland, you may have the upper hand. But if the enemy hides in the city and resists, they won't be able to defeat it...... When the British get the news and send troops to flank them, it's over......"

"Why don't we lend him Cork?" Kohler suggested.

Today, Cork, an important port in the south of the island of Ireland, is under the control of Marin. Marin was there, with a garrison of 500 troops, and sent the North Sea Chamber of Commerce, where it bought wool from the island of Ireland and then exported it to Flanders.

It's just that this business doesn't seem to be very profitable. Of course, not low. On average, Port Cork can provide Marin with a few thousand gold dollars in taxes every year.

Because there is more than one port on the island of Ireland, Cork. Dublin, for example, was an excellent port under the direct control of England. Most of the goods in the northern and eastern parts of the island of Ireland are shipped through Dublin Harbour.

And, even in the south, Watford, east of Cork, is an important port. Limerick and Galway, both on the west coast, are export ports and compete with Cork.

The most important thing is that because Marin secretly occupied Cork, it is difficult to openly display the flag to solicit business. If it had attracted the attention of Henry VII and his identity had been revealed, he might have been attacked by the British army and could have triggered a war between the East Friesian Lamberland and the British. And if you are silent, it is difficult to attract enough customers. So, Cork City has become a chicken-ribbed existence. It didn't live up to Marin's expectations, but the profit wasn't small. Every year, it can also provide Marin with a few thousand gold coins in taxes. You know, this tax is what is left after feeding the 500 garrisons and paying the salaries of the local administrators.

Marin thought about it, and finally decided to give Cork to Earl Edward, so that he would have a place to live, so that he would not have a base like Liu Bei in the early days.

Edward had 5,000 men and horses, and he had a fortified city like Cork, even if tens of thousands of British troops came to attack, he couldn't take it. Unless 50,000 troops are dispatched, it is more certain. But did Henry VII have the money to hire an army of 50,000? Apparently not...... It would have been even more perfect if Edward had co-opted a few more native states on the island of Ireland. When the time comes, Edward will use the island of Ireland as a base and tear each other apart with Henry VII, and Britain will not want to be at peace. And Britain has a strong background, and Marin is most afraid that Britain will compete with him for maritime interests. With Edward and Henry VII playing tricks, England will be in a continuous civil war, draining its finances, and it will be very difficult to rise......

Moreover, the black-bellied Marin intends to act as a "boxing referee" between Henry VII and Count Edward in the future. Once one side shows its strength, Marin will find ways to intervene to help the weak side and suppress the strong side...... In short, it is to make the two sides evenly matched, and fight to the death...... Just like Britain did to France and Germany in the original history...... In this way, it will be difficult for Britain to rise......

As a result, Marin ordered that the 500 defenders of Cork City be ready to withdraw and hand over Cork City to Count Edward at any time. However, the North Sea Chamber of Commerce's wool buying market in Cork City was retained. Although it ceded control of the city and taxes, the North Sea Chamber of Commerce's purchase of Irish wool in Cork City did not stop.

At the same time, Marin asked Kohler to send a secret representative of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce to quietly inform Count Edward to find a ship, and quietly pull his men and horses to Cork, using Cork as a base to start a battle for the throne with Henry VII......