Although the Republic of Siena is mountainous, it is not without plains and river valleys, and naturally there is an autumn harvest. And Marin disguised himself as a grain merchant to buy grain, and there was no problem.

Because his wife Angela is an authentic Italian girl who gets along with each other day and night, Marin naturally learned to speak Italian fluently. Not only is Marin fluent in Italian, but his sons, Caesar and Robert, are also Italian. Little Robert even spoke Italian better than German, because his mother Felice was also an Italian girl.

Speaking fluent Italian and carrying a few authentic Italian spies from the Italian branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce, Marin began to wander around the countryside of the Republic of Siena. Of course, this is also very much in line with the behavior of a grain merchant. After all, food is produced in the countryside, not in the city.

In order to pretend to be a grain merchant, Marin really went to many villages in the countryside of the Republic of Siena, talked to the local landlords about grain purchases, and gave good prices.

Marin really bought grain from Siena, but he was not doing useless work. Because he also plans to use the local food to supply his army......

In addition, he went to a village in the west of Siena, paid for a yard, and prepared to temporarily store all the grain purchased from the nearby villages. When Marin's army arrived here, they used the food they had collected from the yard as military rations. Because it was bought in the local village in the name of a grain merchant, it was difficult for the Sienese authorities to suspect it......

In addition to talking to local villages about the grain business, Marín made several trips from Siena to the coastal province of Grosseto on the western coast. Along the way, the mountains are steep and very difficult to walk. Moreover, in order to find the nearest road, Marin specially took the most difficult path.

In fact, the spies of the Italian branch of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce had already chosen several shortcuts and asked Marin to decide. What can Marlin do? I can only go and feel it myself.

The distance from Siena to Grosseto is not far, only about 80 kilometers in a straight line. However, most of the trails in the middle are difficult to walk. In later generations, the Italians naturally dug tunnels and made a road out. But now, if you need a horse-drawn carriage to get from Grosseto to Siena, you have to go east along the flat land of the valley and then turn north, making a big circle. Of course, if you don't have a horse-drawn carriage to drag you down, you can also take the mountain trail, but it is very difficult to walk.

Marin walked all the trails, almost half dead from exhaustion. He was not a mountain man from southern Germany, but a native of the plains in his previous life. Therefore, he is very unaccustomed to walking mountain roads. In the end, he chose the easiest path to take. Although it is a little detouring, it is much closer than walking around a big circle. As for the Fourth Army, which came later, because it carried baggage and artillery, it could only take the big road that was more circuitous.

After this difficult exploration, Marin was too lazy to walk the mountain road again. He decided to disguise himself as a merchant before the war and stay in the Siena countryside. As for the rush, Marin decided to let Karn lead the team over the mountains. Kahn was born in the southern mountains of Württemberg and was very good at walking mountain roads. In addition, Marin will send a spy who will follow him to lead the way.

Of course, Marin will not sit stupidly in the countryside near the city of Siena. He would wait while stockpiling supplies for the incoming army.

Moreover, fearing that the Sienese army would leave the city to forcibly collect food in wartime, Marin abandoned his previous choice of hoarding food in a small village not far west of Siena.

After the investigation, he moved the location of the grain storage several kilometers to the west and moved directly to a small mountain village in the mountains. Getting to Siena from this small village in the valley required crossing the mountains, and the defenders of Siena, even if they went out of the city to collect food, would not have come to such a remote place.

The only trouble was that it was difficult for the Sienese army to enter this small mountain village, and likewise, it was difficult for the food and supplies raised by Marin to reach this small mountain village......

In order to facilitate the transportation of supplies, Ma Lin had to rent a group of donkeys and mules who were good at walking mountain roads at a high price, and specially carried the collected grain and various materials to this small village in the mountains to hide......

……

In addition, Marin also went to inspect the two teams that had infiltrated the city and excavated tunnels outside the city. The excavation team outside the city is progressing well, and will probably be able to complete the task before the siege. And the team in the city is not ideal, because it is very difficult to dig tunnels in the city and transport soil. In order not to attract the attention of the Sienese defenders, these men were careful every time they carried the earth out of the city. Because of the difficulty in transporting soil, the progress of the tunnel-digging team in the city was very slow.

Marin doesn't blame them, though. Anyway, when attacking the city, it is enough to have a tunnel open. When the time comes, Marin can send sword and shield soldiers to infiltrate the city from the tunnel, break through the city gate from the rear, and open the city gate to welcome the army.

In addition, in order to be insured, Marin also specially hired a group of dead soldiers to blend into the city. If there is a problem on the side of digging the tunnel, these dozens of dead soldiers will be armed with swords and shields, storm the city gate, and join forces with the army outside the city. Moreover, for safety, Marin made the two tunnel-digging teams and the team that infiltrated the city independent, and neither of them knew about the existence of the other two teams. In this way, even if one team is unfortunately exposed, or even someone is caught, the other two teams will not be exposed because of the traitor's betrayal.

……

After a few days in Siena, Marin returned to Rome. Of course, he didn't go back to Rome to relax, but to find his brother Giovanni. Advance. Lorenzo. Morality. The Medici discussed things.

Because, Marin suddenly remembered that in this era, Florence and Siena seemed to be a pair of mortal enemies. In later generations, Florence was famous, while Florence was unknown. But in this era, Siena was actually a commercial city comparable to Florence. Of course, Siena is still worse than Florence. The difference lies in the inconvenience of transportation. Siena is located in the mountains, so it is not as well connected to the outside world as Florence. Of course, this also makes Siena's mountains and rivers dangerous and difficult for the outside world to penetrate.

The Holy See was interested in the Republic of Siena precisely because Siena was a center of trade, finance, and art comparable to Florence. If the Republic of Siena is captured, the financial level of the Holy See will be greatly improved. If nothing else, the group of bankers in Siena alone is enough to make the population water. The group of bankers in Siena, although not as well-capitalized as the Florentine bankers, is also considered to be the number one in Italy. If Siena is captured, it will be equivalent to controlling this group of bankers in disguise. Then, naturally, you can use the money of these bankers to your advantage.

You know, Julius II is known as the "God of War Pope" and is keen to unify Italy by force. And in this era, once there is a war, it costs money. The Holy See has money, but it is the Pope himself and the cardinals who have money. The treasury of the Holy See, in fact, does not have much money. After all, the popes, cardinals, and tens of thousands of clergy in the city of Rome are all fighting the idea of the treasury...... Sometimes, the Papal States were short of money in the treasury, and if they wanted to send troops to war, they had to borrow money from bankers. The group of bankers who occupied Siena and controlled Siena did not have to worry about the military expenses of the war......

As Siena's sworn enemy, the Florentine side will definitely pay attention to the collection of intelligence on the Sienese side. In addition, it is not uncommon to plant a group of spies in the city of Siena. Marin looking for Giovanni. Advance. Lorenzo. Morality. The purpose of the Medici was naturally to obtain the information that the other party had gathered in the city of Siena. In addition, if the opponent is very strong in Siena, he may be able to use their power to open the gates......