Marin was probably too excited to jump and jump on the boat. As a result, because the ship was deliberately damaged and not repaired too strongly, the board that was patched up on the side fell off directly. Then, the side began to get water......

Marin was terrified, but fortunately, he didn't just bring a ship back home. Although the ship he was on was finished, there were still 3 broken ships on the side, plus 5 ships sent by Kidd, who released lifeboats one after another to rescue Marin and others from the "Norden" that was leaking on the side of the side. When he returned to Emden Harbour, Marin was still in a state of uneasiness - he almost got out of it......

……

At the same time that Marin rushed back to his homeland, a lot of great things were happening in central Europe. One of them is that the Habsburgs and the princes allied forces played a dog brain......

Frederick III was in great trouble when he hired "terminated" mercenaries from the princes of the Church—about two-fifths of the mercenaries were cut off by the Habsburgs......

Because of a lewd suggestion by Kohler, and the reluctance of the church princes to openly turn against the emperor. Thus, Maximilian I found a loophole to exploit - before the mercenaries left the princely states, and the alliance of princes had not yet contacted the mercenaries who had terminated their contracts, Maximilian I sent people to secretly contact the mercenaries......

The results varied greatly - mercenaries of southern German origin seemed to have a favorable opinion of the Habsburgs. Therefore, many German mercenaries from the southern regions were hired by the Habsburgs at a higher price.

On the other hand, the German mercenaries from central and northern Germany were hostile to the Habsburgs because of the malicious propaganda of the local princes. So, even though the emperor sent lobbyists to lobby the mercenary leaders, most of them were refused. For those mercenaries who have been brainwashed and hostile to the Habsburgs since childhood, the Habsburgs will not do anything no matter how much money they give......

But in any case, Maximilian I poached seven or eight thousand southern German mercenaries from these mercenaries, which totaled about 20,000 mercenaries. On the side of the alliance of princes, about 12,000 people were poached.

After getting the news, Frederick III and others became angry. You must know that these 20,000 people were originally their dishes, but they were "stolen" by the emperor......

As a result, the strength of the Wrenzberg army increased by another 8,000 to 35,000. The alliance of princes was slightly larger, with about 37,000 men.

It seems that the coalition of princes has the advantage of forces. However, in fact, this is not how strength is calculated. After all, the original "Swiss Legion" of Frenzberg was relatively powerful in combat and could be worth 20,000 or 30,000 troops of the princes' alliance. As for the mercenaries hired later, everyone is about the same level. After all, they are all foreign mercenaries, and there is not much difference in everyone's level.

Therefore, on the whole, the more numerous the princes' coalition army, the worse the combat effectiveness......

……

However, at present, in Switzerland, it is not only the Habsburg army and the allied forces of the princes. In front of Frenzberg, there was also the "Swiss Resistance Army", composed of more than 20,000 French troops and Swiss mountain militia.

Therefore, if the overall strength is calculated, it is still the side of the princes' coalition that has the upper hand......

Of course, Frentzberg was not stupid either. Since you don't have the upper hand, there is no need to take the initiative to attack. After all, hiding in a fortified city and relying on the walls to defend can offset many disparities in strength.

……

At this time, the contest between the two sides mainly depends on how determined the French are. If France is willing to spend its blood and fight the French elite together, the Habsburgs will not be able to bear it. If the French are unwilling to help, it is a danger for the alliance of princes......

In fact, Louis XII did think of betting on the war with the power of the whole country. Then, take the opportunity to cripple the Habsburg army in one fell swoop. As long as the Habsburg army was crippled, it would have been easier for the French to plot against the remaining part of the Duchy of Burgundy, Franche-Comté. Even, you can take advantage of the opportunity to try to get rich in the Netherlands......

Originally, Louis XII had already planned to take a gamble, preparing to unite the German princes and unite the armies to make a ruthless Habsburg effort.

But unexpectedly, John. Baron Lafite brought the secret of the high grain yield of the North Sea Kingdom, and at once diverted Louis XII's attention......

After all, the newly promoted Baron John Rafite was right - if the problem of the huge cost of cavalry money and food was solved, then the iron hooves of the French knights could travel all over Western Europe......

So, during this time, Louis XII suspended his plans to participate in the battle for Switzerland, and instead began to send people to verify whether volcanic ash was really a good agricultural fertilizer......

For this reason, Louis XII sent someone to follow John. Rafi went on a trip to Italy, bought a mountain plot near Mount Vesuvius, and began excavating the ash that covered Pompeii in the name of archaeology. Then, someone was quietly sent to load the dug up ash onto a ship and transport it back to mainland France.

Originally, Louis XII had intended to use the volcanic ash as fertilizer for next spring's crops. In this way, John's . The truth of what Rafi said.

However, John. Rafi suddenly suggested that instead of waiting until next year, why not try it now?

As for how to test? It's simple, get a glass greenhouse to grow flowers......

Glass was not uncommon in Western Europe, and John had traveled to the North Sea country to see the glass greenhouses built by Marin to grow herbs and ginger.

So, he sent someone to build a glass greenhouse in the garden of the royal palace in Paris......

However, unlike the glass greenhouse in Marin Beihai Country, because there is no large piece of flat glass rolled (Beihai Country naturally made it at Marin's suggestion), the construction of a glass greenhouse here is very complicated, and it is necessary to trim a lot of small wooden frames to inlay small pieces of glass for light transmission.

So, that greenhouse in the Palais de Paris looks awkward. Because it is a greenhouse made up of small lattice glass windows.

Of course, it's still September, and the temperature is not too low, so we haven't used the glass greenhouse yet. So, John. Lafite can experiment slowly.

He found two sets of roses and experimented with them. The same seeds were used for both groups of roses. After the seeds germinate, they begin to be managed separately.

One group had the court gardeners manage the cultivation in the traditional way, and the other group was mainly the court gardeners who were in charge of it. Lafite would mix the powdered ash with river mud and sprinkle it in a pot as a culture base. The other group of gardeners only used ordinary soil as a base.

John smiled, he had learned a lot as a spy. For example, in this flower raising, he heard Ma Lin personally talk about some key points. For example, the soil in the pot should not be too hard and compacted. Because, this will make the roots of the flower less breathable.

Therefore, the soil in the pot should be fluffy. The degree of compaction of the volcanic ash stirred with the river mud must be low. Unlike another group of gardeners, the soil dug directly from the ground is too tight, but it is not suitable for raising flowers.

In later generations, Marin had heard that many people deliberately put small pebbles in pots in order to let the roots of the flowers breathe, so that the soil could be fluffy. But Marin knew that this was not very scientific, and that it was not necessary to put stones to make the soil fluffy. For example, John had dry, hard volcanic ash mixed with phosphorus-containing river mud. Then, some dead weed roots (fibers) are deliberately placed in the pot to make the soil less compact.

Volcanic ash is indeed fertile, and the fluffy subsoil of John's lane is more suitable for growing flowers. Then, in the group that John was in charge of, the roses grew much better than the other group.

Louis XII was not blind, and naturally understood that volcanic ash was indeed fertilizer. As a result, his ambition to annex Italy was rekindled......

……

Coincidentally, at this time, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, sent an envoy to ask France to send a large army to the Battle of Switzerland. But Louis XII was now preoccupied with the annexation of Italy and the monopoly of the volcanic ash that could be used as fertilizer. Therefore, he politely declined the invitation of the princes' coalition forces. At the same time, preparations for the invasion of Italy began in full force......

In this way, by mistake, Marin's Infernal Affairs actually inadvertently saved His Majesty the Emperor and his Habsburgs......