Although Ladislaus's promise allowed the army to successfully resettle, it made his main assistant Machiavelli quite unhappy.

Machiavelli firmly opposed any mercenaries. He always believed that the national militia was the basis for stable rule.

Although he did not directly object, Ladislaus decided to take the initiative to explain to him to show his trust.

"Mr. Machiavelli, your The Prince repeatedly emphasized the unreliability of hired force, saying that using commercial contracts to protect political power is like holding a sharp sword upside down. This is indeed a wise saying."

"Thank you for your appreciation, so why did you decide to hire that mercenary group today?" Machiavelli understood that it was rare for the master to take the initiative to explain, so he expressed his doubts as calmly as possible

.

"You wisely explained that if the mercenary leader fails, the employer will naturally suffer. Even the victorious mercenaries may threaten the employer. I think this truth is indeed completely correct for those small city-states. But I am a Habsburg, Emperor

His Majesty's army is almost entirely composed of national militia, and most of the armed forces of His Majesty the Acting Grand Duke are national militia. With their endorsement, most mercenary leaders will not attempt to replace me unless they are absolutely sure." Ladis

Behind Rous stood a man who would make any ambitious man think twice before taking action.

"This is indeed your capital, but how to organize the force is not only a strategic issue, but also affects your administrative work. Having a force that is directly loyal to you can make you feel much smoother on administrative issues."

"Yes, this is also my pursuit, but now that the war is approaching, not only the Republic of Siena, I need to collect all the force I can collect as much as possible and throw it into the decisive battle with France. To win this decisive battle,

Then there will naturally be time to reorganize the armed forces and develop grand plans." Ladislaus, like the acting Archduke, knew very well that only by winning the battle against France would there be a future. If this round was lost, although Habsburg's power would not

It collapsed all of a sudden, but it was necessary to strategically shrink the overall defense, and then everything would be in trouble.

Ladislaus's very sincere attitude and the small scale of the "hand-and-half-sword" made Machiavelli accept the current situation. He was the most resourceful, flexible and adaptable person.

He understood all the reasons given by Ladislaus.

The reason why he was slightly dissatisfied was because he had placed great expectations on Ladislaus.

Compared to Machiavelli's pickiness, Captain Vittin is very humble. Although it is not difficult for mercenaries to find a job nowadays, if they accept the employment of a powerful monarch, they will be easily consumed once they enter that decisive battlefield.

, and it is difficult for small countries to afford the cost of long-term employment. Hiring leaders need to spend a lot of energy to ensure that they can get the payment they deserve.

Although Machiavelli systematically pointed out the threat of mercenaries to employers for the first time, after reading so many stories of mercenary leaders expelling their employers and gaining power, no experienced politician would be prepared to take precautions against mercenaries.

.

This relationship of mutual distrust makes the seemingly glamorous profession of mercenary leader actually full of dangers. If you are not careful, your whole life career will come to naught.

Of course, another reason is that the emperor behind Ladislaus, Charles V, is qualified to intervene in the succession issue within the Vittin family. The dream of the Vittin leader to obtain a small state within the Holy Roman Empire seems to have dawned.

When setting up camp in the afternoon, Captain Vitin was not at all as arrogant as when he was negotiating with Old Colonna. Regardless of the fact that the contract with Old Colonna had not yet ended, he took the initiative to act like a subordinate and personally led people to help Ladislaus.

Tent, this group of mercenaries has very rich camping experience, and the tent they set up made Ladislaus very satisfied.

After some service, Kessell-Vitting put on an extremely flattering smile and asked Ladislaus about the tithe tax in Siena.

"Your Excellency, the Archbishop of Habsburg, I am truly flattered to be favored by you. The more than 300 brothers in our half-sword mercenary regiment are grateful for your great kindness." Although Captain Vitting

He can stretch and bend, but he still shows his strength as soon as he comes up.

"Captain Viting, your men are indeed elite soldiers and generals. However, although Siena can be considered a big city, the tithe will not exceed 3,000 talers now. After the war, all industries will wither. I estimate that it will be able to survive in the first year.

It's pretty good to charge one thousand five hundred to two thousand thalers, but I'm afraid you can't support as many as three hundred people." Ladislaus unceremoniously came to drain the fire, directly showing that no matter how powerful you are, we can't support you.

Can't afford it. "Siena's Dark Sun Guards don't need such a large scale."

Although Captain Weiting understood that these figures were not nonsense, if he didn't want to fight for it, why would he be so eager to serve him.

"Your Majesty the Archbishop, it's only 1,500 talers, not to mention 300 cavalry, even 100 professional soldiers are difficult to maintain. Everyone under me has a warrior level, and there are more than 100 warriors of both levels. All two levels

The top soldiers are all veterans who have been with me for at least two or three years." Captain Vitting seemed eager, but he was very aware of Ladislaus's negotiation tactics. "What's more, the Kingdom of France is now aggressively invading the Holy Roman Empire.

Your Majesty, Archbishop, is the time when you serve His Majesty the Emperor."

"His Majesty the Emperor has treated me as deeply as the ocean. Naturally, I will work hard to repay him, but the tax revenue of Siena City is indeed insufficient, and there is nothing I can do about it." This is of course a complete lie, except for collecting taxes within the jurisdiction.

In addition to his power, Ladislaus will definitely be able to control some of the commercial shops in the city. If this war is won, some of the land owned by local families will also be divided up.

If the "Hand and Half Sword" company is supplied in full, financial constraints will indeed be tight, but this unit can still be supplied.

However, Ladislaus was never willing to just provide a cavalry company for the decisive battle concerning the fate of the family. He had to reduce the expenditure on the "half-sword" mercenaries as much as possible in order to organize more troops.

, which is also the origin of this negotiation.

"Your Excellency, Archbishop, in any case, when the war is approaching, recruiting troops is the right way to reduce manpower. It is really unfavorable. Why don't you contract the tax revenue you deserve in Siena to me, no matter how much, I will rely on this income to support my subordinates."

How about you help me?"

Upon hearing this, Ladislaus immediately shook his head. The tax contractor system was very harmful to the local economy and his reputation. He did not cancel the power of tax contractors in several monasteries under his name, mainly because he did not have enough time.

.

We are absolutely unwilling to engage in this kind of backward system that will weaken the cohesion of the group and aggravate the selfishness of our subordinates.

Moreover, mercenaries without longevity are bound to rely on their strength to bully the weak, use various means to exploit the enemy, and can do all kinds of things without any lower limit.

Moreover, this kind of mercenary group will fight against other forces in the city with all their strength, just to make a profit, which is also very detrimental to Ladislaus's relationship with the Colonna family and the Orsini family.

In the end, if these mercenaries were to be punished, they would most likely have to change employers after making enough money, leaving Ladislaus to clean up the rest of the mess.

Ladislaus therefore firmly rejected the offer.

"Then please help me a little more no matter what. Fifteen hundred talers are really unsustainable." Captain Kessell-Vitting looked at Ladislaus's firm attitude and had no choice but to give in one more step.

Barely maintaining the existing team.

"I really can't conjure up such a good thing as Silvertale. But this time the nobles of the Republic of Siena rebelled, some of them will definitely be severely punished, and of course the land they own will also be confiscated. These lands

If I can get a part of it, I can let your men do the farming for free. The emperor's army is still gathering in Spain and may not arrive in Italy until next spring. During this time, your men can organize a spring plowing."

This is Ladislaus' real plan, to turn mercenaries into a field army. Ladislaus has also seen the horses in this mercenary group. They are basically not good horses, and they are almost old enough to be used as plow horses.

Age.

Judging from the strength of their battle formation just now, Ladislaus judged that this "half-sword" mercenary was called a cavalry team. In fact, it should be a dragoon team, that is, a unit that immediately maneuvers and dismounts to fight. Their war horses cannot bear the burden.

A violent charge.

Moreover, the cavalry is very mobile and can leave at any time. Without the horses, they will not be able to come and go as freely.

Kessell-Vitting also understood Ladislaus's intentions at this point. He could not make an immediate decision on this issue.

"Your proposal is of great importance. Please allow me to discuss it with my subordinates before replying to you. However, just farming for free is not enough. In any case, we must allocate some land to us so that I can speak to the brothers." Yes.

The formation of such a mounted infantry is not just Kessell-Vitting's personal talent. The Vitting family, the Elector of Saxony, is the real boss of this army. Because the overall situation of Württemberg has been decided, there is no way to prevent the acting archduke from annexing Württemberg.

Kessell-Vitting now lost his status within the family. In order not to have his military power taken back, he traveled far away from the family's sphere of influence in Central Germany.

He was able to persist for many years under the attack of the acting Grand Duke. Not only did he survive, but he also obtained a group of elite soldiers. This was also because Kessell-Vitting never caused any big trouble for the acting Grand Duke.

This elite soldier is his capital in his personal struggle for power and profit.

But after coming to Italy, he would definitely not be able to supplement the horses that had been eliminated by the Saxon army. Transformation was also necessary. It was impossible for any employer to supplement the horses for an army that maintained its independence.

"Of course it is not impossible to give some land to the officers, but it depends on how much land I can get. We will discuss the specific details after the war. The enemy still occupies the land, so it is impossible to talk about it, but you can first

Ask your subordinates for their opinions. Isn't it better to have a piece of land to live a stable life? If more of these original nobles can be eliminated, we will be able to do things much more comfortably."

Ladislaus also understood that it was impossible to ask people to become tenants. At least they had to be given the status of yeoman farmers. However, this status also had to be fought for by themselves. He used the knives of these mercenaries to attack the local nobles.

The Great Purge, this request was not Ladislaus's, but the old Colonna's method to allow his family to exist in the Siena area for a long time.
Chapter completed!