The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Francesco governed his territory in Ancona, and although it was close to the sea, agriculture was the most important in this era. The most fertile Po River plain in Italy is in the hands of Milan, Savoy, and Rome. In comparison, although there are many rivers and plains in central and southern Italy, they are all small-scale.

Commercially, Romagna has a coastline and also controls the two important commercial cities of Ancona and Bologna. With the political reshuffle carried out by the Roman army here, the local nobles and urban factions disappeared, and Francisco was committed to eradicating local separatism, making Romagna the most centralized state in northern Italy.

"Sir, do we really want to take down Luca now? Milan won't watch."

His subordinates asked Francisco. At present, it seems that Lucca's local rule is not very strong, and it is vulnerable to attacks from Milan and Florence. It is better to change the strategy and capture Florence first, and then go north and Milan. Start a war.

Francisco also had his own idea of ​​beating Luca. Luca was not far from Bologna, and the opponent had few villains, so he could surrender quickly. Moreover, it can also cut off Milan's way of supporting Florence. As long as Florence, Pisa and Siena are annexed, he will have the capital to compete with Milan.

In order to gain the support of Constantinople, he has been working hard in recent years. The other party is the Orthodox Church, so he promotes it in his territory and suppresses Catholicism. If they want to be their own pawns, then so be it. As long as they have a certain amount of capital, Rome will take them seriously.

"How are we going with our loan from the bank?"

"It's going well so far. The total is 180,000 florins, which is pledged by the wine tax and salt tax."

The Duke nodded. As far as he knew, various Italian states were in financial crisis. In order to save money, they began to cut military and infrastructure expenses, and also eliminated benefits for the poor. People in various countries are somewhat dissatisfied, and this is an opportunity to expand their strength.

Facing Romagna's offensive, both Florence and Milan felt nervous. After all, their vitality has been severely damaged, and they have all experienced turmoil such as the change of rulers.

Gian died of the plague after the war, and his 13-year-old eldest son Gian Maria Visconti became mentally ill and fought fiercely with factions (the eldest son even teamed up with his half-brothers to kill his mother and regent Caterina). Milan fell into civil unrest.

As for Florence, it was because of John's resignation that he re-elected the standard bearer of justice. As a result, the local families continued to argue, and finally the Pazzi family won this position. Then began the plan to annex Pisa.

Italy's interests are not only local interests, but also mixed with the forces of other countries. Needless to say, Rome, Aragon controls Sardinia, France wants to expand its territory to the west of the Alps, and the HRE also wants to regain control of these disobedient countries. The rapid rise of Rome forced them to regroup, otherwise they would die without a burial place.

The anti-Roman faction within the HRE and Rome were still fighting in Central Europe. The faction within Hungary planned to depose Queen Mary and re-establish Sigismund as king. But each time they were easily suppressed by the troops of Prince Pozzoni, and Mary confiscated their territory and then redistributed it.

The queen's rule has been relatively smooth in recent years, and Hungary has recovered from the previous turmoil. The opposing nobles have almost been cleared up, not only for her rule, but also for her children to be safe and smooth in Rome.

Yes, she has a baby. It was the one who got her into trouble that night with Peter a few years ago. However, only a few people knew that she had a child. After all, illegitimate children still cannot be brought to the fore.

In October of her pregnancy, Mary gave birth to twins. For various reasons, their life experience cannot be told to anyone at present. Mary named them Lajoche and Arno, one was sent to the manor to be educated by Count Pinsk, and the other was sent to the church to enter the priesthood.

Peter also knew that he had an illegitimate child. How should I put it, he felt like Charles V. But he was not like Louis XIV and Louis XV. It would actually be better to have more children. At this time, illegitimate children were considered a tacit secret of the ruler.

Peter set aside a piece of his own fiefdom in Hungary as a fiefdom for his illegitimate son, and also provided living expenses. He is not a sentimental person, he just hopes that the Bartland family can last for a long time.

Hungary covers an area of ​​330,000 square kilometers and occupies the fertile Pannonian Plain. It has rich agricultural output and also has the water conservancy of the Danube River. Whoever owns Hungary can control the middle reaches of the Danube River and as much as France. agriculture.

Mary also knew that Hungary's independent future could not be guaranteed, and Rome had helped her too much, so she planned to use this throne as a gift to thank Rome. The Angevin dynasty was history, and Hungary was about to become part of Rome, if all went well.

Austria is not willing to watch Rome annex Hungary. If Hungary is annexed by Rome, there will be more borders between the two countries, and Hungary also needs a barrier to protect the plains. The best one is his Vienna.

Vienna is less than 100 kilometers away from Pozzoni, and the opponent can attack his capital at any time. The archduke would not let this happen, so he supported his in-law Sigismund so that he could obtain the Hungarian throne by marrying Habsburg.

The series of games surrounding Italy and Hungary can also be said to be the battle between the Bartland family and the Habsburg family for the Luxembourg heritage. Bartland chose Wenzel, Habsburg chose Sigismund, and the Jagiellonian and Valois families also planned to join in the fun. Facing the great powers of Central Europe, they all want to carve up this huge country.

Jobst was ready. As the uncrowned Holy Roman Emperor, Jobst had the power to redistribute his own and extinct lands. Jobst would not make it easy for the defeated Sigismund.

Wenzel also had the same idea. This brother was too dangerous. They can think of all kinds of conspiracies. Anyway, the direct family line has been cut off in their generation. It would be better to leave it to the people of the Eastern Roman Empire to rule, which would not be considered as a disgrace to the legacy of Charlemagne.

The eastern part of the HRE has entered a state of religious strife. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church are fighting to the death. In Bohemia, the two sides are almost tied. In addition, people calling for reform carried out propaganda in Prague, and people's lives were divided because of religion.

Rome's recent rapid expansion of territory has made them feel a sense of crisis, and they are afraid that one day an emperor will come out to unify Europe. They planned to build a long-term alliance against Rome, and self-preservation was the most important thing.