Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2444 Confused Northern Italy

Bank of Rialto Square, Venice, December 1701, 12.

After the bank opened for business at eight o'clock in the morning, the windows were crowded with people.The war is about to break out, and no one is a fool, and they all want to preserve their property as much as possible in the chaotic situation.As an old bank with shares on the east coast, Bank of Rialto Plaza is a good place to save property: Venice's middle class has lined up to deposit their hard-earned money into the bank's account.

East Bank, in this troubled world, is synonymous with reliability.The bank of the people on the east coast is naturally synonymous with reliability.Even the currency of the East Coast is more popular in Italy than any other currency, although it is just a piece of paper.But it was this piece of paper that was being bought at a premium of 20% on the black market in Genoa, Milan and Venice.Smart people have already foreseen that as the situation becomes more chaotic and dangerous, the Northern Italian Federation will definitely be involved in the war, so in addition to increasing government debt, it is also inevitable to create inferior currency to harvest the people.

Although they are currently holding relatively fine coins, once the door to minting low-quality coins is opened in the future, the lira will inevitably depreciate significantly-the lira is still the bookkeeping currency, and it is the currency of the Northern Italian Federation. In general terms, but recently the federation is also discussing the official casting of a legal currency called lira - in the case of mud and sand, the currency on hand will inevitably be affected.At this time, it seems to be a good choice to withdraw the lira in advance and exchange it for gold coupons with a firmer currency value.

"Have you heard? The Regency of Madrid sent envoys to Milan, announcing that the Duke of Anjou in France is the new king of Spain, and that the Duchy of Milan be loyal to the new king." The other people were also bored, so they talked about the gossip they heard.

"Where did you hear that? It didn't take long before this happened, right? What happened afterwards?" The fat man dressed as a small businessman asked in surprise.

"It's spread in Milan. I have a cousin who works as a driver in the Spanish Governor's Mansion. Seeing that the situation is not right, he rolled back to his hometown overnight and is now looking for a new job." The man in front said: "It is said that Milan The militiamen of the city rushed into the Governor's Palace at that time and declared his position illegal. Poor Governor Fabio, who was very old, was severely humiliated, and died among the rotten eggs and stones of the citizens. After leaving the city of Milan, the dozens of Spanish cavalry accompanying the envoy were also disarmed by the militiamen. It is said that they were stripped naked and thrown out of the window of the Governor's Mansion. Afterwards, an infantry regiment of the Federal New Army entered took over the city, and the townspeople cheered their freedom from Spanish rule."

"This..." The fat vendor was stunned, not knowing what to say for a while.Will the Commonwealth's tough move draw the wrath of Spain, or even Louis XIV?Will they send troops to suppress it?If troops are sent, can the federal army withstand it?The infantry regiment currently stationed in Milan are all children of Venice. I really don't want them to encounter any trouble.But then again, even if the Spaniards or the French want to launch an army to indict and come to suppress, it should be the navy dominated by the Genoese that stands in the way first, right?Can they do it? This is the joint fleet of Spain and France.

In fact, neither of these two understand that in Northern Italy at this time, there are more than one enemy!Spain and France are open, but in fact there is a secret Austria, which is more insidious and shameless.In the history of later generations, envoys from Madrid arrived in Milan, Mantua, Parma and other places to "proclaim the decree". Although there were many objections from various places, they were generally accepted and no major disturbances occurred.But as a result, before the Italians and Spaniards reacted, Vienna sent 6000 cavalry and 1.6 infantry to northern Italy day and night to seize these territories that nominally belonged to the Kingdom of Spain.

Leading the Austrian army was Prince Eugen of Italian origin but in the service of Leopold, a general who liked surprises very much.During the entire War of Spanish Succession, this guy did not know how much trouble he caused the French in northern Italy, and even shook the influence of the French here, laying the foundation for the future annexation of Northern Italy by Austria.

In this time and space of the people on the east coast, because of the strong existence of the Northern Italian Federation, Vienna is still hesitating, wondering whether it should send troops into Milan, Mantua, Parma and other places.But Prince Eugen strongly suggested sending troops there, on the grounds that these places are very rich and can provide Austria with money and supplies for the continuation of the war. At the same time, they can also contact the Principality of Savoy westward and threaten the French flank.

Leopold almost agreed with Prince Eugen's proposal.However, after other ministers pointed out that the people on the east coast have significant interests in northern Italy, and that northern Italy has formed an army of 7.5—of which about 3 are newly formed and have limited combat effectiveness—Leopold again Worrying about gains and losses, I don't know whether to make this decision.

Austria has yet to recover from the trauma of the last war, and the government still has a large outstanding debt.From a financial point of view, sending an army to quickly occupy the rich northern Italy is actually a good move, which can effectively resolve the financial crisis of the empire.But the problem is that there are people from the East Coast meddling there!Their envoy made remarks in the newspaper every three days. Although it was later proved that they were all taken out of context or impostors, it is an indisputable fact that the East Bank government attaches great importance to the Northern Italian Federation, otherwise they would not invest in them. Overseas trade, as well as the training of military officers and government officials.

Besides, is the more than 7 Northern Italian Army really as easy to fight as Prince Eugen said?I'm afraid not!Aside from the 4.5 new recruits, as far as the [-] soldiers who have been in the army for several years are concerned, their equipment is definitely the first group in Europe. The rifles and cannons imported from the east bank are brand new. It looks very exciting.Moreover, their Split Division and Zakynthos Division have fought in Morocco, have experience, and are no longer softies who have never seen blood.Although it may not be as good as the experienced Austrian elite, it is not too far behind.What's more, they are fighting defensively, have logistical advantages, and the people may be more supportive. This battle is actually not easy to fight. Once the stalemate is reached, it means a complete failure.

Instead of this, it is better to let them fight the Spaniards and French first and see how they are.If you are still playing tenaciously, you might as well win them over and get them into your own camp.If the fight is a mess, then you don't have to be polite, just send troops from behind, stab them, and then fight the French in northern Italy.

In addition, in fact, this matter can also be used to test the strategic bottom line of the people on the east coast, that is, to see whether the people on the east coast will take the risk of fighting against the coalition forces of Spain and France for the sake of several states in northern Italy.Leopold was skeptical about this, because the East Coasters did not have many armies deployed in Europe, and the area to be defended was quite large, and they suffered from a shortage of troops.Moreover, their homeland is thousands of miles away from Italy. From an emotional point of view, is it really necessary to sacrifice the lives of their own children for a local government like the Northern Italian Federation?Is it worth it?

Why don't you try it first and see what the East Coast people will do.If they don't hesitate to send troops to defend the Northern Italian Federation, then things will be more complicated.With such a big change in the east coast, many plans have to be reconsidered.

"The Spaniards will definitely send troops here, right?" The fat peddler was finally a little worried. He frowned and said in an uncertain tone, "They have a garrison in Naples. Will this army go north? If If we go north, can our navy and army stop it? And there are French, which is even more terrifying, they will come like locusts!"

The voices of the conversation between the two were not low, and it quickly attracted the attention of others.After hearing this, they naturally had a deep worry about the future.The Northern Italian Federation has not been established for many years, and there are still many internal contradictions. The army has never proved itself with meritorious service on the battlefield, which is more worrying.However, some people also realize that if a country wants to stand up and successfully build a country, the baptism of blood and fire is indispensable.The same is true for the Northern Italian Federation. They defeated the enemy dignifiedly and stood tall on the peninsula, so they have the capital to establish a country.For this kind of thing, other people's charity can't be given, and in the end you have to rely on yourself!

On December 12th, Christmas Day, another news came from the north, that is, five days after the new king Philip V of Madrid (the Duke of Anjou) sent people to the Southern Netherlands to proclaim the decree, a group of 25 The French army of tens of thousands of people also crossed the border and entered the ten provinces of the Southern Netherlands.The Dutch were greatly shaken by this and began to carry out emergency mobilization in the country.Moreover, their envoys also began to scatter all over Europe, making promises and wooing, ensuring that more countries would stand by them.

However, the French acted like this on the northern front, and their soldiers pointed directly at Antwerp, but on the southern front, almost no news came out.The Spaniards yelled a few times, declaring that the nobles in Milan, Mantua, Parma and other places were "rebellious" and that the parliament was illegal.But the strange thing is that the new king Philip V did not take further actions, such as mobilizing the navy and army to Italy to counter the rebellion.His only order was to let a part of the Spanish garrison in Naples land in Sicily, temporarily suppressing the imminent situation there.

Other than that, the Spaniards and the French didn't do anything else on the southern front, and they were so obedient that it didn't seem like their style.But no one dared to take it lightly, because Philip V was so slapped in the face by the North Italians just after he took the throne. If this matter was ignored, the damage to prestige would be quite serious.In the end, he will probably send troops over...

(End of this chapter)