Joanna was still a little worried about Guo Kang's condition, but Guo Kang had recovered and began to answer her questions.
"You don't have to worry." He comforted: "We will definitely still focus on Mediterranean trade for a long time. This idea of marching westward into the ocean does not need to be too urgent. We can wait until we manage Andalusia first After going to Morocco, we will start going south to West Africa at the same time. For now, there is no need to consider going so far.”
"I understand too." Joanna nodded: "But you also know that Rome's power and energy are limited after all. Is it enough to carry out so many directions at the same time? I think your plan always considers all directions. Go in. But if we force a multi-front attack, it may lead to failure on both sides."
"That's no problem." Tuohuan Gang Guo Kang explained: "Actually, you are still not familiar with our environment. In our position, we have to attack from multiple fronts."
"To the north are the Poles, to the northeast are the Russians, to the east are the Turkmens, and to the southeast are the city-states of the Tianfang Church." He listed: "The northwest is the Alemanni, the west is the Italians, and the southwest and south are a bunch of people. Islands, and Egypt across the southern sea.”
"This location is surrounded by enemies from all sides, not to mention the border areas, even across the sea. And in the Mediterranean, it is very convenient to cross the sea. Enemies from Italy and Egypt can invade directly across the sea, which may be more convenient than taking the land route. "
"So this is actually the Three Jin Dynasties of the Warring States Period, and its position is among the world. Either become strong and enterprising, or directly perish, there is no other choice."
"Yes, and there is another reason." Guo Kang added: "Generally speaking, although at the same time, we will theoretically only determine one main direction. But in the secondary direction, we also need to maintain the offensive momentum and maintain pressure."
"This is because, after decades of exploration, we have discovered that if we want to maintain stability in a certain direction, relying on covenants and oaths is actually useless. Especially in the north, ordinary diplomatic methods cannot achieve our goals."
"If you want to make temporary concessions, the other party will ask for more; if you persuade them and say that we have a common enemy, the other party will still insist on fighting together and often hit us first. In this case, negotiation and lobbying are of little use."
"So, this is not only a strategic issue, but also a diplomatic issue. We would rather negotiate with the Turkmen chiefs than engage in diplomatic activities with the Alemannis. Not only is this kind of thing meaningless, but it will also make them think that we are I came to talk because I felt guilty."
"Our current experience is to refuse all negotiations other than surrender." He spread his hands: "This little trick is particularly effective when dealing with Poland and Alemany."
"Is that so?" Joanna looked very interested: "This sounds very unnatural."
"There is no way, they just have this kind of virtue." Guo Kang was also a little helpless: "These people think they are smart, they will try to use their brains to think, and always want to take advantage of it. During negotiations, other than threats, other methods are of no use. . Instead of doing this, it is better to directly carry out threatening military operations."
"If threats are made during negotiations, they will think that the threats are empty. And if we only apply military pressure but refuse to communicate, they will not be able to understand our purpose and will be confused and afraid. In this way, because they will be blind Thinking about it is actually more effective than direct negotiation.”
"Moreover, after being intimidated many times, there will always be a few military leaders who feel that they have been fooled. They will think that we do not have the strength to really attack, and we are just trying to scare them so that they dare not take the initiative. These people will often launch attacks easily. , and then lost because of anger and underestimation of the enemy. These consequences will further affect subsequent people."
"Anyway, they are quite special over there. I suspect this strange state is caused by their political system and military organization." Guo Kang thought for a while and said:
"For the Turkmen and Rus tribes who are more culturally backward, this trick is not suitable. Their minds are much more 'simple', and they always intimidate them, which will really drive them into panic and fight you desperately. For those people, use The traditional method of giving a stick and a bunch of grapes is the best. This is no longer the case."
Joanna thought for a while and seemed to understand.
"I thought you had understood this a long time ago." Tuohuan was a little surprised: "I think you should be more impressed by the Alemanni talents."
"Hey, I understand, but it's useless to understand our little military strength." Joanna looked really helpless: "That's why we have to find people everywhere to help, because a big country like you must intervene. Only then can we have room for turnover.”
"Even if we understand, we can only use our brains in this direction. The deterrence method you just mentioned may not make sense to us..."
"Okay." Tuohuan understood now.
"That's why I said, if you develop towards the Mediterranean, my family and friends will definitely support it fully. This is not only for profit, but also for safety reasons." Joanna explained.
"Even capricious speculators will now hope that more forces will intervene. Because the French and Alemanni are too cruel. Especially now that the French are trapped in a war and cannot form enough constraints, Alemanni The Nigerians are simply unscrupulous. If you can really intervene, even if you just put on a show and scare those barbarians, our situation may be better."
Guo Kang thought about it and felt that this was indeed a very important reason.
In this era, the barbarism and cruelty of European history may exceed many people's expectations. The dark scenes in the history of Seris often impress people, and they even think that Europe at the same time is a paradise. But unfortunately, in most cases, these bloody histories are just not well known.
The concerns of the upper echelons of Italian city-states about security issues are not unfounded.
In this era, they were indeed economically prosperous and culturally prosperous, entering an era that would later be called the "Renaissance". In Guo Kang's impression, this should be common knowledge known to everyone from Ireland to Khitan. He himself had long known about the beginning and peak of the Renaissance and the glory it brought to Italy from books.
How it ended in Italy, however, is less famous.
In 1527, the HRE army invaded Rome and carried out an eight-day massacre. The rebels set fires everywhere in the city and destroyed classics and works in droves.
Among the soldiers, there were a large number of Protestants from the north. They destroyed monasteries and churches, tortured painters and poets for fun, and randomly carved Martin Luther's name on Raphael's murals. The University of Rome was ransacked and a large number of scholars were massacred by soldiers; Raphael's art school was forced to disband directly due to too many casualties.
Later generations do not know how many residents were killed in this disaster, because the number of dead far outnumbered the citizens who died - during the looting, various armies competed for the treasure, and serious civil strife broke out.
The army then lingered around for eight months, plundering the area from Milan to Rome. The destruction was so complete that the army itself fell into famine. They did not deal with the numerous corpses and lived around them for a long time, causing another plague. In the end, the Shinra army also left a large number of corpses and left in a hurry, making it difficult for people to distinguish the specific number of victims.
This incident may have gone beyond the scope of cruelty - Tu Cheng massacred himself like this. To be honest, it was really rare.
After this incident, the Italian Renaissance came to an end.
The population of the city of Rome dropped from nearly 60,000 to 10,000. The Church, which had been a major patron of art, philosophy, and even science, was also severely damaged and never restored to its glory.
Therefore, the Renaissance was not "finished." It’s not as beautiful as it fulfilling its mission and then passing the baton to future generations.
The Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment did not appear one after the other. It does not mean that Europeans have a "civilized degree": after the Renaissance, they will improve a little; after the Reformation, they will improve a little; after the Enlightenment, they will enter a civilized society.
On the contrary, it can even be said that the results of the Reformation were directly involved in destroying the most precious fruits of the Renaissance.
Cordoba is finished, Constantinople is finished, Rome is finished - this is the "sequence" of the development of Western Europe.
At the beginning, Guo Kang also seriously considered these issues. But now, he has roughly thought it through.
"It is impossible for us to give up our attention to Italy. You can rest assured of this." He said to Joanna: "Rome is our old capital, and it will be taken back sooner or later. Otherwise, how can we still call ourselves this name? But you also see Here we are, it will be difficult for us to protect ourselves for a long time, so we can’t control it so far.”
"But now, if we want to manage the Mediterranean region, we must not ignore it. Especially in this situation, I suspect that something may happen in Naples. If there is a new round of competition for the throne, we must also participate in it to prevent being defeated by the enemy. Control this important fenced area."
"That's true." Tuo Huan also agreed: "Although it is not the main direction of action now, we will definitely keep an eye on it and cannot ignore it. Now we also have enough reserve power. If something happens, our legion will definitely Will respond faster than their ragtag army."
What he said was very confident, and it was indeed true.
Compared with other European countries, the military system of the Purple Horde Khanate allows them to deploy an army at any time to quickly intervene in emergencies. For other countries, recruiting vassals and mercenaries is a time-consuming process, and it is difficult for the monarch to keep them on standby at all times, so they will definitely suffer in terms of speed of action.
Over the years, other countries have indeed realized this, but a country's military system is ultimately derived from its political system. Without changing the organization of the entire country, the new military system will be a castle in the air.
Therefore, everyone can only tinker and try to use various remedial measures to prevent the gap in this area from widening too much. As for completely changing the country, this is really impossible.
Joanna obviously understood this too. She nodded in agreement, but then reminded: "In this case, shouldn't we also prepare in advance for publicity? Do you have any ready reasons for intervention?"
"Yes." Guo Kang said without hesitation: "I know the genealogy of Naples. The current king of Naples is called Ladislao. His ancestor seems to be the descendant of the Cuman Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the daughter of Ketian Khan, so We can use the old method, chase down Ketian Khan, and then destroy Naples.”
"Guo Kanganda is right." Tuo Huan agreed without even thinking about it: "Let's just say this when we need it."
"That's not right." Joanna reminded: "The last descendant of Elizabeth and her husband was Queen Joanna I decades ago. After she was killed, this line was severed. The one who killed her to seize the throne, It’s her cousin Carlo III, and he has no blood relationship with Ketian Khan.”
"But there is something worth noting here. You see, the inheritance laws of Sicily and Naples allow women to inherit..."
However, Guo Kang didn't care about the second half of her sentence, but immediately thought of a way to answer the pursuit question.
"That's not what you say." He argued forcefully: "When a cousin inherits his cousin's family business, he must also inherit the family's family. This is called 'acceptance'. After inheriting the throne, the original relationship will also be changed. Inherited. So although he is a little distant in terms of blood, legally speaking, he is still a descendant of Ke Tai'an Khan. We still have reason to pursue him."
"Hey? Can Europeans also accept the throne?" Tuohuan was a little surprised: "Do the other lords and the Pope recognize it?"
"Maybe there is no such name, but the nature is the same anyway." Guo Kang continued to forcefully explain: "If he denies it, it is against the ethics. Let alone the Pope, even if the Ming Dynasty complains, they will not favor him. "
"I think Guo Kanganda is right." Tuohuan suddenly realized: "In fact, in the future, we can also use ethics as an excuse to start a war."
Joanna found helplessly that they seemed to have no interest in the topic she hinted at.
In fact, the relationship here is relatively simple in the complex aristocratic marriage network in Europe: Joanna's mother is the deposed Queen Maria of Hungary, and her maternal grandfather is Lajos I of the Angevin dynasty - that is, Naples. That Angevin dynasty.
Her maternal grandfather was the cousin of Carlo, the former King of Naples.
During the reign of Lajos I, he sent troops to Naples many times. At first, he supported his younger brother, but later he simply wanted to annex the place directly. It only failed because of the intervention of other countries.
After the death of Lajos, King Carlo of Naples also did the opposite, trying to expel Queen Maria and take over Hungary. Only in the melee between the parties, Carlo was assassinated, and his son Ladislaus was subsequently defeated and returned to Naples. It can be seen that these two families are very close and can compete with each other for the throne.
Joanna hoped that Guo Kang could at least think of her and his mother when he mentioned this matter. However, Guo Kang even thought about the ethics of the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't even think of this relationship...
She didn't know if it was good to tell her directly, so she could only look at the two people pitifully: "Is it really okay to forcefully find a reason like this? Don't we need to consider the support of local people?"
"It's okay, of course we know it." Guo Kang showed a heroic smile: "Don't worry, we will protect the locals from the barbarians. They will know who to support when the time comes."
"Guo Kanganda is right." Tuo Huan also agreed: "This should not be difficult to understand. Miss, you don't want your artwork to be smashed by barbarians, right?"
(End of chapter)
