Chapter 802 Contribution
At noon today, a spy Francesco sent to the city of Tira to assassinate Ater returned to Milan with several heads that had already rotted and were infested with maggots. After learning that the mission had failed, in order to prevent the incident from reaching the ears of some people with ulterior motives in the palace, Francesco did not hesitate to order the guards to take the spies to the backyard of the mansion, and then quietly and secretly executed the guy who finally came back alive.
At this point, he also completely gave up the idea of sending someone to assassinate Art.
In the afternoon of the same day, Francesco also received a request for help from Kane Hawke, the lord of Arachisburg. In that secret letter, Kane Hawke strongly requested that the Lombard soldiers stationed in the two manors in the north be sent south to jointly resist the Burgundians. Otherwise, relying on the mere few hundred people in your hands is tantamount to dying in vain.
The secret message was received in the afternoon of that day, which meant that the Burgundian army had not yet launched an attack on Arechis. However, a full day had now passed, and the Milanese court still knew nothing about Arechis.
At this time, Duke Witote spoke again and asked: "What's the news from the south?"
Francesco squeezed the secret letter in his hand, stood up and replied: "Replying to your lord, there is no news yet."
Duke Witot did not continue to ask after hearing this, but simply said "Let's break up", and then left here angrily.
Looking at the Duke of Lombardy leaving, Deputy Francesco raised his cuffs and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead"
"Sir Francesco~"
After watching Duke Witott leave, the Palace Intelligence Chief shouted in a low voice. Francesco breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the fat and greasy colleague in front of him, and asked, "I wonder if Mr. Val has any advice?"
The Palace Intelligence Chief glanced at the temporary Finance Minister sitting next to him, and asked Francesco Sco winked and made a gesture of invitation, and then the two of them left here together·
"Mr. Val, what makes it so mysterious?"
When the two left the inner court and away from the surrounding guards, Military Minister Francesco couldn't help but ask.
In the dark night, Val, the palace intelligence chief, looked around, and after making sure that there was no one around, he whispered in Francesco's ear: "According to the letter from the spies I planted in the northeast, the group of barbarians from the Mountain Confederacy may be making big moves recently~"
"The Mountain Confederacy?" There was a hint of uneasiness in Francesco's tone. "What, is it possible that they are not satisfied with occupying those lands and cities in the northeast of Lombardy?"
The intelligence manager frowned, and continued with a look of embarrassment: "This is not the worst~ According to reports from my little birds, since the closure of Milan, the autonomous city-states are stepping up their recruitment. I am afraid that it won't be long before those guild merchants will raise their butcher knives to our necks."
Francesco was greatly shocked when he heard this, because from what he knew, the autonomous city-states had long been in disarray after being plundered by the Royal Guards sent by the Milanese court. Those powerful guild leaders and big businessmen fled their cities long ago. Logically speaking, these autonomous city-states simply did not have the ability to recruit troops and fight against the palace.
At this critical juncture, Milan is about to face the double attack of the Burangdians and Provence. Once the autonomous city-states that were dissatisfied with the Milanese court unite and surrender to foreign enemies, the pressure faced by the city of Milan will increase sharply.
"Is your information true?" Francesco asked uneasily.
"Absolutely correct!"
As the military minister of the palace, Francesco was responsible for the safety of Milan. Once the city is broken, not only will it be unable to protect itself, but the entire Lombardy's centuries-old foundation will collapse in an instant.
The Minister of War was anxious and kept walking back and forth, trying his best to find a way to save Milan.
Among the two groups sent out to ask for help, the Roman side has been completely defeated, and only the Principality of Swabia is still holding on to the life-saving straw. But even if Swabia sends troops to reinforce Milan, it is obviously too late now. Not only are the two far apart, but they are also blocked by the Mountain Confederacy. It can be said that water far away cannot extinguish the fire nearby.
After a while, Francesco stopped and said to the intelligence chief: "Don't mention these to the Duke in advance, so as not to make him angry. In addition, without further ado, you immediately arrange for someone to contact the Chancellor of Finance who is already in Swabia, convey the Duke's intention to him, and ask for help. The Duke of Swabia quickly sent troops. The current situation in Milan is extremely critical. If the Duke of Swabia wants to take a sip of hot soup before Milan breaks the city, they must take action immediately. "
"Okay, Sir Francesco, I will take care of this right away."
“Wait a minute!” When the intelligence chief turned around, Francesco suddenly called him. "Let the Chancellor of Finance tell the Duke of Swabia that this is his last chance to annex the Burgundy Kingdom for decades. If he does not capture Besancon while Milan can still breathe, the Swabian Principality will become the second Lombardy in the near future!"
The intelligence chief gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement, and then disappeared into the night.
Francesco wandered alone outside the inner court for a long time. After some hard thinking, a strategy that might allow the Milan court to continue slowly emerged in his mind.
So, he turned around and returned to the inner court again.
At this time, Duke Witott, who was enjoying dinner alone after the court meeting, looked heavy. The sliced mutton served on the exquisite dinner plate on the table had cooled down. After he took a sip of the wine in the glass, only the bottommost juice remained.
The maids standing aside carefully watched everything in front of them, for fear that the frustrated Duke would kill them in a rage.
Boom!
The moment the bottom of the cup came into contact with the table, it made a horrifying sound.
The maid quickly stepped forward, gently lifted the wine container on the table, filled the red-glossy wine glass, and then retreated behind the Duke again and stood there quietly.
Just as Duke Witott raised the wine glass to his lips again, the guard outside the door suddenly came to report, "Your Majesty, Sir Francesco, please see me~"
In the somewhat dim room, Duke Witott, who was sitting at the dining table, glanced at the door and said, "Let him in." Then he poured the wine in the glass into his mouth.
"Your Majesty the Duke~" Francesco walked straight towards Duke Witote after entering the door.
"Sir Francesco, is there anything else you can do at this late hour?" Duke Witote picked up the fork, stuffed a piece of mutton into his mouth, and chewed it.
Francesco looked up and around, but did not speak.
Then Duke Witott spoke to the servants in the room and said, "All of you, please step aside."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Duke."
When the last maid to exit closed the door, Francesco spoke. "Your Majesty, Duke, I have another plan here, which may be able to change the current crisis faced by Lombardy."
Duke Witott was stunned for a moment after hearing this. The knife and fork he held in his hand hung in the air. Then he slowly raised his head and looked at the palace military minister with expectant eyes.
After saying that, Duke Witott threw the fork and knife into the plate, picked up the silk scarf on the side and wiped the remaining oil stains on the corners of his mouth and hands.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Duke." Francesco nodded slightly and continued: "I don't think we can pin our last hope only on the Principality of Swabia."
"Do we have any other way out?" Duke Witott asked in return.
“Yes, we have indeed no retreat. But think about it, Duke. At the beginning of the war, Swabia rejected our proposal to attack the Burgundy Kingdom from the north and south. Now we no longer have the advantage we had before, and the Duke of Swabia will not go to fight with the Burgundy Kingdom for us. Although there is news from the Chancellor of Finance that the Duke of Swabia is willing to help us, this does not mean that they will definitely send troops to attack the Burgundy Kingdom. On the contrary, they may agree on the surface, but secretly want to tear off a piece of Lombardy's body when we are most vulnerable!"
The Duke of Lombardy listened quietly to Francesco's analysis and gradually fell into deep thought. He slowly stood up and walked step by step to the window that let in the cold moonlight.
Looking at the capital city shrouded in hazy moonlight, the Duke of Lombardy had a lot of thoughts in his mind. He never thought that he would be forced into such a desperate situation by an unknown person, and he would have to ask for help from all over to save the family business. Thinking of this, a few tears fell from the corners of his eyes·
After a moment, he turned around and asked: "What other plans do you have? Tell me."
Francesco stepped forward. Go and say: "Please think about it, Your Majesty the Duke, who has lost the most since Flanders defeated Bernard and replaced Ivrea as the new Marquis?"
Duke Witott blurted out, "Of course it is the Duchy of Burgundy!"
"Exactly! In order to gain the support of the Kingdom of France, Flanders turned to the King of France, causing the Duchy of Burgundy, which originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to annex the princely state, to miss an opportunity. Although the Duke of Burgundy did not say it, the world knew that he would never forget such a shame and humiliation." Francesco became more and more emotional as he talked.
"Although Flanders, the former king of the Burgundy Kingdom, is dead, the Burgundy Kingdom is still thinking about that fat piece of meat. If he watched him annex the entire Lombardy, the Duke of Burgundy may never have the opportunity to gnaw this hard bone again in his life!"
Duke Witot was suddenly awakened by Francesco's words, and the sadness on his face a moment ago disappeared instantly.
"So, what you mean is that we can ask for help from the Duchy of Burlindi and let him attack the Duchy of Burlindi from the north to relieve Milan's current predicament?"