King of German Mercenaries

After discussing it with Ziger, Ziger also agreed with Marin's plan. Because, under the muzzle of the enemy warships, it is indeed very dangerous to forcibly cross the 4-kilometer-wide Mars channel. But in wars on land, the Swiss have never been afraid of anyone. Moreover, if you are fortunate enough to capture Groningen, you can also grab a lot of money...

After negotiating, Marin and Zig, with 3,000 Swiss mercenaries, turned northeast and headed for Groningen...

In fact, what Marin didn't know was that the nine bosses of the Friesian Aristocratic Republic were all gathered in Harlingen, a small fishing port across the sea from Texel Island. Moreover, around the nine members, there were only a few hundred serf soldiers with poor combat effectiveness.

If Marin can learn this information, as long as he leads his troops to Harlingen and arrests these nine nobles, then all problems will be solved.

However, the transmission of information in this era is too backward. In Marin's hands, there is no intelligence agency for the time being. Therefore, Marin regrettably lost the great opportunity to capture the enemy chief. But I can't blame him for that. Who knew that these nine bigwigs of the Frisian noble republic would come to the seaside town if they had nothing to do? According to common sense, they should be sitting in Groningen...

After passing through Zwolle, Marin did not enter West Friesland directly, but first through the Flevoland area under the control of the Duchy of Gede, and then through the Upper IJssel area under the control of the Archbishop of Utrecht. , headed to the Drenthe region, and finally went straight to Groningen...

Because it was a borrowed way along the way, it did not disturb the Frisian Aristocratic Republic at all. Moreover, the Swiss mercenaries did not "lead the way" to make a robbery on the way. Because, whether it is the Principality of Gedes, or the Archbishopric of Utrecht, they are all powerful forces. If you offend them, you will be beaten. This point, Zig, the mercenary general, is also very clear. Anyway, the Frisian Aristocratic Republic is quite oily...

After passing through Drenthe, 3,000 Swiss mercenaries finally appeared in Groningen. On the afternoon of March 17th, 3,000 Swiss mercenaries rushed to the town of Haren, south of Groningen, and started their great robbery...

These Swiss people are very professional. It only took half an hour, and this group of guys was full of dazzling belongings... The many cut pockets on their clothes were full of belongings...

After looting the town of Harlan, everyone did not delay, and rushed directly to Groningen not far away...

Groningen seems to have received the news of Harlan's looting in advance. Therefore, the gates of Groningen have long been closed. Seven hundred defenders in the city had already stood on the city wall. At the same time, a group of strong men in the city were also mobilized on the city wall to assist in defending the city.

However, Marin's main plan was not to capture Groningen, but to attract the main force of the Frisian Aristocratic Republic and then destroy it.

If Groningen was captured, there would be no need for the Friesian army to return. By then, maybe they'll go all-in on Texel, which is not what Marin wants.

Therefore, it is the best choice to besiege Groningen without attacking. Before, Marin also deliberately encouraged the Swiss to rob Harlan, not far south of Groningen. Moreover, during the robbery, Malin clearly saw someone secretly fleeing to Groningen on horseback. However, instead of sending Schwartz to chase with the light cavalry, Marin pretended not to see it and let the man go to Groningen to report the news.

So, by the time the Swiss mercenaries arrived at the city of Groningen, the people of Groningen were already ready to defend...

Seeing the 3,000 troops under the city, Edster, the general of Groningen who was in charge of staying behind in the city, was taken aback. So, he hurriedly dispatched a fast horse, went out of the city all the way to the west, and asked for help at Harlingen Base Camp...

Marin let go of the first couriers, but ordered Schwartz to lead 50 hussars to start intercepting the next couriers who wanted to pass...

The first messengers were spared in order to report to the Frisian army in Texel.

But the next messenger, there is no need to let go. Moreover, the absence of follow-up messengers will make the enemy general feel unsure, make him restless and lose his composure.

At the same time, allowing Schwartz and others to intercept the messenger can also exercise their tactical level and psychological quality...

There is nothing wrong with Schwartz. After all, he has experienced the Italian war and underestimated life and death. However, these 50 light cavalry are basically new recruits. Many of this group of people used to be herdsmen or serfs who raised horses in the manor. They had no combat experience at all and had never seen blood. Therefore, taking them to kill Frisian's rescue messenger, in addition to combat needs, is also to let them see the blood and adapt to the cruelty of the war.

As the capital of the Frisian noble republic, Groningen has a very tall and strong city wall. In the absence of heavy artillery, it is very unlikely to expect 3000 Swiss mercenaries to capture the city. Even if it is taken down, I don't know how many people will die. The Swiss had only promised to help solve the siege of Texel Island, and the contract did not specify that they would attack the well-defended Groningen. So, despite being greedy for the wealth in the city, the Swiss are not too willing to storm Groningen.

Marin did not intend to storm Groningen, although there were only about 700 defenders in the city. However, the defensive side of the siege battle has an advantage. Generally, without several times the strength, the city cannot be captured.

Therefore, Marin had already planned to ambush the main army of the Frisian Aristocratic Republic halfway. As long as the main force of the Frisian Aristocratic Republic is defeated, it is completely possible to take the opportunity to win the Frisian Aristocratic Republic in one fell swoop. At that time, he will be able to become a prince with a large territory...

When a group of local messengers calling for help arrived at the Friesland army base in Harlingen, the nine Friesland MPs present were holding a barbecue meeting with sheep they robbed from Texel Island. Poor Marin managed to sneak in hundreds of sheep for shearing from England at a high price, and all of them ended up in the stomachs of these bastards.

You know, after Henry VII came to power, the United Kingdom began to prohibit the export of wool, and instead exported wool and wool. British sheep are also banned from exporting. Marin spent a lot of money to secretly smuggle a batch of wool sheep, but he didn't expect that they were all eaten as food...

When the messenger entered the military tent, the nine barons were holding a huge roast lamb leg and nibbling happily...

"What? What did you say? Is there an army attacking Groningen? Boy, are you kidding me?" Governor Fyskefrijheid reacted most violently, and even the roasted lamb shank with oil in his hands fell to the ground. Because, Groningen belongs to his fief. Although other people have quite a lot of business in Groningen, how can it compare to his entire family in Groningen?

"Lord Governor, how dare you lie in your humble position? Look, this is a letter of help from General Edster!" The messenger quickly delivered Edster's handwritten letter.

...

"Sure enough, it's a handwritten letter from Edster, with the seal of the Governor's Palace on it..." Governor Fyskefrijheid's face was very ugly.

As for the other eight barons, their faces were also extremely ugly. Because, as the only Hanseatic commercial city in the territory, the other 8 barons also own many shops and other industries in Groningen, as well as a lot of real estate. If Groningen is breached, they will also lose a lot, much more than the food and property they grabbed on Texel Island...

"Boy, how many troops are there besieging Groningen? What is the origin?" Edster's first batch of letters for help only stated that Groningen was besieged, but did not make it too clear. As for the second and third batches of letters that were more clearly stated, the messengers were intercepted and killed by Schwartz, and they could not be delivered to Harlingen at all.

"It is estimated that there are about three or four thousand people. According to their attire, there are many cuts on their clothes, and they seem to be Swiss..."

"Swiss..." All 9 members of the assembly took a deep breath.

Since the Battle of Nancy, Swiss mercenaries have risen to prominence and have become synonymous with "the strongest mercenaries". When I heard that the Swiss were coming, everyone felt a little bit of a drum...

"Why did the Swiss attack us?" Baron Zitter was puzzled.

"Someone must have hired them. Could it be that little thief from Marin? Where did he get so much money?" Hood, Baron Colham guessed.

"That kid has so much money to hire the Swiss? The Swiss have to pay double the commission, three or four thousand people, and the poorer counts can't get that much commission..."

...

"Well, stop arguing about useless things!" Governor Fyskefrijheid waved his hand and continued:

"Our most important thing now is to rescue Groningen! If Groningen falls, our country will go bankrupt!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. In this era, only the commercial city of Groningen in the Friesian aristocratic republic could provide a large amount of taxation. As for cities such as Leeuwarden, it is more appropriate to say that it is a castle, and the business situation is no different from that of a larger town. The city of Groningen alone accounts for half of the taxation of the Frisian noble republic. Therefore, they must keep Groningen.

So, Governor Fyskefrijheid immediately sent people to cross the sea by boat to inform Siwag, who was besieging Denburg, and ordered him to retreat immediately and prepare to return to Groningen. At the same time, the fishing boats near the Harlingen fishing port were requisitioned again for free to transport the Frisian army on the island of Texel back to the mainland...

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