Domenico had not expected the Kingdom to actually transport heavy siege cannons to Kufstein Fortress, north of the Archduchy of Tyro, through the use of serf labor and horse relays.
The Archduke of Tyro, Maximilian Joseph Albrecht von Wittelsbach, immediately sent a letter pleading for assistance.
This time, the Archduke did not request the entry of an army, as the Carl Mercenary Group was already stationed at Kufstein Fortress.
He begged the Republic to negotiate with the Kingdom immediately; peace had to be sought until the very last second before the war began.
Beside Domenico, Marino also felt deeply uneasy.
He and Domenico had already drafted a new mercenary contract, intending to hire the Mountain Mercenary Group from the border of the Kingdom of Saint-Rémy.
This contract was incredibly expensive; the cost could have purchased the grain whose price was currently soaring on the black market several times over.
But even that was not enough.
“Master Domenico, do we need to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Saint-Rémy and jointly dispatch troops to resist the Frostweave Kingdom?”
Domenico flatly refused.
“No. The King of Saint-Rémy has always been scheming for our western lands. If we invite his army to station here, I fear they will stay forever.”
“Then what about the Elves? I heard they have amassed three legions on the east bank of the Great River. Perhaps we could persuade them to send troops as a deterrent once again.”
Domenico merely nodded slightly.
“It is possible, but deterrence alone is not enough. It would be best if the Elves burned part of the pastures on the west bank and captured some of the nomads. Only then will WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw redirect his fury toward the Elves.”
Marino was somewhat perplexed.
“Even so, Lady Livyat would not do such things for the sake of the Republic, would she? She is no fool.”
Domenico knew this.
He looked at Marino and pondered silently as a preliminary idea formed in his mind.
“Governor. The Elves are certainly unwilling to play the villain. But what if we send a 1,000-man expeditionary force composed of mercenaries and the city’s poor? Under the transport of our capital ships, we can land on the west bank while the Elves cover us. The mercenaries will do the dirty work. We just need to let the Kingdom know that the Elven army is there.”
“If we do that, we can later blame everything on the mercenaries’ poor discipline.”
Marino was stunned.
“This is no different from directly declaring war on the Kingdom. They are not stupid either.”
Domenico spread his hands.
“They currently have a grain embargo against us — what difference is there between that and a declaration of war? Their cannons are already mounted at Kufstein. What moral burden do we have left, Governor?”
“The problem we should be thinking about most right now is that this will cost a lot of money. You and I need to figure out how to cajole these funds out of the Council. Hurry up and think of a way; you are the budget specialist.”
Marino made a rough estimate based on current market prices and logistical requirements.
“No, absolutely not. This expedition will cost 70,000 ducats at the most conservative estimate.”
Although Domenico had a general understanding of mercenary contracts and regular naval maintenance costs, he had never organized a military operation himself.
The last provocation against the Kingdom of Camelot had been handled entirely by Emilia.
Domenico had never even seen the bill.
‘How can it be so expensive?’
Domenico thought.
‘If the Republic could squeeze out such a budget, it would be better to simply buy all the grain on the market and distribute it for free to the poor of Landingst.’
“Governor, what you are saying is — the Kingdom’s steppe cavalry consists of noble scions serving at their own expense, along with serfs and conscripted peasants. I can understand that. The Elves are all citizen soldiers and do not require extremely high maintenance costs. The Dwarves fulfill their military obligations according to their clans. In the end, only our Republic has to spend tens of thousands of ducats to hire 1,000 thugs to march along the river?”
“Master Domenico, we are talking about using warships to send them to the distant upper reaches of the Great River.”
Domenico continued to press him.
“So, in your estimate, how much do the mercenary fees and the ship transport costs each account for?”
Marino replied, “Master, these are all rough estimates. The mercenary fees will make up the vast majority. You might not be aware, but the contract signed with the Mountain Mercenary Group only pays for them to be stationed at the border. We provide supplies for them through local towns. Most importantly, if a war related to us breaks out, they must give us priority in negotiating further contracts.”
“In other words, once war actually starts, it will not be this figure! Therefore, for this operation, the mercenary fees will occupy the lion’s share. As for transport, according to our established naval system, at most, it would only cost a little over 20,000 ducats. Moreover, this part is already within the annual budget and does not require much extra spending.”
Domenico realized he was a novice when it came to military actuarial matters. His experience in this area was far too shallow.
“Then how have we been able to maintain cooperation with the Carl Mercenary Group for so many years? I led the contract renewal negotiations at the beginning of the year, and the money they received was not that much, yet they followed orders and went to Kufstein.”
Marino continued to explain, “The Carl Mercenary Group has practically become our private army. On the other hand, they can also collect money from the Archduchy of Tyro.”
Domenico realized that his idea of wanting to control Marino alone was quite naive.
The Committee of Ten must continue to function.
At the very least, Vittorio and Emilia must be involved.
Only then could the new Governor’s Office firmly control the Republic’s military instead of completely degenerating into an internal administrative machine that merely distributed relief grain.
On the other hand, Domenico realized that the cost of sending mercenaries on an expedition was indeed too outrageous.
He suddenly had an idea.
“Governor. Is there a possibility — what if we only require the 1,000-man expeditionary force to burn, kill, loot, and terrorize the King? We do not need mercenaries. I think, as it stands, there are already several thousand people in the city who have signed labor-for-bread contracts. We could arm them and send them to plunder along the Kingdom’s coast.”
“We could even be very generous and allow them to keep all the spoils of war — as long as the ships can hold it, they can keep looting.”
“I understand that they would collapse instantly if they met the Kingdom’s steppe cavalry. But what if the first troops the Kingdom can mobilize are just some conscripted peasants and serfs? The refugees of Landingst might not necessarily lose to them.”
“All we need is for the Elves to march toward the west bank at the right time to stall the steppe cavalry, and these refugees can create a terrifying record of achievements. Since the Kingdom has already placed its cannons right before our eyes, they cannot blame us.”
Although Domenico did not know much about military affairs, there was one point he understood very clearly.
It was almost the final trump card for all his risky ventures.
“Do not forget, the Kingdom has the Sejm. King WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw’s greatest dream is for his brother, Jagiellon, to succeed him — not some family from Camelot, Saint-Rémy, or even some small feudal lord from the central regions. If he suffers a great loss this time and cannot settle it, he is finished. It is hard to say who will go to hell first.”
Marino looked at Domenico with a complex expression.
He knew that the poor people who went on this expedition would likely never return.
However, this would indeed save tens of thousands of glittering ducats.
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