Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 769 He wants a Roman power of attorney; let's write one for him.

Since the Tyrolean railway incident, the Swiss and the Wu king's side have maintained a good relationship.

For decades, due to its barren land, Switzerland has been exporting mercenaries, and this practice has become increasingly large-scale and formalized. These are not the ordinary, easily recruited laborers. Instead, one must go through the cantonal government channels and sign formal agreements to hire legitimate Swiss soldiers.

Switzerland at that time was still a relatively loose federation. In different regions, the autonomous governments formed by local residents, namely the cantonal governments, wielded considerable power. Therefore, these contracts were not merely commercial transactions, but rather agreements between the cantonal government and the employer, often carrying a strong political dimension.

Of course, there are advantages to doing this.

Because of the guarantee from the cantonal government, Swiss mercenaries are much more stable than other mercenary groups. Many mercenary groups choose to make a quick buck and run, or simply stay and become local bosses. But Swiss mercenaries are essentially the army controlled by each canton, and sometimes when people like the Habsburgs come, they have to go back home to defend themselves.

The state government couldn't simply flee like those mercenary leaders, nor did it want its army to break away and establish itself elsewhere like the Sforza family. Therefore, they needed to consider the sustainability of the mercenary business, strictly adhere to the treaty, and restrict certain outrageous behaviors by mercenaries.

These Swiss soldiers were neighbors and relatives, with their own families and businesses, so they cared deeply about their reputation. They would rather take risks than be seen as cowards and traitors. Conversely, those who displayed bravery in battle became heroes and received special treatment. This explains their excellent discipline and unwavering fighting spirit.

When the road construction team hired them, they pulled some strings. Several businessmen who frequently did business with Switzerland approached the cantonal government of Uri. Through their connections, an agreement was reached: the Swiss would help them deal with the local lord, and in return, they would use their connections in the royal court to try and resolve some diplomatic issues for the Swiss in Constantinople.

According to the Swiss, people migrated from mainland Italy and settled there as early as Roman times. Later, with the decline and collapse of Rome, the area fell under the control of various barbarian nobles. Ultimately, the Habsburg family, through intermarriage and annexation, controlled most of the region and became the largest lord.

Initially, the locals reached an agreement with Rudolf, the "King of the Roman People." The local residents would pledge allegiance to Rudolf, and in return, Rudolf would protect their autonomy and permanently make the area his direct territory.

Rudolf himself kept his promise, and the locals remained loyal to him as agreed. However, after Rudolf's death, the Habsburg family descended into civil war. In order to raise money, they quickly broke their promise and sold Switzerland to the Count of Tyrol, who then further divided the lands among different lords.

Zhu Wenkui initially didn't understand why so many people in Europe valued the status of being "directly under the king," even regarding it as a significant privilege, and were willing to exchange it for many other promises. Later, he realized that the feudal lords here were similar to the tax farmers of the Yuan Dynasty—or rather, tax farmers were simply simplified versions of lords, since they only needed to manage the money, while the lords had much more to plunder.

After the Habsburg family broke their promise, lords of all ranks flocked to Switzerland and began to levy exorbitant taxes in an attempt to quickly recoup their losses. The locals were extremely dissatisfied with this.

Legend has it that a man named William Tell came to the town of Atteldorf with his son. The town's lord, Geisler, hung the king's hat on a long pole and demanded that everyone who passed by bow in respect. William Tell refused to bow and was subsequently arrested.

Geisler also arrested Tell's son, placed an apple on his head, and told Tell that if he could shoot the apple with a crossbow bolt, they would be released. Tell was a sharpshooter; he hit the apple perfectly with his arrow, without harming anyone.

However, before the game began, Tell had hidden another arrow. In case he lost, he would also kill Geissler. Geissler's men found the arrow, and Tell was arrested again and taken to a prison set up in the lake.

However, during the journey, a sudden storm arose. Take advantage of the situation, jumps overboard and escapes back to shore, rallying the locals to rebel against the lord's rule. A few days later, Tell leads the people in an ambush of Geisler's army and personally shoots him dead.

This story, used by the Swiss as the beginning of their independence, has become quite famous. However, in formal diplomatic settings, Swiss officials more often use a different version—they claim that the Swiss right to settle and govern dates back to classical times, granted to their ancestors by the Roman emperors. They then multiplied and formed the cantons we know today.

Therefore, even if the Habsburgs or the Holy Roman Empire officially denied their previous promises and threatened to revoke their autonomy, they could simply ignore it. This power came directly from the Roman Empire, one of the most unshakeable powers in Europe. What kind of backwater entity is the Holy Roman Empire, daring to question them?

Of course, this also presents a problem: all of Europe knows that Roman authorization is highly effective. Therefore, whenever the opportunity arises, everyone rushes to use the Roman name. From the Pope's claim of the "Gift of Constantine," stating that Rome granted him the power to rule the west, to the various lords compiling their own genealogies, insisting that they had received Roman recognition and possessed the legal right to rule their territories... a whole bunch of people were trying to ride this wave of popularity.

It's easy to see that very few of these so-called Roman authorizations are genuine. And because everyone is abusing this excuse, hardly anyone actually believes it anymore.

However, after the rise of the Purple Horde, someone came up with a solution: it was actually quite simple to find out the authenticity of these documents, since the Eastern Empire had always existed, so why not just ask them directly?

In the past, the reason no one used this method—claims such as "the documents have long been lost" or "the Eastern Empire itself was unaware"—was merely an excuse. Frankly, it was because the Greeks were no longer powerful enough to maintain the authority of the Roman Empire.

Now that they've become more powerful and their words carry more weight, why not just go directly to them and confirm?

This authorization is actually a story passed down orally. The Pope's "Gift of Constantine" at least had a forged document; these mountain folk here can't even produce this kind of "evidence," lacking even the skill to forge antiques...

Under these circumstances, engaging in verbal sparring with the Swabian nobles, led by the Habsburgs, would certainly be disadvantageous. Even if they won the war, these people would not give up and would persistently spread the message that they were rebels, harassing them whenever they had the chance.

Therefore, the Swiss side hoped that Wu Wang's team could contact the Purple Horde to see if they could reissue a certificate. For Wu Wang's team, this request was not difficult. After some maneuvering, they actually got the Khan's court to write a document stating that the previous authorization from Rome was valid and that this certificate was being issued. An official from the Ministry of Rites even took this document and made a special trip to Switzerland to deliver the fully framed document, stamped with the seal of Baisai Khan, to them.

Everyone knows that this kind of certification, much like the Zhou Dynasty's granting of fiefdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period, is just a formality. If the Swiss hadn't repeatedly beaten up the Swabian nobility, then even if this certificate was genuine, it would have been nothing more than a worthless piece of paper.

However, even so, for most Swiss people who are historically poor and have lived in the mountains for years, and even for Swiss gentry and leaders, such a swift response and thorough, formal procedure was still quite surprising. It must be said, the emotional value provided was truly immense…

Representatives from all the cantons gathered in Zurich for a special ceremony to welcome the envoys and scribes. Even the surrounding nobles were completely taken aback by this sudden move. For a moment, it gave them a sense of pride and vindication. The Swiss representative even openly declared himself a remnant of Roman history, looking down on the usually arrogant nobles as nothing more than country bumpkins.

Because of this incident, the Swiss have always felt that this person from "Da Ming" was a man of his word and reliable in his work—a rare virtue among rulers today.

Therefore, he also regarded the Wu Kingdom as an invaluable partner, considering them among the best business associates, truly worthy of being taught by civilized people from the East. The various states also promised that if needed in the future, they could continue to cooperate, giving priority to contracts from the Wu Kingdom.

Later, when Zhu Wenkui promoted infantry training, he also hired a group of veterans from Switzerland to make up for the serious shortage of officers in Wu Fan. Apart from him and Jessica, among the firearms units that he personally commanded and trained in Dadu, the Tyrol region had the most rigorous training and the most complete organization.

After the full-scale outbreak of war, the Tyrolean government responded immediately, dispatching a large number of soldiers to provide support. A "Mongol battalion" of approximately five thousand mountain dwellers and nearly three thousand cavalry advanced northeastward along the main road. They first passed through Salzburg, then headed north from Linz, reaching directly the outskirts of Prague.

The Habsburg family remained silent throughout the entire process.

As Sigismund had previously instructed, lords in all regions were to take action to intercept and eliminate any rebels that arose or passed through their territories, preventing them from eventually gathering together, increasing the difficulty of the encirclement and suppression, and causing a great disaster.

The various nobles also expressed that this uprising was no ordinary one; the rebels were unexpectedly powerful and no longer just ordinary mobs. The common interests of all the nobles had been violated by these ruthless thugs, and therefore they would do everything in their power to eliminate them.

However, this size of mob was a bit too much for the Habsburg family to handle... Therefore, instead of intercepting them, they used the excuse of defending against the Purple Horde's northward advance to transfer the main force of the family's army to the eastern front, where they clustered around Vienna.

The Tyrolean infantry had five chiliarchies. However, unlike other chiliarchies with vague organizational structures, Zhu Wenkui and Jessica, after studying the situation in Switzerland, believed that it was feasible, even in Europe, to conduct extensive conscription and training based on household registration and village-level organization—because that's what the Swiss did.

In areas where Wu's control was relatively stable, he would also register the population. However, due to the chaos in Europe, he had previously maintained a dual military system. On one hand, locals organized their own militias to defend their homes, and on the other hand, he recruited soldiers for battles outside the region. Therefore, the actual "soldiers" were separate from the people.

Here, a system of integrating military and civilian populations was piloted, with widespread organization and training of the general public. Correspondingly, this provided them with more opportunities, granting those who joined the military greater political power. The Swiss were familiar with this system, and the locals accepted it. In the Italian cities below the mountains, some people did not want to go to war. However, they were not opposed to militarized organization and training, and were willing to pay substitute service fees, so it wasn't a major problem. Over the years, the local system has become increasingly sophisticated.

As for the cavalry, although the current "Mongol Battalion" bears a Mongol name, most of the soldiers are no longer Mongol. The Mongol slaves who participated in the Railway Protection War are now mostly officers.

Today, most of the Mongolians in the Tyrol Mountains are engaged in land reclamation and farming. Some skilled craftsmen have gone to Italy to work as artisans, but sheep herding is no longer their primary occupation.

Although some released Mongols and Kipchaks came to the "Mongol Camp" after that incident, most of the soldiers in the camp today are actually locals. However, they still maintain their cavalry traditions.

The war at the time had a profound impact. The success of the Railway Protection Movement and the subsequent large-scale development and construction almost reshaped the local society. And in this process, the group most loyal to the Ming Dynasty was these foreign Mongols.

They were the most active and outstanding in the war; their contributions to subsequent reconstruction were also remarkable, bringing far greater benefits to the local people than the resources they, as outsiders, had taken away. Therefore, these people were highly regarded by the locals, who considered them respectable warriors.

Some young people hoping to join the army and achieve merit even deliberately imitate Mongolian clothing and practice horseback riding and shooting. Of course, with each new batch of recruits joining, the proportion of Mongolians decreases, and these behaviors become increasingly distant from genuine Mongolians. According to Guo Kang, it's merely a form of Mongolian cosplay based on the locals' own understanding.

As for the Mongols who actually came from the grasslands, they didn't miss the nomadic life much, and they weren't even as enthusiastic as these imitators... However, practicing horsemanship was ultimately beneficial, so no one paid any special attention to it.

After they arrived, Zhu Wenkui's army was greatly strengthened and finally had the confidence to fight a decisive battle with the enemy's main force.

A few days later, news arrived that Tang Sai'er's vanguard had already arrived at their positions ahead of schedule. However, the Poles were also quick, and the two sides began to clash as they fought for control of several key strongholds.

However, the current situation is somewhat unfavorable to their side. The local nobles, who were initially wavering, sided with the Polish army after seeing them. Therefore, the task of seizing key positions was not successfully completed. Tang Sai'er has now decided to retreat and join him, so that Zhu Wenkui can prepare the fortifications, as another standoff may be necessary.

(End of this chapter)