The generals of the compagnies d’ordonnance concluded their explanation with the following words:

“…If our proud French grande armée were to exert its full strength, we could achieve our objectives. However, we would suffer heavy losses in the process of suppressing the Florentine and Imperial alliance.”

Chewing over the generals’ words, Charles VIII found their hidden meaning.

“Are you saying that if things go wrong, only Spain and the Habsburgs will benefit?”

“That is correct.”

“Hmm…”

Closing his mouth once again to consider the situation, Charles VIII turned to the ministers gathered in the room.

“In that case, what about joining the Florentine and Imperial alliance instead?”

Hearing Charles VIII’s idea, the chancellor immediately shook his head.

“That would be difficult. No, it would be impossible.”

“The reason?”

“It is because of the justification Florence has put forward: the ‘Unification of Italy.’”

“I see…”

Charles VIII nodded at the chancellor’s answer.

***

France’s ultimate goal was the acquisition of the Kingdom of Naples. This was not a simple invasion but a legitimate claim with its own justification.

If one were to examine the relationships between European nobles and royals of this period, one would find they were unexpectedly entangled through various blood ties.

This was because political marriages were a routine matter for the sake of ensuring the safety of their domains and securing and maintaining their vested interests.

Thanks to this, Charles VIII also had the right to claim succession to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. In addition to that, he had secured further justification to advance south into Italy, thanks to Milan first, and then Venice, requesting his support.

The interesting thing was that both Milan and Venice, just like Florence, also advocated for the ‘Unification of Italy.’

However, to France, there was a big difference between the three.

Florence, having joined hands with the Empire, was an opponent to be considered seriously, but Milan and Venice were merely noisy dreamers. No, the Sforza family of Milan was a group to be considered a little more seriously, but Venice had no value beyond providing a pretext.

***

“However, for France to face the Empire on its own would result in too great a loss.”

“We do not know how many Imperial troops will be stationed in Florence. We must absolutely not underestimate them.”

“But speaking of which…”

Charles VIII, who had been listening to the counter arguments raised by the compagnies d’ordonnance generals, raised a question.

“Is the Imperial Army really that powerful?”

Many nodded at Charles VIII’s point. All of them, like Charles VIII, were of the younger generation.

And Charles VIII and these men had another thing in common besides being the new generation.

It was the fact that they had never seen the Empire engage in battle.

Of course, the previous king, Louis XI, had also never directly seen the Empire fight a battle. However, a significant number of the commanders under Louis XI were men who had seen with their own two eyes how the Empire fought at Suez.

Furthermore, Louis XI himself was a man who had experienced the harsh reality of war through the Hundred Years’ War. The Hundred Years’ War was the conflict where warfare began to shift from being centered on cold weapons to being centered on gunpowder weapons.

Through the subsequent Suez War and the forceful annexation of the Duchy of Burgundy, Louis XI was one who had keenly felt the power of gunpowder weapons, especially those made by the Empire.

For this reason, Louis XI never missed the Empire’s movements, especially its military movements.

However, for the young generation of France, symbolized by Charles VIII, the ‘power of the Empire’ was something that didn’t easily sink in.

One reason was that most of the battle-hardened veterans who had fought against England, at Suez, and in Burgundy had retired.

Another major reason was that France had broken away from the Empire and had begun to equip itself independently.

As they began to possess large quantities of their own breech-loading single-shot rifles, Hwachas, and standardized cannons, the confidence of the young generation soared to the heavens.

“Our French military is the best in the world!”

“This is not the old France that had to go back to fighting with swords and spears if the Empire didn’t sell to us!”

“A five-shot long rifle? It’s impressive, I’ll give you that. But we can make one too!”

In fact, a copper cartridge for long rifles and pistols had been developed, received positive evaluations, and was slated for mass production.

In step with this, the development of France’s own five-shot long rifle was proceeding smoothly.

Filled with this confidence, the young generation of France had come to hold a skeptical view of the Empire’s power.

***

At Charles VIII’s question, the army and navy generals and the ministers all answered at once.

“They are powerful.”

“Very powerful.”

At the generals’ and ministers’ answers, Charles VIII furrowed his brow and asked again.

“Aren’t our French weapons also quite powerful? And Imperial soldiers die just the same when they’re hit by a bullet, don’t they?”

At Charles VIII’s point, one of the compagnies d’ordonnance generals stepped forward to answer.

“Your Majesty’s words are not wrong. However, when the enemy fires bullets, the Imperial Army fires cannonballs. Then they follow up by spraying bullets with the Hwacha.”

“We have cannons too, don’t we? Can’t we just fire cannonballs as well?”

“The problem is that the Imperial Army fires cannons the way we fire long rifles.”

“Huh? What does that… Ah? Ah! Ah!”

Charles VIII, who expressed confusion, unable to understand at first, soon found himself unable to close his agape mouth.

To use Hyang’s way of putting it, Charles VIII was a mil-deok¹. He collected all sorts of weapons and armor used throughout Europe and the Middle East, from swords, spears, and armor to gunpowder weapons from hand cannons to Hwachas.

Charles VIII’s mil-deok tendencies didn’t just stop at collecting. He had also tried commanding troops in person and had even conducted experimental attempts to increase the lethality of cannons or long rifles.

The most representative example was his success in developing a copy of the bi-gyeok-jin-cheon-roe², which the Empire favored.

It was because he was such a man that he was so appalled.

‘For a long rifle to be truly effective in battle, there are two methods. One is sniping, the other is massed fire. To rephrase what the general just said, it means the Imperial Army mobilizes a large quantity of cannons. Of course, we use many cannons too, but if it were to that extent, the general wouldn’t have used that expression. In that case, it means the Imperial Army mobilizes more cannons than we do.’

Having analyzed that far, Charles VIII asked the general who had made the problematic statement again.

“According to your words, general, it seems the Imperial Army operates a larger number of cannons than our French army… To what extent? About… twice as many? Three times?”

“They operate in an overwhelmingly large number.”

“Isn’t that a bit too abstract?”

At Charles VIII’s disgruntled voice, the general explained the reason.

“The time I saw the Imperial Army’s cannon operations was at Suez, and they operated so many cannons that I grew sick of the sight of them. However, what was more surprising was that even that many cannons did not constitute a full-strength deployment.”

“So, that number of cannons that you grew sick of seeing, how many was it, exactly?”

“Excluding the cannons in the fortress guarding the harbor, there were nearly fifty. I do not know the number of cannons in the fortress, but the number of gunports was well over one hundred.”

Charles VIII fell silent at the general’s answer. France was currently working hard to produce and deploy cannons. Even so, the number of cannons deployed in the army had just barely surpassed one hundred. Of course, if one included the cannons mounted on the navy’s warships, the number increased to over 300, but…

‘They say the Empire mounts over seventy cannons on a single Challenger-class ship… and the most we have is twenty…’

Realizing the overwhelming difference in scale, Charles VIII looked back at his ministers.

“As I understand it, gunpowder is not an easy thing to make. Saltpeter, in particular, is the biggest problem. Do you know how the Empire has solved this problem?”

Like a true military aficionado, Charles VIII immediately pointed out the most important issue. France, too, was struggling with the problem of acquiring saltpeter.

At the king’s question, the official at the very end of the line stepped forward to answer.

“It is India. We understand that they import it from the Bengal Sultanate in India.”

“India… Hmm… Ah! Blockade the sea route from India to the Empire… Oh, wait…”

Charles VIII’s face, which had momentarily brightened at the thought of India’s location, clouded over.

The idea of a naval blockade had flashed in his mind, but he immediately gave up on it when he remembered who controlled the sea route in question, and thought of France’s own naval power.

***

After a continued discussion, Charles VIII and the young generation had no choice but to accept reality.

“Hoo~. So it’s impossible for our France to annex Italy on its own.”

“It would be possible if the Empire did not exist.”

“But since the Empire does exist, it’s just pointless talk. And we can’t form an alliance with the Empire… In that case, are you saying we must form an alliance with that damned lantern-jaw and the Iberian country bumpkins?”

At Charles VIII’s question, the chancellor stepped forward to answer.

“That is the most rational alternative.”

Following the chancellor’s words, the army and navy generals stepped forward to add more.

“If Spain and the Habsburgs join in and expand the front, Florence and the Empire will have no choice but to divide their forces. That will reduce the burden on us.”

“It won’t just be their forces that are divided; their supply lines will also run into problems. That will further increase our chances of victory.”

Listening to the chancellor and the generals, Charles VIII’s face filled with regret.

“It’s a pity we can’t have Italy all to ourselves.”

“We only need to properly secure the Kingdom of Naples. The rest can just be split up appropriately.”

“I see… In that case, research how to divide it in a way that is most advantageous to us and report back to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

And, less than two days later, information flowed into the Secret Guard’s front establishment in Paris.

This was thanks to French officials and officers who had stopped by to enjoy wine and courtesans and had babbled on while drunk.

The Secret Guard officer, who was compiling the information obtained through the courtesans into a report, smirked and muttered to himself.

“How did the story of the men of Wu and Yue end again…[1]”

***

A few days later, the generals of the French army and navy, along with the ministers, gathered in one place once again.

The chancellor, stepping forward as the speaker, pointed to various parts of a large map of Italy set up on one side with a pointing stick as he explained the plan.

A rough summary of the chancellor’s statement was as follows:

• -France will take two things from Italy. One is the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples, the other is the expulsion of the Empire.
• -To this end, we will form an alliance with Spain and the Habsburgs.
• -In exchange for the alliance, we will recognize Habsburg dominion over Venice and northeastern Italy, and Spanish dominion over Sicily.
• -Spain will deal with the Imperial Navy. The naval forces of Milan, Genoa, and Venice will also move with Spain.
• -The Habsburgs will be in charge of the land war in Italy alongside France.
• -This way, the Imperial Navy will have to face Spain, and the Imperial Army will have to divide its forces to face our France and the Habsburgs.

“This is good…”

Charles VIII, nodding with a satisfied face, soon made his decision.

“Proceed with this plan.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”