Sforza

News of the Duchess's death quickly reached Milan; a merchant caravan accidentally discovered the horrific scene.

Rumors began to spread within Milan, saying that Bianca's death was the work of the Venetians, and some even swore that the French had assassinated the claimant in order to contend for Milan.

The bounty from the Venice black market had been withdrawn, and someone had received the reward from the employer, but he was very mysterious, and no one knew who killed Bianca.

In short, the mysterious death of an important figure quickly sparked discussion, and the Twenty-Four-Man Council of the Golden Ambrosian Republic was in an uproar.

Their original intention was to control Bianca, then negotiate with Sforza, to prevent Milan from being destroyed by war.

Now, Bianca had been killed by someone unknown, and most council members believed it was done by the Venetians.

The most urgent matter now was how to stabilize Milan's political situation and prevent it from deteriorating further.

Fabrizio, the leader of the compromise faction, suggested first stabilizing Sforza through negotiations, even granting him a province and appointing him as the Protector of Milan.

George Lampugnano, the staunch republican leader, believed that compromising with Sforza would expose Milan to the threat of military despotism.

He called on the citizens of Milan to unite and form an army to defeat Sforza and protect the republic.

Overall, the compromise faction's proposal gained the support of the majority; George's proposal was too radical, as he actually wanted the citizens to fight against bloodthirsty mercenaries!

Neither the nobles nor the wealthy merchants participating in the council were willing to do so.

However, they were still wary of Sforza, and before negotiations began, they planned to make two preparations.

But how could a republic without a regular army resist the formidable mercenary groups?

The council members noticed Piccinino, who was stationed near Milan, and they invited this son of a famous general to lead his army into Milan to protect the republic; in return, Piccinino received a large sum of money and the position of general.

With sufficient support, Piccinino naturally began to expand his mercenary group.

At the same time, Francesco Sforza led three thousand mercenaries, traveling day and night to return to Milan.

When he heard the news of Bianca's death, he was struck as if by lightning, and anger instantly surged into his heart.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he gripped his sword tightly, as if he wanted to slice his enemies into a thousand pieces.

Sforza knew clearly that as the claimant to the Duchy of Milan's throne, Bianca's death must hide a huge conspiracy.

At this time, rumors that the Venetians were the murderers had spread throughout the army, and the soldiers were furious, clamoring to avenge their lady.

After his initial anger, Sforza immediately began to think calmly.

His primary reason for anger was that after Bianca's death, the plan to seize the Duchy of Milan no longer seemed so legitimate.

Bianca's death was not only a personal blow to him but also a major impact on the entire political landscape of Milan.

Now, he had to act quickly, first stabilizing the situation in Milan before making further plans.

News of Milan entering a state of martial law immediately reached his ears; the nascent republic was undoubtedly extremely wary of him.

He also harbored doubts about the republic.

Milan should have been his for the taking; he had originally planned to lead his army to seize the throne of Milan and then negotiate with his old patrons, the Venetians, to join the Mantua Alliance to resist the Emperor.

But Bianca's death forced him to reconsider his future path.

Especially the role the Venetians played in this conspiracy forced him to re-examine his original plans.

Perhaps the Venetians did not want Milan to continue to exist at all, and continuing internal strife at such a time would certainly not end well.

The several thousand troops he commanded were his biggest bargaining chip; after Piccinino's army entered Milan, it was not impossible for him to take Milan, but doing so would definitely not be cost-effective.

Fewer deaths, more money—this was the way of survival for Italian mercenaries; ultimately, it was still a business.

When Sforza's army arrived at Novara, not far west of Milan, the republic's envoys had long been waiting.

Both sides immediately agreed to a peace talk.

Initially, the negotiations between the two sides were not smooth.

Sforza remained dissatisfied with the republic government's previous attitude, and the council members also worried that Sforza would take the opportunity to seize power.

But as the Venetians' military movements became increasingly obvious, as they began to gather troops on the border, posing as if to invade, both sides realized that only cooperation could resist the external enemy at this moment.

Ultimately, Sforza and the republic government reached an agreement: Sforza would serve as the governor of the two provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, receive the title of "Protector of Milan," and hasten to gather troops in preparation for the Venetian invasion.

Piccinino's army was sent to Pavia to guard against attacks from Genoa.

Another army went to Como to guard the mountain pass, to prevent a surprise attack by the Swiss.

In Vienna, in the Emperor's court, Laszlo's mood immediately improved after learning of the situation in Milan.

As long as he could create more obstacles for the Venetians, it would be in his interest.

And he was very pleased that the Empire could find some loyal people in Milan; although Piccinino was greedy, he was by no means incompetent, and letting him continue to lie low in Milan would certainly play a big role in the future.

The situations in Naples and the Papal States also consumed a lot of Laszlo's energy.

The Empire's military projection capability in Southern Italy was limited; transporting an army of over ten thousand men to Naples was already the limit.

Now, after the French captured the capital of Naples, they continued to attack south, and are currently being stubbornly blocked by the combined forces of the Empire, Albania, and Naples, with neither side able to completely defeat the other.

Amusingly, the actions of the two armies in Naples led to a rampant spread of syphilis.

Both the Imperial Army and the French referred to it as "Naples disease"; pro-French factions called it "Austrian disease," while pro-Austrian factions called it "French disease."

On this side of the narrow Adriatic Sea, Laszlo had troops but could only watch anxiously.

The Genoa fleet had already appeared in the Adriatic Sea, completely cutting off Laszlo's idea of sending more troops.

What was infuriating was that the fleets of the Genoese and the French were temporarily docked in the Venetians' port, which clearly targeted the Empire.

The Papal States, however, were very calm; neither the French envoy nor the Austrian envoy could persuade the Pope to take a side, and the Venetian envoy was driven out before even entering the door.

Pope Pius II's original intention was to support the Emperor's claim to Milan, but the number of opponents was too great, and the Roman nobles even threatened that if the Pope made the wrong choice, they would incite a riot in Rome.

This worried the new Pope greatly, and he could only focus on reforms within the Papal States.

Austria and France, the two great powers of Europe, were doing their utmost to accumulate strength, preparing to compete in Italy, this natural arena.

And the Venetians could not hold back and launched an attack on Milan first.

They had coveted Brescia and Bergamo for a long time, and they were almost ready to completely annex these two provinces, but the Emperor interfered, causing the cooked duck to fly away.

They swore they would definitely reclaim the lost land, and seize even more!

The tide of Renaissance thought swept through Italy; people now liked to compare Milan to Rome and Venice to Carthage, and the struggle for supremacy between the two was imbued with much romantic color.

It's just that this time, it's likely Carthage that will destroy Rome.