Just as Tiya boarded Zhu Shengmiao's cargo ship and prepared to return to the Americas, in Vienna in Europe, Philip was also meeting a group of local leaders wearing various clothes and speaking similar but different languages.

"For you Yugoslavs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Greeks in the Balkans... I have only one attitude, which is to rescue you from the hands of the evil Ottoman Empire. Don't worry, during our march, I will

I will try my best to restrain the discipline of the troops. I really can't guarantee that they will not disturb the people, but I guarantee that I will severely punish the troops who violate your legitimate rights and interests without any reason."

"Dear Your Majesty, we are willing to believe in your guarantee. What do you need us to do?"

"It's very simple. When our army marches on the Balkan Peninsula, act as a guide for us, send people to assist our logistics transportation, organize militia, and resist the destruction of our logistics lines by the Xingyue Cultists on the peninsula."

"Your Majesty, we are willing to do these things for you, but we lack enough power."

"Hahaha, gentlemen, it is already February 18, 1625. Within half a month, we will start marching towards Constantinople. At that time, as long as you help us along the way,

We will give you the corresponding weapons!"

…

While Philip was appeasing the leaders of the Balkan tribes, in another room not far from his conference room, the two northern commanders Wallenstein and Gustav were having separate exchanges.

Both of them are famous generals who have never been born in the world. They have already cherished each other as rivals in the past. Now they can become comrades...

"Your Majesty Adolf, this is a new advance plan made by the staff based on the recent movements of the Ottomans. In general, the Ottoman regular army is retreating in great strides. Whether it is Zagreb, Belgrade, Bucharest or Sofia, these

The local garrisons are retreating."

"...Your Majesty the Duke, I didn't expect that the Ottoman Grand Vizier was also a very decisive person."

"Yes, it took the Ottomans nearly two hundred years to conquer the entire Balkan Peninsula. They gave up when they said they wanted to. With such determination, if he and I were to change places, we probably wouldn't be able to achieve it."

After saying this with a heavy expression, Wallenstein said: "It seems that we are going to fight a brutal siege near Constantinople."

"It's not just siege warfare." Gustav also frowned: "Logistics support is a big problem. God, I never led more than 30,000 troops in the past. Just like that, the logistics would make people collapse.

, and it was still marching on the endless plains of Central Europe. But this time, 200,000 troops were marching on the rugged mountainous Balkan Peninsula, and these troops came from different countries... It’s really scary to think about it.”

Gustav's words were really not just a random complaint: the Northern Front commanded by him and Wallenstein totaled ten divisions with 200,000 men. Among these ten divisions, there was not a single Spanish division. Instead, they came from Britain and Denmark.

, Northern Europe, France, the German region and the Italian region. It is a truly international force.

Among these troops, His Majesty the King of Sweden can command only one Nordic division, but Chief of Staff Wallenstein can effectively command three divisions from the German region - this is Philip and Rudolf's military personnel arrangement.

The biggest difference is that the latter is at least more purely military, focusing on how to facilitate the command. The former requires you to restrain each other.

And unlike Spain, which has long completed its military reform, each division has a standard 15,000 men. Gustav's ten divisions, because the reorganization has not yet been completed, each division has a manpower of 20,000: the same cannon

, Spain's new army only needs five or six people to serve, while the coalition forces only need ten people. At the same time, because there are so many nobles of all levels joining the army on the coalition forces, their attendants have also joined the army.

Not only does this cause the 20,000-strong master army to be extremely bloated, but also the relationship between this combat effectiveness and the officers and soldiers in the army...

"The logistics are indeed under great pressure, so His Majesty Philip is helping us to try our best to get help from the local indigenous people."

"Well, your Majesty is always foresighted, and I deeply admire that." After licking Philip, Gustav said again: "Your Excellency, have the Polish and Russian troops arrived?"

"The staff received news this morning that 20,000 Polish cavalry will enter Vienna tomorrow. As for the Russian cavalry, uh, they are not far from here. But the trouble is, they made a request?"

"Request? You are not refusing to fight with the Poles at this time, are you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. As you know, the Poles and Russians have been fighting for many years."

"Nonsense! How long have you been talking about this? Your Excellency, Duke, please tell the leaders of Russia that when the believers of God in Europe are about to launch a holy war against the heretics, they can no longer think about the grudges of the past. Like you and I

, they were life-and-death enemies on the battlefield a few years ago, but now they are joining hands for this sacred goal? If they insist on doing this, please ask them to lead their troops back. We will come back to them after we defeat the Ottomans.

Settle accounts."

"As you command, I will convey your wishes to the other party to the letter."

"Hey~" Gustave let out a long sigh and sat down weakly: "I have a hunch that this may be just the beginning. There are still countless troubles waiting for us during the march and battle."

"Same feeling." Wallenstein's mouth curved: "However, I also believe that after this battle, the entire Europe will be united as never before."

"Yes." Gustav stood up and circled the magnificent hall with his fingers: "It is said that this Hofburg Palace was the royal palace of the Austrian Habsburg family. It was built from the 13th century to

It's now the 17th century, four hundred years later, and it's still expanding. I really can't understand this behavior. In my opinion, instead of constantly wasting a lot of wealth on this palace, it's better to

Like today, we must concentrate all the power of Europe to fight the Ottomans. Thanks to the blessing of the Lord and the trust of His Majesty Philip, I can participate in this great war, and I will definitely do my best for this!"

"I very much agree with your idea, Your Majesty. Please rest assured that I will do my best to cooperate with you in the next war."

"I'm very grateful. Then, Chief of Staff, please contact His Royal Highness Crown Prince Wladyslaw. After his Polish cavalry arrives in Vienna, I will give him three days to rest. On February 22, his cavalry will go south first.

and unfolded quickly.”

"As you wish. Your Majesty, after the cavalry reconnaissance curtain opens, who will be the vanguard on the New Army side?"

"Oh?" After giving Wallenstein a playful look, Gustav hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Let the First German Division be responsible for this."

"Thank you for your generosity."

Everyone knows that the early stage of this battle is very easy: the Ottomans are retreating in great strides. If you are a forward at this time, can you easily recover a large amount of land without losing a single soldier or general along the way? No matter whether there is a war or not,

But newspapers like "Marca" will definitely report in a high-profile manner: Such and such a division regained Belgrade and so on.

Therefore, the Chief of Staff was really grateful to Gustav for handing over the forward task to Wallenstein's direct troops.

Hey, there is no other way. Who made us in Northern Europe have a sparse population and only formed one division this time? But that’s fine, then you go to the front to build bridges and pave roads, and I will step up cooperation with Britain, Denmark, and the Apennines behind.

Strengthen emotional contact with the commander of each division. Otherwise, if there is a fight in the future, I will be completely controlled by you.

Besides, with your temper in leading the troops Wallenstein, your soldiers may have violent conflicts with the residents of the Balkan Peninsula. Then I will be able to catch you.

Of course, the above are just Gustav's personal inner thoughts, and at this moment, he has no intention of replacing his chief of staff by any means: Wallenstein's talent is undoubted. What Gustav thinks about is just how to do it.

Make your chief of staff more obedient.

…

At the same time, the southern front, Sicily, Palermo, the former enemy headquarters.

"Commander, Your Excellency Chief of Staff, the Navy has confirmed that the Ottomans' main fleet in the Mediterranean has all withdrawn. At the same time, Tripoli is an empty city except for ordinary residents and businessmen."

"Well, it seems that the Ottoman Grand Vizier is really powerful. He is actually willing to completely abandon a place like Tripoli all at once. So, Mr. Barudis, where did the enemy retreat to?"

"The navy has seen a lot of defenses in Alexandria, but where the enemy fleet went has not yet been found out."

"Then where do you think the enemy's navy will retreat?"

"It is said that there are many islands in the Aegean Sea, which is very convenient for concealment. However, our Spanish fleet has never penetrated into that sea area and has no understanding of the sea conditions there. So..."

After listening to the report of Fleet Commander Baroudis, Marquis Spinola, Chief of Staff of the former enemy on the southern front, turned to Duke Albrecht, commander of the former enemy on the southern front and said: "Your Excellency, it seems that the battle situation is very clear now. The enemy knows

In the event of a war, their navy would be destroyed by our armada, so they withdrew early. And they also clearly realized that Tripoli, which had insufficient output, could not hold on, so they stationed heavy troops in Egypt waiting for us to hit us. In view of this

In view of the situation, I suggest that we abandon the previous plan of landing in Tripoli and instead use the entire army to land in Egypt."

This generation of Duke Albrecht was a devout Catholic. In this historical period, he served as the governor of the Netherlands and brutally suppressed the Protestants in the northern Netherlands, which caused the intensity of the Dutch War of Independence to continue to rise.

Originally, this gentleman died in 1621, but thanks to the medical advancements brought by time travellers, he is still alive and kicking at the age of only 63. According to Philip, such an old man should not preside over such a new-style hospital.

The war was mainly based on the army. But on the one hand, he was senior and senior, and on the other hand, it was Spain's new army, in which all the junior officers were loyal fans of Rodolfo. Therefore, after Philip thought for a long time, he appointed him.

The former enemy commander on the southern front: This is the actual commander of the southern front.

Of course, in order to prevent this fatuous old man from messing around, Philip also assigned him the Marquis of Spinola as chief of staff. The Marquis' loyalty to the kingdom is unlimited: on the historical level, in order to fight for Spain, the Marquis

All the family property was lost. At the same time, His Excellency the Marquis is also a man who is good at fighting. When Rudolf carried out military reforms, he also actively accepted and studied hard. In short, if it were not for his qualifications, this person would be the one who should be the most responsible person.

Line commander.

"Well..." After a long examination, Duke Albrecht spoke: "The enemy has stationed a large number of troops in Egypt, do we have to run into it? I think that because of the strength of our navy, we have complete control over the country.

We have sea control in the Mediterranean, so why not take advantage of this and land directly at Jerusalem?”

"Your Excellency!" Spinola and Baroudis shouted at the same time: "Your Excellency, the Chief of General Staff, sent us an order from Rome to complete the landing in North Africa before March 1. Jerusalem is not considered North Africa, right? And

Leave the enemy's heavy army in Egypt alone and go directly to Jerusalem? What if Jerusalem is also heavily guarded by the enemy?"

"Let's divide our troops. We have an army of 300,000, and we can't spread it out in one place. We'll split into two groups, one going to Alexandria and the other to Jerusalem."

"Sir, should we report this new plan to Rome?"

"It's too late, it's already February 18th." Duke Albrecht said with a serious face: "Besides, since I have been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, there is no need to ask the mercenary in Rome for instructions on everything."

"Your Mightiness!"

"Hey, you two, think about it, our army will definitely win this battle. And if we take Jerusalem first, let this city of the Lord return to the embrace of the Lord after hundreds of years. Such a glory,

It’s enough to leave our name in history. Don’t you want this supreme honor?”

Speaking of which, this is the sequelae after Rodolfo died suddenly: at this time, the military did not have a person with a proud record and absolute strength to suppress this group of nobles who always had various ideas, especially the military nobles in Spain! And Philip
Chapter completed!