"Look! What a mighty and majestic army!" Outside a military camp outside the outskirts of Milan, an army of about 3,000 people was under review.

The troops under review were all established, generally including two infantry regiments (Spanish organization of 1,250 people) and one cavalry regiment (500 people). They were experienced soldiers, drawn from active troops from various countries. According to the suggestions of the East Coast Military Advisory Group, they did not draw the old men who had been wandering outside for many years and acted as mercenaries for multiple monarchs, but focused on finding honest soldiers who had been on the battlefield but had little habits.

These honest people may not have as much experience as those of the mercenaries who have fought for many years, but they are relatively hard-working and obedient. As long as they formulate strict and scientific training plans and do not carry out in a discount, they will become good soldiers. This is why the East Coast people who have formed too many reserves or minions are very confident.

Of course, those mercenaries would not be wasted. Although they were very habitual, they were also organized into the army and formed the backbone of the Third Division and the Fourth Division of the Northern Italian coalition. The two divisions each had about 5,000 people, and they were under their jurisdiction, one cavalry regiment, one cavalry regiment, engineering troops, baggage troops, guard troops and other mates. They were basically organized by the East Coast Servant Army, which was just a little smaller.

Judging from the composition of these troops, the Northern Italian coalition, with a total of 20,000 troops, was relatively scientific institution, and was the only one in the European continent in this era. The French and Austrian army may also have similar troops, but in terms of the scientific level of organization and the guiding theory of the troops, they are not as clear as the troops built by this East Coast consultant, although the combat effectiveness of their troops must be stronger than those of these Italians.

The equipment of four divisions of 20,000 people is not a small business. More than half of them were ordered from the East Coast, especially artillery, which were purchased from the East Coast (subsequent ammunition was partly produced by the Milan Arsenal and partly from Lisbon). Muskets and other military funds were produced by a considerable number of them, and those who were insufficient were purchased from outside. As for war horses, they were introduced from Spain, and the price was not cheap, but it seemed that it was not a problem for the Italians.

The heads of the four divisions were appointed by a separate military committee. The members of the committee came from various city-states, with more than ten people in total, and they also decided on important military operations. It can be said that the Northern Italian Confederate Military Commission is the lifeblood of the entire region and the biggest security barrier. If the French go crazy and want to attack them in the future, I believe that these four divisions can also make the French pay a certain price. The countries of Northern Italy are no longer pitiful eggs that can be bullied!

"The young men are also very energetic, and you can tell that they are very morale!"

"If I had two years of rigorous training, I think they could go to the battlefield."

"Our interests need such a strong army to defend, otherwise the shameless French will carry out endless blackmail against us, and they always do so."

"I don't like this, I think it's a potential hidden danger."

"Apart from the Savoys who had already bowed to Louis XIV, the Venetians had the richest experience in war. After all, not everyone could defeat the Turks on the coast of Dalmatia, and not everyone could attack Greece."

"Don't mention Savoy. They were scared out of fear. They were neither afraid to join the coalition nor pay for it. It was a shame."

"But we still have to win over them in the future. Their army is pretty good, but unfortunately we met the French. In order to balance the overly powerful Venetian power, we need the Savoys."

"If it weren't for any of you who could fight, I don't think it would be our Venetian turn to take control of the overall situation. Our officers are all professional, so you'd better respect them."

...

Outside the noisy military camp, Mr. Cai Zhenguo, the plenipotentiary of the East Coast Republic of China to Europe, was chatting with Paul from the Doria family.

"How is the Navy formed?" Cai Zhenguo asked.

According to the previous plan, the Northern Italian coalition was divided into two parts: the Army and the Navy. The army was led by the Venetians, supplemented by some officers and soldiers from Tuscany, Milan and Modena, and was temporarily organized into four divisions of about 20,000. The navy was led by Gena, which had a deep sailing tradition, and was temporarily organized into ten sailing warships and twenty galloping warships. Among them, the galloping warships could not be found at all, and Gena could take out half of them. When everyone gathered together, they basically survived. The main trouble was sailing warships. There were some armed merchant ships with pure sails, but in this era, it was obviously no longer suitable and could only order from outside.

"The sailing warships are basically in place. Although they are old ships and are of different sizes, they are still usable. In this large bathtub in the Mediterranean, it is sometimes better than sailing ships." said Paul Doria, who was already a little bald on his head.

"The limitations of sailing warships are very large, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to adapt to modern naval warfare. You must consider this carefully. Is it worth investing precious military spending in such a thing that is destined to be eliminated?" Cai Zhenguo frowned and said. What a joke, how big is it equipped with twenty galloping warships. The local government does not produce this, so how much business will the shipyard lose!

"In fact, the imaginary enemy of our sailing fleet is the French sailing warship. There are still many French Eastern warships in the port of Toulon. This is our opponent, not those huge sailing warships. In addition, when fighting pirates offshore and pursuing smuggling ships, the sailing warships are also very effective." Paul Doria replied: "Don't worry, our friend. Except for two of the ten sailing warships built in Genoa, the orders for the other eight are yours. In fact, we have sent a professional team to the New South Continent, and the three sailing warships will start construction immediately after they arrive, if there are still spaces on your ship platform."

"Building warships for friends, of course our ship platform has spaces, and we must have spaces." Cai Zhenguo said in an approving tone: "The East Coast Navy is a powerful fleet with a long history, and the quality of warships built by our shipyards is also guaranteed. I think that in the future, the navies of our two countries can carry out more maritime exchange activities, which will help your country's naval construction."

"I am very grateful for your country's good wishes. I think this is very necessary." Paul Doria immediately agreed, and he continued: "To be honest, if your country had not promoted it and helped us coordinate many disputes and contradictions, this fragile military alliance might not have been established. Without the Northern Italian coalition, Northern Italy is actually a mess. Not only did the Spanish call us around, but the Austrians and French people could easily blackmail or even invade us, and plunder our wealth."

The Northern Italian states that participated in the Northern Italian coalition this time include Genoa, Venice, Tuscany, Luca, Parma, Modena, and Milan, which are basically all states with relatively close relations with the East Coast. Among these seven countries, Milan and Parma are still nominally belonging to the Kingdom of Spain, but in fact they were already in an actual state of autonomy many years ago. The Spanish did not have any army here, and the Governor sent to collect taxes regularly and then ignored nothing. Therefore, when the East Coast people contacted the local powerful nobles and invited them to join the establishment of the Northern Italian coalition, the Spanish finally had to pinch their noses and recognize them.

They knew very well that the reason why these two places are still nominally loyal to the Spanish Kingdom was mainly because the interests of the real nobles who ruled the local area were not threatened. The Spanish knew very well that once this delicate balance was broken, these nobles might have to make trouble, and they would defect to other countries if they were not good, which would make the Spanish Kingdom empty and get nothing. Therefore, rather than these countries controlled by Austria or France, it would be better to let them be deeply influenced by the East Coast, after all, the East Coast people could not annex these lands, which would avoid the worst.

In addition to military aspects, the seven countries also agreed to an economic agreement, which was to use a unified currency. The currency was minted by the Genoa-Asian Republic, the strongest of them, and the Luca Free City dominated by merchants. The name was tentatively set as lira, which stipulated that one lira contains 10 grams of silver, which is the legal currency of the above eight countries.

After the lira is minted and transported to various countries, all other old currencies will continue to circulate for three years, and will then be abandoned and eliminated. The lira silver coins are also the only currency issued by the officers and soldiers of the Northern Italian coalition to enhance their circulation and prepare for the full development in the future.

In fact, these seven countries have also negotiated another agreement, namely, abolishing tariff barriers between countries and establishing a unified commercial market. However, the differences between everyone on this matter are too great. Under the active guidance of the East Coast people, everyone conducted a total of six rounds of negotiations, and all failed for various reasons, which is very regrettable.

However, Cai Zhenguo is quite optimistic about their final agreement to establish an internal unified market. Because there is actually not much competition among these countries, the industrial overlap between them is not very high. For example, Genoa's main interests are finance, Venice has a lot of grain production because of plains, Milan is mainly industry, Lucca is mainly business, Tuscany is mainly art, leather manufacturing, and fishing. Parma and Modena are too small, so if they spend time to coordinate their interests and establish their respective development directions, it is still possible to eventually reach an internal unified market agreement.

Military unification and monetary and financial unification. If market unification can be achieved, is it really far from political unification? I am afraid it may not be possible! Once they are politically unified and turn the current loose confederacy into a relatively close confederacy, an important country will appear on the entire Italian Peninsula. This country has a fairly good army, its economic strength is in the middle and upper reaches, and its geographical location is also excellent, so no one will be able to stop their rise.
Chapter completed!