Swiss Arms 45 (Patreon)

Swiss Arms

Chapter 45

-VB-

Rudolf I of Bavaria

Munich, Bavaria

What did it say about a man that he was always playing second fiddle to the rest of his family?

His uncle and the current king of the Romans, Albert, was constantly hounding him for his possessions in the Palatinate and Upper Bavaria. When that wasn’t the case, he was fending off his younger brother’s attempt to usurp the lands he got from their father; his spies in his uncle’s court spoke of Louis’s letters and couriers traveling there regularly.

And on top of that, he had guild masters begging him for his attention on the first day of his visit!

Even so, he trusted his uncle not to stab him in the back. He had, after all, helped him in the three years since he surrendered to his uncle. Not only did he cooperate fully, much more than Louis, but he also made sure to keep himself in full view of his uncle, unlike Louis.

… Still, it unnerved him that his uncle was so readily in communication with his less reliable and ambitious younger brother.

Today was the second day of his visit to Munich, and he allowed the guild masters an audience.

Sitting upon the seat of power of the Duchy of Upper Bavaria, he watched as the throne room’s doors opened. On the other side of the door were four men of varying ages but all equally rich for commoners. One of them even wore silk! It was only a silk sash around his waist, but it was a luxurious item that even he, a duke, dared not wear too often.

“Enter.”

The four did as he commanded and bowed before him.

“Thank you for your time, Duke Wittelbach,” the eldest of the four greeted.

“Welcome to my court, Guild Master Rueben, and tell me what you seek of this duke.”

“Very well, milord. We wish your help in subduing an upstart who is ruining the trade Munich depends on.”

“... What?”

---

To say that the guild masters were exaggerating was an overstatement. They were fucking blowing the “damages” out of proportion.

“What has my brother been doing that he has guild masters like these asking us for military aid to curb a small village in the Swabian Alps?”

Louis and he ruled Upper Bavaria together as co-rulers, which was part of the reason why Louis was upset with the situation and sent letters to their maternal uncle.

He let out a sigh of frustration before turning to the one man he trusted.

“Erin.”

A young man stepped out of the shadows. “Yes, milord?” the cocky-grin adorning blonde-haired boy asked.

“What can you tell me of this ‘Compact’?”

It had been two years since he visited Munich. He had been over in the Palatinate lands and taking care of the family business over there, so he didn’t know much about what was happening here or in the neighboring regions. Hell, the Swabian Alps, specifically this “Compact” wasn’t even a neighboring region or polity.

“Ah well, they’re the ones making the moves, you know, milord?” the once-commoner boy drawled with a shake of his hand. “Like your maternal uncle, the king. The Compact of the Seven… or is it Eight now? They’re the ones who came out strong after what the Swabian Alps call ‘the Unruly Year.’ A year with absolutely no one in control of the wars of naked aggression that nearly all lords participated in. Well, this Compact, formed by a bunch of peasants, went and demolished everyone else. Everyone from the Gorizia in charge of Tyrol to all of the local nobles. In fact, the commander of the Compact burned down a noble’s castle to the ground!”

“And what did my uncle do in response?”

“Told them to stop. And made the Compact legitimate.”

Rudolf frowned.

“Legitimate how?”

“Absolved them of all crimes committed against the nobility up to that point in time, milord, and formally acknowledged the then Compact of Seven’s rule over eastern Swabian Alps west of Tyrol, north of the Kingdom of Italy, south of Swabian Werdenberg, and east of the Lords of Sargans.”

Rudolf looked over at the map of the Holy Roman Empire and calculated a rough size estimate of the land that the Compact ruled.

“Of the Seven?”

“Yes. They used to be seven members. And then the Prince-Bishop of Chur joined them.”

“I see.” There wasn’t anything to say to that. If the Prince-Bishop wanted to frolic with the peasants, then Rudolf wasn’t going to say no. It wasn’t as if those were his lands at any rate.

“Milord.”

“Yes?”

“I would advise against fighting them.”

“... Why do you say so?”

“My people have reported signs of increased trade.”

“Is that not the problem that my guild masters here in Munich have come to me to solve? When trade outside of the city is not even their jurisdiction? Or mine?” he scoffed. Asking the duke to solve their trade issues. Absurd!

“Because there is a chance that one of the artisans in the new small castle of Fluela has discovered a way to mimic fine china.”

Rudolf had to think for a second before his eyes widened.

“... China?” he asked as he turned back to look at Erin, his spymaster. “Are you implying that…?”

“There is a chance. China that has not been bought and sold in either Genoese or Venetian market have shown up in the east Swabian Alps.”

“And I am just hearing about it?!”

“Not many such pieces have been made, milord,” Erin replied with a slight bow, obviously understanding just how shocked he was at the news. “The more relevant information related to the guild masters is the fact the same fort also mass produces ceramic dishes of high quality at large scale, and have been selling to any merchant or peddler passing by their lands.” He paused. “What may be of greater concern, and one that the guild masters do not yet know about, is the fact that there may be substantial quantities of gold and silver in those mountains. The new lord of Fluelaberg has made a small name for himself mining for those very precious metals as well as other gemstones like ruby, sapphire, and diamond.”

“You are telling me,” Rudolf began slowly. “That we, and the Romans before us, have been … sitting on a literal gold mine? And we left it alone?”

“There is a chance, yes.”

Rudolf thought about it. He really thought about it. It was impossible that the greedy Romans would have missed any gold in the mountains. There was also no record of substantial silver veins originating from those peaks. Copper, certainly. Gold and silver? No.

“From where?”

“A single hole in the ground within Fluelaberg itself.”

“He does not run a mine?”

“No. At least not until very recently, according to my people. He opened up a mine and charges any would-be gold miners a fee to enter and try their luck.”

Rudolf looked at his spymaster with his jaws dropped open.

“He… opened his mine to others? He does not find miners to use as his laborers?”

“No. He is an odd character.”

“You can say that again.” He hummed before drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Tell me, what would you do in my place?”

“Milord, I am a spymaster, not a noble or a bureaucrat working for a noble.”

“There must be an idea you have. You are a boy, nearly a man, and all men have ambitions, no matter how small.”

Erin looked out of the window for a moment, staring at the setting sun, before looking back.

“The Compact of the Eight is no threat to Munich. In fact, the guild masters have been the ones hurting the city and the duchy with their recklessness. Several trade caravans have ‘mysteriously’ vanished within our lands and their goods missing. My people would say that certain goods listed in the recovered caravan roster have circulated among one of the guild master’s own peoples but I have no definite evidence.”

Rudolf gritted his teeth.

“What else?”

“They have imposed a tariff on all goods originating from the Compact. This has led to a distinct lack of Compact goods within Munich and its surrounding townships while they have shown up in Landshut. Coincidentally, Montfort and Werdenberg are outside their influence and no bandits have shown up there. I believe it was an effort made to curb the influence of the Compact within Munich. Stupid, if you see their actions from the outside, but understandable when I think about it in their position. They are, after all, under the assumption that most of the trade coming through that area eventually goes through this city.”

“Does it?”

“Lately? No,” Erin replied as he pulled out something from his back, walked up to his desk, and slid it across to him.

… Parchment?

He picked it up and his eyes widened at the flexible paper. High quality, no torn edges, smooth surfaced, and evenly colored paper. No blemish, off colors, or any hint of even middling quality. The kind of stuff that even he, a duke, would hesitate to spend money on because of how expensive they could be. A single bible made from this kind of paper would be ruinously expensive in the current economy if only because he would be competing with every other count, duke, bishop, and merchant for an obviously limited product.

“The Compact is also making those, and many guild masters are upset that the Compact is not exclusively selling it to them.”

Guild masters potentially financing bandits? Underhandedly changing the policies that only dukes can change? Undermining his and his brother’s authorities? To satisfy their greed? That wouldn’t do. No. No, it would not…

“Look into their actions and contacts. If any damning evidence is found, bring it to me.”

His grip tightened around the arm of the chair.

And then the wood shattered underneath his hand.

“I will execute any filthy traitors with my own bare hands.”

On the other hand, he might need to look into this Compact if it reduced his own guild masters to such lengths to control them. Ineffectually, yes, but they had attempted, nonetheless. If the Compact was worth that much, so much so that the guild masters were overstepping their boundaries while he was not here and under his ambitious but less able brother’s eyes…

‘It must be worth something big.’

Perhaps big enough that if he were to acquire it for himself, then he might be able to use it to ward off Louis. No, he might even be able to use it to keep his uncle from ever interfering in his affairs again.

A plan began to form.

-VB-

A/N: Louis here is Louis the Bavarian (Louis IV of Bavaria) and Rudolf here is Rudolf I of Upper Bavaria.