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Chapter 24: Letter writing (2)

<<"If I cannot move heaven, I will raise hell.">>

― Virgil

It is already December 1267, three months before the planned campaign in northern Italy.

Conradin sent out a few letters to his closest allies and vassals four months before his approaching campaign, hoping that his friends and family would be willing to help him on his task. He realized that the success of his campaign hinged on having a strong and trustworthy core of supporters, so he sent out these letters in the hopes of gaining their support. He hoped they would regard his cause as noble and deserving of their support, and that they would place their trust in him as their leader. He was currently awaiting responses from Frederick and his uncle Ludovico of Bavaria .

While Conradin was deep in thought, he heard someone knocking at the door.After he allowed him in, he noticed his butler, Gerwin, who informed him that the letter sent to Frederick had received a response.

"Where is the letter?" Conradin inquired, curious to hear what his friend had to say. He hoped Frederick would agree to join him because he was a personal friend of his and would be a valuable addition to his campaign. He also hoped that Frederick could assist by bringing more recruits and more allies to his side, as they would need all the help they could get to face the challenges ahead.

\'\'Well, your Majesty, the letter is now in the hands of the envoy he dispatched, who is waiting in the other room." Conradin stood up and asked Gerwin to show him the way after hearing this.

After a few moments, he entered the room and saw a man in chainmail bowing to him. He assumed he was the envoy sent by Frederick , and he was correct.

"Your Majesty, my Lord Frederick of Baden sent me here to personally deliver this letter to you."

"I thank you, noble messenger; please allow me to treat you as my guest, as you must have traveled for many days to get here."

\'\'I thank you, your highness, for your generosity." After dealing with the messenger, Conradin opened the letter with the impatience of a child when opening a gift and read the contents.

*Conradin, my dear friend:

I am grateful for the blessings you conveyed to me in your earlier letter, and I am urged to extend them to you too.

I gladly accept your invitation, for your cause is noble and right, as such I devote myself and my troops to your cause. I swear to fight alongside you like Vergilius\'s heroes : Eurial and Niso, and that I will never desert you during your time of need.

I shall arrive at least one month before your departure with 2000 armored footmen along my side . I\'m hoping to hear from you soon.

Your close friend

Frederick*

Conradin felt a rush of delight and confidence wash over him as he read Frederick\'s letter. He was overjoyed that his friend had consented to join him on his campaign , and he felt that his cause would be even more successful with Frederick\'s help. He was confident that Frederick would be a tremendous asset on the battlefield, and that together they might accomplish incredible things and bring glory to their houses.

Aside from that, he was even happier because he would be traveling with a close friend, making the journey much more enjoyable than the boring ones he had previously experienced.

Gerwain assumed pleasant news awaited Conradin after seeing his face and asked his liege about it.

"I presume this is good news for your cause?"

"Very good news, Gerwain.Frederick has decided to join me in my attempt, and he will bring 2000 footmen, troops we are sorely in need for .\'\'

\'\'I am delighted that Your Majesty has received such new. But please excuse me while I return to oversee the castle."

"Of course, Gerwain, good work to you ," Conradin stated before leaving the room.

Conradin had also acquired the anwer letter from his uncle, which arrived four days later than the one from Frederick.

Apart from being later than Frederick\'s, it also did not produce the desired results; in fact, his uncles refused to join the campaign, claiming he was in poor health and promising to protect Conradin\'s holdings in Germany until his awaited success.

Conradin knew Ludovico was unsure of his chances, and he didn\'t want to risk upsetting the pope and giving his brother Rudolf a pretext to go to war with him. As a result, his uncle attempted to withdraw from the alliance with Conradin.

Nonetheless, Conradin could still hope on the support of other Italian states such as Verona , which was a staunch supporter of his house; Pavia , which was also a Ghibellin state and probably inclined to help him ; and finally, Pisa, whose relationship with Charles was similar to Genoa\'s.

The only thing Conradin had to do now was wait for the campaign to begin and send envoys to the Italian states most likely to support him in order to keep the date of the invasion a secret from Charles. After all, most wars are determined by whoever make the best use of diplomacy. Conradin saw that he had little chance of defeating Charles alone, and as such, he first needed to form a strong coalition of powers to fight against Charles\' coalition .