Auxiliaries, combined forces, and citizen armies
- Remember what we said about mercenaries? Well, the same goes for auxiliary forces.
- Sure, Pope Julius II used them, and he was okay, but he was just lucky that the Swiss army came to bail him out.
- The problem is, even if you win, the auxiliary army might never leave and will just start occupying you—which is pretty easy since you were stupid enough not to have an army.
- Actually, auxiliaries are even worse than mercenaries, because auxiliaries always have the interests of their ruler in mind over yours and are probably just waiting to attack you. Dun dun dun.
- Machiavelli gives us a bunch of examples (Cesare Borgia, Hiero of Syracuse, and King David) of guys who wised up and realized that mercenaries were a bum deal.
- In the end, you should just get your own army. Follow the example of those guys who kicked mercenaries to the curb, and you'll be golden.