One of the richest men in Europe is having a bad bad, very bad not so good generally terrible overall unfortunate day. As he sits in his home in Augsburg, he towers over parchment and paper of the accounting of his estates and assets. It did not used to be that way, for before he had his brothers to assist him in his goals. However, they have recently passed away leaving Jakob Fugger alone in his control of his family's business. Furthermore, the King of Hungary has stripped his rights towards the mining of copper and silver in the Kingdom in an unexpected move. But these issues were things he could solve with his ingenuity, connections, and remaining assets. The final nail in the coffin, however, was a letter from a papal legate on behalf of Pope Julius II.

One of the few German cardinals, Cardinal Melchior von Meckau, had been a major investor and sponsor of Fugger's business. The Cardinal, in an aim to avoid laws on usury and collection of interest, had secretly used a significant amount of church funds that were untraceable through clever accounting and hidden kick backs. But, the Cardinal could not keep this secret as he passed away. The invested money became known to the Church, as well as the means in which it had been used and the reason as to why it was. The Pope, along with other church figures such as the bishopric Melchior served in, immediately sprung to action to gain leverage over Fugger due to his actions. The Pope demanded that Fugger hand over the investment and a small fee on top to pay back the Church funds that he had illegally acquired, and that Fugger pressure Emperor Maximilian to assist the Pope in preserving peace in Italy. The issue was, Fugger's liquidity was near nothing and his assets had just been slashed significantly. For once in his entire business history, he needed to get assistance from someone with a significant cash reserve to maintain solvency. Failure to do so would require him to sell off what he does currently have to the Papacy just to avoid eternal damnation.

Fugger, now backed into a corner, was forced to come out swinging or go down in a sinking ship. He would first seek his closest ally and business partner, Emperor Maximilian. The man was heavily indebted to him, and was one of the few individuals who could have the cash on hand Fugger needed. He would sent a letter requesting the sum of 200,000 florins be provided to Fugger so that he may pay Julius the sum requested to resolve the Melchior situation. He would then make clear that, because of the Melchior situation, to save the Fugger business Maximilian would have to come to Julius's aid. If Maximilian is to assist Julius, the Pope would have Maximilian be the legal heir of Cardinal Melchior and thus only the outstanding debt Fugger has would remain. Of course, Fugger promises significant assistance to Maximilian in the future for his campaigns and goals. He also promises his wealth to ensure his grandson is elected Emperor, should Fugger be in a financially stable position when the situation calls for it.

Fugger then strikes against the King who had stolen his assets and money in Hungary. He freezes all his other investments in the Kingdom, causing much of the mining to be entirely halted through Fugger's connections. He also orders his printers to spread news of the King's quasi-illegal actions throughout the Kingdom of Hungary and Bohemia both. He writes letters to nobles who are financially indebted to him and those who he could count amongst his friends. The news spreads naturally as well as it is a major event. Many other major trading associations and organizations pull their own investments out of the country as fears of a crackdown by the King spread like wildfire. Letters fly in to Vladislaus's desk asking the King or his close associates to explain the situation and clear the confusion as rumors abound. A significant amount of lower nobility and burghers find themselves penniless in a matter of days, causing small collapses of local economies in isolated locations throughout the Kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia.

TL;DR

• Fugger is in a liquidity crisis and requires financial assistance from Maximilian to maintain his business

• He is pressuring Maximilian to align with Julius in the most recent Italian crisis

• He has struck back against the Hungarians, leading to a significant economic and political upheaval throughout the Kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia