The Wheel Is Come Full Circle 137Wallenstein. The king, it may be recalled, had been in touch with the
general through Arnim back in 1627, and once again he was probably
curious to see where, if anywhere, this might lead. Hence he gave
Thurn an authorisation to pursue the approach, together with a letter
of accreditation, although in it he referred only to ‘a certain cavalier’.
Later Thurn asked Gustavus for an army of 12,000 men and eighteen
guns for his contact, who he then described as ‘this princely person’.^27
The matter ended, according to Rasˇin, when he and Thurn met the king
on the march south after Breitenfeld, but were bitterly disappointed to
be told bluntly that he had no substantial number of men to spare for
Bohemia.
It is possible that Wallenstein had some contact with Gustavus,
whether through Rasˇin or otherwise. As duke of Mecklenburg and
an independent prince he was entitled under the constitution of the
Empire to do so, just as Maximilian had his long-standing contacts with
France and at around this time was also in touch with Sweden. Likewise
Wallenstein was as free to deal with Bohemian exiles as John George of
Saxony was to give them shelter in his territory. Virtually every prince
in north Germany whose lands lay within reach of the Swedish armies
had exchanges with Gustavus, and Wallenstein had the same legitimate
interests to protect. That of course is different from seeking to borrow
an army to use against the emperor, but Rasˇin apart there is no evidence
to connect Wallenstein himself with this chimera, and it may be that
the whole thing was conducted by Trcˇka without his knowledge. At
most if he learned of it at some point he may have been content to let
it run once started in order to see what response it elicited. Had he been
more actively involved in this hare-brained scheme it would certainly
have been better thought out.
One other story from this period which requires comment is the claim
that Wallenstein deliberately undermined the Imperialist war effort
by refusing food and other supplies to Tilly from Mecklenburg and
Friedland. This is a very naive proposition, implicitly assuming that the
resources of these territories belonged to Wallenstein himself and that
he was in a position simply to order their despatch. In fact the peasants
who produced the food and the artisans who manufactured the other
goods would have had to be paid for them. Tilly had no money, but nor
at the time had Wallenstein. It was different when he was in command,
as then he also controlled the funding of the armies and was able to
ensure that supplies ordered from Friedland, Mecklenburg or elsewhere
were paid for in cash, albeit with money borrowed against contribu-
tions yet to be collected. This system, already tottering, collapsed after