A Scandal in Bohemia 31at Ferdinand’s court following his actions at Gradisca and Olmütz no
doubt helped, but he will still have had to demonstrate his profes-
sional skills before receiving a mark of favour of this kind and scale.
Wallenstein probably found part of the necessary money from the prof-
its of his first regiment, but he also called in 40,000 gulden which he
had placed on loan in Vienna, stating that he required the cash back in
order to finance recruiting.^9 This was presumably money which he had
previously moved out of Moravia, and he may also have been able to
borrow from other wealthy well-wishers, as he already had good connec-
tions to the so-called Spanish party at court. These included Ferdinand’s
first minister, Prince Hans Ulrich Eggenberg, a contact which dated back
to the time of Gradisca, the next most influential councillor Baron Karl
Harrach, and the Spanish ambassador Count Oñate.^10
During 1620 Wallenstein was appointed to the Imperial war council,
although he excused himself from having to attend in Vienna,^11 and he
was also assigned special duties towards the end of the 1620 campaign,
leaving his regiments in the charge of lieutenant-colonels, as was the
practice of the time. With the military action moving towards a suc-
cessful conclusion Ferdinand and his councillors were anxious to secure
their recovered territory politically. Areas occupied by Catholic forces
were safe enough, but their ally to the north posed a potential problem.
Lusatia, which bordered on to both Saxony and Bohemia, had been
pledged to John George of Saxony as security for his campaign expenses –
a pledge which became permanent as Imperial finances never permit-
ted its redemption – and he duly occupied it in the concerted advance
on Bohemia. For many of the towns between Prague and the northern
border the Lutheran elector might have appeared a much preferable
overlord to the arch-Catholic emperor, and hence Wallenstein was des-
patched to head off any possible defections. Only a handful of troops
could be spared for the purpose, so he had to rely on personality and
bold pre-emptive action, although backed by the threat of severe pun-
ishment once the revolt was over for any who resisted his authority.
Thus he went from town to town requiring the citizenry to renew their
oaths of loyalty to Ferdinand in his presence, which they duly did.
A letter from one mayor describes Wallenstein as ‘a very friendly gentle-
man’, who nevertheless left no doubt that he was set on achieving his
objective and was not prepared to stand for any prevarication.^12
Vengeance followed victory. On 11 November 1620, three days after
the battle of the White Mountain, the Bohemian Estates made their
submission to Maximilian of Bavaria, as the emperor’s representative.
The highest-placed had already escaped. Frederick, still clinging to the