The Rise of the European Emperor

"Sigmund, why are you here?" Archduke Alexander was a little surprised.

Through the words of Grand Duke Alexander, Marin immediately realized that the handsome man in front of him was the future Grand Duke of Lithuania and King Sigmund I of Poland.

After entering the hall, Sigmund nodded politely and smiled at Marin, who immediately responded positively. After all, this is a future king, and the relationship with him cannot be stiffened.

In fact, Sigmund is still only a prince at present, but he is the heir of the Grand Duchy. Because Archduke Alexander had no heirs, he could only choose Prince Sigmund as his heir. Speaking of which, the Grand Duke originally had a wife, Helena, the daughter of Ivan III of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. However, soon after the marriage, the two sides had a big conflict. Coupled with the enmity and war between the two countries, Helena simply went back to Moscow to live, and Grand Duke Alexander did not divorce her. Then, since the legal wife is not around, the archduke cannot have legal heirs. In this way, it is certain that Prince Sigmund will inherit the position of Grand Duke and King of Poland.

So, knowing that he was bound to become archduke and king, Prince Sigmund became concerned with politics. He paid attention to all the disturbances in the Grand Duke's country. This time, when he heard that the distinguished guest was visiting, he also rushed over to hear what was going on. After all, his older brother, Archduke Alexander, was frail and sickly, and God knows what day he would burp. As the younger brother of the crown prince, he must also be ready to be a receiver at any time...

For the younger brother who is so keen on political affairs, he has long thought about how to kill him if he was replaced by the emperor of the East. However, the Grand Duke of Alexander was different. Because of his frail body, the Grand Duke was actually not very lascivious. The key is to be powerless...

Therefore, after Princess Helena in Moscow "returned to her parents' home", the Grand Duke also had no intention of divorce and re-marriage. Therefore, the younger brother Sigmund's succession to the Grand Duke and the throne is almost certain. Under such circumstances, the Grand Duke turned a blind eye to his brother's enthusiasm for the government. Anyway, this country will be lost to Sigmund sooner or later...

Archduke Alexander also seemed interested in raising his younger brother, so he told Prince Sigmund what he had talked to Marin. After listening to Sigmund, after thinking for a while, he said:

"Lord Marin, my brother's decision is correct. Lithuania cannot send troops lightly until Crimea has not betrayed the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Otherwise, it is easy to be attacked by the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Khanate of Crimea. Of course. , if your mission this time can really convince the Crimean Khanate, that's really great news!"

"It's not persuasion, it's bribing! His Royal Highness Sigmund, the Crimeans are open to money. In order to get money, they will not hesitate to rob the population of Eastern European countries and sell them as slaves. It can be seen that we can impress them with money."

"Yeah, every year in the Ukraine region in the south of our Grand Duchy, many people are captured by Crimean robbers..." Prince Sigmund said melancholy.

"His Royal Highness, this time, of course, we chose to buy off the Crimean Khanate and the Grand Duchy of Moscow to break diplomatic relations to help Sweden. But in fact, the biggest beneficiary of this incident is not us, but Lithuania." Marin said seriously.

"Indeed!" Both Archduke Alexander and Prince Sigmund nodded.

"As long as the Crimeans don't help the Grand Duchy of Moscow, I don't think the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is worse than the Grand Duchy of Moscow, right? At least, it still has the strength to fight."

Archduke Alexander and Prince Sigmund continued to nod, and without the help of the terrifying Crimean Tatar cavalry, Lithuania would not have been much worse, if not defeated, by the Moscow army. At least, you can take the defensive and compete with the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

"I don't know if the 50,000 gold coins I brought this time are enough..." Marin showed a melancholy look...

In fact, this guy brought 100,000 gold coins. Moreover, he is quite sure that he can bribe Mongogiri Khan of the Crimean Khanate who sees money.

However, seeing that Archduke Alexander and Prince Sigmund were so "on the road", Marin couldn't help but give birth to the idea of ​​knocking some money from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After all, this time, the biggest beneficiary is Lithuania. It is reasonable to knock them some money...

Archduke Alexander and Prince Sigmund discussed in Lithuanian language for a long time in front of Marin. It seems that under the advice of Prince Sigmund, Archduke Alexander made up his mind:

"Count Marin, we in Lithuania are willing to pay 50,000 gold coins to help bribe the Crimean Khanate! If you can persuade the Crimean Khanate to send troops to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, I would like to thank you!"

Although the Grand Duchy of Alexander was afraid of being attacked by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it was precisely because of this that when there was an opportunity to turn the face of a strong enemy such as the Crimean Khanate and the sworn enemy of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, or even break out a war, the power of Prince Sigmund was added. Advice, Archduke Alexander also made up his mind and decided to gamble.

As long as the bet is won, the security of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania will be greatly guaranteed. If he was targeted by fierce robbers like the Crimean Khanate, the Grand Duchy of Moscow would not have enough time to prepare the Crimean Tatar cavalry, so where would there be time to find trouble in Lithuania?

Moreover, Prince Sigmund specifically requested that Marin must explain that this was jointly funded by the Hanseatic League and Lithuania. In this way, after receiving the money from Lithuania, the Crimean Khanate will also be restrained, and will no longer burn, kill and loot the southern region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...

Marin thought for a while and agreed to Prince Sigmund's request. Speaking of which, Prince Sigmund is also quite shrewd. The so-called "short-handed", no matter how shameless the Crimean Khanate is, it will definitely restrain its robbery in the future when it receives money from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The most important thing is that it will not easily launch an attack on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After all, I have received money from others...

So, Lithuanians are not stupid. Although he was "knocked" by Marin for 50,000 gold coins, the money was really worth it...

The allocation of 50,000 gold coins is not a small amount. Archduke Alexander brought this question to the Council of Nobles. Members of the noble council are not stupid either. Although a few people feel sorry for the money, most people know that national security is the most important thing. So, the nobility council agreed to this plan, and promised to allocate funds from the state tax, without the need for the archduke to pay.

When Marin got the money, Archduke Alexander also took the advice of Prince Sigmund and dispatched a cavalry to escort Marin south. At the same time, Archduke Alexander also wrote a letter of credentials, requesting reconciliation with the Crimean Khanate, and giving it to Marin to bring it to the Crimean Mongojirehan. In this letter of credentials, Prince Sigmund wisely suggested that Archduke Alexander call the Crimean Khan Mongoggirey "Kipchak Khan" instead of the Crimean Khan. Because, Crimea destroyed the Golden Horde (Kipchak Khanate), and began to call himself the Khan of the Kipchak Khanate. At present, no other country has recognized their status as Kipchak Khan. The Lithuanians were the first to admit that they would obviously win the favor of many.

In fact, Sigmund I historically called Mungoghire Khan that way when he bribed Mungoghire Khan in 1512. Under the joy of Mungojirehan, he was bought by a mere 15,000 gold coins.

In addition, in the letter, Archduke Alexander not only called Mungogire Khan "Kipchak Khan", but also called him "the co-lord of the Rus countries"...

This title is supposed to be provocative. This is a secret reminder to Mongojirehan - since you have become the Kipchak Khan, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, one of the Rus countries, should be your servant, not your ally...

After Marin read the letter, David admired Prince Sigmund's political wisdom. So, he immediately revised the credentials of the previous three companies, and changed the name to the same as Lithuania. It was much easier to flatter Mungojirehan first, and then talk about things...

Then, under the escort of 500 Lithuanian cavalry, Marin took a carriage loaded with gold coins all the way south, passed the Ukrainian plain, and entered the territory of the Crimean Khanate on the coast of the Black Sea...