The Rise of the European Emperor

Frederick III thought for a while, but did not find any flaws in Marin's words. So, he believed most of it. Then, he said to Marin:

"Since you don't want to be enemies with the princes, then I will privately organize a few princes' leaders to meet with you, and you can explain to them again?"

Marin waved his hands again and again:

"No, no, no, I can't meet with other people. If I meet with you, you will definitely keep it a secret. But if I meet with multiple princes, the news will be leaked easily. Once the news is leaked, I will become a shameless villain who betrayed the emperor Now, it would be a devastating blow to the image. After all, people don't like traitors."

"So, I didn't talk to so many people just now, I only talked to you. At that time, even if the Habsburg family gets the news and comes to question me, I don't have to admit it."

What Marin said was very reasonable, and the old fox Frederick III couldn't help but nodded in agreement. He then suggested:

"Then, let me help you talk to some princes and leaders in private?"

Marin still shook his head:

"My lord Frederick, I still have to remind you of something - some of the princes are unreliable!"

"You mean..." Frederick III seemed to have guessed something.

"That's right, I'm talking about Anthony, Duke of Lorraine! As you know, he grew up in the court of Louis XII and had a very good relationship with Francis I. Moreover, he is also the Duke of Bar in France. This man , has no affection for Germany, and has no scruples about damaging the interests of the Holy Roman Empire. However, he is still a relatively powerful duke, who plays a decisive role among the princes."

"Or, I think he is the traitor of France in Germany!" Marin said firmly.

After a pause, Marin continued:

"Because of France, he is extremely hostile to me and wishes to destroy the Beihai Kingdom. But, Mr. Frederick, think about it, is the existence of the Beihai Kingdom worthless?"

"If I don't help His Majesty the Emperor to attack the princes, there is actually not much conflict of interest between us. We can even trade with each other and make money together. And, if you think about it carefully, has the Beihai Kingdom ever taken the initiative since its establishment? Attack any vassal state?"

This point Marin said is actually quite guilty, because although he did not take the initiative to attack other vassal states, he secretly played tricks to lure other vassal states to attack him, and then killed him.

However, his hands and feet are relatively clean, and others can't see any problems. At most, I think he destroyed the invader's country, which is a bit excessive and broke the rules.

Frederick III thought about it, and it was true, so he nodded.

Marlin continued:

"However, as far as I know, at the meeting of the princes, Duke Anthony suggested more than once that everyone unite and join the French to destroy the North Sea country. Am I right?"

Frederick III remained silent, which was regarded as tacit consent.

At this time, Marin deliberately lowered his voice and said:

"Do you know why Duke Anthony did this?"

Frederick III shook his head, he hadn't thought about it.

Marin continued mysteriously:

"I guess, in addition to my failure to bring shame to the French, there is another important reason - the existence of the North Sea State, which will affect the future French annexation of Germany!"

Frederick III was taken aback immediately:

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Marin said indifferently:

"It's not nonsense. Think about it. The Beihai Kingdom's local standing army is 40,000. If it pulls back the 20,000-man legion in England, it will be 60,000 troops. If the French King Francois I becomes Emperor Shenluo, he will send troops to annex Germany , will it invite resistance from the princes? As an important princely state of Germany, the Beihai Kingdom will definitely raise its troops to rebel. The army of the Beihai Kingdom is so powerful that if they unite with the armies of the princely states, the French will not be able to defeat it. There is a high probability Will be defeated! Think about it, is this the truth?"

Frederick III thought about it carefully and found that this was true. The coalition forces of the princes have no confidence to defeat the Beihai Kingdom,

Not confident of beating France either. But if the coalition forces of the princes and the army of the North Sea are united, the French really can't win.

At this time, Frederick III also began to doubt the motives of Anthony, Duke of Lorraine. Moreover, before Marin forced him to express his position that he was not allowed to support the King of France to run for Emperor Shenluo, Duke Anthony was very unhappy.

From this point of view, Marin's remarks are not groundless. Moreover, Frederick III also knew that the relationship between Duke Anthony and the French royal family was indeed very good. But Duke Anthony's reason was to unite the French to suppress the Habsburg family, and everyone believed it.

But if Duke Anthony really pushed François I to the throne of Emperor Shenluo, with the righteous title of emperor, the French might try their best to swallow Germany...

In fact, in the original history, Frederick III was worried about this, and finally chose to support Charles V. The King of France can act as an ally against the Habsburg family, but it is greatly inappropriate for the King of France to be Emperor Shinra. Because France is much stronger than the Habsburg family, and is more capable of unifying Shinra.

According to Marin's theory, if the princes united with France to destroy the North Sea State, then the Habsburg family would indeed be left alone. At that time, the Habsburg family may also fall. But who benefits when the Habsburgs fall? Once the king of France becomes the emperor of Shenluo, the threat is much greater than that of the poor Habsburg family.

Seeing that Frederick III was thinking about it with a gloomy and uncertain face, Marin smiled...

...

When Frederick III finished his brain and raised his head, Marin immediately put away his smile and said sincerely:

"Actually, let me say that the existence of the Habsburg family also has its role. At least, they have attracted the firepower of France. Because the Duchy of Burgundy was seized, and the Duchy of Brittany was snatched, Habsburg The Bourg family and the Kingdom of France are already eternal enemies."

"In my opinion, the best way for the princes is to find a balance between the Habsburg family and France. Let the two be unable to defeat their opponents, and then have to look at the princes and seek everyone's support."

"Right now, France actually has the upper hand. The princes don't say they support the Habsburg family, but they shouldn't hold back the Habsburg family. If the Habsburg family has the upper hand, everyone will support France. Not too late."

"But Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, doesn't think so. He wholeheartedly supports France in destroying the Habsburg family. If the Habsburg family falls, who will be next? We will also be eaten one by one... ..."

Frederick III nodded and recognized Marin's words, but said again:

"But now if the Habsburg family annexes Switzerland, their strength will increase greatly. At that time, we will be in danger."

Switzerland is not small in size and has a large population. The point is, there are plenty of soldiers. In fact, the princes did not worry about how much benefit the mountainous area of ​​Switzerland could bring to the Habsburg family. However, it is a simple and understandable reason to be able to provide a strong source of soldiers.

Marin smiled and said:

"My lord Frederick, why do you think so? Even if the Habsburg family annexed Switzerland and has the ability to threaten the princes, can't the countries unite with France to resist at that time? Moreover, the French will not sit idly by Countries were annexed by the Habsburg family, and they were also afraid that the Habsburg family was too powerful. Because France annexed most of the Duchy of Burgundy, they were also afraid that the Habsburg family would take it back."

"Besides, the Habsburg family won the western part of Switzerland, and it will directly border France. At that time, conflicts will break out directly between the two sides. At that time, the real good show will begin. Think about it , the two families are close together, will there be conflicts? The Habsburg family is very poor financially, but fighting is very costly. The two families fight back and forth, and the Habsburg family will become more and more Poor, on the contrary, there is no threat to the vassal states. Because they will be tired of coping with the provocations of the French."

"But I'm worried, after the Habsburg family took Switzerland..." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Marin. Obviously, it was because they were worried that Beihai would send troops to help the emperor at that time.

"I will never help His Majesty eliminate the princes, please rest assured!" Marin vowed. He didn't talk nonsense, he really wouldn't help the Habsburg family fight the princes.

"Do you dare to establish written evidence?" Frederick III still didn't believe Marin very much after all.

Marin hesitated for a while before nodding:

"You can make written evidence, but please keep it separately and keep it secret. Unless I break my promise and send troops to help the Habsburg family eliminate the princes, you will use it to accuse me of breaking my promise!"

Elector Frederick III of Saxony thought about it and agreed to Marin's request. As long as the written evidence is in hand, he occupies the moral high ground. In Europe in this era, the consequences of breaking a promise are very serious and will be cast aside. In particular, commitments on paper.

Marin thought over and over again, and wrote such a sentence on the paper:

"Marin von Hoffmann promised that he would never send troops to help the Habsburg family annex the princely states and unify Germany. But at the same time, he would not allow the princely states to unite to destroy the Habsburg family!"

The last sentence was added by Marin after thinking about it. If one day, this document is accidentally spread out, with the latter sentence as the basis, the outside world will not accuse Marin of betraying the emperor too much. At most, it is not supporting the emperor's ambition to unify Germany.

Frederick III looked at the document, and didn't care much about the last sentence of the document. He is not Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, and he is not very hostile to the Habsburg family. Speaking of which, Frederick III and Emperor Maximilian I were still relatives. Frederick III's grandmother, Margaret, was the aunt of Maximilian I.

Therefore, Frederick III's father, Elector Ernst, and Duke Albrecht, father of Duke George of Saxony, were cousins ​​of Maximilian I. Maximilian I, also cousin of Frederick III and Duke George, belonged to blood relatives within three generations.

However, although they are cousins, the Ernst family and the Albrecht family have a very different relationship with the Habsburg family. Albrecht was relatively close to the Habsburg family, although he also participated in the meeting of princes and opposed the emperor's unification of Germany. However, the relationship with the Habsburg family is not considered antagonistic. If the emperor asks the door, the Albrecht department will give face. At the beginning, West Frisia was a gift from the emperor to Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, as a reward for the Duchy of Saxony to help him quell the rebellion in the Netherlands.

The Ernst family, on the other hand, chose to draw a line with the Habsburg family out of the political stance of the elector. However, the two sides are blood relatives after all, and there is no enmity between them.

Therefore, in the original history, when Charles V ran for the emperor, although the Duke of Lorraine and other pro-French princes insisted on choosing Francois I as emperor, at a critical moment, Frederick III decided to choose Charles V. In the final analysis, Frederick III only opposed the unification of Germany by the Habsburg family from the standpoint of the princes, and did not hate the emperor himself.

"Please keep this document well. I don't want to part ways with His Majesty the Emperor yet." Marin said sincerely.

After thinking about it, Marin added another sentence to the document—"If the custodian deliberately leaks the content of the document to force me to openly break with His Majesty, it is not ruled out to change my position..." Then, he wrote it in Latin Once again, to prevent the text from being modified. Then, it was also stamped with the seal on the ring.

Frederick III's face changed when he saw the words added later. He really thought about using this document to make a fuss, forcing Marin to break with the emperor, or at least fall out. However, after Maring added this sentence, it was difficult for him to make a fuss about it. Otherwise, if Marin is angered and he is really bound to the Habsburg family completely, then it will be over.

However, fortunately, as long as he doesn't make a fuss about this, Marin dare not easily send troops to help the emperor. This is enough for the princes.

"I will keep this document well!" Frederick III solemnly promised.

"In order to beware of those princes who are close to France, Lord Frederick, please keep today's conversation a secret, as long as you tell the princes that I am sincere. You don't need to show that document to others, especially Anthony who betrayed the empire. The duke and his ilk..." Marin was particularly disgusted with this kind of boy, so he said it very bluntly.

Frederick III didn't care. To be honest, he didn't like Anthony being too close to France. For him, France was only used against the emperor, not his own. He also agrees with some of Marin's words-the Habsburg family is a threat to the princes, so why not the Kingdom of France? Even when His Majesty the Emperor wanted to unify Germany, he was influenced by France. At that time, France was also divided, and the princes were independent. Later, several generations of French monarchs finally took back the autonomy of the vassal states through various means such as wars, forming a powerful France with concentrated royal power. Therefore, if the throne falls to the head of the French king, it will be more deadly as Marin said...

On this point, Frederick III actually agreed with Marin. However, the strength of France is indeed a powerful help for the princes to resist the Habsburg family. Therefore, Frederick III could only turn a blind eye to the pro-French behavior of Duke Anthony and others. As long as you don't really give the benefits of Germany to France, then there is no problem...

After leaving a note, Marin didn't want to stay any longer. Anyway, his goal was achieved. And Frederick III, because he no longer needed to worry about the Beihai Kingdom sending troops to help the emperor eliminate the princes, was also in a good mood, talking and laughing, and personally sent Marin outside the door...

The genius remembers the address of this site in one second:. Mobile version reading website: