The Rise of the European Emperor

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() Marin was very reluctant to give up the Norwegian king's claim to the throne. After all, being called His Majesty Marin and Duke Marin are two completely different things.

However, he also knew that his father-in-law Julius II was right. I haven't grown up to the point where I can single-handedly take on all Germany. The most important thing right now is to eat the benefits that I deserve, digest them all, and turn them into strength.

Previously, Marin's estimation was that as long as the religious princes did not participate in the war, facing a coalition of hundreds of thousands of secular princes, even if he could not win, he would not lose.

However, Julius II told him another possibility - although those religious princes did not dare to declare war on Marin openly under the suppression of his pope, they could secretly contribute money to hire more troops to attack Marin. Lin, it's not a problem either.

Moreover, now is the era of mercenaries, paying money is actually no different from sending troops. At that time, in the face of all-round group fights, I have to kneel even with an army of 40,000. You must know that the tactics used by Marin's army now are only in line with the Spanish phalanx of this era. Although they are stronger than most of their opponents in this era, their strength is limited.

Not that Marin was reluctant to use more advanced infantry line formations, but Marin lacked enough gunpowder to fight a protracted battle of lining up to be shot. If most of the soldiers really wanted to use muskets, the army might run out of gunpowder before a battle was over.

Therefore, until a stable and large amount of gunpowder (mainly saltpeter) was obtained, Marin could only use the Spanish phalanx, where the musketeers accounted for only one-third, and did not have the conditions to use the musketeers used by Gustav II. Than reach two-thirds of the infantry line formation.

In the same way, Marin was afraid of being beaten by the German princes, not because the army was incompetent, but because there was not enough gunpowder...

Most of the gunpowder was spent in this battle with the Bossa coalition and the Danish army. The Marlin musketeers simply didn't have enough gunpowder to handle the musket and artillery firing needs of the feudal coalition until Arrigo's cargo ships to India brought back enough Indian saltpeter.

If half of the battle with the allied army of the princes ran out of gunpowder, then the arquebuses of the musketeers in the Marlin army were no different from the fire sticks, and the same was true of the artillery.

Even musketeers and artillerymen without ammunition will become cumbersome existences.

And without the strong fire support of musketeers and artillery, Marin's army, even with the advanced Spanish phalanx, was in vain. Because the essence of the Spanish phalanx is the musketeer. Without the fire support of the musketeers, Marin didn't think his army could beat the gang fights of the allied forces of the princes. In the same case of using cold weapons, there are so many people in the alliance of the princes, and the number of people can kill you.

Moreover, in the original history, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V, who owned the Spanish Empire, Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands at the same time, was much stronger than Marin, and could defeat France and capture the French king alive, but in the end he still failed to do so. Can win the alliance of princes, failed to complete the task of unifying Germany.

Marin's current strength is much weaker than that of Charles V in the original history, and he doesn't think he has the ability to single out all the German princes. Therefore, it is the most favorable choice to learn from Zhu Yuanzhang's "building walls high, accumulating grain widely, and slowly becoming king".

In addition, after this armistice, Marin must find a stable source of saltpeter that can support Marin to wage a large-scale war. Otherwise, Marin would not have the confidence to go to war with other countries.

You know, in the era of muskets, it was difficult for bullets to hit more than 50 meters away.

In the case of such a low hit rate, the platoon tactics are also very wasteful of gunpowder, and it often takes a lot of shots to hit an enemy. Therefore, without hoarding enough gunpowder, it is impossible to launch a large-scale war at all.

Therefore, Marin will need to find a way to find a stable supply channel for saltpeter while digesting the results of this war for a period of time in the future. This channel can be purchased from India, from Daming, or from Chile to mine hourly mines... In short, with the inexhaustible saltpeter, Marin can launch wars without limit and have unlimited right to fire... ...but before that, Marin should be honest for a while...

...

Negotiations continued in the afternoon, and when it came to Denmark, Marin threw out harsh conditions for wanting the Kingdom of Norway and Jutland...

The face of King Hans of Denmark turned green - Nima, the Kingdom of Denmark was originally small, and Marin cut off Jutland again. Then, the remaining land area of ​​the Kingdom of Denmark is less than half of the previous one.

That's all, if the Kingdom of Norway is cut away, what is left of the Danish royal family who once had a powerful Karma alliance? Only Zealandia and a few nearby islands?

Sure enough, when Marin made a request to Denmark, there was an uproar at the scene...

"Hmph, this guy! Even if you don't look at your background, you want to be a king? It's just a dream!"

"Yes! Want to be king? It's a dream!"

...

Many princes at the scene expressed their opposition to Marin becoming king. As for whether Marin could get the territory of the Kingdom of Norway, the princes paid less attention. Because they also know that although the Kingdom of Norway is known as a kingdom, it is not suitable for farming. Although the area is large, it is not so affordable.

Therefore, although the Kingdom of Norway is known as a kingdom, the most precious thing is the crown...

The princes present did not care much about how much territory Denmark lost. After all, it wasn't them who lost. What they care most about is the ownership of the throne.

After all, Marin was just a wandering knight who didn't even count as a nobleman 11 years ago. Now, if it is allowed to get the Kingdom of Norway, it will be a big deal. If nothing else, if Marin became His Majesty King Marin, in the future, these nobles must bow down and salute when they see Marin. For these nobles who are naturally proud, this is very difficult to accept.

If an aristocrat who was originally from the royal family became His Majesty, they might not feel anything. But the problem is, Marin's background is very low, his father is only a knight, he has no right to inherit...

It is unacceptable for most nobles to let such a person become a noble king and ride on his head.

Seeing that the nobles were opposed to becoming the king of Norway, Marin had expected it. But according to the "script" he had negotiated with Julius II, at this moment he should stick to his own ideas and focus on being king.

So Marin ignored the objections of the princes and insisted that Denmark cede Jutland and the Kingdom of Norway to connect the Norwegian throne. Moreover, in order to anger the princes, Marin said dismissively:

"I won against Denmark and asked Denmark for the Kingdom of Norway and Jutland. It's none of your business? This is not an internal German affair, and you have no right to interfere. All your opinions should be released..."

In fact, Marin said this, and there is no problem at all. The matter between him and the King of Denmark, indeed, has nothing to do with the German region, it is a fact.

However, how could the arrogant German princes be willing to admit this fact? They always think highly of themselves and think they can handle everything. Even though what Marin said was true, they were still incensed...