The Rise of the European Emperor

"Pfft - what did you say? Lord Charles is willing to give me the Netherlands part of the Ged Company? No other conditions?" After listening to the conditions put forward by the messenger of Charles II, Marin directly took a sip of milk tea. Came out, almost in disbelief.

"Yes, there are no other conditions. It is only necessary for Lord Marin to refrain from troops to help the Habsburg family after the war begins. Then, our Lords of the Netherlands, the principality of Gede, will offer it with both hands!"

Hearing that the Dutch part of the coveted Gedde company could be obtained without the need to send troops to fight, Marin almost wanted to agree on the spot. However, after calming down, Marin suddenly found out—it seems that the "Swiss mercenaries" in the camp that the Principality of Geddes wanted to rob was fake, or sent by himself.

That is to say, even if he agreed to the request of the Ged Corporation, the Ged Corporation would not be able to grab those Swiss mercenaries. Therefore, the company of Gerd will certainly not succeed. Moreover, if he really cooperated with the Principality of Gede Company, although it was as the German princes intended, he would also carry the notoriety of "backing the master" and be ridiculed forever.

Therefore, the cooperation with Gede Corporation is unlikely. But after rolling his eyes, Marin suddenly decided to fool the Principality of Geddes into making them lose their vigilance. So, he solemnly said to the messenger of the Gede company:

"Okay, I can be neutral and swear in the name of God that I will never declare war on the Duke of Charles after this has happened. But how can you guarantee that I will get the Netherlands part of the Duchy of Gerdes?"

"So, you agree?" The envoy of the Principality of Gede was overjoyed. As long as Marin does not participate in the war, and the main force of the Habsburg family is contained in the Swiss battlefield, as long as the Swiss mercenaries are rescued, the Principality of Gerdes is almost certain to win.

"Well, I agree, let's sign an agreement..." Marin said calmly.

In fact, Marin is playing word games again. In the secret agreement signed with the principality of Gerdes, Marin promised that even if principality of Gerdes attacked the Habsburg family territory, he would never declare war on principality of Gerdes, but would remain neutral... provided that— The German company will give him a large piece of land in the Netherlands...

There is no problem with this, but Marin has long thought of a way to circumvent this promise-in the name of mercenaries, accept the employment of John II, Duke of Clifford, and then go to attack Geddes...

In this way, Marin is not a breach of contract - you see, I didn't declare war on you myself? I did remain neutral... But Duke Clifford is my ally, he hired my army to fight, and I didn't know they were fighting you. This is what Duke Cleaver did, not me. At least, I didn't declare war on the Principality of Gede, and strictly abide by the treaty...

...

but,

It is not so easy to convince Charles II. After all, Marin had already cheated Charles II on the West Frisian issue. Therefore, Marin had to work hard to convince Charles II of his sincerity.

But how to convince Charles II of his sincerity? You must know that although Charles II, Duke of Guedes, was not a suspicious person by nature, he was definitely not a fool. So, plan well.

While eating the fried peanuts, Marin thought about countermeasures...

Marin is not an extremely intelligent person, but he has an advantage, an advantage that all traversers (except those who don't understand history) have - that is, knowledge is broad enough, especially historical knowledge...

If historical knowledge is rich enough, many problems (except for modern scientific and technological problems) can actually be solved by finding similar cases in history. For example, how to dispel the suspicions of suspicious people...

After brainstorming, Marin finally found a reference after eating two plates of fried peanuts...

That is, the story between Wang Jian and Qin Shi Huang. In fact, Marin had thought about it before because it was so famous.

Qin Shi Huang handed over 600,000 troops of Qin to Wang Jian and asked him to fight against Chu. However, handing over the entire country's troops to Wang Jian, the general, made Qin Shihuang feel very insecure. Wang Jian is also very aware of the suspicious character of his master. If Qin Shihuang's doubts are not dispelled, it is easy to make a fool of himself during the war. Even if you win, you may not be able to get a good deal. After all, you scared Qin Shihuang, and it is easy to be liquidated by time. Is it enough bullshit? Wasn't he killed by King Qin Zhao?

Therefore, before Wang Jian set off on the expedition, he shamelessly asked Qin Shi Huang for a lot of manor land, as if he was thinking about retirement after retirement. At the same time, it is equivalent to sending a signal to Qin Shi Huang in disguise - I have no objection, I just want to make a fortune, don't worry about it...

Sure enough, after listening to Wang Jian's request, Qin Shi Huang laughed, and he really gave Wang Jian a lot of manor land, and he was relieved. After that, Wang Jian was still reused and became Qin Shi Huang's biggest sword in unifying the six kingdoms...

...

Of course, this is not the only reference. In fact, Xiao He, the founder of the Han Dynasty, also did something similar. Xiao He's ability is very strong, Liu Bang can feel at ease and Xiang Yu compete for the world, and Xiao He sits in Guanzhong, raising a lot of money and soldiers for him. It can be said that without Xiao He, there would be no achievements of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty.

However, Xiao He was too capable. Moreover, the fame is too high, causing Liu Bang's suspicion. He even made a random excuse and sent Xiao He to prison for a few days. Although he didn't do anything to Xiao He, it was a warning.

Later, Xiao He finally came to his senses - as a courtier, who can have more prestige than the monarch? what do you want? Want to replace it?

Therefore, Xiao He deliberately embezzled and smeared his reputation later, so as not to surpass his boss Liu Bang's reputation. Then, Xiao He died peacefully and became a famous prime minister of the early Han Dynasty.

In stark contrast to Xiao He was Han Xin. Han Xin was so prestige in the army that even a general of Liu Bang's cronies like Fan Kuai dared not compare with him. When Han Xin came to visit, Fan Kuai even knelt down to greet him.

It was because Han Xin's prestige in the army was too high that Liu Bang was seriously disturbed. If Han Xin had raised his voice against Liu Bang, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Later, Liu Bang simply used the guise of Empress Lu to get rid of Han Xin...

...

All in all, if you want a person who has doubts about you to dispel their doubts about you, Marin came to the conclusion that you should deliberately sell your flaws to the other party, so that the other party believes that your flaws are your destiny. When the other party thinks they have your life, they will feel more at ease...

And how to convince Charles II, Duke of Guedes, that he will abide by the agreement? Marin thought about it for a long time...

Finally, before dark, Marin thought of a way, that is - to convince Charles II that he was particularly interested in the Netherlands part of the company of Ged...

In fact, Marin was indeed very interested in the Netherlands part of the Gede Company, and even planned to conspire with the Principality of Clifford long ago. Even, this time, when Charles II, Duke of Geddes made an offer, Marin was almost tempted.

Therefore, trying to express an interest in the Netherlands part of the Geddes company is not a complete deception of Charles II, Duke of Geddes.

And how do you express your interest in that land fervently? After thinking for a while, Marin definitely sent a group of subordinates to go to the Principality of Gede Company to find the official of the Principality of Gede Company. After obtaining permission, he would measure and clear the area of ​​arable land and financial and taxation accounts on this piece of land of several thousand square kilometers...

In doing so, it made it clear that Marin was ready to take over the Dutch part of Gerd's company. Since he is so concerned about the conditions offered by the other party, then the possibility of breaking the contract is not very big...

At the same time, when sending someone to take over the Netherlands part of the Geddes duchy, Marin will send someone to tell Charles II, Duke of Geddes—I plan to pretend to be sick and bedridden in the next year. looks like, and intends to install it for a few months. In this way, the conscription of Emperor Maximilian I can be reasonably avoided...