The Rise of the European Emperor

"What do you mean?" Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, felt ashamed and a little annoyed when Marin slapped him like this.

Marin was not used to him, but sneered:

"Do you want me to be more specific? You grew up in the court of Louis XII, and you have a very good relationship with Francis I. In your heart, I'm afraid you don't care about the interests of Germany at all, right? I heard that in Lorraine The spies reported that you once planned to elect Francois I as the next emperor, so that France would annex Germany, so that all of us princes would lose control of their territories and become powerless nobles like the French nobles who only knew how to obey the king! "

As soon as these words came out, the nobles present were in an uproar. In fact, Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, did not publicly express this meaning. However, he inadvertently brought up this topic when he met with Francis I in private. Therefore, Duke Anthony also turned pale, thinking that he had been exposed.

"I'm not, I'm not!"

There was a flash of panic in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up. However, this panic was caught by the Elector Frederick III of Saxony.

"Could it be that he really has this idea?" Frederick III thought to himself.

Many other princes also looked a little ugly. After all, no one wanted to become a puppet noble like the French nobles who only obeyed the king's arrangements. The reason why they united against the Habsburg family was because the emperor had expressed his ambition to unify Germany like the French. But if the king of France is really chosen as emperor, it will be more terrible than the Habsburg family as emperor. Because the Kingdom of France is much stronger than the Habsburg family, and it is easier to annex various vassal states.

Of course, in the original history, the reason why the princes considered choosing Francois I as emperor was because Charles V was too strong at that time. He has not only become the king of the two kingdoms of Spain, but also the successor of Austria and the Netherlands. The princes wanted to elect Francois I, in fact, to fight against Charles V. However, Frederick III and other princes finally chose Charles V considering that France was not a good thing, coupled with the threat of Turkey.

Anthony, who was a little stunned by Marin's spray, reacted angrily:

"Don't change the subject, we are discussing why you funded the Habsburg family!"

Marin said indifferently:

"All right, just consider me wrong. But, Duke Anthony, can you guarantee that you will never propose a Frenchman as emperor in the future?"

Duke Anthony's tone faltered suddenly, because he really wanted to make Francois I, who had a very good relationship, the next emperor.

"Why, do you still want the French to annex Germany?" Marin sneered.

"What nonsense are you talking about? When did I say I wanted the French to annex Germany?" Duke Anthony was a little annoyed.

However, he didn't deny it immediately, which made Frederick III and other smart people a little bit dissatisfied. Feelings, we unite against the Habsburgs, but you want to sell us to the French? Of course, as smart people, they did not express their thoughts at this time.

But when you think about it carefully, Anthony, Duke of Lorraine is indeed too close to France. Although the bad boy Marin is not likable, he is right. Duke Anthony may really have more heart for France...

Seeing that Marin had talked about this, Anthony still refused to express his position that he would not support the French as emperor in the future. Frederick III, the elector of Saxony, was a little disappointed. But now is not the time to discuss Anthony's issue, so he stated:

"Let's not talk about this topic now. I'm here to express my opinion. As an elector, I will never support the king of France as emperor!"

Seeing him speak, the Archbishop of Mainz and several other electors also expressed their views. Then, it turned around. But Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, was obviously very unhappy, and he looked at Marin very viciously.

But Marin didn't care what he thought. In fact, the reason why he bombarded the Duke of Lorraine was to divide the camp of princes. Moreover, the Duke of Lorraine is an important link between the princes and France.

Once this bond is suspected by the princes, it will be difficult for the two parties to be closely united.

However, the disadvantage of doing so is that it will seriously offend Francois I. After all, this is the end of his emperor's dream. But Marin didn't care, because, after the Habsburg family began to launch a general attack on western Switzerland, the French couldn't take care of him, because they were busy supporting the Swiss Resistance Army.

And it doesn't matter when Marin returns from the Eastern European battlefield. Because, he will add tens of thousands of troops. When the time comes, sharpen the knife, and make it clear that a decisive battle is going to happen.

If you want to annex England, the French cannot escape this hurdle. Therefore, there must be a battle between the two sides. What Marin worried about was that the German princes would fully support the French at that time.

Once this is the case, at that time, Marin will not only have to fight the French, but also prevent the princes from attacking their rear. Under the enemy's front and back, even if you win, you will lose a lot.

Therefore, at this meeting, Marin actually wanted to drive a wedge between the alliance of princes and the French. As long as there is a gap in the alliance between the princes and the French, the Beihai Kingdom will be less vulnerable to attacks by then.

Just now Marin said that he burned the grain and didn't care about the life and death of the farmers, but he was actually bragging. Marin actually cared about the life and death of farmers, and did not want the countryside of Beihai Country to be ravaged by war. After all, it is easy to kill a farmer with a single knife. However, it takes more than ten or twenty years for an additional farmer to grow from a child to an adult. Therefore, Marin did not want the coalition forces of the princes to ravage the countryside of Beihai Country.

...

Seeing that the topic stopped, Frederick III tapped the map and said:

"Okay, let's continue the deduction. Marin, we dispatched 200,000 troops, and the French also sent troops. How can you resist? If you can't resist, the Beihai Kingdom will be gone!"

Marin also came back to his senses at this time, he came to talk about cooperation. If it is too strong and leads to an unhappy breakup, then trade cooperation cannot be discussed.

Therefore, he deliberately showed weakness and said:

"Well, what you said makes sense. If the war fails, I'm afraid I can only ship most of the food and money to Newcastle, England by sea. As you know, I am also the Earl of Newcastle in England."

Then, he smiled again and said:

"Even if I lose the mainland of Beihai, I can still rely on Newcastle to continue to exist. At that time, as long as I have money and food, I can continue to hire troops and counterattack back."

The princes thought about it, and it was true. If Marin runs away with all his heart, they can't stop him. Aurich is only twenty or thirty kilometers away from the port of Emden, and it is easy to retreat to the sea.

Looking at the German princes, only the Hanseatic League, a commercial city alliance, has a sea fleet that can compete with the North Sea country. These princes do not have it. However, Lübeck and Hamburg, the most powerful maritime forces in the Hanseatic League, have a very good relationship with the North Sea State...

Therefore, it is impossible to eliminate the North Sea country. At most, drive Marin to England. However, if the opponent cannot be eliminated, and Marin takes away a lot of money and food, he will have the capital to fight back again. At that time, it will be entangled...

Just when the princes were having a headache about how to solve the problem, Marin took the initiative to back down:

"Of course, I'm also reluctant to part with such a big business in Beihai. After all, the mainland of Beihai is no smaller than England. It's certainly not a good thing to abandon such a large land and go to England to manage a county."

"So, it's best if you don't fight. As for what you said, I support His Majesty the Emperor, I am really wronged! Think about it, everyone, did I give His Majesty the money for nothing? After all, he gave me money. There are 30,000 immigrant households! The Beihai Kingdom needs people. Not only will His Majesty the Emperor send immigrants here, I will give money, but if you send immigrants here, I will also give money, and they will be treated equally! No two prices, 30 gold coins for a farmer, must include one Strong farmer!"

"We also give money to the farmers?" The eyes of some princes suddenly lit up. They are southern vassals with a large population but not much land. Therefore, there is a surplus population. And most of you are in a poor financial situation, and you really want to get some money.

But the Duke of Lorraine jumped out and objected:

"That won't work. Each household has one strong man. If you recruit strong men as soldiers, wouldn't that increase your military strength in disguise? At that time, if you recruit tens of thousands more soldiers, the threat to everyone will be too great!"

When the princes thought about it, it was true, so they stopped thinking about making this money...

But Marin said:

"Don't worry, everyone, you can screen the poor people you sent first. For example, the 30,000 households sent from Austria, His Majesty the Emperor will screen them first, and all the ones given to me are thin or timid farmers. Such people , Even if you give it to me, you can't become a heroic soldier. So, you can do the same..."

Marin deliberately stated the characteristics of Austrian immigrants, but in fact he told everyone cryptically that His Majesty the Emperor was also guarding against me, and we are not as close as you think...

Frederick III and a few quick-witted people immediately figured out the key point and showed joy on their faces-as long as Marin does not give up his life for the Habsburg family, it will be a great thing.

...

Next, the atmosphere eased a lot. Then, under Marin's deliberate guidance, the topic slowly shifted to commercial trade.

For example, Duke William IV of Bavaria happily chatted with Marin about the sale of salt. Marin also intends to open up the markets of these vassal states, and he also gave a 20% discount to the wholesale price in a face-saving manner, leaving enough profit for this man.

As for the idea of ​​Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, acting as an agent for spirits sales, Marin also agreed. After all, sweet potato burning is going to be done in the future, and the cost of drinks is low, which is a good thing to open up more markets.

In addition, Marin also reached an intention of sugar trade cooperation with some princes. The sugarcane plantation in Cuba has been scaled up, and the sugar production is increasing. It is time to find sales channels. It was sold through the "Small Chamber of Commerce" before, and the exploitation along the way was too severe. It is more cost-effective to cooperate directly with these princes.

Of course, Marin did not say that the sucrose was self-produced, but that it was transported and sold from the far east. In this way, there is a reason for the high price.

In addition, even in the Principality of Lorraine, which had the worst relationship because of the previous mutual confrontation, Marin agreed to buy more iron ore. Of course, according to the market price.

Although the ore of the Lorraine Iron Mine is of poor quality, it is no problem to smelt it into pig iron and then use it to make farm tools. And these farm tools can also be sold to these princes...

In short, the following meeting changed from a scene of mutual confrontation to a large-scale trade fair, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Everyone has benefited, and the only one who has lost the most is probably King Francois I of France who has lost the qualification to run for the next emperor...

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