The Rise of the European Emperor

"Not moving?" Arnold, Old Kusen and others were a little stunned. They had never seen someone in power who didn't want such a big interest.

"Yes, Bishop Conrad has a few years to live. If I temporarily move the 50,000 Eugram's interest field and continue to keep it as it is, you say, if I take over the Bishopric of Munster, will it be better? Go well?"

"That's for sure!" Old Kusen and the others confirmed in a very positive tone.

"The reason why the bishop's seat of the Bishopric of Munster is so hot is because of the relationship between the 10,000 Eugram interest fields. This is a huge income of tens of thousands of gold coins every year. At the beginning, Bishop Conrad was in order to obtain the Bishop of Munster. Not only did he spend 150,000 gold coins for the position of bishop, but he also gave 100,000 gold coins to the Archbishop of Cologne. Otherwise, this fat shortage would not be his turn! It can be said that the Bishop of Münster is the only bishop in addition to the three electoral bishops. Besides, one of the biggest bishops in Oil and Water."

"This guy spent 250,000 gold coins to campaign? Where did he get so much money? Isn't the country of Rietberg a poor country?" Marin was very surprised.

"Isn't he the Bishop of Osnabruck then? He used the land of the Bishop of Osnabruck as collateral, and the usury borrowed by the Hanseatic merchants, but it was worth it. Bishop Conrad spent It took more than 4 years to pay off the loan shark, and now, it has just made a profit. Therefore, he is not happy for you to take over the Bishopric of Munster."

"If you are willing to keep their interests, my lord, then everything is negotiable. Even, Bishop Conrad may be willing to give you some of the land of the 250,000 Eugram Church!"

"So exaggerated?" Marin was taken aback.

"Of course, the land of the church is all public land, and Bishop Conrad is at most greedy in the tithe. The bulk of it has to be handed over to the Archbishop of Cologne. In addition to the huge expenditure of the Bishopric of Munster, in fact Bishop Conrad Not much. But the land of 10,000 Eugrams is different, half of the income can go to him." Brother Arnold interjected.

After hesitating for a while, old Kusen said:

"My lord, in fact, if you are willing to keep Bishop Conrad's 50,000 Eugram's interests. Then, I think Bishop Conrad and his subordinates will find a way to take North Munster's 20,000 yuan. Eugram's land was transferred to you as compensation..."

"What? The church's land can also be obtained?" Marin stood up in surprise.

"What's the point? For their own interests, harming the interests of some churches is nothing to Bishop Conrad and his subordinates." Old Kusen said indifferently.

"Although, you can't take the initiative to covet and snatch the land of the church.

However, the administrator of the church, taking the initiative to give you the land, is nothing. After all, you are now the lord of Münster, and it is reasonable for the church to transfer some of the land to you. "

After thinking about it, Marin was right. The church in the Bishopric of Munster occupied most of the land. As the new lord, he couldn't have any benefits. Otherwise, when this lord does it?

"So, what price will I have to pay?"

"It's very simple, don't care about the 50,000 Eugram interest fields until Bishop Conrad dies. As long as you agree to this, they will be willing to find a way to compensate you." Old Kusen said.

"Yes, according to the rules, the handover of territory between lords does need to hand over the manor in the territory that belonged to the previous lord. The Bishopric of Munster is a special case and belongs to the church. However, the church has 250,000 Ugram arable land, although It can't be handed over all, but it should be handed over part of it. Otherwise, your lord is basically empty." Brother Arnold also agreed.

In this era, lords were not eligible to levy tithes, and could only rely on the output of their manor to maintain expenses. Therefore, the lords are very poor. If a piece of territory is obtained, but the cultivated land is not obtained, then there is not much difference from not getting the territory. After all, not every noble territory has developed commercial activities for the lord to collect taxes.

"By the way, where are those interest fields? Where are the fiefdoms of the 80 church knights? Why didn't I see those 80 church knights in this battle?" Marin suddenly remembered that there were still 80 church knights. what.

"Those fields of interest are near the city of Munster. As for the 80 knights of the church, they are actually the commanders of the conscripts who were recruited temporarily. However, because Bishop Conrad chose to surrender, you did not see them. Now, they should be waiting for you to take over in the small barracks behind Münster Cathedral."

"The barracks behind the church?" Marin didn't seem to notice this place in town.

"Yes, those 80 church knights, strictly speaking, belong to the lord's armed forces. However, they used to be stationed in the small barracks behind the church. According to the rules, you should take over them."

"Take over them? I don't need it..." Marin felt that since these 80 knights were church knights, it should be difficult for him to use them.

"No, my lord, you must take over them. Because, the fiefs of these 80 knights are all in the North Munster area. If you want to control North Munster, you must deal with them. The 50,000 Ugra in North Munster Most of Mu's non-church lands are in the hands of these 80 knights. If they are willing to give allegiance to you, then those lands will continue to be given to them. If anyone is unwilling to give allegiance to you, you can directly take back his fief !" Old Kusen said with certainty.

"I see... These guys actually own tens of thousands of Eugram's arable land?" Marin suddenly had the idea of ​​driving all 80 knights away, and then swallowing the tens of thousands of Eugram's arable land...

"My lord, since Bishop Conrad won't live for a few years, why don't you give him more benefits while he is alive, and then exchange for greater benefits?" Old Kusen suddenly offered a suggestion.

"what do you mean?"

"Now, it is Bishop Conrad who has handed over the Bishopric of Münster to you. If he refuses to give you some of the church's land, there is nothing you can do. Even if the Pope supports you, you cannot force Conrad. The bishop gives you the church land. Otherwise, the Pope will be accused by the clergy. Therefore, you can get as much church land as Bishop Conrad is willing to give you."

"You mean, let me give Bishop Conrad a favor in exchange for more arable land?"

"That's right, Bishop Conrad won't live for a few more years anyway. You can give him more benefits in the past few years and convince him to give you more of the church's 250,000 Eugram arable land. You know, for a while. The interests of the people are not comparable to a permanent fief."

Marlin thought about it, it was true. If Bishop Conrad gave himself 10,000 more Eugram's arable land, then he and his descendants would benefit forever. And you only need to pay for a short-term benefit.

"So, what should I do?"

"My lord, since Bishop Conrad has a few years to live. Moreover, you don't have enough civil servants. In this case, you might as well give up your rule of the South Munster area temporarily and concentrate on running the North Münster area. It is impossible for us, 180 people, to take over the entire Bishopric of Münster, but it is barely possible to take over North Münster."

"You mean, don't take over South Munster for a few years. Then, use this as a bargaining chip in exchange for Bishop Conrad to transfer more church land to me?" Marin asked uncertainly.

"Exactly, anyway, because of the shortage of talents, you will not be able to take over the entire Bishopric of Munster in a few years. It is better to entrust Bishop Conrad to manage the South Munster area where Bishop Conrad has a strong control. However, this It's not for nothing. Bishop Conrad needs to show his sincerity - give you more of the manor!"

"That is to say, in exchange for more permanent arable land in the South Munster area that is temporarily neglected?"

"Exactly, my lord, if there is no arable land, there is no output. The Bishopric of Munster is underdeveloped. Even if you take over the area of ​​South Munster, you will not receive a few taxes. And if Bishop Conrad is willing to The more arable land that originally belonged to the church will be handed over to you, and your benefits will be even greater. Moreover, after the death of Bishop Conrad, you can also take back the management rights of the South Munster area..."

"Give up the management rights of the South Munster area for a few years in exchange for more arable land... Cousin, how much arable land do you think Bishop Conrad will hand over to me?"

"I don't know, but there should still be 30,000 to 50,000 Ugram arable land."

"30,000 to 50,000 Ugrams? That's hundreds of thousands of acres of land? It seems like a good deal..."

"Of course it's worth it. You temporarily hand over the South Munster area to Bishop Conrad for a few years. I think Bishop Conrad is definitely willing to give you the entire North Munster area. At that time, our group of people, I can assist you to fully integrate North Münster, which borders East Friesland, into East Friesland, greatly increasing your actual control area."

When Malin thought about it, it was true. The North Münster area also had 4,300 square kilometers of land, and most of it was plain, which could be reclaimed. Now North Münster has only 70,000 Eugram arable land, equivalent to 566 square kilometers. In this way, there are still many fields that can be cultivated.

In the past few years, I will try my best to develop the North Münster area and make use of advanced agricultural technology. There is definitely no problem. Moreover, he could take advantage of the opportunity of dividing North and South Munster to expel Bishop Conrad and his people from the North Munster area. In this way, the secret of the high yield of agriculture in his own territory will not be known by Bishop Conrad and his people, fully avoiding the danger of leaking.

After all, the North Münster area was originally an area where the Bishopric of Münster was not valued, so it was easier for Conrad's troops to withdraw. In this way, it is very beneficial for him to establish isolation and dictatorship in the North Münster area, and to facilitate the secrecy of new agricultural technologies.

As for the South Munster area, the church is too powerful to keep secrets. Besides, Marin only had Bishop Conrad in charge for a few years. When he hangs up, Southminster will still be his own territory...

So, according to this idea, Marin drafted a "Münster North-South Partition Agreement". In the agreement, Marin allowed Bishop Conrad to continue to manage the secular affairs of the most developed South Munster region in the Bishopric of Münster during his lifetime. Of course, the ownership is still in Marin's hands. When Bishop Conrad dies, Southminster will go back to Marin. In addition, Marin did not touch the 50,000 Eugram's interest field before Bishop Conrad died.

In return, Bishop Conrad needs to withdraw all his horses and completely hand over the North Munster area to Marin, including control of the church in the North Munster area and the 20,000 Ugram arable land for the church. .

In addition, Bishop Conrad also needs to completely hand over the Bishopric of Osnabrück to himself, including the control of the church...

This agreement, although Marin demanded a lot. However, he is now the de jure lord of the Pope-authorized Bishopric of Münster and of Osnabrück. And Conrad, Bishop of Munster, has actually been deprived of the secular governance of the two countries. Therefore, Marin has given Bishop Conrad a lot of face in exchange for several years of secular governance in the prosperous South Münster area. The most important thing is that Bishop Conrad's own interests have not been damaged much. After all, in the past, his interests were mainly in the South Münster area.

Although, the Bishop of Conrad lost the interests of the Bishopric of Osnabrück. However, the interests of the Bishopric of Osnabrück are inherently limited. As long as the profit of the 10,000 Eugram's benefit field is not lost, Bishop Conrad can still accept it...