King of German Mercenaries

The ideal is full, but the reality is very skinny. Marin is still figuring out how to smack the Saxons, and the Saxons smother him first...

When Marin sent messengers to the surrounding four countries, Prince George of Saxony, who was guarding Groningen, also inquired about Marin sending Geoffrey Palace Chancellor to Vienna to request the canonization.

So, Prince George, sent a Pegasus directly to Albrecht, Duke of Saxony in Dresden. At the same time, George also sent people to go to Vienna on horseback, asking the emperor not to agree to Marin's request for the time being.

Geoffrey was a civil servant, so naturally he rode in a carriage, so he didn't travel fast. And George's subordinates are directly rushing. So, despite the departure date being a few days apart, they arrived in Vienna on the same day.

Maximilian I was astonished to hear Geoffrey speak about Marin. That little guy named Marin was just a little wandering knight who came to defect to him four years ago. Now, has he grown to a level capable of conquering the next country?

"Jeffrey, you said that Marin captured East Friesland? As far as I know, East Friesland is not weak. I remember that more than ten years ago, the armies of East Friesland and Münster, They also jointly defeated the Earl of Oldenburg and forced Gerhard VI to step down..."

The emperor's words revealed the inside story of Oldenburg's support for the Yevre rebellion - it turned out to be a grudge...

That incident happened in 1483. At that time, after the death of the former King Christian I of Denmark in 1481, the Crown Prince Hans did not succeed immediately, but had to wait for the three parliaments of the Kalmar Union - the Danish Parliament, the Norwegian Parliament and the Norwegian The coronation can only be crowned after the recognition of the Parliament and the Riksdag.

However, Sweden was divided at the time, so, in fact, only the Danish Parliament and the Norwegian Parliament approved the succession of Prince Hans to the throne. However, this delay is two years. Christian I died in 1481, and Prince Hans was only granted the throne in 1483.

It was precisely because Denmark was in a chaotic period of the alternation of old and new at that time that the counties of East Friesland and the Bishopric of Münster at that time jointly dispatched troops and severely taught Gerhard VI, who was very rampant at the time, to prevent Austrian. Oldenburg's expansion attempts also forced Gerhard VI to abdicate and let his son Adolf ascend to the position of Count of Oldenburg.

The timing of sending troops from the two countries is quite good. The new king of Denmark has not yet been decided. Hans, a member of the Oldenburg family, has not yet become the official king of Denmark. How can he support his uncle? So, Oldenburg was beaten badly at the time. After that, Hans had just ascended the throne and was busy sorting out the domestic situation, but he did not help Oldenburg to retaliate. However, when King Hans gained a firm foothold in Denmark, neither East Friesland nor the Bishopric of Münster would use force against Oldenburg.

Maximilian I remembered that in 1483, East Frisian dispatched a total of 3,000 troops, united with 4,000 people from the Bishopric of Münster, and beat the Earl of Oldenburg to such a degree that he could not take care of himself, and the capital was besieged. of. If it weren't for the unspoken rules among nobles, one could not kill anyone casually, and if Gerhard VI's nephew was about to become the king of Denmark, Gerhard VI might be sliced...

In any case, East Frisian's troops must be in the thousands. But according to Geoffrey, it took Marin less than a month to completely pacify the entire East Frisian, how could he not shock Maximilian I?

"Cough cough... That's right, Your Majesty, Count Marin is the blood heir of the Blok family that ruled East Frisian for hundreds of years... So, in East Frisland, there are still many people who support Lord Marin Yes." This is what Marin and Jeffrey negotiated. Marin also felt that the quick victory over East Frisian was too mythical. In order to convince the emperor more, he decided to be humble. At the same time, let the emperor know that I am also very popular in East Frisian, so that it will appear more orthodox...

"What exactly is that?"

"Mrs. Mary, the mother of Lord Marin,

She is the granddaughter of the last Earl of Bullock. She was rescued by Lord Hoffman when she fled, so she married Knight Hoffman. "

"I see... that's not right... I remember that Marin is a wandering knight, which means that he should have a brother. According to the law, even if his mother is the granddaughter of Earl Bullock, the heir should also be It's his brother..."

"That's right, Your Majesty, Lord Marin's older brother, His Excellency Adler, signed a document declaring his renunciation of the inheritance right before Lord Marin attacked East Frisian. Now, Lord Adler is Baron Lyle... …”

"Haha...that's a good way..." The emperor smiled irrefutably. In his opinion, Marin must have used some means to coerce the document signed by his brother. After all, Marin was a baron, and Adler was a knight before.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Marin is your loyal minister and follower. Therefore, he hopes to join the Imperial Parliament and give you an extra vote in the Parliament for Your Majesty..."

The Reichstag is a high-level council that brings together all the dukes and counts in the German region. Even the emperor, in the imperial council, is only one of the most important members. In the face of major events, we still need to vote. For example, to increase the war tax, it needs to be voted by the imperial parliament. The last time Maximilian I quarreled with the councillors in Worms, he missed the drama of intercepting the French army in the Italian war.

Moreover, the lowest entry to the Imperial Council is the Earl. Not only that, but most of the imperial parliamentarians are dukes and earls with autonomous territories. Only a small number of members are dukes and earls who serve the emperor's court without independent territories. For example, the Habsburg family, there are several counts without independent territories, in the imperial parliament, help the emperor to quarrel and vote.

If Marin officially becomes an earl and joins the Imperial Council, it will indeed give the emperor an extra vote and help boost his voice during quarrels.

Although the former counties of East Frisland were recognized as princes, the German states looked down on the small seaside "barbarian" states like East Frisland. Therefore, the Imperial Parliament, other counties have seats, but East Frisian counties do not have seats. In the eyes of other vassals, the original count of East Frisian was just a barbarian chief, and was not worthy of joining a gathering that only real nobles could attend like the Imperial Parliament...

This time, Marin not only wanted to get the canonization of the emperor, but also wanted to join the imperial parliament, get the official recognition of the whole of Germany, and officially integrate into the circle of the great aristocrats in Europe.

The emperor was originally very moved, and he and Geoffrey also had a good chat in the morning. But at ten noon, George's messenger arrived, and the emperor received a letter of request from George. Then, in the afternoon, when Geoffrey requested the emperor's canonization, the emperor began to "look at him" and began to talk about him, but he refused to answer Geoffrey's request directly...

In fact, the Emperor was waiting for a letter from the Duke of Saxony. Because, Prince George wants the emperor to change his position, it is still very difficult. Because, Prince George is not qualified to command the emperor.

However, Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was qualified to ask the emperor to do business. Because the Saxon nobles are too powerful. In 1516, the Saxons were able to gather 24 princes to send troops to East Frisland, which proved that the Saxons were numerous and powerful.

The Emperor needs help in the Imperial Council, so the Saxons are obviously a good ally. Because, the Saxon department has more than 20 votes, which can give the emperor a strong momentum. Moreover, the emperor now has very few allies, so he cannot offend the Saxons.

Sure enough, a few days later, the Duke of Saxony also wrote. The Duke of Saxony not only asked the emperor not to recognize Marin, but also to declare Marin illegal.

This time the emperor is not happy, no matter what, Marin is also a gold medalist under his own hands. If you don't let me admit him, forget it, and let me declare him illegal, is it too much to take the emperor as a cadre?

Thinking of the last meeting with Marin in Cliff City, Marin once said that the Saxons are too powerful, which may affect the Habsburg family's monopoly on the throne. ...

In the end, the emperor decided not to recognize Marin's legal status, but also not to declare Marin illegal, but to maintain an ambiguous attitude for the time being, making people uncertain...

So the emperor sent the messenger from Saxony and promised not to recognize Marin as earl, but made no mention of outlawing Marin. However, the emperor hinted that if the Saxons wanted to do something, go ahead, the emperor would not object anyway...

Then, the emperor sent Geoffrey away graciously, but did not say anything about the official canonization. However, the emperor hinted that Geoffrey - the Saxons are interested in East Frisian, prepare for battle...

In this way, His Majesty the Emperor, because he was afraid of the power of the Saxons, and feared that his subordinates would be chilled, simply made a mess of mud, and came to both sides not to offend.

Even, the emperor also hoped that the two sides would fight fiercely, and it was best for Marin to repel the Saxons' attack. Because, he is also afraid that the Wetin family will challenge the throne of the Habsburg family. You must know that the Wei Ting family is also one of the seven emperors, and is qualified to be elected emperor. Therefore, the emperor's heart is actually somewhat biased towards Marin's side...