The Rise of the European Emperor

Time soon arrived in July, and Marin took a team of cavalry escorts south to Worms, 40 kilometers south of Mainz, where the Imperial Parliament was held.

According to the decree of the Holy Roman Empire, the seven emperors have other positions in the empire. For example, the first-ranked Archbishop of Mainz is the electoral convenor, the Regent and Prime Minister of the Reich, and the Grand Chancellor of the German Region. The Archbishop of Cologne is the Grand Chancellor of Burgundy, and the Archbishop of Trier is the Grand Chancellor of Italy.

However, because the regions of Italy and Burgundy have long been out of the control of the empire. Therefore, the Grand Chancellor of the Archbishop of Cologne and the Archbishop of Trier has a false reputation. Therefore, only the Archbishop of Mainz, the Grand Chancellor of the German Region, lives up to its name. Therefore, the actual host of the Imperial Parliament is the Electoral Marquis of Mainz. In order to accommodate the Archbishop of Mainz, the venue for the Imperial Parliament was simply placed in Worms, which is within the Archbishopric of Mainz, only 40 kilometers away from the city of Mainz.

As a newcomer to the Imperial Council, Marin naturally had to go to the top of the mountain to pay homage to the boss of the Council. So, before the parliament was convened, Marin brought a box of treasures and visited the Archbishop of Mainz, Berthold von Hennenberg.

Archbishop Berthold of Mainz had complicated feelings for Marin. Obviously, Marin was promoted by Emperor Maximilian I and was the emperor's person. But now, instead of serving in the presence of Maximilian I, Marin chose to become a separatist prince, and he also laid down an earl that was said to have been passed down from his grandfather, and became an earl. In fact, Marin's current status is similar to that of the Archbishop of Mainz, they are all vassals of the separatist regime. However, Marin's political stance leaned towards the emperor. For this, the Archbishop has some understanding. Because, waiting for the old princes, he did not accept him at all, so Marin could only choose to continue to hold the emperor's thigh. However, considering that Marin had sent gold and silver jewelry worth more than 20,000 gold coins twice in a row, Archbishop Berthold decided to allow Marin to enter the Imperial Council. Anyway, the seat of a secular prince is nothing.

After that, Marin took advantage of the fact that the meeting had not yet been held, and took the treasure chest to visit several other electors except King Vladislas III of Bohemia.

Among the several electors, Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, had the most complicated mood. In the previous battle of Lys County, Frederick III suffered a lot of losses. Because, in the last war, Albrecht, the former Duke of Saxony, also borrowed a lot of troops and horses from the Electoral State of Saxony. During the battle, many soldiers and horses belonging to the Electoral State of Saxony were also killed and wounded. Therefore, it is difficult for Frederick III to have a favorable impression of Marin.

However, it's not Marlin's fault either. Because, it was his uncle Albrecht who started the trouble, not Marin. Therefore, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, had the most complicated feelings for Marin, and some did not know whether to support Marin. Even if he accepted Marin's heavy gift, he was not sure.

In fact, Marin did not have much hope for Frederick III. Because, after all, the relationship between the two sides is not good. The reason why Marin insisted on giving him gifts was because he did not want Frederick III to hinder him in the imperial parliament.

After all, the public office of the Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire is the imperial marshal and the highest general of the whole empire. His prestige is huge and his influence is also great. Although Marin has bribed many Saxon nobles. However, if Frederick III strongly opposed it at the imperial meeting, it is difficult to guarantee that no Saxon nobles would rebel and choose to oppose. Therefore, even though Marin knew that there was little hope, he still gave him a heavy gift, so that the other party would not make trouble for him.

In fact, this time the imperial meeting was mainly to adjust the conflict between the emperor and Switzerland who were fighting fiercely. Now, the two sides are fighting inextricably and fiercely. The Swiss have the upper hand, but the emperor has a natural barrier,

Not too much danger.

It's just that the emperor couldn't bear to have the army trapped in the Graubünden area and torn between Switzerland. After all, the 10,000-strong army is almost the majority of the royal family's power. Being trapped in Graubünden is not conducive to protecting territories such as Austria and Burgundy.

Moreover, the continuation of the war, the consumption of resources is also huge, and the amount of money spent every day is countless. This made the emperor feel distressed, so he asked the Archbishop of Mainz, who was the Grand Chancellor, to convene an imperial conference to urge the Swiss to stop the attack. Or, link the economic pressure by having the emperor collect a war tax from the states or imperial free cities by declaring the Swiss as treasonous.

In fact, the Imperial Parliament holds a regular meeting every year. The Archbishop of Mainz was not willing to meet the emperor's conditions, but as the nominal prime minister, he could not give the emperor no face at all.

In private, the Archbishop of Mainz had already discussed it with the other electors. In the end, their response was to verbally condemn the Swiss for their actions, but not to impose any actual penalties on the Swiss.

In other words, everyone decided to sympathize with the emperor on the surface and shouted verbally. But the actual benefits, they will not give the emperor. Otherwise, the emperor defeated the Swiss and became stronger, maybe he would come to clean up the princes...

Sure enough, after the new imperial meeting was held, the princes were very tacit understanding. When the Emperor proposed that Marin join the Imperial Council, everyone had received benefits and felt that it was no big deal. Therefore, most people choose to support. The elector of Saxony, Frederick III, chose to abstain, and most of the other Saxon nobles voted in favor. With more than two-thirds of the votes cast, Marin finally won a seat. In the future, Marin could choose to participate in the Imperial Council in person, or he could send a representative. After all, his seat doesn't have much say in the Imperial Council, and it doesn't matter whether he comes to the Imperial Council or not. Unlike the Archbishop of Mainz and others, who are the leaders of the Imperial Parliament, they naturally have to come forward in person and stir up the world at the Imperial Parliament.

But then, when the emperor offered to punish the "rebellious" Swiss confederation, the princes were in tacit understanding. On the surface, everyone "strongly condemned" the Swiss expansion. But in fact, when the emperor asked the imperial parliament to approve his collection of war taxes, most of them expressed their opposition.

The princes believed that the conflict between the emperor and the Swiss occurred in the Holy Roman Empire, and it belonged to the hegemony among the princes, not a foreign war. In general, the hegemony between princes is not eligible to collect war tax in the empire. Unless it is a foreign war like the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, everyone will approve it. Before, when the Italian war broke out, the princes also did not agree to levy a war tax, also because the war did not break out in Germany. If the French army invaded the German region, the princes would be able to quickly unify their opinions. But the French did not call, and the princes had no interest in interfering. Moreover, they were also afraid that the emperor would take the opportunity to become bigger and stronger.

Therefore, as usual, most of the princes chose to suppress the emperor. On the surface, they issued a joint statement condemning the Swiss for their expansion. But in fact, this is useless, just like the "solemn statement" issued by the foreign ministry of a certain country in the future, it is all bluffing and has no practical significance...

Marin wanted to help the emperor raise the flag, but he was only approved to join the imperial parliament today, and he had no right to speak at all. Even if he said it, it made no difference if he didn't. Moreover, if it arouses the disgust of the princes, there is a possibility that the membership of the councilor just obtained will be disqualified on the spot...

Therefore, Marin could only shrug his shoulders to the emperor, expressing his helplessness...

After the Imperial Conference, Marin paid a solo visit to the Emperor. Marin told the emperor that it was not impossible to defeat the Swiss. For example, the general he sent to support the emperor, Frenzberg, was a very good general. If the emperor can use Frenzberg to train the army, the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army can be further improved. At that time, the Swiss will not be a threat...

For Marin's suggestion, Maximilian I was a little skeptical. However, he still intends to give it a small try (let Franzberg train part of the Austrian army). After all, whenever there was a chance of defeating the Swiss, Maximilian I was unwilling to give up...