The Rise of the European Emperor

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() After clearing his throat, Frederick III continued:

"Do you know? The 20,000 main force led by Marin himself did not lose in the frontal battle against the Swiss mercenaries. That day, we were fighting against Marin's 20,000 main force. It seems that if 50,000 soldiers fight against 20,000, they will win anyway..."

"But who knows, suddenly 20,000 troops rushed out from the side and launched a fierce attack on our army. Among them, 10,000 people broke up my Saxon army. And another 10,000 (actually 8,000), then I rushed to the rear of our army. I mobilized the Swiss to resist, but those Swiss mercenaries with strong fighting power were quickly routed..."

Most of the princes present had never dealt with the Swiss mercenaries. They didn't know that the Swiss mercenaries were all old, weak and sick. They were naturally shocked when they heard it. Of course, even the old, weak, sick and disabled of the Swiss would have no problem dealing with the army of ordinary German princes.

"That is to say... the 20,000 troops that rushed over later were also elites with strong combat power, not some conscripts who made up the number..." Frederick III continued.

"But, everyone tells me - except for the Marin guy, who in the whole of Germany has 40,000 soldiers who are not inferior to the Swiss mercenaries? Who has it? The emperor has it or which Elector has it?" Frederick III exclaimed excitedly.

And his cry also shook the hearts of all the princes present, causing them to panic. Yes, in the whole of Germany, who can pull up a team of 40,000 powerful soldiers who are not inferior to the Swiss... Suddenly, a chill rises from the soles of the feet of the princes present...

Frederick III was in a state of madness, and he continued to say excitedly:

"Everyone, I'm finished! The 650-year-old Saxony is finished! Including Joachim of Brandenburg, we are finished this time. We two unlucky bastards will not only lose our ancestral inheritance, but may even go to hell. But, we won't be lonely. All of you here, maybe come back to accompany us soon! Haha..."

"Lord Frederick, what do you mean?" On the side, Frederick III's brother-in-law, Henry Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, asked with a frown. In fact, he was a nurse arranged by Frederick III,

The two discussed in advance and discussed the lines...

"Henry, maybe, the first person to accompany me will be you...you know? That guy Marlin has 40,000 elite soldiers, plus the support of His Excellency the Pope. He is about to occupy Brandenburg now. And Saxony, you think, where will his next goal be?"

"Is it my territory?" Duke Henry exclaimed deliberately.

"That's right! Your territory is just close to Oldenburg, and also close to the western part of the Elbe River in the Electorate of Brandenburg. Moreover, Lüneburg under your control is a salt-producing area, a very enviable place. The place. The other party is so powerful and has the support of the Holy See. Maybe, his next goal is to capture your Lüneburg. With Lüneburg, his financial resources will be greatly increased... In the future, he may expand his army to 50,000 people. The above... At that time, no one in Germany will be able to stop him... Maybe, without joining forces with the Habsburg family, Marin can unite Germany alone..." Frederick III looks like a crazy old woman Like a man, chattering and saying...

However, the princes on the side were frightened by the terrible prospect described by Frederick III...

But think about it carefully, what Frederick III said is not crazy, but very likely to become reality.

After all, Marin does have 40,000 soldiers, which many princes have confirmed. Even if there is an error, it will not be too much. Moreover, they did defeat the 50,000-strong coalition force of the Bursa coalition.

With such a strong strength, no prince in Germany is an opponent, not even the Habsburg family. Because the soldiers of the Habsburg family were only about 50,000. Ordinary electors are like 10,000 soldiers. Moreover, the issue of the combat effectiveness of an army of the same size must also be considered. At this point, according to the description of Frederick III, the combat effectiveness of the East Frisian army may be no less than that of the Swiss mercenaries. If you don't join forces, almost no one will be able to fight Marin's army alone...

Frederick III was still there chattering to the nurse, Duke Henry:

"Did you know, Henry? My electorate of Saxony has more than twenty cities, and the business district of Saxony is also the second largest business district of the Hanseatic League. If my electorate of Saxony is annexed by Marin, then Marin will be With enough capital, he can pull up an army of 20,000. Well, including Brandenburg and your Lüneburg, this guy should have enough capital to pull up an army of 70,000 or 80,000. There is no problem in dominating Germany... At that time, even if the German princes unite, they may not be able to beat Marin..."

"Then...then what should we do?" As a qualified supporting actor, Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the performance also performed exceptionally well. Of course, half of his anxiety was fake, and the other half was really worried. Therefore, he played so well, without any trace of acting.

"Unless the princes of Germany unite to limit his gains from this war. In particular, don't let him get too many rich areas. Otherwise, no one can stop him..." Frederick III Shen Shen sound.

However, after a pause, Frederick III shook his head again and said:

"But that is impossible, because, with the support of the Pope, those bishops have no courage to put pressure on Marin. And the secular princes are not united enough. Therefore, we can only watch Marin become stronger and complete Germany. The unity of..."

At this time, on the side of the religious princes, a person stood up...

After a closer look, it turned out to be the Archbishop of Magdeburg, Ernst II. Then, everyone came to their senses...

why? Because the Archbishop of Magdeburg, Ernst II, was the younger brother of Frederick III...

Frederick III's father, Elector Ernst, had seven children in total. Among them, the eldest daughter Christina was the Queen of Denmark, and the second born eldest son, Frederick III, was the Elector. And the third child is Archbishop Ernst...

As for Johann, he was actually the fifth child of Elector Ernst. There were also brothers named Adalbert in front of him. Unfortunately, Prince Adalbert died in 1484. Only 17 years old. Otherwise, the position of the elector will not be succeeded by John. As for Margaret, the sixth child of Elector Ernst, the wife of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was the nurse of Frederick III...

Historically, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg was the first religious princely state to accept Martin Luther's Protestant ideas. Because, the archbishop of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg is the younger brother of Frederick III. Although, by the time Martin Luther went to Magdeburg, Archbishop Ernst had already died. However, he was succeeded by Albert IV of Brandenburg, the Hohenzollern family from Saxony allies. Moreover, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg is on the edge of the electorate of Saxony. Therefore, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg easily accepted Martin Luther's mission, and later became the first religious princely state to convert to Protestantism, which had a great impact on the German region.

Of course, this is a very bad influence for Catholics. So much so that, during the Thirty Years' War, the imperial army representing the Catholic forces, after the attack on Magdeburg, slaughtered the city in Magdeburg, killing 20,000 residents. There were only 20,000 people in the city at that time). In the end, the city of Magdeburg was left with only 400 inhabitants…

Archbishop Ernst stood up, and everyone knew that he was going to support his brother...

Sure enough, I only heard Archbishop Ernst say:

"His Majesty's decree seems to only mention that he is not allowed to join the coalition that attacked Marin, right? We put pressure on Marin not to let him get too many benefits, and it does not violate the content of the Pope's decree..."

Although he only said this sentence, it awakened many religious princes - yes, the Pope issued an order not to let Marin be hit. However, through political pressure to reduce Marin's income, you can't be a pope, can you? There is no good reason...

Therefore, many religious princes nodded after making eye contact, intending to help put some pressure on Marin to prevent him from over-inflating.

At this moment, Frederick III came again:

"By the way, do you know? After this war, we may have to call Marin His Majesty the King... Tsk tsk, he was just a wandering knight 11 years ago, in our eyes, he is not a p, but now we must be What about the king... Later, when we see him, we will bow down to him first..."

The princes present were taken aback, but soon understood - this time Marin was said to have defeated Denmark again. The Danish royal family has two crowns. Not sure, Marin will take one away...

"Can't stop him from becoming king?" asked Duke Henry, the nurse.

"Then it depends on the determination of everyone here..." Frederick III said after scanning the audience lightly.

At this time, Philip the Elector of the Palatine stood up and asked;

"Then, Lord Frederick, how should we intervene in the negotiations between you? We can't go to the front together and take part in your negotiations, can we? It's not very legal!"

Although Elector Philip accepted Marin's money, he only promised not to participate in the siege of Marin. As an elector, Philip was also very afraid of Marin's over-expansion. So, he was happy to help put pressure on Marin, too.

Frederick III thought for a while and said:

"Then I'll put the negotiation venue in Worms. When everyone stays in Worms, there is a reason to intervene in the negotiation. After all, this is the seat of the Imperial Parliament. It is reasonable to place major negotiations here. In favor of everyone's intervention..."

For a time, most of the princes chose to support. After all, they are also afraid that Marlin is too powerful and threatens them...

In the end, although Frederick III failed to convene the army, he received the support of most of the princes in the negotiation - including many religious princes...