The Rise of the European Emperor

♂ , !

Both parties in the negotiation have their own requirements and bottom lines. Frederick III proposed that he could pay reparations. In addition to the ransom of more than one million gulden gold coins from the captured 15,000 Saxon troops, he is also willing to pay hundreds of thousands of gold coins in addition to 2 million gulden gold coins to redeem Wittenberg and his younger brother's family. and the great nobles of the electorate of Saxony.

As for ceding territories, Frederick III was absolutely reluctant. Saxony has already been divided into two after the Leipzig split. If the territory is ceded to Marin, there is really not much space left. Now, the territory of the Electorate of Saxony is less than 10,000 square kilometers. When the territory is ceded, the Electorate of Saxony is really no different from an ordinary duchy.

Therefore, Frederick III's attitude was - you can lose money, but you can't cede territory...

Besides, the electorate of Saxony has more than twenty cities, all of which have developed industry and commerce. The 2 million Gulden gold coins look very scary, and most principalities can't get them to death. But the electorate of Saxony is different. The industry and commerce of the electorate of Saxony can be regarded as the most developed part of the German region. Moreover, Saxony's industry and commerce are complementary. It is not pure commerce, but a combination of developed handicrafts and commerce. Coupled with the convenient water transportation on the Elbe, it is not surprising that it has developed here.

Although he despised Frederick III, the old fox, Marin had to admit that, without the support of modern knowledge, the Saxony region was the region that attached the most importance to industry and commerce. And Frederick III was also one of the few German princes who attached great importance to business.

The princes of Germany were generally poor and only knew how to find food in the barren land. Therefore, they are generally poor. It would be very difficult for an ordinary duke to take out 200,000 gold coins.

However, the electorate of Saxony is different. When the Elector of Ernst split his family, he specially selected the most fertile and flat north, as well as most of the prosperous cities. The Duchy of Saxony, left to the Duke of Albrecht, has many mountains and relatively few cities.

Therefore, the electorate of Saxony is not only developed in industry and commerce, but also in agriculture. It is a very rich country. Frederick III was able to become the leader of the princes. In addition to his wisdom, it also had a lot to do with his wealth.

Just like in later generations, Wang Wanda and Ma Taobao are very rich, and they are regarded as classics when they say anything casually. Even if it is not necessarily possible to get money from the rich local tyrant Frederick III, the princes usually flatter him.

From the harvest of the looting of Wittenberg alone, Marin knew that losing money was nothing to Frederick III. Because, Frederick III was a rare local aristocrat in Germany in this era.

But the problem is, Marin is not short of money...

As a traveler who has mastered modern agricultural technology and the use of low-cost, high-return coal cooking salt technology,

Marin was neither short of money nor food. All he lacks is land and status.

Therefore, Marin naturally did not agree with Frederick III's proposal of losing money without ceding land.

The plan proposed by Marin is to pay according to the money, mainly the ransom, and compensate according to the market price. In addition, the electorate of Saxony needs to cede territory equivalent to an ordinary counties. Probably, equivalent to two or three thousand square kilometers. Anyway, Marin made the request according to the area standard of the counties of East Friesland...

Frederick III was immediately blown away. The Electoral State of Saxony currently only covers an area of ​​1,000 square kilometers. If you want to take away 3,000 square kilometers of land, it does not mean that you will take away one-third of the Electoral State of Saxony. country?

You must know that when Elector Ernst was selecting land, he specially selected places with many cities, flat terrain and fertile land, leaving only the second-class areas for his younger brother Albrecht. So the electorate of Saxony is not barren and barren, but prosperous and fertile everywhere. Marin wants one-third of the land of the electorate of Saxony with one mouth, which is almost the life of the electorate of Saxony! Moreover, with such a large area, it is inevitable that several cities will be cut away. And the commercial prosperity of the city, with a lot of taxes, no one wants to cede it to others!

Therefore, Frederick III hurriedly jumped out and loudly opposed Marin's request to cede territory. But I didn't expect that Marin now has the Pope on the scene to support him, and his self-confidence is bursting. So, like a kindergarten teacher roaring a bear child, he loudly accused and reprimanded Frederick III.

An old fox like Frederick III could endure it, and if he changed to another prince, he might have to draw a knife against Marin. Of course, Frederick III could not wait to hack Marin to death at this time. But he knew that he was no match for Marin, whether it was one-on-one or a group fight. So, he endured it.

However, at this juncture, Frederick III accidentally caught a glimpse of the anger on the faces of the surrounding princes - obviously, they were also dissatisfied with Marin's arrogant behavior...

Therefore, the wise Frederick III suddenly thought of a very good way - pretend to be pitiful and sympathetic...

Frederick III deeply knew that in Germany, a country that admires knights, the princes and nobles, although degenerate and decadent, still have a sense of honor and responsibility of knights in their hearts. This is passed down from generation to generation by noble families. Because all the nobles and nobles present, most of their ancestors developed from knights or knight lords.

And the virtues of knights have a very important quality, and that is - pity...

What is mercy? It means sympathy for the weak. Although the sympathy of the cunning nobles is weak, there is still a point.

Moreover, Marin has long been hacked into a villain at the level of a big devil. Under the preconceived thinking, most of the princes present, especially the secular princes, were not interested in Marin.

Now, because of the support of the Pope, Marin is too confident, and even a little arrogant.

Frederick III understood that if he fought against Marin at this time, he would be overwhelmed by the other party in his momentum, and it was almost impossible to suppress the other party.

Therefore, he decided to do the opposite - to pretend to be pitiful, in order to win the sympathy and mercy of the princes... At the same time, he also took the position of the villain of Marin...

After understanding this, in the face of Marin's aggressive and unreasonable reprimands, Frederick III pretended to be frightened, took a few steps back, and almost fell...

Seeing Frederick III's terrified look, Marin, who had just finished spraying the other party, was also stunned - what's the situation? Are my words so destructive?

Immediately afterwards, a situation that subverted his cognition occurred——

Frederick III was terrified, and then turned into grief. He bowed to Marin and said in a pleading tone:

"I beg you, don't cede the land of Saxony! It's my fault that I started the war. I was only moved by my sister's cry, and I sent troops to Denmark when my mind became hot. If the land left by my ancestors is ceded, I will die after my death. How to face the heroic spirits of the ancestors of the Wetin family?"

"It's all my fault. Please don't take away the Wei Ting family's fief! If you don't get rid of the hatred, I can sacrifice my life to appease your anger! But please don't deprive us of Wei Ting. Family hereditary land!"

After speaking, Frederick III closed his eyes with tears in his eyes, as if waiting for Marin to kill him to vent his anger...