The Rise of the European Emperor

In Germany, where there are many princes, no country can imagine that it can single out other forces in the entire empire by itself. Therefore, the small princes should hold a group, or find the big princes as backers. And the big princes also need to find a group of younger brothers as allies to enhance their strength.

Therefore, the German region seems to have more than 200 large and small princes, but in fact, there are only a few forces. Mainly, the emperor faction headed by the Habsburg family, and the various local power factions headed by the seven great emperors. Of course, there are also some wealthy and powerful countries that do not need to depend on others and become one by themselves. For example, the Principality of Gede, which provoked the conflict in the Frisian region, can be self-contained because it is located in the fertile area of ​​the lower Rhine River, has good finances, and has convenient transportation.

In addition, John II, Duke of Cliff, can also form a system of its own. Because, he not only has the Principality of Clifford, but also the Country of Mark. The two countries are not small, and they can be regarded as the No. 1 power when added together. What's more, Engelbert, the second brother of John II, is also the earl of the Country of Nevers, and he is also one of these forces. What's more, John II's third brother, Philip, also became the head of the Teutonic Knights.

In addition, some quasi-powerful countries will also form a group to form a force. One of the representatives is the Swabian League. This is a group of nobles who are neither strong nor weak in the Swabian region, forming a self-preservation force. However, this force turned to the Habsburg family of Maximilian I.

The reason why Marin wanted to enter the Imperial Council was not only to gain the same diplomatic status as other princes, but also to gain allies by participating in the Imperial Council and avoid becoming a loner in the future.

Just like Prussia, which later agreed to Little Germany, in addition to its military strength, diplomatic efforts are also very important. Even the importance of diplomacy is no less than military efforts.

Who was Bismarck, Prime Minister of the Second German Reich? He is a diplomat. It was under his efforts that neither Britain nor Russia held back Germany, and even secretly supported it during the conflict between Germany and France. Therefore, Prussia defeated France, the European powerhouse at the time, and achieved a new status as a great power. This is inseparable from Bismarck's superb diplomacy.

Throughout his life, Bismarck emphasized the importance of maintaining good relations with Russia. Because, Bismarck knows that Saudi Arabia has a huge land area, strong mobilization ability and resilience. Therefore, when Bismarck was in power, he always chose to win over Tsarist Russia. In this way, it not only avoided a stalking and powerful opponent, but also ensured the stability of the eastern frontier, so that Prussia had enough energy to fight France one-on-one.

But in the period of Wilhelm II, this idiot not only offended Britain and France in the west, but also torn apart with Russia, and as a result, Germany was attacked by things. Even if the German army is strong, it cannot help but join forces between two fronts and three major empires. Its chosen allies are also two funny countries, Austria and Italy.

Therefore, the success or failure of diplomacy is directly related to the smoothness of the expansion process.

It should be pointed out that the reason why Prussia was able to rise in the 19th century, in addition to engaging in militarism, was also very important in the "German Customs Union" led by Prussia in 1834. Through this customs union, Prussia formed a close trade and interest union with most of the princes in northern Germany (except for a few states such as Bavaria in the south), and successfully excluded Austria from the small German region.

Through this customs union, Prussia issued a Taylor silver coin engraved with the head of the King of Prussia, allowing him to circulate in the German states. The subjects of the states who are accustomed to using the Prussian Taylor have no psychological rejection of surrendering to the German leadership. After all, every day they use the silver coin with the image of the King of Prussia...

Marin actually wants to establish an organization like the "German Customs Union" to unify the markets in the northern German region. But, this is a dream...

because,

The productivity of this era is completely different from the 19th century. In the 19th century, the world had entered the era of industrialization, and commodities were very rich and naturally circulated. At that time, tariffs became almost a very important part of the national fiscal revenue. Some small states live off the division of the customs union. Prussia could become the leader of the Customs Union because it included the Ruhr area into its own sphere of influence after the war, vigorously developed industry, and became the strongest industrial country in the Customs Union.

If it were another country, if the industry was underdeveloped, even the sponsoring country of the customs union would not be able to become the leader of the customs union.

In this era, not to mention industry, even agriculture, is lagging behind, and the circulation of commodities is extremely underdeveloped. Even the commercial channels in the German region were mostly in the hands of the Hanseatic League. The princes basically lived on land rent. Because of poverty, it was necessary to frequently borrow usury from big merchants or the Hanseatic League. If you can't afford it, you can use the privilege to pay off the debt, or use the mine to pay off the debt.

The first financial family of this era, the Fugger family, was the main lender of the Habsburg family. Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor because the Fugger family provided 850,000 gulden gold coins as bribe funds. In return, Charles V mortgaged many copper mines in Austria and Bohemia to the Fugger family.

However, the rulers of the Fugger family never imagined that there is a super-large copper mine in Fajron, Sweden. It didn't take long for the Fugger family to hold many copper mines in their hands, and Fa Yilun's super-large copper mine began to be developed on a large scale... Then, the copper price plummeted, and the Fugger family's investment shrunk a lot, and then it declined...

...

Around July, the new Imperial Parliament will be held. The emperor informed Marin that he intended to recommend Marin to the Imperial Council at this imperial meeting. The nobles in the Habsburg family's sphere of influence on the emperor's side, the emperor greeted them, including the Swabian Alliance, they would all support Marin to enter the imperial parliament.

Before, under the guidance of the emperor, Marin also bribed the other five emperors except the Elector of Saxony and the King of Bohemia (the emperor's mortal enemy). The bribery effect is still good. Marin can rest assured that these five electors who have received money will call on their younger brothers to vote for Marin.

It's just that Marin ignored a class before, and that is - the imperial free city...

The imperial free cities are a very special group. They are generally authorized by the emperor. In the 13th and 14th centuries, they were separated from some bishopric states or noble territories and have independent judicial power. Apart from paying taxes to the emperor during war (requiring the resolution of the Imperial Council), they do not have any obligations to their lords in peacetime.

The strangest thing is the city of Cologne. Although it is said that the city of Cologne is the legitimate capital of the Archbishopric of Cologne. But in fact, the city of Cologne is an imperial free city, not under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Cologne. The actual residence of the Archbishop of Cologne is Bonn, south of Cologne, which is the first city that Marin entered after passing through. Of course, Bonn was also the government seat of West Germany for a long time after World War II.

In addition to Bonn, there are Worms (where the imperial parliament is held), Augsburg, Strasbourg, Basel, and Mainz (although it is a free city in the empire, the main seat of the Archbishop of Mainz is also in the city), etc. ...

Imperial Free Cities are different from ordinary Free Cities. Ordinary Free Cities are not eligible to participate in the Imperial Parliament. The Imperial Free City, however, can send representatives to the Imperial Parliament.

Before, Marin forgot to please these imperial free cities with votes, and the emperor also forgot about it. Now, the emperor specially sent someone to inform Marin not to forget to bribe the representatives of these imperial free cities.

After receiving the notice from the emperor, Marin immediately dispatched his troops to bribe the representatives of the free cities of the empire. Bribery of the representatives of the Imperial Free City is different from bribing the great nobles. Bribery of the great nobles can be done semi-openly. Because, these big nobles, in their own territory, are committed to each other. The representatives of the Imperial Free Cities are just spokespersons elected by the local councils of the Imperial Free Cities, and cannot speak the same words in their respective cities. However, whether or not Marin is elected to become a member of the Imperial Parliament, their right to speak is still very heavy.

In fact, the citizens of the free cities of the Empire did not care whether Marin was elected to the Imperial Council. Therefore, the local council will not vote on what choices are made by the representatives participating in the imperial council. What's more, the emperor's proposal has not been made public, and most people in the free cities of the empire do not know about it.

Under such circumstances, Marin only needs to secure the representatives of the Imperial Free City to the Imperial Council. However, since these people are just elected representatives, bribing them must be done secretly. Otherwise, they are likely to be dismissed by the council of the free city of the empire where they are located.

Therefore, Marin used some secret forces controlled by Kohler, quietly contacted these people, and sent gold coins... Then, this matter was settled... After all, the European aristocrats and officials of this era had no A few not greedy...

...

Because of the agreement between the emperor and the new Duke of Saxony, George, George would choose to support Marin to enter the imperial parliament. Then, in this way, the nobles of the Saxony family will not necessarily stop themselves.

However, George is no longer the leader of the Saxon noble circle. Therefore, George's opinions can only represent the opinions of the Duchy of Saxony, and no longer have the ability to influence more than a dozen other nobles in the Saxon noble circle.

Therefore, Marin also needs to send people to bribe these people. Therefore, Marin sent his troops again to bribe these Saxon nobles and ask them not to trouble themselves in the Imperial Council. Now, the principality of Saxony, which has the greatest hatred with them, is no longer embarrassing themselves, and they have no reason to be troubled with themselves. Of course, if they don't do something good, they may not choose to support their election like George did. After all, George, that's because of a quid pro quo. The other Saxon nobles have little conflict with their own interests, but if they give them "benefits" (bribes), they will no longer have to fight with themselves.

However, Marin knew very well that once George resolved the West Frisian war and he no longer needed to look at his own face, then George would immediately turn his back and stop supporting him. Therefore, this opportunity is also rare. It is also good to be able to use a Saxon noble.

Moreover, Marin didn't think George would be able to take care of the Gerd Corporation any time soon. Because the Principality of Gede is clearly a hidden boss, powerful but low-key. George doesn't know the seriousness, and regards it as a soft persimmon, and he will suffer later...

But Marin doesn't care what happens to George. What he has to do now is to win over all possible allies and help him qualify as a member of the Imperial Parliament. With this qualification, he has an equal status with other great nobles and great forces. Then, we can slowly choose allies and engage in "cooperation"... On the way to hegemony, Marin needs allies...