The Rise of the European Emperor

Earl John I of Rietberg's guess was very accurate. Indeed, Duke John II of Cleaver is mobilizing troops and intends to enter the Ruhr area and seize the territory.

It is a pity that due to the massive recruitment of mercenaries by the coalition of princes and the coalition of seven nations, it was difficult for the unprepared Principality of Cleaver to recruit mercenaries. It was not possible to recruit enough mercenaries for a while, which delayed the action time.

In this era, due to financial difficulties, most princes usually do not raise too many troops in order to save military expenditures. Only in times of war would they temporarily hire a group of mercenaries to fight for themselves.

Therefore, in this era, there are very few princely states with a German standing army of more than 10,000. It's not that they can't afford it, but that they don't want to support so many soldiers. Under normal circumstances, a principality would only prepare three or four thousand standing troops to garrison key areas such as the capital. When the war broke out, a group of German mercenaries would be temporarily hired to join the war.

Due to the lateness of the Duchy of Cleaver, there is no large-scale mercenary group in the market that can be hired immediately. Therefore, he had to openly recruit stragglers, but the speed was relatively slow, so he lost the initiative.

The site that John II is eyeing is the land on the east bank of the Rhine that was previously handed over to Marin, as well as the Earl of Mark...

"Father, isn't it very kind of us to do this?" In the palace of Criver City, Little John (John III), who has become Duke of Jülich-Berg through marriage, questioned.

You know, the North Sea Kingdom and the Principality of Cleaver were still allies before, and it seems very wicked to attack the allies now...

"Pedantic! What is a little fame for the land?" John II, Duke of Cleaver reprimanded.

"Seeing that Marin can't come back, the North Sea Kingdom is estimated to be finished this time. Even if it is not destroyed, it will not be able to keep the territory outside East Frisia. Rather than letting the land on the east bank of the Rhine River be taken away by others, it is better for us to pull What about the Mark family!"

Little John nodded thoughtfully. But he suddenly asked again:

"What if Marin comes back? Father, you know,

Maybe he was in a storm at sea, the ship was broken, and he stopped somewhere. This man is very good at fighting, if he comes back, it will be time to settle the matter! "

John II was stunned for a while, uncertain:

"Shouldn't be coming back, Beihai country doesn't count on it... But, you are right, maybe Marin can come back alive... Then..."

After thinking for a long time, John II said:

"If he comes back alive, we will return the land we occupied. The reason is that we will help trusteeship first, so as not to be snatched by the enemy..."

"If you don't come back... these lands are ours..."

"Father's opinion!" Little John flattered.

...

However, before the father and son were happy, they learned the news that the Eight-Power Allied Forces had crossed the Lippe River and went down. Moreover, the Eight-Power Allied Forces went straight to the land east of the Rhine River and set up defenses along the river to guard against the army of the Principality of Cliff.

"Oh, we are late!" John II was extremely regretful.

If he started early, although he only had 10,000 to 20,000 people, as long as he fortified along the Lipper River and other big rivers, he could still stop the advance of the Eight-Nation Allied Forces.

However, now that the large number of Eight-Nation Allied Forces has taken the lead, then there is no need for them to send troops...

There are many people on the other side, and now they have an advantage in the area. This battle cannot be fought...

...

Just when the Eight-Power Allied Forces marched into the western part of the Ruhr area, the annual regular meeting of the Imperial Council of the Holy Roman Empire was held in Worms, a small city in the Archbishop of Mainz...

At this time, Emperor Maximilian I had gathered many nobles from the Swabian League and gathered in Worms. And the alliance of princes did not show any weakness. Many princes headed by Elector Frederick III of Saxony had long been waiting in Worms.

When the two parties entered the venue, the two leaders, Maximilian I and Frederick III, glared at each other, sparks sparked in their eyes...

In fact, Maximilian I and Elector Frederick III of Saxony were still relatives. Frederick III's grandmother, Margaret, was the sister of Maximilian I's father, Frederick III (emperor), and the emperor's aunt. Therefore, strictly speaking, Maximilian I was still the cousin of Frederick III. The deceased father of Frederick III, Elector Ernst, was the direct cousin of Emperor Maximilian I...

However, these two real relatives have become sworn enemies because of their different political stances...

...

This is also a very helpless thing. The dream of Maximilian I when he was young was to deprive the princes of the Holy Roman Empire of their autonomy and make the Holy Roman Empire a centralized empire like France.

But this violates the rights of the princes. After all, no prince is willing to be a mascot noble with little real power. Look at France, those dukes and earls, because they have no real power, have to curry favor with the King of France in order to gain power. Unlike the princes of Germany, because they have the right of autonomy, they have all rights when they are born. Comparing the two, a fool would be happy to be a duke and earl like France.

Therefore, even if he was a real relative, for his own benefit, Frederick III had to stand on the opposite side of his cousin and become the leading brother among the princes...

...

At the same time, the miserable-looking envoy Johnny, who had been specially trained by Marin's horse guide, was finally trained and sent by Marin to Worms to participate in the regular meeting of the Imperial Conference. His task is mainly to sell miserably...

However, when going south to Worms, due to the chaos along the way, Johnny had to avoid the war zone to avoid accidents. So, when the meeting opened on the first day, Johnny didn't arrive in time.

Then, the theme of the first day is naturally the Swiss issue...

...

"Elector Frederick, why did your army invade my territory Franche-Comté for no reason? As far as I know, your army burned, killed and looted in my Franche-Comté. The problem is, I didn't offend you, did I? Why did you attack my territory for no reason?" Maximilian I aggressively preempted the attack.

"Your Majesty, we don't blame us for this matter. You have to ask your general, Baron Frundsberg. As you know, our army went south to hunt down Christopher I, Earl of Baden, who invaded the Duchy of Lorraine innocently. However, The general under your command didn't know what was going on, but suddenly sent troops to ambush our army in the Costal Valley, causing heavy losses to our army, with more than half of the 60,000 horses lost. Moreover, most of the food was discarded..." Having said that, Frederick III continued angrily:

"What's worse, that wicked Frundsberg, after capturing our 40,000 civilians, was afraid of excessive food consumption, so he actually sent 40,000 of them back!"

"40,000 people! That's 40,000 strong men who can eat! Most of our food was stolen by the despicable Frundsberg, what can we do? Are more than 60,000 people waiting to starve to death? So, we can only go to the nearby Besancon to 'collect food'!"

"Here, I want to complain to the Reichstag about the Austrian general Frundsberg, who attacked our army innocently, causing more than half of our army to be lost! This is a serious provocation, Your Majesty, are you going to declare war on the princes of Germany? " Frederick III said a lot eloquently, and pushed the responsibility back...

"How do I remember that it was your army that first besieged my city of Basel and attacked Frundsberg's defenders first? It should be said that you launched the attack first, right? As for Frundsberg who ambushed you , is it a counterattack against your siege of Basel City? Speaking of which, you attacked our army first and belonged to the provocative side. The responsibility for this conflict lies with you, not us!" Maximilian I naturally refused Show weakness, start presenting the facts and reasoning.

Frederick III had expected it a long time ago, and asked calmly:

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, is the city of Basel the territory of the Habsburg family?"

"Of course!" Maximilian I began to feel bad.

"Oh? Why don't I remember that the Imperial Parliament has any documents or resolutions that recognize Basel as the territory of the Habsburg family? I remember that the city of Basel belongs to the Autonomous Prefecture of Basel. Therefore, our army is only besieging It’s just a city in an autonomous state, how can you attack the Habsburg family’s territory?”

"In addition, we passed by Basel when we were chasing and killing Christopher I, Earl of Baden. We saw Christopher I hiding in Basel City, so we had to attack Basel. So, we don't blame us for this, who called Basel City to take of our enemy Count Christopher?"

"Also, we didn't know that the defenders in the city belonged to Your Majesty..." Frederick III said innocently, his eyes full of cunning...

"You..." Maximilian I was so angry that he almost vomited blood, he simply pretended to be unwell, asked for a temporary adjournment, and then went down to think of countermeasures...

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