The Rise of the European Emperor

Just when everyone was terrified, the young and vigorous Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg suddenly threw his cup and shouted:

"What's good for that Marin guy by killing us? He is also a prince. Would he be willing to be the emperor's answerer like the French dukes? How good is it to be a prince who is in charge of his own country?" He was purely angry In other words, I feel depressed and want to complain.

But these words reminded Frederick III, who had been frowning all the time-yes, Marin is also a prince. If the Habsburg family ruled Germany, it would not be easy for him. At most, he would become the king's favorite like the great nobles of France. However, after all, he lost his authority and right to speak...

So, after thinking for a while, the Elector Frederick III of Saxony stood up and solemnly announced:

"I plan to go north, talk to Marin in person, and persuade him to retreat!"

"Will he listen to you?" Anthony, Duke of Lorraine expressed doubts.

"Yes, because he is also a prince!" Frederick III said confidently.

Everyone was speechless, but there was no other way. After all, they have no better choice...

A few days later, Elector Frederick III of Saxony, escorted by more than a hundred cavalry, came to Strasbourg, a city on the west bank of the Rhine, about 140 kilometers north of Basel, and met Marin.

Strasbourg is still a German city. It originally belonged to the Principality of Lorraine, but later it became a free city of the Empire. It was directly under the emperor's jurisdiction in name, but in fact it had bought the right of self-government from the emperor long ago.

Of course, this is the status quo. Originally, in 1681 in the era of Louis XIV, Strasbourg would be annexed by France and become a city on the eastern border of France. But until later generations, the locals mainly spoke German. Almost forgot to mention - Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace region...

Most of the Alsace region was occupied by the French army during the Thirty Years' War, but the capital, Strasbourg, was not occupied by France until 1681.

Speaking of the Alsace region, Marin couldn't help but want to complain about Dude's "Last Lesson". This is obviously an area of ​​Germans, but Dude advocated that he could not learn French. After that, the teachers and students were "heart-wrenched". But in fact, the locals are originally Germans, so it's a shame that they can't learn French. This is like the restoration of the three eastern provinces from Japan in later generations. As a result, the Northeast people were "heartbroken" because they couldn't learn Japanese... Isn't this nonsense...

...

After Marin's army arrived in the Alsace area,

Did not continue to rush south, but stopped in Alsace. Why? Because the Alsace region is one of the most important sources of troops for the North Sea State.

At the beginning, when Marin formed the First Army, the main source of troops came from the mountains of Württemberg and the Alsace region. Later, although the size of the army of the North Sea State continued to expand, it still retained the tradition of recruiting spearmen from Alsace. Because, although the Alsatians are not as fierce as the mountain people in the Württemberg Mountains, they are more obedient and their overall combat effectiveness is very good.

Therefore, Marin ordered the army to stay in the Alsace area, and also meant to continue to recruit troops there. Moreover, in order to facilitate the recruitment of soldiers, Marin also forced the city of Strasbourg to open the city gate to welcome Marin into the city.

The reason why Marin wanted to enter Strasbourg was not to loot the city, but to make Strasbourg one of the most important recruitment points for the North Sea Army in the south.

For this reason, after Marin entered Strasbourg through threats and intimidation, he specially gave the Alsatian veterans of the First Army and Second Army of the North Sea State a holiday and allowed them to visit relatives and friends. Of course, the purpose of Marin's move was not to relax those Alsatian soldiers, but to use their own experience to fool more locals into joining the army of the North Sea State.

Although the entire Alsace region does not have a population of one million or hundreds of thousands like later generations, it still has a population of several hundred thousand. Marin's plan is to take the opportunity to take away another group of young people from the Alsace region and become recruits for the North Sea Army...

When Frederick III arrived outside Strasbourg under the escort of a group of cavalrymen, Marin had just flicked away thousands of local young men in Strasbourg...

...

In the city hall of Strasbourg, Marin warmly received the visiting Elector Frederick III of Saxony...

These days, in order to show the strength of the North Sea Army, Marin keeps letting the elite veterans of the North Sea walk in a show queue in Strasbourg, so that the locals can see the "magnificence" of the North Sea Army... …

When entering the city, Frederick III also happened to see the majesty of the soldiers of the North Sea Kingdom...

It was precisely because he had seen the "magnificence" of the soldiers of the Beihai Kingdom along the way, Frederick III was a little silent, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

When he saw Marin in the city hall, Frederick III suddenly asked:

"why?"

Marin was taken aback:

"what why?"

Seeing that there was no one else, Frederick III asked directly:

"What I want to ask is, why did you send out the army to help His Majesty the Emperor? Don't you know that you are also one of the princes? If we are finished, who knows if you will be the next one?"

Marin froze for a moment, suddenly a little uncomfortable with Frederick III's straightforward way of speaking. After all, he just came back from Daming, and he is used to talking in circles. Therefore, he was a little uncomfortable with Frederick III's straightforwardness.

However, he quickly realized that he had already returned to Europe, so he naturally had to switch his way of speaking...

So, after thinking about it, Marin replied:

"Of course I know that I am also one of the princes, but Lord Frederick, do you really regard me as one of the princes? I have always wanted to integrate into the group of princes, but Lord Frederick, who among you is willing to accept me? I have come to this point today, and I still choose to stand on His Majesty's side, wasn't it forced by you?"

Marin directly dumped the blame on the opponent, but it's not surprising. Because, although Marin has been a great German nobleman for more than 10 years. However, he really was never accepted by the traditional circle of German princes.

Those stupid old German princes have always regarded Marin as a lackey of the Habsburg family and are unwilling to accept him. Moreover, they seem to believe that Marin's blood is low and not worthy of being compared with them...

Seeing Marin's mocking expression, Frederick III's expression stagnated - Marin was right, it was indeed the traditional circle of princes who had been refusing to accept Marin...

After all, not all princes have such a strategic vision as Frederick III. Most of the princes are actually conservative fools. They are conservative and stubborn, refuse to accept changes, and refuse to recognize Marin, a newly promoted powerful prince, and even look down on Marin's blood... In this way, it is strange that Marin can stand on the same line with the princes...