The Rise of the European Emperor

After the invitation letter is issued, the next step is to prepare for several auctions. But Marin won't take care of this in detail. After all, his subordinates are not idle. For Marin, the most important thing is to control the 8 vassal states smoothly.

However, not long after the new year, Simon, the tired and lazy guy, suddenly appeared in Marin's palace and stayed in Marin's office all day long...

What is Simon going to do? It turned out that Simon remembered what Marin had told him back then, that he would go to Kiev on the Ukrainian steppe to become an earl. In particular, Marin tricked him into making him the king of the Cossacks...

Simon is a muscular man who is full of fighting, and doesn't care much about the title of earl. However, he is very longing for leading cavalry across the Ukrainian steppe.

In Beihai Kingdom, Simon's existence is somewhat awkward. Why? Because Marin was afraid that the brothers would become the new Richard III, threatening Caesar's safety. Therefore, even though Simon was belligerent, Marin never let him lead a large army, lest the tail be too big.

In this way, Simon's muscles are useless. For a combat fanatic, this is more painful than death.

So, when Marin fooled him and told him to go to the Ukrainian prairie to lead cavalry across the prairie, Simon took it firmly in his heart. When the war was over, Simon felt that it was almost done, so he came to make trouble with Marin and asked Marin to fulfill his promise...

Simon gave full play to his shameless spirit and stalked Marin. Marin was so troubled by him, and he really needed Simon to help him gather the population and train Cossack mercenaries in Ukraine, as well as raise livestock on the Ukrainian grasslands to supply the North Sea country, so Marin finally agreed to start helping Simon to do this. ...

So, Marin sent an envoy to Krakow and proposed to Sigismund I - willing to pay 200,000 gold coins to help Simon buy the city of Kiev and the surrounding areas of Kyiv as Simon's fief. Of course, there is also the title of Earl...

Sigismund I had no problem, but Ukraine at this time did not belong to the Kingdom of Poland, but to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Therefore, Sigismund I made a special trip to Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to discuss with the members of the Grand Sejm (the name of the Lithuanian noble parliament) who actually ruled Lithuania.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, like the Kingdom of Poland, is a country ruled by aristocrats. As King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund I actually did not have much real power. Of course, his power must be much greater than that of the Queen of England in later generations. After all, this was the age of monarchy, and the king had not yet become a mascot. However, both Poland and Lithuania at this time had the shadow of a constitutional monarchy in later generations - the king rarely managed state affairs, and general state affairs were managed by the Great Sejm.

Sigismund I himself agreed that Simon would become the lord of Kyiv. Simon himself was a master with developed limbs and a simple mind. Sigismund I did not think that this third brother had the ability to threaten his rule.

Moreover, Poland and Lithuania had complex polities, with aristocrats in power. Sigismund I himself did not have much real power. If Simon can grow into a great noble of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, he will be his helper at the meeting in the Great Sejm. Therefore, he is happy to see it happen. But whether to accept Simon as the lord of Kyiv depends on whether the parliamentarians of Big Sejm agree. Therefore, Sigismund I made a special trip to Vilnius.

"What? Marin, Grand Duke of the North Sea, wants to buy Kyiv and the surrounding area as a fief for his younger brother?" Duke Yogela of the Rivinbudas family, the current Speaker of the Great Sejm in Lithuania, was taken aback. The other Sejm members who were present also looked at each other in dismay.

I don't know why Marin bought Kyiv...

"Why can't Kyiv be sold?" Sigismund I was a little unhappy. The Ukrainian region is the southern border in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is not taken seriously. Although the climate there is warm, because of the threat of the Crimean Khanate, most people are not willing to cultivate there. Because, once you have reclaimed the land, the gang of robbers from the Crimean Khanate may come to rob them.

In the past, the situation was most serious when the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde united against the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Because the Crimean Khanate was allied with the Grand Duchy of Moscow at that time. The alliance between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the main branch of the Golden Horde is an enemy of the Crimean Khanate, a branch of the Golden Horde that was split off. Therefore, in the past few years, the Crimean Khanate, which was subordinate to the hostile forces in Ukraine, caused great harm, and naturally no one was willing to take care of the Ukraine region.

Even with the help of Marin, the Crimean Khanate gave up its rivalry with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and became an ally against the Grand Duchy of Moscow, but no one was willing to manage the Ukraine region. Because, a robber country like the Crimean Khanate, the ghost knows whether it will abide by the covenant. Perhaps, when Ukraine is developed, it will attract the coveted Crimean robbers...

...

Duke Yogela was stunned, but quickly reacted:

"It's not that it can't be sold, Your Majesty, we just want to know why Grand Duke Marin bought the Kyiv area. If we don't know the reason, I don't think everyone will be at ease."

After Duke Yoggela finished speaking, many Senators around Sejm nodded in agreement. If ordinary nobles want to buy it, they may not care. But Marin is a well-known and capable feudal lord in Europe, and his actions must have attracted much attention and made people even more vigilant.

Sigismund I gave Marin's reasons:

"It's like this. His younger brother Simon is brave and belligerent and wants to lead the army. However, the Archduke Marin was afraid that he would grow into the second Richard III, so he never let him become the leader of the North Sea Kingdom. But Simon Strongly demanded the opportunity to lead the army to fight, Marin was helpless, so he planned to help him buy a fief on the Ukrainian grasslands and let him come here to fight..."

"Richard III..." Lithuania's Big Sejm councilors were all stunned. Of course they all know who Richard III is, and the cause of Edward V's death is also widely circulated in Europe. After all, it's only been less than thirty years since this happened. For Marin's concerns, they can understand. But put Simon on the dangerous Ukrainian steppe...

"Isn't he worried about the Crimean gangsters?" asked a Big Sejm MP.

Sigismund I said nothing:

"What are you afraid of? The Crimean Khanate is now an ally of the North Sea Kingdom and the younger brother of the Grand Duke of the North Sea Kingdom. The Crimeans will be offended? Moreover, Kyiv is in the northern part of the Ukrainian steppe, and there is still a distance from the Crimean Khanate. distance."

"Then who did Prince Simon come to fight in Kyiv? Isn't he going to lead the army to fight?"

"Marin said that Simon would raise a group of Cossack cavalry, and then trouble the Grand Duchy of Moscow..."

"To trouble the Muscovites..." Immediately, the eyes of many Lithuanian Senators of the Great Sejm lit up...

The Grand Duchy of Moscow is the mortal enemy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. If someone can trouble the mortal enemy, they are happy to see it.

"And what about the price?" asked the Duke of Yoggera.

"200,000 gold coins will be handed over to Grand Sejm for distribution. In addition, if the Grand Duchy of Lithuania fights against the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Simon will also send troops to help!"

After deliberating for a while with the other Big Sejm members, the Duke of Yoggela replied:

"Your Majesty, we agree in principle to sell Kyiv and the surrounding area to Prince Simon. But, the price... 250,000 gold coins..."

Sigismund I pretended to hesitate, then nodded in agreement. In fact, the bottom line given by Marin is 300,000 gold coins...

In this way, with the approval of the Grand Sejm Parliament of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Simon will officially become the Ukrainian Count of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania after paying the fee of 250,000 gold coins. The fief is the city of Kyiv and the surrounding area, covering an area of ​​about 10,000 square kilometers. about. Of course, most of the fiefs are uncultivated grasslands...