The Rise of the European Emperor

On the side, Heinrich, the Speaker of Lübeck, and Bernard, the Speaker of Hamburg, did not have any mood swings about the dirty deal between Hector and Marin.

Why? Because they take it for granted. Moreover, this time the main targets of Hamburg and Lübeck are actually the 53 big Hanseatic merchants in Bremen. Because Bremen's commercial channels in England and the Netherlands are basically in the hands of these 53 big households. As for the other small Hansa merchants, either they are attached to these 53 big households, or they are not successful.

Therefore, whether it is Bernard, who needs these channels the most, or Heinrich, who wants to pick up cheap, they have no objection to Hector and others betraying the small Hanseatic merchants in Bremen. Even, those small Hanseatic merchants in Bremen are nothing more than tax increases for them. If those small businessmen encounter a crisis, not only will they not help, but they may even take advantage of the fire to rob. This is the shopping mall, without any warmth, only interests. A pure businessman, even if he is not so bad as to bleed, he is by no means a good person. Because, good people have been cheated to death long ago...

In the era when the legal system is sound in later generations, there may be good businessmen who can survive. But in these wild times, it's hard to be a good businessman.

To give a simple example, in this era, there is no one who is good at maritime trade. In order to ensure safety, basically every merchant ship will raise a group of desperadoes to deal with pirates. If he was a good peace-loving businessman, he would have been swallowed to the bone and scum left. Therefore, in this era, none of the businessmen who can survive and grow up are good. Even, many big businessmen have many lives in their hands. There are pirates, and there are competitors...

...

After the negotiation was over, Marin was busy issuing the salt lead and arranging the production and supply of the Lüneburg Salt Mine. However, Hector and others did not return to Bremen, but quietly invited all the 53 big Hanseatic merchant families in Bremen to Oldenburg. The Hamburg Speaker Bernard and the Lübeck Speaker Heinrich did not leave either, because they wanted to stay and divide up the 53 Hanseatic merchants...

After the 53 big Hanseatic businessmen arrived, Bernard immediately took the lead in wooing, especially those who had channels in England and the Netherlands, and became Bernard's main target.

These big Hanseatic businessmen are actually very reluctant to leave the city of Bremen where they have lived for generations, but they also know that Marin has been ruthless this time. If you don't leave, not only the family property may be deprived by Marin, but also your life may not be saved. Therefore, they could only reluctantly accept the offer of Hamburg and Lübeck.

In the end, Hamburg won over 27 big Hanseatic businessmen. These are the men who dominate the trading houses of England and the Netherlands and are what Hamburg needs. The remaining 26 great Hanseatic merchants all belonged to Lübeck. Although some of them have certain commercial channels in England and the Netherlands, according to the agreement reached by Hamburg to win Lübeck, Hamburg can only win half of the big Hanseatic businessmen.

After negotiation,

Marin issued them an invitation to buy real estate. Then, these 53 bosses went back to Bremen to pack up their belongings and left.

However, Marin made an appointment with them in advance-except for property, he was only allowed to take away the desperadoes and sailors that their families usually raised. Those boatmen and sailors in Bremen who are good at inland navigation, including inland navigation vessels, are not allowed to take away... Of course, Marin will buy those inland river vessels at market prices...

...

The reason why Marin conspired against Bremen was mainly to conspire with those boatmen and sailors who were good at inland waterway navigation. why? Because Marin has built the Münster Canal, he is planning to use this canal to develop inland waterway transportation from the Ruhr area to Emden.

However, Marin seriously lacks boatmen and sailors who are proficient in inland waterway navigation. In addition, there are not enough boats for inland waterway transportation.

In the near future, Marin intends to fully develop coal in the Ruhr area. Therefore, he needs a lot of inland watercraft, including boatmen and sailors who are proficient in inland waterway navigation. But if you cultivate it yourself, the process is very slow. Therefore, snatching it from Bremen has become the best choice. Coincidentally, the Bremen people killed themselves, which happened to be cheap for Marin...

The city of Bremen has a population of nearly 20,000. Except for a few hundred Hanseatic merchants, most of the rest of the population are related to shipping. Or, as servants and thugs for the Hanseatic merchants' families in Bremen. According to statistics, there are about 8,000 boatmen and sailors in Bremen. These people account for nearly half of Bremen's population.

Of course, nearly half of the more than 8,000 boatmen and sailors were not native-born Bremen citizens, but migrant workers recruited from other parts of Germany. But in any case, most of these boatmen and sailors are skilled workers. If you win over, you can get started immediately. Even if those Bremen Hanseatic merchants would take away part of the seagoing ships and sailors and sailors, there must be at least 5,000 inland boatmen and sailors left behind. 5,000 boatmen and sailors who are good at inland shipping are enough to support Marin's inland shipping empire.

...

After receiving the salt from Marin, these 53 large households packed up their belongings immediately after returning to Bremen, and moved all the property that could be moved to the sailing ship, ready to leave. Accompanying them are the outlaws they usually employ and the boatmen and sailors who are good at sailing. These are the foundations for them to establish themselves in Hamburg or Lübeck in the future.

At this time, Marin also sent statisticians to enter the Bremen wharf area under the escort of the army, and interrogated and registered all boatmen and sailors. Even, in order to prevent them from lying, witnesses are required to prove it. In this way, it is possible to prevent those Bremen Hanseatic merchants from taking away inland waterway boatmen and sailors who have no sailing experience. Subsequently, the statisticians issued passes to those experienced sailors, allowing them to leave with the Hanseatic merchants.

At the same time, because of the lack of food in the city. In order to avoid starvation, Marin began to distribute free Kohler bread mixed with grass chaff to the families of inland waterway boatmen and sailors who were destined to stay. And those Hanseatic merchants and those desperadoes who were destined to leave, as well as their families, were destined not to receive bread.

...

After 53 large Hanseatic merchants and their families evacuated, the city of Bremen suddenly became chaotic. However, because the usual leaders have all run away, there is no leader in the city of Bremen at this time. Some stubborn little Hansa merchants planned to organize the people to resist. However, because Marin began to distribute black bread to the civilians, no one responded to the call of these radicals.

In desperation, those little Hanse merchants who originally planned to organize citizens to resist had to compromise. Although the property was depreciated by half, Marin didn't grab it for nothing, right?

Holding the salt guide issued by Marin, most of the small Hanseatic merchants evacuated from Bremen one after another, with a total of more than five hundred.

Ten days later, Marin's army successfully entered the city of Bremen without violent resistance...