The Rise of the European Emperor

On the second day of spring, Marin couldn't sit still again, and planned to take Schwartz and other confidants to check some terrain and mineral deposits on the north bank of the Lower Lipper River.

According to the memory of the geography class in his previous life, Marin remembered that the distribution of coal mines in the Ruhr area is very large. Although the main mining areas are concentrated in the southern half of the Ruhr area, that is, the area north of the Ruhr River now occupied by the Counties of Mark. However, there are also many coal mines in other regions.

For example, on the south side of the Ruhr River, probably on the south side of the river near Bochum, there are a number of coal mines. In addition, there are several coal mines on the west side of the Rhine near the Ruhr. There also appears to be some coal mines in parts of the north of the Lippe River.

So, taking advantage of the big spring, Marin took some henchmen and a large group of guards, rode to the north of the Lippe River, and went to the coal mine.

In addition, Marin has a very grand idea, which is to dig a canal between the Lippe and Ems rivers to facilitate the transportation of coal and other goods.

Now, after occupying the Bishopric of Münster, the Ems is basically an inland river in the territories under the control of Marin. The Lippe River is the southern border of the Bishopric of Münster.

If a canal can be dug from the Lippe River to the Ems River, then the coal in the Ruhr area can directly follow the canal, from the Lippe River into the Ems River, and then all the way to the entrance of the Ems River. Haikou - Emden.

Ada's steam engine has been invented, and the future will definitely enter the era of steam engines. Then, the transportation of coal will also become the top priority.

If you take the Rhine route, go to sea first, and then transport it to the East Frisian coast, transportation safety cannot be guaranteed. After all, to transport coal from the Ruhr area out of the Rhine River to the sea, it has to pass through three or four vassal states, which is not only easy to be taxed, but also easy to block the transportation route, which is very dangerous.

And if a canal is opened from the Lippe River to the Ems River, then the entire transportation will be carried out in one's own country, so that coal transportation will not need to be taxed by others, and no one will intercept it.

Not only that, in addition to coal, the transportation of other goods will also be greatly facilitated. After all, these days, water transport is much more convenient than land transport, with lower costs and larger volumes.

In later generations, for the sake of economic development, Dortmund dug a 266-kilometer-long Dortmund-Emes Canal, from Dortmund to the port of Meppen in the middle and lower reaches of the Ems River.

However, in fact, the Dortmund-Emes Canal is a canal built at the end of the 19th century, with the goal of navigating large freighters of more than 1,000 tons. So, naturally, the canal was repaired all the way to Maypen.

And in fact,

If you think about it from this era, if you only need to run inland ships of one or two hundred tons, there is no need to build the canal to Meppen at all, and it can be directly connected to the Ames River near the city of Münster. The navigable distance above the mouth of the Ems River is exactly 116 kilometers, which is not far from Münster.

Therefore, Marin's plan is to dig a canal from the Lippe River to connect the navigable part of the Ems River through the city of Münster. Km is almost the same.

Moreover, once the canal is opened, the city of Münster will immediately change from an inland city to a city with convenient shipping and direct access to Emden for water and land transportation, which is conducive to economic development.

At the same time, because the Ems River and the Rhine River are opened up through this canal, the economy of the Bishop of Münster, along the river area along the canal and the lower reaches of the Ems River, will be driven by the convenience of water and land transportation. .

Marin, Schwartz, and others looked along the Lippe River and saw no so-called coal mines. Instead, they saw flat terrain that looked good for canals. No wonder later generations of Germans built canals such as the Dortmund-Emes Canal and the Sino-German Canal to facilitate domestic freight.

However, Marin knows that with his current level of financial resources and technology, only a weakened version of the Dortmund-Emes canal can be built. The navigable ships were also rated at about 200 tons by Marin, instead of the 1350 tons stipulated by the later Dortmund-Emes Canal and the Sino-German Canal. After all, digging a canal now, without the help of machinery, can only rely on manual digging. Digging a canal of more than 60 kilometers is already very laborious, let alone a canal of hundreds of kilometers long.

Although it is said that the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal built by Emperor Yang of Sui is more than 1,700 kilometers long, Emperor Yang of Sui used the strength of the whole country and used two or three million people to dig the longest canal in the world. The total population of Marin is only a few hundred thousand. How can they have the strength to dig a canal that is too long? A canal of more than 60 kilometers has reached its limit.

Marin wasn't discouraged by not being able to find coal mines in the Lippe River. Because Marin remembers that the coal mines here were still mining in the early 21st century. That proves that the coal mine on the north side of the Lippe River is an underground mine and is relatively difficult to find. Because if it was an open-pit mine, it would have been mined long ago. For example, in the area near the Ruhr River, there are more open-pit mines, but the mining is also the earliest. No matter how big the mine is, it has been mined for hundreds of years, and with the advanced mining machinery in Europe, it is almost completely mined. Therefore, on a map of the distribution of coal mines that Marin had seen in his previous life, those abandoned mines mainly distributed in the southern part of the Ruhr area were the objects that Marin focused on mining. Because those mines were mined early, it proved that they were easy to find, and the coal mines were shallow and difficult to mine. Most of the coal mines discovered in later generations were buried deep and difficult to mine. Otherwise, it would have been discovered long ago. Just like the lead-zinc mine in Tara, it would not have been discovered until 1970 if it was not buried under 50 meters of soil.

Because no coal mines were found, Marin, Schwartz and others rode back listlessly. Along the way, the seedlings were unearthed in the fields. From a distance, they looked like leeks all over the place...

"The land here is really fertile. In the fall, I don't know how much food to harvest!" Marin said with emotion.

"Hehe, it's a pity, these lands are all owned by the Munster Church. The harvested food is mainly classified into the church's granary, and some are also paid as tithes..." Schwartz suddenly interjected.

"Tithes..." Suddenly, Marin was stunned, and hurriedly restrained the horse to a stop, causing the knights behind him to almost collide. Fortunately, the guard knights of Marin were skilled in riding, and they restrained their horses one after another to avoid a "collision".

"What's the matter, Master?" Schwartz asked curiously.

Marin thought for a while, then sighed:

"Schwartz, I think we're in trouble..."

"Trouble? What trouble?" Schwartz wondered.

"Tithes..." Marin sighed, full of melancholy.

"What happened to the tithing?" Schwartz didn't respond.

"What's the matter? The church in Munster is not on the same page as us. If you want to conceal your tithing, it won't work in Munster!" Marin finally expressed his inner worries.

Schwartz thought for a while, and his face changed...

Why? Because Marin mastered advanced agricultural technology, mainly fertilizer. Therefore, the grain output of East Frisian is not comparable to other countries.

However, in order to prevent this secret from leaking, Marin had already taken control of the East Frisian church. Even the churches in the newly conquered Counties of Oldenburg and Schleswig were controlled by Marin.

In this way, the secret of Marin's high grain yield was concealed. When the church collects tithe, it is still based on the previous amount, not one-tenth of the amount in the high-yield situation after using fertilizers.

The churches in East Friesland, Oldenburg, and Schleswig are easier to control because they are all secular countries, and the power of the churches is suppressed. had to cooperate with the princes.

But the Bishopric of Munster is different. Although Marin has obtained its secular governance, the power of the church in the Bishopric of Munster is too powerful. In addition, Marin cannot interfere with the religious right for the time being, and the current bishop Conrad still has a grudge with Marin.

In this way, when the church collects tithes when the autumn harvest is over, it will certainly not help Malin conceal the report. If Marin had used new agricultural techniques in the Bishop of Munster, it would have caused a surge in food production. Marin is almost certain that the priest sent by Bishop Conrad to the field to wait for the tithe will report the secret. And Conrad, the bishop who is doomed to be at odds with Marin, will definitely spread this secret.

In this way, the agricultural secrets that Marin kept for several years will spread. Moreover, the issue of concealment of tithing in previous years will also surface.

Even if the Pope is his father-in-law, this tax evasion will cause public outrage.

For a split second, Marin almost had the urge to use Cantrella to poison Bishop Conrad. However, Marin held back. If Bishop Conrad died in "Cantrera". As long as you compare the death of Alexander VI and the close relationship between Marin and the current pope, it is easy for others to associate the cause of death of Alexander VI. So Marin suppressed the tempting idea of ​​poisoning Bishop Conrad. Moreover, the right to appoint bishops in the Bishopric of Münster is still in the hands of the Archbishop of Cologne. He is not a bishop recommended by him, and he will not help him conceal the grain output after all.

Therefore, Marin began to hesitate about whether to use advanced agricultural technology in the Bishopric of Münster...

"If only the amount of tithing could be fixed..." At this moment, Sauer suddenly said beside him.

"The tithing is fixed..." After thinking for a while with a frown, Marin suddenly became enlightened...

"Yes, I can ask the Holy See to fix the amount of tithing in our country!" Marin slapped his head sharply.

If it was someone else, it might not have the ability. But, who is Marin? He is the son-in-law of the current Pope. As long as he does something for the Holy See, his father-in-law, the Pope, finds an excuse to set the tithe rate of East Frisian and other Marin territories. Isn't it a simple matter?

At that time, the Pope's father-in-law can completely set the tithe of East Friesland and the Bishopric of Münster, especially the tithe of grain production, at 15 pounds per acre, which is 90 pounds per acre.

Find a tax rate and put it in another country, it is definitely a high tax rate. Because, in other countries, many acres are less than 150 pounds. Using a tithe of 15 pounds per acre is definitely too much.

However, the manor under Marin's name has now reached an average of more than 500 pounds per mu. In this case, the fixed tax rate of 15 pounds per acre is definitely a big profit for Marin. Moreover, as long as Marin does not disclose his own per mu production, this tax rate will definitely not be envied by anyone...

After thinking about this, Marin decided to contact his papal father-in-law, sing a double reed, and then come to a fixed tax rate. In this way, even if the secret of high grain yield is leaked in the future, others will have nothing to do - the Holy See has given a fixed tax rate, we are not tax evasion and tax evasion...

After thinking about it, Marin decided to send an additional 3,000 mercenaries to Rome, bringing the number of troops he sent in Rome to 10,000. Moreover, the salary is paid by oneself.

Such a huge contribution, Julius II can be listed as a model, and then publicly commended. Finally, take this as a pretext and take the opportunity to set a fixed tax rate for yourself. That way, you won't have to pay tithes at the true 1/10 scale in the future. Moreover, it is for tax evasion and tax evasion...

As for where to find 3,000 men to send to Rome, Marin suddenly remembered the 5,800 Münster mercenaries who had not been dismissed yet.

Originally, Marin was planning to send them all to Ireland. However, the most important thing is to use it to fool Rome. As for Earl Edward, it was enough to send 2,800 people to him.

In this way, Marin cut off 3,000 of the 5,800 people originally intended to be given to Earl Edward, and reduced it to 2,800 people. Then, the 3,000 people who were cut off were sent to Rome by Marin to help guard cities such as Florence.

These German mercenaries, although Marin despised. However, their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the Italian mercenaries.

At that time, I told Stade to give them some more special training, and their discipline became better. In this way, it can also be used to confuse it. Anyway, the main force guarding Rome is to take 7,000 veterans. These 3,000 mercenaries are just a support, and they are still competent.

Moreover, guarding Rome is absolutely glorious for most Christians in this age. After all, now is the time when the Holy See has supreme authority. Guarding Rome, where the Holy See is located, is definitely an embarrassing thing.

Just like the famous Vatican Pope's Guard in later generations, those Swiss boys are treated very low, but there are still people who are willing. Because, for those devout believers, guarding the Vatican and guarding the Pope is an extremely sacred job...

I sent another 3,000 soldiers and horses to the Holy See, and I still didn't need to pay salaries. In that way, Julius II can find a good excuse to give himself a benefit and fix the amount of tithing. Then, you can safely evade tax without worrying about being exposed...