The Rise of the European Emperor

In this era, the transmission of information is very backward. Even if they are as close as tens of kilometers, it may take days for the news to pass. If it is deliberately blocked, it will be more difficult to pass.

For example, now the army of Geddes has clearly failed completely, but Charles II, Duke of Geddes... oh no, now it should be Charles I, Earl of Geldon... He doesn't know that the battlefield ahead has completely failed... …

The biggest feature of Beihai's army is that it pays great attention to the use of scout cavalry. Sauer is now a big man on the side, but Marin still let him take the scout unit. In order to do a good job of secrecy, these scout cavalry often intercepted the enemy's scouts to prevent information from leaking.

For example, the battle outside Parsons has been over for 10 days, and the new Earl of Geldon, Charles I, doesn't know it yet. Of course, he was ruled treason by the Imperial Council and downgraded to Earl Geldon, and he didn't get the news either. It's just that he hasn't received news from the front line for 10 days, and the spies sent out to contact him have not returned.

At present, the Upper Geddes area has not been attacked, and there are still 3,000 defenders stationed in Gelden City. So, despite his inner unease, Charlie wasn't too worried. In his opinion, it should be the battle between Bonitz's army and the troops sent by the Cliffs. Therefore, the message cannot be delivered. As for those spies, it is normal to be killed in the melee. However, Charlie believes that the ultimate victory must belong to Geddes. Because, he considered that most of those princes would not help the Habsburg family, and the Habsburg family was dragged by the French, and the other North Sea country he was most afraid of also promised not to interfere in this matter. . After all, Marin swore in the name of God that the North Sea would never interfere in this matter. Therefore, he is more at ease...

Therefore, even if the Principality of Clifford hired a group of mercenaries, in the end, they were definitely not the opponents of the Gedes army...

However, Lord Charlie clearly overestimated Marlin's integrity. Marin, who was born as a small clerk who often signed contracts in later generations, was very proficient in how to manipulate contracts. So, even if he signed a secret contract in private, Marin could find a suitable excuse to push two, five or six - you see, I just let my mercenaries take over the job, and I didn't participate in it... So, let's I didn't break the contract, I didn't break my oath... As for how you are always unlucky... We don't know that Duke Clifford hired my soldiers to beat you... Well, if I knew this, I wouldn't accept that share. employment contract...

...

As unscrupulous as Marin, there is John II, Duke of Cleaver. This grandson was afraid of taking responsibility, so he was cowardly at the critical moment, and he just pretended to be dizzy and lay on the bed... So, when the dust settled, he could completely get up from the hospital bed-what's the matter? What's wrong? I was dizzy for a while, so many things happened? Oh, it must be the good thing done by the traitor old Mason... Well, the bad thing has nothing to do with me... I am wise and just...

The so-called stinks are congruent,

Probably referring to Marin and John II...

This time, Marin not only sent troops on his own initiative, but also assumed all the provisions and expenses by himself. Not only that, the Principality of Clifford can also gain access to the fertile Lower Geddes area and receive a bonus of 100,000 gold coins... And his price is to exchange the Earl of Mark for Marin...

John II was still very curious about why Marin made such a big circle to seize the not-so-prosperous Earl of Mark. But who is Marin? That's the stuff that has been thrown out of the earth. Moreover, this guy's brain responds very quickly. In the face of John II's question, Marin directly learned from the Chu Bawang - "Rich and noble do not return to their hometown, such as brocade clothing at night, who knows?"

Of course, the specific explanation is not so literary. This is what Marin told John II - Laozi's family was just a poor knight's family near the city of Bochum in the country of Mark. Now that my family is well developed, if I don't go back to my hometown to show off, I always feel a little bit uncontrollable... So, being the master of my hometown and standing high in front of my hometown's elders can be enough to pretend to be a B...

This excuse, John II really believed. why? This kind of behavior of pretending to be in front of the parents and villagers after being rich is too common in the world. Although John II was of noble birth, he had never felt this way. However, he sees a lot...

Many small nobles who developed after being appreciated by him always like to take leave and go back to their hometown to feast on the guests after they become prosperous, and pretend to show off in front of the villagers and elders. And many favorite ministers around him often tell him this kind of thing as a joke. So, when Marin came up with this excuse, he didn't have the slightest doubt...

It's just that he didn't know how much he lost in this transaction...

Although the country of Mark is not big, the northern half of the country accounts for a small half of the Ruhr area. Moreover, the famous coal and steel industrial cities of later generations, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen (the city where Schalke 04 is located), Herne and Witten, etc., are located in the country of Mark.

Getting the Earl of Mark is equivalent to getting nearly half of the coal reserves in the Ruhr area...

However, the industrial revolution has not yet arisen. Although Marin has developed a steam engine, he has not shown it. Therefore, no one knows the role of coal in the Ruhr area.

Moreover, the current popular fireplaces in Europe are wood-fired, not coal-fired. Only a small amount of coal is used in the iron and steel industry and the smelting of non-ferrous metals. Therefore, the coal mines in the Ruhr area were not taken seriously at this time. Even, because coal mines affect the fertility of the land, the crops are not growing well. Therefore, the Ruhr area is even considered a barren land.

Under such circumstances, when Marin was willing to take over the Lower Geddes region with developed agriculture and a large population, and offered additional money in exchange for the conditions of the Earl of Mark, John II agreed without even thinking about it. Even, John II privately believed that Marin must have been kicked by a donkey in the brain. Otherwise, I wouldn't make such a stupid decision...

...

When he heard from his subordinates that Schwartz's army had taken control of the Lower Geddes area, John II decided to "wake up"... Of course, it means conscious, but still lying in bed "wake up"... …

And after hearing that the Worms Empire Council judged that Charles II, Duke of Geddes treason, and promised that if the Duchy of Clifford could occupy the Lower Geddes area, the Lower Geddes area would be awarded to the Duchy of Clifford. John II couldn't wait to go underground the next day, and expressed his "recovery" to the outside world...

"This is a big profit! This is a big profit!" John II walked around the palace excitedly. With the endorsement of the Imperial Conference and the loss of most of the territory of the Principality of Geddes, John II did not feel that Geddes had the ability to make a comeback.

For a moment, John II even greedily thought - should I tear up the agreement with Marin? In that case, he can swallow the Gedes region without paying for the Earl of Mark...

However, he recalled the news sent back by Wolfgang, the number one general under his command - in the news, Wolfgang admitted that the fighting strength of Criver's army was far inferior to that of the North Sea Kingdom. In the battle report, General Wolfgang reported that the army of the Principality of Clifford attacked the weakest right flank of the Principality of Gede Company, but failed to defeat it, and also made the opponent's morale soar. But then Beihaiguo sent a team of 100 people, which directly broke through the enemy's line of defense and dispersed the enemy's formation... Therefore, General Wolfgang's judgment is that the combat effectiveness of the Beihaiguo army is greater than that of the army of the Principality of Geddes. It is stronger, but the army of the Principality of Gede is stronger than the army of the Principality of Clifford... The conclusion is that the army of the North Sea Country is far stronger than the Principality of Clifford...

With such a conclusion, John II had to be discouraged and decided to implement the agreement with Marin according to the original plan...

So, on the second day of "sober", John II announced the dismissal of the prime minister, Mason, and even deprived him of his baronial title and fief... This is obviously done for the princes to see - look, this matter It's none of my business, the traitor old Mason did it behind my back, everyone please believe me...

But in private, Old Mason was not depressed at all, but packed up his family property and moved his family to Beihai Kingdom. Because, he will make a comeback in Beihai Kingdom... Moreover, before leaving, John II also sent him a lot of property in private as compensation...

Although John II expelled old Mason, who had "made a fool of himself", he had no intention of not going to the Geddes area. He issued an order and decided to strictly implement the decision of the parliament, taking over the Geddes area...

However, in view of the fact that the North Sea Country mercenary hired by Old Mason was in the Lower Gedes area and refused to leave, he asked him for a salary, and he asked for a high salary of 1 million gold coins...

John II declared that the Duchy of Clever could not afford to pay such high wages. Therefore, it was decided to use the barren territory of the Earl of Mark as collateral, instead of the salary of 1 million gold coins, to pay the North Sea mercenaries invited by Old Mason. Of course, in order to retain the seat of the Earl of Mark in the Imperial Parliament, John II stated that the entire country of the Ear of Mark could be handed over to the North Sea Country, but only the capital, Markburg, was retained. In this way, he, the Earl of Mark, is also worthy of his name. Of course, in the future of the country of Mark, the territorial scope has changed, and it has become Markburg plus the Lower Geddes area...

When John II signed the relevant decree, officially handing over the territory of the Earl of Mark except for Fort Mark to the North Sea State, Schwartz finally withdrew his troops from the Lower Geddes area and handed over control of the Lower Geddes area to the North Sea State. to John II. At the same time, Schwartz separated some troops and went to the country of Mark to take over local control. At the same time, let the local small nobles in the Earl of Mark make their own choices - leave the Country of Mark with John II, or stay there to serve Marin...

At this point, the North Sea Kingdom finally has the territory of the Earl of Mark, and also has control over nearly half of the Ruhr area...