The Rise of the European Emperor

The land area of ​​the Recklinghausen area is about six or seven hundred square kilometers, and it is very important in the Ruhr area. Moreover, this piece of land abruptly cut off the connection between Dortmund's West Mark County and the South Münster area. If Recklinghausen is won, the western part of the Ruhr River region of the country of Mark and the South Münster region can be united, which is convenient for Marin's rule.

Of course, more importantly, there are still many coal fields in it...

Although the coal reserves in the Recklinghausen area are relatively small, it is not an important coal-producing area. However, its land area is larger. If it is not included in the territory, it will seriously affect the continuity of the section between the Ruhr and the Lippe in the Ruhr area. Most importantly, it affects the transportation of coal...

According to Marin's estimation, the coal from the Ruhr area will definitely be transported directly to the Lippe River from the northern region, directly into the Ems River through the Münster Canal, and then transported to Emden. However, coal from the southern part of the Ruhr, such as the coal from Marin's hometown of Bochum, needs to travel through the Ruhr and then into the Rhine. Then enter the Lippe River and arrive at the Münster Canal...

The Recklinghausen area, which is located in the lower reaches of the Lippe River, also controls both sides of the lower reaches of the Lippe River. To transport coal from the Ruhr into the Münster Canal from the Rhine, one has to go through the Recklinghausen area. If the other party sets up a card to collect taxes... that's disgusting...

Therefore, in order to consider the economic grand strategy of "one game of chess for the whole country", Marin must solve the hidden danger of the Recklinghausen area. Moreover, the unclear property rights in the Recklinghausen area also gave Marin an opportunity to intervene.

Of course, it is precisely because of the unclear property rights that it is more difficult for Marin to acquire the Recklinghausen area...

How to say, it stands to reason that the property rights of this piece of land belong to the Archbishopric of Cologne. However, the Archbishopric of Cologne owes Gomen and Schaumburg money, and it is the boss. It's not that the Archbishopric of Cologne can't be replaced, but that it doesn't want to pay it back... So, things are going to be delayed... So, Gomen and Schaumburg continue to control the Leikrecklinghausen area...

Marin initially wanted to acquire Recklinghausen by purchasing it. Like, give Gomen and Schaumburg money to buy this land...

But I don't think so, why? In the final analysis, the property rights are still in the hands of the Archbishop of Cologne, but Cologne has never been willing to pay to redeem it.

However, if Marin paid for the land, it would be different. Originally, Cologne was still dragging it, but seeing Marin intervening, maybe he suddenly figured it out and was willing to pay for Recklinghausen...

Therefore, in order to obtain the Recklinghausen area, the Archbishopric of Cologne is an unavoidable obstacle...

How to deal with the monks in the Archbishopric of Cologne? Marin thought about throwing money at...

Therefore, Marin sent a lobbying group represented by Kohler to Bonn, the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, to lobby Archbishop Hermann IV of Cologne and the senior bishops of the Archbishopric of Cologne, hoping that they would agree to Marin's purchase of the Recklinghausen area.

After all, for now, the owner of the Recklinghausen area is still the Archbishopric of Cologne. And Gomen and Schaumburg, in fact, can only be regarded as "rent" tenants.

As long as you negotiate with the "landlord" of the Archbishopric of Cologne and buy the property rights of the "house" in Recklinghausen, you can take over at that time. As for the weak Gomen and Schaumburg? Who cares about their opinion? Weak countries have no say... Anyway, Marin will help pay off the arrears of the Archbishopric of Cologne...

"I'm curious, why did Your Excellency Marin buy Recklinghausen..." Hermann IV did not understand Marin's approach.

Kohler thought for a while, and according to Marin's advice, he told Herman IV the theory that "rich and noble do not return to their hometown, such as brocade clothes at night, who knows", saying that Marin had such a plan, Only to seek the Earl of Mark.

but,

In the Ruhr River Basin region of the country of Mark, when it communicated with the Aurich region, although there was the Münster Canal in the South Münster region, it still had to pass through the Rhine River region and enter the Lippe River.

The Rhine River is easy to solve, and the Principality of Clifford is, after all, an ally of the North Sea Kingdom. But Recklinghausen was not in control of Gomen and Schaumburg. If they suddenly blocked the river to collect tolls, Marin would be helpless. So, Marin decided to tackle the problem rudely - take the Recklinghausen area directly...

Herman IV was a little stunned - is this even okay? Just because you are afraid of being charged tolls, you will buy it if you disagree?

As nonsense as it may sound, Hermann IV, Archbishop of Cologne, decided to believe Kohler's words. Because, Kohler quietly sent him 20,000 gold coins...

However, the bishopric is not determined by the archbishop. Those senior bishops, like senior members of parliamentary countries, also have a voice. So, even if Herman IV agreed, the senior bishops would have to agree...

Kohler then embarked on a lobbying journey. Of course, every time the lobbying is finished, a gift will be given - a few thousand gold coins...

As a result, several senior bishops also fell...

Then, Hermann IV and several senior bishops convened a clergy conference to vote on this issue...

But here is the problem...

There were hundreds of people attending the clergy conference, all of whom were middle and senior clergymen, many of them abbots. Those abbeys, although not very high-level, have a good vision. If you send a few hundred gold coins, the other party may not see it. But if a few thousand gold coins are given away...with hundreds of people present, it will cost hundreds of thousands...this is quite uneconomical...

Many abbeys are also equivalent to a small prince. For the Recklinghausen area, they may have no intention of taking it back. However, he is not willing to sell his sovereignty over the land. Even if Herman IV and several senior bishops agreed, most of them did not. So, things came to a deadlock...

"How could this be?" Herman IV began to sweat on his forehead.

In the past, Herman IV received Marin's money and expressed his support for Marin, but he did not see any opposition from the abbots... This time...

Actually, it's no wonder. After all, in the past, Herman IV supported Marin in the imperial parliament, which was a foreign affairs, and generally those abbots in the country did not pay much attention to it. Even if the Bishopric of Münster is given to Marin, it is not the matter of the Archbishopric of Cologne. After all, the Bishopric of Münster is only under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Cologne, and not under the jurisdiction of those abbots. After all, the Bishopric of Münster is only a vassal of the Archbishopric of Cologne, not the territory of the Archbishopric of Cologne.

But Recklinghausen was different. It was originally the territory of the Archbishopric of Cologne, and those abbots had a say. Although they may not have any interests there, seeing the Archbishopric of Cologne betray its territorial sovereignty, it still makes them lose face. You must know that the Archbishopric of Cologne is one of the seven major imperial states, and it is a German boss-level existence. It is very shameless to lose sovereignty for no reason...

For a while, the meeting fell into a stalemate...

Kohler felt that the problem was difficult, so he sent people back to Aurich to ask Marin what to do.

Marin thought for a while and decided to use a compromise solution—that is, to give up Recklinghausen's right to manage religious affairs and recognize the nominal ownership of Recklinghausen by the Archbishopric of Cologne. However, civil power and land property rights, especially mineral rights, belong to him... Of course, he will pay another 100,000 gold coins to the Archbishopric of Cologne...

At the same time, Marin also secretly ordered to send a bag of silver coins to each of the 300 low-ranking clergy members of the Archbishopric of Cologne...

These silver coins are worth 100 gold coins. But the silver fenney itself weighs less than half of the gold coin, plus it contains less than half of the silver. Therefore, after replacing the 100 gold coins that could only hold a small bag with Finney silver coins, there were more than 2,000 coins, and there was a large bag, which looked very visually striking...

Seeing that Marin made concessions, stopped seeking ownership, and even gave up the management of religious affairs, these abbots stopped talking.

You must know that, in general sovereign vassal states, the appointment of bishops is decided by the church, but the princes themselves also have great power of advice. You can even veto candidates for the church.

Marin ceded the right to manage religious affairs. In this era when religious power was no less than governance power, it was equivalent to giving up half of his sovereignty. As a result, the Council of High Priests of the Archbishopric of Cologne passed a motion for Marin to purchase the secular rights in the Recklinghausen area.

After getting this approved motion, Marin immediately sent messengers to Recklinghausen, and proposed to the lords of Gomen and Schaumburg to buy the secular power of Recklinghausen with 200,000 gold coins, and showed the Cologne Archbishopric's request. The meeting decided to...

In fact, Marin did not consult with Gomen and the lords of Schaumburg, but came to give an ultimatum. Moreover, he is not afraid of causing trouble this time - the "landlord" of the Archbishopric of Cologne has agreed, and you are a little "tenant" of Gomen and Schaumburg, even if you disagree, what can you do?

Marin came in accordance with legal procedures, and is not afraid to cause trouble...

Moreover, Marin was not worried about the stabbing of Gomen and Schaumburg. Because, in terms of fighting, who did Beihai Kingdom fear? What's more, this time Beihai Kingdom is taking over...

While Marin sent messengers to "negotiate" with the lords of Gomen and Schaumburg to forcefully buy the Recklinghausen area, Marin also sent 10,000 troops to the south with great fanfare. Said to be taking over the country of Mark, but in fact he went straight to the Recklinghausen area to intimidate the opponent with force...

The Gomen Territory and the Schaumburg Country together add up to a territory of more than 600 square kilometers, with a population of only over 10,000. Including the 30,000 inhabitants of the Recklinghausen area, the total population does not exceed 50,000. It is scary to be able to make up three or four thousand people, let alone combat power. Faced with the dual threats of Marin's diplomacy and military, they are powerless to resist...