The Rise of the European Emperor

After taking the land of Mülheim, the only remaining target is the land in the Duchy of Clifford.

However, this land is very difficult to obtain. why? Because this land is the core area of ​​the Principality of Clifford...

The Principality of Clifford is not large, only about 2,200 square kilometers, which is much smaller than that of the Counties of East Friesland. However, its territory, both on the banks of the Rhine, belongs to the rich agricultural area. Moreover, there are no swampy areas, and the land utilization rate is relatively high.

The area to the east of the Rhine, south of the Lippe River, and north of the Ruhr River, which Marin sought, was about four or five hundred square kilometers, almost occupying a quarter of the territory of the Duchy of Clifford. There are also many feudal vassals in the territory, which is very troublesome to deal with.

Before, although Marin used the Lower Gedes region to exchange for the Earl of Mark, it was a special situation. Why? Because the land of the Earl of Mark is far less prosperous than the Lower Geddes area. Of course, this refers to agriculture. However, in this era, there is no industry, and agriculture is naturally the king.

In the Lower Guedes region, as early as a few decades ago when Charles the daring Duke of Burgundy destroyed the Duchy of Guedes, most of the local feudal nobles were slaughtered. Therefore, even if Charles II returned to the country in 1492, there would not be many feudal nobles left in the country.

If there are no feudal nobles, what will happen? Naturally, most of the arable land and estates in the Lower Geddes region belonged to Charles II, Duke of Geddes.

And what are the consequences of having too much royal territory? Of course, Charles II was very rich. After all, taxation was not universal in this era. In addition to the number of cities in the fief, the standard for measuring whether a prince is rich is the amount of land under his name.

The more land under the name, the greater the income. Charles II took the opportunity of being shuffled by the daring Charlie's extermination of the country, and took most of the land of the Geddes duchy into his own hands. As a result, Charles II naturally became a very rich prince. Otherwise, he would not have so much money to feed the large army and the Duchy of Saxony fighting for West Friesland.

What needs to be explained here is that although the feudal lords are nominally the owners of all the land of the feudal feudal state, in fact, many lands have been enfeoffed. After all, there are many barons and knights under those dukes and earls. The longer the feudal state has been passed down, the less land will be under the feudal name. Because each generation of princes will seal some land out. And the recovery of land is difficult, unless the vassals under the rule are extinct, they can take the opportunity to recover the land...

Therefore, the longer the feudal state is, the less land the feudal lords themselves have. And a prince who conquered the world like Marin has the most land under his name. Because he was the first generation of princes, and he didn't entrust much land out. As for the original vassals of the land they captured, most of them were cleared or driven away by him. Therefore, he has so much land.

The reason why John II was willing to exchange the Earl of Mark for the Lower Gedes area is also because the lower Gedes area directly under the Duke of Geddes has a lot of arable land, which is much more than the land under the name of John II and the Earl of Mark.

And Marin exchanged for the country of Mark, if the value of coal is not calculated, it is a huge loss. Because this is exchanging territory, not destroying a country. Therefore, Marin could not move the original small feudal nobles at will. Therefore, except for the manor Marin left by the feudal aristocrats who were willing to follow John II to go to the Lower Gedes area, Marin could not move the small feudal aristocrats who were willing to stay. Of course, those petty feudal aristocrats must also be loyal to Marin.

Therefore, from an agricultural point of view, it was very disadvantageous for Marin to use the Lower Gedes area, where the land ownership was concentrated in the hands of the princes, to exchange the land ownership in the Country of Mark, where the land ownership was relatively scattered.

But Marin's own target isn't that farmland either, it's coal. So, he actually didn't feel that he was at a disadvantage. When the industrial age comes, Marin will make a lot of money. Because the mineral resources in the territory are owned by the princes.

(Note: In the feudal era, the minerals of European countries,

owned by the royal family. Of course, in a divided Germany, the mineral resources of the princely states belong to the princes. All miners must be licensed and pay heavy taxes. For example, when Spain develops gold and silver mines in the Americas, it is stipulated that 1/5 of the proceeds from the gold and silver mines belongs to the Spanish royal family. It's about revenue, not profit. )

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Unlike the Earl of Mark, John II was resident in the Principality of Clifford. Earl of Mark is only a title he holds concurrently, and Duke of Cliff is his main title. The roots of the Lamarck family are also in the Principality of Clifford.

Therefore, the territorial changes of the Principality of Clifford had a great impact on the Lamarck family. Therefore, for Marin, the difficulty of exchanging the land east of the Rhine is even more difficult than exchanging the Earl of Mark. Moreover, Marin now does not have high-quality plots where land ownership is concentrated in the hands of princes like the Lower Gedes area that can be exchanged.

At present, Marin's hands can be exchanged, mainly in the area south of the Ruhr River in the country of Markberg, and the western area of ​​the South Münster area.

But neither the area south of the Ruhr in the country of Mark, nor the western part of the South Münster area, is as fertile as the land east of the Rhine in the Duchy of Clifford. Moreover, the convenience of transportation is far from that.

Not only that, but the land ownership on the two parcels of land is also more complicated. The area south of the Ruhr River in the Country of Mark was originally a fief under the name of John II. How could John II not know about the situation there? Anyway, it can't catch up with the land on the east bank of the Rhine River in the Duchy of Clifford. Moreover, there is no border with the Principality of Clifford, so the management is more troublesome.

As for the piece of land in the western part of the South Munster area, it is on the border with the Principality of Clifford. However, the land there is not as fertile as the land on the east bank of the Rhine, and the ownership of the land is also troublesome. Because the land ownership in the South Münster area is mainly in the hands of the church...

Even if John II, Duke of Cleaver was willing to exchange land, he would not dare to ask the church for land...

In these years, Protestantism has not yet come out to rebel. Catholicism in Europe is more tyrannical than the old beauty of later generations. Even if Marin exchanged the land for John II, John II would not dare to grab the land held by the local church...

Therefore, it is very difficult to change to the land on the east bank of the Rhine...

But in any case, Marin was reluctant to give up the land. Because that land is not only rich in coal resources, but also has the advantage of unparalleled water transportation.

So, Marin decided to give it a try. If you haven't tried it, how do you know if it works or not? Just like a saying in later generations - ideals always have to be, in case they are realized...

Moreover, Marin did not go by chance. He went to the land on the east bank of the Rhine with the mentality of winning. He was willing to pay a huge price to get that land...