On December 23, 1497, two days before Christmas, in the square of the Königsberg Cathedral, a total of 820 Teutonic knights from the Teutonic Knights gathered to vote for a new grandmaster. .
After several former senior deacons announced the election rules, a total of three candidates began to speak on stage one after another...
The first to take the stage was Prince Frederick. After Prince Frederick came to power, he talked about the strength of the Principality of Saxony, and said that the powerful Principality of Saxony would form an alliance with the Teutonic Knights to help fight against Poland. Moreover, he kept hinting that an alliance with prosperous Saxony would bring great trade benefits.
Marin curled his lips below. To be honest, Prince Frederick's speech was not bad, and it was very deceptive. However, it's just a fool. Sounds good, but it's really not the case at all.
Because, Marin knew that the Duchy of Saxony would fall into the quagmire of the resistance of the Frisian people in the future, and was overwhelmed with self-care. How could it be able to support the Teutonic Knights
As for trade interests? In the Hanseatic League, the Saxony business circle was stronger than the Prussian-Livonian business circle. What's more, there are only 4 Hanseatic cities left in the Teutonic Knights. When the two are combined, it is clear at a glance who is dominant. It can be said that once the Saxony business circle is combined with the four Hanseatic cities of Teutonic, it will be the Saxony Hanse merchants who will benefit. For a Teutonic Hanseatic merchant, it is considered good to be able to drink some soup.
After thinking about it, Marin wrote these thoughts on paper and handed them to Prince Philip...
"You are?"
"When I'm going to give a speech, pierce his cowhide and expose the truth."
"Will this...will offend the Saxons?" Prince Philip hesitated. Because, the Duchy of Cliff and the Duchy of Mark combined are far inferior to the Duchy of Saxony.
"What are you afraid of, the Saxons are about to fall into the quagmire of Frisian resistance. Moreover, the mighty Principality of Geddes is also eyeing Frisian. As long as the Duke of Saxony is not brain-dead, he will not offend your family. So, feel free to say, Tell everyone that the Saxon army will be trapped in Friesland and will be targeted by the Geddes Kingdom. Therefore, they cannot be able to help the Teutonic Knights... "
"Good!" Prince Philip nodded...
…
Here, Prince Frederick's speech really moved many people, especially some neutrals. The Teutonic knights of the Saxony family applauded vigorously to cheer for their young master.
The second candidate was from Switzerland, but he abstained directly. Although I signed up before, I didn't participate in the end. Because, this person can see that even if he takes the stage to run for election, few people will vote for him...
Then, the third person didn't come either...
The fourth person is William from Austria, who was bought by Marin. Surprisingly, this guy is pretty good at speeches. After this guy took the stage, he first lit up the badge of the Habsburg family, calming down the scene...
Although the Habsburg family was boycotted by nobles everywhere. However, the Swabian region and the Saxon region really did not resist, because these two regions are allies with the Habsburg family. Moreover, there are also some nobles in the Franconia region who are friendly with the Habsburg family. Of course, even if the knights in the Saxon region do not oppose the Habsburg family, they cannot vote for others when their prince is present.
However, the knights in the Swabian region are a little tangled...
Because they first agreed to vote for Prince Frederick of Saxony. Later, however, William came out and quietly persuaded some people to vote for him instead.
Of course, even if the money was spent, William's speech must be convincing to prove that he is qualified for the job of Grand Commander, otherwise, those Swabian knights who made an appointment may also go back on their word.
William was a little clever. He first revealed his identity as a member of the Habsburg family. Although it would lose the support of most of the knights in the princely states who opposed the Habsburg family, it made the knights in the emperor's allies began to hesitate.
Most of the knights of the Teutonic Knights are from the German region. Therefore, the Teutonic Knights have developed to this day and can already be called the German Knights.
In any case, William was a member of the Habsburg family, although the emperor may not have known him as a collateral member. However, some knights of the emperor's allies, the princes, had to think about it.
Because, their family members will be mixed in the princes and states. Therefore, they must be careful not to confront the princes in their hometown.
Moreover, with the help of the "master of counterfeiting" Marin, William also showed some people the emperor's personal letter of introduction. With the "emperor's recommendation", the Teutonic knights in the Swabian region and some Franconia regions will have to weigh it...
What confuses these people is that the Prince of Saxony also told the Teutonic knights in Swabia that the emperor supported him. Therefore, some Swabian knights became confused.
In fact, the emperor did support Prince Frederick. Because, Saxony is now an important ally of the emperor. However, the emperor did not issue a "letter of introduction" to Prince Frederick. However, William brought a forged letter of introduction from the emperor. Therefore, some Swabian knights were really persuaded. In addition, William also gave a favor fee...
William didn't talk very well about the issue of economic construction, but he also clearly expressed his intention to support business development and encourage everyone to make money.
In the military, William trumpeted the strength of the Habsburg family. Moreover, the crucial point is that William told everyone that if he chose the Habsburg family, then the emperor could warn Poland in the name of the head of the German family, telling them to restrain themselves and not bully the Teutonic Knights...
Having said that, Marin couldn't help applauding William. Speaking of which, Maximilian I was also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor came forward to negotiate with Poland, and Poland really needs to weigh it. Moreover, as the emperor, he could indeed give legal support to the Teutonic Knights.
Of course, these promises seem beautiful, but they are all false. Moreover, William is not a representative sent by the Habsburg family...
However, other people don't know. Especially those Teutonic knights in Swabia, caught in an extremely entangled state...
After William went down, there were two more candidates bye—they both abstained. Finally, it was Prince Philip who took the stage.
After Prince Philip took the stage, he opened the speech prepared by Marin for him. Once on stage, Philip fired at Prince Frederick:
"Just now, after listening to the speeches of the first two, I was deeply touched. Of course, I also have some different views on what the first two said..."
"For example, Prince Frederick said that the Principality of Saxony can provide military support for the Teutonic Knights. I don't agree with it..."
"As far as I know, after the Principality of Saxony conquered the Republic of Friesland a while ago, it did not capture the original nine Friesian MPs, but let them run away. In this way, in the days to come, these nine original Friesian MPs The Frisian nobles may constantly incite the local people to rebel. Therefore, I conclude that it will be difficult for Saxony to mobilize troops to support the Teutonic Kingdom... "
Now Prince Frederick was not happy, he stood up and retorted loudly:
"The resistance of the Frisians is not worth mentioning. They are vulnerable to the tens of thousands of troops in Saxony!"
Prince Philip glanced at this competitor and said unhurriedly:
"Of course these nine local nobles from Saxony are not afraid, but I heard that the Geddesian Duchy in the south of Friesland has long been eyeing the Frisian region. If these nine people go to the Geddesian Duchy, What about getting the support of the Duke of Geddes? I think this is very likely to happen. Therefore, in the future, Friesland will have a stable life. And the Duchy of Saxony will have to put a lot of energy there , it is impossible to have the energy to help the Teutonic Knights!"
Prince Philip spoke very firmly. Suddenly, some centrists who supported Prince Frederick became a little hesitant.
Then, Prince Philip continued to spray:
"Let's talk about this economic policy again. Prince Frederick said that he will cooperate with the Hanseatic merchants in Saxony. However, everyone is not unaware of the current situation."
"Right now, there are only four Hanseatic cities left in the Teutonic Knights, and the business has shrunk dramatically. Compared with the Hanseatic merchants in the Saxon business district, our merchants are completely unable to compete with them."
"It would be great if the two sides communicate on an equal footing. But I'm afraid that the Hanseatic merchants of Saxony will take advantage of our weakness to annex our market and erode the interests of the Teutonic merchants... After all, they are too powerful now, and We are a little weak..." After finishing speaking, Prince Philip glanced at Prince Frederick maliciously according to the "script" provided by Marin.
"Boom—" The Teutonic knights below started discussing. Before, they only thought of the benefits brought about by trading with the Saxon merchants, but never thought that the Saxon merchants might annex them and erode their interests. Now that I think about it, it's pretty scary...
Prince Frederick's eyes were burning with anger, and he wished he could cut Prince Philip down. The two points that Prince Philip made against him really moved those Teutonic knights. However, the Teutonic knights were moved, and Prince Frederick was about to be greatly affected.
Then, Prince Philip took the time to read his speech and explain his campaign platform...
Prince Philip's economic initiatives are not too brilliant. However, Prince Philip has repeatedly emphasized that in order to be financially independent, he must give priority to taking care of his "family" in any good thing. This is in line with the tastes of many Teutonic knights who do business.
As for military measures, the plan of hiring Swiss mercenaries is more acceptable. In contrast, this move is much better than Prince Frederick's.
Because, counting on an ally like Saxon is better than counting on yourself to become stronger. Because, allies may save you when you are unlucky, or they may not save you, it is completely uncertain. Moreover, the Teutonic state is in trouble, and Saxony is far away. When Saxony gathers an army to come to the rescue, maybe the Teutonic Kingdom is over...
Prince Philip, too, improvises, spelling out the point. Prince Philip believes that only the strength of his own army is the most practical. The army of the allies, the Teutonic state cannot mobilize, and it is difficult to influence, far less reliable than its own army.
Moreover, Marin also helped Prince Philip point out in his speech that Swiss mercenaries are very good at dealing with heavy cavalry. In Poland and Lithuania, the main combat power is the heavy cavalry. Therefore, the use of Swiss mercenaries can completely suppress the opponent. In order to strengthen his persuasiveness, Philip also took the example of the Battle of Nancy, where Charles the Bold died, and told the Teutonic knights.
Although, telling the knights the story of the knight's defeat to the infantry made the Teutonic knights sound harsh. But they also know it's true.
…
In the end, Prince Philip's speech was a great success. Those centrists who had received money but worried that Prince Philip's speech would be too failure and poor ability also made up their minds and decided to support Prince Philip.
Finally, the voting begins...
There is no doubt that the Saxon knights must have voted for Prince Frederick. The knights of the Westphalia-Rhineland Alliance also voted for Prince Philip.
As for those centrist knights, a different situation emerged. Most of them have been bought by Marin, and Prince Philip's speech is very exciting. So, these people voted for Prince Philip.
However, a small number of them, mainly 10 Austrian knights, actually voted for William because of his status as a member of the Habsburg family...
William also looked confused - I'm just here to make soy sauce, okay? Why are you voting for me? I have never seen you before...
This is also the negligence of Marin and William. Other areas are okay, and the Austrian area is the old nest of the Habsburg family! These Teutonic knights from Austria, dare not vote for the person introduced by the emperor? Fortunately, most of the Austrian knights were digested by the Habsburg family, and not many came to the Teutonic Knights to seek life. Otherwise, there will be more tickets for William...
The most surprising thing is the Franconia-Swabia Alliance. Among them, the Franconia Knights of course voted for Prince Frederick the vast majority. But among the Swabian knights, there were differences.
Due to the emperor's face and the gold coins Marin sent to William, some Swabian knights actually voted for William...
Moreover, there were quite a few Swabian knights who voted for William, about 30 in total. Although this ratio is not high among the hundreds of Teutonic knights in Swabia, it has shared a lot of votes for Prince Frederick...
According to the final statistics, Prince Philip got exactly 390 votes. And Prince Frederick, with 388 votes, narrowly lost to Prince Philip by a narrow margin of 2 votes. As for the remaining 42 votes, all of them were taken away by William...
Seeing the final result, both Prince Philip and Marin heaved a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, William not only got a lot of votes from Swabia, but also got some votes from the neutral faction, and Prince Philip almost lost.
But in the end, Prince Philip won the election and was successfully elected as the new head of the Grand Regiment. He will be officially sworn in after the new year...
Seeing the dust settle, Marin's tense nerves can finally be relieved. Next, what Marin needs to plan is how to recover the cost...
In this election, Marin helped Prince Philip spend more than 80,000 gold coins, which can be described as a huge investment. You must know that the earls of many counties do not necessarily have so much annual financial income. This time, Marin really paid a lot of money.
So, next, Marin needs to discuss with Prince Philip how to make him provide more convenience so that he can earn back these investments...