The ideal is full, but the reality is very skinny. Marin is still planning how to slander the Saxons, and the Saxons smeared him first...
When Marin sent envoys to the surrounding four countries before, Prince George of Saxony, who guarded Groningen, also inquired about Marin sending Jeffrey Palace to Vienna to request canonization.
Therefore, Prince George directly sent a Pegasus report to Albrecht, Duke of Saxony in Dresden. At the same time, George also sent someone to quickly rush to Vienna, asking the emperor not to agree to Marin's request for the time being.
Jeffrey is a civil servant, so naturally he was traveling in a carriage, so he was not on his way fast. And George's subordinates are directly on the spur of the moment. So, although the departure dates differ by a few days, they arrived in Vienna on the same day.
Maximilian I was very surprised when he heard Jeffrey talk about Marin. That little guy named Marin was just a little wandering knight who came to join him 4 years ago. Now, has he grown to the level where he can win a country
"Jeffrey Aiqing, you said that Marin defeated East Frisia? As far as I know, East Frisia is not weak. I remember that more than ten years ago, the armies of East Frisia and Münster, They also jointly defeated the Earl of Oldenburg and forced Gerhard VI to step down... "
The emperor's words revealed the inside story of Oldenburg's support for Jever's rebellion—it turned out to be a grudge...
That incident happened in 1483. At that time, after the former Danish king Christian I died in 1481, the crown prince Hans did not immediately succeed to the throne, but had to wait for the three parliaments of the Kalmar Union—the Danish Parliament and the Norwegian Parliament. The coronation can only be done after the recognition of the Swedish parliament.
However, at that time Sweden was being divided, so, in fact, only the Danish Parliament and the Norwegian Parliament approved the succession of Crown Prince Hans to the throne. However, this delay is two years. Christian I died in 1481, and Prince Hans had only just been granted the throne in 1483.
It was precisely because Denmark was in a chaotic period when the old and the new alternated, so the Earl of East Frisia and the Bishop of Münster jointly sent troops to teach Gerhard VI, who was very rampant at the time, and prevent the Austrian Oldenburg's expansion attempt also forced Gerhard VI to abdicate and let his son Adolf ascend to the position of Earl of Oldenburg.
The time for the two countries to send troops is quite good. The new king of Denmark has not yet been decided, and Hans, a member of the Oldenburg family, has not yet become the official king of Denmark. How can he support his uncle? Therefore, Oldenburg was beaten badly at the time. Then, Hans had just ascended the throne and was busy sorting out the domestic situation, but he didn't help Oldenburg take revenge. However, when King Hans gained a firm foothold in Denmark, neither East Frisia nor the Bishop of Münster would use force against Oldenburg.
Maximilian I remembers that in 1483, East Frisia sent 3,000 troops, united with 4,000 people from the Bishop of Münster, and beat the Earl of Oldenburg so hard that they couldn't take care of themselves, and the capital was tightly surrounded. of. If it weren't for the unspoken rules among the nobles, you can't kill people casually, and Gerhard VI's nephew is about to become the king of Denmark, Gerhard VI might be sliced into pieces...
In any case, the strength of East Frisian troops is in the thousands. But according to Jeffrey, it took Marin less than a month to completely pacify the entire East Frisian. How could it not shock Maximilian I
"Ahem... It's like this, Your Majesty, Earl Marin is the heir of the Brock family who ruled East Frisia for hundreds of years... So, in East Frisia, there are still many people who support Lord Marin. "This is the rhetoric discussed by Marin and Jeffrey. Marin also felt that it was too mythical to quickly win East Frisia. In order to make the emperor believe it more, he decided to be humble. At the same time, let the emperor know that I am also very popular in East Frisia, so that I can appear more orthodox...
"Then specifically?"
"Lord Marin's mother, Mrs. Mary, is the granddaughter of the last Earl Brock. She was rescued by Lord Hoffman when she fled, so she married Knight Hoffman."
"So... that's not right... I remember that Marin was a wandering knight, that is to say, he should have an older brother. According to the law, even if his mother is the granddaughter of Earl Bullock, he should be the heir brother..."
"That's right, Your Majesty, Lord Marin's elder brother—His Excellency Adler, signed a document before Lord Marin attacked East Frisia, declaring that he had renounced the right of succession. Now, Lord Adler is Baron Lyle..."
"Hehe... What a good way..." The emperor smiled irrefutably. In his opinion, Marin must have used some method to coerce his brother to sign the document. After all, Marin is a baron, and Adler was a little knight before.
"Your Majesty, Lord Marin is your loyal subject and follower. Therefore, he hopes to join the Imperial Parliament and add one more vote for Your Majesty in the parliament..."
The Reichstag is a high-level parliament where all the dukes and earls of the German region gather together. Even the emperor is only the most important member of the imperial parliament. In the face of major events, we still need everyone to vote. For example, increasing the war tax requires the approval of the Imperial Parliament. The last time Maximilian I quarreled with parliamentarians in Worms, he missed the drama of intercepting the French army in the Italian War.
Moreover, the minimum entry into the Imperial Council is the earl. Not only that, most of the imperial councilors are dukes and earls with autonomous territories. Only a small number of members are dukes and earls who do not have independent territories and serve the emperor's court. For example, the Habsburg family had several earls who did not have independent territories, and in the Imperial Parliament, they helped the emperor quarrel and vote.
If Marin officially became the Earl and joined the Imperial Parliament, he would indeed be able to add one vote to the emperor and help strengthen his momentum during quarrels.
Although the previous Counties of East Frisia were recognized as princes, the German states all looked down on the small "barbarian" countries by the sea like East Frisia. Therefore, the Imperial Parliament and other counties have seats, but the Counties of East Frisia have no seats. In the eyes of other vassal states, the original Count of East Frisia was just a barbarian chieftain, and he was not worthy of joining the imperial parliament, a gathering that only real nobles could attend...
This time, Marin not only wanted to be canonized by the emperor, but also wanted to join the Imperial Parliament, be officially recognized by the whole of Germany, and formally integrate into the circle of European aristocrats.
The emperor was very moved, and he had a good talk with Jeffrey in the morning. But at noon, George's messenger arrived, and the emperor received George's letter of request. Then, in the afternoon, when Jeffrey asked the emperor to be canonized, the emperor began to "look around and talk about him", and started rambling, but refused to answer Jeffrey's request directly...
In fact, the emperor was waiting for a letter from the Duke of Saxony. Because it is still very difficult for Prince George to want the emperor to change his position. Because Prince George is not qualified to command the emperor.
However, Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, is qualified to ask the emperor to do things. Because the Saxon nobles are too powerful. In 1516, the Saxons were able to gather 24 princes to send troops to East Frisia, which proved that the Saxon nobles were numerous and powerful.
The emperor needs help in the Imperial Diet, so the Saxon faction is obviously a good ally. Because the Saxony department has more than 20 votes, which can give the emperor great momentum. Moreover, the emperor has very few allies now, so he cannot afford to offend the Saxons.
Sure enough, a few days later, the Duke of Saxony also wrote. The Duke of Saxony not only asked the emperor not to recognize Marin, but also asked the emperor to declare Marin illegal.
Now the emperor is not happy. Anyway, Marin is also his gold medalist. It's fine if you don't let me admit him, but you still want me to declare him illegal, isn't it too improper for the emperor to be a cadre
Thinking of the last meeting with Marin in Cliff City, Marin once said that the Saxons are too powerful and may affect the monopoly of the Habsburg family on the throne. …
In the end, the emperor decided not to recognize Marin's legal status, nor to declare Marin to be illegal, but to maintain an ambiguous attitude for the time being, making people uncertain...
Therefore, the emperor sent away the Saxon envoy and promised that he would not recognize Marin's earl status, but did not mention declaring Marin as illegal. However, the emperor hinted that if the Saxons want to do something, go ahead, anyway, the emperor will not object...
Then, the emperor sent Jeffrey away in a pleasing manner, but did not say anything about the official canonization. However, the emperor hinted that Geoffrey-Saxons have taken a fancy to East Frisia, so get ready to fight...
In this way, His Majesty the emperor, fearing the power of the Saxons and fearing the chilling of his subordinates, simply made a handful of mud, so that neither side would be offended.
Even, the emperor hoped that the two sides would fight more intensely, and it would be best for Marin to repel the Saxon attack. Because, he was also afraid that the Weiting family would challenge the Habsburg family's throne. You must know that the Weiting family is also one of the seven electors and is eligible to be elected emperor. Therefore, the emperor's heart is actually somewhat biased towards Marin's side...