When Jeffrey was still in Vienna, Marin began to think of other ways. On the European continent, if a prince wants to be safe, in addition to his own strength, he must have enough and strong allies. In this way, other princes will not dare to take your idea lightly. If there are no allies, even the most powerful princes will be easily surrounded and beaten to death.
Therefore, Marin must be looking for allies. Fortunately, Marin also has allies like the Principality of Cleaver. After meeting with the envoys sent by Marin, John II, Duke of Cleaver, quickly responded, announcing the recognition of Marin as the Earl of East Frisia. After all, the two sides are allies in terms of interests, and a strong ally is also good for oneself. Therefore, John II readily recognized Marin's status. He was also the first prince to recognize Marin's status. In addition, there is no problem with the recognition of Marin's status by the Teutonic Knights. It's just that the Teutonic Knights are a little far away, and it will be much later that the head of Philip received the news from Marin. Therefore, it is estimated that it will take a lot of time until the Teutonic country recognizes Marin.
However, one of these two allies is separated from East Frisia by the large Bishop of Münster, and the other is simply thousands of miles away.
Therefore, Marin was very happy that the two recognized his status. However, the help of these two to Marin is actually very limited. After all, distant water cannot save near fire. And the two malicious neighbors, the Frisian Saxons and Oldenburg to the east, are on the sidelines.
If the Saxons start to attack Marin, Marin can be sure that Oldenburg will definitely take advantage of the fire. Therefore, Marin decided to recruit helpers to deal with Saxony and Oldenburg.
The main enemies of Oldenburg are East Frisia and the Bishop of Münster, because the two countries came to the city in 1483 and forced Gerhard VI to abdicate. In terms of interests, the Bishop of Münster should be on the same front as the Earl of East Frisia. However, it was the Sexner family, not the Bloch family, who formed an alliance with the Bishop of Munster in the first place. Therefore, the current relationship between the Counties of East Frisia and the Bishop of Münster is a bit awkward. Because, the former ally of the Bishop of Munster was actually the Sexner family. However, the main members of the Sexner family were all killed by Marin in one go, which made the Bishop of Munster at a loss.
Because, logically, the Bishop of Munster is an ally of the Sexner family and should help the Sexner family. However, Marin attacked East Frisia too quickly, and captured all the direct members of the Sexner family, and chopped them all down before other countries responded. In this way, even if the Bishop of Munster wanted to help, it would be meaningless. The partners are all dead, so is it necessary to stand up for them? You must know that between countries, there is a relationship of interests, not the maintenance of emotions. Therefore, after learning that all members of the Sexner family were dead, the Bishop of Munster gave up the idea of confronting Marin. After all, for the unambitious Bishop of Münster, the most important thing is to fight against the Earl of Oldenburg, which fantasizes about expansion because of its hard background.
As for the invasion of East Frisia, the Bishop of Münster had never thought about it. why? Because the Bishop of Münster is a religious country where the bishop is in power, not a hereditary system. Even if the current bishop tried his best to swallow East Frisia, after his death, the next bishop would not be his son, so for whom did he work so hard? It's just cheap for an irrelevant person.
Therefore, those bishops generally have no interest in expansion. Unless its neighbor is too weak and it is easier to fight, it will consider annexing it.
Marin was able to conquer East Frisia in a short period of time, and controlled the situation before the neighboring countries reacted, which shows that it is not a soft persimmon. Therefore, the Bishop of Münster did not want to deal with East Frisia. Even, it has been worried that Denmark will go crazy one day and send troops to help Oldenburg expand. In that case, both East Frisia and the huge Bishop of Münster would be the targets of Oldenburg's aggression. Therefore, regarding Marin's identity, the attitude of the Bishop of Münster is also ambiguous, neither recognizing nor opposing it. If Oldenburg wants to take revenge, maybe the Bishop of Münster will join forces with Marin. The reason why he didn't admit it was also to appear less shameless. After all, Marin killed their former ally. If you admit it immediately, it seems too immoral.
As for the enemies of Saxony, those who are far away cannot be used, and the only ones who are close are the nine idiot nobles who have subjugated the country. However, they are too weak, and it is okay to use them to cause trouble for Saxon, but they are not qualified enough to form an alliance. It is the ambitious Gedes Company that is qualified to form an alliance with Marin...
The Principality of Gedesi has only been restored for 6 years, and it is not very strong yet. However, his Duke, Charles II, is an ambitious man, and also a relatively powerful character.
In fact, the reason why Charles II aimed at the Duke of Saxony was not only because of ambition, but also because of the fear that the greedy Wetting family would use West Frisia as a springboard to expand around in the future.
Charles II knew that Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was an ambitious man who always wanted to expand. Charles II had heard about the fact that he had been eyeing West Frisia for a long time.
Saxony is powerful. Not only is it a large country with a large population, but it is also backed by a strong Hanseatic business circle. Therefore, whether it is military strength, financial resources, or the number of allies, Geddes cannot match.
If the Saxons established a stable rule in West Frisia, they might turn their coveted eyes to surrender to the Principality of Geddes...
In addition, Charles II had already taken a fancy to the "ownerless" West Frisia for a long time. Therefore, when the Duke of Saxony occupied West Frisia, Charles II's inner anger can be imagined.
Therefore, when the nine original Frisian nobles wanted to flee to the Principality of Geddes, Charles II accepted them without even thinking about it.
Although the Principality of Gerdes is currently unable to face Saxony due to insufficient strength. However, relying on these 9 idiots, it is still possible to cause trouble for the opponent, and weaken the opponent by the way.
However, after letting these 9 people lead troops to the southwestern region of West Frisia, Charles II was completely disappointed in the IQ of this group of people...
You said that you are a group of unlucky people who want to restore the country. In order to restore the country, you should mobilize the people as much as possible to help you. But these 9 idiots are lucky, they directly robbed the locals and made enemies with the locals. Can they still count on the local people to help them fight against Saxony
Therefore, after these nine people saw the Saxon army approaching and fled back to the territory of Geddes in panic, Charles II didn't like to see them very much, and his support for them was greatly reduced. However, although these 9 second-hand goods lost the hearts of the people, they also took back a lot of money and food, and they can support them for a long time...
Marin knew what Charles II was thinking, and also believed that the Principality of Geddes was a strong prince. Perhaps, the Geddes Company is not sure about going head-to-head with Saxony one-on-one. However, the Kingdom of Geddes is probably happy to form an alliance with Marin and fight against Saxony together.
After all, if Saxony takes the initiative to attack East Frisia, the pressure must be on Marin's side, and the Geddes Company is not the main party to be beaten. When the Principality of Saxony attacked the Counties of East Frisia to the east, Geddes dispatched a large army to take advantage of the fire in the south to rob, and by the way to attract the attention of the Saxons, it was still possible.
In order to form an alliance with Geddes, Marin personally took a boat and went to Geddes to see Charles II...
"Your Excellency Marin, you said you want to form an alliance with me?" Charles II was very surprised by Marin's arrival. In fact, Charles II has been very low-key in recent years, showing no ambition at all. No one knows about West Frisian coveting.
"Yes, Lord Charlie. You can also see that the Saxons are wolfish and ambitious. They are not satisfied with annexing West Frisia. They also want to attack the Earl of East Frisia. I am worried that if East Frisia is also annexed , they are not satisfied…”
"Even if they are greedy, they may not necessarily attack the Principality of Geddes." Charles II couldn't deny it, and at the same time, he was covering up his ambition.
Regarding this point, Marin will naturally not point it out, but explain it from a security perspective...
Marin took out the prepared map and pointed it to Charles II:
"Master Charlie, please look, this is West Frisia, this is East Frisia..."
"If Saxony captures East Frisia, then there are only a few neighbors left on their side of the territory - the Principality of Geddes, the Archbishop of Utrecht and the Bishop of Münster to the south, and the Archbishop of Münster to the east. It is the country of Oldenburg, with the sea to the north and His Majesty's Netherland across the sea to the west... "
"Both bishops belong to the power of the Holy See. I don't think the Duke of Saxony is bold enough to grab the territory of the Holy See. Moreover, the Bishop of Münster is also a vassal of the Elector of Cologne, who is also the Elector. Therefore, They generally will not do anything to the Bishop of Münster and the Archbishop of Utrecht."
"As for the Earl of Oldenburg, needless to say, it is a family with Denmark. If you understand Oldenburg, it is tantamount to turning against Denmark. The Duke of Saxony is a smart man, and he will definitely not do this. As for the emperor in the west The territory of the Duke of Saxony is even less likely to move."
"Then, only the Kingdom of Geddes is left, and it is the best option for expansion. Because there is no Holy See behind the Geddes Corporation, and there is no such a powerful country as Denmark..."
Charles II was also shocked after listening to Marin's explanation. Hearing what Marin said, if Saxony takes East Frisia, it really can only expand in the direction of the Principality of Geddes. Thinking of this, Charles II was not only a little worried.
"So, Your Excellency Marin, what do you mean?"
"I want to form an alliance with the Duke! One person is not strong enough, then two people join forces. The strength of a fist is stronger than a finger after all..."
"What you said is very reasonable, but what about your confidence? You know, not just any random person is qualified to form an alliance with the Geddes Company."
"You are right, my lord, please allow me to introduce the current military strength of the Counties of East Frisia..."
"East Frisia currently has a well-trained main force of more than 5,000 people (excluding the more than 500 people returned to the Frisian nobles), divided into four square formations. In addition, the entire territory of East Frisia, You can also mobilize 5,000 conscripts... "
"Conscripts have no fighting power and are easily defeated..." Charles II said irrefutably.
"Yes, Lord Charlie, it is not acceptable to face-to-face conscripts on the battlefield. But, what about defending the city?"
"Defending the city... well... it can be used..." Relying on the strong city wall, even conscripts can fight regular troops.
"So, even if the Counties of East Frisia cannot confront Saxony head-on, it is still possible to hold back the main force of Saxony with a solid city defense!"
"Then why do you still need the Geddes Company? Wouldn't it be enough to drag it until the Saxons are unsustainable?"
"No, Lord Charlie, if the war drags on for a long time, it will have a very bad impact on East Frisia. Besides, the food will always run out..."
"Then how can I help you? If I send troops to support you, I'm afraid it will be too late..."
"If East Frisia is attacked by Saxony, you don't need to send troops to East Frisia to support me..."
"Not going to support you? What's the point of forming an alliance?" Europeans are not very good at strategy in this era, so naturally they don't know what it means to "encircle Wei and save Zhao". So, Marin told the allusion of Huaxia's "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao"...
"You mean, when the enemy is besieging you, I will send troops to Groningen, the capital of West Frisia, to force the opponent to retreat?" Charles II quickly reacted.
"No, you don't need to go to Groningen. Groningen is too close to East Frisia. If the Saxon army returns to help, it will easily bite your army."
"That… "
"You can send troops to besiege Leeuwarden! Although Leeuwarden is not the capital of West Frisia, it is also an important city. Moreover, the West Frisian area is larger than the Groningen area. You only need to lead troops in West Frisia The Saxons will be frightened by rampant raids in the Lan area, wantonly looting, and the stance of attacking Groningen eastward."
"What if they call over? Then don't we have to fight the Saxons? That's not worth it..."
"If the main force of Saxony attacks you to the west, my East Frisian army can also take advantage of their main force to leave and chase them, forcing them not to dare to go west with the whole army. If the number of troops going west is not large, it will be harmful to you. What threat?"
"Do you dare to go out of the city to pursue them?"
"Of course, Lord Charlie, don't forget that I have more than 5,000 regular troops. The main force of the enemy is gone. I can still do it by hitting their tails and threatening Groningen, which is close at hand. If I If our army attacks, the Saxon army will be in a dilemma. If they turn around and attack me, I can retreat to defend the city... In short, if our two families unite, the Saxon army will be in a dilemma... "
"And, if the Saxon army is defeated, look, how about our two families carve up West Frisia?" Marin threw out the bait of interest again.
"How to divide?" Charles II was already tempted, but he still asked calmly.
"Look, West Frisia is huge, but Groningen is smaller..."
"You want Groningen? Isn't it right? Although the area around Groningen is indeed much smaller than the West Frisian area around Leeuwarden. However, Groningen is a Hanseatic commercial city, and the fiscal revenue of the two places is completely different. of… "
"Then... the West Frisian area belongs to you, and the area around Groningen belongs to me. As for the city of Groningen, we both share it and share the tax equally. How about it?" As for the end, it's not impossible to turn around.
"Well, this plan is quite reasonable..."
As a result, the ambitious Charles II, Duke of Geddes, signed an alliance document with Marin, and publicly recognized Marin as the Earl of East Frisia...
And Marin, with such a powerful ally as the Geddes Company, has a lot of confidence...