In Gelden, a small town in northwestern Germany, the capital of the Principality of Geddes, Duke Charles II is looking at the map and thinking. Looking at the past from the map, Charles II, Duke of Geddes, was not concerned about the Principality of Geddes itself, but West Frisia in the north.
Charles II, the Duke of Gedes, was a very ambitious prince who wanted to expand the territory of the Duchy of Gedes and strengthen his own strength.
But unfortunately, his neighbors are not easy to mess with. For example, his neighbors to the west include the Counties of the Netherlands and the Principality of Brabant, both of which were the territories of Philip, the son of Emperor Maximilian I.
In fact, the Principality of Geddes had been annexed by Maximilian I's father-in-law Charles the bold annexation before that. It was not until 1492 that Charles II took advantage of the riots in Flanders to let the overwhelmed Mark Similian I agreed with him to restore the Principality of Gedes.
Obviously, the Principality of Geddesi cannot fight against the emperor's power. Therefore, westward expansion is not feasible. The southern neighbors are mainly the Bishop of Ringe, the Duchy of Cliff, the Archbishop of Cologne and the Duchy of Jülich.
Needless to say, the Archbishop of Cologne, one of the seven electors, Charles II dare not give birth to a heart of resistance. And even the weakest Bishop of Ringe in the south is covered by the Archbishop of Cologne, so it is difficult to do anything.
As for the Principality of Cliff and the Principality of Jülich, they are both powerful opponents and difficult to deal with. If there is a war, Charles II is not sure that he can defeat the two countries.
As for the east of the Principality of Geddes, it is mainly the Bishop of Münster, which is also covered by the Archbishop of Cologne, so there is no way to do it. The two neighboring countries to the north are mainly the Archbishop of Utrecht and West Frisia.
Needless to say, the Archbishop of Utrecht is the power of the Holy See in the Netherlands. Charles II is not so bold as to challenge the Holy See. Therefore, after much deliberation, only West Frisia is the most suitable to seize.
In fact, since the restoration of the Principality of Geddes in 1492, Charles II had the idea of annexing West Frisia and made a lot of preparations.
But the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. Before he could do anything, the Principality of Saxony took the initiative and occupied West Frisia, making Charles II's plan come to nothing.
Charles II was not reconciled, so he secretly supported the original nine nobles of West Frisia, agreed to their settlement in the northern part of the Duchy of Gedes, and encouraged and supported them to gather troops and return to West Frisia to harass the Saxons.
However, this is the limit that Charles II can do. Because Charles II did not dare to publicly offend Albrecht, Duke of Saxony.
Among them, apart from the fact that the Principality of Saxony is relatively strong, the ability and prestige of Duke Albrecht himself are also very important reasons.
Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, is a cunning old fox who is also very greedy. But its capabilities are strong, both diplomatic and military.
Although, the Principality of Saxony was split from the Electorate of Saxony. However, because Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was the uncle of Frederick III, the nominal leader of the Saxon nobles, Elector Frederick III of Saxony. Therefore, the Duke of Saxony has a high prestige among the Saxon nobles and is the true leader of the Saxon nobles.
And this is what worries Charles II, Duke of Geddes the most. Because, as the leader of the Saxon nobles, Albrecht, the Duke of Saxony, could easily persuade more than a dozen Saxon nobles to send troops to support him.
Just like the Principality of Saxony invaded East Frisia, many of the more than 20,000 troops were soldiers borrowed by other princes. The most obvious is the 3,000 plate armor heavy cavalry that Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, lent him.
Therefore, facing the cunning and highly prestigious Duke of Saxony Albrecht, the equally cunning Charles II did not go head-to-head with him, but instigated nine nobles from West Frisia to bring bandits Soldiers and horses fought back to make trouble in West Frisia from time to time, consuming the strength of the Saxons.
Originally, Charles II, Duke of Geddes had no intention of taking West Frisia. Because he lacks enough confidence. After all, the strength of the Saxon nobles is too strong.
However, the First Battle of Leer County in East Frisia gave Charles II, Duke of Geddes, great hope. Although Marin defeated the Saxon coalition forces in the Battle of Lyle County. However, the subsequent intervention of various forces forced Marin, who was strong and strong, to give up the annexation of West Frisia, which gave Charles II hope.
Charles II knew very well that no matter how strong Marin's soldiers and horses were, he could not turn his face against the princes from all walks of life. Because Marin is the emperor's public enemy of the princes, it is doomed that most of the princes will not agree with Marin to annex West Frisia. Therefore, Marin, which has a strong military strength, is temporarily unable to annex West Frisia due to diplomatic reasons.
However, if he replaced the Principality of Geddes to annex West Frisia, there would not be as many opponents as Marin. Because, in the final analysis, the Principality of Geddesi is also one of the princes who stand on the opposite side of the emperor.
The vassals are not united at ordinary times, and they will unite only when facing the emperor who wants to centralize power. Therefore, if the Principality of Geddes annexed West Frisia, probably only the Saxon nobles of the Principality of Saxony would be opposed.
However, although the Saxon nobles are powerful, they are far away in eastern Germany, and not strong in northwestern Germany. Moreover, through the Battle of Lyle County, Marin lost a lot of strength of the Saxony Department, which seriously damaged the vitality of the Principality of Saxony, and it did not recover for decades.
Therefore, Marin's weakening of the Principality of Saxony gave the Principality of Geddes more opportunities. Since the end of the Battle of Lyle County, the Principality of Geddes has secretly recruited troops and actively prepared to take advantage of the weak period of the Principality of Saxony to provoke a war and win West Frisia.
Moreover, recently, Charles II, the Duke of Geddes, sent back important information from the eyeliner in Dresden, the capital of the Principality of Saxony, that Albrecht, the Duke of Saxony, is ill and very seriously ill. Will he survive this year? it's all a question...
This immediately shocked Charles II. He knew very well that Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was an old fox with great abilities, but his eldest son George was an idiot.
If George becomes the Duke of Saxony, then the strength of the Duchy of Saxony will decline. The most important thing is that the nobles of the Saxony family will not follow George's lead.
When Albrecht, Duke of Saxony dies, the most prestigious nobleman in the Saxon family will be Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, who is the nephew of Duke Albrecht. At that time, other nobles of the Saxony family will only give face to Frederick III, the elector of Saxony, not necessarily to George.
At that time, when there is a conflict between the Principality of Geddes and George, other Saxon nobles may not be willing to send troops to help. What's more, because after the Battle of Lyle County, the Principality of Saxony compensated 1 million Gulden gold coins, it is now clinking poor and owes a lot of foreign debts. If you want to send troops, you don't have enough money and food.
If the Duke of Albrecht was alive, he could still use his old face as the leader of the Saxony family to borrow some food, grass and soldiers from various families. But George doesn't have that face. Once the Duke of Saxony dies, the strength of the Duchy of Saxony led by George will be greatly reduced.
And recently, what made Charles II, Duke of Geddes even more ecstatic, was that his biggest competitor, Marin, was inexplicably involved in the war in Switzerland.
Charles II knew that Switzerland was a sinkhole. Marin fell into that big pit and couldn't get out of it for a few years. Coupled with Marin's status as the emperor's running dog, he was naturally resisted by most of the princes and nobles. So, in real terms, in terms of diplomatic environment, the Geddes Principality is better.
Therefore, recently, the soldiers and horses of the Gedesi Kingdom have been training more diligently. Charles II, Duke of Geddes, also began to study the map of West Frisia all day long, and began to make preparations for sending troops to West Frisia...