"I'm afraid the enemy is not just Wolf." Ludwig said worriedly, "Father has gone to the Duchy of Franconia, did you know that?"
"The Duke of Franconia has no heir and only one daughter. What can an old man like him do?" Henry curled his lips in disdain. "Ambitions?"
"According to the news at 5pm today, father's negotiations with the Duke were not going smoothly." Ludwig whispered, "The Holy See offered a price that the Duke of Franconia could not refuse."
"What's the price?"
"Give him an heir."
"Is this even possible?" Henry almost cried out.
Ludwig shook his head. "The technology of the Holy See is unimaginable."
"That's bad." Henry immediately became anxious. "How to continue the Hohenstaufen family has almost become the Duke of Franconia's concern. Since the Holy See has thrown out this bait..."
"The Duke will most likely take the bait." Ludwig's face was gloomy, "And if the Duchy of Franconia turns against us and chooses to stand with the Wolf family..."
"Then our connection with the Duchy of Lorraine will be cut off, and Bavaria will need to deal with military threats from Lombardy and Franconia at the same time." Henry's brows were almost furrowed into a ball.
—Interlude—
Because there are many principalities and families within the Holy Solomon Empire, the names are particularly difficult to remember. To make it easier for everyone to understand, here is a brief description of the five major families in the empire:
His Majesty the Emperor's House of Saxony (whose emblem is a dragon) controls the Duchy of Lorraine in the northwest.
Eleanor came from the Weisbach family (whose emblem was a swan), which owned the Duchy of Bavaria in the southeast.
The Wolf family (with a forest wolf as its emblem), the instigator of the rebellion in this civil war, controls the Duchy of Burgundy in the southwest and indirectly controls the Lombardy Territory.
The Hohenstaufen family (with a griffin as its emblem) held the Duchy of Franconia in the center of the empire and also controlled Swabia, which was adjacent to it to the south.
The Wettin family (with a bear as its emblem) originated in Thuringia in the north of the empire and is currently the smallest family in terms of territory.
For details, please refer to the map in the pinned post in the book review area. In the future, when referring to the five major families, animals will be used as much as possible to facilitate memory.
— End of prompt —
"The Duke of Carinthia is a staunch supporter of the royal family, but as for Bohemia..." Ludwig said solemnly. "It's hard to say. The Luxembourg family is dealing with the rebellious Hussites, a group of local separatist forces, and they seem to have become a force to be reckoned with."
"If there is another disturbance in Bohemia, we will be attacked from three sides." Henry took a breath, "Oh my God, the Duke of Franconia... Hasn't he thought about it? We have a feud with Wolf's group of wolf cubs, so we will definitely stand on the side of the royal family. The Big Bear of Thuringia and the Duchy of Saxony, as branches of the royal family, will definitely support His Majesty the Emperor. Once he chooses to turn against us, Franconia will be the first to be besieged!"
"Conrad is risking everything!" Ludwig said in a deep voice, "The noble war has been going on for so many years. Don't you know that even if you lose, no one will die. Only the territory and title will be lost!"