Frederick III, who was returning to the inn to rest, was extremely angry and felt that his authority had been ignored. However, after he calmed down, he found that he had no good choice now.
Because if Marin was really angry and joined forces with the Habsburg family army, Basel's 37,000 coalition forces were really doomed. If these 37,000 coalition forces were eliminated and dozens of German princes who sent troops were captured, then everything would be done.
When it falls into the hands of Emperor Maximilian I, although these princes will not die, they will definitely be blackmailed. It is light to ask for a huge ransom, and the most feared thing is that the emperor may let them cede the land.
The land cedes of two families may not be very large, at most as big as one Bo Kingdom. But together with dozens of princes, especially these dozens of princes, or the most powerful secular princes in Germany, would be very terrifying. At that time, the territory cedes of dozens of princes may be much larger, or even several times larger than the Austrian grand priests existing in the Habsburg family.
At that time, the Habsburg family will inevitably be more powerful and their strength will increase greatly. In turn, the strength of the princes will be weaker to the point of the bottom. Then, Maximilian I's ambition to unify Germany in the past may be really realized...
If there were only the Habsburg family, Frederick III would not be worried. Even if this battle failed, Germany would have so many church princes not taking action. By then, the two sides would go to war in full swing, and the outcome was unknown.
But what's so bad is that the existence of Marin has left the princes without a chance of winning...
Once Malin's elite army of tens of thousands of Beihai Kingdom completely turned to the emperor, not to mention that the 37,000 princes coalition forces would be over. In the future, even if the princes jointly sent troops again, they might not be able to win. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Beihai Kingdom's army is not enough.
The last time, the two countries of Saxony and Brandenburg were defeated by Marin. This time, the eight princes sent more than 40,000 troops, and were also defeated. Moreover, they were defeated by the Beihai Army with disadvantaged forces.
Now Marin has led 40,000 main force to the south, not to mention the 20,000 Habsburg family troops south of Basel. However, Marin's 40,000 army cannot defeat the 40,000 army...
...
In the middle of the night, Frederick III tossed and turned in bed and couldn't sleep. He suddenly remembered Marin's words - "You have been unable to get along with me and refuse to recognize my lord's identity."
"Yes, why have we refused to accept him?" Frederick III thought of the issue of bloodline - Marin was from a humble background. But he thought of Marin's history of success - it seemed that Emperor Maximilian I promoted Marin to the throne...
With a humble origin and the emperor promoted it, no wonder the old princes were unhappy with him. But what Marin said was right. From the moment he became the Earl of East Friesland, he naturally became a prince who dominated the territory, and was no longer the thug of Emperor Maximilian I. Even Marin rarely went to Austria to serve the emperor and serve the emperor...
In comparison, Frederick II, the Earl of Hohenzollen of the Swabian League, accompanied the emperor in Austria almost every day to manage the army for the emperor...
In other words, Marin did not intend to stay by the Emperor Maximilian I from the beginning to serve him, but had long been independent. Unfortunately, they did not see that they had always regarded him as the emperor's lackey...
...
Frederick III thought he had seen Marin's position clearly, but he didn't know that Marin's idea, as a time traveler, was not something that people of this era could guess at.
If it were the natives of this era, Marin generally had only two choices - one was to choose to become the emperor's lackey and confront most of the princes in Germany; the other choice was to stand on the side of the princes and confront the emperor. After all, no one wanted to be a puppet... No matter what, as an indigenous, he had to stand in these two camps...
But how could he have thought that Marin's soul came from later generations that valued equality for everyone? Modern people lacked awe for the monarch and princes at all. Especially time travelers, they could easily regard others as NPCs, and they could easily regard themselves as gods, and they could not have awe for anyone. Therefore, even if Frederick III was one of the most wisest European monarchs in this era, it was difficult for him to guess Marin's true thoughts...
...
The next day, Frederick III, who had negotiated with Marin again with dark circles, changed his negotiation strategy and no longer competed with Marin, but changed his warm route and wanted to impress Marin.
"Duke Marin, you are also a prince, and you are a relatively powerful prince. Do you want the North Sea Kingdom to break away from the control of the Hoffman family and be under the management of the Habsburg family? At that time, we will all be like the Dukes and Earls of France, and we can only live in Vienna, and everything depends on the emperor's face..."
"At that time, fate will not be in our own hands. If His Majesty the Emperor is unhappy and just a charge is placed on his head, the title may not be guaranteed..."
Watching Frederick III performing in a swollen manner, Marin took a leisurely sip of milk tea, and then replied slowly:
"Mr. Frederick, I understand everything you said. So, I have made a choice for you. As long as you agree to fulfill the agreement in the duel letter and unanimously acknowledge my occupation of the eight vassal states, I will turn around and leave immediately. I will never attack the vassal coalition forces, nor will I participate in the military confrontation between the Habsburg family and the vassals."
"No!" Frederick III shook his head and said:
"Tell you so, Grand Duke Marin, I have no objection to you annexing seven other countries. But Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is my brother-in-law, and I can't watch you swallow the Principality of Brunswick-Lüneburg! You know, I am the leader of the German princes. If you can't even protect your sister, do you think those princes will still obey me in the future?"
After a pause, Frederick III continued:
"My prestige is actually a trivial matter, but if I lose all my prestige, then the hearts of this alliance that has been organized to oppose the unification of the Habsburg family in Germany will be dispersed. At that time, the Habsburg family will be more likely to defeat each other and resolve the various vassal states. I think, as a powerful prince, you don't want to see such a thing happen, right? So, my opinion is - I have no objection to you annex the other 7 vassal states. However, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, please give up your hand. Even if it's okay to cede most of the land, please be sure to keep some land and the title of nobles, so as not to lose all my face, and avoid the disintegration of the alliance of princes against the emperor..."
After hearing Frederick III's words, Marin fell into deep thought...
If you think about it carefully, what Frederick III said is really good. It can be said that Frederick III is indeed the most powerful figure in the Anti-Emperor League. If Frederick III loses all his face, it will be easy to shake the hearts of the Anti-Emperor League.
You know, except for Frederick III, there is indeed no strategist in the anti-emperor alliance who can be compared with Maximilian I.
What height did Frederick III's strategic level reach? According to historical records, when Maximilian I died in 1519, because he felt the threat of the powerful Ottoman Turkey, Frederick III took the overall situation into consideration and changed his attitude of confronting the Habsburgs, rejected the possibility of becoming an emperor, and instead supported Charles V to become an emperor. Therefore, later generations called Frederick III the "wise Frederick."
As Frederick III said, Marin was a prince after all. Moreover, the other princes in the anti-emperor camp were basically idiots. If Frederick III fell, this camp would really not be able to withstand the powerful character Maximilian I.
In particular, Maximilian I is likely to take Switzerland at present. Once he takes Switzerland and digests the dividends of the large number of Swiss soldiers, the Habsburg family may be so strong that it is out of control. As the emperor's old subordinate, it is not easy to fight against the emperor openly. Therefore, he really has to keep Frederick III to restrain the equally powerful emperor Maximilian I... And this is the so-called "balance way", the most basic thing in the emperor's mind...
So, after thinking for a long time, Marin finally nodded:
Chapter completed!