"What do you mean?" Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, felt embarrassed and a little angry when Marin attacked her.
Marin didn't go to him, but sneered:
"Do you want me to be more specific? You grew up in the court of Louis XII and have a very good relationship with François I. In your heart, I am afraid you don't care about the interests of Germany at all, right? I heard from the secret spies of Lorraine that you had planned to elect François I as the next emperor so that France annexed Germany, and all of us princes lost control of our territory, and became a powerless noble like the French nobles who only knew to obey the king!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the nobles present were in an uproar. In fact, Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, had not expressed this meaning publicly. However, when he met François I in private, he had inadvertently mentioned this topic. Therefore, Duke Anthony also turned pale and thought it was exposed.
"I'm not, I don't!"
A hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but it quickly covered it up. However, this panic was captured by Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony.
"Could he really have this idea?" Frederick III thought to himself.
Many other princes also looked a little bad-looking. After all, no one wanted to become the puppet nobles like French nobles who only knew how to obey the king's arrangements. The reason why they united together was because the emperor had expressed his ambition to learn from the French to unify Germany. But if the French king was really chosen as emperor, it would be more terrifying than the people of the Habsburg family. Because the French kingdom was much stronger than the Habsburg family and it was easier to annex the various vassal states.
Of course, in history, the reason why the princes considered choosing François I as emperor was because Charles V was too strong at that time. Not only had he become the king of the two kingdoms of Spain, but he was also the successor of Austria and the Netherlands. The princes wanted to choose François I, in fact, to confront Charles V. But Frederick III and other princes considered that France was not a good thing, and coupled with the threat from Turkey, they finally chose Charles V.
Anthony, who had just been a little confused by Marin, reacted and said angrily:
"Don't change the subject, we're discussing why you fund the Habsburgs!"
Marin doesn't care:
"Okay, just pretend I was wrong. But, Duke Anthony, can you promise that you will never propose to the French to be emperor in the future?"
Duke Anthony's tone suddenly stuttered, because he really wanted François I, a very good-family relationship, to become the next emperor.
"What, do you really want the French to annex Germany?" Marin mocked.
"What are you talking about? When did I say that the French would annex Germany?" Duke Anthony was a little angry and embarrassed.
However, he did not deny it at the first time, which immediately made Frederick III and other smart people a little dissatisfied. In love, we united against the Habsburg family, but you were going to sell us to the French? Of course, as smart people, they did not express their thoughts at this time.
But if you think about it carefully, Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, is indeed too close to France. Although this bad boy Marin is not likable, he is right. Duke Anthony, he may really be more interested in France...
Seeing that Marin had said this, Anthony refused to express his opinion that he would not support the French as emperor in the future, and Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, was a little disappointed. But now is not the time to discuss Anthony's issue, so he expressed his opinion:
"Let's not talk about this topic for now. I will express my opinion here. As the electorate, I will never support the French king as an emperor!"
Seeing him speak, Archbishop Mainz and other electorate also expressed their opinions. Then, the matter turned over. But Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, looked very unhappy, and his eyes looked at Marin very vicious.
But Marin didn't care what he thought. In fact, the reason he bombarded the Duke of Lorraine was to divide the camp of the princes. Moreover, the Duke of Lorraine was an important bond between the princes and France. Once this bond was suspected by the princes, it would be difficult for the two sides to unite closely.
However, the disadvantage of doing so is that it will severely offend François I. After all, it was a pity for his emperor dream. But Marin didn't care, because after the Habsburg family began to launch a general attack on western Switzerland, the French would not care about him because they were busy supporting the Swiss resistance.
And when Marin comes back from the Eastern European battlefield, it doesn't matter. Because he will increase his troops by tens of thousands. At that time, he will sharpen his sword and make it clear that he will fight to the decisive battle.
If the French want to annex England, they cannot escape this level. Therefore, there must be a battle between the two sides. What Marin is worried about is that the German princes will fully support the French.
Once this is the case, Marin will not only fight against the French, but also guard against the princes attacking the rear. Even if they are attacked from both sides, they will suffer great losses even if they win.
Therefore, at this meeting, Marin actually wanted to alienate the relationship between the princes and the French. As long as the princes and the French had a gap, the Beihai Kingdom would be less powerful when it was attacked by Taoism.
Just now, Malin said that burning grain does not care about the life and death of the farmers, but actually brags. Malin actually cares about the life and death of the farmers and does not want the rural areas of Beihai to be ravaged by war. After all, killing a farmer is easy, but it takes more than ten or twenty years to add a farmer to grow up. Therefore, Malin does not want the coalition of princes to ravage the rural areas of Beihai.
...
Seeing that the topic stopped, Frederick III knocked on the map and said:
"Okay, let's continue to deduce. Marin, we dispatched 200,000 troops, and the French also sent troops. How should you resist? If you can't resist, the Beihai Kingdom will be gone!"
Marin also came to his senses at this time. He came to discuss cooperation. If it was too strong and it would lead to a disagreement, then the trade cooperation would not be negotiated.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! So, he deliberately said:
"Well, what you said makes sense. If the war fails, I may have to transport most of my food and money to Newcastle, England by sea. You know, I am also the Earl of Newcastle, England."
Then, he smiled again and said:
"Even if I lose the Beihai Kingdom's mainland, I can still rely on Newcastle to continue to exist. At that time, as long as I have money and food, I can continue to hire mercenaries and counterattack."
The princes thought about it and it was true. If Marin was determined to run away, they could not stop it. Orich was only twenty or thirty kilometers away from the port Emden, so it was easy to retreat to the sea.
Looking at the German princes, only the Hanseatic League, a commercial city alliance, has a maritime fleet that competes with the Beihai Kingdom, and these princes do not have it. The Hanseatic League's most powerful "one king and one queen" Lubeck and Hamburg have a very good relationship with the Beihai Kingdom...
Therefore, it is impossible to destroy the North Sea Kingdom. At most, drive Marin to England. However, if Marin cannot destroy the other party, and Marin takes away a lot of money and food, there will be capital to get it back again. At that time, it will be entangled...
Just when the princes were having a headache about how to solve the problem, Malin took the initiative to give in:
"Of course, I can't bear to let Beihai Country go like this. After all, Beihai Country is not smaller than England. It is certainly not a good thing to give up such a large land and go to England to manage a county."
"So, it's best not to fight. As for what you said, I support His Majesty the Emperor, I'm really wronged! Think about it, did I give His Majesty the Emperor money for free? After all, he sent me 30,000 immigrants! Beihai Country needs people, not only His Majesty the Emperor sends the immigrants to me, but if you send the immigrants here, I will give the money equally! No matter how much, a farmer has 30 gold coins, it must include a strong farmer!"
"We also give money to the farmers?" Some princes' eyes lit up. They are southern princes with a large population but not much land. Therefore, there is a surplus population. Most of them have poor economic conditions and want to get some money.
But the Duke of Lorraine jumped out and opposed:
"That won't work. Each household has a strong man. If you recruit a strong man as a soldier, wouldn't it be a disguised enhancement of your military strength? At that time, if you recruit tens of thousands of soldiers, it will be too threatening to everyone!"
When the princes thought about it, they really did, so they stopped their intention to make this money...
But Marin said:
"Don't worry, everyone, you can screen the poor people who have been sent first. For example, the Emperor will screen the 30,000 households sent by Austria. Those who give me are thin or timid farmers. Even if you give such people, you can't become heroic soldiers. So, you can do this too..."
Marin deliberately expressed the characteristics of Austrian immigration, but in fact he told everyone in a vague way-the Emperor is also guarding against me, we are not as close as you think...
Frederick III and other nimble people immediately figured out the key and showed joy - as long as Marin didn't devote himself to the Habsburg family, it would be a great thing.
...
Next, the atmosphere eased a lot. Then, under the intentional guidance of Marin, the topic slowly shifted to commercial trade.
For example, William IV, Duke of Bavaria, happily talked with Marin about the sale of salt agents. Marin was also determined to open up the markets of these vassal states, and gave a 20% discount on the wholesale price with great face, which was considered to be a sufficient profit for this person.
As for the idea of ​​Jokiem I, Brandenburg's electorate, also agreed to sell spirits. After all, it is a good thing to cook sweet potatoes in the future, and the cost of alcohol is low, so it is also a good thing to open up more markets.
In addition, Malin also reached a cooperation intention in sugar sugar trade with some princes. Sugarcane cultivation in Cuba has already increased and the production of sugar is increasing. It is time to find a sales channel. Previously, it was too difficult to exploit along the way, so it is more cost-effective to cooperate directly with these princes.
Of course, Marin did not say that the sugar was produced by itself, but was transported from the distant East to sell. In this way, there is a reason to have a high price.
In addition, even the Principality of Lorraine, which had the worst relationship due to the previous confrontation, Marin agreed to buy more iron ore. Of course, according to the market price.
Although the ore quality of Lorraine iron ore is poor, there is no problem in smelting into pig iron and then using it to make agricultural tools. And these agricultural tools can also be sold to these princes...
In short, the next meeting suddenly changed from a scene of mutual confrontation to a large-scale trade negotiation meeting, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Chapter completed!