Frederick III thought for a long time, but he couldn't find the flaw in Marin's words. So he believed most of it. Then he said to Marin:
"Since you are unwilling to be enemies with the princes, then I will organize a few prince leaders to meet you in private, and you can explain it to them?"
Marin waved his hands repeatedly:
"No, no, no, I can't meet with others. When you meet with you, you will definitely keep it secret. But if you meet with multiple princes, the news will be easily leaked. Once the news is leaked, I will become a shameless villain who betrays the emperor, which is a devastating blow to the image. After all, people don't like traitors."
"So, I didn't talk to so many people just now, I only talk to you. At that time, even if the Habsburg family hears the news and comes to question me, I can refuse to admit it."
What Marin said was very reasonable, and the old fox Frederick III couldn't help but nod in agreement. So he suggested:
"Then, I'll help you talk to the leaders of the princes in private?"
Marin shook his head:
"Mr. Frederick, I still want to remind you that some of the princes are unreliable!"
"You mean..." Frederick III seemed to guess something.
"Yes, I'm talking about Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine! You know, he grew up in the court of Louis XII and had a very good relationship with François I. Moreover, he was also the Duke of Barr of France. This man had no feelings for Germany and had no scruples to damage the interests of the Holy Roman Empire. But he was still a relatively powerful duke, and he played a great role among the princes."
"Or it is, I think he is the French traitor in Germany!" Marin said firmly.
After a pause, Marin continued:
"Because of France, he hated me very much and wanted to destroy the North Sea. But, Lord Frederick, think about it, does the existence of the North Sea have no value at all?"
"If I don't help His Majesty the Emperor attack the princes, there will be no conflict of interest between us. We can even trade with each other and make money together. Moreover, if you think about it carefully, has the Beihai Kingdom taken the initiative to attack any princes since its establishment?"
What Malin said about this is actually quite guilty, because although he had not taken the initiative to attack other vassal states, he secretly tampered with other vassal states to attack him and then counterattack him.
However, he was relatively clean and others could not see any problems. At most, he felt that he had destroyed the invaders' country, which was a bit too much and broke the rules.
Frederick III thought about it, and it was true, so he nodded.
Marin continued:
"But, as far as I know, at the meeting of the princes, Duke Anthony suggested that everyone unite and join with the French to destroy the North Sea. Am I right?"
Frederick III remained silent, which was the default.
Marin deliberately lowered his voice:
"Do you know, why Duke Anthony did this?"
Frederick III shook his head, he had never thought about this.
Marin continued to mysteriously say:
"I guess, in addition to my failure to bring shame to the French, there is another important reason - the existence of the North Sea Kingdom will affect the future annexation of Germany by France!"
Frederick III was shocked:
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Marin said indifferently:
"Not nonsense, think about it, the Beihai Kingdom has 40,000 troops. If the two 10,000 troops are brought back to England, it will be a 60,000 army. If the French King François I became Emperor Shenluo and wanted to send troops to annex Germany, would it attract the resistance of the princes? As an important vassal state in Germany, the Beihai Kingdom will definitely raise troops to resist. The Beihai Kingdom's army is so combative. If the French unit is united with the army of the various vassal states, the French will not be able to defeat it, and they will most likely be defeated! Think about it, is this the reason?"
Frederick III thought about it carefully and found that this was true. The coalition of the princes had no confidence to defeat the Beihai Kingdom, nor did they have no confidence to defeat France. But if the coalition of the princes had joined forces with the Beihai Kingdom, the French would really not win.
At this time, Frederick III began to doubt the motive of Anthony, Duke of Lorraine. Moreover, before Marin forced him to express his opinion that he would not support the election of Emperor Shenluo, Duke Anthony was very unhappy.
From this point of view, Marin's words were not groundless. Moreover, Frederick III also knew that Duke Anthony and the French royal family were indeed very good. But Duke Anthony's reason was to unite the French to suppress the Habsburg family, so everyone believed it.
But if Duke Anthony really pushed François I to the throne of Emperor Shenluo, with the emperor's righteousness and the French would do their best, and they might not be able to swallow Germany...
In fact, in history, Frederick III was worried about this and finally chose to support Charles V. The French king could fight against the Habsburg family as an allies, but it was very inappropriate to let the French king be the Emperor of Shenluo. Because France is much stronger than the Habsburg family and is more capable of unifying Shenluo.
According to Marin's theory, if the princes unite with France to destroy the North Sea Kingdom, then the Habsburg family is indeed unable to support it. At that time, the Habsburg family may also fall. But who will benefit after the Habsburg family falls? Once the Dharma King becomes the Emperor of Shenluo, the threat is much more than that of the poor Habsburg family.
Seeing Frederick III thinking about his face gloomy and gloomy, Marin smiled...
...
After Frederick III finished his mind, he raised his head and immediately put away his smile and said sincerely:
"Actually, I have to say that the existence of the Habsburg family also has its own effect. At least, they attracted the firepower of France. Because of the capture of the Principal of Burgundy and the robbery of the Principal of Brittany, the Habsburg family and the Kingdom of France are already great enemies that will never end."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content behind! "I think the best way for the princes is to find a balance between the Habsburg family and France. Let the two families never defeat their opponents, and then, they have to look at the princes' eyes and seek everyone's support."
"At present, France is actually the upper hand. The princes do not say that they support the Habsburg family, but they should not drag the Habsburg family back. If the Habsburg family takes the upper hand, it will not be too late for you to support France."
"But Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, doesn't think so. He is dedicated to supporting France to destroy the Habsburg family. If the Habsburg family falls, then who will be the next one? We will be eaten one by one..."
Frederick III nodded, approving Marin's words, but said:
"But if the Habsburg family annexes Switzerland now, their strength will increase greatly. At that time, we will be in danger."
Switzerland is not small in size and has a large population. The key is that it has a large source of troops. In fact, the princes are not worried about how much benefits Switzerland, a mountainous area, can bring to the Habsburg family. However, it is a simple and clear truth to provide a strong source of troops.
Marin smiled and said:
"Sir Frederick, why do you think so? Even if the Habsburg family annexed Switzerland, they have the ability to threaten the vassal states, can't the countries join forces with France to resist at that time? Moreover, the French would not sit idly by and watch the countries being annexed by the Habsburg family. They were also afraid that the Habsburg family would be too powerful. Because France annexed most of the Duchy of Burgundy, and they were also afraid that the Habsburg family would take them back."
"Also, the Habsburg family took over western Switzerland and bordered France directly. At that time, conflicts could break out between the two sides. Then, the real good show will begin. Think about it, if the two families are close together, will there be a conflict? The Habsburg family has poor financial strength, but fighting is very expensive. After fighting, the Habsburg family will become poorer and poorer, and will not threaten the vassal states. Because they will be exhausted to deal with the provocations of the French."
"But I'm worried that after the Habsburg family took Switzerland..." After saying that, he also glanced at Marin. Obviously, he was worried that the Beihai Kingdom would send troops to help the emperor at that time.
"I will never help His Majesty the Emperor destroy the princes, please rest assured!" Marin swears. He did not say anything nonsense. He really would not help the Habsburg family defeat the princes.
"Do you dare to make a document?" Frederick III still didn't believe Marin very much.
Marin hesitated for a while before nodding:
"You can make a document, but please keep it separately and keep it confidential. Unless I traitorously send troops to help the Habsburg family destroy the princes, you can take it out and condemn me for breaking my promise!"
Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, thought about it and agreed to Marin's request. As long as the words are in hand, he will occupy the moral commanding heights. In this era, the consequences of breaking promises were very serious and would be despised. Especially, promises on paper.
Marin thought about it over and over again and wrote this sentence on the document:
"Marin von Hoffman promised not to send troops to help the Habsburg family annex the vassal states and unify Germany. But at the same time, the vassal states were not allowed to unite and destroy the Habsburg family!"
The last sentence was added by Marin thinking repeatedly. If one day, this document was accidentally spread and the latter sentence was used to make the case, the outside world would not accuse Marin of betraying the emperor too much. At most, it would not support the emperor's ambition to unify Germany.
Frederick III looked at the statute and did not care much about the latter sentence of the statute. He was not Anthony, the Duke of Lorraine, and was not very hostile to the Habsburg family. Speaking of which, Frederick III and Emperor Maximilian I were still relatives. Frederick III's grandmother Margaret was Maximilian I's aunt.
Therefore, Frederick III's father Ernst's election emperor and Duke Albrecht, Duke Albrecht, Duke Maximilian I. Maximilian I, also the cousin of Frederick III and Duke George, are blood relatives within three generations.
However, although they were cousins, the Ernst and Albrecht families had very different relationships with the Habsburg family. The Albrecht family was closer to the Habsburg family, and although they also participated in the meeting of princes and opposed the emperor's unification of Germany. However, their relationship with the Habsburg family was not an opposite. If the emperor asked for it, the Albrecht family would give face. At the beginning, Sifriesland was the gift given by the emperor to Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, as the reward for the Duchy of Saxony to help him quell the rebellion of the Netherlands.
The Ernst family, out of the political stance of the electorate, chose to draw a clear line with the Habsburg family. However, the two sides were blood relatives after all, and they had no hatred for each other.
Therefore, in the original history, when Charles V ran for the emperor, although pro-French princes such as the Duke of Lorraine strongly advocated the election of François I as the emperor, at the critical moment, Frederick III decided to choose Charles V. After all, Frederick III only opposed the unification of the Habsburg family in Germany from the standpoint of the princes and did not hate the emperor himself.
"Please keep this document safe. I don't want to openly part ways with His Majesty the Emperor." Marin said sincerely.
After thinking about it, Marin added another sentence to the essay - "If the essay is deliberately leaking the content of the essay, it is not ruled out that I will break up with Your Majesty publicly, and it is not ruled out to change my position..." Then, he wrote it again in Latin to avoid the essay being modified. Then, he also stamped it with the seal on the ring.
Frederick III's expression changed when he saw the sentence added later. He did think about using this document to make a fuss, forcing Marin to break up with the emperor, or at least having a fuss. However, after Marin added this sentence, he would not be able to make a fuss about this. Otherwise, if Marin would be angry and if he really bound the Habsburg family completely, it would be a complete destruction.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Fortunately, as long as you don’t make a fuss about this, Malin dares not send troops to help the emperor easily. This is enough for the princes.
"I will keep this document well!" Frederick III solemnly promised.
"In order to beware of the princes who are close to France, please keep the conversation secret from today. Just tell the princes that I am very sincere. There is no need to show the document to others, especially the Duke of Anthony who betrayed the empire..." Marin was particularly disgusted with this kind of 25 boy, so he said it very bluntly.
Frederick III didn't care. To be honest, he didn't like Anthony to be too close to France. For him, France was just used to fight against the emperor, not his own. He also agreed with some of Marin's words - the Habsburgs were a threat to the princes, and the French kingdom was not the same? Even when His Majesty the Emperor wanted to unify Germany, he was influenced by France. Back then, France was also divided and the princes were in charge. Later, several generations of French monarchs finally took back the autonomy of the vassal states through various means such as war and other means, forming a powerful France with concentrated royal power. Therefore, if the throne fell on the head of the French king, it would be even more deadly as Marin said...
On this point, Frederick III actually had the same view as Marin. However, France's strong strength was indeed a powerful support for the princes to resist the Habsburg family. Therefore, Frederick III could only turn a blind eye to the behavior of Duke Anthony and others in pro-France. As long as it was not really given German interests to France, there would be no problem...
Chapter completed!