Under the leadership of Archbishop of Mainz, Jacob, the Speaker of the German Grand Speaker, the representatives of the German princes present confirmed the identity of the Grand Duke of Marin. Moreover, the territory of the Grand Duchy of the North Sea has been expanded to 60,000 square kilometers.
At the same time, everyone also acknowledged the order issued by Emperor Maximilian I. If anyone found evidence that Charles II, Duke of Gedes, colluded with France, any prince had the right to send troops to seize the fertile territory of the Dutch of Gedes.
In fact, the princes were unwilling to agree to the emperor's orders. However, morally speaking, the emperor's orders could not find any faults - is it wrong to severely punish traitors who were traitors? Therefore, everyone can only abide by the emperor's orders.
In fact, Marin was very excited about this. Why? Because he had already thought about it - if he found evidence that the Duchy of Gedes colluded with France, he would immediately follow the emperor's order and march into the Duchy of Gedes, and then exchange the Duchy of Gedes in the Netherlands for more than 3,000 square kilometers of territory in the Duchy of Gedes in exchange for the Duchy of Cliff...
As for where to exchange? Of course it is Markbour under the name of Duke Cliffer...
Where is the country of Markbour? Ruhr! As long as it can be exchanged for Markbour, Marin will get the most coveted Ruhr area, Marin will dare to openly develop the steam engine industry. Otherwise, if the steam engine is developed too early and the strategic value of coal is seen, Marin will find it difficult to switch from Duke Cliff to Markbour.
But now, before the steam engine was released, Europeans did not know much about the true value of coal. After all, in the agricultural era, people value cultivated land more. Many coal mine areas in the Ruhr area are considered inferior because they are not suitable for farming.
Just like the previous Hoffman Manor, because there were coal mines buried underground, the land was relatively barren, and the farming harvest was not good. Moreover, Europeans now do not know the technology of rubbing coal balls and making honeycomb coal, and coal is not considered conventional fuel. After all, the fireplace commonly used by Europeans is to burn wood. Therefore, coal is not valued now, and only the metallurgical industry is used in large quantities. But now the steel production in Europe is so low that the iron production of a country can only be measured by tons, rather than thousands of tons or tens of tons. Therefore, you can imagine the amount of coal used.
Don’t think that it is very simple to cook salt with coal. In fact, in ancient times, powdered coal was easily burned out because the air was isolated from the pulverized coal. Therefore, in ancient times, blocks of coal were the king, and coal powder was all scraps and discarded at will.
The reason why the ancient Chinese used coal widely was because they invented a great thing - coal balls...
The coal balls mentioned here are not honeycomb coal that some dialects talk about. In fact, honeycomb coal is honeycomb coal, and coal balls are coal balls, which are really balls made of coal powder and mud...
Honeycomb coal is of course more superior than coal balls, but it was invented in the 20th century. Coal balls were invented in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and after the Song Dynasty, they became popular in ancient China.
Don’t underestimate the coal balls with little soil. It is an epoch-making invention. After shaking coal powder, mud and water into coal balls, the gap between the coal balls is very large and contains a lot of air, so it is naturally not easy to extinguish when burned. The effect is better than blocks of coal.
Europeans do not know how to shake coal balls at present. Natural coal utilization rate is not high, so they can only sell blocks of coal. The coal mines in Marin can use the coal powder that accounts for nearly half of the coal excavated, and shake it into coal balls to make it an excellent fuel. In the history of coal, it is definitely an epoch-making change. Of course, this is limited to Europe, and it has long been popular in China.
If the technology of shaking coal balls spreads, there is no need to promote steam engines, coal sales in Ruhr will also increase significantly. Therefore, in order to easily switch to Markbourland, Marin blocked the technology of shaking coal balls. Later, he moved all the "technicians" who could shaking coal balls to the Sydney coal mine on Cape Breton Island.
Before steam engines, rocking coal balls and honeycomb coal fully utilized coal technology promotion, Marin seized the Dutch region of the Duke of Geders, which had developed agriculture, and exchanged it with John of Cliff, the other party would definitely agree.
Because the land area of ​​the Dutch country of Gedes is not smaller than that of Markle (3,000 square kilometers), and is located on the alluvial plain near the estuary of the Rhine River. It has developed agriculture and a large population. According to the thinking of the agricultural era, if it is exchanged, it seems that John, Duke of Cliff, took advantage.
Moreover, from the map, the Duke of Gedes (there are related maps for "The Rise of the European Emperor" on the Duke's post bar) is connected to the Duke of Cliff. Unlike Markber, it is not with Duke of Cliff. Therefore, this attracts Duke of Cliff John even more.
As for Marin's request to change territory, and the reason why he seems to suffer a little, it is also very simple - Mark Berlin's hometown is Marin's hometown...
Marin was born in the Bochum region of Markbourg, and it is understandable that he wanted to change to his hometown. After all, although Europeans do not have the strong hometown complex as strong as China, there are also some.
Therefore, the order issued by His Majesty the Emperor is very similar to being tailor-made for Marin.
Of course, it is very difficult to find evidence of collusion between the Duke of Geders and the French. After all, Charles II, Duke of Geders, is also an old fox, not a fool. Even if he colluded with France, he would hide it and would not be easily discovered. It seems very difficult to catch Charles II, Duke of Geders...
But Marin is not afraid...
Why? Because Charles II, Duke of Geders, would definitely have correspondence with the French. It is probably very difficult to obtain these letters from Charles II, Duke of Geders. However, it is much simpler to obtain letters from the French that communicate with the Principality of Geders...
Why do you say so? Because this is determined by the different status of the two countries...
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! The Principality of Gedes is a small vassal state. It treats France as its backer and will definitely attach great importance to letters that interact with France. Not to mention that it will burn it after reading it, at least it will be hidden in a secret room by Charles II, the Duke of Gedes. It will be extremely difficult to get it.
But it's different in France...
In France, the small Duchy of Gedes is just a small pawn of the great France. It is best to cause trouble to Shinra, and it doesn't matter if it can't.
Therefore, the relationship between the two is extremely unequal, and France will not attach importance to the Principality of Gedes as the Principality of Gedes. Even the secret letter sent by Charles II, the Duke of Gedes, will not be kept as the primary secret, and may be placed casually on a desk in the palace and eaten ashes...
Maybe it is harder for others to find those letters in the French palace than to get relevant letters from the Duke of Gedes. But Marin is different, because he had already arranged for the fat brothers to be the imperial chefs in the French palace...
In other words, Marin has someone in the French palace...
Of course, Marin would not be stupid enough to let the Fat Brothers steal the letters themselves. Because if the Fat Brothers are exposed, it would be really not worth the loss.
However, the Fat Brothers can find out where those letters are and who is responsible for keeping them...
Then, Marin, who received the news, sent someone to buy the French official who was responsible for keeping the letters, and took out tens of thousands of gold coins to smash him in the face, so he would not have to worry about not being able to buy these letters... Anyway, this is not a particularly confidential thing for France... Moreover, tens of thousands of gold coins are enough for the official who kept the letters to flee to a foreign country to become a rich man. If it really doesn't work, Marin could also reward him with a title and some fiefdoms, which is not a loss. After all, if he gets the Dutch region of the Dutch country of Gedes and then changes to the Ruhr area of ​​Markbour, Marin makes a big profit...
As long as you get the relevant letters and have evidence, Marin can immediately send troops to directly capture part of the land in the Dutch of Gedes, and then successfully legally occupy it according to the emperor's order today. Then, it will be replaced by Ruhr District...
With the Ruhr area, Marin can openly build a steam engine...
Chapter completed!