The return route is still a familiar recipe and a familiar road. Marin first rushed to the port of Barcelona, ​​took the ship from the Kingdom of Aragon to Sicily, and then arrived at the Kingdom of Naples.

This time, Marin did not go to the Naples Palace, but went directly north. Last time he was visiting the Naples Palace, King Frederick IV had complained that the spices were not reserved enough, so he had to invite him to eat more sugar. He didn't understand what was going on.

Now, Marin understood. Last time, Marin happened to encounter the lack of pepper, lilac and other spices in the palace of Frederick IV.

I was so lucky. If I were invited to have a meal with pepper last time, wouldn’t Marin be so depressed?

So, on this trip, Marin did not dare to visit Frederick IV, King of Naples, so as not to have a few more pepper-dip banquets. Touching the blisters on his mouth, Marin's eyes were a little afraid.

After retrieving the horses entrusted here in the Kingdom of Naples, Marin led his men and went north without stopping...

He and Ferdinand II said that there was something to do when they went back, not an excuse, but something really happened. At present, the Teutonic Knights have passed away at the end of August and have been dead for more than a month. According to convention, the Knights are currently looking for a new Grand Chief and are preparing for elections.

However, this time, there seemed to be no perfect and suitable successor within the Knights. Therefore, the Knights sent people to the German region and sent an invitation to invite the Knights and talents from the German region to participate in the election of the new Grand Head.

However, the candidate for the Teutonic Grand Leader is conditional. First of all, this person must be from the knight family, and it is best to be a high-ranking nobleman with a reputation.

Secondly, this person must not marry for life. It is equivalent to the fact that the leader of the Teutonic group is a half-knight and a half-monk. The monks are not allowed to get married.

In fact, there are many people who meet the first condition. However, knights from large aristocratic families may not be willing to stay married for life. Therefore, the second condition is the real obstacle, which has eliminated most knights from large aristocratic families. Even within the Knights, most knights are married and are unwilling to stay married for life.

Fortunately, because of the second condition, there are not many candidates who meet the conditions, which leads to a long time to the election of the new chief of the Grand Head. According to the original history, Frederick, the youngest son of the Duke of Saxony, was sworn in the next year. The specific year he was elected should be at the end of the year. Therefore, Marin still has time.

When he passed by his hometown of Markbour, Marin paused for a moment. When he arrived at the Principality of Cliff on the Rhine, Marin visited Duke Cliff and Earl of Mark John II.

John II was both the Duchy of Clifford and the Earl of Markber. Therefore, John II was actually the monarch of Marin before his success.

John II was also curious about Marin Hoffman, a young hero under his rule. He heard that Marin came to visit him, so he met him with curiosity.

The atmosphere of the whole meeting was friendly and warm. Marin came over and actually said hello and asked John II to take care of his hometown, Hoffman Manor. John II educated Marin earnestly as a higher-level nobleman and elder.

In fact, Marin didn't know what to do, so why he came to see John II. However, there seemed to be a voice in his heart telling him that he would regret it if he didn't come...

Although John II was a great prince, he actually did not reject Marin. Moreover, although as a prince in the northwest, he did not turn to France. Between France and the emperor, this person was relatively neutral. On weekdays, he also liked to pray and was a devout Catholic, with a certain sense of being indifferent to the world. Marin knew that this person had nothing to do with France, so he dared to come to see him. Otherwise, if you were not careful, you might be arrested to please the French.

When John II invited Marin to dinner in the evening, Marin finally knew why he came to visit John II...

It turned out that there was a prince named Philip who accompanied him for dinner...

This Prince Philip is not Prince Philip, nor the emperor's son, but the younger brother of John II.

John II's father, John I, was also a devout Catholic. Therefore, between his three sons, John II, Engelbert, Earl of Neverwell, and his youngest son, Philip, he chose Philip to become a monk.

Therefore, Philip was trained as a priest since he was a child, and of course, he also had the identity of a knight. In other words, the unlucky third prince Philip was established to be a bachelor for the rest of his life since he was a child...

In fact, until now, Prince Philip was only 30 years old. John II and his second brother Engelbert decided to operate it and make him the bishop of the Neverde region in two years.

When he heard the dual identities of Prince Philip and the Knight, Marlin's eyes lit up instantly...

He stood up and bowed, then said:

"Dude, have you heard of what happened in the Teutonic Knights?"

John II was stunned for a moment and replied:

"I just heard that it was not long after, the leader over there seemed to have passed away. What's wrong?"

"Have you ever thought about letting Lord Philip run for the Grand Head of the Teutonic Knights?"

"What?" John II and Prince Philip both grew their mouths in surprise...

"Yes, participate in the election of the commander of the Teutonic Knights! Lord Philip is of noble origin and meets the requirements of the commander of the Teutonic Knights as both knights and monks. Why not participate in the election?" Marin said passionately.

At this time, Prince Philip's eyes also burst into desire. Because he was unwilling to be a little bishop without real power in a small place like the country of Neverber under the rule of his second brother. When he heard that he might become the leader of the Teutonic Knights, his heart almost stopped beating.

You should know that in this era, almost every German man had a dream of a knight. Prince Philip attended today's dinner to see the legendary figure among the knights Marin. Moreover, the Teutonic Knights accepted too many German Wanderers with the dream of knights, and were the holy place in the hearts of many German Wanderers.

"But, as far as I know, the commander of the Teutonic Knights died on August 27. Didn't they choose a new commander?"

"No, as far as I know, this great commander died suddenly and did not select a reserve major commander. Therefore, the new great commander has not been decided yet. Even the Teutonic Knights sent an invitation to the German region, inviting some children of aristocratic who meet the conditions to participate in the election..."

"That's right?"

"Yes, there are not many knights willing to live without marriage for the Teutonic Knights. Therefore, when it comes to lifeless unmarried, there are no suitable candidates within the Teutonic Knights, so they have to send an invitation to the German region. The Principality of Clifford is located in the westernmost part of Germany, and it is probably the latest to receive the news..."

"Baron Marin, thank you very much for bringing this news. But, as far as I know, we Westphalians have no electoral advantage in the Teutonic Knights..."

Yes, the Westphalians and the Rhinelands combined together, and only 210 seats among the more than 800 official Teutonic knights with voting rights. Their rival, Franknia-Swabian League, had 230 votes. In addition, the Franknia-Swabian League was closer to the Saxons, and John II believed that even if Prince Philip had participated in the election, it would probably be difficult. Moreover, Marin told them that Frederick, the youngest son of the Duke of Saxon, would run for the election...

"No, Lord Duke, Lord Philip has a good chance. Because, if Lord Philip is willing to run for the election, I am willing to pay tens of thousands of gold coins..." Marin thought for a while and said firmly.

"Ten thousand gold coins? Do you want to bribe elections?" John II's eyes lit up. John II was also looking forward to his younger brother being elected as the leader of the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights are much better than the Principality of Clifford. With his younger brother who is the leader of the great regiment, he would definitely be more face-said, right? The great nobles want only face...

"Yes, the Franknar Swabian League and the Saxons combined have only 410 people. Moreover, although the son of the Duke of Saxon runs for election, the Saxon Knights will definitely vote for him, but the Franknar Swabian Knights may not..."

"That's right, but the Knights of the Franknar-Swabian League will definitely not vote for Philip."

"I think there are more than two candidates, Frederick and Philip, and maybe other regions. As long as there are candidates that other candidates that the Knights of the Franknyan-Swabian League can accept, I will send someone to bribe some of them and let them vote for other candidates. Then, the votes of the Son of the Duke of Saxony will be diluted and divided..."

"Awesome! This trick is indeed instant!" John II understood the key. As long as the opponent's votes are reduced, and the number of votes on his side is large, it is not impossible to fight.

"Haha, my teacher taught me..."

"By the way, Baron Marin, why did you take out tens of thousands of gold coins? Is there anything you want to pay so much?"

Marin's eyes rolled, and a reasonable answer jumped out:

"My Duke, my island of Texel is a good place to cook salt, and it produces salt..."

"Wait... As far as I know, the lowlands are short of firewood, what do you use to cook salt?"

"You can buy fuel from other places. The salt price is so expensive, and this investment is worth it..."

"Well, what are your requests?"

"If Lord Philip becomes the leader of the Teutonic Group, please let me go of the salt market in the Teutonic Knights and provide protection. You know, the Teutonic Knights are on the Baltic coast, and the salt price is very expensive. If you can buy salt, the profit will be high..."

John II and Philip thought about it and found it reasonable and nodded. You should know that as a Baltic coastal area, the price of salt in the Teutonic Knights is generally twice as expensive as that in the German region. Therefore, if you sell the salt over and sell it, it will be a huge profit.

However, not anyone can sell salt in the Teutonic Knights country, which is generally monopolized by some Hanseatic merchants with great origins and backgrounds. But Marin did a good job. Once Philip becomes the leader of the new Teutonic Knights, he is fully capable of selling salt in the Teutonic Knights country and making huge profits. It doesn't take too long to make it back tens of thousands of gold coins. After all, the salt price there is twice as high as that in the German region.

"Haha, Baron Marin, we can't afford to pay back these tens of thousands of gold coins in the short term. If the election fails..."

"Even if I invested so much, you'll be relieved!"

Marin originally had 200,000 gold coins in his hand, and after a while, he had to settle the bill with Wright, and more than 100,000 salt payments were delivered. He could still afford to lose.

"Okay, please feel free. If my brother becomes the leader of the Teutonic Grand Territory, he will definitely find all kinds of conveniences and protections to you!" Prince Philip, who dreamed of being the leader of the Teutonic Knights, nodded repeatedly.
Chapter completed!