Chapter 341： Ambition of Duke Gerdes

盖 Gelden, the town northwest of Germany, the capital of the Duchy of Gerdes, Charles II is looking at the map and thinking. Looking at the map, Charles II, Duke of Gerdes's concern, was not the Duchy of Gerdes himself, but West Frisian to the north.

Charles II, Duke of Gerdes, was an ambitious prince, who wanted to expand the territory of the Principality of Gerdes and strengthen his own strength.

But unfortunately, his neighbors are not so easy to mess with. For example, his neighbors to the west, the Peri-Netherlands of the Netherlands and the Principality of Brabant, are the domain of Philip, son of Emperor Maximilian I.

In fact, the Principality of Geddes had previously been annexed by the defiant Charlie of Maximilian I ’s father-in-law, and it was not until 1492 that Charles II took advantage of the riots in the Flanders to make Self-care Mark Similien I agreed to his restoration of the Duchy of Gerdes.

Obviously, the Duchy of Gerdes could not fight the power of the emperor. Therefore, westward expansion will not work. And the neighboring countries on the south are mainly Bishop Linger, Duchy of Cleeve, Archbishop of Cologne and Duchy of Jülich.

Archbishop of Cologne need not talk about it. Charles II, one of the seven electors, did not dare to give up a confrontation. And even the weakest Bishop Linger, to the south, is covered by the Archbishop of Cologne, so it's hard to get started.

As for the Principality of Cliff and Principality of Lich, both are strong opponents and difficult to deal with. If war really starts, Charles II is not sure that he can defeat two countries.

As for the east of the Duchy of Gerdes, it is mainly the bishop of Münster and also covered by the archbishop of Cologne. The two neighbors to the north, mainly the Archbishop of Utrecht and West Friesland.

不用 The Archbishop of Utrecht need not mention that it is the Holy See's influence in the Netherlands. Charles II was not so bold and dare to challenge the Holy See. So, after thinking about it, only West Frisian is the most suitable to seize it.

In fact, beginning with the restoration of the Duchy of Gerdes in 1492, Charles II had the idea of ​​annexing West Frisian and made a lot of preparations.

But the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. Before he even started, the Principality of Saxony first took the lead and seized West Frisian, leaving Charles II's plan unsuccessful.

不 Charlie II was reconciled, so he secretly supported the nine nobles of the former West Frisian, agreed to settle in the northern Principality of Gerdes, and encouraged them to gather their troops and return to West Frisian to harass Saxons.

Alas, this is also the limit that Charles II can do. Because, Charles II did not dare to publicly offend Albrecht, Duke of Saxony.

Among them, in addition to the relatively strong Principality of Saxony, the ability and prestige of the Duke of Albrecht is also important.

阿尔 Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, is a more cunning old fox, and very greedy. But its capabilities are strong, with strong diplomatic and military capabilities.

Although, the Principality of Saxony was divided from the electorate of Saxony. However, because Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was the uncle of the Saxon Elector Emperor Frederick III, who was nominally the noble leader of the Saxony family. Therefore, the Duke of Saxony has a high prestige among the Saxony aristocracy and is the true leader of the Saxony aristocracy.

This is what Charles II, the Duke of Gerdes, feared most. Because, as the leader of the Saxony aristocracy, Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, could easily persuade more than a dozen Saxon nobles to support him.

Just like the invasion of East Frisian by the Principality of Saxony, many people in more than 20,000 troops were loaned by other vassals. The most obvious is that the 3000 plate armor loaned to him by Saxony's elector Frederick III was re-ridden.

Therefore, in the face of the treacherous and prestigious Duke Albrecht of Duke Saxony, Charles II, who is also very sly, did not stubbornly confront it, but instigated the 9 nobles of West Frisian with a rogue. From time to time, soldiers and horses returned to West Frisian to make trouble, consuming Saxon strength.

Originally, Charles II, Duke of Gerdes, did not win the idea of ​​West Frisian. Because he lacked enough confidence. After all, the aristocracy of the Saxony is too powerful.

However, the battle of East Frisian Llander County gave Charles II, Duke of Gerdes, great hope. Although Marin defeated the Saxony in the Battle of Lyle County. However, the interference of various forces forced Marin, who was strong and strong, to give up annexing West Frisian, so that Charles II saw hope.

Charlie II knew very well that no matter how strong Marin was, he could not turn his face with all the princes. Because Marin was the enemy of the princes, it was doomed that most of the princes would not agree with Marin to annex West Frisian. Therefore, Marin, who has a strong military strength, is temporarily unable to annex West Frisian for diplomatic reasons.

However, if the Duchy of Goddess were used to annex West Frisian, there would not be as many opponents as Marin. Because, in the final analysis, the Duchy of Gerdes was also one of the princes who stood opposite the emperor.

The puppet princes are usually not united. They will unite only when facing emperors who want centralization. Therefore, if the Principality of Gerdes was like the annexation of West Frisian, it would be only the Saxon nobility belonging to the Principality of Saxony.

However, although the Saxony aristocracy is powerful, it is far away in the eastern part of Germany and not strong in the northwest of Germany. Moreover, through the Battle of Lyle County, Marin lost a lot of Saxony strength, making the Principality of Saxony seriously injured, and it will not recover in decades.

So Marin's weakening of the Principality of Saxony has given the Principality of Gerdes more opportunities. Since the end of the battle in Lyle County, the Principality of Gerdes began secretly recruiting soldiers, actively preparing for the war, and taking over West Frisian while the Saxon prince was weak.

Moreover, in recent times, Charles II of the Duke of Gerdes returned important information in the eyeliner of Dresden, the capital of the Principality of Saxony. Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was ill, and was very sick. It will be a problem this year ...

This immediately shocked Charles II. He knew very well that Albrecht, Duke of Saxony, was an old fox and had a strong ability ~ www.novelhall.com ~ but his eldest son George was a straw bag.

If George becomes the Duke of Saxony, then the strength of the Principality of Saxony will decline. The main thing is that the aristocracy of the Saxony system will not look at George as the leader.

When Albrecht the Duke of Saxony died, the most prestigious aristocracy of the Saxony family would be Saxony's elector Frederick III, the nephew of the Duke of Albrecht. By that time, other Saxony nobles would only give the face of Saxony's elector Frederick III, not necessarily the face of George.

At that time, when the Principality of Gerdes and George clashed, other Saxony nobles might not be willing to help. What's more, because after the war in Lyle County, the Principality of Saxony compensated 1 million Gulden gold coins, and now it is too poor to owe a lot of foreign debts. You do n’t have enough money to send troops.

If the Duke of Albrecht is alive, he can borrow a little forage and horses from each house with the old face of the Saxon leader. But George had no face. When the Duke of Saxony died, the strength of the Principality of Saxony led by George would shrink greatly.

But recently, Charles II, Duke of Gerdes, was ecstatic that his biggest competitor, Marin, was embarrassedly involved in the war in Switzerland.

Charles II knew that there was a sky pit over Switzerland. Marin fell into that big pit and couldn't climb out in a few years. Coupled with Marin's identity as an emperor's running dog, it was naturally resisted by most of the lords and nobles. So, really, in the diplomatic environment, the Principality of Gerdes is better.

Therefore, recently, the soldiers and horses of the Duchy of Gerdes have been training more diligently. Charles II, Duke of Gerdes, also began studying the map of West Frisian all day, and began to prepare for the dispatch of West Frisian ...