Chapter 428
After the rebellions in Venice and Croatia were quelled, it was time to liquidate the regimes that had supported them. Whoever wanted Rome to fail the most, whoever joined the anti-Roman alliance, these were Rome's enemies.
Austria, Luxembourg, Burgundy, Milan, and some small princes of the Holy Roman Empire, they had never been so united, and their goal was to make Rome withdraw from Central Europe. Since the other party was so enthusiastic, Rome could not let them down.
The Imperial Parliament was held in Prague. Regarding the proposal to increase the number of electors, Count Palatinate, on behalf of the secular regime, disagreed. Seven electors were enough, and there was no need to increase them.
The Archbishop of Mainz, on behalf of the religious community, said that the Golden Bull represented God's will, and unauthorized changes would be punished by God.
This was really more opposed than the other, but a few people had an ambiguous attitude. Large duchies such as Ernst, Duke of Bavaria-Munich, Count Friedrich of Nuremberg, and Duke of Pomerania all expressed neutrality, which was understandable, after all, expanding the number of electors was good for them.
The Berlin Alliance affected one-third of the seats, but it was still not enough to pass the bill. The Vienna Alliance proposed a condition for exchange, which was to let Vlad give up the right to inherit the Kingdom of Bohemia.
They have understood that if they want to prevent Vlad from controlling the Holy Roman Empire, they need to restrict his power growth. Under the current circumstances, preventing Vlad from inheriting the wealthy Kingdom of Bohemia has become their policy.
The importance of the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Holy Roman Empire is self-evident. Vlad already has Brandenburg. If he gets Bohemia, no one in the country can control him.
The Archduke of Austria, who is committed to promoting this matter, also has his own ideas. If Vlad does not inherit Bohemia, then Sigismund will inherit it, and his son can inherit it after his in-laws die.
Vlad also knew that this was the other party's conspiracy, but he also offered his own price: if he could obtain the Duchy of Silesia, he could give up the right to inherit Bohemia.
Silesia is an important economic zone in Bohemia. Industries such as textiles and coal occupy an important position in Bohemia. The Vienna Alliance did not agree after hearing this. What is the difference between ceding Silesia and ceding Bohemia? The conversation failed.
At the critical moment, the Hanseatic League was still powerful. In order to continue to stay in the alliance, some southern imperial cities could only vote in favor with tears. Other members of the alliance also exerted their influence, and finally passed the resolution with 10 more votes.
The specific increase was that in order to highlight the status of the elector, two were added to nine. They were obtained by the Duke of Bavaria-Munich and the Duke of Pomerania respectively, and Austria still did not get any advantage.
The alliance won a great victory at the beginning, which encouraged Vlad. Although it added one to the pro-Habsburg forces, it also added an elector to his side. Overall, it is good.
The elector also needs to consider how to use the Hanseatic League for his own benefit. Vlad is a little unhappy with this independent economy. If it can be directly included in the rule of Brandenburg, it will be a great help to the economy.
In order to raise compensation, the Teutonic Knights had to sell the Neumark area to Brandenburg, but this was not enough, so taxes were imposed on the people in the country. This made the merchants in the western region dissatisfied and they planned to resist them by force.
As the imitators of Teutonic, the Knights of the Roman Empire seemed much more loyal. They had passed through Yerevan and entered the Kingdom of Georgia. King Alexander treated these uncles with good food and meat and sent them to the border as quickly as possible, which was the territory of Shirvan.
After Timur's death, this place broke away from control and became independent again. Shah was also a good ruler. The local economy was prosperous and agriculture was developed, which was also the fertile land that the Knights longed for.
The Knights suddenly occupied Ganja as a base. When Shirvan Shah learned about it, he immediately commanded the army to attack them.
The Knights were not idle either. Their military priests began to convert the natives one by one, and wrote to the Patriarch of Constantinople, hoping to be granted the right to launch a holy war against the pagans.
The Knights were here with nearly 2,000 people, including ordinary people and explorers. They built positions in Ganja and prepared for defense. As long as the logistics were guaranteed, they could keep defending.
The soldiers of the Shah were all composed of ordinary conscripted peasant soldiers, while the Knights were mainly well-trained soldiers. The victory or defeat was decided as soon as the two sides started fighting. In particular, the priests of the Knights directly fought with the other side with weapons. These were recruited from the monastery in Trebizond.
Mircea had previously approved the Knights to recruit monks in the monastery as the army. These people were all members of the Andre Society without exception, and their fanaticism for faith was also the highest. When facing pagans, they wanted to eat their flesh alive. After repelling the attack of the other side, the Knights captured dozens of fortresses and towns in one go, with a population of more than 100,000. The Shah could only start peace talks with them.
Another Knights' State was born, but this time it was Orthodox. The Timurid Empire is currently under the actual control of his fourth son Shah Rukh. After his third brother Milan Shah was killed by the Black Sheep Dynasty and the Zarayi Dynasty, he signed a contract with them to temporarily maintain the situation in the west. At the same time, continue to conquer India, and the spoils obtained can make up for the losses. At the same time, continue to be friendly with Rome in order to attack it from both the east and the west.
Yusuf never forgot the threat from Rome. After Rome launched an expedition to Syria, the Black Sheep Dynasty transferred part of its troops to the western border. Fearing that the other side would give them a shock.
But on the other hand, the two countries really cannot do without the income from Roman trade. The trade income between Tabriz and Trabzon can bring a large amount of income to the Black Sheep Dynasty. At the same time, Shah Rukh opened a route from Hormos to Aden, and the trade volume between the two sides rose again.
The Arabs on the peninsula had a lot of opinions about the Roman monopoly. They could only let the Sultanate of Oman or other tribes attack the Roman strongholds and stations. There was nothing else they could do. Rome also had no way to deal with the erratic Arabs. They could not find them even if they shot and ran directly into the desert.
As for Mecca and Medina, Rome has not touched the mind at present. This is a powder keg. Once something is done, the Crescent Moon believers all over the world will avenge them. But ignoring them directly and not stopping trade directly hurts their vitality. Without trade, they probably can't survive and can only eat dates in the desert oasis.