Chapter 328: The secrets within Shinra

Chapter 328: The secrets within Shinra

Mircea was well received in Hungary, where the Queen and Prime Minister received members of the Roman royal family. For a time, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

Mircea was also extremely helpful to this ally. The two heads of state signed the "Treaty of Buda" and continued to increase relations based on the original alliance. The two countries have formally established a customs union, unifying internal trade and unifying external tariffs. For Austria and Poland, the tariffs are very high.

After finishing his visit to Hungary, Mircea's next stop was Bohemia. The local situation was already somewhat complicated. The religious reform initiated by his son caused quite a stir in this powerful country in Central Europe. Under the influence of John the Evangelist, they spread new doctrines in Bethlehem Church, but the local nobility and the Catholic Church continued to suppress them. The arrival of the Roman Emperor made them a little anxious. If something happened to him, then Constantinople He won't let them go.

In Brno, where the Orthodox Church is the strongest, the local people were joyfully preparing to welcome the emperor. There is no longer a Catholic church in the area, and the Bohemian Orthodox Church has officially entered the political stage. Missionaries help the local people and gradually accumulate prestige. In the same year as the Venetian War, the Orthodox Church formally expelled the local Catholic Church, and the Pope punished them with excommunication. But the local people simply ignored it. If you have the ability, you can recruit crusaders to fight me.

Someone actually organized an army to attack Brno, but the Orthodox Church directly summoned the people of the city and some people who opposed the Catholic Church to fight against the enemy. This also included a one-eyed mercenary and a young farmer. Under the leadership of the Orthodox Church, they won two consecutive victories and directly defeated the Crusaders.

Later, Rome made peace with various countries, and the religious situation in Brno was a foregone conclusion. The Orthodox Church stayed out of the daily affairs of the people, some taxes were abolished, and local militias were organized and trained. The local nobles had nothing to do with this tough nut, especially when the Eastern Emperor was about to come. They couldn't act rashly.

The nobles of Bohemia were discussing in the parliament. Don't think that Bohemia is a kingdom now, but it is actually a federation of nobles, including the Principality of Silesia, the Principality of Moravia, and Upper Lusatia. , Lower Lusatia and a series of nobles, and several were bishoprics, the Catholic Church and the German nobles united to deal with the Roman emperor.

"The emperor wants to come here to play, then we should make him happy, but if he wants to compete for power between his son and that girl, I will be the first to not agree."

Duke George of Silesia said that the Silesia he ruled was one of the richest regions in Bohemia. It is rich in coal and iron resources and has developed manufacturing industries. Of course, he is also a member of the Luxembourg family, but he dislikes Wenzel very much and has always supported his younger brother Sigismund.

"This is difficult. You must know that the emperor's son is engaged to the princess. If the emperor takes advantage of this situation to demand the rule of Bohemia, we can only kneel down and serve."

"If you want to kneel down, kneel down, I won't do it."

Seeing that a quarrel was about to break out, Count Pearson came out to smooth things over. "We should be preparing for the emperor's visit now, not thinking about how to cancel possible future rule here."

"Edward of England sought the rule of France, but as a result, fighting for decades was of no use, so as long as we unite, even the emperor will have to give in."

This made many nobles agree that they could unite and force Mircea to give up his inheritance rights in Bohemia in return for some gold coins and a castle.

The nobles of Bohemia discussed the situation, as did the other princes. Sigismund invited his confidants Albrecht and Friedrich to discuss a plan on how to regain HRE.

"Sir, I think as long as Jobst is gone, you will be the only heir."

Albrecht expressed his views on the current order of succession. If Jobst can designate Sigismund as his successor, then he can automatically succeed without him, but if he is not designated, he must mobilize the elector. Hou came to support himself.

Looking at the two people in front of me, one is the self-proclaimed Archduke of Austria and the other is the pseudo-Margrave of Brandenburg. They have no influence no matter how they look at them. They had all been beaten by Rome and Hungary and lost popular support in the south.

"Sir, I think we should have a good relationship with the Emperor of Romania now. I don't know what amazing things this man can do."

Friedrich was smarter than Albrecht, and if Sigismund wanted to be Emperor of the HRE, Mircea was the one he couldn't mess with. What if he gets angry and unites with Hungary to send troops to fight? Don't think that everything will be fine with Poland. With the strength of Rome, it can attack from both sides and give them the same fate as the Venetians.

Sigismund thought for a while and decided to go to the Eastern Roman Emperor. And he even took them with him to see if he could recover some of his losses.

The Count of Tyrol wants to replace Vienna, and the Sauron family's funds are about to run out, as if they have reached a dead end. But there is always a way.

The members of the Hanseatic League hope that the emperor can approve their participation in the Mediterranean trade, and the members of the Swabian League and the Swiss League hope to receive support from the emperor. In short, many people in the small Shinra are asking for help from the emperor, and Mircea must be very popular. welcome.

There are too many states within the territory of the Shinra. Even after the Thirty Years' War, there were 178 states and thousands of knightly fiefdoms. The fragmentation of Central Europe was very obvious, and the Emperor of the Shinra was more like the director of a neighborhood committee, responsible for mediating some conflicts. This This gives opportunities to foreign forces.

Jobst had recently been living in Augsburg, where various events had left him in poor health. Mircea's arrival hoped that he could provide support to him, but Brandenburg couldn't wait to leave.

Brandenburg at this time was a bad place, with insufficient agriculture, sluggish industry and commerce, local fragmentation, and nothing else except the title of elector. Moreover, the religious reform in Bohemia also spread here. Farmers in some places began to rebel against the landlords and himself, and the landlords fueled the situation out of their own selfish interests. All this made Jobst want to push this place out.

It's not easy to find an ally (an enemy), how could you let this opportunity pass? The Bohemian princess was still young, so even if there were problems with the engagement, she still had the title of Elector of Brandenburg, so she would not be at a disadvantage anyway.