Chapter 418 Family members in action
The membership of the Berlin Union continued to increase, and many imperial cities joined because Vlad agreed to give them increased rights. (っ◔◡◔)っThe Duke of Brunswick was also forced to join the alliance.
Vlad's proposal to increase the electorate caused great controversy. The religious princes opposed it, but the secular princes showed great desire. They all want to compete for the upper reaches, but some people worry that the value of the Elector will decline as a result.
The Elector of the Palatinate had always opposed the increase, and the Archbishop of Mainz therefore asked him to lead the opposition against Berlin.
The fighting within HRE is no less than the war between Britain and France, and various conspiracies and battles will appear. And if you want to gain the upper hand, you need a little courage.
Jobst brought a lot of benefits to Vlad, as he distributed unowned land. So Brandenburg spent a lot of spices and tea silk in exchange for East Friesland, and at the same time purchased the County of Mark in Westphalia. This greatly increased his financial strength.
Since purchasing land is feasible, finding ways to increase financial income is the first factor. Brandenburg's swamps hindered agricultural production, and for this purpose clearing needed to be encouraged.
There were too many large swamps near Berlin, and water and mosquitoes became natural enemies of farmers. In later generations, plains referred to places with fertile land, but in this era it refers to swamps.
The lords of Italy and Germany did not catch up with the colonization of America, so they reclaimed the swamps at their doorsteps as their own America. King Frederick II of Prussia once said, I once conquered a kingdom without bloodshed, and he was talking about the largest Odebruch Marsh.
Water conservancy facilities play a very important role in agriculture. Several Iberian kingdoms have successively realized the need to build water conservancy facilities, so they began to carry out large-scale construction. However, the specific efficiency is really low. One water canal cost a lot of money. It took more than 200 years to complete, and even the nine tribes of the Eastern Emperor would not be able to enjoy it.
But reclamation is a long-term plan. In addition to issuing a tax-free recruitment order for up to 8 years, Vlad also gave some land to the Orthodox Church to let them share some of the pressure.
The biggest headache for Vlad at the moment is finances. You must know that these spices and luxury goods come from Constantinople, and his eldest brother will not finance them forever. He also does not want to be said to be a child who only relies on Rome. . If you want to persist, you have to rely on yourself.
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The Roman army began to enter the Illyrian region. It was originally peaceful, but it turned out that the Croats were crazy. They insisted on provoking the army, and the Duke was not polite. The rebels fled here and eliminated them themselves. It’s not impossible.
Ever since, before reaching the area controlled by Skro, a robbery against the Croatians began. Because their more or less resistance to the Roman government made the emperor lose his last bit of patience, he would rather kill them by mistake than release them by mistake. This was also Rome's purge of the Catholic sphere of influence, so that the empire could rule the region more firmly.
All kinds of tragedies happen every day in the entire Illyria region. You can't expect the quality of the soldiers at this time. Even the regular army has no such hope. And soldiers have to make some extra money, right?
Relying on this "strong wall and clearing the field", those guerrillas lost a place to survive and were forced to retreat.
After experiencing the carnival, they finally got scared. The people left Rome with their property, and the officials above kept writing letters to express their loyalty, hoping to serve as internal correspondents and cooperate internally and externally. But the Duke sent these things to Constantinople without even looking at them. He didn't care about them. He was only responsible for destroying the rebels.
Moreover, rebellions in these places have already begun to show other signs. Ljubljana's economic situation has begun to deteriorate, and local nobles and landowners have colluded to control commodity prices. This made the citizens and the poor unbearable and united. They established their own government and parliament and issued a declaration, including equality for all, land reform, raising wages, increasing taxes on the wealthy, etc. This directly frightened the landlords, or Pack your bags and run to Austria, or secretly contact Rome to put out this uprising together.
Skrow saw an opportunity to expand his power. He directly supported the uprising and personally led troops to Ljubljana. The Poor Parliament reciprocated and declared Skrow the leader of Ljubljana. This farce is getting better and better.
Of course, this also intensified other people's hatred of Croatia, especially the neighboring places. The local trade was greatly affected, which made their lives worse than before. Therefore, they were happy to hear that the Roman army was coming. Master Wang, I hope they can exterminate the rebels as soon as possible.
With the support of the masses, the Roman army was emboldened, and Giang was ready to gradually encroach on the rebels' sphere of influence and open up the land channel with Trieste. Anyway, it was a big purge. Even if the local area was completely barren, the emperor would appreciate him.
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Stefan took Michelle to France for their honeymoon. In order to keep him, Secretary Salmon drafted an appointment edict while the king was in a coma, and then asked the confused king to sign it when he woke up.
The appointment above is: In order to expand the strength of France and promote relations with Rome, Stefan will become the Duke of Normandy.
This canonization directly shocked the government and the opposition. Although the Dukedom of Normandy had been merged into the French royal domain, the sudden appointment still made other forces realize that Rome had intervened in the internal affairs of the most powerful country in Western Europe. The situation they least wanted to see happened.
Such an appointment made Stefan fourth in line after the king, the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Orleans. But right now, he only has a title, no fiefdom, and no army. At best, he is just a bare commander. But for him, it was a thrilling adventure.
He had read many books about the East before, and many people started from scratch. For example, there was a village chief who led dozens of people and made great achievements and became a monarch. There was another person who came from a lower background, said to be a slave, and became the dominant ruler, even though his empire fell apart after his death.
These deeds inspired him that as long as he thought he could do it, he could do it. Moreover, even without money and soldiers, defeat can be turned into victory. Isn't this how the first emperor Augustus defeated Antony and became the sole master of the Roman Empire?
What's more, he also has the King of France as his father-in-law. Although this person's help is not good, it is better than nothing. Just wait, he will achieve great achievements one day.