It has been 20 days since East Friesland, together with Lübeck, Hamburg and Sweden, declared war on Denmark. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info These days, the news has spread all over Germany.

The reaction to this has been mixed, with some gloating, some dissatisfied, and some supporting...... For example, King Hans's brother-in-law, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, expressed his displeasure. Because, his sister Christina, is the queen of King Hans.

However, Frederick III, as Elector of Saxony, was very conflicted at this time. For, although he was the brother-in-law of the King of Denmark, he was also a vested interest in the Hanseatic League. This is because there were several Hanseatic cities in the Electorate of Saxony, which were important sources of tax revenue for the Electorate. Moreover, Frederick III himself had borrowed a large amount of money from the Hanseatic League, but he has not yet paid it off.

Therefore, Frederick III was the most ambivalent about the Quadruple Alliance's attack on Denmark. On the one hand, he was a vested interest in the Hanseatic League, and the leaders of the Hanseatic League, Lübeck and Hamburg, the second of the Hanseatic League, sent troops; Denmark, on the other hand, was his sister's country......

Therefore, after a long struggle in his heart, the Elector of Saxony chose to wait and see for the time being. After all, if he offended the boss of the Hanseatic League, and the city in the territory was expelled from the Hanseatic League, he would lose a lot of money. Before his own interests and the interests of his sister's family, Frederick III finally chose himself. However, he was wiser and openly called on both sides to exercise restraint, and it was better to stop the war and sit down to negotiate. But in the current situation, this kind of appeal is no different from not saying it. After all, the two sides have already fought a real fire. And the four-nation alliance occupies such an advantage, where is it willing to stop? But since Frederick III has made a statement, he is not disregarding his sister's life or death, and he can barely get by morally.

In addition, to be honest, Frederick III was also very jealous of Marin, a bad star. Last time, his uncle led an army of 26,000 and was completely wiped out. This time, it is said that Marin led 30,000 coalition troops, and God knows what kind of bloody storm it will set off. The Electorate of Saxony alone has no confidence that it will succeed in intervening. This is also an important reason why Frederick III finally chose neutrality.

However, Frederick III, as one of the seven electors, still had a great influence. In order to protect his sister and brother-in-law, he has begun to secretly move and contact other electors, hoping to use political pressure so that the Quadruple Alliance will not go too far. At the very least, it must not threaten the position of the Hans. Otherwise, it would be terrible if Marin, an impulsive guy, went to Copenhagen and killed his sister and brother-in-law. When the time comes, he will have to get involved in the war.

In fact, Marin had been on guard against the Electorate of Saxony to the south. After all, as King Hans's brother-in-law, Marin didn't know if Frederick III would impulsively send troops to the rescue.

When he told the Hamburg military governor Weizmann about this concern, Weizmann was not worried:

"Lord Marin, you're too worried. Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, was not yet 40 years old, but he was a complete old fox. He won't do anything he doesn't know if he's not sure. What's more, he was also afraid of being sanctioned by the Hanseatic League. ”

"Hanseatic sanctions?" Marin was a little curious, feeling that the old cow of the Hanseatic League was broken, and an elector said that sanctions would be sanctioned?

"Yes, if you change to other electors, you may not be afraid of the sanctions of the Hanseatic League. But Saxony ...... The Saxony district was the second largest in the Hanseatic League, and the Elector of Saxony and the Duke of Saxony received a large amount of commercial tax revenue every year because of several Hanseatic cities in the territory. In addition, the Duchy of Saxony, which paid you 1 million gold coins, would not have been able to sustain itself if it were not for a loan from a Hanseatic merchant......"

"Huh? The Duchy of Saxony was the money you loaned? Marin was a little stunned. feelings, their allies financed their enemies......

"Hehe, of course, after all, we weren't allies back then......" Weizmann was also a little embarrassed.

"Yes, but the Elector of Saxony will be afraid of you?"

"Suffice it to say, Lord Marin, the Electors of Saxony and the Duchy of Saxony, more than half of their revenues come from the commercial taxes of the Hanseatic cities within their borders. And Lübeck and Hamburg are the two most influential in the Hanseatic League. If the Elector of Saxony dares to challenge us, we can expel the Hanseatic cities of the Elector of Saxony. In the future, the commerce of those cities will be dealt a fatal blow, and the revenues of the Electorate of Saxony will be reduced by more than half......" Weizmann confidently said.

Marin was a little stunned and muttered:

"It's so awesome...... It's so mouthful......"

At this time, Marin began to face up to the strength of Lübeck, the Hanseatic leader, and Hamburg, the Hanseatic vice-leader. Although it is said that the combined strength of these two cities is not as strong as their own army. However, their influence is also too terrifying, and they can force an elector to dare not come forward to protect his sister easily......

Sure enough, Marin waited left and right, and did not wait for the news of the Elector of Saxony sending troops, but waited for Frederick III's call for an armistice. But how much is this appeal worth? It's not painful at all......

Previously, the reason why Marin had been repairing in Glückstadt, the capital of the Duchy of Holstein, for so long, was not only to teach the mercenaries of Hamburg the rules, but also to prevent the intervention of the Electoral State of Saxony. Now, the Elector of Saxony has admitted that he is afraid to interfere, and he can be regarded as relieved. At the same time, he also gained a new understanding of the influence of the Hanseatic League.

This alliance has strong financial resources and huge political influence. Marin is not willing to provoke if it is not necessary. Previously, Denmark had managed to overpower Lübeck and Hamburg with the combined strength of three kingdoms (Denmark, Norway, and Weakness) and two principalities (Schleswig and Holstein). Now, because of their own incursions, the two cities of Lübeck and Hamburg have the confidence to challenge the powerful Kalmar League, which is really incredible.

Moreover, according to Weizmann, most of the cities in Germany (except for some cities that were too small) had the existence of the Hanseatic League. They obtained many commercial and political privileges by lending money to lords in various places.

During this period, many lords were very poor, and some relied entirely on loans from the Hanseatic League to support their finances in order to maintain their luxury. Therefore, the influence of the Hanseatic League on the lords was also huge. Even political magnates such as the Elector of Saxony had to look at the face of the Hanseatic League, let alone the ordinary little aristocrats.

At this moment, Marin suddenly had the idea of forming a long-term alliance with the Hanseatic League......

Originally, the alliance between East Friesland and Lübeck and Hamburg was only a temporary alliance. Because, the two sides only came together temporarily because of their common enemy, Denmark.

However, it now seems that the Hanseatic League is so good, and Marin needs such a strong ally to speak for himself......

Although the Hanseatic League was only a commercial alliance and did not have a seat in the Reichstag (it was not until the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century that Hanseatic cities were eligible to participate in the Reichstag, such as Hamburg in 1770, which was not eligible to sit and vote in the Reichstag until 1770). However, its political influence should not be underestimated.

Because, many imperial cities, such as Cologne and Dortmund, were both imperial and Hanseatic cities, and were easily influenced by the Hanseatic League. The imperial cities of Aachen, Nuremberg, and Augsburg, although they did not formally join the Hanseatic League, had a very close relationship with the Hanseatic League, especially in terms of interests. As long as the Hanseatic League said hello, it was difficult for them to refuse. Because, if you anger the Hanseatic League, it will not be difficult to paralyze your business. The reason why an imperial city can become an imperial city is that it relies on commerce and thus becomes financially independent. If commerce is paralyzed, the city will not be able to mix. As a result, the Hanseatic League had a strong influence on most of the imperial cities......

For this reason, Marin changed his original position and began to take the initiative to make friends with Lübeck and Hamburg. After all, these two cities were the leaders and vice-leaders of the Hanseatic League. With them coming forward to speak for themselves, if nothing else, those imperial cities must be face-giving......