Soon in July, Marin headed south with a cavalry escort to Worms, 40 kilometers south of Mainz, the seat of the Reichstag. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

According to the Imperial Decree of the Holy Roman Empire, the Seven Electors had additional positions in the Empire. For example, the first-ranked Archbishop of Mainz is the convener of the elector, the regent and chancellor of the Reich, and the president of the German regional parliament. The Archbishop of Cologne is the Speaker of Burgundy and the Archbishop of Trier is the Speaker of Italy.

However, because the regions of Italy and Burgundy had long since been out of the control of the Empire. Therefore, the Grand Chairmen of the Archbishops of Cologne and Trier are in vain. Therefore, only the Archbishop of Mainz is worthy of the title of Grand President of the German Region. Therefore, the actual presiding officer of the Reichstag is the Elector of Mainz. In order to accommodate the Archbishop of Mainz, the venue of the Imperial Assembly was simply placed in Worms, in the territory of the Archbishopric of Mainz, only 40 kilometers from the city of Mainz.

As a newcomer to the Imperial Council, Marin naturally wanted to pay homage to the head of the council's boss first. So, before the parliament was convened, Marin took a chest of treasures and visited the Archbishop of Mainz, Berthold. Feng. Hennyberg.

Berthold, Archbishop of Mainz, had mixed feelings about Marin, who was clearly promoted by Emperor Maximilian I and was the emperor's man. But now, instead of serving Maximilian I, Marin chose to become a vassal and a count, which is said to have been passed down from his maternal grandfather. In fact, Marin's current status is similar to that of the Archbishop of Mainz, both of whom are divided princes. However, Marin's political stance was again inclined towards the emperor. The archbishop understands this. Because, he waited for the old princes and didn't accept him at all, so Ma Lin could only choose to continue to hug the emperor's thigh. But for the sake of Marin's face of sending gold, silver and jewelry worth more than 20,000 gold coins twice in a row, Archbishop Berthold still decided to agree to let Marin enter the Imperial Diet. Anyway, the seat of a secular prince is nothing.

Later, Marin took advantage of the fact that the meeting had not yet been held, and took the treasure chest with him to visit several other electors except for King Vladislas III of Bohemia.

Among the electors, Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, had the most mixed feelings. In the previous battle of Lyle, Frederick III also suffered a lot of losses. Because, in the last war, the former Duke of Saxony Albrecht also borrowed a lot of soldiers and horses from the Elector of Saxony. During the battle, the soldiers and horses belonging to the Elector of Saxony also suffered many casualties. Therefore, it is difficult for Frederick III to have a good impression of Marin.

However, Marin can't be blamed for this either. Because, it was his own uncle Albrechette who started the trouble, not Marin. Therefore, Frederick III, the Elector of Saxony, has the most complicated feelings for Marin, and some do not know whether to support Marin. Even if he accepted Marin's heavy gift, he was unsure.

In fact, Marin did not have much hope for Frederick III. Because, after all, the relationship between the two sides is not good. The reason why Marin insisted on giving him gifts was that he did not want Frederick III to interfere with him in the Imperial Diet.

After all, the Elector of Saxony held the official position of Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire, the supreme general of the entire Empire, and his prestige was enormous and his influence was great. Although Marin has already bribed quite a few Saxon nobles. But if Frederick III vehemently opposed it at the Imperial Council, there was no guarantee that no Saxon nobles would have rebelled and chosen to oppose it. Therefore, even though Marin knew that there was little hope, he still gave him a heavy gift, so that the other party would not mistreat him.

In fact, the main purpose of this imperial meeting was to reconcile the contradictions between the emperor's side and Switzerland, which was fighting fiercely. Now, the two sides are fighting hard and fiercely. The Swiss have the upper hand, but the emperor is not too much of a danger because of his natural obstacles.

It's just that the emperor can't stand to trap the army in the Graubünden region and tear it apart in Switzerland. After all, more than 10,000 troops are almost the majority of the royal family's strength. Trapped in Graubünden is not conducive to the protection of Austria and Burgundy.

Moreover, as the war continues, the consumption of resources is also huge, and countless amounts of money are spent every day. This distressed the emperor, so he asked the Archbishop of Mainz, who was the Speaker of the Chamber, to convene an imperial council and urge the Swiss to stop the attack. Or, by declaring the Swiss rebellious, the emperor could collect a war tax from the nations or free cities of the empire, putting economic pressure on them.

In fact, the Imperial Diet is usually held once a year. The Archbishop of Mainz was not willing to meet the emperor's conditions, but as the nominal prime minister, he could not give the emperor no face at all.

And in private, the Archbishop of Mainz had already consulted with the other electors. In the end, their solution was to verbally condemn the actions of the Swiss, but not to impose any actual punishment on the Swiss.

That is, everyone decided to sympathize with the emperor on the surface and shout verbally. But the actual benefits, they will not give to the emperor. Otherwise, the emperor defeated the Swiss and became stronger, and perhaps came to clean up the princes......

Sure enough, after the new Imperial Council was held, the princes were very tacit. When the Emperor proposed that Marin join the Imperial Council, everyone had received benefits and felt that it was not a big deal. As a result, most people chose to support it. With more than two-thirds of the votes cast, Marin finally won a seat. Later, Marin could choose to attend the Imperial Diet in person or send a representative. After all, his seat has no say in the Imperial Diet, and it doesn't matter if he comes to the Imperial Diet or not. Unlike the Archbishop of Mainz and others, they are the leaders of the Imperial Diet, so they naturally have to personally come forward and stir up the world at the Imperial Diet.

But then, when the emperor offered to punish the "rebellious" Swiss Union, the princes were in tacit agreement. Ostensibly, everyone "strongly condemned" the expansion of the Swiss. In reality, however, when the Emperor asked the Imperial Diet to approve the imposition of a war tax, most of them objected.

The princes believed that the conflict between the emperor and the Swiss, which took place in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, belonged to the struggle for hegemony between the princes, not to foreign wars. Ordinary princes are not eligible to levy war taxes in the empire. Unless, it was a foreign war like the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, and everyone would approve it. Previously, when the Italian War broke out, the princes did not agree to levy war taxes, also because the war did not break out in Germany. If the French invaded Germany, the princes would be able to quickly unify their views. But the French did not fight, and the princes had no interest in interfering. Moreover, they were also afraid that the emperor would take the opportunity to become bigger and stronger.

Therefore, as usual, most of the princes still chose to suppress the emperor. On the surface, they issued a joint statement condemning the expansion of the Swiss. But in fact, this is useless, just like the "solemn statement" issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a certain country in later generations, which is bluffing and has no practical significance......

Marin wanted to help the emperor wave his flag, but he was only approved to join the Imperial Assembly today, and he had no say at all. Even if he said it, it was no different from not saying it. In addition, if it arouses the disgust of the princes, it may be disqualified from the newly acquired councillor on the spot......

Therefore, Marin could only shrug his shoulders to the emperor and express his helplessness......

After the Imperial Council, Marin paid a private visit to the Emperor. Marin told the emperor that it was not impossible to defeat the Swiss. For example, the general he sent to support the emperor, Frentsberg, was a very good general. If the Emperor could use Frenzberg to train the army, the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army could be further enhanced. When the time comes, the Swiss will not be a threat......

Maximilian I was somewhat skeptical of Marin's suggestion. However, he was still going to try it out (let Frenzberg train part of the Austrian army). After all, Maximilian I was not willing to give up the slightest chance of defeating the Swiss......