In the past two days, the notice of the Imperial Diet has also come down - on July 30, the Imperial Assembly will be convened again in Worms. Although it was a regular meeting, this time it became a battlefield for the princes to force Marin and Maximilian I to draw a line.

Although Marin is happy in his heart, on the surface, he still has to sell his grievances. For example, Marin wrote a letter to Maximilian I in private, expressing his grievances - boss, it's not that the brother doesn't want to help, it's that the brother is being threatened......

Maximilian I, who received Marin's letter, was also furious. You know, he really had the idea of unifying Germany with the help of Marin's North Sea Army. Even, because of the unfavorable situation in the Swiss war recently, he planned to borrow troops from Marin. However, the princes of the Imperial Council are good enough to directly plug this loophole, can they not make him angry?

Fortunately, this time, Marin eliminated the Duchy of God, an adversary that posed a huge threat to the Habsburg Netherlands, by killing people with a knife, so that the Habsburgs could now concentrate their forces on Switzerland and the French. Otherwise, it would have been a lot of fun if he had been stabbed in the Netherlands by the Guedes when he was fighting with the French.

In addition, after Marin returned, he also took the opportunity of Albert's wedding to release Schwartz from prison. However, in order to silence the princes, Marin finally announced the punishment of Schwartz - the removal of all military positions, the fiefdom was halved, but the viscount title was retained. In addition, Schwartz himself will henceforth follow Marin as a regular guard......

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows that Schwartz is carrying the black pot for Marin. After all, only Marin has the right to transfer troops in the Beihai State. But Marin insisted that Schwartz had acted on his own initiative, and that no one else could do anything about it. The most important thing is that Schwartz's operation was not in the name of the North Sea State, but in the name of the "Blackwater Mercenary Company" established by Marin that year. People are mercenaries in the first place, is there anything wrong with accepting employment from others? No problem at all...... Therefore, it is really difficult for outsiders to say anything about Marin's treatment of Schwartz......

Inside the Beihai Kingdom, this is even more well understood. Therefore, although Schwartz was demoted to a guard, everyone still respected him as "Shi Dashuai". Because, everyone understands that when the limelight passes, Shi Dashuai will still return to a high position.

……

Because there was still some time before the regular session of the Imperial Diet, Marin decided to do something. Spreading out the map, Marin suddenly realized that although he had obtained the country of Macbeth, he had only obtained part of the Ruhr area, which was far from his previous purpose......

The later Ruhr industrial region was not just between the Ruhr and Lipper rivers. It also includes parts of the west bank of the Rhine, as well as places on the south bank of the Ruhr River, Duisburg on the east bank of the Rhine, and parts of the north bank of the Lipper River. Combined, the Ruhr industrial area has an area of 4,593 square kilometers.

However, when it comes to coal mining areas, it is mainly in the area between the Ruhr and Lipper rivers. As for the west bank of the Rhine, as well as in the vicinity of Duisburg, there are indeed some coal mines. However, that is only a small fraction. The area on the north bank of the Lip River, which is currently divided into two parts: one belongs to the South Münster region of Marin; The other part belongs to the Recklinghausen area.

On the west bank of the Rhine, Marin doesn't have to think about it, there is the mainland part of the Archdiocese of Cologne, as well as the territory of the Duchy of Cleaver. In both countries, Marin can't move. Moreover, the coal resources on the west bank of the Rhine account for only a small part of the Ruhr area. Therefore, there is no need to turn the other cheek for the sake of so many resources and the two countries.

However, the land between the Ruhr and Lipper rivers was in the hands of Marin. Although the country of Makber has an area of 3,000 square kilometres, only about half of its land is between the Ruhr and Lipper rivers. The other half of the territory is mainly located south of the Ruhr River.

(Note: Regarding the map of the situation at that time, Lao Niu will put the map in Du Niang's sticker bar and mark it, so that everyone can have an intuitive impression.) ）

In other words, even if you exclude the part west of the Rhine, the area around Duisburg, and the area north of the Lippe, the area between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers is only about half of the area (not to mention the area east of Soest because there are no coal mines).

This is something that Marin cannot tolerate. He took the great risk of being beaten up by all the German princes, not only for half of the two rivers of the Ruhr area, but for all of them.

Therefore, Marin decided to take all the land between the Ruhr and Lipper rivers......

The problem, however, is that the ownership of land between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers is very complicated. In addition to the Marker State, which is about half of it, there is also the Duchy of Westphalia to the east of the Archbishopric of Cologne, and the part of the Rhine to the west belongs to the Duchy of Cleaver. In addition, there is the Recklinghausen region to the north, as well as the imperial cities of Dortmund and Essen and the areas around them. And, of course, there is the Duchy of Berg, which extends into a tiny enclave north of the Ruhr River.

To the east, the Duchy of Westphalia, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Cologne, is not to be mentioned, because there are very few coal mines there. Coupled with the fact that the Archbishop of Cologne is one of the seven electors, there is no need for Marin to turn his face with the Archbishop of Cologne for the meagre coal resources.

As for the two imperial cities of Dortmund and Essen, Marin was also deliberately annexed. However, to annex an imperial city is to not give the emperor face. Because, the imperial cities are the cities authorized by the emperor, and the capture of these two cities is tantamount to a slap in the face of Maximilian I.

Moreover, Marin's current political alliance with those Hanseatic cities and most of the imperial cities is despised, and it is despicable to attack the members of the political alliance. Therefore, Marin had to stop even if he coveted the two cities of Dortmund and Essen.

But Marin knows that in the future, he will definitely have a chance. Because, he recalls, in the wars of religion, Dortmund and Essen, all Protestant cities. When the time comes, as long as Marin is on the side of the Catholics, he can openly annex the two cities. So, for these two cities, Marin is not in a hurry.

All that remains, then, is the area on the east bank of the Rhine in the Duchy of Clifford, a small enclave north of the Ruhr in Recklinghausen and the Duchy of Berg.

The Duchy of Cripple is an ally, and Marin finds it a little tricky. And the Duchy of Berg, which is also an ally of the Duchy of Cleaver, is not easy to start. To the north, then, only the Recklinghausen region to the north is left to start......

……

Speaking of the Recklinghausen area, it's a bit strange. This land is hundreds of square kilometers. And, it also contains parts of the area north of the Lipper River.

The strange thing about this land is that it was originally the territory of the Archbishopric of Cologne. However, it was mortgaged by the Archbishopric of Cologne to the lord of Gemen and count of Limburg.

It all started decades ago, in the Duchy of Clifford...... Hero...... It was Duke Cleaver, his grandfather, Adolf I......

Adolf I inherited the titles of Duke Clifford and Count Mark, but Adolf I's younger brother Gerhard refused to accept it. Gerhard believed that the benefits could not be left alone by Adolf I. For example, Mark Boguo can be handed over to him, so that everyone can have meat to eat......

But the European tradition is that the eldest son takes all, and Adolf I refused to let it. As a result, Gerhard raised an army and occupied most of the country of Mack. Moreover, Gerhard is not without a backstage. His backstage is the Archbishopric of Cologne......

Then, Adolf I and the Gerhard brothers fought a war for the ownership of the kingdom of Mack.......

Gerhard, with the support of Archbishop Dietrich II of Cologne, besieged Duisburg, the most prosperous city on the south bank of the Ruhr River in the Duchy of Cliffor. Of course, the siege ended up failing.

With the help of allies such as the Duchy of Hulich, Duke Adolf I of Cripple withstood the attacks of the Archbishopric of Cologne and his younger brother Gerhard. Of course, he was not able to get rid of his brother, who had occupied the kingdom of Mack. It was only after his son John I succeeded to the throne that he regained the kingdom of Mack.

However, although he failed to clean up his brother, he dragged the Archbishopric of Cologne into bankruptcy......

In order to support Gerhard, the Archbishopric of Cologne also went into battle shirtless and sent a large army to help. But in the end, because it failed to get the desired results, the Archbishopric of Cologne went bankrupt economically.

Eventually, in desperation, in 1445, Archbishop Dietrich II of Cologne mortgaged the area of Recklinghausen, which had previously belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne, to the wealthy Gomen lord and Count of Limburg, William I. At that time, it was valued at 100,000 gold coins, but now, if redeemed, the Archbishopric of Cologne needs to pay more than 200,000 gold coins.

In fact, it's not that the Archbishopric of Cologne can't come up with 200,000 gold coins. Rather, the bishops of the Archdiocese of Cologne are unwilling to pay for it......

The Recklinghausen region is not a rich area, with coal resources and underdeveloped agriculture. In this era when coal is inconspicuous and agriculture is important, the Recklinghausen area is like a piece of chicken ribs, tasteless to eat, and it is a pity to abandon it......

Moreover, if the Archbishop of Cologne had money, it would have been divided between the Archbishop of Cologne and the senior bishops. These bishops, who have been campaigning for positions for money in the first place, have the opportunity to recoup their costs and even earn more, so why don't they reach out? As for redeeming Recklinghausen? They didn't mortgage it, it's their business?

In this way, the Recklinghausen area, which is hundreds of square kilometers of land, is so indistinctly left out. Ironically, such a large piece of land is much larger than the Gomen Territory and the Placid of Limburg combined...... In short, the lords of Gomen and Limborg made a lot of money...... It was only around 1576 that the Archbishopric of Cologne took the opportunity of the Wars of Religion and recovered the land by force, without giving Gomen and Liemburg any financial compensation......

The title to the land is not clear at the moment, but because of this, Marin feels that he will have the opportunity to get his hands on it. If the property rights are clear, it will be difficult for him to make a move. After all, the Recklinghausen region is not very easy to handle, whether it is clearly part of the Archbishopric of Cologne, or Gomen and Liemburg.

At the moment, when the ownership of the Recklinghausen area is unknown, Marin decides to use all means to try to get the land down......