The old fellow squinted his eyes comfortably in the daylight, and the fluffy balls on his expensive coat were the result of his long slumping at the desk and toiling with the accounts.

Leonardo took out a well-sewn handkerchief from his bosom and wiped the corners of his mouth, and said meaningfully:

"Maybe the pope can't wear two crowns on their heads, after all, the emperor is the emperor, the Holy See is the Holy See, and everyone has their own little calculations about who they should be loyal to."

"I really didn't expect that!"

Waving my hand to signal Kohler to stop and sit down, I picked up the wine glass in front of me, pinched it in my hand and turned it around: "You mean that the two Majesties have a tacit understanding in advance?" ”

"It's not just that there is a tacit understanding, it's that both Majesties want to win over the Poles and Magyars to be their own weights, and you can also see this as a race against time."

"After all, the crown is to be crowned holy, and the emperor's personal presence is to show his key role in facilitating this matter. Leonardo carefully folded the handkerchief and gently stroked the soft fabric, his expression serenely like caressing his children and grandchildren playing around his knees.

I breathed a long sigh of relief as if relieved, leaning softly into the back of my chair, letting the shadows engulf my body, I like this gesture the most, it can calm down completely, maybe the darkness and cold are the paradise that belongs to the superiors:

"Your Majesty the Emperor is afraid that no one will know that he is going to divorce his wife? Playing power tricks in reverse, civil war seems really inevitable. ”

"Isn't this the moment you've been waiting for? Don't act like it's none of your business. ”

The old guy stared at me with disdain and sarcastically said, "Pulling the Pope to the throne, promoting Hanover to become a duchia, transferring the Duke of Lorraine, intervening in the struggle for the Polish succession, sending Princess Figura, and conquering Denmark, aren't these all chess pieces that you seem to have placed in your idle court?" ”

"Hehe......"

I smiled wryly and didn't answer, do I want to tell him that I really take one step at a time, and that it's just a blind cat that meets a dead mouse? Of course not! But I'm a little confused about the layout, so I won't be too cheeky to take it off like this.

"The situation is unfolding faster than I imagined, His Majesty Henry took less than two years to think that he was sitting on the throne of the emperor, and he was impatient to try to use his fists and kicks, and the reality would give him a blow to the head, and when he broke his head and bleed, he came to us by himself."

"I don't know where you got your confidence, but you're always so miraculously blessed by God."

Leonardo shoved his handkerchief back, turned his head and spat the old phlegm into the cup, disgusting to my stomach, this guy was like a spoiled child in front of him, more and more unruly.

"The explosion of the civil war seems irreversible, and I wonder how Nijmegen will choose to take sides in the face of next year, which may be the most chaotic war in history."

I didn't answer immediately, but sat up and slowly flipped through the stacks of documents on the table, some of which needed to be stamped with the duke's seal, and some of which had to be reviewed by myself, and the dense small words on it were like crawling ants, just a glance was enough to make people itch, as a great nobleman, not only can play with the eyes of the heart, but also often should have a certain ability to read and write, otherwise they will be played by their subordinates who are complicit in the enemy.

My gaze swept over Rollo standing in the doorway, Kohler standing beside him, Leonardo sitting in front of the window, and finally fell back to the hill of paperwork, unable to think of any wonderful answers.

"His Majesty the Emperor's father-in-law, but the famous Count of Luxembourg, Lord Siegfried, I have never met this old fellow, but I have heard that it is not simple."

I tapped my fingers on the tabletop, creating rhythmic echoes, like the drumbeat of a march, urging those who like to be hot to indulge in a fight.

"Judging from the information we have, Lord Dietrich, Duke of Lorraine, is bound to be on Luxembourg's side, and he has clearly opposed Henry's succession to the throne."

"The old Count also had many relatives in Brabant, Burgundy, Swabia and Flanders, and if Friesland had not become the domain of Nijmegen, many nobles would have answered his call in the Low Countries."

"Duke Henry of Franconia is from the noble Tharian family, he originally hoped to become emperor, but we intervened and smashed the game, and now the opportunity to turn the situation back is in front of him, he will never stand idly by."

"And that little fox Robert of France, the Count of Luxembourg is a distant relative of his maternal line, plus between the two Frankish countries in the east and west, there is a mess of messy things, I think those proud French knights will also get involved, and the last time Nijmegen annexed Friesland, he was furious."

Leonardo stretched out three fingers at me and shook them: "It's only three, and the strength doesn't seem to be enough to shake the rule of His Majesty Henry, and King Robert won't do his best for a small country, and a head-on confrontation with most of the empire will only hurt both sides. ”

"At this time, the attitude of the Duke of Carinthia is very subtle, he and the Duke of Franconia are from the same line, they are both descendants of the Salian family, and he is the son-in-law of Emperor Otto, the youngest son of Red Conrad, he does not treat the people on the throne very much, once the Grand Duke Stephen of Magyar is crowned king, it is equivalent to stabbing the Duke in the back, I am worried that he has a hot temper, and he has already planned to join the opposition of His Majesty Henry."

"Are you afraid that he will hold the Holy See hostage? There is also the king of Italy, Aduin, who was crowned in Pavia privately! This cunning weasel, taking advantage of Germany's lack of time to look south, but he has recruited a lot of troops and horses, and is a potential ally that can be won over. The old guy reminded me.

I shook my head, the chaotic and complicated blood relationship between the nobles made me one head and two big, and I couldn't figure out how to continue for a long time:

"I'm not worried about him, it's the mathematician of the Vatican, our thoughtful Pope, who is the biggest unpredictable variable in the whole affair."

"Oh?"

Leonardo asked in disbelief: "The embarrassment of the two Majesties makes me think that they are standing together, at least in the civil war there is no reason to part ways, it is a matter of time before they turn against each other, but now is by no means the best time, Emperor Henry still has the value of defending." ”

"There are too many people who can't recognize the situation, and the Vatican frequently bypasses Germany to set up new bishoprics in various places and sends personnel to manage local religious and secular affairs.

"With the Holy See joining, the rebels will put on the cloak of legitimacy and sacredness, and give reassurance to those who are still hesitant to wait and see, although Ni Xia knows that those people are all white-eyed wolves, but I can't think of any reason for him to give up the opportunity to defeat the enemy." I put my thoughts out of my mind, and there are immature places in my thinking, but the basic ideas are clear.

"What about us, how do we decide?" Leonardo's eyes suddenly brightened, and they were as big as eggs, staring at me with fierce eyes.

"As a vassal of the Saxon family, it is a necessary obligation to defend the feudal king, and Nijmegen happens to border Luxembourg, Your Majesty will definitely assign us to act as pawns to encircle and suppress nearby, and when the time comes, the battlefield will stay outside the actual control area of the royal family, and he will not worry about fighting an inch, bringing in Poland and Magyars, Your Majesty's waist is not ordinary straight."

I shook my head helplessly, and smiled bitterly again: "I thought about it, the rebels may find a high-sounding excuse, such as proving that His Majesty Henry's inheritance is illegal through the Holy See, and then electing Hermann II of Swabia as a puppet. ”

"So what?" Didn't get any answer from my words, and the old guy was a little anxious.

"Take one step at a time, there will always be a bright turnaround, we are now a fan of the authorities, and we can't get around, but there is a bottom line that cannot be violated, that is, we must keep the throne of His Majesty Henry, hehe, this is probably the only time I am really on his side, right?"

Pushing away the chair and standing up, I pursed my lips and said, "On the basis of the existing materials, we should immediately re-do full pre-war preparations." ”

St. Nicholas' Day on December 6......

On this Eastern Roman version of Santa Claus' holiday, Leonardo led the Chamber of Commerce to the church to give alms, praying that their patron saint would bless the business and make the coming New Year smooth and prosperous.

As I stood by the window of the castle and watched them leap out of the chamber of commerce built on the pier, followed by carriages full of offerings to the church, I couldn't help but think:

One person can draw you a God of Wealth and stick it on the door, and you can use a chicken in your left hand and a duck in your right hand to run to the church to offer your hospitality, purely for money to burn.

His Majesty the Emperor, who had stopped at Glen, bid farewell to Archduke Stephen and traveled non-stop through Carinthia to the small town on the border of Verona, Italy, where he held talks with the puppet Italian king Aduin.

I don't know the details of the negotiations, but I can imagine how dirty the transaction site was, His Majesty Henry is now trying to do everything possible to keep his throne, and he is also aware of the huge influence that the Vatican will have in the whole incident, and decided to co-opt allies to hold the power of the Holy See hostage, but this undoubtedly gives the puppet Italian king Adu the opportunity to sell because of the price, and his door is always open to interests, and the Pope's envoy may visit the door the next day.

The situation in Nijmegen is also not very rosy, as the border areas with Luxembourg and Brabant already smell a faint smell of gunpowder, where the number of merchants who used to trade wine and cheese has been greatly reduced, and the castles of the lords near the border have hoarded supplies from the surrounding farms.

Fortunately for Flender's side, after all, the two sides are the country of sons-in-law, and Serena gave birth to a son for Nijmegen, the grandson of the Count of Baudouin, who is likely to become Flender's heir after him, even if there is a danger of sword and soldier encounters.

But everyone knew what to do, so the trade routes through Ghent, Antwerp, and Nijmegen continued to thrive.

(End of chapter)

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