A.E.I.O.U

In Berlin, at the Elector's court, an important guest arrived today.

The Emperor's special envoy, Ulrich von Eyczing, visited the Brandenburg Elector.

Frederick II (Brandenburg Elector) had just returned from quelling a rebellion in Pomerania and was now meeting Eyczing, dragging his weary body.

Eyczing observed that Frederick's complexion was very poor, not only due to his bad mood but also physical illness.

After this martial Elector ascended to the position of Margrave of Brandenburg, he first borrowed money to redeem the Neumark region from the Teutonic Order.

Subsequently, he continuously swept away the large number of bandit knights within his territory, to the point where heads rolled in Brandenburg, and hardly any bandits could be seen.

The chaos in Brandenburg had a long history; from the rule of the Wittelsbach family to the later rule of the Luxembourg family, this North German wasteland of Brandenburg had always been left to its own devices.

The Wittelsbach family was more concerned with their Bavaria and Palatinate, while the Luxembourg family had to manage the two kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, leading to Brandenburg being in a semi-autonomous state for a long time, with noble factions expanding wildly, attacking each other, and bandits rampant everywhere.

It wasn't until Elector Frederick I von Hohenzollern from Nuremberg bought the entire March and the Electorate from Emperor Sigismund with his loyalty and four hundred thousand florins that the Hohenzollern Family's rule officially began there.

Frederick I passed away hastily before he could make any significant achievements, dividing the family territory into three, with his second son, Frederick II, inheriting the Brandenburg territory and the Electorate.

Frederick II also lived up to his father's expectations; ruling the land for over a decade, he had already pacified the territory, recovered lost lands, and established strong rule in Berlin.

As Brandenburg entered a period of stable development, Frederick II turned his attention to his weaker northern neighbor—the Duchy of Pomerania, which was then falling apart due to the extinction of the Griffin Family's main line.

The various branches of the Griffin Family divided this wealthy North German Duchy, with the strongest being the Pomerania-Wolgast and Pomerania-Stettin branches.

They defeated numerous blood-related relatives, becoming the ultimate victors of this feast, establishing the County of Wolgast and the County of Stettin, respectively.

They were Frederick's targets for expansion.

Since Brandenburg was an Imperial March, it received funding from the Imperial Diet, and coupled with years of war, its army far surpassed its neighbors in both quantity and quality.

The original intention of establishing the March was to defend the imperial frontiers, but Frederick used this powerful military force to expand within the Empire.

Wolgast and Stettin were originally fighting fiercely over family division issues, but facing a strong enemy invasion, they chose to temporarily unite, also supported by the Teutonic Order from behind.

The three-party coalition army fought a major battle with Frederick's forces on the Oder River and suffered a crushing defeat.

Frederick then pursued the victory, annexing a good deal of Pomeranian land and making the remaining parts his vassals.

He nearly doubled Brandenburg's territory, and its economic difficulties were alleviated by plundering many rich cities along the Baltic Sea coast, which drew the hostility of the Hanseatic League.

Such blatant acts of expansion severely violated imperial law and also instilled fear in many surrounding North German princes.

They successively appealed to the Emperor, hoping that he could punish the unruly Elector.

There were still forces loyal to the Griffin Family in Pomerania continuously planning rebellions, which forced Frederick to expend a great deal of energy pacifying the newly conquered territories, while also constantly worrying day and night about being punished by the Emperor.

Originally, during the reign of Albrecht II, Frederick II was not too worried because this Emperor basically did not handle imperial affairs.

However, the newly enthroned Emperor Laszlo showed great interest in imperial politics, which made Frederick II anxious again.

He heard that the North German princes, led by the Elector of Saxony, had once again petitioned the Emperor, hoping that the Emperor could sanction him, the Brandenburg Elector, who disregarded imperial law and expanded wantonly.

Finally, on this day, the Emperor's envoy arrived, very likely to punish him and order him to relinquish the illegally acquired Pomeranian territory.

There was another possibility, which he also hoped for, and that was an invitation to join the upcoming Crusade.

Although this matter would also be troublesome, it was better than the other situation.

With mixed feelings, Frederick met Eyczing; it was not their first meeting, as the transaction between the Habsburg Family and the Hohenzollern Family during the Elector's conference had also been negotiated by him and Frederick.

Frederick tentatively greeted, "Ulrich, my dear friend, I am truly delighted to see you again."

Eyczing smiled politely, bowed slightly in respect, and then said coldly, "How is it that I feel the Elector does not welcome my arrival at all?"

"How could that be, Ulrich? We had pleasant cooperation before, didn't we?"

Frederick forced a smile; Eyczing's attitude was already very clear—he was here to hold him accountable.

To surrender the land he had only just acquired, he was unwilling, yet helpless.

Compared to Laszlo, who ruled the three countries of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, he was merely an insignificant subject.

The strongest prince in the Empire was the Kingdom of Bohemia, followed closely by the Archduchy of Austria; his Electorate of Brandenburg ranked third.

Now that the first two countries were ruled by Emperor Laszlo, how dared he contend with the Emperor?

Even if he was on good terms with Władysław III, King of Poland, even with Poland added, it would not be enough to contend with the Emperor, and besides, the Poles were unlikely to antagonize the Emperor for his sake.

This feeling of powerlessness made him distraught.

Eyczing saw Frederick's awkward expression and secretly rejoiced; the most difficult one was basically settled, just needing a little more push.

He pulled out a stack of letters from his inner pocket, showed them to Frederick, stared sharply at the Elector, and raised his voice a few decibels: "Do you know what these are?"

"What… what are they?"

Frederick asked knowingly, feeling very bitter inside; he knew without thinking that they were all letters of appeal from the princes to the Emperor.

"These are letters from the Elector of Saxony, the Count of Brunswick, and the Count of Mecklenburg, and many, many more, detailing your crimes of disregarding the Emperor's majesty. Do you admit them?"

"I…" Frederick was speechless; his rapid expansion had already caused public outrage in the Empire, and it was too late to regret now.

"Elector, all these voices against you have been suppressed by the Emperor himself.

Even though you have let him down so much, he still has expectations for you.

Before I left, the Emperor told me that the Hohenzollern Family is a loyal political ally of the Habsburg Family, and not to be too harsh.

Do you think your actions are worthy of His Majesty's tolerance and trust?"

Eyczing's voice was stern and severe, and this strong questioning made Frederick's face flush red.

"Please convey my apologies to His Majesty. I will return a portion of the Pomeranian land, hoping to receive His Majesty's understanding."

Frederick was in low spirits; receiving such reprimand right after returning from the battlefield plunged his already not-so-good mood to rock bottom.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Eyczing suddenly smiled mysteriously, and casually tore up those incriminating letters, which made Frederick stare in surprise.

"Elector, you do not need to give up the land you painstakingly seized.

His Majesty's intention is that a strong March is beneficial for curbing the development of Poland and the Teutonic Order, but you need to show your full support for His Majesty in another matter, in exchange for His Majesty's tacit approval of your illegal expansion."

"Crusade?" Frederick immediately realized what Eyczing's series of actions before were for.

If participating in the Crusade could gain the Emperor's understanding, then this deal was completely acceptable.

Eyczing continued, "At the Imperial Conference to be held in Nuremberg soon, I hope you will take a stand to fully support His Majesty and call upon the princes to send troops to form a coalition to support the Crusade.

You, of course, must set an example and provide an army that will satisfy His Majesty."

"A thousand soldiers, is that enough?"

Frederick was reluctant; he certainly wouldn't gain any benefits from this Crusade, so sending fewer people would mean less loss.

Eyczing shook his head, held up three fingers, and reminded, "Your attitude determines whether the Hohenzollern Family will suffer His Majesty's wrath."

Frederick sighed deeply, nodded helplessly, and said, "Three thousand it is.

I will hand over the troops to my brother's command.

At that time, my two brothers and I will be the first to express our support for His Majesty.

Will that be enough?"

Only then did Eyczing show a satisfied smile, clapped his hands, and said, "In this way, His Majesty will surely feel your utmost sincerity.

However, His Majesty originally intended to appoint you as the overall commander of the princely coalition, why do you…"

"As you can see, Ulrich, since I took over this land, I have been fighting continuously.

After so many years, I am tired, and my health has been deteriorating recently.

I am afraid I am unable to participate in the expedition to the distant East.

Please convey my apologies to His Majesty.

As for the choice of the coalition commander, the Duke of Saxony or the Count of Brunswick would be quite good."

"Very well, His Majesty will decide for himself."

Eyczing could clearly see Frederick's little scheme: if both the Duke of Saxony and the Count of Brunswick participated in the Eastern expedition, his pressure would immediately be reduced by more than half, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the surrounding countries uniting to punish Brandenburg.

The transaction with the Brandenburg Elector was once again successful.

Eyczing did not linger in Berlin but rushed non-stop to persuade the remaining Electors.

He had to convince all Electors to support the Emperor before the Imperial Conference convened.