Under such circumstances, William naturally did not want to further irritate the Holy See. In order to ease the relationship between Prussia and Rome, Prussia also provided property worth tens of thousands of gold marks to His Majesty the Pope in Rome.
After Mainz and Trier, all the holy relics there were sent to Rome by special personnel.
However, although William did not force the Archbishop of Cologne to follow William to Frankfurt, the Archbishop of Cologne was not the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after all. In this case, although the archbishop was Maximilian's eldest son, he had no right to live in the emperor's palace.
Therefore, when William led most of the troops to Frankfurt, he did not forget to leave a regiment of royal guards to stay at the emperor's palace in Cologne.
Although William didn't know the truth, since Fred ran into the emperor's palace, it was impossible for him to escape from the Prussian soldiers who were watching at all levels and run out again. In this case, Fred would definitely be hiding in that palace.
In the palace. In this case, William didn't want to say anything more, so he simply sealed the entire palace and moved all the materials inside. William wanted to see if there were any mice hidden inside. If so, then
Unless the rat starves to death, the rat will definitely come out to find something to eat.
In addition, regarding the treatment of Fred, Schwarzburg will definitely not be preserved. Although Schwarzburg is only a county in name, its area is completely comparable to that of a small or medium-sized principality.
, at least the territories of Duke Berg and Schwarzburg are almost different.
Under such circumstances, it is not a good idea for Prussia to annex Schwarzburg rashly. Although the Main River area under Prussian control borders Schwarzburg, the rest of Schwarzburg is within the empire.
The princes, and none of them were small princes. In this case, occupying the Schwarzburg people did not bring much benefit to the Prussians.
A territory surrounded by wolves and easily prompting enemies to unite was not what William wanted. Therefore, at this imperial princes meeting, William was prepared to solve this problem. If that didn't work, he would divide Schwarzburg so that the various princes could join forces.
Certain benefits can be obtained. In this way, on the one hand, it can put an end to the Schwarzburg people's illusions, and on the other hand, it can prevent the Schwarzburg people from organizing effective resistance.
William spent the night safely in Frankfurt. The next day, William came to the Imperial Parliament early in the morning. Today his time will be packed because a meeting of imperial princes will be held in the Imperial Parliament.
When the clock approached nine o'clock, all members of the Imperial Parliament's large conference room were already present. In addition to the participation of all the Imperial princes who arrived in Frankfurt, the Imperial Parliament also selected representatives for this meeting of imperial princes.
Fifty members of Congress were watching.
These members only have the right to make suggestions but not to vote on every issue at the princes' conference. This is also William's arrangement.
Although Maximilian was the emperor of the empire and sat high on the throne, the layers of screens in front of him blocked him from communicating with the outside world. This was also William's attempt to prevent Maximilian from communicating with the outside world.
Lian was prepared if he said something he shouldn't have said at the meeting.
When all the princes sat down in their seats, the entire parliament hall seemed a little empty. You must know that this parliament hall was set up according to the standard of being able to accommodate 300 people for a meeting, and today there are 50 people.
The congressmen were listening, but the total number of people inside the entire hall, including the guards guarding the door, was only about a hundred.
Joel is the host of this Holy Roman Empire princes conference. The reason why Joel is appointed as the host is because Joel's identity as the speaker of the Imperial Parliament can be accepted by the princes.
"Congress of princes. Let's start now. Let's discuss the first proposal, which is about the disposal of Schwarzburg.
Everyone must know that Count Frederic of Schwarzburg committed the crime of assassinating the King of Prussia and the Imperial Princess. Schwarzburg must be punished again. Although Count Schwarzburg himself does not know whether he is alive or dead, his crime cannot be punished.
Therefore, God forgives him, so Schwarzburg must be dealt with!"
After Joel finished speaking, the princes in the parliament hall suddenly became a little commotion. Although everyone knew that the first topic today was to discuss the issue of Schwarzburg. But Schwarzburg is not a small town after all.
The country has a population of more than 200,000, and Fred's previous governance of Schwarzburg has achieved outstanding results. The domestic economy and military are stronger than the territories of most of the princes here.
At this moment, Duke Sunigo of Hesse stood up and said:
"After discussing with the Archduke of Berg, the Grand Duke of Nassau and Prince Leeper, I believe that although the Count of Schwarzburg has committed an unforgivable crime, he and his companions have paid the price for their ambition after all. In such a situation,
Due to the circumstances, it is inappropriate to excessively hold the people of Schwarzburg accountable, so we think it is appropriate to ask the Schwarzburg government to pay compensation and issue an apology!"
Zunigo took the lead in expressing his and others’ attitude.
The reason why Zunigo and others have this attitude is because they have a sad mentality in their hearts. Although Count Schwarzburg recklessly assassinated William without informing them.
, but in terms of fundamental goals, they are the same as Fred, so they are not willing to see Schwarzburg pay a high price for this.
After all, the current punishment will set a precedent within the empire. If someone commits a similar crime in the future, there is no doubt that the punishment will largely refer to today's decision.
"His Highness Sunigo's words are simply ridiculous. Fred's crime of assassinating the princes and princesses of the empire can be called treason. And if the punishment for such a crime is just this, then what will the empire look like in the future?
Facing the entire European society! Therefore, I believe that Schwarzburg must be severely punished, the County of Schwarzburg should be abolished, and its territory should be brought under the jurisdiction of the empire!"
The speaker was the Duke of Holstein. This conference of princes gathered all the princes of the entire Holy Roman Empire. Although the territories of the two Dukes of Holstein and Schleswig had been replaced by Prussia, they were still affected by it.
came under Prussian control.
In this case, Duke Holstein naturally wanted to speak to Prussia.
After Duke Holstein finished speaking, Duke Milan also stood up and said:
"The words of Duke Holstein are not unreasonable. What Count Schwarzburg did is completely worthy of treason. However, the people of Schwarzburg are also the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor.
If the punishment is too severe, it will not only go against God's purpose of benevolence to the world, but it will also be a huge blow to the reputation of His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, I believe that the Count of Schwarzburg needs to pay a price, but this price should not be too light.
Just take half of the territory of the County of Ciburg as punishment!"
The Duke of Milan can be regarded as a major representative of the city-states in northern Italy, and he has a close relationship with the Habsburg family. Under such circumstances, the Duke of Milan, who is not under the threat of Prussia, will naturally not speak to him.
Prussian.
However, in order not to offend the Prussians, the Duke of Milan did not speak to the Schwarzburg people.
Everyone knows that the people of Schwarzburg will definitely pay a price for offending the Prussians this time, but the price may be large or small. If Prussia uses this as an excuse to annex the entire Schwarzburg, then this will
This is not good news for many neutral princes.
Prussia is already a behemoth. If it were to acquire the huge county of Schwarzburg without wasting a single soldier, it would be fatal to these neutral princes.
.
After the Duke of Milan finished speaking, Alexander, who attended the meeting of princes as the Archduke of Austria, also said:
"The Duke of Milan's words are very reasonable. I also agree with reducing half of Schwarzburg's territory. Of course, in my opinion, this weakened territory should belong directly to His Majesty the Emperor!"
Alexander's words are astonishing.
Logically speaking, Maximilian, who competed with Alexander for the supremacy of the Habsburg family, should be Alexander's primary enemy. But why did Alexander ask for the expansion of Maximilian's power? You have to know half of Schwarzburg
The territory is enough to increase the strength of Maximilian's subordinates to a higher level.
After Maximilian finished speaking, the Duke of St. Andrew, the third son of George III, who represented Hanover, stood up and said:
"If traitors can be forgiven just by paying such a price, then we in Hanover will never agree! Countries like the County of Schwarzburg that endanger the interests of the entire empire must be wiped off the map. As for Schwarzburg,
Regarding the issue of the territory of Schwarzburg, Hanover believes that the majority of the interests of the County of Schwarzburg must be contributed to His Majesty the Emperor, while other interests should be shared by all the princes within the entire empire!"
Although Duke Andrew's words seemed to be directed towards Prussia and demanded severe punishment for the County of Schwarzburg, his handling method was undoubtedly based on the principle of equal sharing of interests and was not intended to allow the Prussian family to dominate.
After Duke Andrew's words, the whole parliament hall immediately started to discuss. The County of Schwarzburg is a big cake. It is obviously impossible to say that some people will not be tempted.