Daming Military Empire

Chapter 320 Afterglow of the Empire

After seeing off the Duke of Braganza, Zhu Cijiong continued on his journey. In order to avoid direct conflict with the European powers, the fleet chose to cross the Mediterranean Sea, enter the Adriatic Sea, and then land at the port of Koper in the Holy Roman Empire. Overland to Vienna, the current imperial capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

This road is not very far in a straight line, but there is an Italian peninsula in the middle, and it has to go around the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The route is quite long, and it will take about ten days. Shvela and the envoys of the Continental Mission rallied to practice Spanish, but this time the subject of the discussion was the Holy Roman Empire.

Zhu Cijiong didn't know much about the Holy Roman Empire at first, he only knew that it was a big country under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty, with many small princes, but he really didn't know how big it was.

This discussion really surprised him. It turns out that the Holy Roman Empire is just an abbreviation. His full name is the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, which is the so-called First Empire in German history. It originated in 962 AD. It is a large continental country with a long history. The territory of the Holy Roman Empire in its heyday included modern Germany, Austria, northern and central Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. It is a big and scary superpower !

In fact, the Habsburg dynasty was not the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire was founded by the French Duke Conrad I in 911 AD, but at that time it was called the Kingdom of Germany, and its predecessor was the East Frankish Kingdom. In 962, King Otto I of Germany was crowned emperor by Pope John XII in Rome, and the Kingdom of Germany was renamed the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

After Otto I was crowned by the Pope, he regarded himself as the supreme ruler of the Catholic world and began to expand wildly. The territory of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation expanded rapidly. By 1157 A.D., almost the entire central European continent was occupied by it. From this time on, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation was directly called the Holy Roman Empire.

Since then, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire continued to launch various wars in order to dominate the European continent. Although the protracted wars continued to expand the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, it also seriously consumed the strength of the empire. More and more princes began to appear in the empire. The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was also weakening day by day.

After the extinction of the Hohenstaufen dynasty that ruled the Holy Roman Empire in 1268 AD, the Holy Roman Empire even had a so-called interregnum period without an emperor. The princes from all walks of life fought for the throne. During this period, the Holy Roman Empire was extremely chaotic.

It was not until AD 1356, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV issued a golden edict confirming the system that the emperor was elected by the seven electors, that the war among princes for the throne gradually subsided.

The election of the emperor finally came to the Habsburg dynasty. In 1437 AD, the Austrian Duke Albrecht V of the Habsburg family became the king of Germany, Hungary and Bohemia. Habsburg The Fort dynasty has since ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

At this time, the Holy Roman Empire already had a lot of princes and feudal lords. The Holy Roman Empire has actually become an alliance of princes who only recognize the emperor's supreme sovereignty. This is a bit similar to the Zhou Dynasty emperor in the Spring and Autumn Period. We recognize that your emperor is The world is the master, but we each play our own way!

According to incomplete statistics, during this period, there were as many as 390 princes, big and small, in the Holy Roman Empire, and the imperial power had declined to the extreme.

By 1608 AD, with the support of France, the princes of all walks of life finally couldn't hold back and began to openly resist the imperial power, and successively established the Protestant Alliance and the Catholic Alliance, which triggered the 30-year war that swept across the European continent.

At first, Zhu Cijiong thought that he had found a powerful father-in-law, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic. What a powerful empire they are all together. If this empire is in its heyday, even the current Ming Dynasty may not be Did it!

However, at the end of the chat, he understood that this mighty empire is already at the end of its life, and now it is just lingering, and it will only be a matter of time before it splits. Not far from falling apart!

Looking at the few envoys of the European missions, Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but sigh, damn, there are a total of 390 princes, big and small, and there are less than 9 people present. That is to say, at least 90.00% of the princes in the Holy Roman Empire have no roots It's just that they don't like their emperor's majesty. It's really sad to think about it!

After gaining a comprehensive understanding of the Holy Roman Empire, Zhu Cijiong no longer had any hope for this family visit. There are so many princes, even if he was replaced by him, he would not be able to deal with them for a while, let alone France, Britain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia are fanning the flames and even fighting. It can be said that no one in the Holy Roman Empire can be saved. Hurry up and visit his old father-in-law and run away. He doesn't want to go to this muddy water.

Going around and going around, ten days later, the United Fleet finally arrived at the Port of Koper, which should be a port city in Slovenia, but now it directly belongs to the birthplace of the Habsburg Dynasty, the Grand Duchy of Austria, so , Zhu Cijiong received a very high standard of reception, because the crown prince of the Holy Roman Empire, His Royal Highness Ferdinand, the brother of Princess Anna, came to greet him.

However, the welcoming scene was a bit shabby, because there were less than 3 people in total.

His Royal Highness Ferdinand, Princess Anna's elder brother, is nearly [-] years old, he can be considered a young man, because his face is very white, frighteningly white, the kind of bloodless white.

With a pale complexion and a gloomy expression, Zhu Cijiong felt a bit like seeing a vampire. Why does this guy have such a bad face? Is he angry that I didn't make his sister a queen?

Zhu Cijiong felt a little uneasy. This problem would have to be faced sooner or later. A princess from an empire married him, and he let him be a mistress. No matter how you say it, it was a bit too much. He was preparing to be severely reprimanded by his brother-in-law, Anna The princess let go of his hand and rushed forward.

The guy finally showed a doting expression on his face, and he didn't look so scary anymore, but after he said something in a low voice, Princess Anna suddenly burst into tears, what's going on!

Zhu Cijiong couldn't help looking back at a certain European envoy who was acting as an interpreter. The envoy hurried forward and whispered in Zhu Cijiong's ear: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said to the Princess, His Majesty the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Princess Anna's father Fei Emperor Dinan II is critically ill!"

(End of this chapter)