The closer the parade approached Aachen, the larger its scale became.
Numerous princes from all corners of the Empire gathered to attend the grand coronation ceremony of Prince Christopher.
Most of the princes did not know much about the heir to the throne, who was chosen by the Electoral College in their spare time, and could only gather information from snippets of rumors circulating from the Vienna court.
What was certain was that this heir to the throne was deeply favored by the Emperor, and presumably, there should be no major flaws in his ability to rule the Empire.
Of course, what attracted more attention was his other identity, that is, the potential heir to the Kingdom of Burgundy.
Since Prince Christopher's wife was the King of Burgundy's only child, the princes had already anticipated that the old story of family mergers, which had occurred countless times in history, was likely to repeat itself.
Previously, the first to be agitated by such an event would undoubtedly be the King of France, as the House of Burgundy itself was a branch of the Valois royal family, and its territories should have been returned to the French royal family upon extinction.
However, currently, Louis XI was struggling to protect himself, and Charles VIII, who controlled Paris, was a puppet jointly supported by the Emperor and the King of Burgundy, completely unable to attend to matters in Burgundy.
If Christopher truly inherited the Kingdom of Burgundy through marriage, and subsequently acquired the vast lands under the Emperor's rule, then forty percent of the Empire's territory would be governed by him alone.
Just imagining the unification of Austria and Burgundy filled the princes with dread.
Many had already resigned themselves, trying their best to accept the new Order shaped by absolute power.
However, not everyone was so compliant, such as Archbishop Ruprecht of Cologne, who was currently feeling immense pressure due to the Emperor's arrival.
If time were to go back a few years, he wouldn't be as flustered as he was now.
Unfortunately, the current situation had largely spiraled out of his control.
He assumed the position of Archbishop of Cologne at the same time the Palatinate suffered a blow from the Emperor, and since then, his rule over the Archbishopric of Cologne had been constantly challenged.
To deal with the uncooperative territorial nobles and other forces, Ruprecht continuously tried to strengthen the Archbishop's authority within the Electorate, especially in recent years, where he made significant progress in contending for local judicial and taxation rights.
This was accompanied by greater hostility from various factions within the diocese; not only the secular nobles occupying the archiepiscopal lands, but even the chapter of Cologne Cathedral had recently declared a break with him.
Since the news of his poor relationship with the Emperor spread throughout the Cologne territory, rebellious sentiments within the Cologne diocese had intensified over several years.
Now, with the rapid establishment of the Cologne branch of the Imperial Court of Justice, strongly supported by the Cologne City Council and the Chapter of Cologne Cathedral, the rebellious tendencies within the Archbishopric could no longer be suppressed.
In many towns and villages along the Rhine River, administrators and judges sent by the Archbishop were driven out or even died mysteriously for various reasons, and behind all this, the shadow of the Cologne City Council could be seen.
For over two hundred years, since the citizens of Cologne forcibly seized autonomy by kidnapping the Archbishop and driving him to Bonn, making him a laughingstock of the Empire, the struggle between the Archbishop and Cologne had almost never ceased.
From small-scale armed conflicts, blockades of trade routes, to the war between the Rhenish City League and the Empire, and then to territorial disputes in recent years, the conflict between the two sides gradually escalated over two centuries, and now there was no room for reconciliation.
Inspired by Archbishop Adolf's personal leadership of five hundred elite soldiers to break through Mainz and abolish its city freedoms, Ruprecht greatly desired to replicate such an operation and relocate his cathedral back to the magnificent and elegant Cologne Cathedral, becoming the Archbishop of Cologne in name and in fact.
Unfortunately, Cologne, as a Free City, was among the top three in strength within the Empire and was not something Mainz could compare to. Moreover, as the Archbishop of Cologne, his military strength was even inferior to that of the Archbishop of Mainz, making the possibility of forcibly seizing Cologne quite low.
From another perspective, the Imperial Register of Ranks had already defined Cologne as an Imperial Free City, and a rash attack on it would be regarded as an act against the entire Empire, which also greatly angered Ruprecht.
The Cologne City Council could continuously incite the people under his rule to resist his authority, while he was powerless against Cologne.
Recently, however, Cologne also encountered a rather significant crisis and entered its weakest moment in nearly a century.
In the last Hanseatic League meeting, Cologne demanded control over western trade within the League and secretly negotiated with the House of Lancaster, which controlled London, intending to harm the overall interests of the League for the benefit of Cologne's merchants.
Such an occurrence was not surprising, as the first general meeting after the League's formation was held in Cologne, indicating Cologne's high status at the League's inception.
In recent years, with the gradual shift in the northern situation, Lübeck's commercial influence had been somewhat weakened.
The Emperor's rescue of the Teutonic Order gave a new lease of life to the declining Hanseatic League, as the Order was a traditional trading partner and an important source of goods for the League.
Unfortunately, after the death of Charles VIII, the suppression of Sweden's independence and the Kalmar Union's renewed pressure on the Hanseatic League could not be reversed, even by the King of Denmark, who hailed from the Empire.
Further north, Novgorod's living space was being squeezed by the rising Grand Duchy of Moscow.
And as an important northern trade hub for the League, if Novgorod faced problems, the Hanseatic League's influence would be forced to withdraw from the northern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Amidst these intertwining external pressures, internal to the League, Hamburg conspired with Denmark to replace Lübeck, and now Cologne conspired with England for the same purpose.
As a result, all Cologne merchants were expelled from the vast League trading posts from London to Antwerp and to the Baltic Sea, and it was declared that Cologne's commercial trade was no longer protected by the League.
The conflict between the two sides even directly alarmed Queen Mother Margaret of England, who was busy sorting out English affairs and preparing to eradicate the remaining forces of the York Family, as well as Laszlo, who was on a tour of the Empire.
Margaret was eager for drama; she provided refuge for Cologne merchants in London while simultaneously eroding privileges and fanning the flames with the Hanseatic League, wishing to dismantle this Imperial Free City alliance that had been leeching off England.
Through these actions, Margaret quickly gained the support of England's Cinque Ports, thereby initially gaining control of England's naval power.
Laszlo, on the other hand, had a splitting headache. Foreign trade was already becoming more difficult with the strengthening of centralization in various countries and the rise of mercantilism and protectionism. Now, this already loosely organized League was plagued by internal traitors attempting to seize dominance, making business impossible for everyone.
The Hanseatic League's trade in England and the Low Countries had been severely hit by Cologne's rebellion, and Margaret, Charles, and others were probably secretly laughing.
Charles vigorously supported the development of the port of Antwerp and encouraged Burgundian merchant ships to turn into pirates to attack Hanseatic League vessels to revitalize trade in the Low Countries—Laszlo knew something about this.
However, because Charles acted quite secretly, coupled with the friendly relations between Austria and Burgundy, Laszlo did not intervene.
It now seemed that after the formation of the Kalmar Union and the Hanseatic League's loss of the Nordic market, its markets in the Low Countries and England would also face harsh suppression.
If the Teutonic Order had been annihilated by the Poles back then, the League would probably not have fared well in the eastern Baltic Sea either.
A year ago, Ivan III, the 'Great Emperor' who descended from the heavens in the Grand Duchy of Moscow, decisively defeated the Novgorod army in one battle, forcing the Novgorod Republic to submit.
Although the Hanseatic League's commercial interests were not significantly impacted, Ivan III's evident dislike for the League was undoubtedly concerning.
Once Novgorod was fully annexed in the future, the expulsion of the Hanseatic League would only be a matter of time.
In this light, the future of the Hanseatic League seemed utterly bleak, and against this backdrop, the city of Cologne, a founding member of the League, dealt another heavy blow to the Hanseatic League. Laszlo only learned of this when the conflict between the two sides completely erupted.
The organization, nature, and purely speculative commercial practices of the Hanseatic League, which were not conducive to local industrial development, had already sealed its fate—either it would disband directly, or it would not disband, but no one would come anymore.
And Laszlo was now caught in the middle, feeling conflicted.
On one hand, the League had made significant financial contributions to the Empire over the years, in exchange for the Emperor's support and nominal protection of the League's commercial activities.
On the other hand, the Free City of Cologne was an important political ally for Laszlo, especially playing a crucial role in the struggle against the Archbishop of Cologne.
All he could do was try his best to mediate the conflict between the two sides and ensure that the taxes paid by the League cities to the Empire were not too severely affected.
Cologne's crisis presented Ruprecht with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the Emperor's arrival would undoubtedly ruin it.
The Archbishop had now more or less understood the situation: the local forces resisting him were supported by Cologne, and Cologne was backed by the Emperor.
Evidence for these conjectures was the Emperor's recent reconfirmation and update of Cologne's Free City privileges, and furthermore, the branch of the Imperial Court of Justice for the Westphalian region was also established in Cologne. These actions were quite subtle.
Although the Cologne City Council was suspected of colluding with Margaret of Anjou, an enemy of the Emperor, Ruprecht did not believe the Emperor would stand idly by in Cologne's predicament.
To achieve ultimate victory in this confrontation, Ruprecht finally decided to heed the advice of his old ally, the Count of Landshut.
He needed to find a powerful backer, one no less formidable than the Emperor.
This backer was not the Palatinate and Bavaria, which had been beaten half to death by the Emperor's lackeys, nor the now divided Kingdom of France, but a new powerful entity within his reach—the Kingdom of Burgundy.
Although this idea sounded somewhat fantastical, Ruprecht now had no other choice.
The rebellious forces within his territory were beyond his control; he had to seek external support.
...
Liège. Charles, having just completed an armed parade through the city with the Burgundian army, returned to the bishop's residence, panting and complaining about the hot weather.
He had already carried out several massacres in Liège and moved the city's symbols to Brussels; the city's hostility towards him remained as deep as ever.
Taking advantage of this trip to Aachen for his son-in-law's coronation, Charles decided to bring the Burgundian army along to deter the unruly populace of Liège.
Edward IV, who was with him, looked haggard. The exiled King of England had only recently fully recovered from his injuries, and participating in such a show of force with Charles was still strenuous for him.
But he couldn't refuse; after all, the power of the York Family was completely suppressed, and his two brothers could barely resist the attacks of the House of Lancaster in northern England. The key to turning the tide now lay in whether he could secure enough aid from Burgundy and the Empire.
For this, he had to humble himself to please Charles, and then he would have to please the Emperor once he arrived in Aachen...
Charles now completely disregarded Edward IV, who had suffered continuous defeats. For his wife's sake, Charles decided to give him one last chance, taking him to meet the Emperor.
This was considered the utmost benevolence; as for whether the York Family could regain the crown afterward, Charles could only hold the greatest hope.
Shortly after the two returned, Olivier, Charles's close confidant, handed him a secret letter.
Edward IV discreetly left the room, though he couldn't help but feel a little curious.
Inside, before Charles even opened the letter, he asked with a solemn expression, "Is this the fourth one?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Even though you have refused three times, their attitude still seems very firm."
Charles hesitated for a moment, then opened the letter.
The letter was from the Archbishop of Cologne, and its content was largely similar to previous ones, essentially expressing goodwill and support for the Kingdom of Burgundy.
In the letter, the Archbishop requested Charles to send troops to help him quell the rebellion in his territory. In return, the Archbishop was willing to cede some properties to Burgundy, support the King of Burgundy in obtaining an Elector's seat in the Imperial Diet, and even support his bid for Emperor.
However, this letter was distinctly different from the previous ones; Charles's eyes almost widened when he saw certain phrases.
He stood up abruptly, a hint of excitement still visible in his expression, trying his best to calm his agitated feelings.
"Is there anything different about this letter?" Olivier asked, frowning alertly.
"The letter says that besides the Archbishop of Cologne, the Archbishop of Trier, who is friendly with me, and the Elector of Saxony, all support my promotion to Elector, and even my contention for that position..."
"Your Majesty!" Olivier's shout pulled Charles back from his fantasy, "Do not be easily deceived by lies."
"But..." Charles still felt a little unwilling, "The Archbishop of Trier absolutely supports me, and if I provide help, the Archbishop of Cologne will also support me. Although I don't know why, the Elector of Saxony might also be won over. I just want an Elector's position; it's not too much to ask, is it?"
"Of course, the Emperor's handling of this matter is indeed infuriating, but the Archbishop of Cologne is the Emperor's enemy. If you help him, the Emperor might..."
"Sigh, must I always be at Laszlo's beck and call?"
"Think of your daughter, Your Majesty. Perhaps if you talk to the Emperor again this time, things might take a turn for the better."
"Hmph, he's more ruthless than anyone when it comes to these matters," Charles complained unhappily, even he himself wasn't confident in persuading Laszlo.
"Are you really planning to directly confront the Emperor?"
"How could I?" Charles thought of his daughter, Marie, and shook his head helplessly, handing the letter to Olivier. "Dispose of it as before. The Emperor will be in Aachen soon; at least under his nose, we cannot make any risky moves."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Although the seeds of ambition were sprouting, Charles ultimately was not blinded by greed and lust for power.
After all, his heir was married to the chosen next Emperor, and the conflict between him and Laszlo had not reached the point of turning into bitter enemies.
As for the Archbishop of Cologne, who had always regarded him as a great threat and was hostile to Laszlo, Charles could only wish him good luck.