In August 1472, the small town of Brühl, located between Cologne and Bonn, was chosen as the negotiation site.
The town's residents had sided with Cologne, unwilling to obey the Archbishop's rule, while the fortress near the town was still occupied by a small detachment of the Archbishop's guards, posing a continuous threat to the town.
Before this, both sides had engaged in multiple physical confrontations in the vicinity, resulting in considerable casualties.
Although in terms of scale and intensity, it could only be considered a village brawl, for the Electorate of Cologne, this had reached the level of rebellion and civil war.
In fact, none of the three ecclesiastical Electors were known for their military strength.
The strongest, the Archbishop of Mainz, could probably muster two to three thousand troops at full effort, but with the Emperor's backing, this military strength was not really important.
The Archbishop of Trier, originally at the bottom among the three ecclesiastical Electors, gradually grew stronger after the Mainz War, but still needed to maintain an alliance with his brother, the Bishop of Metz, and rely on the House of Burgundy.
The Archbishop of Cologne, whose power was in the middle, should have been able to raise an army of over a thousand men, but unfortunately, the Rhine River territories north of the city of Cologne and the exclave in Westphalia had completely slipped from the Archbishop's control.
In the north, towns such as Neuss directly used force to dismantle the Archbishop's control over the territories, and facing endless rebellions within his domain, the Archbishop of Cologne, with only a few hundred infantry and cavalry, was powerless to cope.
These troops were now stationed in Bonn, constantly protecting the Archbishop of Cologne.
With his own military weakness, Ruprecht also adopted harsh ruling methods within the Cologne territory, ultimately leading to the current chaotic situation.
Of course, no one knew how much of this was due to the Emperor's instigation.
In short, more than half of the Electorate of Cologne was already in a state of autonomy, following the guidance of the Cologne Cathedral Chapter and opposing the rule of the Archbishop of Cologne.
To reverse his disadvantage, Archbishop Ruprecht had no choice but to seek aid from Burgundy, whom he had previously regarded as a wolf.
However, during Ruprecht's stay in Aachen, bad news followed one after another.
King of Burgundy Charles personally refused his plea for help and declared that he would firmly support the Emperor's judgment.
Charles, who had temporarily abandoned the idea of vying for an Electorate seat, easily resisted Ruprecht's temptation.
Subsequently, the Emperor publicly announced protection for the Cologne Cathedral Chapter and its allies, and Henry, the Landgrave of Hesse and Governor of Upper Rhine, who was originally unrelated to this matter, was inexplicably dragged in.
The key was that the Landgrave of Hesse seemed to have anticipated this; upon receiving the edict, he immediately returned to his territory and was now preparing his troops to occupy the Duchy of Westphalia, nominally ruled by Ruprecht.
And this Landgrave's brother, Hermann, as the Chief Judge of the Imperial Court of Cologne, made a series of judgments favorable to the resistance forces on behalf of the Empire during several days of trials.
Hermann's other identity was the Administrator of the Cologne Cathedral Chapter, and he recently negotiated with the Cologne City Council on behalf of his faction.
The Cologne City Government, which had been severely hit by its rupture with the Hanseatic League, managed to produce a loan of ninety-nine thousand florins in its extremely dire situation to aid Hermann and his supporters' activities.
One must know that the entire annual income of the Electorate of Cologne was not even that much money!
Ruprecht, who returned to Bonn disheartened, woke up to find himself facing numerous well-funded, highly motivated resistance fighters with strong external support.
His decrees couldn't even leave Bonn, and recently, the citizens of Bonn had also shown some resistance, believing the Archbishop was the culprit who had stirred up all the trouble.
Therefore, facing the summons issued by the Emperor in Brühl, who had traveled across half the Empire with the Imperial Army to support Cologne, Ruprecht, however unwilling, had to comply.
Upon arriving at the negotiation site in Brühl, Ruprecht immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Among the participants in this negotiation, with the exception of Duke Gerhard, the Governor of Westphalia, who remained completely hidden, the rest seemed to have ill intentions.
Not to mention the Emperor, who was presiding over the gathering, and the Archbishop of Mainz, who personally led the negotiations, Count Henry, the Governor of Upper Rhine representing the Empire, stood with his brother Hermann.
The latter represented all opposition forces within the Electorate of Cologne.
Seeing Hermann, Ruprecht suddenly understood the Emperor's intentions and many other things.
Hermann came from the House of Hesse and also graduated from Charles University in Prague. After graduation, he directly entered the Emperor's court and was then sent to the Cologne Cathedral to serve as a Diocesan Administrator.
After the Imperial Court in Cologne was established, he was promoted to Imperial Judge, concurrently serving as the Administrator of the Cologne Cathedral, and held a seat on the Cologne City Council.
After the former Governor of Upper Rhine, Ludwig, died outside Paris, Hermann also inherited the Hesse-Marburg Fief according to inheritance law. Although this land was later given to his elder brother, Count Henry, upon reflection, it was probably not as simple as a gift back then.
Hermann alone combined the interests of the local opposition, the Cologne City Government, the House of Hesse, and the Empire, making his ultimate trajectory almost obvious.
And the appearance of Cardinal Francesco, Dean of the College of Cardinals, became the last straw that broke Ruprecht's back.
Originally, the new Cardinal of Rouen, William of France, should have been appointed by the Holy See to mediate the Cologne dispute, but now William was merely participating in this negotiation as Francesco's attendant.
No, this was practically a trial.
The Archbishop of Mainz was explaining the detailed situation of the dispute to the participants and observing princes, but Ruprecht could no longer listen.
It was all just distorted facts anyway.
His gaze was fixed on the Emperor, but the Emperor's bearded, slightly more mature face showed no particular expression.
Laszlo didn't even bother to look at Ruprecht; he had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support. Ruprecht was destined not to escape this calamity today.
His thoughts began to wander, either considering if he had overlooked any charges, or recalling the secret agreement with the House of Hesse, waiting for time to slowly pass.
"The situation is roughly as follows: the evidence provided by Advisor Hermann is sufficient to show that the Archbishop of Cologne violated the free privileges granted to the city of Cologne by the Emperor in 1467, and severely infringed upon the interests of the Cologne Cathedral Chapter's jurisdiction.
The Emperor's decree holds the highest authority, and no one shall violate it!
The citizens of Cologne have spent several years and paid a high price to uphold justice. Copies of this appeal were submitted to Rome earlier, and the Pope has reviewed the relevant documents and handed them over to the College of Cardinals for deliberation.
Now, let all of you speak your minds. The Emperor and the Papal Envoy will announce the final ruling on the dispute at the end."
Archbishop Adolf presented the incriminating evidence against the Archbishop of Cologne that Hermann had collected.
Some of it was fabricated, but most of it was true.
In the past, these could have been considered internal affairs of an Electorate, but with the Emperor's meddling, the situation had fundamentally reversed.
"This is a complete slander! How can you use forged documents to defame my reputation?" Ruprecht rose angrily and denounced.
"The Archbishop is truly forgetful. Can you simply pretend an agreement doesn't exist just because you tore it up?" Hermann, encouraged by the Emperor's gaze, stepped forward to confront Ruprecht directly.
He took a parchment scroll from a nearby cleric and unfurled it before everyone. On the paper, a detailed contract was written in squiggly Latin, with the seal and signature of the Archbishop of Cologne, the signature of the representative of the Cologne Cathedral Chapter, and the signature of the representative of the City of Cologne at the bottom.
"When you were elected Archbishop of Cologne, you promised to resolve the financial difficulties of the Cologne Church and respect the rights of the subjects within the fief, including the privileges of the City of Cologne.
However, after your election, you immediately violated all promises, not only misusing church funds but also vigorously suppressing the rights of your parishioners and arbitrarily interfering with Cologne's secular judiciary. No one has forgotten these actions.
Although Hermann was not involved in the aforementioned disputes at all, after the Emperor installed him, he identified the root causes of the Archbishop's discord with the local church through meticulous investigations, visits, and conversations. Based on this, he fabricated a long list of charges against Ruprecht.
Seeing the Emperor's satisfied expression, Hermann breathed a slight sigh of relief. Barring any accidents, his promotion should be secure.
"That agreement was signed under your coercion. How can it be valid?"
While Ruprecht was still arguing, Cardinal Francesco, who had remained silent until then, suddenly asked, 'Do you admit that you signed this agreement?'
"This..." Ruprecht's face changed. Faced with the pressing question from the head of the College of Cardinals, he finally nodded.
"I have also heard that you colluded with the King of France. Someone reported that you met with the King's court advisor. Furthermore, at the Imperial Diet discussing the campaign against the Ottoman infidels and the French heretics, you repeatedly obstructed the passage of the crusade resolutions. Are these allegations true?"
Cardinal Francesco took over from Hermann and began a new round of interrogation against Ruprecht.
This sharp questioning caused the observing princes to murmur among themselves. Several Electors who were not involved stared gravely at either Ruprecht or the Emperor.
Clearly, this was an elaborately staged performance. The Emperor's strategy of making an example of someone to warn others had an effect that exceeded expectations.
Many princes sitting on the benches at the back began racking their brains, trying to remember if they had ever defied or angered the Emperor in the past.
They had grown accustomed to haggling at the Imperial Diet or outright vetoing the Emperor's proposals for their own benefit. Looking back now, many felt a pang of fear.
Sitting in the front row of the spectator seats, the young Count Palatine of the Rhine, Philip, let out a helpless sigh seeing his third uncle in such a state of disarray.
He hadn't expected the Emperor to be so bold as to use the coronation of the Imperial heir as an opportunity to directly target an Elector in front of all the princes.
Following his second uncle's permanent imprisonment in Vienna, his third uncle was likely to meet the same fate.
Not only that, but also his father-in-law, the Count of Landshut. It was said he was serving as an advisor at the French King's court. If Louis XI were still in Paris, meeting him shouldn't be difficult. But now that Louis XI had gone south, who knew if his wife would ever see her father again in her lifetime.
Originally, when his cousin John was appointed as the Imperial Judge of Upper Saxony, he thought the Emperor had already let the Wittelsbach Family off the hook.
Now it seemed they were still far from obtaining the Emperor's forgiveness.
He had no intention of pleading for Ruprecht. This useless uncle had not only spent a vast amount of the family's resources during the election and his rule over the Cologne diocese but had also recklessly provoked the Emperor at the Imperial Diet, to the point where even Philip himself couldn't stand it.
Although he also harbored resentment towards the Emperor, he understood that one must minimize one's presence when it was time to lay low.
At the last Imperial Diet, when the Landgrave of Hesse, seated behind him, questioned his seating order, he simply gave up his spot. This earned him a good reputation among the princes and didn't provoke the Emperor.
Unfortunately, his uncle had no intention of showing restraint. If he had understood these principles, he wouldn't have angered the entire diocese's populace immediately upon taking office as Archbishop of Cologne.
"I was... I was considering the Empire. The Empire has been undertaking costly military expeditions year after year, draining its resources. The Imperial subjects harbor doubts about this. I merely voiced their concerns."
"That is merely your one-sided claim. Resisting infidels and eradicating heresy are the inherent duties of the Emperor and his subjects. How can they be evaded?
Moreover, as Archbishop, your prolonged conflicts with the Cologne Cathedral Chapter and local factions have caused immense damage to the Church in Cologne. The Bishops of Paderborn and Münster have filed impeachments against you on these grounds.
According to the deliberations of the College of Cardinals of the Holy See, you should resign from the position of Archbishop of Cologne and make every effort to remedy the significant harm you have caused to the Imperial Church."
As he spoke, Francesco presented a document from Rome. The signatures and seals of the Pope and the Emperor were particularly conspicuous. Whenever these two names appeared side by side, all the princes knew someone was about to face misfortune.
What was most infuriating was that the Emperor and the Pope now seemed as thick as thieves. They had heard that the new Pope had gifted the Venetian Palace, lavishly built by his predecessor Pope Paul II, to Austria. The Emperor's envoy in Rome resided in that papal palace.
Ruprecht still wished to protest, but the Emperor then decisively nominated Hermann von Hesse, recommended by the Cologne diocesan council, as the new Archbishop of Cologne, stipulating that a new church election must be completed before November.
As for Ruprecht, Laszlo did not take any coercive measures against him; indeed, there was no need.
Ruprecht had already lost control of the episcopal fief. Hermann's election was the popular choice, and those who remained defiant would be dealt with by the Hesse family's troops on his behalf.
Laszlo additionally provided Ruprecht with a sum of money and issued him travel documents valid within the Empire, permitting him to go to Rome to seek the Pope's forgiveness.
If successful, he might still have a chance to remain within the Church. If he failed, he might only be able to slink back to the Palatinate to live out his remaining years in obscurity.
At the conclusion of the assembly, Laszlo announced that the next Imperial Diet would be convened in Augsburg on St. George's Day next April.
As the grand spectacle concluded, the princes, permitted to leave, fled the scene of trouble as if granted a great pardon.
The two Electors from Upper Saxony looked rather displeased. In contrast, the Elector of Bavaria appeared relaxed, and the Archbishop of Trier seemed somewhat smug.
During the previous electoral meeting, he had sided with the Emperor much faster than several of his colleagues, securing taxation rights over the Moselle River and obtaining the Emperor's agreement to renew the request for the 'Imperial Peace Ordinance.'
In the Mainz War, the three Baden brothers fought together for the Emperor. Although his eldest and youngest brothers were captured by the Palatinate, the final outcome was undoubtedly favorable.
Moreover, his eldest brother, the Duke of Baden, was married to a woman from the Habsburg Family, maintaining a bond of kinship between the two sides.
Thanks to their good relationship with the Emperor, even bordering Burgundy, Charles dared not casually encroach upon Trier's lands.
Ruprecht's experience did not evoke any sense of shared misfortune in him; on the contrary, he was quite pleased.
Previously, when dividing the Palatinate's lands, both Trier and Baden had gotten a share. They very much wished for the Wittelsbach Family to be suppressed into permanent decline.
The rise of the Hesse family, however, wouldn't drastically upset the balance of power because their strength wasn't the greatest in the Upper Rhine region to begin with. This was likely why the Emperor favored them.
News of the Elector's fall from power spread rapidly throughout the Empire over time, becoming the hottest topic of conversation in recent days.
The common people didn't have a deep understanding of the struggles among the great figures, only marveling that the Emperor's power seemed to have grown even greater.
A century ago, when Charles IV stripped an Elector of his seat, he had to personally lead armies and fight for several years, ultimately paying a large sum to wrest the Electorate of Brandenburg from the Wittelsbach Family.
Now, the Wittelsbach Family's Elector of Cologne had merely undergone negotiations before being stripped of his position and power, which was utterly astonishing.
Those of slightly higher Imperial rank had already begun to worry about the Empire's future.
Perhaps an unprecedented, massive war within the Empire was brewing, yet most remained completely unaware of it.