Who Will Raise This Child?

"Your Majesty, please reconsider my request."

"This matter requires further discussion. After all, it concerns the stability of the Rhineland, and I cannot give you an answer now."

Laszlo was changing with the help of his maid, his back to Archbishop of Mainz Adolf, who was making his third plea, and his expression was quite helpless.

Adolf eagerly promised, "Your Majesty, I will certainly teach that child well."

Laszlo twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking that Adolf's words were no different from farts.

The Archbishop of Mainz's abacus beads were practically hitting him in the face, truly treating him as a "Good King" who would grant every wish.

He shook his head lightly, not responding to Adolf's request: "The issue of Philip and the Palatinate will be discussed at the upcoming Elector assembly.

If you have nothing else, please go back and prepare. We are departing for Worms today."

Adolf was somewhat unwilling and wanted to say more, but the Emperor was clearly growing impatient.

He could only sigh lightly and left the Imperial Palace with some disappointment.

Laszlo breathed a slight sigh of relief when the troublesome person finally left.

With Frederick I's defeat, his guardianship and custody of Palatinate Count Palatine Philip were also revoked.

Now, the still young Philip could not manage his territory well or fulfill the responsibilities of an Elector.

Many forces within the Empire quickly gathered like sharks smelling blood, hoping to gain some benefits from the dilapidated Palatinate.

The four strongest contenders were the Archbishop of Mainz, the Count of Zweibrücken, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Duke of Landshut.

As a powerful lord neighboring the Palatinate and the leader of the Empire's religious princes, Archbishop of Mainz Adolf had the opportunity to contend for Philip's guardianship according to Imperial tradition.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Philip was almost that of an enemy, and there was no blood tie, so he was likely to be the first to be excluded.

To increase his chances of winning, Adolf intended to leverage his close alliance with the Emperor.

As the saying goes, 'the nearest water gets the moon first,' taking advantage of his time in Vienna, he diligently met with the Emperor almost daily, hoping to gain the Emperor's support.

However, Laszlo did not intend to hand Philip, who was meant to limit Adolf, over to Adolf; that would make everything meaningless.

Count Stephen of Zweibrücken, Philip's youngest uncle, was ostracized for choosing to protect Philip during Frederick's usurpation of power, and his fiefdom was also controlled by Frederick.

After the war ended, he reclaimed the ruined Zweibrücken and other territories from the Emperor's army.

Currently, Stephen is serving as Regent of the Palatinate territory, responsible for leading the noble Regency Council in presiding over all matters of the Palatinate.

For Philip, this fourth uncle was the most suitable candidate, but for Laszlo, it was not so.

Archbishop Ruprecht of Cologne, successor to the former Archbishop Hermann, and Philip's third uncle.

Shortly after returning to Vienna, Laszlo received a coincidental yet astonishing piece of news.

Hermann, who had reached an agreement with Eyczing, suddenly died of a stroke, and then Laszlo's envoy brought back the news that Ruprecht of the Palatinate had been elected as the new Archbishop of Cologne.

This fellow was an accomplice in Frederick's usurpation of power, and later, with Frederick's patronage, he steadily rose within the Church, now even directly elected as a religious Elector.

With the precedent of Mainz, the bishops of the Cologne Archdiocese dutifully went to Vienna to request the Emperor to send an envoy to participate in the election of the new Archbishop.

The incident happened suddenly, and Laszlo had no more energy or financial resources to influence this election, so he could only wait and see.

Ultimately, Ruprecht stood out and became the new Archbishop of Cologne.

As a result, the previously reached agreement was directly voided, and Ruprecht could not possibly agree to Laszlo's bold demands.

In fact, he himself wanted to participate in this battle for guardianship, attempting to control two Elector seats by himself.

Fortunately, Laszlo firmly controlled three votes and did not particularly need the support of the Archbishop of Cologne.

As Emperor, Laszlo naturally would not allow Ruprecht's ambition to succeed.

The last contender was the Palatinate's traditional ally, Duke Ludwig IX "the Rich" of Landshut.

His eldest daughter was betrothed to Philip a few years ago, so he was Philip's prospective father-in-law.

He hoped to gain Philip's guardianship to strengthen the alliance between the Palatinate and Landshut.

If he truly got his wish, Laszlo would have a headache.

Looking at the situation, Laszlo found that no matter who he gave Philip's guardianship to, he would not be too satisfied.

Should Philip be raised in the Imperial Palace in Vienna?

Unfortunately, this plan was met with strong opposition from Eyczing and other important ministers as soon as it was proposed.

This proposal would definitely cause an uproar within the Empire.

If Laszlo forcibly kept Philip, it would not be long before rumors of the Emperor imprisoning an Elector spread throughout the Empire.

This would cause a considerable blow to Laszlo's prestige and credibility.

In desperation, Laszlo could only re-select a suitable candidate from among the competitors.

Archbishop Adolf and Ludwig IX were excluded first; either of them gaining Philip's guardianship would become a major concern for Laszlo.

The remaining ones were Philip's two uncles, Ruprecht and Stephen.

Of two evils, choose the lesser; sending Philip back to the Palatinate nobles was the best choice that could be made at the moment.

Having made up his mind, Laszlo began to consider another major matter.

Since he could not keep Philip in his grasp, he should find a way to minimize the threat from the Palatinate.

Just as he had discussed with Eyczing over a year ago, stripping the Palatinate Count Palatine of his Elector seat.

This undoubtedly violated the provisions of the 1356 golden bull.

But Laszlo, who had already abolished one golden bull, did not care much about such things now.

Moreover, there were historical precedents for stripping Elector qualifications, though the circumstances were slightly different.

At the end of the last century, the Wittelsbach family, also, held the two major Elector seats of Palatinate and Brandenburg.

The powerful influence of this family caused panic among the princes and alerted Charles IV.

In the subsequent power struggle, the Wittelsbach family suffered a crushing defeat.

Charles IV then stripped the Elector of Brandenburg of his territory and title, directly giving it to his son Sigismund, who was Laszlo's maternal grandfather.

In fact, this time the Elector Palatine's crime was even more serious than before, and the problem was more difficult.

First, Frederick's scandal of violating Imperial law and usurping his nephew's territory and title made the situation particularly complex.

If he had been a legitimate successor and openly rebelled, Laszlo might have had a chance to directly seize the Palatinate.

But there was this legitimate heir, Philip, who was clearly a victim.

As the Emperor, whether out of justice or to save face, Laszlo could not directly seize Palatinate.

What's more, his power was already so great that if he were to truly target Palatinate, the Empire might directly explode.

Although Laszlo had some confidence to directly confront the entire Empire, if it truly developed to that point, it would no longer be up to him or any Imperial Prince to resolve.

If no unexpected events occurred, it would definitely evolve into a major disaster sweeping across all of Europe.

To avoid the dire situation of being attacked from multiple sides, Laszlo decided to change his approach.

He would not touch Palatinate, but he could manipulate the Elector Palatine seat.

According to previous plans, a more suitable solution was to transfer the Elector title to the Count of Munich, who was also a member of the Wittelsbach family.

Earlier this year, when Laszlo was still leading troops in the cold winds of the Transylvania mountains, John, the elder of the two brothers who jointly ruled Munich, died.

Sigismund, the second brother, became the sole ruler, firmly securing the throne of the Count of Munich.

He was very interested in the deal proposed by the Austrian to transfer the Elector seat, but the price of 150,000 florin made him hesitate.

In fact, Laszlo had some backup options, but after discussing with Eyczing, he found that the choices were quite limited.

For example, Brunswick, ruled by the famous Welf family, seemed powerful, but in reality, it was not.

Although the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel held the title of Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, he controlled less than half of the entire Duchy.

Just a few decades ago, the citizens of Brunswick broke away from the weakened Duke and became a free city.

As a result, the Duke of Brunswick had to move the ducal capital to Wolfenbüttel.

Such Imperial jokes circulated in North Germany: the Archbishop of Cologne did not have Cologne, and the Duke of Brunswick did not have Brunswick.

Due to the Duke's declining power, Brunswick City experienced years of unrest after its independence, becoming one of the most chaotic cities in Europe after Paris and Ghent.

The Welf family's glory was no more; it was more likely that the Count of Munich would raise the money than for them to take on the responsibility of buying the Elector seat.

As for other Princes, there was even less to mention.

Throughout the entire Empire, the only one with the strength to acquire this Elector seat was Duke of Landshut, Louis IX, 'the Rich'.

Louis IX was truly wealthy, and his relationship with Palatinate was both familial and through marriage, and in terms of strength, he was the ceiling among those below the Elector.

However, the problem was that this Louis IX once harbored ambitions towards the Imperial Free Cities, which soured his relationship with Laszlo.

Therefore, Laszlo would rather leave the Elector seat to Palatinate than sell it to the ambitious Duke of Landshut.

Since Sigismund of Munich could not afford the price and was unwilling to take out a loan for this Elector seat, Laszlo had to make other plans.

Laszlo stopped thinking; anyway, he was going to Worms, and the journey was long, so he could think slowly.

Before setting off, Laszlo personally visited the dungeon and met Frederick I, who was still imprisoned there.

In the dim cell, only the torch emitted a faint yellow light, shining on Frederick's face, revealing his haggard appearance.

He looked up at the Emperor, who was dressed in luxurious clothes, with a puzzled expression.

"Frederick, I am here to bid you farewell. I am going to Worms for the Elector assembly, and that meeting will decide your fate, your nephew's, and Palatinate's."

Laszlo stood before Frederick in a victorious posture, his eyes coldly fixed on the rebellious usurper.

Frederick lowered his head upon hearing this; he no longer cared much about these things.

Earlier, he often recalled his life, how he had only lost once, yet ended up in his current state.

Thinking of the nickname people gave him, 'the Victorious', he now only felt it was ironic.

"Aren't you curious about how I will deal with you?"

Laszlo found it uninteresting as Frederick remained as taciturn as ever.

"Nothing more than beheading, or if you wish to humiliate me, then hang me. I deserve it."

Frederick said surprising words with a calm expression.

Laszlo sighed lightly; it seemed the other party was now utterly disheartened.

He asked in a deep voice, "Twelve years ago, when you usurped power, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Frederick gave a self-deprecating smile, then suddenly looked up at the Emperor and said seriously, "I once hoped your father would die at the hands of the Ottoman, and later I hoped you would die at the hands of the Ottoman.

I never expected God to favor you so much; even I am starting to believe you are destined by heaven.

Since my hopes have been dashed, it is only natural for me to fall to this state."

"You really dare to speak," Laszlo was not annoyed; there was no need to argue with a prisoner. He responded mockingly, "Although your Elector seat is illegal, I am merciful and have decided to give you the treatment of an Elector—I mean, a ransom of 100,000 florin.

If you can pay, I will restore your freedom; until then, you will stay here obediently."

"100,000 gold coins?" Frederick shook his head and smiled bitterly, "You won't squeeze a single groschen out of me."

"Don't you have a wealthy lover?"

Laszlo mocked his hypocrisy, recounting his crimes.

Frederick's expression suddenly became complex, which pleased Laszlo.

"That was just a transaction. The Thott family of Augsburg wanted to expand their business in Rhineland—they were suffocated by the Fugger family you supported.

I was just... just short of money.

If I had enough military funds, I would never be here for you to mock me."

"Is that so?" Laszlo feigned surprise. "I thought you had truly fallen in love with a commoner girl.

You can continue to repent here; I will bring back the decision regarding your fate from Worms."

Laszlo left the dungeon. There were not many prisoners held there, mostly embezzlers or adulterers.

Whether it was paying ransom or being executed for causing trouble, basically no one stayed in prison permanently, and Frederick was clearly an exception. Bidding farewell to the reluctant Leonor and Empress Dowager Elizabeth, Laszlo embarked on his journey to Worms.

The large convoy, escorted by the Imperial Guard, passed through the streets of Vienna, drawing curious glances from the people.

In the first carriage sat the Emperor and the Elector Palatine, followed by the Archbishop of Mainz and the Archbishop of Trier in the next carriages.

The convoy included the Emperor and four Electors, representing half of the Empire.

The carriages slowly drove out of the city gate, heading towards the distant Rhine River.