I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1270 There Must Be a Stick Behind the Carrot
Afterwards, the Hessian-Rheinfels and Hessian-Marburg line died out.

The two factions, which continued to exist, fought a brutal war over their territory, thus forging a deep-seated feud.

Ludwig X, of course, dreamed of eliminating his kinsman, but when he looked at Viscount Flavius, his eyes were full of hesitation: "Well, you know, my ancestor has been dead for over 200 years..."

The latter's tone was very firm: "But you still have the right to unite all the Hesse territories."

"But……"

“Almost all of William IX’s army was taken away by the British. According to our intelligence, there are currently fewer than 600 soldiers left in Kassel,” Flavia said, following the Crown Prince’s instructions. “If you make up your mind, you can restore Hesse to the territory it had under His Majesty Philip I within half a month.”

“You have always been our country’s closest partner, and Darmstadt is the only North German country to have joined the Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement. His Highness the Crown Prince will give you his utmost support.”

Ludwig X's breathing began to quicken.

Flavia glanced at him and continued, "Actually, a batch of weapons is already waiting in the port of Mainz and will arrive in Giessen within two days."

"Including 5 percussion caps, 20 cannons, and ample ammunition."

Giessen is the core city in northern Hesse-Darmstadt. If an attack were to be launched against Kassel, the army would certainly depart from here.

"If you still feel uncertain, His Highness the Crown Prince said he can provide you with a 'staff team' to assist your commander. Oh, that includes Colonel Marmont."

Ludwig X said in a low voice, "But what if other countries raise objections..."

Flavia smiled and said, "General Lefebvre is currently north of Hanover. He believes that everyone will offer their heartfelt congratulations on the unification of Hesse."

French troops had indeed completely withdrawn from North Germany, but Hanover, as a spoil of war seized by France from Britain, naturally required some soldiers to guard it, which did not constitute a threat to the North German states.

Ludwig X's gaze finally hardened. He took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Please convey to His Highness that the people of Hesse will forever remember his selfless help and will always stand firmly with France!"

France has arranged everything from weapons and officers to international diplomacy. Even a bunch of apes could easily defeat Hesse-Kassel in this situation, let alone Darmstadt, which has been deploying troops on the northern border.

Yes, the unification by the Hessian family was the "big stick" that Joseph showed to the northern German states.

Hesse-Kassel was the North German country that provided the most troops to the Allied forces in this war, second only to Prussia, and Joseph had previously planned to target it.

William IX's constant jumping over the past two days has further solidified his resolve.

Of course, the other archbishop of Cologne, who jumped very high, certainly wouldn't be able to escape either.

However, as a very influential major power in northern Germany, Cologne lacks a ready-made opponent like Darmstadt versus Kassel, making it difficult to directly suppress it.

Moreover, the Habsburg family has cultivated a deep-rooted network of interests here for over a century. For example, while the Archbishop of Cologne may appear to be elected by the nobles, the final elected person is always designated by the Habsburg family.

Joseph and Talleyrand, among others, had a lengthy discussion on this matter.

“...and the two dioceses of Paderborn and Osnabrück are different from the diocese of Münster,” Talleyrand explained to the Crown Prince in detail the political structure of Cologne, “they are secondary dioceses, administered by two archbishops, Franz Egon and Friedrich August, respectively.”

"Theoretically, these are two separate dioceses, but they are subject to the 'guidance' of Archbishop Maximilian." Maximilian is the Archbishop of Cologne.

Talleyrand continued, “Unfortunately, Franz Egon’s father was a senior advisor to Franz I, and his family had always maintained close ties with the Habsburgs.”

"Friedrich was a member of the Hanoverian royal family and a close relative of the King of England. His appointment as archbishop was the result of an exchange of interests between Britain and Austria."

His meaning was clear: the three dioceses that make up Cologne are almost a monolithic entity, leaving virtually no room for maneuver.

"Besides the three major dioceses, there are also two countships north of Cologne: Lipper and Schönburg-Lipper. Although they are secular lords, they are very weak and do not possess the power to challenge the Archbishop of Cologne..."

“Wait a minute.” Joseph suddenly raised his hand to interrupt him. “You just said that Archbishop Friedrich is from the Hanoverian royal family?”

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph frowned: "But Hanover is a Protestant country."

“That is indeed the case, Your Highness. Friedrich himself was a Protestant.”

"And he's in charge of a Catholic diocese?"

"You know, it's all just an exchange of interests."

Joseph finally smiled: "Isn't this the best way to get started? Emmanuel, please invite Archbishop Muzarelli here..."

The following day, the monarchs of Northern Germany continued to vote on the allocation of unclaimed land.

In such a short time, they were unable to reach a compromise, and the vote still yielded no results. At this point, everyone realized that to finalize the ownership of these territories, they would ultimately need the French to mediate.

The room where the French Foreign Minister was staying immediately became a bustling hub.

Archbishop Franz Egon of Paderborn emerged from Talleyrand's drawing room, deep in thought, pushed through the crowd at the door, and quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

No one paid him any attention, because almost every country had sent people to the French Foreign Minister to sound him out.

Franz Egon returned to his room and immediately summoned several of his confidants, repeating to them what Talleyrand had just said.

Ferdinand, the assistant to the Bishop of Paderborn and also his nephew, immediately exclaimed:
"This, this won't do! The Felssen family must not betray Vienna!"

Franz Egon glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Judging from the current situation, Prussia's influence in northern Germany will continue to grow, as will France's, of course."

“We must find a new source of support for our family, and this is an opportunity.”

The Foreign Minister standing nearby frowned and added, "Your Excellency, Archbishop Maximilian's authority is very secure. Even if we wanted to do something, I'm afraid it would be difficult to succeed."

Franz Egon waved his hand: "The French say that the Diocese of Münster will soon experience a crisis."

Münster is the direct diocese of the Archbishop of Cologne.

(End of this chapter)