I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1271 The New Order of North Germany
Franz Egon paused for a moment, a glint in his eyes: "Talleyrand also indicated that if things go smoothly, the Vatican might promote me to Cardinal Archbishop."

An argument quickly broke out inside the room.

But just half an hour later, Ferdinand, who advocated loyalty to the Archbishop of Cologne, was expelled, while one of Franz Egon's confidants hurriedly returned to Paderborn in the early hours of the morning.

……

In Talleyrand's drawing room.

Count Frederick William of Nassau bowed to Talleyrand with a broad smile and said, “Thank you, Your Highness. In fact, Nassau has long wanted to join the Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement. As for the matter of investing in the mines, I will have Adlet handle it as soon as I return.”

The French Foreign Minister has just promised to hand over Düsseldorf and southern Westfalen to Nassau.

Their small country on the Rhine River suddenly expanded by 120%!

Nassau is now about the same size as Mainz, and with its already strong economy, it is bound to become an important country in Northern Germany in the future.

At the same time, the French agreed that Nassau would retain tariffs on leather and metal processing, which removed the last remaining concern about Nassau joining the French-led trade system.

If this allows them to enter the French and even Italian markets, it could even help further boost Nassau's economy.

Of course, Frederick William would also support all of Talleyrand's decisions in the subsequent vote, as well as side with France in North German foreign affairs.

After he left, the Archbishop of Mainz couldn't wait to go into Talleyrand's room.

Frederick Carl von Erthal first enthusiastically praised the French Dauphin and Talleyrand, then cautiously said, "Your Excellency, regarding the ownership of Rothenburg..."

Rothenburg was a place Mainz had always longed to visit; acquiring it would allow them to trade directly with Bavaria.

Talleyrand smiled and gestured for him to have some tea, then shook his head and said, "Rothenburg is more suited to be managed by Baden."

Seeing Frederick Karl's disappointed expression, he deliberately paused for a moment before slowly saying, "I heard you have a son named Lothar Franz, right?"

Frederick Karl was shocked and jumped up, waving his hands repeatedly: "You must not believe the rumors, Your Excellency the Archbishop."

Although these high-ranking archbishops certainly all had illegitimate children, none of them dared to admit it openly.

Talleyrand nodded calmly, gesturing for him to sit down: "You don't need to be nervous, we're friends, there's nothing we can't talk about."

“Look, poor Lothar can’t even bear the surname Elthar now. When you are called by God, he will most likely have to go far away, otherwise the Schönborn or the Wittelsbach family might steal all the money you left him.”

As a diocese, Mainz's ruler, the archbishop, is elected. The two families Talleyrand mentioned were strong contenders for the archbishopship of Mainz.

In fact, the Eltal family has only been elected archbishop twice in hundreds of years, the last time being more than a hundred years ago.

Frederick Karl was taken aback: "You mean?"

Talleyrand grinned like an old fox: "Don't you want the Eltal family to enjoy your current power forever?"

“This, how is this possible?” “With our country’s help, it is not impossible.” Talleyrand took a sip of his black tea. “For example, first, give your Lothar the title of count. Then you announce that Mainz will undergo secular reforms, form a parliament, and then the latter will elect Count Lothar as the new ruler of Mainz.”

Frederick Karl's heart began to pound. He had painstakingly climbed to the position of archbishop, and naturally wanted to pass it on to his descendants.

He suppressed his excitement and asked, "Your Excellency Archbishop, the Schönborn and Wittelsbach families would never agree to this. They have a great deal of influence in Mainz."

Talleyrand said nonchalantly, “Prussia, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, Württemberg, and Bavaria will all support Count Rodar. Oh, and our country too.”

Frederick Karl sprang to his feet again, patted his chest, and gave Talleyrand an unbecoming bow: "I truly don't know how to express my gratitude!"

With the unanimous support of the Franco-Prussian War and all of Mainz's neighboring countries, who would dare not vote for Lothar?
For example, the Schönborn family's biggest financial backer is Bavaria. As long as they support them, they can secure a majority of seats in parliament.

Talleyrand smiled and nodded: "This is all His Highness the Crown Prince's idea."

“Oh, the great Son of God, may God forever protect him. I will go to thank His Highness in person first thing tomorrow morning!”

After Frederick Karl finished his sycophantic words of gratitude, Talleyrand continued, "By the way, let's talk about Mainz joining the trade agreement."

"Oh, and also, there might be some 'internal affairs' of the Vatican happening in northern Aschaffenburg in a while. Just pretend you didn't see them."

"Yes, all as you command."

Starting from the seventh day of the Stuttgart Summit, the pace of various tasks suddenly accelerated.

With proposals regarding the ownership of unclaimed land being passed one after another, the power dynamics in North Germany underwent a dramatic shift.

Baden, as France's most loyal ally who staked everything on France, reaped the greatest rewards. All the land west of the Necar River, as well as northern Breisgau, Mannheim, and Rothenburg, were ceded to Baden, expanding its territory to 260% of its previous size.

Although Württemberg had been forced to join the Allied forces, it immediately switched allegiance to France after the British and Russian troops left, thus gaining some benefits, mainly a small area west of Ansbach. It also received land west of Ulm as compensation for ceding part of the Nekar River region to Baden.

Bavaria gained Nuremberg and Schellenberg, as well as eastern Ulm and Ansbach. Not only did it make up for the land it lost in the previous anti-French coalition, it also gained something.

Hesse-Darmstadt acquired most of Frankfurt, as well as some scattered land in Westphalia.

Nassau acquired Düsseldorf and other places.

Würzburg acquired a portion of Bamberg.

Brunswick acquired Goslar. Yes, this was the territory of Duke Brunswick, the Prussian army's commander-in-chief, who was currently fighting alongside the French, yet suddenly found himself with a piece of land. In contrast, he had served Prussia for decades, consistently subsidizing the military...

Prussia, on the other hand, acquired most of the territory of Hanover.

Even the Netherlands received some land west of the Ems River.

(End of this chapter)