Chapter 115: Swabia Owns the Iron
Duke Wilhelm swallowed hard, looking at the dead eyes of the Swabian soldiers surrounding him.
He slowly closed his mouth, deciding to trust his daughter’s instincts.
He stepped back, offering a nod.
"We will... we will discuss the wedding logistics later, Viscount." the Duke mumbled.
Konrad offered Katarina a nod.
But Bishop Tomas was not so easily silenced.
The fat clerk took a step forward, clutching the pamphlet to his chest.
He needed to establish the exact legal standing of the conquered land.
In 1526 AD, you couldn’t just conquer a neighboring territory and claim it as your own without a massive legal headache.
The land either had to be absorbed entirely into the victor’s direct holdings, which required the Emperor’s explicit signature, or it had to be established as a vassal state, meaning the original peasants remained, but they paid their taxes directly to the new conquering lord.
"Viscount von Frundsberg," Bishop Tomas squeaked. "While the Church understands your highly justified need to reclaim the stolen Fugger silver... there is still the matter of the shattered border."
Konrad slowly turned his gaze back to the Bishop. "What about the border?"
The Bishop pointed a finger toward the mountain passes.
"You destroyed the Savoyard garrison, My Lord." the Bishop stated. "The legal ledgers of the Empire demand clarity in such violent matters. So, I must ask you directly, before I send my ravens to Rome..."
The Bishop took a deep breath. "Do you intend to annex the Savoyard territory and take it as your own personal land... or will you force their surviving lords to bow and rule them as a Swabian vassal?"
"Hmm?" Konrad tilted his head slightly, his eyes shifting from the armored figure of Margarita de Austria to the sweating form of the papal envoy.
The fat clerk’s question hung in the air, disrupting the tense standoff over the hundred thousand silver florins.
It was a complicated query that would dictate the future of the entire western border.
Konrad didn’t instantly snap back with a harsh command. He let out a slow breath.
"You are the Pope’s eyes and ears in this valley, Tomas." Konrad stated. "You are the man who writes the ledgers for Rome. Tell me. What do you think I should do with the Savoyard border?"
Bishop Tomas blinked, taken aback by the Viscount actually asking for his advice.
He swallowed hard, adjusting the heavy golden cross resting on his chest.
"I... I think you should act with holy pragmatism, My Lord," the Bishop stammered, before suddenly puffing out his chest.
"You must understand the legal framework of the Empire, Viscount," Bishop Tomas explained. "If you annex the land and claim it as your direct territory, you inherit all of its miserable problems. You are legally responsible for those peasants. You will have to rebuild the shattered stone walls of their keep using your own silver. You will have to feed the starving farmers when the winter gets too harsh, or they will riot."
The Bishop wiped another layer of sweat from his forehead.
"Furthermore, the local Savoyard militias will hate you." the Bishop continued. "They will constantly scheme to slit your garrison’s throats in the dark. It is a completely unprofitable nightmare of endless revolts, sabotage, and plundering... the Duke of Savoy will never stop sending assassins into your new lands!"
Katarina, standing nearby in her gown, nodded slightly in agreement.
The Bishop was correct... taking direct ownership of a hostile border town was a black hole.
"But if you make them a vassal..." the Bishop proposed. "If you force their surviving nobles to bend the knee and swear absolute fealty to Swabia, you clear your head of all those terrible problems. You leave their local lords to fix the walls and feed the peasants. And in return? You simply demand a legal tax of silver and grain every single month. You profit completely from their labor, without getting your own hands dirty."
It was the traditional noble way...
’Let the lesser lords bleed in the mud, and collect the shiny coins from the safety of a warm castle.’
However, Konrad stared at the fat Bishop, absorbing the dense lecture.
The logic was sound for a lazy, greedy aristocrat. But Konrad didn’t just want taxes; he wanted absolute control over his supply lines.
A vassal could lie on their ledgers.
A vassal could secretly stockpile weapons.
A vassal could betray him the second Duke Charles of Savoy marched a new army over the mountains.
If he wanted to build engines and mass-produce Gatling carts, he couldn’t rely on the flimsy, treacherous promises of a defeated noble.
"A vassal state..." Konrad murmured.. He looked down at his steel gauntlets, and then looked back up at the papal envoy.
"Then I will take it," Konrad declared.
Bishop Tomas gasped. "V-Viscount. Did you not just hear a single word I said? The revolts! The plunder! The absolute drain on your treasury!"
"I heard you perfectly," Konrad replied. "I am not going to leave the western trade routes in the hands of the same miserable cowards who tried to ambush my men. Swabia doesn’t just collect taxes. Swabia owns the iron."
Even so, Konrad couldn’t be in two places at once.
He couldn’t manage his massive underground forges and simultaneously sit in a frozen border keep executing Savoyard rebels.
He needed to install a new Lord... someone completely loyal.
Konrad turned away from the stuttering Bishop. He marched toward one of the elite Swabian Reiters standing guard near the treasury wagons.
"Your sword," Konrad commanded, holding out his armored hand.
The Reiter didn’t hesitate for a fraction of a second. The soldier instantly drew his sword from its scabbard and handed it to his Lord hilt-first.
Marshal Eckhard, standing just a few paces away, suddenly stiffened.
The old veteran’s scarred face tightened, and he visibly puffed out his chest.
Konrad noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye.
He could read the veteran Marshal like an open ledger.
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