Chapter 1553: There Must Be an Emperor!

The Rhineland, Cologne.

In early April of the year 1675 by the Western calendar, Louis XIV at last arrived in the Rhineland he had longed for day and night. Welcomed along the roads by great nobles and bishops who had gathered from all over the German lands, he entered the city of Cologne, which was likewise sunk in mourning, with the deepest grief in his heart.

Cologne was mourning the late Emperor Leopold I. Though while Leopold I had been alive, the citizens of Cologne and the archbishop who ruled this place had not much loved the Emperor.

Yet the Emperor's death made everyone, in an instant, feel their love for the Emperor!

So they had loved the Emperor after all. And all of them had come to recognize this fact: Germany could not be without an Emperor, and the citizens of Cologne could not be without an Emperor either!

Without an Emperor, how were they to go on living!

Not only did the citizens of Cologne turn overnight into the staunchest royalists. Even the princes of the German states — whether Protestants or adherents of the Roman Catholic faith, whether or not they had once raised banners against the Emperor — at this moment, every one of them had become a good prince who loved the Emperor!

They had all come to realize that Germany could not be without an Emperor, and that they, the princes, could not be without an Emperor either!

Without an Emperor, they truly could not go on living!

For the great army of the Ottoman Empire, victorious at the Battle of Saint Gotthard, had now reached the walls of Vienna, and had also invaded Bohemia and Croatia; all of Upper Hungary had completely submitted beneath the Sultan's feet.

This was an Ottoman army of two hundred thousand, perhaps three hundred thousand men!

Without an Emperor, who else could lead them to do battle against the mighty Ottoman host?

But the Emperor was gone. He had departed Vienna upright, and now returned to Cologne lying flat, placed inside a rectangular wooden box and set within Cologne Cathedral, awaiting the Pope's arrival from Rome to preside over his funeral.

Fortunately, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was elected by all, so the death of one was no great matter — they could simply elect another!

Of course, at the present moment, the throne of the Holy Roman Empire was no longer worth what it had once been. Without real strength, no one dared contend for that position!

The Ottoman Empire's two or three hundred thousand troops were still ravaging Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, and Royal Hungary!

Unless there was an Emperor with mighty soldiers and strong horses, the Holy Roman Empire would likely be finished.

And whose soldiers were the strongest in all Europe at present? Clearly, Louis XIV's!

He was now in Cologne, keeping vigil beside Leopold's coffin every day, with the very air of an heir to the House of Habsburg!

So this morning, the German princes and archbishops gathered in Cologne — led by the Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm, the Duke of Saxony Johann Georg II, the Elector Palatine Karl I Ludwig, and the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier — assembled together at Cologne Cathedral to seek an audience with Louis XIV, who was keeping vigil for Leopold.

"Your Majesty," the Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm said in stiff French, "we six Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, after earnest deliberation, have elected a new Emperor."

Louis XIV responded with a sound, nodded, and asked, "Who is the next Emperor?"

The Great Elector smiled and said, "The next Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is you!"

"Me?" Louis looked greatly astonished. "How could I become Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire? I am a Frenchman! And since the time of Ferdinand I, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire has always belonged to the House of Habsburg. I cannot be this Emperor. Go and elect anew — choose a man of the House of Habsburg to be Emperor!"

What?

The House of Habsburg?

Their family had but one male left: Carlos II of Spain, "the Bewitched" — a half-wit who could not even speak clearly!

Elect him Emperor, and they might as well all convert to Islam.

"That will not do!" said the Duke of Saxony Johann Georg II. "The sole remaining male of the House of Habsburg, Carlos II, is mentally deficient and cannot be Emperor!"

Louis XIV thought for a moment, then said, "Then let Pope Clement X hold the office of Holy Roman Emperor concurrently! His intellect is sufficient, is it not? Among the Muslims, the Caliph and the Ottoman Sultan are held by one man. Catholics may do the same — invite the Pope to be Emperor!"

The Pope as Emperor?

What sort of international joke was this!

The six Electors were all sweating with anxiety. How could that old man the Pope be Emperor? He had no strength, and could not defeat the Ottoman Empire!

Moreover, among the six Electors, three were Protestants!

The Electorate of Brandenburg adhered to Lutheranism, the Duchy of Saxony was also Lutheran, and the Electorate of the Palatinate was Calvinist. How could they elect the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church as Emperor? Was this not sheer nonsense? It would surely mean a war of religion!

"The Pope will arrive in a few days. Go and discuss it with him. If he is unwilling to be Emperor, then elect someone else!"

This Louis XIV absolutely refused to be Emperor!

The six Electors had no choice but to go and speak of the matter with the Pope. They rode out of the city through the night and intercepted the Pope in Luxembourg.

In a castle of the Duchy of Luxembourg, the six Electors met a Pope whose face was full of exhaustion and who was so old he seemed near his end.

"Your Holiness, our Holy Roman Empire now has no Emperor!" the Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm said in Latin, his face full of anxiety.

The Pope squinted at this Lutheran Great Elector, thinking to himself: Is not the absence of an Emperor exactly what you wanted? Why are you anxious? Could it be that Louis XIV wants to be Emperor?

"Great Elector," the Pope asked, "can you not elect another Emperor?"

The Duke of Saxony Johann Georg II sighed and said, "Your Holiness, we have elected one."

"Whom did you elect?"

"Louis XIV!"

"Oh," the Pope nodded. "He is now Emperor. I shall go and crown him."

This Emperor would certainly not please the Holy See. He was too powerful!

But there was no one else who could take the office!

Elect a weakling, and they could not defeat the Ottoman Empire!

At present, in Europe, apart from Louis XIV there seemed to be no one else who could possibly defeat the Ottoman Empire.

"But he is unwilling to be Emperor!" said the Elector Palatine Karl I Ludwig. "He even recommended a man of high virtue and great prestige to be Emperor."

"High virtue and great prestige?" The Pope was taken aback. "Who?"

"It is you!" said the Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm with a bitter face. "The Holy Roman Empire cannot be without an Emperor. Why not you, then, as Emperor! In all Europe, no one surpasses you in virtue and prestige!"

"Indeed, Your Holiness, why not become Emperor!"

"Yes, Your Holiness, do accept!"

"..."

"What? What..." The Pope grew frantic at these words. That imperial throne was a death sentence. The previous Emperor had already gone to heaven; if this wretched old man of his took on the office of Emperor as well, how could he possibly survive?

"No!" The Pope shook his head repeatedly. "I cannot be Emperor. I am the Pope! How can the Pope be Emperor? It will not do. And besides, Friedrich, Karl, Johann — you are all Protestants! How can you elect the Pope of the universal Church as Emperor?"

"Then, then whom shall we elect?"

"Indeed, there is no one left."

"Who can be Emperor?"

The three Protestant Electors were already at a loss. Louis XIV would not be Emperor, Carlos II could not be Emperor, and the Pope refused to be Emperor.

Who then should be Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire? Could it be that they would have to let Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire become Emperor?

By then everyone would have to take four wives, and moreover keep a harem full of female slaves. How could that possibly do?

(End of Chapter)