Chapter 1555: East and West Rome, Taking Ming as Their Teacher

The Rhineland, Cologne.

In early April 1675 by the Western calendar, Louis XIV at last reached the Rhineland he had longed for day and night. Welcomed along the road by great nobles and bishops who had gathered from every part of Germany, he entered the city of Cologne, which was likewise in mourning, in a mood of the deepest grief.

Cologne was mourning the late Emperor Leopold I... although while Leopold I was alive, the citizens of Cologne and the archbishop who ruled the place had not been especially fond of the Emperor.

But the Emperor's death made everyone instantly feel their love for him!

They had loved the Emperor all along... and every one of them now recognized 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 all of them became good princes 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, while all of Upper Hungary lay wholly prostrate at the Sultan's feet.

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

Without an Emperor, who else could lead them into battle against the mighty Ottoman army?

But the Emperor was gone — he had left 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 Holy Roman Emperor was chosen by election; if one died, it was no great matter — they could simply elect another!

Of course, at the present moment, the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor was no longer worth what it had once been... without real strength, no one dared compete for that office!

The two or three hundred thousand Ottoman troops were still rampaging through Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, and Royal Hungary!

Unless they got an Emperor with strong soldiers and sturdy horses, the Holy Roman Empire would likely be finished...

And whose soldiers were the strongest in all Europe now? Obviously, Louis XIV's!

He was in Cologne at this very moment, keeping vigil beside Leopold's coffin every day, every inch the heir of the House of Habsburg!

So early this morning, the German princes and archbishops gathered in Cologne — led by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg; John George II, Duke of Saxony; Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine; and the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier — assembled together in Cologne Cathedral to seek an audience with Louis XIV, who was keeping vigil for Leopold.

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

Louis XIV acknowledged this with a nod and asked, "Who is the next Emperor?"

The Great Elector smiled. "The next Holy Roman Emperor is none other than you!"

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

What?

The House of Habsburg?

Their family had but one male left — the "Bewitched" Charles II of Spain, an imbecile who could not even speak clearly!

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

"That cannot be!" said John George II, Duke of Saxony. "The sole remaining male of the House of Habsburg, Charles II, is mentally deficient... he 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 could do the same. Invite the Pope to be Emperor!"

The Pope as Emperor?

What kind of international joke was that!

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

And besides, three of the six Electors 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 madness? It would mean religious war for certain!

"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 to the Pope. They rode out of the city that very night and intercepted the Pope in Luxembourg.

In a castle of the Duchy of Luxembourg, the six Electors met a Pope whose face was lined with exhaustion and who had aged almost past endurance.

"Your Holiness... our Holy Roman Empire is now without an Emperor!" Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, spoke again in Latin, his face full of anxiety.

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

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

John George II, Duke of Saxony, 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 far 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, apart from Louis XIV, there seemed to be no one else in Europe capable of defeating the Ottoman Empire.

"But he is unwilling to be Emperor!" said Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine. "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!" Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, said with a bitter face. "The Holy Roman Empire cannot be without an Emperor. Why not you, Your Holiness? In all Europe, no one surpasses you in virtue and prestige!"

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

"Indeed, Your Holiness, please accept!"

"..."

"What? What..." The Pope grew frantic at these words. That imperial throne was a death sentence — the last Emperor had already gone to heaven. If this old wreck of a man took on the imperial office 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 cannot be... and besides, Frederick, Charles, John — 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?