It was almost overnight that the news of Archbishop Friedrich being arrested by the Vatican spread throughout Osnabrück.
Soon, a large number of pamphlets mysteriously appeared, totaling twenty to thirty thousand copies.
The pamphlets detailed how the Protestant Friedrich bribed the Vienna authorities to control the Osnabruck Diocese, oppressed Catholic priests, amassed wealth, and had four mistresses.
Indeed, the pamphlets were printed overti by Security Bureau agents. As for the content, such gossip in the noble circle was not uncommon, and it was quite easy to gather so tidbits and expand them with embellishnts.
By that afternoon, angry speakers had taken to the streets, denouncing the "heretic" Friedrich for his evil desecration of the sacred Osnabruck Diocese.
Under their description, the entire congregation of the diocese might be unable to enter heaven after death due to having their souls polluted by the heretic.
This organized propaganda spread rapidly, and the city’s populace began to erupt in fury.
The next morning, thousands gathered in front of the Osnabruck Cathedral, chanting slogans demanding severe punishnt for Friedrich.
Many priests took the opportunity to join their ranks, leading the people in religious ceremonies—they had little chance for advancent under Friedrich’s rule, so they could not resist adding insult to injury.
As Friedrich remained out of sight, his confidants and the city’s security forces believed the rumors to be true, hence they dared not use violence to disperse the demonstrators.
Next, a renowned Catholic priest, supported by Security Bureau agents, led a group to storm the cathedral, expelling priests loyal to Friedrich and announcing that a new Archbishop recognized by the Vatican would be elected.
Two days later, all of Cologne heard the news of the religious upheaval in Osnabrück and the unknown whereabouts of the Archbishop.
Archbishop Maximilian hurriedly dispatched 700 Münster stationed troops to quell the chaos, while also sending people to search for Friedrich’s whereabouts.
However, shortly after his troops departed, Paderborn Archbishop arrived in Osnabrück with over 400 soldiers. In his company was Bishop Campanella representing the Vatican.
Franz Egon praised the citizens for their resistance against the heresy before 2,000 protesting citizens and expressed support for the re-election of the Archbishop.
Then he dropped a bombshell, stating that it was with Archbishop Maximilian’s support that Friedrich could have held Osnabruck.
When Maximilian’s troops arrived in Osnabrück, they were greeted by over 2,000 angry congregants, and these people had quite a few weapons—brought to them by Franz Egon.
Behind was Paderborn’s army.
During the standoff between the two sides, Nassau, Mainz, Bavaria, Baden, and other countries publicly condemned Maximilian for allowing a "heretic" to beco the Archbishop in Cologne, as if they had never known the political structure of Cologne before.
The following day, even Münster, the capital of Cologne, began to see riots, with many Catholics taking to the streets demanding their Archbishop clearly distance himself from Friedrich.
Maximilian was greatly alard and hurriedly withdrew his troops to stabilize the situation, while instructing the two lords of Liper and Schomberg-Liper in northern Cologne to send troops to Osnabrück.
However, no one paid him any heed.
The "heresy event" was now a major uproar, and intervening at this ti would easily make one a public enemy of all Cologne Catholics.
As all Northern Germany focused on Cologne, Baron Schleben of Hesse-Darmstadt was leading over 5,000 troops from Gießen, heading straight for Kassel.
The day after they left, Ludwig X formally declared war on Hesse-Kassel under the pretext of "retaking ancestral lands of Rheinphels and Marburg."
William IX never expected Darmstadt to attack suddenly, leaving him less than two days to prepare for war, and Hesse-Kassel’s troops were still in French POW camps.
He hurriedly ordered General Kniephausen to muster over 1,200 soldiers to fortify Kassel’s southern defenses while seeking aid from Brunswick, Thuringia, and other countries.
Darmstadt’s army had absolute superiority in strength and equipnt, and Marmon’s command skills were streets ahead of Kniephausen’s.
The battle lasted only three hours before Marmon’s vanguard attacked the city of Kassel.
William IX had to flee the city overnight, seeking refuge in the north of Brunswick.
However, several hundred Brunswick troops intercepted him at the border, stating they needed the Duke’s Majesty’s consent before allowing him entry.
Before Brunswick’s ssenger returned, Darmstadt’s cavalry caught up.
After being escorted back to Kassel, William IX initially tried to bargain, demanding to keep Göttingen as his territory—the practice of Darmstadt was clearly against the norms among Northern German States and was bound to face imnse pressure from surrounding countries.
But within a day, Bavaria and Nassau first declared recognition of Ludwig X’s rule over Hesse-Kassel—as a mber of the Hesse family, it was legally justifiable.
Then followed Mainz, Würzburg, Prussia... aside from the tumultuous Cologne, all Northern German countries made similar statents.
Indeed, even before Ludwig X’s troops set out, Talleyrand had already completed diplomatic maneuvers in various countries regarding the matter.
Having lost all hope, William IX had no choice but to sign the Kassel Treaty, announcing abandonnt of all claims to Hesse Territory in exchange for Prussian exile for his family.
Half a month later, Ludwig X personally welcod a force of over 10,000 troops in the southern Hesse city of Marburg.
Although their military uniforms were shabby and they had no weapons, smiles of excitent were on their faces.
Yes, these were the Hessian-Kassel soldiers who had been captured by the French Army—they had been fighting in the Switzerland area under British command.
In the narrative they heard, William IX had sold them to the British for 340,000 British Pounds—money that London had provided as aid to Kassel—after which His Majesty Ludwig X had sent troops to rescue them, battled William IX’s forces, and drove away the tyrant before paying a substantial ransom for their return ho.
His Majesty Ludwig X even gave each of them 20 florins for their living expenses. Yes, this money ca from the 340,000 British Pounds provided by the British, most of which was in the treasury of Kassel Palace.
Reviews
All reviews (0)