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As the new century began, Emperor Joachim easily assumed his father’s place among noble houses and heads of Europe. He was well respected due to his lineage and title, but no less for his tireless work. He was very much a part of the governing of the country and was pleased to see our research in government and trade practices reaching new heights. Our colonies in Coahuila and the Cape of Africa were steadily growing and our diplomatic moves towards vassals and neighbors were welcome with extreme pleasure.
By mid year of 1701, Joachim IV had found his bride. She was of Corsican birth, and a Lady in Waiting of the Burgundian court. It had occurred over a weekend of diplomatic meetings in Liege and she had been followed by a great many of her fellow courtiers when she moved to Berlin. By the end of the year, the two were happily married and on progress in Hesse when news came that Yolanda of Corsica was with child. It was hoped that it would be a man-child such that His Majesty might have an heir. But strange happenings occurred next, which shall forever be a mystery.
It is told that the Empress had a fall and lost that child just after the New Year, and further that she herself was in ailing health. For the next month, Emperor Joachim sat by her side, such was his grief. He would not see any of us, nor his own cousin Luitpold. But it was clear that the Burgundian Ladies were by his side at all times. And when in March, we were presented with a courier from His Majesty bearing the signatures of both Emperor Joachim and the Arch-Duke of Burgundy that suggested the two were in alliance, I was shocked. Both Treskaw and von Schwerin were in agreement with me. This could not be the work of the Emperor.
We were told that the Count of Mainz had traveled to Hesse to assist in any way he could. When he arrived, the Empress had begun to feel in better spirits and was soon on her feet once more. The Emperor was so amazed at the effect the young Count had on his wife, he was indebted to the man. Immediately they began talks for alliance and it had been agreed upon, the Count assured His Majesty with the full blessings of Burgundy’s Arch-Duke. But we knew the Emperor had been unstable and the Castilian ambassador was the first to point this out. He told of the Count of Mainz and his ways. It was no secret in the Iberian courts that young Yolanda and the Count had been lovers. And this was news we felt the Emperor should hear.
Treskaw tasked me with the duty to inform His Majesty and I assumed my duty with all due haste. I knew Emperor Joachim would be angry with me for hearing the news, but I could not know what his actions would be upon hearing it. He flew into a rage such that I cannot describe. It would be unbecoming of his great title to swear to such behavior in these words. But it is a truth that not long after the news was spread at court, Empress Yolanda was dead, the Count of Mainz imprisoned and the Emperor held up in his room seeing no one. Of course the alliance was now a thing of the past and both the Imperial and Burgundian courts were on extreme edge.
When in April, the door to the Emperor’s room was broken open so that we might attend to His Majesty, we found him dead on the floor, a goblet of wine long since dried up next to him. The Burgundian diplomats wanted hearings on the Castilian Ambassadors role in this misfortune, and the electors wanted peace at all costs. Having no direct descendent, Emperor Joachim had no official heir, but the next in line was surely Luitpold and then his own son, Christian. Burgundy backed not Luitpold, but Christian but Castile and France put much gold into the elector’s hands, not wanting the Imperial throne so close to the house of Burgundy.
It instead went Francesco of Naxos and quickly both Brandenburg and Burgundy went to war. Desiring the throne for himself, Luitpold had graciously agreed to a large sum if the Castilians would come to his aid and they happily accepted if he would renounce his Burgundian son’s name and marry the Infanta to gain a Castilian heir. We presumed he would not go so far, but we thought wrong. In the middle of the night, young Christian (though already a boy of sixteen summers) was whisked away to an unknown location. There he would remain for the following three months. Luitpold mustered the forces, and marched off to war against Burgundy to gain his crown with the aid of Castile, and we advisors were secluded in the great castle in Berlin. Guarded heavily, we were still able to carry out our duties, but no great decision would be made without Luitpold’s consent.
Our forces had to gain full strength before they could fully contend with the formidable Burgundian armies, but invasions began within the month. Ansbach was easily put under siege after a brief skirmish, and our colonial forces had little trouble moving into Burgundy’s western American colonies. But Burgundy’s forces were also on the move and even after reinforcements arrived, we could not hold in Berg.
Even as the enemy gained ground in the north, however, our forces in the south were quickly descending upon Konstanz and Schwyz. Both the Emperors Army and Brandenburg Army were on the move, and small forces of Burgundy trying to penetrate to the interior were beat back with little trouble. It was the larger armies that gave us trouble. Even with Mainz, Konstanz and Ansbach under siege, Burgundy kept us on the move in the north. We would have great success in the colonies, but it would do us little good here at home.
In July, I was able to get passed the guards along with von Schwerin and we immediately moved outside the city and began making efforts to locate young Christian. Our sources finally pinned him in Wurttemburg and we made our way there with all speed. It was a simple matter to convince his guards that we had word from Luitpold to move him. And from there he was delivered to his great uncle Joachim von Hohenzollern. Had it not been for Luitpold’s adventure, it might have been the old man on the throne, but he did not desire it. He would fight for his Kingdom and his Emperor, but he was no Emperor himself. He was, however, a good tutor for the young boy and General Joachim promised to see him through the war. Young Christian would quickly see action as Joachim’s Army of Bohemia moved into Schwyz and saw battle in August.
The maneuver would have been a disaster from the start had not another piece of information been included to the equation. Luitpold himself perished just before we presented Joachim with the boy. At the Battle of Berg, he had been wounded. Festering for the next two months, he had succumbed. The Regency would continue, but now for Christian’s claim free and clear from Burgundy. It might have been enough to end the war had Burgundy simply accepted Christian as the rightful heir, but they wanted far too much access to the boy that we would not surrender to the likes of them. If anything, our puppet should be the Arch-Duke and not the other way around. We would be no plaything of that would be King.
Louis-Joseph III might have had visions grander than his abilities, but he did possess a keen military mind. Our forces in Friesland would not be able to hold out against his Generals, nor could Joachim and Christian hold against the Arch-Duke himself in Schwyz.
It was clear that we might be in for a long and deadly war, but thankfully Burgundy was still also at war with Castile and Great Britain, the later having been a conflict for many a year now. It would assist in keeping the coast from invasion as both kept Burgundy well blockaded, but on land, Louis-Joseph was the superior. A double attack, one in Berg and one in Konstanz in September of 1702, would have us retreating further, and by October, Treskaw began recruiting several more regiments.
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To be continued...
I like that.
