"This war began with the succession crisis in Stettin. The Emperor, considering that both your claims and those of the Duke of Pomerania were reasonable, and being preoccupied with various other matters, was unable to issue a timely ruling.
However, now, in order to achieve widespread peace within the Empire, the Emperor has made a ruling."
Bernhard offered a few excuses for the Emperor's irresponsible behavior before directly announcing the decision to the Elector.
Frederick's expression also became serious.
Although he knew very well that the Brandenburg Army could not gain the upper hand on the battlefield, and it was even less likely to gain more benefits in diplomacy, he also had his own bottom line: he absolutely could not excessively harm the interests of Brandenburg.
However, the thought of his rapidly deteriorating relationship with the Emperor over the past few years filled him with a sense of worry.
When the Emperor was preoccupied with other matters, those Electors and Princes who were unwilling to submit could still stir up trouble; once the Emperor's attention turned to the Empire, every single one of them would have to tread carefully.
If the Emperor's Army were to march from Bohemia, through Lusatia, it could directly threaten Berlin. This deterrent could no longer be selectively ignored as before, now that the Emperor was determined to intervene in the Pomerania War.
"The Emperor's decision is...:
Frederick inquired cautiously.
"According to ancient imperial common law and current inheritance laws, Erick II should inherit the Pomerania-Stettin territory. On this point, you must give both verbal and written acknowledgment."
As soon as Bernhard presented the first condition, Frederick closed his eyes in pain.
Whether this ruling was fair or not was no longer very important to him. The Emperor's decision undoubtedly declared his failure, and at the same time, a nearly unified and powerful Duchy of Pomerania had emerged north of Brandenburg.
From then on, Brandenburg's direction of expansion was almost completely blocked, and the Hohenzollern Family might never be able to leave this barren land.
"But as the suzerain of the Dukes of Pomerania, I should also have the right to inherit Stettin."
Frederick reopened his eyes, his voice weary, intending to make his final argument.
Bernhard shook his head and said, "But the citizens of Stettin and its other people have chosen Duke Erick, and he possesses sufficient power to protect his territory.
Of course, the Emperor is also willing to respect your rights. As long as you agree to dissolve the suzerainty between Brandenburg and Pomerania, Duke Erick must cede a portion of the territory in southern Stettin to you as compensation, and you will acquire the entire Uckermark territory."
This compensation was almost negligible for Frederick. His father and he, over two generations, had fully committed themselves to repeatedly defeating the Dukes of Pomerania, already bringing most of the Uckermark region, originally belonging to the Duchy of Pomerania, under their control.
The Pomeranian side only had three small fortresses left in this area; even if he acquired them, they would not bring any revenue.
Seeing Frederick still hesitating, Bernhard lowered his voice and added, "Your Excellency, the Elector, I was also attacked by those Wends on my way here.
Although they cannot gather into a large rebel army, their strength as bandits is still quite formidable.
I heard that you had cleared out the bandits within Brandenburg more than a decade ago, but now these bandits, rebels, and smugglers, who should have disappeared, are becoming rampant again.
Do you truly wish to continue this war?"
This series of words plunged Frederick into a long silence. The stable and prosperous Electorate of Brandenburg, which he had painstakingly built over more than twenty years, had been ruined by this war.
The national treasury was empty, the people were rebellious, and the army's morale was low.
Thinking of his father Frederick I's dying instructions to his three brothers, the pressure in Frederick's heart almost drove him mad.
He had been placed with high hopes by his father, inheriting the family's most important Brandenburg territory and the Elector's seat, yet in the end, due to his overly inflated ambition and mistaken foreign policy, he had made a complete mess of things.
He didn't know how many times, Tielie felt he was truly tired.
"I agree to these terms, and I hope you can make the Duke of Pomerania accept the Emperor's ruling as soon as possible."
Bernhard immediately relaxed his expression and confidently assured Frederick that he would soon end this war.
Facts proved that he did not deceive Frederick. After risking crossing the front lines to reach Stettin, Bernhard quickly met with the brothers Erick and Wartislaw.
The Emperor's ruling was even more favorable to Duke Erick than the Treaty of Soldin, which was signed by both parties a year ago and quickly overturned.
In that treaty, he had to acknowledge the Elector's suzerainty, but now the Emperor supported his independent status and granted him a stable seat in the Imperial Diet, while the only price he had to pay was to cede a small portion of territory at the southern tip of Stettin to the Elector.
It can be said that the Emperor's favoritism was already very obvious, and Erick II immediately entrusted Bernhard to convey his loyalty to the Emperor.
At the end of May 1467, the Elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Pomerania signed a new treaty in Stettin, witnessed by the Emperor's special envoy, redefining their borders and ending the state of war between the two states.
To ensure that peace would continue, Elector Frederick decided to betroth his second daughter, Marie, to Bogislaw, the only son of the Duke of Pomerania.
The Duke gladly agreed to the marriage, and the struggle between the two families, which had lasted for fifty years, finally seemed to come to an end.
This outcome greatly disappointed many Princes who wanted to watch the show; they still wanted to see what Austria would do if the Elector of Brandenburg defied the Emperor's decree and imperial law.
However, ordinary people dared not make such a gamble with the fate of their country, not even Elector Frederick, who was known as the "Iron Man," had such courage.
With the war having reached this point, neither side could defeat the other, and yet the war caused severe damage to the domestic economy and order.
They were not unwilling to have peace, but rather there were some forces within both sides who were doing everything possible to prevent the war from ending, hoping to gain more benefits from it.
The Emperor's belated ruling, on the other hand, resolved the predicament of both lords, satisfying their basic demands while also giving them an excuse to suppress domestic opposition.
However, it was clear to anyone with an discerning eye that the Elector of Brandenburg suffered a crushing defeat in this war.
Not only did he fail to capture Stettin, but he also lost his nominal suzerainty over the Duke of Pomerania, making the Duke of Pomerania once again a direct vassal of the Empire.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace Conference Hall.
Laszlo and his ministers were discussing the aftermath of the Stettin Succession War.
"Your Majesty, the Elector of Brandenburg's situation is even worse than you described. He looks like a distraught gambler, but fortunately, he still retains some sanity and did not choose to defy your decree."
Bernhard truthfully reported the Elector's situation to everyone.
"I didn't expect the Duke of Pomerania to be so powerful that even the Elector couldn't defeat him," Laszlo said with a relaxed tone. This matter had been resolved quite perfectly. "I thought that in the end, the Imperial Army would still be needed to settle all disputes."
"Being able to avoid escalating the war and achieving peace so easily is greatly beneficial to you and to Austria.
Our army has already demonstrated its strength through the wars in Mainz, Landshut, and Swabia.
If we too frequently deploy troops to intervene in imperial affairs and expand territory, it will undoubtedly arouse the vigilance and panic of the Princes.
Moreover, deploying the army consumes a large amount of supplies and money, and the risks in war cannot be ignored.
If we can rely on maintaining this large army, and merely use its prestige to force opponents to submit, this will greatly increase your prestige and at the same time not cause resentment among the Princes."
Eyczing saw these matters very clearly.
As an experienced diplomat, he knew very well that a powerful army played a role not only in wartime but also in peacetime.
"That's right, war can only be the ultimate means of solving problems," Laszlo nodded in affirmation. "Since basic peace has been achieved within the Empire, we should also begin collecting public taxes. The Princes of the Empire can finally bear their share of obligations."
Previously, the Princes of the Empire enjoyed the protection of him, the Emperor, without any psychological burden, yet they always thought of colluding with foreign enemies to stab him in the back.
After punishing some rebellious Electors, Princes, and Swiss, the imperial political scene could be said to have been thoroughly cleansed.
Those Princes who previously disregarded him, the Emperor, or who feared his power and attempted to oppose him, have now all changed their minds.
Some of them have truly become submissive, but many others have merely hidden their dangerous thoughts.
After all, for over two hundred years since the Great Interregnum, these Princes had grown accustomed to a life without restraint.
Although this disordered state of the Empire brought extremely painful memories, the Princes still only cared about their own interests.
What Laszlo had to do was to correct this selfish way of thinking and bring the hearts of the Princes back into the great family of the Empire.
"But Your Majesty, this tax will be closely monitored by the Electors and Princes, and it seems it cannot be used at will."
When the topic of money came up, Fugger immediately became interested and promptly raised his concerns to the Emperor.
"No need to worry," Laszlo waved his hand and said with a smile, "The initial purpose of this money was to support the Crusade. We can use this to divert a portion of the tax as additional military funds.
The remaining taxes are mainly responsible for maintaining the operation of the government. Leaving aside the Imperial Diet for now, the Imperial Privy Council has not yet been established. What department truly needs money to maintain it?"
"The Imperial Court of Justice."
Fugger immediately understood the Emperor's meaning.
Previously, the Imperial Court of Justice was supported by the Austrian treasury and served as Austria's supreme court.
Its branch in the Swabian free city of Rottweil now served as the supreme court of the Swabian Administrative Region, and its judges were still appointed by the Archduke of Austria.
That branch was maintained by the tax revenue of the Swabian Administrative Region, which to some extent reduced the financial expenditure of the Outer Austria state.
Now that the Court of Justice in Vienna was supported by imperial finances, the Austrian treasury had another sum of money that could be freely allocated, and the Emperor still firmly held the highest judicial authority of the Empire.
"Your Majesty, we should immediately levy taxes on the entire Empire!"
Everyone smiled. This Imperial Conference successfully achieved the first step of the Emperor's grand vision – transforming the Empire into Austria's money bag and source of troops.
The former would soon yield results, while the latter remained to be seen.
In the "Imperial Estates Register," all imperial estates were allocated a tax and troop quota commensurate with their strength.
According to the quotas in the register, if Laszlo gave the order, the Empire could even raise an army of over sixty thousand men for war.
However, everyone knew that achieving this level was almost impossible, unless the Ottomans once again rose and marched all the way to the gates of Vienna.
Of course, it was more likely that the Emperor would lead a large army to besiege Constantinople and reclaim this ancient capital of the Roman Empire.
"Marshal Adolf, what is the situation in the Balkans?"
With almost no external interference, the situation in the Empire was very favorable for Laszlo.
Recent news from the Kingdom of France indicated that the relationship between Louis XI and the League of Public Weal had reached a breaking point, with war imminent.
Under these circumstances, Laszlo was no longer keen on continuing to drag things out with the Venetians; he had already spent too much time on this island nation.
"The Bulgarian-Serbian Army has begun to besiege Athens. The Venetian strongholds in northern Greece have almost all been eliminated, with only two heavily defended ports under continuous siege by the Despot of Epirus.
In Bulgaria, the rebels have engaged in several battles with the Hungarian-Bulgarian Army. Due to the complex terrain of the Tarnovo region, our army failed to defeat and annihilate the main rebel force, and both sides are currently in a standoff."
Laszlo frowned upon hearing this, feeling a little dissatisfied.
The slow advance of the front in Greece was one thing, but the Bulgarian rebellion also remained unresolved, which was not the news he had hoped for.
But then again, apart from the Teutonic Order, a small number of Bulgarian and Serbian troops, and the Timisoara Legion from Hungary, most of the armies fighting on the front lines were conscripted troops with poor combat effectiveness.
They were less fighting a war and more plundering alongside the main army, looting wherever they went.
Laszlo could not expect such an army to have enough combat will to capture cities and fortresses, or quickly seize important strongholds that the Venetians had operated for decades or even centuries.
As for Bulgaria, he had been to Great Tarnovo. The city itself was built in a mountain hollow, with treacherous terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The rebels were mostly mountain dwellers from that vicinity, and they were fighting the anti-rebellion army back and forth, relying on the advantageous terrain.
"The armies of the vassal states are mostly weak. If you want to accelerate the war, you can mobilize more elite troops to the battlefield."
The old marshal offered this suggestion.
Reinforcements? Laszlo shook his head, rejecting the proposal.
His army still held an advantage on the Balkan battlefield. Sending more troops for a distant expedition at this time would only increase losses and military expenses.
Moreover, war was about to break out in France, and he had to make plans for it. The armies he could still mobilize at any time were his biggest trump card.
"Let's continue to wait. Time is on our side."
Laszlo concluded with this confident assertion.
After quelling the war in Pomerania, Emperor Laszlo quickly issued an edict ordering the local courts of each Imperial District to fully handle any disputes concerning land, property, and blood feuds.
Cases that were too controversial or widely involved, and which the district courts could not handle, needed to be submitted to the Imperial Court of Justice for trial.
In just a few weeks, the number of cases the Imperial Court of Justice had to handle more than tripled, causing High Justice Peter von Schaumberg to complain to Emperor Laszlo multiple times about the matter.
Fortunately, the originally planned jury of judges was also successfully formed with the active cooperation of the Electors and began to relieve pressure on the High Justice.
At the same time, the newly established Imperial financial institutions also began to act, sending special commissioners to each district to urge the collection of public donations and taxes.
This was not a simple process; apart from the Swabia and Bavaria districts, where the Emperor's control was stronger, tax collection in the remaining districts progressed extremely slowly.
Especially in the distant Westphalia and Lower Saxony districts, the Electors and free cities there were most resistant to public donations and taxes. According to the golden bull issued by Charles IV, the Electors had great autonomy, and whether the Emperor could conscript troops and levy taxes in the Empire depended on their attitudes.
However, Emperor Laszlo's power, which far exceeded the Electors' imagination, reversed this situation.
The Emperor levied taxes on them on the condition of protecting their autonomous status and security, which was essentially collecting protection fees.
If anyone dared not pay, no one knew what would happen next.
No one doubted whether the Emperor had the ability to protect the entire Empire; his allies and vassals' influence spanned across Central Europe.
However, for some less affluent Electors, they were very concerned that a powerful Imperial center would impose unbearable taxes on them through the newly established public donation and tax system.
Even the 120,000 florins collected this time, when distributed among each Elector, was not actually a large amount, yet many were still reluctant to part with this money.
In the relatively wealthy Westphalia district, near the Netherlands, each count had to pay 300 florins, while free cities had to pay 350.
This corresponded to the Imperial conscription quota of 10 cavalry and 45 infantry for a count, and 10 cavalry and 55 infantry for a free city.
For an ordinary count, this was not a heavy burden, but if he was also in debt due to his extravagance or some other reasons, this tax seemed a bit too heavy.
They might go to merchants for loans, but it was more likely that they would continuously increase taxes on their territories.
However, the limit of this was hard to grasp; one misstep could lead to peasant uprisings and even more chain reactions. Although many Electors outwardly accepted the public donation and tax resolution, the difficulties encountered in actual implementation still gave Emperor Laszlo a headache.
These Electors' classic 'I agree' did not equate to 'I will pay,' and Emperor Laszlo had encountered this more than once.
This time, however, Emperor Laszlo did not intend to haggle with them any further.
In a subsequent supplementary edict, he set the deadline for this year's public donation and tax collection as early November, which was five months later.
This decision actually showed consideration for those Imperial ranks facing genuine economic difficulties. A large portion of them were not unable to pay this tax; rather, for certain psychological reasons, they wanted to constantly delay the payment deadline or plead for tax exemption privileges. For this, Emperor Laszlo directly set the deadline after the autumn harvest, after which, if they still refused to pay, he would not be so polite.
Fortunately, the difficulties currently faced were all surmountable, far better than the disastrous public donation and tax reform in the Empire's history.
In that reform, the Swiss Confederation was the first to openly resist the collection of public donations and taxes. For this, Switzerland went to war with Austria and defeated the Emperor, forcing the Imperial Diet to agree to the Swiss Confederation's exemption from Imperial legislation. That war was later widely considered the founding war of Switzerland and the beginning of Switzerland's separation from the Empire.
Five years after the public donation and tax collection began, due to joint resistance from multiple districts, the reform was ultimately completely abolished.
However, Emperor Laszlo's reform had already reached a height that the failed Imperial tax reform could not achieve from the very beginning. Although the Electors still tried to defend their rights with the golden bull, their stance was not as firm as imagined.
The forces that should have been the biggest troublemakers in the Empire, such as Palatinate, Mainz, Landshut, the Swiss Confederation, and Brandenburg, had almost all suffered varying degrees of strike from the Emperor in the past few years.
Palatinate lost half of its territory, Mainz was completely dependent on the Emperor, Landshut and Switzerland were directly partitioned, and the Elector of Brandenburg also had a large amount of manpower and financial resources consumed by the Duke of Pomerania, secretly supported by the Emperor.
Looking around, the Electors who once had the ability to challenge the Emperor's authority had either fled or knelt, and the Margrave of Ansbach and the Elector of Saxony, on whom the Electors had placed high hopes, appeared completely as 'loyal Imperial subjects' and were unwilling to directly confront the Emperor.
Since no one took the lead, the forces resisting the Emperor naturally could not be organized. Small fry like the Archbishop of Cologne and the Duke of Brunswick could not cause any trouble for the Emperor.
It could even be said that as long as Emperor Laszlo dared to nod, Charles the Bold of Burgundy would immediately lead his army into Westphalia and do as he pleased.
As the Empire was directly surrounded on three sides by the Emperor and his allies' territories, this meant that openly opposing the Emperor and Imperial reforms could genuinely lead to mortal danger.
Therefore, despite their many worries and dissatisfactions, the Electors could only reluctantly collect taxes and hand them over to the Imperial government's tax officials.
After arranging the collection of public donations and taxes in the nine districts within the Empire, Emperor Laszlo finally had the opportunity to turn his attention to the most special district within the Empire—the Burgundy District.
The jurisdiction of this district was not the entire Duchy of Burgundy, but rather the Netherlands region under the control of the Duke of Burgundy, which happened to be the wealthiest region in the Empire.
Since the Duke of Burgundy's envoy at the Nuremberg Imperial Conference did not express any views on the 'Imperial Public Donation and Tax Regulations,' Emperor Laszlo temporarily shelved the issue of public donations and taxes in the Netherlands.
After handling the war in Pomerania, Emperor Laszlo quickly wrote a letter and sent it to Burgundy, inviting the Duke to discuss the matter of the Netherlands paying Imperial taxes.
However, the reply to this letter was very slow. It was not until more than a month after the letter was sent that Emperor Laszlo met Anthony of Burgundy, who had rushed back from Brussels.
In the Imperial Palace study, Emperor Laszlo saw the melancholic Anthony.
This diplomatic ambassador to Burgundy, who was always so dashing, did not wear his usual brightly colored magnificent clothes today, but instead changed into a simple black outfit.
Coincidentally, Emperor Laszlo was also dressed similarly.
"Anthony, what happened in Burgundy?"
Emperor Laszlo did not directly address the issue of Imperial taxes in the Netherlands but first inquired about the situation of his ally with concern.
"Your Majesty, my father... passed away. My brother Charles has now succeeded as Duke of Burgundy."
Emperor Laszlo's expression changed, then showed a hint of melancholy.
Philip the Good had also died. He was undoubtedly an outstanding statesman, and his achievements in diplomacy and other areas were the highest among all previous Dukes of Burgundy.
Was he a good ally? Emperor Laszlo could not give an answer to this.
The astute Philip was meticulous in his calculations in everything; even as his ally, Emperor Laszlo could not give him too much trust.
But at the same time, Philip was also a stable ally. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Burgundy under his rule was thriving, its national power growing day by day, clearly poised to rise as the third great power between France and Austria.
Even with King Louis XI's constant pressure, and his son Charles being notoriously reckless and wasteful, Philip still managed Burgundy and the Netherlands meticulously.
The old Duke of Burgundy could now finally enjoy eternal peace—it was unknown whether he, who sold Joan of Arc to the English, would go to heaven or hell.
In short, Emperor Laszlo's greatest ally had now become the historically famous Charles the Bold. Charles's style was completely opposite to his father's; he was the biggest destabilizing factor in all of Europe.
His constantly expanding desire for conquest, along with his extreme self-confidence in his own and his army's valor, often led Charles to make decisions that could be described as 'foolish.'
In the history Emperor Laszlo was familiar with, it was precisely such military adventures, lasting for ten years and almost uninterrupted, that ultimately earned Charles another, more famous nickname—the Skull-splitter.
Of course, it was unlikely that Charles's head would be crushed by the Swiss now, but his personality was very likely to lead to similar dangers continuously occurring.
In the short term, Emperor Laszlo did not particularly wish for problems to arise in Burgundy, otherwise a major war affecting all of Europe could easily break out.
However, Charles himself would not consider Emperor Laszlo's thoughts. He could now finally act freely without his father's constraints, doing whatever he wanted, which was truly worrying.
"My condolences, Anthony. I am sorry to recall you from Burgundy at such a time, but you should also be aware that the situation on the continent is becoming tense again, and we must prepare early."
Emperor Laszlo could only offer Anthony some comfort, then steered the conversation in a less sorrowful direction.
"Even if Your Majesty's letter had not reached Burgundy, I would have returned to Austria.
Duke Charles already had some matters he wished to discuss with Your Majesty, and this opportunity is perfect to resolve both parties' demands at once."
Anthony's words piqued Emperor Laszlo's interest. Charles had just inherited the dukedom and immediately sent someone to discuss matters with him; this certainly wasn't a trivial affair.
"What are Charles's thoughts?"
"Do you still remember Burgundy's previous request to hire the Imperial Army?"
"Of course. Didn't I arrange for many demobilized Imperial mercenaries to serve in Burgundy?"
Emperor Laszlo was still somewhat concerned about the formation of Burgundy's new army. By now, the Burgundy army should have developed a certain level of combat effectiveness.
"Yes, Duke Charles used those soldiers as a foundation to build a new type of army almost entirely composed of mercenaries.
After comparing mercenaries from various countries, the Duke believes that, apart from Swiss mercenaries, all other mercenaries are not as excellent as those from Austria.
Recently, King Louis XI has begun to gather troops, and the Duke of Brittany and the Duke of Berry are also preparing for war. We expect the next war is very likely to break out within the next two months.
Therefore, the Duke hopes to further expand Burgundy's military strength in order to contend with the King of France in the upcoming war."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Laszlo nodded with satisfaction. Charles's judgment was quite good. English and Italian mercenaries were slightly inferior in combat effectiveness to Imperial mercenaries, and while Swiss mercenaries were of high quality, they were also truly expensive.
During wartime, the annual salary of an ordinary Swiss mercenary was 54 florins, while an Imperial mercenary cost 48 florins.
Saving 6 florins per person per year meant that an army of 10,000 men could save 60,000 florins a year, and the combat capabilities of the two had been proven in actual combat, with no significant difference.
Therefore, considering cost-effectiveness and the enmity between Burgundians and Swiss, Charles ultimately chose to borrow another army from Emperor Laszlo.
"Since it is to deal with the impending war, I can provide an expeditionary mercenary army. How about dispatching the Independent Army to Burgundy to fight for Charles?"
Emperor Laszlo did not intend to easily mobilize troops from Hungary and other places. Currently, the only unit in Austria still in a state of readiness was the Independent Army.
As the face of the Austrian army, sending this army to support Burgundy was also a good choice.
"Your Majesty, that will be sufficient."
Anthony breathed a sigh of relief. All the carefully prepared rhetoric he had intended to use to persuade the Emperor had not been needed, but this was even better.
"Once this army enters Burgundy, the Duke will bear all expenses and logistical supplies for this army, but the replenishment of troops will still be the responsibility of Austria.
In return, the Duke will pay you 20,000 florins annually as remuneration. This money will also serve as the public donation and tax submitted by the Burgundy District to the Empire—but it will be entirely at your disposal."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Laszlo felt a surge of displeasure.
Who said this Charles was a brute? This sly and cunning trickery wasn't played quite well, was it?
Exchanging the Imperial public donation and tax from the Netherlands for borrowed troops both silenced Emperor Laszlo's demands for money and allowed Burgundy to obtain more military aid from Austria.
On the other hand, Charles could even use the pretext of collecting public donations and taxes to amass great wealth in the Netherlands; who knew how much he would collect? In any case, only 20,000 would ultimately be presented.
Fortunately, this money was not part of the Imperial agreement. Although it bore the name of public donation and tax, it was actually compensation for leasing the Austrian army. Emperor Laszlo could use this to bypass the interference of the Electors and other Electors and directly use this extra income.
"Alright, I agree to Charles's terms. Anthony, honestly tell me, whose idea was this?"
Emperor Laszlo asked with some reluctance. He didn't believe that brute Charles could come up with such a plan.
"It was my father's dying wish."
Anthony's expression was downcast, as if recalling his deceased father again.
Emperor Laszlo remained silent. That old fox was still scheming against him, the Emperor, even at the end of his life, almost making him laugh out of exasperation.
However, this outcome was something Emperor Laszlo could accept. He gained the 'name' of the Burgundy District's allegiance to Imperial rule, while Charles gained the 'substance' of Austrian military aid. The common goal of both parties was to suppress the Kingdom of France, so how could this not be a win-win situation?