“Brandenburg,” he declared, pointing a finger at the map, “is a land that historically belongs to the Bohemian Crown. The Luxembourg dynasty simply traded Brandenburg to the House of Hohenzollern; it won’t be difficult to invalidate that transaction. We invalidated Sigismund as a king; we will invalidate his dealings, too. We shall take back what is ours. And if the Teutons fight back, we’ll drive our wagons there and tan their hides.”

“I see,” said Raczyński. But the expression on his face barely changed. Little Prokop saw it.

“Having Brandenburg,” he continued, “we shall set about dealing with the Order, the Teutonic Knights. We shall drive the damned Teutons from the Baltic. And then we’ll have the sea, won’t we?”

“What about Poland?” Wyszek asked coldly.

“Poland doesn’t care about the Baltic.” Prokop the Shaven joined in serenely. “That was apparent after Grunwald. It was apparent after the Treaty of Melno. It can be clearly seen from Jogaila’s current politics, or rather Witold’s, for Jogaila… Ha, I’m sorry to say, but that’s life, we’ll all grow old one day. And regarding Witold’s interests, they are in the east, not the north. So we shall take the Baltic, since… What is it you say, Scharley?”

“Res nullius cedit occupanti.”

“Of course.” Wyszek nodded. “So that’s one sea. And the other?”

“We’ll defeat the Turks and that’s the Black Sea,” said Little Prokop, shrugging. “Bohemia will be a maritime power and that’s that.”

“As you see, Brother Wyszek,” said Prokop the Shaven with a sneer, “we’re very useful allies. We share common ground with everybody and anyone who joins us profits and benefits. We’ll guarantee Jogaila peace from the Order, we’ll give Witold a free hand in the east—he can conquer and appropriate anything he wants there, even Moscow, Veliky Novgorod and the Principality of Ryazan. I think the Pope will also benefit when we eradicate the Teutonic Knights, who are now overly unbridled and haughty. We shall fulfil the prophecy of Saint Bridget, this time utterly and completely. And when we crack down on the Turks, the Holy Father will also be more pleased than alarmed, won’t he? What do you think?”

Wyszek Raczyński kept his thoughts to himself. “Am I to repeat that to Szafraniec?” he asked.