On this day, 873 years ago, March 4, 1152 (January 26, 1152, the 1152 lunar calendar), Frederick "Red Beard" was elected king. During World War II, Hitler named his plan to invade the Soviet Union "Project Red Beard". Why was he named it after "Red Beard"? Frederick was the second son of Frederick, Duke of Swabian, of the Hohenstaufen family. In 1152, his uncle, German King Conrad III, died. The 29-year-old Frederick, as Duke of Swabian, was elected King of Germany on March 4 of that year and was known as Frederick I. He is tall, has a wonderful appearance, and has a red beard. Therefore, people at that time gave him the nickname "Frederick with the Red Beard". Frederick was well educated, talented and ambitious since childhood, and considered himself the successor of the Roman emperor. In 1153, a coup d'état occurred in Rome. Merchants, craftsmen and little knights represented by Arnold seized urban power from the Pope and established the Roman Republic. The Pope wrote to Frederick, asking Germany to march into Rome and attack Arnold, and promising to crown Frederick after the matter was completed and allow him to seize power in the Roman Empire. This was exactly what Frederick wanted. Frederick immediately entered Rome, captured and hanged Arnold. In this way, the Pope crowned him, and Frederick also sat on the throne of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The coronation of the Pope did not mean that Frederick had truly conquered Italy. In order to realize his ambition to rule Italy, he launched six armed invasions. Who knew that what awaited him was failure after failure. Among them, the fourth expedition to Italy in 1166 was attacked head-on by the Italian people. In addition, the German army was infected with the epidemic. It was really a heavy casualty. Frederick himself had to flee home alone. Successive defeats did not dispel Frederick's expansionist ambitions. In 1189, at the age of 65, he participated in the Third Crusade and carried out a cruel plunder of Byzantium. While heading east to the Selef River, the expansionist fell into the water and drowned. Frederick "Red Beard" finally died.