The next few years were similarly unsuccessful with regards to his plans. Eventually, he tried to bypass the opposition in the Sejm with secret alliances, dealings, and intrigues, but did not prove successful. Those plans included schemes such as supporting the Holy Roman Emperor's raid on Inflanty in 1639, which he hoped would lead to a war; an attempted alliance with Spain against France in 1640–1641, and in 1641–1643, with Denmark against Sweden. On the international scene, he attempted to mediate between various religious factions of Christianity, using the tolerant image of the Commonwealth to portray himself as the neutral mediator. He organized a conference in Toruń (Thorn) that begun on 28 January 1645, but it failed to reach any meaningful conclusions.