industrial lord

Chapter 526 Spring is here
A circle with a diameter of one meter was drawn on the ice. Frederick was dressed the same as Illidan, holding his own sword, and focusing all his attention on the ear.

There was a sound of breaking wind all around, and the battle axe, mace and six darts attacked from three directions at the same time, with the speed controlled very well, and would hit Frederick at the same time.

Frederick first knocked away the dart with the tip of his sword, then turned around and hit the nail of the mace with the end of the hilt, knocking the mace away and using the force of his sword to chop the battle axe offside.

There was a sudden cheering from the side. The girls watching were not really cheering for Frederick, but to interfere with his hearing.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Heli sneaked silently near Frederick.

But before she could launch a sneak attack, Frederick suddenly reached out and pulled her over, holding her tightly in one hand and holding the sword with the other hand to block the attacks of the other two.

There was another burst of laughter around.

It was time for dinner soon after. Today's training was over and wolf meat was stewed in the pot again.

Every day a hunting team would come back from hunting. Now there was limited prey in the forest, only grouse, angora rabbits, foxes and wolves.

Catch rabbits or grouse in traps and then bleed them to make larger traps. The smell of blood will quickly attract wolves.

"Hmm..." Frederick looked at the extra dish in the bowl in silence for a long time and continued eating.

It seemed like the girls didn't eat kidneys, so they were all eaten by him.

Frederick recently felt that the atmosphere in the camp was a bit weird. Everyone seemed to be hiding something from him, and Catherine also whispered to them from time to time.

As the days passed, everyone practiced real swords and guns every day, and injuries were inevitable.

Fortunately, healing techniques are their compulsory course. After cleaning the wounds, they can receive treatment and rest for half a day before starting a new round of training.

Entering February, Frederick suddenly realized that he seemed to have become the final boss of the level, and everyone was exercising to improve themselves.

It was the end of March, the temperature rose to around minus ten degrees Celsius, and it was time to return.

If the snow melts later, the roads will become muddy and difficult to walk on.

The boat that came to pick them up waited on the shore for two days. After digging out the whale bones from the ground, the group returned to Nidaros by boat.

On the ship, Frederick asked Catherine in surprise: "Are you not going back?"

Catherine replied: "I want to get some information here. I don't know what the situation is at home."

Frederick said: "If you need help, you can find the Dawn Chamber of Commerce."

Catherine hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Can you lend me some money? I want to recruit a guard here to escort me back."

Frederick looked at the petrels flying over the sea and said after a long while, "I don't think it's as simple as the escort team."

Catherine's temperament suddenly changed, a change she had never experienced this winter. She was like a hungry bear waking up from hibernation, scanning everything around her with fierce eyes, looking for food to eat.

"I want to get what I deserve." There was no emotion in her words. "What he can't do, I will do."

Frederick turned his head and looked at her, and said, "In that case, the next negotiation will not involve personal feelings."

During these days, Catherine never said anything about the politics of the Principality of Yelgarod, but just talked about the local customs and people.

Frederick didn't care. The place was too far away and he had his own established development plans, so he couldn't take care of it.

Now Catherine wants to talk about political matters, but Frederick can only give limited support. If it exceeds his ability and uses personal feelings as a bargaining chip, it will be difficult to deal with.

Catherine immediately replied, "Okay!" "I need an army that obeys my orders. I will go back and get rid of that idiot and take back the territory that once belonged to me."

Frederick asked her, "What can I get?"

The essence of diplomatic politics is doing business. If Catherine wants to get something, she must pay a price.

"Everything you want!" Catherine painted a big picture, "Timber, fur, minerals, food, and people."

"You want to mine in the territory of the woman who captured me. Your people are not adapted to the climate there, but my people are fine."

Frederick was not very enthusiastic about these big pies. For the time being, he could get them through trade without paying more.

The Principality of Wessen has been committed to increasing its sources of resources and has achieved good results. What it needs more now is a market to sell its products.

Catherine didn't understand all this, but she knew that Frederick was not interested in it, and it was obvious that the price offered was not enough.

"Then the Principality of Yelgarod and the Principality of Wessen signed a treaty similar to the Treaty of the Elbe?"

Catherine tentatively offered a condition.

Frederick did not answer directly, but said: "I don't recommend you to recruit soldiers here. I think you can go back to your parents' home and ask for help."

"You can recruit a group of Black Forest mercenaries there. Their weapons, tactics, and discipline are all top-notch."

"Although the mercenaries here are powerful, they are all pagans and have a bad influence."

Catherine agreed immediately.

Her hometown is just east of the Elbe River, within Frederick's sphere of influence, making many things convenient for her.

Frederick was thinking about one thing at this time.

When I played "Mount & Blade" in my previous life, there were many missions to restore the country. In reality, there were many coups supported by major powers. There was not much benefit from winning in the game, but the benefits in reality were huge.

Helping Dragases to recover Constantinople is an example. Using the Galada region east of Constantinople as a springboard, the Principality of Wessen began to gain some influence along the coast of the Dark Sea.

The Principality of Yelgarod has a port at the eastern end of the North Sea. If they could establish a foothold there, or even a naval base, the benefits would be considerable.

The expansion of agricultural society mainly involves acquiring land, with the output of the land as income.

The expansion of industrial society is a constant search for sources of raw materials and markets for commodities in order to obtain high profits.

Therefore, the landowners were unaware of Frederick’s commercial intrusion and thought that he was a good friend because he did not want the land.

At the same time, Frederick's rise had not been long. Others did not have industry, and the landowners still took the sale of raw materials and the purchase of finished products for granted, and had not yet fully realized the profits brought by industry.

So he has to seize the time and occupy as much market share as possible before others react.

Moreover, the political structure of industrialized society is different from that of traditional agricultural feudal society. People will demand more power, but the power pie is only so big. If the people have more, the nobles will have less.

Frederick himself didn't care, and there were not many old nobles under his command, so the political atmosphere within the Duchy of Wessen was relatively relaxed.

But it’s different in other places. The artificially drawn class gap has led to a huge disparity in status between people on both sides, and the gap is even greater than that between humans and slimes.

While Frederick was at sea, the first spark ignited a powder keg.

(End of this chapter)