industrial lord

Chapter 596 New Land
The core of today's aristocratic values ​​is honor. Honor is what the nobles value most. They can risk their lives in a duel or battle to defend their honor.

However, this kind of honor is only responsible to oneself and one's feudal lord, which is very narrow.

Frederick was trying to use this opportunity of developing the South to instill a sense of national honor in this young generation.

"Our country is now facing enormous challenges and potential threats."

Frederick spoke to Waldemar von Pistor.

He asked Waldemar to shift his focus from his own small piece of land to the entire Rhine Alliance and the wider land.

The Rhine Confederation is currently facing the danger of war on three sides.

To the east, the Piast Kingdom once invaded westwards but was beaten back at the Elbe River.

They have been plundering eastwards and accumulating strength over the years, and there is no guarantee that they will set their sights on the Rhine Alliance again.

The north was originally thought to be safe, but this year the Kingdom of Sverria suddenly crossed the sea and invaded the south.

Although their current declared target is only the Kingdom of Danma, who can guarantee that after swallowing up the Kingdom of Danma, they will not ignore the more prosperous Rhine Alliance in the south.

Although the Kingdom of Gaul in the west no longer seemed to be an enemy of the Rhine Alliance and the two royal families were married, the marriage did not play such a big role in the face of national interests.

Now the Kingdom of Gaul is involved in the civil war of the Kingdom of Tarragona. Last year's war did not result in a decisive victory. This year's war has just begun, but the prospects are not good.

Regardless of whether the Kingdom of Gaul wins or not, the next target must be the Rhine Alliance.

The Rhine Confederation now has only a few reliable allies. The Helvetic Federation is hiding in the mountains and playing by itself. The Osmaga Empire is focusing on internal struggles and efforts to the east. The East Plan Empire is a bit far away. The Kingdom of Sardinia has no intention of invading the Rhine Confederation because of the White Mountains between them, and the Kingdom of Kush has even less intention.

If the Rhine Confederation goes to war with enemies in the east, north, and west, it cannot expect its allies to contribute much and can only rely on itself.

Especially in the Kingdom of Kush, the current political situation is unstable. Any changes will affect the food security of the Rhine Alliance.

The most important thing in war is food. When the war breaks out, the southern region far away from the battlefield becomes the granary of the Rhine Alliance and a solid rear base.

As long as the South is managed well, the Rhine Confederation may suffer setbacks but will never fail.

Frederick used a trick of speech and did not mention the king at all, only talking about the country.

Waldemar did not notice this, for at the moment he was in a state of unprecedented excitement.

He was the grandson of Count Pisto, the Minister of War. Although he was the second son and had no right of inheritance, military families were prone to death, so he received a good education as a backup for the heir.

However, his education was directed in a different direction, focusing on the art of magic, and his original plan was to join the Royal Corps of Mages.

Waldemar often saw his grandfather, father and elder brother directing state affairs, and was quite envious. So he did not join the Royal Mage Corps, but went to the Duchy of Wessen to join the army under an assumed name, hoping to become a general.

However, there were too many evildoers in the military academy in recent years. He repeated a year but still failed to reach the passing line based on the number of graduates. He was too embarrassed to return to the company as a non-commissioned officer, so he chose to retire.

After retiring from the army, Waldemar changed his name and said that he had been traveling around in the past few years and heard about the Southern Fruit Company, so he invested and joined.

He originally thought that he would do business in the south and live a wealthy life.

However, Frederick's words today rekindled his passion.

Waldemar took a sip of the cold sweet tea, calmed himself, and asked Frederick, "Do you mean that these areas in the south will be built as new territory in the future?"

According to his understanding, what is the difference between building the South into the rear base of the Rhine Alliance and expanding territory?
For the nobles of this era, what other achievements could be compared to expanding territory? Frederick nodded and said seriously: "It is actually true, but it cannot be shown."

Waldemar nodded and said, "I understand."

"The political situation here is very complicated. If we rashly declare it a new territory, it will lead to war."

"We can use the United Fruit Company name, with two brands inside and outside, but actually one team, to govern the land in the South."

Frederick nodded.

Waldemar asked a question: "So who do these new territories belong to, you or His Highness Rudolf?"

This is a question of principle.

Waldemar still equated the country with the royal family. If the land was considered the country's, it belonged to the king, and if it was considered the Duchy of Wessen, it belonged to Frederick.

Because the shareholders of the United Fruit Company were not only from the nobles of the Rhine Alliance, but also the Osmaga Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Church of Light, and the Church of Flame, the ownership of the land involved political relations with all parties.

Frederick replied: "It's the shareholders'."

He did not expect to change Waldemar's mind all at once; this work needed to be done step by step and could not be rushed.

Waldemar thought about it and decided that this was the best way to avoid political trouble.

Frederick continued: "The nobles of the Rhine Confederation own the vast majority of the United Fruit Company's stock, but the other shareholders cannot be ignored."

"We currently need to put aside the dispute over the ownership of the land, calculate the income from all the land as a whole, and then distribute dividends to shareholders."

Waldemar nodded and said, "I understand."

Compared with land ownership, all parties currently value investment returns more.

The people who are actually doing the work in the United Fruit Company are from the Rhine Alliance, and most of them are descendants like Waldemar who have no family inheritance rights.

It can be said that the Rhine Confederation was the actual controller of those lands in the south.

Between equity dividends and land control, in the eyes of landlords, the latter is more important.

Frederick looked directly into Waldemar's eyes and said solemnly, "I suggest to Maria that you be appointed as the company's vice president to preside over the company's daily work."

Waldemar was stunned for a while. Everyone knew that Maria couldn't stay in the south forever, and there must be someone to take charge of the daily work, but he didn't expect it would be him.

Frederick continued, "This position is very stressful. The short-term goal is to build the experimental zone well. The medium-term goal is to sign a monopoly trade agreement with the countries of each shareholder to prohibit others from trading with the area we develop. The long-term goal is to make a profit."

"You have lived in the Principality of Wessen for a period of time and understand my construction policy. I hope you can use this as a blueprint and build the South just like you build your own home."

"At the same time, an armed force needs to be established to protect these lands."

Frederick had made a decision in his mind about the location of the land in the south, and this required slow and steady progress, without haste.

Waldemar immediately wrote down Frederick's instructions and promised to give a detailed plan in three days.

(End of this chapter)