industrial lord

Chapter 654: Don’t want to get your money back?

During this period, the reputation of a family in Boheim depended on whether someone in the family received an invitation to Miss Eltal's tea party.

The person holding the invitation can bring one more person in addition to attending the event themselves.

For a time, spies from all over the country racked their brains to get such a spot.

Frederick and Maria saw it all, but instead of stopping it, they indulged it.

Grand Duke Wesson might attend the tea party that day, and the price of a spot to attend has been raised to ten gold coins, but there is still no demand.

"This James is from the Kingdom of Anglia and is a wool seller."

A local minor noble took fifteen gold coins and brought a middle-aged man with a resolute face.

Maria smiled slightly and said to James, "I heard Mrs. Meyer mention the city of Londinium in your country. It is a wonderful place."

James bowed to Maria and said, "On behalf of all the citizens of Londinium, I welcome a beautiful lady like Miss Eltal to visit us."

Maria asked curiously, "I heard that a kind of roast beef wrapped in bread is popular in Londinium City recently?"

James replied: "Yes, Meyer steak is brought by Mr. Meyer from the Kingdom of Gaul, and my family and I love it."

After chatting for a while about the food of the Kingdom of Anglan, the two of them ran out of things to say, so James began to inquire about the news.

He asked Maria, "I wonder if Miss Eltal's trip was made more enjoyable by her experience in Boheim?"

Maria sighed and said, "I heard that this land was once so beautiful and rich, but now all I see is the devastation and poverty brought by war."

Several local young people around echoed the sentiment.

The war was still going on when they were born, and peace existed more in the memories of the elderly. In the eyes of many people, the end of the war in recent years was just a break between two killings, like a dream, and no one knew when the dream would wake up.

James said: "Yes, war has brought too much destruction to the world."

He was just about to ask Maria if she was not afraid of war coming again since she had invested so much in Bohemia, and whether Wessen's army would enter Bohemia to protect the investment, but there was no chance.

Maria went on to say: “History tells us that only through peaceful development and win-win cooperation can the world achieve long-term stability and universal prosperity.”

"Bullying, plundering and other hegemonic behaviors have caused serious harm to peace, caused countless human tragedies and destroyed countless happy lives."

"The joint efforts of all parties to establish a partnership of mutual trust, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win results is the basis for achieving peace and staying away from war."

"The Duchy of Wessen is a peace-loving country. We have never initiated a war so far."

"We advocate win-win cooperation. Many years ago, we and our brothers in the Helvetic Federation made a thorough reconciliation on the mutual harm caused by the war. The establishment of the Elbe Pact Organization eliminated the hostility between the members of the organization. We can help each other and move forward hand in hand on the road of development."

"This land was once so beautiful and rich. The current decline is only temporary. I believe that laughter and joy will soon return to everyone."

There was a burst of applause in the tea room.

Years of war had caused serious damage to culture and education. Although the nobles in the teahouse were dressed elegantly, there was probably not a single one of them who could write a 500-word letter.

In their view, a long speech like Maria's, which is progressive, interconnected, and uses rigorous wording, is simply a height that they will never be able to achieve in their lifetime.

At this time, someone asked in surprise: "The Duchy of Wessen has never initiated a war?"

They may not be well educated, but they are experts in military research and have studied all of Wesson’s army’s battle examples in depth.

In these battles, it was almost always the Wesson army that took the initiative to attack, and there was never any passive defense.

However, they only studied war examples, and no one studied why the wars started, so people thought that these wars were initiated by the Principality of Wessen.

The main reason is that Wesson's army can gain huge land and other benefits every time they win. In their view, this can only be achieved by actively initiating a war. No one can gain more land by just being beaten.

Maria did not answer, but looked at James. This question would be more credible if answered by a foreigner.

James thought about it, nodded and said, "Indeed, every time the Wesson Army fights, they either passively respond to the battle or seek help from their allies."

He then explained the causes of each war that Wesson's army had experienced.

Everyone immediately started talking about it. They didn't expect it to be like this.

Maria looked at James with satisfaction. This answer saved her a lot of words, especially the part about "allies seeking help".

Recently, some voices have expressed concerns that they will be slaughtered like fat pigs after their economy recovers, so they are somewhat resistant to aid. No one dares to develop the economy without security guarantees. Frederick dares not take the initiative to say that he will send troops for protection, and there are not that many troops to send. The only solution seems to be "di di war". I will send troops only if you ask for help.

One of the purposes of Maria's recent remarks was to bring up this point.

James got the answer to whether Wesson’s army would move in, and the next thing he wanted to ask most was about the golden treasure.

However, a spy from the Osmaga Empire asked, "Ms. Eltar, do you really want to invest 133 million florins to restore the economy of Bohemia?"

"How can we make back such a huge investment?"

Maria has answered this question countless times in the past few days: "Yes, according to the plan, starting from next year or the year after at the latest, a total of 133 million florins will be invested over four years to help partners restore their economy and lives."

"I have never thought about making a profit. I just want everyone to live a normal life as soon as possible and have enough food to eat."

“People don’t have to worry about taking on huge loans. If these loans are put into practice and produce results, they can be forgiven.”

Everyone present was dumbfounded. How could such a large sum of money be waived?

At this moment, in everyone's eyes, Maria was not a human, but an angel sent by the God of Light.

The maids from the Duchy of Wessen in the tea room saw how shocked the guests were and laughed at their old-fashioned ways.

The maids in noble houses were all daughters of minor nobles, officials or wealthy families. The maids around Frederick and Maria were the most reliable old Wessons, who had been influenced by industry and commerce since childhood.

In their view, the 133 million florins were just free samples in front of the cake shop, and behind them were at least tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of florins in revenue.

These days they have been whispering and trying to find out whether their family's businesses can grab a piece of the pie in the emerging market where there is nothing but a blank slate.

James was frightened. Before leaving Londinium, His Royal Highness Charles swore that Grand Duke Wesson had found the treasure here, so he invested huge sums of money to ensure the safety and transportation of the treasure.

It now seems that Grand Duke Wesson is very determined to complete this action, and there is only four years to do so. This shows that the value and importance of this treasure is probably several times higher than His Royal Highness Charles estimated.

At this time, a lady asked: "Is Grand Duke Weisen really willing to pay such a large sum of money?"

Coincidentally, Frederick came to the tea room at this time, greeted everyone and sat next to Maria.

Maria said to the young lady, "Ask him about this question."

After hearing the problem, Frederick said as a matter of course: "Since Maria wants to do something, I will support her and meet her requirements. I will find a way to get the money. I have never been at a loss in this regard."

James and other foreign spies were accustomed to Grand Duke Wesson's economic generosity, but it was the first time for the locals to hear about it, and they were all stunned.

At this time, a strong young knight asked Frederick: "Grand Duke Wessen, will you send the Wessen army into Bohemia?"

The young knight didn't like to beat around the bush, so he asked directly.

Frederick replied: "Now the Duchy of Wessen has two fronts, and the number of troops is only enough to protect itself. There is no force to send here."

"If you are worried about your own safety, I can form a mercenary group. I will provide funds, weapons and officers, recruit soldiers locally for training, and protect you from being caught in war again."

The suggestion of the Quill Pen military strategist was recognized by the High Command, which believed that it was necessary to establish a Bohemian Legion, and Frederick was convinced.

But the young knight asked expectantly: "Can't we recruit officers locally?"

Frederick shrugged and said, "If it is a local who graduated from the corresponding class of Wesson Military Academy, of course he is welcome. I don't want the army to be held back by fools."

"If you want to become an officer, I welcome you to apply for the military academy. After graduation, you can serve as an officer."

The young knight felt that what Frederick said made sense. There were many examples in this land of officers being incompetent and causing the deaths of their teammates.

He then asked, "Can I go to Wesson Military Academy?"

Frederick nodded and said, "Of course, there are also foreign students from countries such as the Osmaga Empire in the military academy."

The young knight's heart suddenly became agitated. He really wanted to go, but was worried that he didn't have enough money.

So he asked again: "How much is the tuition?"

Frederick smiled and said, "After you are admitted to the military academy, there is no tuition fee, only the retake fee."

(End of this chapter)