industrial lord

Chapter 775 The visitor is evil

In Frederick's office in Wesenberg, his secretaries brought him the documents to be processed that day.

As Frederick prepared to leave work in the morning, he was intently reviewing a top-secret document submitted by the relevant department. The document contained a detailed record of a high-level, semi-public conversation between Baron Turgot and Louis the Younger, the Crown Prince of Gaul.

Baron Turgot has not been doing well lately, but now, after meeting with His Highness the Crown Prince, he feels like a kite in the wind, his smugness practically overflowing. He recounts almost all the key points of their conversation, and his demeanor and words seem to clearly foresee his bright future of rising through the ranks and achieving great success because of this suggestion.

After reading the lengthy report, Frederick simply shook his head slightly, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

The report contains nothing more than the same old arguments of "Wesson collapse" and "Wesson threat," filled with stale prejudices and unfounded speculations, offering absolutely nothing new.

He picked up his pen and neatly annotated the edge of the report with several lines of text, writing down key points such as "Wesen is doomed." He then quickly combined this with recent intelligence on reduced grain production and market fluctuations from various regions, compiling a concise instruction to be sent immediately to his reliable mole planted next to Baron Turgot.

Then, looking slightly tired, he leaned back in his large chair, picked up a bottle of ice-cold "happy water" from the corner of the table, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and fell into deep thought.

Although Louis the Younger had not yet fully grasped the full picture and essence of the Duchy of Wessen's operation, he had already vaguely sensed the huge gap between the two countries in terms of production capacity and organizational efficiency, and was trying to catch up and work hard to improve the situation.

Unfortunately, he was facing not a simple project that could be accomplished overnight, but a systemic chasm rooted in many aspects such as systems, technology, and talent accumulation that was difficult to overcome.

The gap itself is not terrible; what is terrible is whether the other side truly possesses the perseverance, the tenacity to catch up at all costs, and the national consensus.

Thinking of this, Frederick's mind incongruously conjured up images of a once-popular racing game—to ensure he crossed the finish line first, besides constantly improving his car's speed, handling skills, and finding overtaking corners, he sometimes had to adopt some strategies to cause problems for his close rivals on the track in order to secure victory.

The general direction is clear in our minds, but the specific strategic details for each step still need to be discussed and refined at the next meeting of the highest ministerial council.

He hadn't even finished half a bottle of soda when there was a rapid knocking on the heavy oak door of his office.

A solemn-looking official from the relevant department hurried inside, and without even taking a breath, respectfully presented an intelligence file stamped with five bright red feather wax seals.

Frederick silently signed for it, deftly opened the sealed box, took out the documents inside, and carefully read them twice while drinking his soda. Finally, he let out a barely audible sigh, and a hint of seriousness appeared between his brows.

Just moments ago, we were pondering how to deal with the movements of the Gallic Kingdom, but in the blink of an eye, the Anglo Kingdom, across the sea, has stirred up a major scandal. This time, the commotion is so significant that it may very well become a test point in future history textbooks.

“Vanessa,” he called to his administrative secretary, his voice steady yet unquestionable, “Immediately arrange to adjust all my schedules for tomorrow, prepare the car, I need to get to Cologne City tonight.”

"At the same time, inform Lilu and Baron Adigen as quickly as possible to cancel all their current affairs and arrive in Cologne to meet me as soon as possible. Tell Alfred to be prepared; he knows what needs to be done."

Recently, Lilu has been recruiting sailors in her hometown, and Baron Adigen is conducting research at the shipyard in Hamma City. It is very convenient to travel to Cologne City.

The leader speaks, and the subordinates run themselves ragged.

Frederick's official travels today are naturally quite grand, featuring his own armored train.

To minimize disruption to the railway system's daily passenger and freight scheduling, he deliberately chose to set off quietly in the latter half of the night when traffic was lightest.

The special train sped along smoothly, with soft lighting in the bedroom carriages.

Maria sat by the window, and through the thin gauze covering the train window, she could see the streetlights receding along the railway. The wind blew open the curtains, and the moonlight outlined her profile, which appeared even more graceful than before.

She gazed at the blurry night rushing past the window and asked softly, "What is it that's so urgent this time, requiring us to set off under the cover of night?"

Frederick moved to the sofa by the window and sat down beside her. His fingers naturally stroked her long, smooth, jet-black hair. His tone was calm and even, yet carried a hint of coldness: "The Kingdom of Anglo-Chinese, seeing that our nations are still recovering from this defeat, and that Old Louis of Gaul is seriously ill, is getting restless." "Their main fleet, which they have secretly cultivated and invested heavily in for many years, has chosen this moment to end its dormancy and prepare to swagger through the enemy lines."

"According to reliable intelligence, this massive fleet plans to sail up the Rhine River, directly to the heart of my duchy, make a so-called friendly visit to the city of Wessenburg, and then turn into the Danube River, sailing downstream into the Inland Sea, circling the entire Inland Sea before returning to the Anglo-Chinese mainland in a show of force."

Upon hearing this, Maria frowned slightly, immediately understanding the strong provocation and potential threat it contained.

Such a powerful and oppressive display of force, so close to the core territory, would surely damage the prestige of the Principality of Wessen if it remained unresponsive or responded weakly, and would also cause some countries and regions that were observing to waver in their resolve.

This is by no means a simple voyage.

Frederick continued, his voice low: "This time, our strategy is to choose to show weakness."

“Show weakness?” Maria was stunned for a moment, her eyes, darker than the night sky, filled with astonishment.

Throughout his career, both domestically and internationally, Frederick always presented a resolute, decisive, and unyielding stance, almost never showing weakness.

Regardless of whether outsiders believe it, even he himself, as his bedmate, finds it hard to believe.

Frederick sighed lightly, feigning helplessness, and explained, "It takes ten years to build an army, but a hundred years to forge a navy."

"While I have great confidence in the combat capabilities of my own army, when it comes to naval power, whether it is the number and tonnage of our main warships or the quality and experience of our crews in ocean voyages and actual combat, compared with the Kingdom of England, which has the advantage of a natural island nation and has been managing the ocean for hundreds of years, the gap between us is still as wide as a chasm and we are far behind."

"War is never about the dazzling debut of one or two cutting-edge weapons, but about the profound accumulation of comprehensive strength in the entire national system, logistics support, personnel training and other aspects."

"That's the truth, there's no escaping it."

"Over the years, although I have devoted all my efforts to the construction of the navy, there are too many historical debts that cannot be made up in a short time."

"Currently, our country is struggling to even have enough ocean-going cargo ships to support its massive trade, and our naval forces can barely protect coastal shipping lanes."

"If the enemy ships dare to ignore the warnings and sail straight into our territory... we will probably have no choice but to take the most desperate measure—sinking our ships to block key waterways and buy time with space."

Maria listened to the deliberate sorrow and helplessness in his tone, and saw the sharp light that flashed in his deep eyes, so different from his words, and instantly understood.

This pessimistic rhetoric is merely a facade he is spreading to the outside world. His true, sharp countermeasures must be deeply hidden behind this carefully planned smokescreen of "showing weakness."

Maria turned back and asked curiously, "So, what exactly do you want me to do? I'd like to know what to do."

Frederick spread his hands and said, "I really have to admit that our naval power is no match for that of the Kingdom of Anglo."

"As for how to deal with it specifically, let's discuss it together when we get to Cologne City."

"Now……"

He drew out the sound, and his expression changed.

"Get some rest first."

(End of this chapter)