industrial lord

Chapter 818 He'll be furious!

The wind outside the window picked up, its sound sharp and mournful, like countless ghosts wailing in the night sky, or like the lamentations of the dying on a distant battlefield.

Archduke of Mainz sensed that behind Frederick's seemingly casual words lay a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

The flames in the fireplace seemed to sense the change in atmosphere, burning even more fiercely, and the crackling of the firewood became more frequent.

Archduke of Mainz gazed at Frederick for a long time.

He saw many complex things in that young face: a will tempered by steel, a near-cold rationality, the courage to break all conventions and constraints, and the indifferent weighing of life's importance that only those who have truly held the power of life and death possess.

Archduke of Mainz recalled the scene when he first met Frederick.

The thing that impressed him most about Frederick that time was that he made a hot air balloon in a very short period of time.

For more than a decade, he and countless others witnessed how Frederick gradually transformed his territory, like a hot air balloon, slowly rising to unprecedented heights.

Now, this young man is no longer content with managing his own little world. He has set his sights on a broader political chessboard and is preparing to defend everything he has built and expand the order he envisions in a more intense and dangerous way.

The Archduke of Mainz couldn't help but think that he might no longer be thinking only about the Archduke of Wessen, but was beginning to think, plan, and make moves from the perspective of the future leader of the Rhine Alliance.

The old man slowly and deeply exhaled.

That aura carried the dust of bygone years, a longing for bygone eras, and a resolute determination to face new storms.

“I understand,” Archduke Mainz said calmly. “Let’s use the death of old Louis as the final act of the old era.”

He mentally counted that in recent years, the old kings of the Rhine Alliance, the Osmaga Empire, the Gazi Empire, the Kingdom of Piast, the Kingdom of Anglo, the Kingdom of Tarago, the Helvetii Federation, and the Kingdom of Danma had all passed away one after another, and old Louis was the only surviving king of that generation.

Frederick nodded slightly.

He needs a major event of sufficient significance to serve as the backdrop for his next publicity campaign.

The biggest risk lies in the territory of Lukang in the Low Countries. If the Gallic Kingdom breaks off relations, it will definitely take action against them, and years of investment will be wasted.

Frederick had considered that as long as he won decisively, the Gallic Kingdom would not act rashly.

"Deal with old Louis, and at the same time, intimidate Antonia, making her and the Gallic nobles she brought understand that the Rhine Alliance is not a puppet they can manipulate at will, much less a cake to be carved up on the Gallic table," the Archduke of Mainz said in a deep voice. "If we can do that, it will indeed be a permanent solution."

"Although Gaul will not fall into chaos over the succession to the throne, the new king will need to sort out the factional infighting and will be unable to expand outwards for at least ten years."

“Antonia has lost her biggest backer, and she will become much more restrained. She may even be impeached, deposed, and banished back to her homeland.”

He paused, his aged brows furrowing deeply, like deep ravines carved by a knife.

“But Frederick,” his voice suddenly turned serious, looking directly into Frederick’s eyes, “have you considered the risks involved?”

"The current Rhine Alliance has just suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Redwaterwheel Village and has not yet fully recovered from that trauma."

"Our army needs to be reorganized, replenished, and equipped; the national treasury needs time to repair its deficit; and the people need to recuperate and forget the pain caused by the war."

"To be an enemy of the Gallic Kingdom at this time, even to clash in the shadows, could have disastrous consequences, potentially reducing everything we have painstakingly rebuilt to rubble once again."

“Once things are exposed, once the Gauls find even the slightest evidence that the nobles of the Rhine Alliance were involved in the plot to assassinate their king, they will not hesitate to launch a full-scale war, a war that will not accept surrender.”

These words were frank and weighty, without embellishment or wishful thinking; every word was imbued with the caution of an old-school politician and a clear understanding of the harsh reality.

Frederick raised an eyebrow, realizing he had misunderstood. "Assassination is certainly efficient," Frederick smiled, "but I would never do it."

The Archduke of Mainz breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "There is an unspoken rule among nobles that assassinations are not easily carried out."

"I was worried that you were going to poison old Louis while the doctor was treating him."

"The doctors of the Kingdom of Gaul may not be as good as those of the Duchy of Wessen in treating illnesses, but you probably can't match them in using poison."

Frederick nodded slightly, then said, "I intend to drive him crazy."

"Tell me in detail?" the Archduke of Mainz asked immediately.

Frederick made sure no one was outside the living room before explaining his plan in detail.

The Archduke of Mainz listened attentively without interrupting, only asking questions at the end about things he didn't understand.

Frederick had planned this for a long time, but the timing wasn't right, so he kept it hidden.

If it were to be launched now, it would be a major move that would shake up all countries.

"What do you need me to do?" the Archduke of Mainz asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Frederick walked to the sofa and sat down opposite the old man.

“Three things.” He held up three fingers. “First, among the Rhine nobles, stir up discontent towards Antonia, but don’t rush it.”

"Gather evidence of her overstepping her authority—evidence of misappropriation of royal funds, appointments to Gallic nobles, and memorandums of interference in military personnel."

"But this evidence must be discovered 'accidentally' so that other feudal lords 'themselves' become suspicious and angry."

“We need her to walk step by step toward the cliff, not be pushed off by us.”

"Rhythm is important; it needs to be done in conjunction with the most important thing."

Archduke of Mainz nodded and said, "No problem."

Frederick lowered one finger and continued, “Second, communicate with other key lords and make them realize that the Rhine Alliance is in danger of being infiltrated and disintegrated from within, and that uniting around a strong leader is the only way out.”

"But don't mention specific plans, just build consensus."

Archduke of Mainz smiled and said, "It's obvious to many that this is your trick without needing to be explicitly stated; it was expected by many."

“You’ll have more supporters once you have a legitimate heir.”

Frederick pretended not to hear his last sentence, retracted his second finger, and said finally, "Third, assemble an army, at least a light infantry division of the standard of the Duchy of Wessen's main force division."

"Currently, the Duchy of Wesen lacks the financial and human resources to rebuild a main force division, so it needs the help of the entire Rhine Alliance."

“I’ve heard that many people hope the Rhine Alliance will form an army similar to the Weisen Army, so that this army can be used for experiments.”

The Archduke of Mainz nodded slightly and began to think.

(End of this chapter)