Lord of Industrialization

The 80th birthday of the Grand Duke of Mainz was held with great grandeur. Respectable nobles from the entire Rhine League came. Prince Rudolf came to congratulate on behalf of the royal family. The Kingdom of Gaul and the Helvetic Federation, which are adjacent to the Principality of Mainz, also came. An embassy was sent.

The circle between nobles is determined by factors such as title, region, blood relationship, mentorship, interests, etc., but no matter how it is determined, age has nothing to do with it.

At first, Frederick thought he would have time to play with Maria, but they had no overlap in various social activities.

After arriving in Mainz, he received invitations by the pound. There were formal banquets and dances, as well as tea parties and salons for women, but they all indicated that Duke Wesson could come by himself. Everyone knew that he had no women.

So the guy eagerly attended a tea party hosted by the daughter-in-law of the Grand Duke of Mainz.

For these ladies, the tea party is a place for relaxed chat, sometimes with the hostess or guests invited by the hostess as the core. Participants can either surround the core or talk privately in groups of three or two.

Salons are a little different. They often have a theme when they are launched, mostly art, and professionals are often invited to attend. It's like a rich woman calling a celebrity she is a fan of to her home, and then inviting her likes to watch the celebrity together.

Frederick had never seen what a high-end tea party was like, so he went there, showing off his cuteness because of his age, and then spent a fulfilling afternoon, physically fulfilling.

At night, Baron Wesson curiously asked Duke Wesson: "Are the meatballs not to your liking?"

The grandfather of Baron Wesson was the younger brother of Frederick's great-grandfather. It was he who drove the old man away from the exclusive territory, so the old man went to join the late king.

In terms of blood, Baron Wesson's family were Frederick's closest relatives.

Now that Duke Wesson has become prosperous, relatives naturally come to visit him. Today, the restaurant not only serves dishes from the north, but also includes several families who are related to the Wesson family.

Baron Weissen prepared the common meatballs in his hometown. The meatballs are a mixture of minced meat, onions, eggs, fish and some other ingredients. After they are cooked, they are topped with cream and served with shredded sweet radish roots. It tastes very good. Not bad.

It's just that Frederick acted cute during the afternoon tea party, and as a result, the ladies who burst out with maternal instinct kept feeding him. His stomach was full, and now he was eating very slowly.

"The food is delicious, so take your time to taste it," he said with a smile.

Frederick didn't want to dwell on the grievances of his predecessors. This kind of historical accounts could not be settled. It was better to see if he could expand the scope of business, so he began to ask about the customs and customs there.

Baron Wesson felt relieved when he saw that he didn't hate him. What he had to do now was to coax his nephew.

"Our territory is not far south of Hanma City." Baron Wesson introduced the territory. "The land there is pretty good, quite flat, and there is enough water. We can only grow wheat and grapes."

Frederick thought for a moment, the small nobles these days are all like this, mainly engaged in agriculture, with at most some handicrafts.

Baron Wesson continued: "The world is not easy now. In August, the Osmaga Empire and the Piast Kingdom fought a war in Bohemia. It was not a large scale, but Osmaga The empire suffered."

"Now the Osmaga Empire is asking the nobles on the other side of the Elbe River to send troops to cross the Odra River next year to attack the west of the Piast Kingdom to share the pressure on the south."

"Those nobles would have been skinned by the Osmaga Empire in previous years. Wherever there is money to send troops, why not cross the river to rob us first."

"We had no choice but to go to the king. Unexpectedly, no one in the capital paid any attention to us."

"In the end, I have no choice but to try my luck here."

As he spoke, he began to complain, and others around the table joined in.

However, they seemed to have no intention of asking Frederick for help. They just wanted to ask him to help deliver a message to the Grand Duke of Mainz and have a private conversation.

Frederick didn't say much and nodded in agreement, having his own thoughts in mind.

After the banquet was over, he had to go to the third show of the day.

The carriage left the city and arrived at a manor not far away. As soon as they entered the gate, they heard music coming from a distance.

The ball was a place for nobles to chase birds and swallows. Frederick yearned for it very much, but for now he could only yearn for it.

The party held tonight was Reiner, the heir to the Archduke Byrne, and Theodore, the heir to the Archduke of Mainz, was also present. Plus Duke Wesson, this was a high-end game.

The dance floor was covered with flowers, and the ladies and ladies were all dressed up. It was so beautiful as far as the eye could see.

But this had nothing to do with Frederick. After a few polite words to him, the host went to dance, and then disappeared with his beautiful partner. As for Theodore, he had long since disappeared.

The person sitting next to Frederick now was a burly man. This man was Sforza, the head of the Helvetic Federation mission. This time, he wanted to see him for something.

Sforza said to Frederick: "There are many Helvetic prisoners of war in your territory. I wonder what you will do with them."

Frederick took a glass of juice and took a sip slowly, thinking that this was indeed the problem.

He seemed to be talking about a trivial matter and said as usual: "Don't worry, I have no intention of killing them, and I have no plan to detain them for a long time. If they are injured, I will arrange for people to give them appropriate treatment."

"They are prisoners of war and need to pay a ransom for their freedom. That's no problem."

Sforza nodded and said: "That makes sense. I want to know how much ransom they require, which will be paid by our country."

Frederick did not answer immediately, but asked the servant on the side to get him some biscuits.

He then had the opportunity to think about it. Those prisoners were all strong mountain mercenaries. It would be okay if they were redeemed in small quantities. But if they were all packed up at once, it would look like they were trying to expand the army.

If the Helvetia Federation and the Principality of Mainz do not deal with it, these people will not be good no matter where they are used after they go back, so Frederick ate biscuits and replied: "I heard that the Helvetia Federation has many mountains, arable land and minerals. If you don’t have enough money, the country is not rich, so your king should spend the money on places where it is more needed.”

"Don't worry, they can go home as long as they work with me for three years and don't cause trouble. Of course, those who are injured and I treat them will have to work for two more years."

Upon hearing this, Sforza said anxiously: "This is not possible. The families of those captives rely on them to send money back to support their families. If they do not return home for three years, they will starve to death."

Frederick pretended to be surprised and thinking. If he hadn't asked, he would have been deceived.

Although the income of mercenaries is high, these people also spend money lavishly. Coupled with the cost of purchasing and maintaining weapons, it would be good to have one gold coin sent home every year.

In Wessen, an ordinary laborer earns two florins a year. These mercenaries are strong and do a lot of work, and they are very disciplined and easy to manage. Calculating the salary to three florins a year is not a problem.

"Okay," said Frederick, "I will give each of them a salary of 1 florin per year and let them work at my place for six years. I will send this money to their families through the church. "

The corner of Sforza's mouth twitched slightly, thinking whether he really didn't know or did it on purpose. If he couldn't bring the person back, the king would definitely make himself spin like a millstone.

Frederick looked triumphant, as if he had done something great.

Before Sforza could say anything, several girls aged sixteen or seventeen came over happily. One of them, as if she had lost a bet, was pushed out by her companions and invited Frederick to dance with her.

Frederick thought to himself that this was a dance that a child like himself could dance, and then agreed to the other party's invitation.