Lord of Industrialization

In the hundreds of years after Frederick's grave began to grow grass, a common topic that some historians used to swindle funds and academic qualifications was who was the instigator behind the riot in Amstel on June 26, 1034. .

The riots that swept the entire lowland region and the bursting of the tulip bubble triggered a series of chain reactions that ultimately changed the political ecology of this land and affected the future political landscape.

Many scholars believe, based on the trial records at the time, that the riots were caused by bankrupt citizens venting their anger after the tulip bubble burst. There was no one behind the scenes. The Chamber of Commerce of the Kingdom of Gaul, which was severely affected, was the culprit in creating the bubble.

Some scholars seized on the fact that Frederick was at the scene of the incident, combined with the fact that he was the biggest beneficiary in the end, and believed that he was the mastermind behind the incident.

But this view was quickly refuted. Count Ranke dictated it in his later years, and the memoirs compiled by his granddaughter Marlene von Ranke clearly recorded the actions of the two men. After the riot, Frederick was also shocked. It's not like he's pretending.

More than two hundred years later, a new perspective emerged. It originated from someone buying an old diary in an old bookstore in the Kingdom of England. The original owner was a baron whose father had dealt with gray matter for the king during that time. Incident, the family fell into decline decades ago. Twenty years after the riot, the owner of the diary heard from his father that when the tulip bubble had just burst, the king sent him and some people to the city of Amstel. The main task was to take the opportunity to provoke conflicts between the lowlands and the Kingdom of Gaul.

Frederick didn't know that later generations had different opinions on this period of history. Anyway, it would be fine if he didn't become a woman. When the first thick smoke rose in the city, he immediately ran away with Lilu in his arms.

On the 26th, the price of tulips dropped to 10% of the price on the 17th. Some citizens asked the chamber of commerce to return the goods, but to no avail, the quarrel turned into a fight, and soon turned into smashing, looting, and burning.

The city government had long been paralyzed, and even many officers of the city defense army left the barracks to deal with the tulips on their hands. After the fire broke out, no one organized to put out the fire.

The city is falling apart, the children are crying, friends are no longer friends, home is no longer home...

Frederick did a lot of swamp land reclamation here, and the group ran to a farm on the seaside dozens of kilometers away from Amstel city, far away from trouble. Even the Flying Tulip set sail urgently to the farm. Fishing dock docked.

Count Rank finally recovered from the blow of losing 4,750 florins. After arriving at the farm, he was very curious about the ship without sails. He visited it for a whole day under the leadership of his first mate Alfred, and started the negotiation. Time has been delayed.

It’s already July, and the wheat here matures later than in Weissensee, and can only be harvested a month later.

Frederick and Count Rank were walking by the wheat field. The sea breeze made the wheat undulate like waves. The two seemed to be chatting, not negotiating.

Count Rank took a reassurance from the beginning. Frederick said that he would not be independent in theory.

Frederick thought carefully that the development of his territory was inseparable from the market and the origin of raw materials. Other than that, other false names were irrelevant.

The benefits of staying within the Rhine League are obvious. The key coal mines are here. Iron ore from the dark northern lands needs to pass through. Wool, flax and grain can also be obtained here, which can reduce a lot of diplomatic costs.

In the Rhine League, the royal family has the largest territory, which is a market that needs to be further developed.

Frederick proposed: "The royal territory and my territory are mutually exempt from all duties and tolls."

"The citizens of both sides are allowed to enter the territory of the other side and are allowed to live, travel and do business throughout the territory."

“Residents, chambers of commerce, and organizations from both sides enjoy the same legal and tax treatment as residents of the other side when they live and do business in the territory of the other side.”

"Residences, warehouses, factories, shops and other business premises, as well as all ancillary premises in the territory of the other party, shall not be illegally entered or intruded upon by citizens, chambers of commerce and organizations of both parties."

“The caravans, ships, and aircraft of both sides can pass freely in any town, port, village, open water, and road open to the other side, and their personnel and items have the right to pass through the territory of the other side through the most convenient way; the caravans, ships, and When encountering any danger, the aircraft can enter the towns, ports, villages and other places on the other side to take refuge."

After hearing this, Earl Rank became vigilant and asked: "The royal territory is larger than your territory and the population is larger than yours. What do you want by giving up such a huge benefit?"

Frederick's expression was calm, thinking that it seemed that Earl Rank believed that opening up territories to each other for trade would be beneficial to the stronger royal family.

This is indeed true from the perspective of paper strength. In terms of area, population and total food production, the royal territory is indeed stronger than Frederick's territory.

Seeing that this was the case, Frederick just went with what he thought, so he held out five fingers: "I provide this much exemption money to the royal family every year."

According to feudal obligations, theoretically Frederick had to help the royal family fight offensive battles for one and a half months every year, and defensive battles until the enemy retreated.

He did not want his army to be wasted and was willing to spend five thousand florins a year instead of actually sending troops.

Earl Rank thought for a few minutes, nodded and said, "You don't have an heir yet, so it's really not convenient for you to go to the battlefield."

"But five hundred florins is too little. At least three thousand florins."

"Don't bargain. I know you have a lot of money and can afford it."

"In addition, the annual assistance payment is also this amount."

Frederick was silent for a moment and nodded.

There were political interests besides economics, so Frederick said: "My appointment as finance minister should be maintained."

Count Rank agreed. During his seven years as finance minister, Frederick only issued one order, appointing Rudolf to act as full deputy. Now Rudolf is doing a good job with the help of many veterans.

Frederick continued: "I want two more ministerial posts."

Count Rank immediately cheered up, thinking that the critical moment had arrived, and this was the real benefit he wanted.

They had done some research before and speculated that Frederick would probably want the Minister of War, and he might also want the position of Dean of the Privy Council, the king's advisory and document processing agency. Neither would the Lord Privy Seal, who is in charge of the king's personal seal and has supervisory powers. impossible.

The view of the royal family and senior palace officials is that the Minister of War cannot give it, but the President of the Privy Council and the Lord Privy Seal can consider it.

Frederick said solemnly: "I want the posts of Postmaster and Lord of the Admiralty."

Count Rank was silent for a moment. The Admiralty of the Navy could understand, but the Postmaster did not understand why and reminded: "There are no such two positions in the palace."

Frederick showed a bright smile: "Isn't that good? I won't take the cake from others."

"Well...you don't need to prepare too much for the office. Just put an extra sign on the door."

"By the way, let's add another Secretary of the Air Force."

Earl Rank was disrupted by the unexpected conditions and replied: "It is not easy to create a new minister."

Frederick replied: "It doesn't matter. I will give you my plan later and you can send it back to Cologne to study it."

The three positions he wants are not random, nor are they asking for white-collar wages.

The purpose of serving as postmaster is to create a postal system that covers the entire Rhineland Union, to bring telegraph stations down to the town level, to speed up the circulation of information and goods, so that people can reduce their worries when going out to work and can send money home.

It is easier for the Lord of the Navy and the Lord of the Air Force to understand. They are nothing more than shelling out and going public to save themselves some money.

So he asked the penmen in the territory to write a pound-for-pound plan for each position, hiding his true purpose in nonsense, making those gentlemen think that he was just for white-collar salary, and a little symbolic allocation to maintain it. Facade.

Earl Ranke could tell by looking slowly, but what they lacked now was time. If they didn't talk for a long time, and Frederick didn't show his face, there might be some rumors about "killing people and silencing them."