Lord of Industrialization

The convoy bumped along the way and finally arrived at Baron Sto's territory.

The territory of Sto is very old, but it is mostly mountainous and forested. Farmland has been reclaimed by a small river, and there are some terraces planted with potatoes and pumpkins on the nearby hillside.

It is the end of wheat harvesting. A light steam engine with dozens of horsepower pulls an unpowered harvester at the head of the field to harvest the last piece of wheat field.

Many women and children gathered beside the wheat field. After Baron Sto's consent, they can go to the field to pick up wheat ears, and they can take half of what they pick up.

Frederick carefully observed with a telescope on the nearby mountain, frowned and said: "There are only about 300 people here."

Maria's father is also a baron, but Baron Eltal's territory has a navigable river, a copper mine, and a factory that processes flat glass into mirrors. The population is at least ten times that of this place.

The town below the castle looks large, but the stone colors of several city walls are different. They were repaired after being destroyed in the war.

The clothes of the women and children picking up wheat ears were much more tattered than those of the villagers in the Iron Mine Town. Many of them were wearing only strips of cloth.

"It's difficult." Frederick muttered to himself.

Because the Iron Mine Town is located on a major transportation route bordering the Duchy of Wessen, it has its own high-tech industry of glass production, which is not very representative in the Bohemian region.

I'm afraid that the Territory of Sto is the typical example of this region, with a small population, infrastructure damage caused by the war, and ordinary people are very poor.

This means that the current consumer market here is not large, but it is a market with great investment potential, which requires great efforts and long-term cultivation.

Baron Sto saw the convoy on the mountain and immediately asked Jory to greet them and went back to prepare.

Frederick, Maria and others followed Jory into the city. They did not live in the castle, but lived in the church in the town.

The church is the only intact building in the town. Even if the sects are different, the local tradition is that the victor will only throw people out of the window, and will not harm the buildings and other fixed assets that they are going to receive.

Many buildings in the town still have traces of fire. Maria found an arrowhead stuck in the higher part of a house.

Behind the church, there is a place for pilgrims, passing monks and travelers to stay. After Frederick settled down, Sto came to visit.

Sto said to Frederick with apology: "Fifteen years ago, the army of the Kingdom of Piast fought a battle with the army of the Osmaga Empire here, and it was barely repaired in the past two years."

Frederick nodded and said: "Everything will be fine."

Sto immediately said: "I have to thank your Elizabeth potatoes, steam engines and hunting rifles. Without these, I would not have recovered so quickly."

Frederick smiled and said: "This is mainly due to your own efforts."

He vaguely heard that Sto wanted to reach out himself, but he didn't want to expose his purpose so early this time.

The work here still needs to be done slowly and not too obvious, otherwise it will easily attract some malicious hands.

After some courtesy, Sto held a banquet here to welcome Frederick and Maria. He didn't dare to take them to the shabby castle for fear of being considered contempt.

The main dish of the banquet was only a roasted lamb, half of it, which was smeared with local spices and placed on a tray. Some seasonal vegetables were placed underneath and baked in a bread oven.

The wine was made from wild grapes in the mountains, and it was a bit sour.

Sto continued to apologize, saying, "My family originally had a vineyard on the mountain, but it was abandoned due to the war, so we can only pick some wild grapes to make this kind of wine."

Maria replied, "The difficulties are only temporary, and things will get better in the future."

Sto continued to complain, saying that the Osmaga Empire and the Piast Kingdom had fought back and forth here for decades, and now both sides ran away, leaving this mess behind. He sold all the gold and silver jewelry in his home to buy steam engines and hunting rifles.

He finally said: "Why don't you take a look at what I have here that can sell for a good price?"

Frederick said with some embarrassment: "There should be good things in your territory. Even if you sell wood first, then cultivate farmland, sell grain, meat, and cheese, you can still make a good profit."

"But, I have come all the way. The roads here are not very good. The transportation cost is too high. I am afraid it is not very competitive."

Sto also said helplessly: "Yes, when they were fighting in the past, they often destroyed roads to stop the enemy, and we suffered in the end."

He remembered that Jory said that Grand Duke Wessen's favorite thing was women, and the second was road construction, so he took this topic and said: "My brother Sir Jory is in charge of the business in the territory. After calculation, he found that because the road is too bad, our heavy goods such as stone ore and wood will not be competitive due to high freight costs, so we can only sell light forest goods such as mushrooms. "

"I also want to repair the road, but I really don't have money. There is still a little balance for the steam engine that will be settled at the end of the year."

"And road repair is not just my job. Even if the roads in my territory are repaired, the roads outside the territory will be just as bad."

Frederick ate a piece of roasted lamb and nodded, saying: "Yes, one or two sections of road are not very useful. Only by forming a road network can it play the greatest role."

It is well known that he loves to build roads. Sto obviously saw this point, but now is not the time to agree.

A correct version in the book bar of 16-9!

Sto tentatively said: "In fact, we are also worried that if the road is too easy to walk, what should we do if others come to attack us."

"So some of our lords here think that their neighbors are too strong and are likely to attack them, so they took the initiative to destroy the road."

"There is nothing we can do about it. We have been afraid of fighting for decades."

"To be honest, we have been sleeping most peacefully in recent years. We are not afraid that the army of the Osmaga Empire or the Kingdom of Piast will attack us one day."

"Alas, I am really afraid that such days will end."

Frederick pretended not to hear the hidden meaning and never mentioned military-related topics such as selling weapons. He just said: "I learned from Queen Anna that the Osmaga Empire will not touch you for a long time."

"But I don't know about the Kingdom of Piast. Our relationship is just an ordinary business relationship now."

He heard Sto's fear of war from the conversation just now, so he gave Sto half a reassurance.

In the past, there were two big countries planning to attack here, but now there is only one. In theory, it will be much more reassuring, and it also implies that the demand for weapons is not so strong.

Seeing that he avoided talking about some issues, Sto could only sigh and say, "Yes, we are not afraid of those two behemoths."

"Now I am a little worried about my neighbors. My strength is very weak, and your few guards can take down my castle. If any neighbor regains his strength in a few years, I will not be able to stop him. At that time, he may go to Weissenburg to find a job to make a living."

He hinted to Frederick that now the two countries have left, but you are next to you, and you have brought so many soldiers with you, obviously intending to intervene, so he can stand on the side.

Frederick saw that he was pitiful, thought for a while and said, "Now the times have changed. This is an era of development and reconciliation. We must focus on seeking consensus for a happier and more comfortable life, seek common ground while reserving differences, and work together for development. We must see the beauty of peace and cannot resort to war blindly. Everyone hopes for a peaceful life. What do you think, Sto?"

Sto replied, "Yes, Grand Duke."