industrial lord

Chapter 575 Others have more things to consider

Ludovico left without dinner, studying the outline of a play written by Frederick.

He now had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but they were disorganized and he couldn't sort them out for the time being.

Many people were watching Frederick's every move, and now Ludovico came out of his residence, studying some pieces of paper. Some people couldn't help but wonder if this was a project that would make them rich.
First, Ludovico's companion cautiously asked him if he could borrow the outline of the script.

Archduke Edwards of Milan and other big businessmen also heard the news and sent people to borrow it.

Ludovico was annoyed by these people. Since he had already memorized the outline of the script, he copied it back to them and found a quiet place to continue thinking.

Not long after, Edwards and his staff looked at the copied script outline in surprise. What the hell was this?

A young staff member pinched his chin and asked, "Could it be a code word?"

"Act 1 implies the nobility of the Kingdom of Gaul, Act 2 implies ships on the sea, Act 3 implies investment, Act 4 implies a large order, and Act 5 implies selling a lot of goods."

Several other staff members thought it made sense.

"But what does this have to do with us?" said a goateed aide.

The young staff member said: "There is a saying in the Principality of Wessen that railways are rivers on the ground."

"Grand Duke Weisen holds the title of Duke of Lugang in the Kingdom of Gaul. I heard that a port is being built in Lugang."

"I've seen a map. With that port as the center, the ships on the inland river can cover a large area in the northeast of the Kingdom of Gaul."

"If we look further afield, the Principality of Byrne is currently building a railway to the Osmaga Empire, and the Osmaga Empire also has plans to build a large number of railways with Wayne City as the center."

"Once the pilgrim's way is completed, we will be able to cross the White Mountains and connect to the transportation network in the north."

Edwards and other staff members had been exposed to the business world for a long time and understood very well that business could be done wherever a railway was built.

A vast transportation network means a huge market and more profits.

And this business does not have to go through the hateful Venetians.

The young aide continued, "Our advantage is the south. The climate and products on the north and south sides of the White Mountains are different, not to mention the undeveloped gold ore on the southern continent."

"The meaning of this code is to invest in the construction of railways to join this transportation network connecting the north and the south."

Edwards and several other aides had heard about the benefits of building a railway when they met with the envoy of the Grand Duke of Bavaria and were already tempted by the idea.

At that time, the only consideration was to connect the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Rhine Confederation. Now, after analysis, it is found that the future scope of this transportation network will be much larger than expected.

The goateed aide asked another question: "So what does this have to do with Ludovico and the city of Fira?"

Frederick did not have a deep understanding of the political situation in the Kingdom of Sardinia. He understood the macro level, but he was completely in the dark about some of the things happening behind the scenes.

He had come to Ludovico only to discuss matters of the theatre, but the others had much more to consider.

The Duchy of Milan and the Venetians shared a common territory, and the conflicts between the two sides were not only over commerce but also over land. They had fought many small and medium-scale wars and had also had several large-scale military confrontations.

The city of Fira is located in the southwest of Venice. The two cities are neighbors. Fira is deeply influenced by the Venetians and often serves as a mouthpiece for other forces and Venice.

In the future, the railway will definitely not lead to Venice, but now Frederick is connected with the neighboring city of Fira. What does this mean?
Edwards and his staff thought of this and their expressions became serious.

An aide asked: "Does Grand Duke Wessen want to build a railway to Fila?"

Another staff member said: "There is intelligence that the Venetians have sent secret envoys. According to the time calculation, they may meet in the White Mountains."

The situation became increasingly serious. The Duchy of Milan would not allow the Venetians to share in the benefits of the railway, otherwise the city of Venice would become more powerful and their lives would become even more difficult.

The Duchy of Wessen is far away from the Venetians. If the Venetians invest enough, Grand Duke Wessen may let the city of Fila act as a white glove and cooperate with them.

Edwards sat in his chair and pondered, not expressing his opinion easily, allowing his staff to continue the discussion.

As time passed, the influential families in the city came to the palace of the Grand Duke of Milan to ask for a meeting, and Edwards asked them all to come to the conference room.

The first few families who arrived had their ideas in sync with Edwards' staff and rushed over immediately.

Those who came later didn't know what had happened, but seeing so many people rushing to the Grand Duke's side, something big must have happened, so they pretended to know what was going on and came to see what was going on.

When these people heard what others were discussing, they were shocked, and the more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Now the Venetians are bullying me because they have a lot of money, a well-equipped army and many experts. If they were richer, better-equipped and had more experts, wouldn't I be bullied even more miserably?

No one thought that Frederick and Ludovico were really just talking about drama. Even if they thought so at the beginning, they would not think so after several discussions. Some people even thought that Frederick's invitation to Ludovico, a great poet, was a good cover, but he was smart enough to see through it.

Soon after, the royal representative, the king's eldest grandson Jenny, arrived.

Jenny said to Edwards, "I'm worried that Grand Duke Wesson will use Fira as a glove to build a railway into the Venetian sphere of influence. Fira is only a hundred kilometers away from Venice, and there is a port there. There is not much difference between the railway going there and going to Venice."

Edwards nodded and said, "Yes, we are also worried about this happening."

"What can you do, Your Highness?"

Jenny was in a dilemma, because now he was no longer the rich young man who loved to eat, drink and have fun as before, but a political representative of the royal family.

Edwards knew that he could not make the decision, but he would be the king and the grandson-in-law in the future, so it was also a test.

Jenny thought about it and indicated that he wanted to discuss it in private.

Edwards took Jenny to the secret room, where there were only the two of them and their conversation would not be known to outsiders.

Jenny said seriously: “I will not admit what I say next after I walk out of this door.”

Edwards nodded solemnly.

Jenny said: "His Majesty Dragases, the Emperor of the East Plen Empire, has been very active in the past few years since the recovery of Constantinople."

"Now the Dongpuran Empire is facing the threat from the Ghazi Empire across the strait. It needs more territory, a stable rear, and allies."

"Last year, His Majesty Dragases and Queen Anna of the Osmaga Empire signed a secret agreement, demarcating the sphere of influence of the mountain peninsula between the Great Bay and the Dark Sea. The East Puran Empire will move north in the next few years to occupy its part."

"The Osmaga Empire's current focus is to stabilize its internal affairs and seize the land in the east from the lower reaches of the Danube to the Dark Sea. Having a stable south is beneficial to them, so Her Majesty Anna agrees."

"And both sides have a common ally—Grand Duke Wessen."

"At the beginning of the year, His Majesty Dragaces reached an agreement with Grandpa. The royal family, the East Plan Empire, and the Duchy of Wessen joined forces to dismantle the power of the Venetians at sea."

"At that time, all the islands in the Aegeus Sea will belong to the East Plan Empire, and all ports in the East Plan Empire and towns within 60 kilometers of the coast will only issue business licenses to the royal family and the Duchy of Wessen."

"Grandpa guarantees that the royal family will hold 40% of the shares in the franchise rights. You are welcome to invest in and establish a company to run the original business of the Venetian together."

Edwards nodded. It was acceptable for the Kingdom of Sardinia and the East Plan Empire to divide the Venetian cake. One wanted land outside the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the other wanted money. Each got what they needed.

It's not that the Kingdom of Sardinia cannot take the land as well, the problem is that the East Plain Empire has an ally called the Principality of Wessen, and it would be a shame to provoke them.

Jenny finally said: "There is a vague idea among the top leaders of the four countries now. The Kingdom of Sardinia, the future Rhine Alliance, the Osmaga Empire and the East Plan Empire will form an alliance to help each other."

Edwards took a deep breath. These four countries are all back-to-back. If they really form an alliance, they will be the largest group of countries on the continent. Who would dare to provoke them then?

He quickly discovered a problem and asked, "What is the 'Future Rhine Alliance'?"

Jenny gave him a smile that was only meant to be understood but not expressed in words.

Edwards understood immediately that this was to support Frederick to attack Cologne and seize Rudolf's throne.

He asked in confusion: "Since the Venetians are already regarded as enemies, why would Grand Duke Wesson give them benefits?"

Jenny smiled and said, "Grand Duke Wesson is taught by His Excellency Richardnar."

Edwards understood immediately. He had seen the fisherman Richard Nall before. Grand Duke Wesson was fishing in a nest.

Gianni added: "Now let's help Grand Duke Wesson. Do you have any Venetian spies here?"

Edwards nodded, knowing what to do.

At this time, Frederick was enjoying a massage in the bathroom and thinking about something.

If he wanted to strengthen the bourgeoisie, it was not enough to rely on productivity and economy alone. He also had to ignite an ideological fire and break the shackles of traditional feudal social thought.

Moreover, he was always worried about the feudal landlords' counterattack, so he wanted to attract more and more people to his camp so that he would have someone to look after him when the time came.

The core of the "Renaissance" is the rise of humanistic spirit, which puts people at the center, affirms the value and dignity of people, and advocates that the purpose of life is to pursue happiness in real life.

He proposed to Ludovico to extol the shining points of human nature through drama, because he saw in the prosperous business here and the high status of the energetic businessmen, and he could gain their resonance.

The cultural heritage here is much deeper than that of the Rhine Alliance in the north. If this fire can be ignited here, it will be like igniting the refinery, and it will be out of control.

(End of this chapter)