Lord of Industrialization

When it was time to drink medicine, a maid came into the bedroom with a cup of medicine. Ferdinand made a grimace like a child.

Frederick was also shocked when he saw the cup on the tray. It turned out to be a draft beer cup, 500 ml in size, filled with a red crystal-like potion, and the steam coming out looked like flames.

A sudden thought occurred to him. The fire element in this potion was almost as big as a finger-sized fireball. Is it really okay to just drink it like this?

Ferdinand took the cup and drank it down in one gulp. His body shivered a few times, and his pale skin gained some color.

He leaned against the head of the bed with his eyes closed, his breathing became heavier and his body was trembling slightly.

After arriving for about a minute, Frederick was thinking about whether to leave first. Ferdinand opened his eyes and looked more energetic than before.

"Huh..." He took a deep breath, "I feel bad every time I take medicine."

Frederick asked curiously: "Your Majesty, your illness..."

"Did you see it?" Ferdinand said helplessly, "You guessed it right, I was poisoned."

Frederick was stunned and didn't guess, but he still looked surprised and asked: "Who poisoned you?"

Ferdinand replied depressingly: "I went skiing in the mountains in the winter and was bitten by a snake."

"You know skiing, it's the way to play in the dark places in the north, where you slide down a hillside with thick snow on a wooden board."

Frederick naturally knew how to ski. He was even more surprised when there was a snake in the snow that could bite people. He couldn't help but ask: "What kind of snake is so powerful? It can also move in winter?"

Ferdinand replied calmly: "It's Ferdinand the Ice Rock Snake."

When he saw Frederick's question mark, he explained: "That kind of snake lives in the crevices of rocks in the mountains. It sleeps in the summer and comes out to the mountains to find food in the winter. No one who was bitten in the mountains in the winter could come out alive until I didn’t know about this snake until I was bitten, so it was named after me.”

"There is a weird ice element in the snake venom, and it will increase on its own. It makes me weak and my blood pressure is low, so I fall into coma from time to time."

Frederick thought for a while, this weird ice element could be some kind of microorganism.

At this time, Ferdinand said: "For myself, the biggest threat is the toxins in my body. Do you know what the biggest threat to the empire is?"

Frederick didn't understand this question, so he could only reply: "Your Majesty, please make it clear."

Ferdinand took a deep breath and said very solemnly: "It's the Ghazi Empire on the other side of the inland sea. Those pagans no longer have much money to make in the south, and they are starting to make plans to go north."

"Your Helmut put forward the theory of military geography, which is very inspiring to me."

"For the Ghazi Empire, the best way to attack northward is to capture Constantbulol across the sea as a bridgehead."

"After occupying Constantbul, there are too many mountains to the west and it is difficult to attack. To the north is the plain area of ​​the lower reaches of the Danube River. It is unreasonable not to attack it. When the Ghazi Empire takes over there, it will move upstream along the Danube River."

Frederick nodded slightly and said: "If this is the case, the Ghazi Empire can fight its way upstream to get here by relying on war to support war."

"Yes." Ferdinand sighed, "So I really hope that you can support whichever one, and I can get your support at that time."

"My time is short, so I won't be surprised if I can't see you triumphant. What I said today is sincere."

Frederick sighed. Hearing such words from the emperor's mouth, I am afraid that he has realized that the empire has declined and cannot defeat the enemy alone.

He said calmly: "I can make an agreement with the emperor."

Ferdinand saw that he was still following the approach of "supporting whoever is the emperor", so he said: "If you want to occupy the Principality of Franconia and the League of Regans, the Osmaga Empire will not make any statement or support any On one side, the condition is that you provide military assistance when the infidels attack the Osmaga Empire."

For his own safety, the emperor sold his two younger brothers without hesitation.

Frederick curled his lips slightly and asked, "What if my appetite is more than this?"

Ferdinand looked at him seriously for a long time, already understanding in his heart that he was still going to fight north, and finally said: "If you were captured from another kingdom, the Osmaga Empire would not make any statement. "

The area north of Wesson and east of the Elbe River was originally the territory ruled by the puppets of the Osmaga Empire. However, during the Battle of the Elbe River, the empire misjudged the situation and did not believe that Frederick had won, so this area The Piast Kingdom took advantage of this opportunity to digest the areas around Linden City in the south and the coastal areas in the north.

The Osmaga Empire will not be able to fight back for a while. If Frederick can defeat it, it will be better than being controlled by the old enemy of the Piast Kingdom.

However, this is conditional. Ferdinand continued: "If the pagan army attacks the Osmaga Empire, you will need to personally lead troops to support it."

Frederick thought for a moment, the influence of the Osmaga Empire was very great, and it would be much easier for them to digest their territory by themselves if they kept silent.

So he agreed, the two discussed some details, and then took paper and pen from the clerk to sign the "Venn Secret Agreement Memorandum" on the spot, setting down the principles, and the details would be discussed by professionals later.

After collecting the memo, Frederick said: "In my opinion, if you can determine the successor to the throne early and reduce the country's internal friction, there is still hope for the empire."

Ferdinand just shook his head slightly, looked at him for a while and then said: "If that old guy William had one more child, you wouldn't know where to hide by now. That useless thing Rudolf has grown up in Everything goes well in the deep palace, you are a coward."

"If his position as prince is unstable, he will get enough training. As long as his ability is not too bad, even if he failed in the war ten years ago, he will get a decent evaluation as long as his performance is qualified."

Frederick nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. It is undeniable that your children are powerful enough to throw off a white mountain range from Rudolph."

"But this comes at the cost of consuming the empire's strength. Is it worth it?"

"It's worth it!" Ferdinand was full of confidence at this moment, "Only an emperor trained in this way can have the means to control the empire."

Then he said a little helplessly: "Emperors of all generations have been like this, and I also grabbed this position from my brothers. It's just that I have a lot of children, and the competition is more intense this time."

Frederick was speechless and complained: "Then why did you marry so many queens and have so many children?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ferdinand had a sneer on his face, shook his head and said, "You don't understand politics."

"My four queens came from four different regions respectively. Their descendants and I represent the connection between the royal family and these regions. Even if the children fail to compete for the throne, they can return to their mother's region to inherit the fief. This is another Strengthened the royal family’s management of vassals.”

"If you study our royal family, you will find that it is rare that the spouses of three consecutive generations of emperors come from the same place."

He said that these are not secrets. They are well-known rules among the nobles of the Osmaga Empire. It is only Frederick who has not had much contact with them and does not understand them.

Frederick was speechless. For this era, this kind of blood-based governance is indeed a good method.

He didn't want to talk more about political topics, so he turned the topic to the economic direction, discussing the establishment of a telegraph network, mutual tariff reductions, academic exchanges, and transportation construction.

Ferdinand has been paying close attention to the new gadgets built in Wessen, and he is most concerned about wireless telegraphy that has blossomed in the Rhine River Basin and the North Sea coast. In principle, he agrees to establish a domestic telegraph network and seamlessly connect it to the entire network.

At the same time, he also hoped to get Frederick's help to build several railways in the next few years.

So the two signed another memorandum of economic cooperation.

Near dusk, the palace steward came to report that the banquet was ready. Ferdinand said to Frederick: "You don't have a place to stay. Go to Ganquan Palace to stay. It is a hunting palace outside the city. All expenses are at my expense." I will pay the standard. You can play whatever you want, come and chat with me when you have time, there is no one else who can make me talk freely except you."

At the end of the sentence, Ferdinand couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Frederick naturally agreed. After all, he would eat and live with other people, so what if he came to talk to the old man?

Later, His Majesty Ferdinand held a grand state banquet in the palace to welcome Duke Wesson.

Before the banquet began, His Majesty Ferdinand said in his speech that we jointly celebrate the friendly relations between the two sides, which will help us ensure security and prosperity for decades. I believe the future is bright and beautiful.

In his speech, Duke Wesson praised His Majesty Ferdinand as a very great emperor who represented dignity and responsibility. These spirits beat proudly in the hearts of every Osmaga Empire person.

Duke Wesson said that our two sides are about to establish a broad and substantive cooperative relationship. The various cooperation agreements we are about to sign will bring more substantive content to the relationship between the two parties. These agreements will help us further promote trade, investment, communications, and transportation. exchanges and cooperation in other fields and better understand each other.

Everyone present looked confused. No one expected that His Majesty the Emperor and Duke Wesson would make such big news in one afternoon.

Especially those princes and princesses who want to seize the throne are all regretting it now. If they were waiting at the dock to pick up Duke Wesson, they would also benefit from such big news.

But this matter has passed, and what is more important now is how to participate in the next big news, so as to gain the favor of the father.

The problem is that the two of them only said that they wanted to sign an agreement. No one knew the direction and content of these agreements, so they had no way of starting.

There were some gossips at the banquet, but Frederick was always discussing the delicacies at the state banquet.