Chapter 643 Everyone hopes for peace
The convoy bumped along the way and finally arrived at the territory of Baron Stowe.
Storing is very old, but it is mostly mountainous and forested. Farmland has been reclaimed by a small river, and there are some terraced fields for growing potatoes and pumpkins on the nearby hillside.
It is now the end of the wheat harvest. A light steam engine with dozens of horsepower pulls an unpowered harvester at the head of the field to harvest the last wheat field.
Many women and children gathered next to the wheat field. After Baron Stowe agreed, they could go to the field to pick up wheat ears, and they could take half of what they picked up.
Frederick observed carefully with a telescope on a nearby mountain, frowned and said, "There are only about three hundred people here."
Maria's father is also a baron, but Baron Eltar's territory has a navigable river, a copper mine, and a factory that processes plate glass into mirrors. The population is at least ten times that of this place.
The town below the castle looks quite large, but the stones on several walls are of different colors. They were damaged and then repaired during the war.
The clothes of the women and children who were picking up wheat ears were much tattered than those of the villagers in the iron mining town. Many of them were wearing what could only be described as strips of cloth.
"It's difficult," Frederick muttered.
Because Iron Ore Town is located on a traffic artery bordering the Principality of Wesson and has its own high-tech industry of glass production, it is not very representative in the Bohemian region.
I'm afraid Stoweland is a typical example of this region. It has a small population, infrastructure damage caused by 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 that requires great efforts and a long time to cultivate.
Baron Stowe saw the convoy on the mountain and immediately asked Jory to greet them while he went back to prepare.
Frederick, Maria and others followed Jory into the city and did not stay in the castle, but in the church in the town.
The church is the only intact building in the town. Even if there are different denominations, the local tradition is that the winner throws people out of the window without damaging the fixed assets such as the building that they are prepared to receive.
Many buildings in the town still had traces of fire, and Maria found an arrow stuck in a higher part of a house.
Behind the church there was accommodation for pilgrims, passing monks and travelers. After Frederick stayed, Stowe came to visit.
Stowe said to Frederick apologetically: "Fifteen years ago, the army of the Piast Kingdom fought here with the army of the Osmaga Empire. It has been barely repaired in the past two years."
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Frederick nodded and said: "Everything will be fine."
Stowe immediately said: "This is also thanks to your Elizabeth potato, steam engine and shotgun. Without these, I would not have recovered so quickly."
Frederick smiled and said: "This is mainly your own efforts."
He vaguely heard Stowe's intention to reach out, but he didn't want to reveal his purpose so early this time.
The work here still needs to be done slowly and not be too obvious, otherwise it will easily attract some evil hands with malicious intentions.
After being polite, Stowe held a banquet here to welcome Frederick and Maria, but did not dare to take them to the shabby castle for fear of being considered contemptuous.
The main course of the banquet was only a roasted lamb, or half of it. The lamb was mashed with local spices and smeared all over, then placed on a tray. Some seasonal vegetables were placed underneath and baked in a bread oven.
The wine is made from wild grapes in the mountains and is a bit sour.
Stowe continued apologetically: "My family originally had a vineyard on the mountain, but it has been abandoned due to the war, so we can only pick some wild grapes to make this kind of wine." Maria replied: "The difficulty is only temporary. In the future It will be fine.”
Stowe continued to complain, saying that the Osmaga Empire and the Piast Kingdom had been fighting back and forth here for decades, and now the two sides ran away, leaving this mess behind. In order to buy steam engines and shotguns, he spent all his family's gold. All the silver jewelry was sold.
He finally said: "Why don't you, sir, take a look at what I have here that can be sold at a good price?"
Frederick said with some embarrassment: "There should be good things in your territory. Even if you sell wood first and then cultivate farmland, you can still make good profits by selling grain, meat, and cheese."
"However, along the way, I have found that the roads here are not very good and the transportation costs are too high. I am afraid it is not very competitive."
Stowe said helplessly: "Yes, during the war in the past, they often destroyed roads to stop the enemy. As a result, it was us who suffered."
He remembered that Jory had said that Grand Duke Wesson liked women the most, followed by building roads, so he used this topic to say: "My brother Sir Jory is responsible for the commercial affairs in the territory. After calculation, he found that because the roads are too Poor, our heavy goods such as stone ore and lumber will be uncompetitive because the freight is too high, so we can only sell light-weight forest goods such as mushrooms.”
"I also want to repair the road, but I really don't have the money. I still have a small balance payment for the steam engine that will be paid off at the end of the year."
"Besides, building roads is not my business alone. Even if the roads in my territory are built, the roads going out of my territory to others will be just as bad."
Frederick ate a piece of roasted lamb and nodded: "Yes, one or two sections of road are of little use. Only by forming a road network can it have the greatest effect."
His love for building roads has long been known to everyone, and Stowe obviously recognized this, but now was not the time to agree.
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Stowe said tentatively: "Actually, we are also worried about what we will do if the road is too easy and others come to attack us."
"So some of our lords here felt that their neighbors were too strong and might attack them, so they took the initiative to destroy the road."
"There is nothing we can do about it. We have been afraid of wars for decades."
"To tell you the truth, the past few years have been the most peaceful times for us to sleep. We are not afraid that the troops of the Osmaga Empire or the Piast Kingdom will attack one day."
"Oh, I'm really afraid that these days are over."
Frederick pretended not to hear the overtones and never mentioned military-related topics such as selling weapons. He just said: "I learned from Queen Anna that the Osmaga Empire will not get involved for a long time. You here.”
"But I don't know about the Piast Kingdom. Our relationship now is just an ordinary business relationship."
He heard Stowe's fear of war from the conversation just now, so he gave Stowe some reassurance.
In the past, two major powers were interested in this place, but now there is only one. In theory, they will feel more at ease, and at the same time, it implies that the demand for weapons is not that strong.
Seeing that he was avoiding talking about some issues, Stowe could only sigh: "Yes, we are not afraid of those two behemoths anymore."
"What I'm a little worried about now is my neighbors. I'm very weak. A few of your guards can knock down my castle. If any neighbor regains his strength in a few years, I won't be able to stop him. Then I won't be able to stop him. Maybe go to Weissenburg to find a job to make ends meet.”
He hinted to Frederick that now those two countries are gone, but you are right next to them, and you have come with so many soldiers. You obviously intend to intervene, so you can stand in line.
Frederick saw that what he said was pitiful, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The times have changed now. This is an era of development and reconciliation. We must focus on the consensus of seeking a happier and more comfortable life, seek common ground while reserving differences, and work together to develop." To see the beauty of peace, we cannot just resort to war. Everyone hopes for a peaceful life, what do you think?”
Stowe replied: "Yes, Grand Duke."
(End of chapter)