Chapter 444 What seems like a good thing is a bad thing
At the end of February, the weather suddenly warmed up, and people put on beautiful spring clothes.
In recent years, the city of Weissenburg has continued to expand outwards, and there have been calls to demolish the city wall and replace the wall hangings with street light poles.
As the population grew and the demand for food increased, new agricultural models emerged near cities.
Frederick divided a large piece of land into small farms the size of a football field. He built a small building on a piece of land and rented it to a family. The family could grow vegetables, pasture and raise pigs, cattle and sheep. Chickens can also be raised, mainly providing non-staple food to the city.
Some farmers with extensive connections have set up "farmhouses", building a wooden house independently and setting aside a piece of land in front of the house, allowing wealthy people in the city to grow their favorite vegetables.
These places are not far from the city. It is very convenient for rich people to visit during holidays. It is also a pleasure to wear a scarf and hoe the ground like a farmer, pull out weeds, apply some fertilizer, and finally harvest. .
Of course, when they are not here, the farmer will help take care of the field, otherwise the field will only end up with weeds.
On the last day of February, Frederick took Maria and Susan to a small farm. His senior sister Katie rented a small vegetable plot the size of a basketball court from the farmer here. I plan to plant asparagus this year.
Katie’s son Gio, 4 years old, followed Maria and Susan with a small hoe to dig up the soil. Soon there will be bug-eating birds looking for food.
Maria's three-headed dog crawled on the edge of the field, and there were several thermos cups in a basket next to it.
Katie was preparing flatbread and meat in the kitchen of the cabin, while Frederick and Koehler were sitting at the dining table picking asparagus seeds.
Koehler said to Frederick: "I used to know a friend when I was in Constantbul. He is now working as a consultant in the home of a count in the forest ocean, and I have been in contact with him again in the past two years. "
"He came with his lord this time and told me something while drinking with me two days ago."
"This winter, there were several outsiders in the forest. There are many nobles walking around, looking like someone’s messenger.”
"His lord also met one of them, and the two talked secretly for a long time."
"The content of the conversation was very strange. It sounded like a messenger sent by you to persuade the count to join the 'Elbe Convention Organization' advocated by you. '."
Frederick became confused after hearing this. He proposed the concept of the "Elbe Treaty Organization" last year. It was just a commercial and trade organization and did not involve politics. At that time, everyone was interested in it after considering it. 3 Come join us for a meeting every month.
During this period, you did not arrange any envoys to lobby?
He thought of a possibility and asked: "Have those people suggested any benefits that I would give them after joining the organization?"
There was an incident in Weissenburg before. A store claimed that they could give away eggs if they had enough points. However, many people refused to accept the offer once they had enough points. In the end, the store was smashed.
Frederick was worried that someone would pretend to be him and make random promises. After joining the organization and finding out that there were no benefits, there would definitely be trouble.
Koehler told him the information he had learned. Most of the benefits of joining the organization were the same as what he had said before, but there was one thing that was not missing.
"It is said that after joining the organization, you will build the railway to their territory." Koehler said, "They also used your words in the Helvetia Federation as an example."
Frederick's brows furrowed, this was indeed not mentioned.
It's not that he didn't think about building railways in the forest and ocean. The problem is that there are too many small nobles in one side. There are 7 counts and 15 powerful barons. In addition, there are dozens of barons whose territories are less than 50 square kilometers. .
The root cause is that for many years the Osmaga Empire has wanted to exert influence there, but has been too lazy to spend energy to manage it. As long as it is willing to be loyal and pay protection fees every year, it will give a title to it.
This situation is not limited to the forest and ocean areas, but also to the areas controlled by the Osmaga Empire east of the Elbe River.
Building the railway requires land acquisition. Frederick himself is the largest landowner in the Principality of Wesson. The largest landowners in the Osmaga Empire and the Helvetia Federation all agree to build the railway and use the land for the railway. no problem. But the land in Forest Ocean belongs to small landowners. If one person disagrees, the railway will have to be empty in the middle. If more people disagree, it will become an ellipsis.
Nowadays, many people regard railways as the code of wealth. Once the road is connected, money will come rushing to them.
But there are also those who are against it. They think that their life was pretty good before the railway. But with the railway, they may not be able to live better. On the contrary, others will benefit.
When others get rich, you don’t get rich, and in the end you become someone else’s wallet.
There are examples around us, namely the State of Wesson, the Principality of Franconia, and the Alliance of Regens. The latter two have not changed much, but the former made a fortune, and the latter two disappeared in the end.
So it doesn’t matter if you don’t get rich yourself. The most important thing is that your neighbors can’t get rich. Anything that helps your neighbors get rich will be opposed.
It's good now that someone is helping, lobbying the landowners there to agree to build the railway.
“Those people have bad intentions.” Katie put the meat in the oven and came over to select the seeds they picked out again. “We have been there hunting, and there is nothing but forest there. There are not many mines, and the only advantage of building the railway is to bring the wood over to make paper for us."
"I think their purpose is very clear. If you build the railway, it will be a waste of money. If you don't build the railway, you will offend them. It’s you who will suffer.”
“How about you agree first and then delay”
On the surface, Frederick agrees to build Antonia’s palace portrait. The preparations started in a decent manner. Recently, masters who designed palaces were invited from all over the world, which made everyone known. Rudolph was very satisfied.
Katie helped contact the master in the Kingdom of Sardinia and learned the inside story.
Koehler has a different view than his wife: "The forest ocean area cannot be effectively explored because of the dense forest. Maybe Mr. Bauer can find minerals."
Koehler said Bauer His full name was Georg Bauer, the current Minister of Land Resources. A few years ago, he came to Koehler for printing and publishing with the "Encyclopedia of Mining and Metallurgy" he had written. Koehler immediately recommended him to Frederick.
Frederick immediately appointed him as director of the Land Resources Bureau and asked him to prospect for minerals in Wesson.
The result is very sad. Wesen State has no mines, but it has gained some benefits when it went to the Principality of Mainz and the Principality of Bain to help.
Frederick thought about it and said: "In the long-term plan, I want to build the railway through the forest and ocean areas all the way to Hanma City."
"But these constructions need to be done step by step, the dough is limited, and the cakes are too spread. The meeting will be broken."
Katie said: "We still have to delay."
Frederick said seriously: "How can we call it delay? This is called preliminary investigation. "
"You have to be careful." Katie warned, "Someone wanted to assassinate you before, and someone caused trouble for you in other places at the same time. Maybe it was the same group of people."
Frederick nodded and had some guesses in his mind, but the suspect was constantly sending money to him, so it was not easy to break his skin.
Katie asked him again: "Are you planning to go out again?"
Frederick replied: "Yes, I am going to the Helvetia Federation to finalize the railway matter. Make a decision, then go to the Kingdom of Gaul to get the title in the lowlands, and finally go to the dark land in the north to talk to the people of the Natural Church."
What the Principality of Wesson needs most now is the market and the market. For raw materials, he had to do business in person.
(End of this chapter)