Action Meeting (Part 1)

August. Hot, stifling, the scorching sun beating down on the earth, making one feel as if they were living in an oven.

In the small garden of the castle, Psyche and Katie sat together in the stone pavilion, drinking tea and discussing the paper mill. Both were wearing white long-sleeved shirts and the only two Bragi Dresses in the world.

Beautiful people look good in anything. A couple of days ago, when Katie went with Kler to check on the land leveling for the paper mill, dressed in a light green dress and a large pink hat, Kler, because of the heat, got a nosebleed.

Romain's apprentices are quite busy now. The orders from the castle maids and the use of Magic Lamps have them working overtime through the night. Previously, due to fire safety, no lamps or candles were allowed in the tailor shop.

There was no other way. As soon as August hit, the weather suddenly became hot and dry. The old people lamented that they had never experienced a summer this hot in their lives. Wearing the elaborate dresses of the past would make you sweat even if you stood still.

Men weren't camels either, and between being drenched in sweat and wearing cool clothing, they chose the latter.

The traditional round-neck shirt was considered underwear, only worn directly outside by farmers, laborers, and shepherds while working.

Now it's different. The shirts designed by Baron Weissen have collars and pockets like outerwear. They're clearly light jackets, not underwear. The round-neck pullover underwear is worn underneath.

After putting on the new shirts, everyone realized that their old puffy, colorful tights were no longer appropriate.

Looking around, Frederick's straight-leg trousers were loose, airy, and generous, so they switched to those.

But men couldn't go without accessories, so everyone turned their attention to belt buckles.

Frederick seemed a bit distracted during the meeting that day. All the attendees were wearing white shirts and dark trousers, only lacking a thermos in their hands.

Only Richard Nahl looked depressed. How could he go on a long trip to deliver a letter and come back to find everyone had changed clothes while he was still the same, sitting there completely out of place?

As a military fortress, the castle naturally had a place for commanding operations. However, for safety, the command center was located in the very center of the castle, with only vents and no windows, making it incredibly stuffy and hot.

Solving this problem wasn't difficult. With a group of mages here, several large blocks of ice quickly appeared in the corner.

Today was the final meeting before the Wessen Territory was about to proactively welcome the refugees. If there were no other changes, Frederick would officially visit the Duchy of Mainz three days from now.

Before this, Richard Nahl had acted as a messenger to deliver Frederick's handwritten letters to the relevant territories, communicated about the Weissen Family's merchant caravan crossing the border, and even made a trip to Cologne, the royal capital.

A life-sized map, drawn on cotton cloth, hung on the wall. Richard Nahl stood by the map, holding a pointer, and reported on the results of his visits.

"I first visited Count Rothe, Count Fürth, and Count Ansbach," he said, pointing to the three counties northwest of the Wessen Territory. "They agreed to let us borrow their land to transport the refugees, set up transit camps, and guaranteed they wouldn't create any obstacles. At the same time, they are willing to sell grain at the current market price."

Frederick asked with a cold smile, "Are they really not going to pull any stunts?"

These few families and the Weissen Family were all nails that King William had placed here. The Ansbach Territory is west of the Wessen Territory, and the Rothe Territory is north. Transporting the refugees requires passing through these areas.

When King William put the blame on Frederick's father, they all had a hand in kicking the Wessen Territory while it was down, with some neighbors being particularly enthusiastic.

Richard Nahl also said with a cold smile, "They wouldn't dare. I subtly hinted that if there were any problems, we would leave the refugees there and not move, which scared them so much they almost wrote it down."

Frederick nodded. These refugees were a good thing for him, but a deadly poison for other lords.

At the same time, sending Richard Nahl as a messenger also had the intention of letting this human nuclear warhead deter the neighbors.

Just then, Ah Fu walked in and whispered a few words in Frederick's ear. Everyone noticed he had lost a lot of weight compared to before.

Frederick said, "Let him in. There's no need to hide this from him."

A moment later, Ah Fu brought in a burly middle-aged man.

Before the man could bow, Richard Nahl said with a smile, "Oh, it's you, you little lion."

"Lion" Orr was a well-known war contractor in the circle, meaning a mercenary leader.

In this idyllic era, the vast majority of the population was engaged in agricultural production, and very few territories could assemble a standing army.

Only in places with poor mountains and harsh waters, where people couldn't make a living, would they come out to do life-risking work.

For lords, it was more cost-effective to hire these professionals than to spend a lot of money building a standing army.

The Wessen Territory also had business dealings with mercenaries. Last year, when Count Weissen went on campaign, he hired Orr. They were fighting the fire when the supply camp was attacked, and they also brought back the bodies of the dead.

Because of this, Frederick wrote to Orr, saying he had a big business deal to discuss.

After Orr came in, he first bowed to Frederick, then greeted Richard Nahl and called him "teacher."

Richard Nahl just nodded. Frederick pointed to the end of the conference table and said, "You sit down first. We'll talk about your business later."

Orr obediently sat down. Richard Nahl continued, pointing at the map, "Now for some bad news."

"The refugees have been driven by the local lords to the areas along the Rhine River and Main River, and they are moving upstream."

"However, they don't know where the Wessen Territory is. Many people have never left home more than 10 kilometers in their lives. At first, they thought it was very close, but the long-term displacement and the life without a future have made the rumor that they can survive if they reach the Wessen Territory gradually lose credibility."

"Currently, the refugees are moving very slowly. Basically, the local lords send people to give them some food so they don't starve to death, and then drive them away."

"The refugees are currently in very poor condition, with only the clothes on their backs, and many are sick."

"It's still summer now, but I'm afraid they won't make it through the winter."

"However, there's some good news."

"This time I went to Cologne and met with Archbishop Viktor. After discussing, he agreed to send priests from the Archdiocese of Rhine to help the refugees. Churches along the way will provide food and medicine to the refugees, and he gladly accepted the benefits of sending priests to the Wessen Territory."

Frederick nodded slightly.

In a world with magic, the status of religion constantly changes.

In the era of low magic technology, they emerged because of people's sense of mystery about natural phenomena and magic.

But after magic technology developed, they couldn't preach many miracles anymore, otherwise Richard Nahl and others could perform them for you on the spot.

Many years ago, the Church of Light, a group specializing in medicine, stood out with its professional knowledge. After growing strong at the grassroots level, it thrived on the fear and despair of the working class caused by the exploitative system, and the need of the exploiting class to use it as a spiritual means of anesthesia and control over the masses.

The Churches of the Earth God in the far west of this continent, the Church of Nature in the far north, and the Church of Flame in the southern continent all follow the same path.

Now, Frederick's cooperation with Archbishop Viktor, who is at a disadvantage in the internal struggle, is a win-win situation.

Richard Nahl continued, "I met with Grand Duke Dalberg in Mainz City. He greatly appreciated Baron Weissen's kindness in voluntarily taking in the refugees and agreed to let us set up refugee camps within the Duchy of Mainz. The location chosen is Lohr."

Frederick raised an eyebrow and said, "Lohr? What a coincidence. Baron Philip von Ertal, the lord there, is visiting tomorrow or the day after."

Richard Nahl tapped the location of Lohr on the map with a pointer and said, "It's by the Main River and surrounded by mountains."

Frederick understood. He just didn't know what Baron Ertal would think after learning about this.

Richard Nahl drew a line on the map from Lohr all the way to the Wessen Territory and said, "There hasn't been heavy rain in the surrounding area for nearly a month, and river transportation has been significantly affected. The part that was originally planned to be transported by water probably won't work."

Frederick nodded, then had the old knight Franz come to the map to explain the plan for transporting the refugees.

However, Franz didn't step forward; instead, he let his son, Young Franz, take the stage.