International Affairs

The castle's sitting room was quite cool, untouched by the blazing sun outside.

"Don't worry. Have a cup of tea first."

Frederick poured a glass of Kang Shuai Fu Iced Black Tea for his visitor, Baron Philip von Ertal. He had mixed it himself.

Philip picked up the chilled tea and took a sip. It tasted good, and he calmed down.

King William's expulsion of refugees into Wessen Territory was now known throughout the land. The Rhine River Basin was up in arms.

At first, Philip had worried that the refugees would pass through his territory along the Main River. Now, he no longer had to worry—they would be stopping in his territory.

That was a disaster. Rumors were spreading everywhere that the refugees were possessed by demons. Wherever they went, they would even cut an earthworm in half: one piece to eat today, the other to save for tomorrow.

Philip set down his empty teacup and looked at Frederick. "You're certainly taking this calmly."

"But then again, when I visited three years ago, you didn't say a word. You just sat there quietly."

Frederick set down his own teacup, pursed his lips, and said glumly, "Actually, I'd already started losing my baby teeth back then."

For a moment, Philip didn't know what to say.

Frederick asked solemnly, "May I ask whether Baron Ertal's visit concerns the matter from three years ago that came to nothing, or the refugees this time?"

Philip's heart skipped a beat. This conversation had taken an unexpected turn, but as a seasoned diplomat, he knew how to keep his composure. He asked calmly, "Baron Weissen knows about what happened three years ago?"

Frederick met his eyes and said in an even tone, "The Duchy of Mainz, the Duchy of Bayern, and the City of Nuremberg are the three largest powers in the south of the Rhine Alliance. The Duke of Mainz and the Duke of Bayern each have the power to influence the candidates for the throne."

"After the Osmagar Empire defeated the Second Pulan Empire, it broke up the empire and indirectly took control of Eastern Capital and the vast plains to the north. That left only the Rhine Alliance, struggling to survive in the mountain valleys. It's been more than a hundred years now."

"The old imperial family fell apart, and the last emperor's descendants became kings of the Rhine Alliance. The various regions have long been dissatisfied with the royal house, but they've had to hold together under pressure from the Osmagar Empire and the Kingdom of Gaul."

"Now the Osmagar Empire is in turmoil over the succession to the throne, while the Kingdom of Gaul and the Kingdom of Riesenburg are bogged down in a long war. Our King William tried to take advantage of the situation to occupy the Low Countries, but suffered a crushing defeat."

"If the Duchy of Mainz, the Duchy of Bayern, and the City of Nuremberg were to unite and become one country, it wouldn't be impossible."

"That's precisely why the late king showed such foresight. On his deathbed, he sent several of our families to stir up trouble where the three powers meet."

"Your visit three years ago was an attempt to get the Weissen Family to join your cause, but my father didn't give you an answer."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sitting room fell silent.

A moment later, Philip began to applaud.

"Very well put!" he said with a smile. "Everything else is right, though you've left out one detail at the end."

"Who taught you that?"

Frederick shrugged and said casually, "You can figure it out just by looking at a map."

Philip naturally didn't believe him. Like everyone else, he assumed Frederick had some reclusive master behind him. If an eight-year-old child had come up with all that on his own, it would be utterly absurd.

"Have you ever studied heraldry?" Philip asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

Frederick was about to say that he'd studied a little when his heart suddenly lurched. A moment later, he stared in surprise, mouth agape.

The designs on noble family crests were carefully chosen. They had to reflect the family's status, the characteristics of its territory, its honors, and other such things.

A river ran through the middle of Philip's territory. His family crest showed a blue river cutting through green fields, a little like the Chinese character for "stretch."

The Weissen Family crest featured this castle, with blue wavy lines at its base to represent a river. But that wasn't the important part. The important part was the eagle above the castle.

Long ago, an emperor of the Second Pulan Empire had been remarkably prolific. He had fathered more than a dozen children with four empresses over the years. After centuries of grants of land and political marriages, many nobles had added an eagle to their family crests.

But most such nobles lived in the prosperous plains to the north. Frederick's great-grandfather had lost his original territory to someone else, then pledged himself to the late king, who sent him south to seize land in the mountains.

Families like theirs, descended from Prince Jing of Zhongshan, were still quite rare in this region.

"Wait, what?" Frederick asked in surprise. "Are you planning to put our family out front as a puppet?"

Philip was even more surprised. Someone could have taught Frederick about history and international affairs, and the boy might have been able to memorize long passages thanks to his good memory. But the moment Philip mentioned heraldry, the boy had immediately guessed their plan—and even realized they intended to use his family as a puppet. Just what kind of mind did he have?

To test whether the boy was an absurdly brilliant genius, Philip asked, "Then what's your answer?"

Frederick immediately put on a serious face. "You needn't worry, sir. We'll set up refugee camps on fallow land in your territory, far from the towns. They won't affect your territory, and they'll provide manure for the fields. It's a win-win."

"Please stay here for the night. I'll prepare a carriage specially made in Wessen Territory, and after breakfast tomorrow, I'll travel with you. We'll push the horses hard and reach Lör by noon."

"Once I've met with the Grand Duke of Mainz, my men will head straight to Lör to receive the refugees."

Philip watched silently as this prodigy finished speaking, then picked up the teapot and poured himself some tea.

"There's something I can tell you in advance." Philip now regarded Frederick as an equal noble, no longer as a child. "My visit to the Duchy of Bayern achieved nothing."

Frederick thought it over as he drank his tea, then said, "You did achieve something. The two sides spoke frankly, exchanged views, and gained a better understanding of each other."

"If you're going to unite, one side will have to take the lead. But the Duchy of Mainz and the Duchy of Bayern are evenly matched, and now they can't unite through marriage. Neither side wants to take second place."

"That's right," Philip said with a nod. "For the foreseeable future, the Duchy of Mainz, the Duchy of Bayern, and the Weissen Family will be the powers dividing up the southern Rhine Alliance. None of us can do anything about the others."

Frederick simply drank his tea calmly, showing no pleasure at the praise.

"Forget it," he said, setting down his teacup. "I still owe King William five thousand florins."

"By the way, won't the Duchy of Mainz buy more steel from us?"

"Though we've temporarily halted steel exports to make sure we have enough for ourselves, we'll be able to resume supplying large quantities once the new workshops come into operation next year."

The waterways from Wessen Territory northward passed through the Duchy of Mainz. They controlled the main routes for both buying raw materials and selling finished goods. Frederick didn't mind letting them take a cut as middlemen. Doing business was about knowing how to handle people, too.

Philip was tempted. Steel was a strategic resource, and steel from Wessen Territory was much cheaper than elsewhere. Whether they used it themselves or sold it on, they stood to make a profit. It was a deal worth pursuing.

Frederick continued, "If you can arrange a steel trade between Wessen Territory and the Duchy of Mainz, I'm willing to pay you a one-percent commission."

Then, the next day, after seeing Philip's daughter, he took the initiative and raised the commission to two percent.