"Okay, but Your Excellency Duke, I have no problem with nobles taxing their own fiefdoms, but Hui Ande's men collect toll taxes from passers-by. What do you say? And this tax is really outrageous. One person
One silver coin, while a horse costs two silver coins. What a high tax this is, which is a full 80% higher than Brandenburg’s tax!”
William looked at Rocks in front of him with a somewhat evil look on his face. Although the collection of taxes can be said to be the right of the lords, collecting taxes that exceed the limit set by the royal government is a serious crime. This crime is so serious that it can even confiscate the fiefdom and title.
"Your Majesty, I won't say any more. How Hui'an will be punished will be handed over to the kingdom's court for judgment. I will never interfere. However, Hui'an is still young after all. I hope that your majesty can give Hui'an a chance to change his ways."
"Okay, Hui Ande's matter will be decided by the kingdom's court. Let's talk about the meeting of nobles."
William smiled and changed the topic. Seeing that William did not give him a positive statement, Rocks felt a different feeling in his heart. But after all, William was the king, and Rocks could not force William on a topic.
Give him the answer.
"Your Majesty, as you wish, the government has sent most of the invitations to nobles in various places, but only a small part of them have not received an accurate response due to the long distance, but I think it should be soon."
"Well, you did a good job, Rocks, do you really think we shouldn't interfere in France and Russia?"
"This... Your Majesty, I still believe that what Prussia needs to do first is to accumulate strength. You must know that compared to France and Russia, our Prussian strength is not superior. In such a situation, we have to rashly
Interfering in the domestic affairs of the two countries will not only make the two countries' attitudes toward our country extremely bad, but will even make European countries think that our country is taking advantage of others' danger."
"What you said makes sense, but now I have something I want you to see!"
As he spoke, William handed a document to Locks.
"This document was sent back by our spies in Warsaw. It says that the Governor of Russian Poland, Kutuzov, is willing to discuss certain matters with Prussia. Moreover, Kutuzov also revealed that his actions
It doesn’t just represent him alone. They also have their forces in the Black Sea region of Russia and the Far East region.”
While William was speaking, Rocks was concentrating on turning over the documents in his hand. The more he turned over the papers, the more Rocks frowned.
After a while, Rocks closed the document codenamed Top Secret.
"Your Majesty, Kutuzov's conditions do seem very tempting. But there are preconditions to this. The Russian Guards in St. Petersburg and Moscow are now completely under Paul's control, even if the Black Sea area is added
And the power in the Far East, I am not optimistic about Kutuzov, so the conditions he gave are undoubtedly just a good-looking paper cake!"
The conditions given by Kutuzov are indeed very tempting. If Prussia gives him strong support, then once people like Kutuzov take control of the Russian Empire, it will include all of Lithuania, all of Latvia and part of Ukraine.
All would be handed over to Prussian rule.
Of course, correspondingly, it is best for Prussia to participate in the war. If it does not participate in the war, it must provide Kutuzov with enough weapons and equipment to equip 20,000 people, 3,000 horses, 60 artillery pieces, 3 million silver coins, and international support.
issued a statement supporting the great cause of Kutuzov and others.
It seems that Kutuzov seems to be at a disadvantage, but you must know that all this is based on his success. Once Kutuzov fails, let alone these territories, all Prussian support will be in vain.
Moreover, William will also be subject to Russian hostility and even war.
"Lokes, I remember you once told me that there are three enemies that restrict the growth of Prussia. One is in the east, one is in the south and the other is in the west. Although I do not believe in Joseph II's promise, but at present,
There will be no major changes in our south for the time being. As a result, Prussia has only two ways to develop: east or west. And now our two enemies in the east and west are in weakness.
Our good opportunity, once we seize this opportunity, Prussia will become the sole hegemon in Europe. This is what all of us in Prussia hope for!"
The tone of William's words could be said to be affectionate and occasionally accompanied by a few body movements, but these words did not move Rocks at all.
As an old man who has been in officialdom for decades, Locks has passed the age of being easily excited. Looking at William in front of him, Locks seemed to see Frederick the Great again. How similar the two are!
Both of them are unwilling to be lonely and ambitious, but compared to Frederick, William is less rebellious but more calm. Your Majesty, please be your minister and share your worries again!
Just when Rocks was lamenting the impermanence of the world, William looked at Rocks, who was silent in front of him, and his face looked a little ugly.
After a while, Rocks, who came back to his senses, spoke first.
"Your Majesty, we in Prussia have no energy to interfere in the internal affairs of these two behemoths. You must choose between East and West. Is it France or Russia?"
Rocks' question made William stunned.
To be honest, William is not the kind of blind and arrogant person. He also knows that with Prussia's power, it can only choose between France or Russia as the direction of development. Otherwise, Prussia will not be able to do anything. But William does not
Be willing to do so, large-scale civil strife in France and Russia can be expected. Under such circumstances, William is not willing to choose one over the other. It is like having two plump peaches in front of you,
Obviously your belly can only accommodate one peach, but no one is willing to choose only one peach and ignore the other (unless he is losing weight).
Seeing William's face a little flustered, Rocks took advantage of the situation and said
"Your Majesty, I think appropriate military expansion is still possible, but our Prussian strength is limited. We can only choose one between France and Russia. You have to make your own decision. If you can be more rational, then I will do my best.
Here to help you!”
With that said, without waiting for William to reply, Rocks stood up, bowed to William, and then left the room. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at Qidian.com)
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