"Well, but Lord Duke, I have no problem with the nobles taxing their fiefdoms, but Wyande's men levy toll taxes on passers-by, what do you say?
< And this tax is really outrageous, one silver coin for a person, and two silver coins for a horse, what a high tax, which is eighty percent higher than Brandenburg's tax!
” William looked at Locks in front of him, and there was something unkind in his expression.
Although it was said that it was the right of the lords to collect taxes, it was a felony to collect taxes in excess of the limits set by the royal government, and the crime was so severe that it could even confiscate fiefs and titles.
"Your Majesty, the minister will not say more, how Hui'an will punish and hand it over to the court of the kingdom to pronounce the sentence, the minister will never interfere, but Hui'an De is still young after all, and the minister hopes that His Majesty can give Hui Ande a chance to mend his ways" "Okay, the matter of Huiander will be judged by the court of the kingdom, let's talk about the matter of the noble council."
Saying that, William smiled and changed the topic, seeing that William did not give himself a positive statement, Locks had a different feeling in his heart, but after all, William was the king, and Locks could not force William to give him an answer on a topic.
"Your Majesty, as you wish, the government has distributed most of the invitations to the nobles everywhere, and only a few have not yet received an accurate response because of the long distance, but I think it will be soon."
"Well, you're doing a good job, Locks, don't you really think we shouldn't meddle in the affairs of France and Russia?"
"This........
Your Majesty, the minister still thinks that what we Prussia need to do at first is to accumulate strength, you must know that compared with France and Russia, our Prussia's strength is not superior, and rashly interfering in the domestic affairs of the two countries in such a situation will not only make the attitude of the two countries towards our country extremely bad, but even make the European countries think that our country is taking advantage of the danger of others."
"There's some truth to what you're saying, but now I have something for you to see!"
With that, William handed a document to Locks "This document was sent back by our spies in Warsaw, and it says that Kutuzov, the governor of Russian Poland, is willing to consult with us in Prussia on certain matters, and that Kutuzov is not acting on his own behalf.
They have their influence in the Black Sea region of Russia and the Far East."
As William spoke, Locks intently flipped through the papers in his hand, and the more he flipped through them, the more Locks' brow became more and more furrowed.
After a while, Locks closed the document, codenamed Top Secret "Your Majesty, Kutuzov's conditions do look tempting.
But all this has a premise.
The Russian Janissaries in St.
Petersburg and Moscow were now completely under Paul's control, and even with the addition of forces in the Black Sea region and the Far East, Kutuzov was not favorable.
The conditions he gave were undoubtedly just a good-looking paper cake!
” Kutuzov's offer was indeed tempting, and if Prussia gave him strong support, then once Kutuzov and his men took control of the Russian Empire, then all of Lithuania, all of Latvia, and all of Ukraine would be handed over to Prussian rule.
Correspondingly, of course, Prussia entered the war best.
If he did not enter the war, then Kutuzov must be provided with enough weapons and equipment to equip 20,000 men, 3,000 horses, 60 artillery pieces, 3 million silver coins, and make an international statement in support of the great cause of Kutuzov and others.
It seems that Kutuzov seems to have suffered a little, but you must know that all this is based on the fact that he can succeed, once Kutuzov fails, then let alone these territories, all the things supported by Prussia will be lost, and William will also be hostile to Russia and even war.
"Locks, I remember you told me that there were three enemies that constrained Prussia's growth.
One in the east, one in the south and the other in the west.
Although I do not believe in Joseph II's promise, for the time being, there will be no major changes in our south, so that we in Prussia will have to go east or west if we want to develop.
And now that our two enemies in the East and West are in a state of weakness, it is our good opportunity, and if we seize this opportunity, then Prussia will become the sole hegemon of Europe.
This is exactly what all of us in Prussia want!
” William's tone of voice can be described as affectionate.
Occasionally, there were a few body movements, but these words did not impress Locks at all.
As an old man who has been floating in the sea for decades.
Locks has passed the age of being easily excited, looking at William in front of him, Locks seems to see Frederick the Great, 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 composed.
Your Majesty, let me share your worries again!
Just when Locks sighed in his heart that the world was impermanent, William looked at Locks, who was silent in front of him, and his face was a little difficult to look at.
After a moment, Locks, who had come to his senses, spoke first "Your Majesty, we Prussia simply do not have the energy to interfere in the internal affairs of two behemoths, the East and the West you have to choose one, is it France or Russia?"
Locks' question left William stunned.
To be honest, Wilhelm was not the kind of person who was blindly arrogant, and he also knew that with Prussian power, he could only choose between France or Russia as the direction of development, otherwise, Prussia would not be able to grasp it at all.
But William was not reconciled, and large-scale civil strife in France and Russia was expected, and in such a situation, William was not willing to choose one over the other.
It's like having two plump peaches in front of you, and you can only hold one peach in your belly, but no one wants to choose one and leave the other (unless he's losing weight).
Seeing that William's face was a little flustered, Locks took advantage of the situation and said "Your Majesty, I think it is still possible to expand the army appropriately, but our Prussia is limited, France and Russia we can only choose one, this is up to you to decide, if you can be reasonable, then I will do my best to help you!"
Without waiting for William to reply, Locks stood up and saluted William, and then left the room.
To be continued... ）