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Catherine's sharp words made Catherine look at this young man who she had always thought was focused on military affairs, and her sharp military skills had already made Catherine feel blind, and now she had to admit that this person's political sense and vision were no less than her father's, and she used various opportunities to painstakingly arrange it at a glance in the eyes of the other party. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

With a look of admiration in her eyes, Catherine nodded, she realized that there was no point in playing dumb riddles with the other party like this, she created this situation to wait for the price to sell, and the buyer had arrived, it seemed that it was time to pick out the purpose and wait for the buyer to offer a suitable price.

"Frederick, worthy of Brundtland's son, how do you see that?" Catherine also liked to be cheerful, especially when it didn't make any sense to soak in mushrooms, and she preferred to go straight.

"Your Excellency Qu Lin rejected me at my invitation in every way, and now he has come to the Free Dominion as a military commander, is this just to strengthen the defense of Free City? Frederick's thoughtful gaze was fixed on Catherine's smooth and fair face, and there was much unfinished meaning in his words.

"Sure enough, Frederick, I still underestimate you, that's right, I intend to expand the military power of the Free Dominion, and I also want to change the policy that the Free Dominion has always pursued to rely on the strong to survive, Comini has disappeared, I don't want the land and wealth left to me by my ancestors to be wiped out overnight, but as you said, the current situation of the Free Dominion, no matter how strong the military power is, it cannot be compared with your Luzon and Pasha, but in the case of the two powers, my Free City may be able to play an unexpected role。 Before you, Kutuzov had sent people to contact me many times, and I have been waiting for your arrival. The Duchess's face turned calm, but her words were sonorous, and the determination in her chest was exposed.

Frowning slightly, Frederick nodded, "Grand Duke, it seems that you are waiting for me to give you a better price, I wonder what you are interested in?

"Money, Frederick, do you think the Free Dominions are short of money? The Covenant is worthless without the strength to back it up. Land, yes, it's land, I need land, and the Free Dominion needs a broader strategic depth, so I want a piece of land that belongs to the Free Dominion. Duchess Catherine replied in a serious tone, and it was clear from her unwavering attitude that she was bound to win this time.

Sure enough, hearing the other party's words, Frederick's heart was not surprised at the same time, the shallow strategic depth of the Free Dominion is the biggest weakness of the Free City, even if there are enough troops, but it can only maintain the defense of the Free City, surrounded by the territory of Luzon and Pasha, if either side attacks, and the other side does not react quickly enough, the Free City may face the end of the destruction of the city, and Catherine now seems to want to change this situation.

"I can understand your worries, Archduke Catherine, but have you ever thought that even if you gain enough strategic depth, you will be able to change the current situation of the Free Dominion? No matter how great the strategic depth is, without the support of the allies, it is the same, and the Free Dominion will not be able to last long under the full force of Pasha or Luzon, and this must be clear to His Excellency Qu Lin. ”

"I don't need to tell me that I know that the Dominions may not be able to change the tide of the world by doing this, but at least we will have a lot more choice, Pasha or Luzon, we can all be allies, and we don't have to be more influenced by the outside world than we are now, don't you?" Catherine smiled and glanced at each other defiantly.

Frederick once again comprehended the ferociousness of the other party, and dared to threaten himself openly with the language of an alliance with the Pashas, a woman who was not yet cunning and difficult in general, but now it seemed that he could only take advantage of her ambition.

"Hehe, the Pasha people can provide better conditions for the Grand Duke, and Frederick does not dare to fight, if the Grand Duke feels that the Pasha people are not suitable and is willing to choose to continue to maintain the existing alliance with Luzon, Frederick also welcomes it, everything depends on you, the Grand Duke. Frederick replied with a smirk.

"Frederick, you little rabbit cub, don't play some dumb riddles to the old lady, are you here this time just to say these unspeakable words? The Pasha people and the peninsular alliance have made peace, their armies are constantly moving westward, the Tang people are encroaching on whales in East Luzon, and they are also eyeing the South Indian side of Dean, do you think I don't know? Catherine smiled again, and the pair of bulging crests on her chest rose and fell, which was refreshing to watch.

"The Pasha people are also on the side, whether it is the Tang people, Frederick has his own way of dealing with it, and he doesn't bother the duke. Frederick smiled indifferently, as if he was not in the least worried about the threat from the Pasha and the Don.

"Really, am I worrying about it?" replied Catherine.

"Hehe, that's not true, I'd love to maintain our relationship with Archduke Catherine, but if Archduke Catherine thinks you can take this opportunity to blackmail Frederick, I have to tell Archduke Catherine that your thoughts are a little wrong. Unity is mutually beneficial, and division is mutually beneficial, and I believe that the liberal self-government will hurt even more. Frederick's tone was unmistakable.

"It's really hard for you to think about me, the sentence "two benefits and two injuries for two" still sounds like some truth, Frederick, I don't think we need to go into details, let's talk about the conditions, you and I are both understanding people, gentlemen are frank, wouldn't it be better to pick out what you have?" Catherine said earnestly.

"Well, if the Grand Duke has any conditions, he may wish to put it forward directly, and if Frederick can meet them, he will not lie to him. "Frederick is also a quick talker, and it is much easier to get into the topic of real surnames.

"I once asked the Pasha people to hand over the Fergan region to me, but the Pasha people demanded to cash it in after defeating you Luzon, and I am not interested in paying first and then delivering the goods, I don't know what do you think, Frederick?" Catherine did not hide that she had been in contact with the Pasha people, and politicians and businessmen alike need to be connected in many ways to choose the right conditions for trading.

"Hehe, the core of the problem is not the question of paying the money first and then paying the money, but the question of whether you can keep it after you get the goods. Frederick also unceremoniously pointed out the reason why the other party did not dare to trade with the Pasha people, and said coldly: "At present, Pasha still has a considerable advantage for Luzon, if it is supported by the Free Dominion, then Luzon will definitely not be able to support it, and without the containment of Luzon, then the Free Dominion will still exist for the Pasha people?"

"Then according to your opinion, the Free Dominion can only fight you Luzon?" Catherine asked with a light snort on her expression.

"At least for now, this is the only way to resist the attack of the Pasha people with the cooperation of our two families, of course, since the Grand Duke has spent so much effort to reorganize his army and practice martial arts, he naturally wants to make a return, and Frederick is willing to listen to the Grand Duke's thoughts. Frederick didn't dare to push the other party too hard, he faced two enemies, the slightest mistake will fall into passivity, for the help in front of him, as long as the other party's requirements are not too much, he is more willing to compromise in exchange for the other party's support.

"It's very simple, the area east of the Po River and south of the Free Dominion of Komini has been transferred to the Free Dominion, Frederick, you don't have to worry about the Pasha people breaking through from this area, Qulin will act as the first powerful shield for you. Catherine's gaze locked on the other's expression.

"Hmph, the Grand Duke is a good idea, Sakura will take the 8,000 square kilometers of land with one mouth, but there is no problem, Frederick can accept this condition, but what conditions does the Grand Duke plan to exchange for?" Frederick smiled slightly, and snapped his fingers a little frivolously.

"Well, it's good enough, Frederick is much better than your father. The 70,000 troops of the Free Dominion will be part of the Allied Army, and Qu Lin will be at your disposal, as long as it does not harm the interests of the Free Dominion, these 70,000 troops will be your absolutely reliable ally. Catherine laughed, but seeing that the other party was still shaking her head slightly, she also knew that this benefit was not enough to satisfy the other party, and continued: "How about the two loans of Luzon and Comini in the previous one with interest?"

"Grand Duke, is the value of this land worth this price, in addition to land, this also includes the more than 100,000 people and wealth of this land, which is equivalent to the land area of two free dominions. Frederick shrugged, "Not enough, far from enough." ”

"Then Frederick, what do you think still needs from the Free Dominions?" Catherine felt that the question was a bit tricky when she heard the other party say this, and she did not know what kind of harsh demands the other party would make.

In addition to the above conditions, the Free City would need to pay the Kingdom of Luzon 150,000,000 gold grains (a common currency in the Andean region, one gold grain is about the same as half an empire's gold coin) in return, and the Free Dominions would need to form a self-defense force of no less than 30,000 men to join the Allied forces within three months. Frederick laughed, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

(To be continued)