"Mr. Eir, do you have anything to tell me about this time?"

Jonas sat down in a corner of the living room with Il, and Ils also thoughtfully asked the servant to put an extra cushion on Jonas's chair, so that Jonas could look at Il's head to have a conversation, which made Jonas have some good feelings for Il, and from the corner of this living room, you can see all the places in the entire large living room, including the dance floor in the center and a long art exhibition hall next to it, all within sight.

However, what Jonas said still revealed the usual reserve of a local aristocrat towards his immediate superiors, as he said now, using the need, not leaving it to me, or asking me to do it, in language, so that Il would not think too low of himself.

"Of course, Mr. Jonas, our time is very valuable and should not be wasted on conversations, I think that's what we agree on. ”

Il's way of speaking is also interesting, unlike the traditional aristocracy, who will go around in a large circle before stating his purpose, in order to prevent the person being interlocuted from rejecting the content of the conversation itself because of the naked feeling of interest because of the too direct purpose.

On the contrary, Ilr bluntly told Jonas that there was something to discuss with Jonas in this invitation meeting, and in order to prevent the above situation from happening, he put Jonas and himself on the same level in language, so that Jonas did not feel offended, I have to say that this way of speaking does make Jonas very comfortable.

"Mr. Jonas, I hope you will help me to make a name for myself in the aristocratic circles of Piedmont. “

"My lord, I have only been a Viscount of Billo for only two months, and my qualifications are really very shallow, and I have no intersection with the gentlemen around me, and I think you must know that Mr. Earl, because I am the eldest son of the Ruger family, they are not very friendly to me. ”

Il's request was not what Jonas expected, and he said what he had calculated in his mind many times in advance.

These words seem to be quite ordinary, and the surface meaning is actually complaining, but Jonas's words were carefully studied for a while before saying that they were said in this way, and every sentence was purposeful for Jonas, and from the first sentence, Jonas was expressing a key point to Il, that is, his qualifications are not high, and it is difficult for you to complete your task.

The second sentence tells Il the reason why he is not treated well, and this sentence is actually saying on the surface that the reason why he is not liked by these Piedmontese nobles is because he is a member of the Ruger family, and the core problem that Jonas actually wants to express is because the Ruger family is your vassal.

And the reason why Jonas wants to talk like this is only because he doesn't want to do day jobs for others, and to put it more clearly, Jonas is now asking for benefits from Il.

Because the people in the circle that Yir wants to expand his influence are not ordinary people, as long as he gives a steamed bun, he can be grateful to Dade, and he will even kowtow to you, it is not difficult for these nobles to befriend them, but let them accept a lord, it is not an easy job.

First of all, it is necessary to meet their various needs, and if these people who are not lacking in material life want to get them, they must start with their interests and hobbies, which will involve fields such as art, women, men, wealth, power, and affection, which will only make things more difficult for an 8-year-old child.

To do such a thing, it obviously requires a lot of money and a lot of time investment and mental work, such a high-cost job Jonas certainly does not want to be borne by himself, although the result of this matter is also good for his own interests, but he still does not want to use his own money.

He's a debtor~~

Ilr was obviously not stupid either, and Jonas spoke in a way that appealed to his appetite, both telling him what he wanted, and not being explicit, not complaining bluntly that he couldn't eat in Piedmont because of himself, and this kind of Jungian loyalty, coupled with his quick and witty character, seemed to Il, as a diplomatic officer, could not have been more appropriate.

It's just that Ilr is not a philanthropist, in the face of Jonas's blackmail, of course he will not put the benefits directly in Jonas's pocket so easily, as a nobleman, even if he wants to give money, he has to give it with dignity, at this moment Il has completely forgotten that Jonas sitting in front of him is just an 8-year-old child, but regards him as an opponent, and begins to carry out his own counterattack in a situation called discussion.

Yir picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the freshly brewed black tea, then chuckled lightly and said to Jonas:

"Jonas, I don't think what you said is accurate, if before the Battle of Monferrato, perhaps your experience was indeed true and made me sympathize, I apologize to you for not fulfilling my duty to protect the vassals, but this is no longer the case, at this moment, I am about to become the master of two territories, and the nobles who treat you harshly will not treat you as before. ”

Il unconsciously replaced the original honorific with Pingyu, and the super confidence in himself revealed between the words made Jonas a little dazed, doesn't this guy know that Mr. Count of Piedmont is not a simple count?

If you have a question, you have to ask, which is a good habit of Jonas, so he threw the question directly to Il, and at this moment Jonas also began to play the means of political games, and began not to answer Il's question directly, but to answer Ilr with a detour answer.

"My lord, if there is no other force behind the Count of Piedmont, then of course my neighbours would like to make friends with me, but you should be aware of the marriage contract between Mademoiselle de Roma Ducor and the second son of the Duke of Savoy. ”

"I know very well that His Royal Highness the Duke of Savoy has always been full of curiosity about the Susa region, so I just want you to let the gentlemen of Piedmont know me as a person, Monsieur Jonas, don't think too much, I don't need them to be loyal to me now, just need to know my name. ”

Ill's answer made Jonas ponder, could it be that this man did not have the ambition to get involved in Piedmont, but just wanted to be a peaceful nobleman.

If this is really the case, then the situation is very dangerous for Jonas, you must know that with the strength of the original Il and the Count of Karst, Karst will also endure a nobleman who does not belong to him in his own territory, because under the same strength, the Duke of Savoy will not make a move for the ownership of a viscount's territory, which is quite a shameful practice for the duke.

But now it is completely different, after the annexation of Monferrato, Il is no longer a count limited to one land, and now Il will not be worse than a duke in the Alps as long as he can completely digest Monferrato, an economically developed territory close to Venice.

You must know that the county of Saluzzo was originally a very wealthy territory, with a total population of about 300,000, as for why it is approximate, it is really because under the feudal system, it is really difficult to accurately determine the population of a territory to a single digit, so it can only be roughly estimated.

And the total population of 300,000 does not include the population of slaves, if you add the population engaged in various agriculture and mining, the population of the whole territory is about 360,000, of which the population directly managed by Il, about 100,000, and the rest of the people are in the hands of the viscounts and barons.

The wealth of Monferrato is richer than that of Saluzzo, a territory near Genoa, because of Venice, with a total population of about 400,000, and because the entire Monferrato is backed by a huge Alps, so it is rich in minerals, which also makes the number of slaves far exceed that of Saluzzo, with a population of about 100,000.

These two lands plus the slave population have reached 860,000 people, which can be said to be not inferior to the dukes in the east, while the territory of the Duke of Savoy is sparsely populated in many places because most of them are on the Alpine ridge, and the total population is only barely one million.

At this time, if Il's ambition for Piedmont is not shown, Jonas's position will be very dangerous, because there will be nothing behind him to rely on, and his existence will be very embarrassing whether it is on Il's side or on Karst's side, which can be said to be a matter of life and property for Jonas, and he cannot be excited.

But after thinking about it, Jonas immediately rejected his own idea, if Il only wants to be a two-city earl to be satisfied, then what do you want to do, and what do you want to use yourself to know those nobles?

Jonas is not a fool after all, although the news broadcast for many years has not cultivated a good young man in society, but the perennial political news still made him immediately realize the deeper meaning of Yir's words, this guy is using the words he just wanted to take advantage of, so that he can give him benefits.

"I don't know what you mean, Lord Count, with all due respect, don't you want to unify Susa and establish a principality?"

Jonas didn't want to steal chickens and rice, and it was never his forte to use diplomatic language to beat around the bush, and after finding out that his plan was seen through by Il, he simply didn't even want the skin, and directly put Il's and his ideas on the table.

At this time, Jonas finally understood why Nader wanted to let himself be careful of this count, just by virtue of his own talent, he could handle the balance so well in diplomatic negotiations and his attitude towards his subordinates, this is simply a natural leader, in contrast, if he didn't rely on the experience accumulated in his previous life, he might have been led into the trap by this young man.

"You're asking a very direct question. ”

Il didn't expect Jonas to be more direct than him, he didn't even fully digest Monferrato now, there are still many rebels loyal to the previous master in this land are roaming the villages one by one, waiting for opportunities to disturb the security of the territory, for Piedmont, he is now just eating from the bowl and watching the state of the pot.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Jonas about this situation, otherwise if Jonas knew that he was just a paper tiger now, he would have a reason to open his mouth, although he was not bad for money, but he didn't feel the need to spend this money, or spend a lot of money.

"You are right, I am very interested in Piedmont, and I think you know that there has not been a duke in the region of Susa for hundreds of years, and the people of this land have been deprived of their property by the surrounding dukes in turn, Monsieur Jonas, I think you must have heard about the Duke of Tyrol buying barley from Montferrato at a very low price. ”

Jonas nodded, he had heard these rumors, and it was not only in Monferrato, for example, in the county of Saluzzo, there was also a rule that the merchants of Genoa were not allowed to collect taxes when they traded in the territory, in Monferrato there was also a rule that the Venetian merchants had a permanent right of way, and of course there was a similar rule in Piedmont.

It can be said that many surrounding forces are squeezing the interests of the people and nobles here in this land, which is an irrefutable thing, which is why this land is still divided after such a long time.

It's not because they like to be divided, but because the powerful forces around them can't unite as one, and the nobility wants to maintain their own ruling base, so they also cooperate with those powerful forces in a semi-forced state, or go along with these forces, just like Karst married his daughter to the son of the Duke of Savoy to ensure that his family can stay in the position of Count for a long time.

This state of affairs is not unsad for the nobles of the entire Susa region, obviously this land is rich and prosperous, but these prosperity is the Venetian merchants, the Florentine merchants, the Genoa merchants, and even the surrounding nobles, but they are the only locals who can only live by taking some farmland taxes and town personal taxes, and all commercial activities are monopolized by the surrounding forces.

There were people who also tried to unite the land by force, so that the surrounding forces would not continue to deprive the land endlessly, but the reality was that the figure who wanted to unify Susa was killed by a poisoned arrow during a hunting trip, and his territory was inherited by his two children.

That man was the grandfather of the Earl of Il, and the two sons were Il's father and Odunno.

"This land should have been unified in my grandfather's time, but because of the conspiracy of some people it has been unified until my time, Jonas, do you believe that I can unify Susa?"

Il's question made Jonas think about it for a while, and then nodded, from a realistic point of view, Il's is indeed the most likely candidate to unify Susa, and other than that, there is no second person in Jonas's mind who can take on this important task.

"Then to answer your question, I want to unify Susa, and I think the Susa people will make their own decisions about Susa, instead of looking at the eyes of those old men. (To be continued.) )