That's it, the time has come to January. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe sea is still in dire straits. Storms in the North Sea will not subside until March, while the Baltic Sea freezes for a long time, even in spring.

So, if you want to return to Russia, you need to wait until at least April.

"It's boring, in that case, there's still three months of free time. It's boring, it's just too boring. William thought to himself. Yes, rightfully so, very boring. During this period of time, except for the banquet is the ball, except for the ball, it is the cocktail party. All in all, the entertainment in this era is so few and so boring.

Other than that, there are only two kinds of so-called "business" that can be done here. One of them is to be false and aggrieved with the nobles who come and go to his side.

During this period, in addition to the self-sufficient Prince Henry, who had ambitions for the position of emperor, representatives of other major countries began to gather in Rotterdam. Even Visigothic, Asturias.

These people are either contemptuous, flattering, imperative, or arrogant...... However, although these guys have different performances, the most important thing is that they have the same purpose.

They were testing William. With Rotterdam as the center, diplomats, spies, spies, assassins, aristocrats, merchants, and the emerging bourgeoisie probe each other, approach each other, and betray each other...... They are in a league of people, and they are preparing for the next war, which will engulf the whole Old World, and even the whole world.

Win over allies worth wooing and weaken enemies that need to be weakened. Accumulate more wealth, connections and intelligence for yourself. More than that.

Technology, Army, Spy, Women...... All in all, everything that makes you strong will be used.

That's it, at the time when the war had not yet begun, these works were necessary and irreplaceable. William naturally understands these things. In fact, with his abilities, he can also execute very well.

It's as if before this, with Henry of Franconia. If William wanted to, whether it was diplomacy, socializing, secret gatherings, spying on intelligence, sending diplomats and spies, assassins. Officials who preside over conspiracies or co-opt corrupt enemies, etc...... He can do all these things very well.

It's just not cool.

Yes, William was very upset.

Compared to commanding a great army, compared to administering administration, compared to managing those millions of territories and people. These things that are not on the table make William feel very unhappy.

In the early days of his time in Rotterdam, Wilhelm thought he was doing well. But sure enough, this "pretty good" is just an illusion. It was because William had never tried a similar life before, so he felt new for a while.

And after a few months, after the initial novelty had passed, William was left with only infinite boredom and unhappiness.

William didn't like these things.

Although he was evaluated by his father and aunt as the least like Hereford in thousands of years. It is a demon who has inherited his maternal blood and manipulates people's hearts. But at heart, William is still a Hereford.

Sword, Blood, War, Direct ...... Compared to intrigue and all kinds of calculations in non-war times, decadent life or something, William really likes war, prefers to live in the army, prefers to use military strategies, and even fights on the front line, wielding a long sword to fight the enemy, it is better to wear fancy clothes here, with a hypocritical smile and talk fuck things to idiots he doesn't like at all.

That's just stupid.

“...... In the final analysis, this family has influenced me a little more than I thought. ”

William thought to himself as he looked at the corner of the banquet, a guy who was at home on such an occasion. Well, yes, it's Victoria. She was surrounded by Briton, Franconia, Loterania, Frisia, ...... Even the nobles, emissaries, and diplomats of Visigoth, Asturias, Great Moravia, and Lombardy surrounded her.

Their expressions were like those of the apostles listening to the hadith, reverent and respectful. It's as if Victoria's casual words are the truth.

William sighed secretly. Compared to herself, Victoria is a complete extreme. Even if I have complained to myself in a few times when I am alone: "Ah, this kind of thing is really not interesting, those guys are full of fat and dirty brains, and most importantly, their brains are not good, and it really makes me feel very uncomfortable to be with them......"

Although he said so, in fact, William knew, William knew, Victoria just said it casually, or complained a little when she was really upset. But in reality, she likes this kind of social occasion as if she likes to go to war.

The two sides are diametrically opposed, but they are completely identical. This is probably the so-called unity of contradictions.

"It's just...... It's very bad that just as she can't give up the battlefield, I can't give up the 'battlefield'. William thought to himself.

He had another reason to continue working with Victoria that bothered him.

To be honest, it's not a good thing, really. But I don't know why, William felt a little relieved in his heart. This made William wonder for a moment, and then think carefully. In the end, I didn't get anything, so I had to come to the conclusion of "illusion".

That's it, after reluctantly, after another round of drinking parties, William finally couldn't stand it anymore, and he began to wonder if he had anything to do next. If there is something to do, what exactly do you want to do?

It was only a little thought that William came up with the answer. Yes, there is a lot he needs to do now. At the same time as he was delaying the reception, in Shilonsk there was a problem at his textile mill.

That King Henry, of course, was a cautious eye, and had no intention of repaying grievances with virtue at all, and this guy almost did not hesitate to trouble William's factory...... It stands to reason that His Majesty did not have the courage to oppose the prowess of the day-only general. But there are exceptions. This time he didn't just do it, he did it thoroughly. Several of William's planned cotton textile factories were all shut down. Machines, raw materials, workers and plants were all destroyed. Tens of thousands of imperial gold have been invested, and it looks like it is about to be wasted.

William, of course, knew who was behind him, who had emboldened His Majesty - of course, the factory owners of Shilonsk. This group of bastards who had hooked up with the Hereford family before, and were ready to betray their king and defect to the Hereford family at any time, did not hesitate to choose to betray again this time.

However, it is also a matter of course. William knew very well the reasons for the betrayal of these guys.

That is, interests.

Those guys can betray their king for profit. Naturally, he was able to betray William again for the sake of profit. Although the costs of both are completely different. Even in the long run, betraying William was worth the cost, but these guys did it anyway.

Because William moved their interests. And it's a very, very huge benefit.

It makes them uncomfortable to open a factory on their own territory.

Textile factories are open on their turf and make them very uncomfortable.

Cotton textile factories were opened on their territory, which made them extremely uncomfortable.

There is nothing more hated in this world than doing this. So in principle, William also understood and recognized the betrayal of these guys.

Of course, the punishment will still be punished, the counterattack will still be counterattacked, the killing will still be killed.

The role of the Cheka is not just an espionage organization. kidnapping, assassination, poisoning, incitement to citizens, rumors...... And so on and so forth, these things can be done by the Cheka. And it's very skillfully done.

The factory owners of Shilonsk consider Shilonsk to be their home turf, and the heart of Shilonsk, Vroclaw, is their lair and home base. Here they can do whatever they want, tens of thousands of workers, a large number of thugs, mercenaries, underground gangsters, intertwined networks of power, nobles, armies, merchant groups......

They think they have it all under control. But in reality, this is not the case.

After the Hereford family's factory was forced to close, Shilonsk was thrown into chaos. Hundreds of Cheka spies entered the city, shrouded in clouds of smoke and dust, armed with explosives, short-barreled handguns, daggers, swords, poison and large sums of money.

As a result, order in Wroclaw was gone.

William's one is very good, since he can't get the money himself, then it's very good, everyone just don't get it.

This attitude frightened the factory owners in Shilonsk. The truth was slightly different from what William imagined, although they "betrayed" William. But the extent of this "betrayal" is very slight - at least in their own opinion.

They did not come forward officially, nor did they really convey malicious intent to William's control. They just knocked out William's dilated claws that he had reached out to Shilonsk.

From the point of view of the factory owners, they are justified in self-defense, and they are very correct, very sensible, and very measured in protecting their own interests. The real mistake was William, who had humbly betrayed their sincerity to the Hereford family, so as the ruler, William should be generous enough to guarantee their interests. This is the attitude of a true ruler......

At least, the attitude they expect from a ruler.