Chapter 648: Hobert, the One Who Plays Both Sides

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Hobert's intention in bringing Audrey was very clear. Longtail Island and South Colson were Fors's "private territory," and the entire "Earl's Light" would be handed over to Audrey in the future.

However, the Duchy of South Balam was different. In the future, it would definitely become a kingdom, his absolute base.

Hobert wanted Conrad and a group of confidants to know that there would be two Empress Borough in this kingdom in the future.

He knew that Conrad and others from South Colson would definitely favor Fors, but as long as they didn't object to Audrey becoming another queen, that would be enough.

Hobert introduced these senior officials of the principality to Audrey one by one. Audrey's noble education from a young age allowed her to respond with grace and composure.

She was very happy to be able to participate in such a meeting, which meant that Hobert was letting her join the core group of the Duchy of South Balam.

After everyone took their seats in the war room, the meeting officially began.

Audrey sat next to Hobert, but she was very clear that she was still an observer and should just listen carefully.

The first issue discussed at this meeting was the matter of taking over the Saint-Sern Basin.

The situation here was different from that of Longtail Island. The entire basin was basically filled with Loen's farms. They had all bought the land from the Governor-General's Office back then, which meant that they were the legal owners of these lands.

The colonization method of this basin was also different from that of Longtail Island. Most of those farmers were immigrants from Loen. Among them were fugitives, former pirates, and adventurers.

Of course, most of them were poor people in Loen. They couldn't survive in that country, so they came here and spent very little money to buy a large piece of land, where they freely grazed or grew crops, living an almost isolated life.

So, the first question for Conrad and others was: Should these lands be nationalized? After all, theoretically, these lands were legal, and most of the farmers were law-abiding and very enthusiastic. If they were forcibly taken back, it seemed a little inappropriate.

Hobert said, "The process of their purchase was legal, but have you understood where the land of the Saint-Sern Governor-General's Office came from?"

Conrad said, "I have. It was seized from the natives here, driving the natives to the south, to a colder place!"

"It's more than just driving them away." Hobert had done his research beforehand. "After the Loen people came here, they bought the heads of the natives at a price of 1 pound per head, carrying out a massacre that lasted for two months."

"Those natives who fled further south were lucky because they not only escaped the massacre but also survived the infectious diseases brought by the Loen people."

Audrey was a little surprised. She tried to tell herself: This is the colony.

Hobert continued, "Then the Governor-General's Office established here sold the entire basin to the subsequent immigrants at a price of 1 sol per acre."

He said sternly, "These lands were originally seized. It can't be said that they become legal just because they were handled by the Governor-General's Office. Therefore, it is no problem to nationalize them in terms of law.

"As for the process of recovery, we must pay attention to methods and not be as barbaric and crude as the previous invaders."

Everyone looked at Hobert, knowing that the Duke already had a solution.

"First of all, the land must be taken back and redistributed uniformly!" Hobert emphasized again, "I went to see it before, and so much good land is actually used for grazing in many places, which is a huge waste!"

Then he began to elaborate on the detailed deployment: "The government can try to communicate with the local residents, and the Duchy government can lease their land to settle a large number of Backlund wanderers.

"We can provide the farmers with some opportunities to serve in public office. After all, we have a huge gap in grassroots civil servants.

"As long as they are willing to respond to the call, we will carefully train them, let them see our other territories, and in the future, send them to other states and regions to serve as grassroots officials.

"At that time, we will tell them some of the Duchy's rigid regulations: as long as they are civil servants, they must be citizens of the Duchy of South Balam, and as long as they are citizens, they cannot have land exceeding the quota.

"The Loen people who immigrated to the Southern Continent are basically very poor people. Most of them will not give up the opportunity to become civil servants.

"In this way, most of the land can be nationalized!"

Everyone in the room was stunned. This operation did not violate the principles and was in accordance with the law.

The key was that these immigrants did get benefits. Everyone present knew that the "Creator's" power was currently in the development stage, and grassroots officials would soon become middle-level officials.

It should be known that of the 15 village chiefs initially appointed by Hobert in the Jeffery Territory, some of those who were willing to improve have already become deputy mayors.

Some who were unwilling to leave South Colson were already at the level of town chiefs or deputy town chiefs.

Especially Conrad, the town chief at the time, is now the Prime Minister of the Duchy of South Balam.

Such a high position, Conrad would not have dared to imagine it two years ago!

Looking at the entire Northern Continent, there is no such fast advancement channel!

So, Hobert is exchanging political interests for land, which is very cost-effective for both parties. Local residents get access to political participation, and the government gets a large reserve of grassroots cadres.

The people who live here are immigrants, not natives. In addition to being proficient in the Loen language, they basically understand the local language, which is very suitable for grassroots work.

The only thing lacking may be their low level of education, or even no education at all. It is necessary to cultivate their reading and writing skills.

In this regard, Hobert's team already has considerable mature experience and can first cultivate the reading, writing, and arithmetic skills necessary to be competent for the job, and then study while working after starting work.

After all, as a village chief at the beginning, you don't need knowledge of grammar, etc., you only need to provide accurate data to the town government and be able to clearly convey the town government's policies.

"As for those who are unwilling to lease their land to us and become civil servants," Hobert continued, "we will use citizen ID cards against them.

"Without citizen status, they cannot build water conservancy facilities on their land, they have to pay purchase tax and tariffs to buy daily necessities, their children cannot go to school, etc.

"If they change their minds, they can still have the opportunity to become civil servants after becoming citizens.

"But if they still insist, we will have to isolate them."

Conrad nodded, "I will quickly draft a plan."

"Yes." Hobert asked again, "How many people can the entire Saint-Sern Basin accommodate?"

Conrad replied, "Preliminary estimates are between 700,000 and 800,000 people."

"So many!" Hobert was stunned. He flipped through the information submitted by Conrad and quickly found information about the population. Currently, the population of the entire basin is only about 20,000 people.

In Hobert's view, this is a waste of resources!

Audrey also realized that if the development of this basin is completed, Backlund will not have vagrants for a long time!

She very much hopes that Hobert's policies can be implemented as soon as possible.

After the first issue was discussed, Donna raised another issue: How to prevent the natives in the south from attacking the Saint-Sern Basin? What kind of policies should be adopted for the rule of Milherbon State and other regions?

The Saint-Sern Basin is surrounded by mountains or hills in the east, north, and west. Only the south is semi-open, with only some gentle slopes. There are swamps, grasslands, and forests.

The natives of the Saint-Sern Basin back then crossed these swamps and fled to the south. After settling there, they often came back to harass the immigrants in the Saint-Sern area.

After all, in their view, these lands were all theirs before, but they were seized by a group of people from the Northern Continent.

The soldiers stationed in Angel City before were not to guard against enemies from other countries, but to combat the natives.

The situations in Milherbon State, South Haagenti Province, and Barana State are different from those in the Saint-Sern area.

Some of these places have abundant resources such as forests and minerals, and some are located at the southern end of the Haagenti Grassland, with good arable land and conditions for developing animal husbandry.

Therefore, Loen adopted a proxy rule here. For example, some Loen companies provide technology, and local chieftains or generals provide slaves to jointly develop iron ore, copper ore, and other resources.

In addition, Loen will dump its industrial products in these places, constantly carrying out economic plunder on these places.

Regarding this issue, Hobert, seeing that everyone's discussion was not getting to the heart of the matter, said directly, "When you look at problems, you must be good at finding the fundamental contradiction of the problem.

"Let's first talk about the issue of the indigenous people. The fundamental contradiction of this issue lies in the fact that after the natives of the Saint-Sern area fled further south, they also had conflicts with the natives there.

"After all, the carrying capacity of a piece of land is limited. If a group of people suddenly appears on a piece of land, it will definitely cause a shortage of living resources.

"They have difficulty living, so of course they will come back to grab something to survive."

Everyone nodded slowly, that was indeed the case.

Donna asked, "Can we let them come back, become citizens here, and continue to live on the land of their ancestors?"

"This method seems like delayed justice, but it's not just a good idea." Hobert said, "Letting them come back may make it more difficult to return the land to state ownership. After all, in terms of law, they have the right to inherit these lands."

Everyone fell into contemplation, this was indeed a big problem that had to be prevented.

Moreover, everyone present had relatively rich governing experience, and of course knew that sometimes "justice" and "morality" could easily make things worse.

Hobert let everyone think for a while before smiling and saying, "Isn't there grasslands, swamps and forests in the south?

"Donna, you go and discuss with Archbishop Simpson, and ask him to send a bishop who is good at raising fish, raising cattle and sheep, and cultivating economic forests to preach.

"Create some breeding industry employment opportunities in the southern region, and we can also provide technology and let the indigenous people contribute to develop cooperation.

"How to operate specifically, you handle it according to the actual situation.

"In short, if a group of indigenous people can be supported there, and they can obtain food and gold pounds through labor, who would be willing to risk their lives to rob?"

Hobert paused here and then said to Donna, "If the indigenous people don't trust us very much, then let Audrey accompany you to 'persuade' them, the effect will be better and faster."

Currently, that group of indigenous people are almost mortal enemies with the Loen people. The indigenous people will definitely think that the promise of the Southern Balam Duchy is a trap.

It will take a long time to persuade them, and a long time to maintain favorable policies towards them, before the indigenous people can gradually trust the Southern Balam Duchy government.

For Hobert, why bother with this effort when problems can be solved with extraordinary power?

Audrey was slightly stunned at first, before smiling at Donna, "I am very good at 'persuading' others."

Donna smiled and said, "I will ask you for help at the appropriate time."

For example, when Fors's sister-in-law is not in Angel City.

Donna then said to Hobert, "Now the only problem is that those swamps, grasslands, etc. in the south do not belong to the territory of Southern Balam."

"Legally speaking, that is not the territory of the Loen Kingdom either." Hobert smiled and said, "I have learned before that it is the territory of a local Balam Empire noble.

"It's just that the Eastern Balam Company has many privileges there, but because it is too far from the Northern Continent, the Loen Kingdom has not invested much, and the colonial army has no intention of developing it into a directly affiliated colony.

"Then this matter will be easy to handle. No one stipulates that the Southern Balam Duchy cannot expand outwards. If that Balam Empire noble has any objections, then I don't mind expanding the territory to the southernmost end of the Southern Continent."

Everyone showed a playful smile. One was a Loen noble who came here to build a country with the world's most advanced technology, and the other was a Balam Empire noble who had long lost contact with the Balam Empire.

After occupying those swamps and grasslands, it is estimated that the Balam Empire noble would not even dare to fart.

Hobert added, "As for the other states, I plan to establish an 'Outer Cabinet' and keep these local kings and generals in Angel City.

"If they are willing to support the policies of the Southern Balam Duchy and hand over the ownership and rule of the land, then after observing for a period of time, we can consider giving them a substantive position.

"If they disagree with our policies, then it is Steele's business."

That is to say, they will be forcibly taken over.

Everyone understood Hobert's implication, don't be polite to these local kings and generals.

After he set the policy, Donna and the others had guiding ideology.

So the meeting came to the last agenda item. Steele discovered that the Highland Kingdom in the northwest, after learning that the Loen colonial army had withdrawn and someone was going to establish a principality here, seemed to think there was an opportunity and was contacting the local kings and generals, seemingly with some intention.

Hobert pondered for a moment before saying, "The Southern Continent is their territory after all. They should have known through some channels that I am building a country here, and they also know my relationship with the Balk family."

He paused and said, "Just pretend we don't know. As long as they don't cause damage in the Saint-Sern area, don't worry about it for the time being."

If they can collude with the local kings, that would be even better.

At the end of the meeting, Hobert said, "Tomorrow, the major newspapers in Backlund will publish the news that the Southern Balam Duchy has declared war on the Feysac Empire.

"Don't be misled by this information. Develop as you should, first establish effective rule, and then talk about foreign operations."

Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"

After the meeting, Hobert took Audrey for a walk around, but because the surroundings were all Loen immigrants, except for some dilapidated temples left by the indigenous people, there was nothing special.

The two of them took a simple stroll and returned to Angers.

Today's lunch was a bit monotonous, steamed sea fish and coleslaw.

Because a supply system has not yet been established on the Southern Continent, the current consumption in Angel City must be transported from Longtail Island.

Audrey felt that the fish today was quite good, very fresh, so she ate a few more bites: "Before this, I never thought that establishing effective rule over a place was such a profound knowledge."

The education she received since childhood made her fairly good at management, but Earl Hall currently only has a manor, and no longer has territory under his rule, so Audrey is relatively unfamiliar with this.

The meeting in the morning opened her eyes to Hobert's governing ability. In her opinion, the complex problems of the Southern Balam Duchy were easily sorted out by Hobert.

Hobert smiled and said, "There are some techniques in it. It's very simple once you master the techniques."

"In my opinion, it's very impressive!" Audrey said seriously.

Then she put down her knife and fork and talked about another issue: "We, um, I mean the Southern Balam Duchy, must declare war on the Feysac Empire?"

"This is a deal." Hobert smiled and said, "At most five years, the technological level of most of the Southern Balam Duchy can basically be at the same level as the four major powers of the Northern Continent."

If, taking advantage of the war, a large number of university professors and students are poached to the Southern Balam Duchy, this time can definitely be shortened.

Audrey understood Hobert's meaning: "Sacrifice a part of the people to save more people."

"That's right." Hobert was very happy that Audrey could now figure out this problem on her own.

Audrey did not continue this topic, but sighed: "800,000 people! If they were all immigrants from Backlund, one-sixth of the population of this international metropolis would disappear."

Then she asked: "I have a very strange question. There are so many starving people in the East Borough, why don't they immigrate to the Southern Continent?

"I also asked Conrad after the meeting just now, because the labor of slaves is too taxing, their mortality rate is very high, and the population of the entire Southern Continent is not very dense.

"In the territory of the Southern Balam Duchy outside the Saint-Sern Basin, another 100,000 to 200,000 people can be resettled, and the entire Southern Continent can also accommodate many immigrants. Theoretically speaking, there is no need to squeeze in Backlund."

"Because many of them don't know about immigration." Hobert said, "It has to be admitted that in many cases, cultural level can indeed limit a person's cognition.

"Most of the people in the slums are bankrupt farmers who had to sell their land due to unstable grain prices and come to the city to find opportunities.

"They have never been exposed to immigration before, and they can't even think of it.

"In addition, they don't have the financial resources to immigrate. The ship ticket and the food for several months on the ship are a sky-high price for them!"

Audrey took a deep breath: "The authorities should organize passenger ships to send people to the Southern Continent."

"The authorities won't do that." Hobert chuckled. "To them, the people of the Southern Continent are all slaves, and they already have enough. They don't need more right now.

"As for the people within the Kingdom of Loen, the cost of sending the poor to immigrate is far higher than the cost of letting them fend for themselves."

Speaking of which, he suddenly paused. "Oh, right, it seems that in the early colonial era, they did send some immigrants to the colonies.

"It's said that they were all poor people, and their treatment on the ships wasn't much better than that of slaves.

"There was even a saying popular in Loen at the time: 'Send all the poor away, and Loen will be rich.'"

Audrey was stunned and uncharacteristically retorted, "Are they some kind of baboons?"

Hobert laughed. "Your description is too polite. In my opinion, baboons have more normal thinking, while those politicians simply have brain damage."

Audrey smiled. "You're right."

The two finished lunch in casual conversation. Hobert sent Audrey back to Backlund, and he returned to Angel City to prepare for tomorrow's meeting with the Earth King and the generals.

As soon as Hobert returned to Angel City, he heard the prayers from the 'Nation of Disorder.' It must be Lawrence's voice.

He returned to the room assigned to him and entered the 'Nation of Disorder,' and sure enough, he saw Lawrence's star expanding.

Hobert extended his spirituality and heard Lawrence's voice: "Creator in the Shadow of Order… Please help me tell Mr. Hobert that Governor Jonas of the Feysac Empire wishes to meet with him."

Retracting his spirituality, Hobert understood that the Feysac Empire wanted to conduct secret negotiations with him, or rather, they intended to try to buy off the 'Creator's' forces.

Hobert smiled. "My previous judgment was correct. After the war begins, it is indeed the best time to establish a country. In the coming year, I should often be able to profit from both sides."

After thinking about the matter for a moment, Hobert used 'Travel' to arrive at a villa outside the city of Rockville. If no special instructions were given, Lawrence would definitely be here.

Lawrence, who was in the study on the second floor, sensed the change in the villa's space and immediately came out to greet him. The two went to a small reception room on the second floor for a private conversation.

Lawrence briefly explained Jonas's arrival at the villa: "He said he had something very important to discuss with you, but he didn't reveal what it was."

Hobert smiled. "A few days ago, I just attacked the capital of the Feysac Empire, Saint Millon, with the people from the Tony Family."

Lawrence was slightly stunned. "He wouldn't be…"

He originally wanted to say, "He wouldn't be here to kill you, would he?" but then he thought that as long as Jonas was still rational, he wouldn't do such a stupid thing. After all, Jonas knew that the Balk family had several demigods, and Jonas was currently alone.

Even if the Feysac Empire sent an angel, they might not be able to kill Hobert.

"He should have been sent to negotiate with us." Hobert said, "Have someone call him over."

If he waited until after the declaration of war tomorrow to talk, Hobert wouldn't be able to ask for a high price.

While the servant went to call for him, Hobert asked Lawrence, "You should know about the news of Loen and the Feysac Empire going to war, right?"

"I know." Lawrence said.

"For now, we must outwardly lean completely towards the Kingdom of Loen." Hobert said, "But before we consolidate our forces in the Southern Continent, we must not terminate contact with other countries."

Lawrence understood that Hobert was informing him of the core strategy of the 'Creator's' forces, so that the Balk family would not do anything contrary to this strategy.

In fact, even if Hobert didn't say it, he was very clear about this. After all, the 'Creator's' forces could influence the war situation to a certain extent. Only by not easily breaking completely with one of the participating parties could they seize the greatest benefits.

Then Hobert added, "The three states that you have been infiltrating are likely to be incorporated into the Duchy of South Balam in a peaceful manner.

"As long as the corresponding negotiations are completed, for the time being, let the generals and lords of these places maintain their original rule. After I complete the corresponding deployment in the Saint Sern area, I will then send unified officials to completely incorporate those places into the territory of South Balam.

"At that time, one of the Balk family's responsibilities will be to protect the safety of those officials."

Lawrence said seriously, "We will definitely protect them!"

The two chatted for a while, and Governor Jonas had already arrived, so the two went to the living room to meet him.

At the beginning of the conversation, Hobert ordered all the servants to leave and 'tampered' with the transmission path of the sound waves in the living room so that their voices could only be heard in this living room.

Jonas, who had a round face and naturally curly hair, knew that the probability of a successful negotiation was high when he saw Hobert being so cautious.

Then he felt amused in his heart, feeling that the Duke was too careful. After all, this was a colony of the Feysac Empire, and the number of Loen spies was very small.

After meeting, the three exchanged a few pleasantries, and Jonas asked with a smile, "I heard that the Duchy of South Balam is going to declare war on the Feysac Empire?"

Because Loenese and Feysac have significant differences, he simply used Ancient Feysac, which both sides understood.

Hobert was very satisfied with this entry point. If he had questioned Hobert about the air raid on Saint Millon right away, then this negotiation would not have been able to continue.

It wasn't that Hobert was unwilling to admit it, but it was easy to become increasingly rigid on this issue.

But it was only temporarily not mentioned. If the Feysac Empire freed up its hands in the future, it would definitely settle this score.

When Hobert needed it, he would also talk a lot about this air raid in order to anger the Feysac Empire.

But now, they both had the idea of cooperation.

The goodwill released by Hobert made Jonas breathe a sigh of relief. He naturally understood the implication of Hobert's words: This was an arrangement by the Kingdom of Loen.

However, just in case, Jonas still had to confirm Hobert's intentions: "After the declaration of war, do you intend to immediately launch a battle against our colonies in the Southern Continent?"

"I don't think we need to waste time doing such probing." Hobert said straightforwardly, "I will give you a promise now that in the Southern Continent, I will not attack your colonies in the central and northern parts of the Southern Continent for three months.

"But I will definitely participate in the war in the Northern Continent, because the price offered by Loen is too tempting."

Jonas also stopped being evasive: "We are also willing to offer some prices. We hope that we can reach some agreements, such as not engaging in battles at or above the angel level."

This was indeed the issue that the Feysac Empire was most concerned about at the moment. After all, they had a limited number of angels, including those from the God of Combat Church. With the Storm Church and the God of Steam and Machinery Church not being very active in this war, they were completely able to cope.

If the high-level combat power of the 'Creator's' forces participated in the war, then there was no need to fight this war at all. They could just surrender directly.

This was something that the Feysac Empire had not expected at all before the war. Although they had received intelligence that the 'Creator' had dealt with the Feynapotter royal family together with the Loen royal family.

But they guessed that it should be a problem of neighboring pathways of Beyonder characteristics, that there was a common enemy, rather than a very close cooperation.

After all, the Loen royal family did not participate in the South Colson Beyonder War afterwards.

But what they didn't expect was that at the beginning of the war, the 'Creator' attacked their capital, Saint Millon.

Hobert asked with a smile, "What price can you offer?"

"It depends on what kind of benefits you want?"

"The Sarato State and the Cordoba State!" Hobert stated his conditions.

Currently, the Balk family has made certain political and economic investments in three states, namely the Sarato State ruled by General Anthony and the Cordoba State ruled by a nobleman, Rivaldo, of the Highland Kingdom.

These two states are adjacent to each other and are both colonies of the Feysac Empire.

There is also the Owaye Province, currently ruled by General Adrian, a colony of the Feynapotter Kingdom.

Jonas paused for two or three seconds before asking, "Are you kidding?"

The situations in West Balam and East Balam are somewhat different. In West Balam, the colonies of the Intis Republic, the Feysac Empire, and the Feysac Kingdom are intertwined.

Moreover, the colonies of these three countries are not in continuous stretches. One country might have a presence in the north of the Southern Continent, another in the center, and yet another in the south, making the situation extremely complex.

These two states are the main colonies of the Feysac Empire in the south of the Southern Continent. Without these two states, the Feysac Empire would have almost no influence in the south of the Southern Continent.

Lawrence, who was beside him, appeared calm on the surface, but in his heart, he also felt that the price offered by Hobert was a bit high.

After all, the Feysac Empire's request was not to provoke high-level conflicts with the "Creator's" forces, but not to let the Duchy of South Balam openly betray the Loen Kingdom and side with the Feysac Empire.

Besides, they also had the new grudges from the sneak attack on Saint Millon. Jonas didn't mention it for the sake of the overall situation, but the matter did exist.

Under such circumstances, even if the Feysac Empire was willing to cooperate, it was impossible to sell such a large amount of benefits as a bargaining chip.

Hobert smiled calmly and confidently: "That's because you don't quite understand the conspiracy of the Loen royal family, nor do you know our actual position.

"You can go to the prayer room to report to your Emperor Alexei I, convey my next words, and then tell Him the conditions I have offered. I think it will seem very reasonable to Him."

Jonas was slightly stunned: "Please speak."

Hobert continued: "Tell the first emperor of the Feysac Empire that we also do not want George III to become a god.

"In addition, we know the locations of George III's nine mausoleums."

He leaned back in his chair: "That's all."

Jonas's expression became very solemn. At his level, he could obtain some high-level information. He knew that the fundamental reason for the Empire's attack on Loen this time was that George III intended to become a god, and the Empire had to fight before this happened.

Then, the negotiations with Hobert had completely exceeded expectations and must be reported to His Majesty the Emperor immediately!

He stood up and said: "I'll borrow the prayer room."

At this time, Jonas was very grateful for Hobert's previous caution, being wary of eavesdroppers from the very beginning.

Such high-level cooperation, if there was a leak, he could very well become a sinner of the Empire.

Lawrence smiled: "Please do."

Although he didn't know what Hobert's words just now meant specifically, just looking at Jonas's reaction, he knew that this matter must be very important, even to the point of needing to report to their emperor immediately.

More than ten minutes later, Jonas came out of the prayer room. He smiled and said to Hobert: "Please wait a moment."

Hobert just nodded and didn't ask what he was waiting for.

The living room was quiet for a few minutes, and suddenly the space in front of them became illusory, forming a connection with the spirit world.

Vasili, with a stern face, high nose bridge, and light yellow hair, came out from inside: "Grand Duke Hobert, hello, His Majesty the Emperor has sent me to discuss with you."

Hobert smiled: "Please sit down."

After the four people were seated again, Vasili didn't mince words and directly said to Hobert: "Please explain in detail the secret cooperation between us."

Hobert didn't beat around the bush either: "First of all, it must be kept secret. The Feysac Empire must have at least a demigod as a contact person."

"No problem, I will contact you directly in the future. What is the contact method?"

"Contact through my messenger." Hobert repeated the method of summoning his messenger, and that three donuts should be prepared each time a letter was sent.

Then he added: "As for the specific cooperation plan, it depends on how much power the Feysac Empire is willing to contribute, and whether you are willing to agree to the conditions I just proposed."

Vasili immediately said: "When I came, His Majesty the Emperor had already agreed to your conditions. Those two states now belong to the Duchy of South Balam."

Hobert smiled: "I will complete the takeover within half a month."

Vasili agreed very readily: "No problem, the specific matters will be handed over to Jonas."

Hobert said: "Since you have agreed to my reward, I will provide you with the location of two of the mausoleums, as well as the way to enter the mausoleums."

Vasili nodded slightly, and then asked: "Will you also send people to destroy the mausoleums?"

"Of course." Hobert smiled: "We will also use hidden forces to try to destroy two of the mausoleums, but for both of us, to be on the safe side, it is still more prudent to find more people to destroy more mausoleums."

Theoretically, destroying one or two mausoleums should be enough to prevent George III from becoming a god.

In fact, Hobert was very clear that even if the "Creator's" power didn't intervene, George III's plan to become a god would be disrupted by Klein.

But he couldn't resist the fact that this information could be sold for a very good price, so he would invite more people to dig graves.

The only thing to be careful about was not to let the Loen royal family know, at least not to let them be sure of this matter. It wouldn't matter if they were slightly suspicious.

Often, this kind of high-level cooperation doesn't require too much negotiation on the details. Once there is an intention, it can be reached quickly.

Moreover, they trust each other more in this cooperation. After all, for Alexei, the "Creator" can interfere with the acommodation of a Uniqueness, and will definitely interfere with George III's becoming a god.

And for Hobert, if there is an opportunity, the Feysac Empire's royal family will definitely destroy George III's chance to become a god.

This is the basis of their mutual trust.

After Vasili left, Hobert discussed with Jonas about taking over the two states.

Hobert promised to buy Jonas's private property at a good price, but the condition was to put on a show with the Duchy of South Balam. The army of the Duchy of South Balam would fire cannons from a safe distance behind, and the Feysac Empire's colonial army would retreat quickly in front, creating the illusion of being driven away.

Jonas's personal interests were guaranteed, so he was happy to help Hobert with this favor.

Hobert planned to invite Georgina to take a look at the scene of the Duchy of South Balam pursuing the Feysac Empire's colonial army after the "war" began.

It could also be considered an explanation for Loen's second technical support.

As for whether Georgina would see that the two sides were acting, it didn't matter. Anyway, East Balam didn't have to worry about attacks from the Feysac Empire in the south of the Southern Continent.

After the conversation, Hobert returned to Angel City, and arranged for Seel to prepare for sending troops.

Currently, the armed forces that Hobert can send to the battlefield are well-equipped, but the number of people is a bit small.

Now the Governor's Office of Longtail Island has begun to recruit soldiers. These soldiers are all natives who have been allocated land and have received real benefits. The recruitment scale is 5,000 people.

But this batch of soldiers will not be able to complete training until next year at the earliest. Hobert can only mobilize 3,000 people now, and only 2,000 people can be transferred to Angers.

After all, in the South Colson area and Longtail Island, a large number of Beyonders have been transferred. In order to cope with emergencies, a part of the soldiers must also be left behind.

Under normal circumstances, these 2,000 people are not the opponents of the Feysac Empire's colonial army at all, but now the situation is special, and it is enough to send only 1,000 people.

Hobert directly handed this matter over to Lawrence and Seel, while he returned to Longtail Island. Under his supervision, Fors successfully advanced to "Scribe".

After Fors restrained her spirituality and was in very good condition, the two of them enjoyed dinner together.

Hobert said while eating: "From today onwards, you will record the abilities of a demigod once a day.

"And every day, take a few hours to 'travel' around the world to see and record the local customs and culture."

Fors nodded: "This is a good idea."

"Of course." Hobert smiled.

At the same time, he said in his heart: I have seen the reference answers.

Fors added: "My teacher, Dorian, hopes to have a meeting with you."

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