OBS Chapter 664 Meeting
Chapter 664 Meeting
Next came the formal meeting between the monarchs of Midland and Heldran.
King Midland sat upright in the high-backed chair in the council chamber, his gaze never leaving John opposite him.
The core purpose of his convening this meeting was to find out John's potential motives for this trip.
The meeting lasted from early morning until afternoon, with only a one-hour break in between.
King Midland repeatedly probed between topics, sometimes mentioning tariff adjustments for border trade, sometimes probing Heldran's diplomatic stance toward neighboring small countries, and even deliberately throwing out vague proposals about a military alliance, trying to glean some useful information from John's responses.
However, John's response was always flawless.
No matter how King Midland steered the conversation, he skillfully steered it back to platitudes about "generational friendship between the two countries" and "deepening bilateral cooperation," his words full of sincerity but never touching on the substance of the matter.
He would elaborate on the benefits of trade routes to people's livelihoods, emphasize how cultural exchanges can enhance mutual understanding, and even cite past examples of mutual assistance between the two countries. However, when it came to key issues such as Heldran's development plans and military deployments, he would become vague and only use phrases like "still under discussion" or "progressing steadily" to gloss over the matter.
King Midland grew increasingly suspicious, yet there was nothing he could do. He couldn't very well directly question John, "What is the purpose of your trip?" That would not only be a loss of face as a monarch, but could also directly damage relations between the two countries.
After several unsuccessful attempts, he could only echo John's words with a formulaic smile on his face, while he was already planning other strategies in his mind.
The morning meeting ended in a fruitless atmosphere, and the afternoon agenda was just a repetition of the morning's rhythm. King Midland still gained nothing. Perhaps his only gain was figuring out John's composure. This man, now the king, was far more difficult to deal with than his former vassal.
As night fell, the banquet hall of Midland Palace was brightly lit, and a grand banquet was underway.
The two monarchs first raised their wine glasses and exchanged some polite toasts.
After a brief toasting ceremony, the banquet officially began. Melodious music echoed in the hall, and guests gathered in twos and threes to chat. The air was filled with the aroma of food and wine.
While exchanging pleasantries with the noble guests around him, King Midland kept a close eye on John's movements out of the corner of his eye.
He wanted to see if John would slip up or have any secret conversations with someone in this relatively relaxed setting.
However, after observing for a long time, he found that John's social circle was unusually simple. Apart from exchanging a few words of official business with the accompanying Minister Heldland, he spent most of his time with his father, Count Hohenzollern.
The father and son would sometimes laugh and chat softly, and sometimes they would discuss something with serious expressions, leaving no room for others to interrupt.
What puzzled King Midland even more was John's appetite.
Just like when he first came to Wyndham more than a decade ago, John was extremely enthusiastic about the food at the banquet. He carried his plate and moved leisurely between the tables, taking several large plates of food, including golden and crispy roasted lamb chops, foie gras drizzled with thick sauce, and various exquisite pastries and fruits.
He ate with unhurried ease, displaying aristocratic composure, sweeping through every table as if the sole purpose of the banquet was to enjoy the food.
Of course, King Midland wouldn't believe that John had traveled all the way from Huldland just to attend a royal banquet.
As the ruler of a country, what delicacies can't he have?
He became increasingly certain that John was deliberately feigning harmlessness, trying to lull him into a false sense of security. As for his true motives... that required further investigation.
The banquet lasted for three hours. As the guests gradually left, John took a carriage and left the palace for a mansion in the expatriate district.
This mansion was prepared for him in advance by the Heldran Merchant Guild. Its previous owner was an earl who fled to Wyndam after losing his territory.
The count was a spendthrift by nature, and soon squandered all his wealth. With nowhere else to turn, he had no choice but to sell the mansion to the Heldran Merchant Guild.
After getting out of the car, John strolled around the mansion. The interior was very elegant and the overall layout was quite reasonable. He nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself that this temporary residence was quite nice.
Back in the main hall of the mansion, the ease and comfort on John's face vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of composure and solemnity.
He immediately instructed his attendants to prepare the itinerary and began to carefully review the subsequent arrangements.
According to the plan, tomorrow morning he would first meet with representatives of the Heldland community in Wyndam, listen to their demands and suggestions, and handle some matters related to the community; in the afternoon, he would depart with King Midland to the Southwest Governorate, a key area for the planned joint development of a new entrepreneurial zone between the two countries. They needed to conduct on-site inspections and further negotiate the details of the cooperation. Although the daytime meetings had not yielded any substantial progress, and John had not been able to extract more information from King Midland, he had not come away empty-handed.
During the banquet, his father, Count Hohenzollern, secretly told him a lot of important information, one of the more interesting pieces of information being that King Midland was planning to support Griffith.
After settling the schedule, John went to his desk and opened a stack of documents brought to him by a servant.
These documents record the main topics and preliminary plans for tomorrow's meeting between the ministers of the two countries. This meeting is of a very high level, equivalent to a ministerial-level dialogue in his previous life, and is directly related to the future direction of cooperation between the two countries. No carelessness is allowed.
John read through the documents word by word, focusing first on military matters.
Mitland explicitly stated its desire to import a range of gunpowder weapons, including muskets and artillery, from Heldran, and even provided a detailed procurement list. It also subtly indicated its wish to acquire some of the weapons' manufacturing technology.
Upon seeing this, John's lips curled into a faint smile.
He had already devised a plan: to sell medieval gunpowder weapon technology to Midland at a high price. This technology was already obsolete for Hilderland, but it would be enough for Midland to spend a lot of time studying and assimilating. This would satisfy their needs without threatening Hilderland's military advantage, and he would also earn a considerable reward—a win-win-win situation.
Next, we'll look at diplomatic matters.
Official exchanges between the two countries proceeded smoothly, with no major unresolved issues. The real trouble lay among the common people, with frequent and prolonged conflicts between the nobles of the two countries that had yet to be properly resolved.
The root of this matter can be traced back to the early days of the founding of Heldran.
Most of the people in the Kingdom of Hilderland were serfs and free people who had fled from various noble territories in Midland.
During the Patriotic Wars of Heldran, these men fought valiantly and made significant contributions to the establishment of the nation. After the war, to recognize their achievements, John granted some of them knighthoods and higher titles, making them the first nobles of Heldran after its founding.
However, once a person acquires a new identity and status, it is inevitable that they will compare it with their past life.
A small portion of these newly ascended nobles came to Windam for official or business purposes and were likely to encounter local Midland nobles.
After several encounters, the contrasting results made the Heldland nobles increasingly disgusted.
In their eyes, the nobles of Midland were utterly worthless!
These people, besides holding noble titles, idled away their days doing nothing and committing all sorts of misdeeds. They had no real ability whatsoever and were purely parasites attached to the state.
They were completely ignorant about governing their territories and indifferent to the suffering of the people. Their only skill was squandering wealth and oppressing commoners. They were more like a group of spoiled good-for-nothings than nobles.
The Midland nobles also held the Heldland nobles in the same contempt and disdain.
In their eyes, apart from John, who has a clear lineage of nobility and the endorsement of the Royal Court, making him a legitimate nobleman, the other Heldran nobles are not worthy of being called "nobles".
Their origins were extremely humble; most were former serfs or commoners, and some of their fathers had even been tenant farmers who tilled the land for the Midland nobles.
What the Midland nobles found even more intolerable was that these "nouveau riche" dared to put on airs of nobility in Wyndam.
Furthermore, most of the new generation of Midland nobles are morally questionable and narrow-minded. Once they encounter Hilderan nobles on the street or in social situations, they cannot help but make sarcastic remarks and verbally humiliate the other party's background.
Faced with the provocation of the Midland nobles, the Helderland nobles naturally would not swallow their anger.
Most of them had fought their way up from the battlefield, and they had a tenacity and a fighting spirit in their bones. How could they bear such an insult?
Often, before the other person can finish their taunts, a resounding slap will have already landed on their face.
The conflict would then escalate rapidly, turning from a one-on-one brawl into a group fight.
The outcome was almost a foregone conclusion. The pampered and powerless Midland nobles were no match for the battle-hardened Heldland nobles who had just retired from the army. They were often beaten black and blue, leaving them in a sorry state.
The Midland nobles, who had suffered a loss, could not swallow their anger and had no choice but to go to the Midland royal family to complain, hoping to get justice.
However, the nobles of Heldland acted with great restraint, always managing their strength to at most inflict minor physical pain on their opponents, never causing serious injury. As a result, each noble court case ended without resolution, and in most cases, the nobles of Heldland would simply pay a sum of money for medical expenses.
What troubled the Midland authorities even more was that some of the Heldland nobles were extremely stubborn. They would rather spend more money to pay compensation than apologize. In their view, apologizing meant admitting their humble origins, which was absolutely unacceptable to them.
This stalemate has put the officials of Midland in a difficult position. The Lord Keeper of the Seals of Midland is particularly worried and has raised the matter on several diplomatic occasions, hoping that the two countries can restrain their nobles and prevent the conflict from escalating further.
After all, we were from the same country just a few years ago, but now we're arguing over these trivial matters, which is really detrimental to the friendly relations between the two countries.