"Hahaha," with Barbarossa's long laugh, the dusk energy that Bai Zhou saw just now swept away. At this time, Barbarossa truly looked like a king, a emperor who looked down on the world: "Since I, Frederick, dares to make you surrender to me, I will not be afraid of your betrayal. The Western Qin people, even if you are aliens to us, it doesn't matter. As long as you are willing to surrender to me, I have the responsibility to protect you."

Bai Zhou smiled and kept hearing that those who have been in the upper class for a long time will have a little bit of a kingly aura. Unexpectedly, he really encountered it today. However, it seems that he is not the protagonist, so he cannot exude this kingly aura.

This kind of aura comes from a kind of self-confidence, a kind of self-confidence that dares to underestimate the world. Only Barbarossa, this arrogant king, and this king who cares about the flood after his death can have it.

However, Bai Zhou believed that even if he was not the protagonist, he would not become a supporting role. He looked at Barbarossa's confidence from head to toe, but just watched quietly and did not make much comment.

"Even if you will rebel in the future, it is my descendants who are not good at it and cannot surrender you. It has nothing to do with me. But now, as long as you still surrender to me, I will definitely protect you. However, for the benefit of the empire, sometimes necessary sacrifices must be made."

"So, are our Western Qin now victims?" Bai Zhou, the leader of the Western Qin clan and the descendant of the First Emperor, also understood what Barbarossa meant, although he was very unhappy with the fact that he was placed in the position of victims.

"That's only temporary." Barbarossa sat back in his seat, and completely appreciated Bai Zhou, who was calm. Compared to his three sons, the eldest son was too humble and polite to others. If it was in peace, it would be of great benefit. But in this era of cannibalism, being too humble and polite can only be another synonym for cowardice. The second son, to be nice, to be good at it, to put it bluntly, to have no opinion, it is impossible to take over his position, and to take on the throne of the entire empire; and the youngest son, Wolfgang, is a general, but in Barbarossa's eyes, he is only limited to this. His fighting ability may be excellent, but as an emperor, he can only fight, which is far from enough.

As the king of the Holy Roman Empire, Barbarossa naturally has a very good understanding of the internal affairs of his country. If he had not relied on his own iron-fisted means to force suppression, he would not have been able to take this position now. Even so, he would have to find ways to divert domestic conflicts. Foreign wars are a strategy that must be implemented. However, foreign wars have always been a gamble. If they lose and have nothing, even if they win, it is not a long-term solution to the problem.

Barbarossa picked up the sword that had not been wiped yet and said to Bai Zhou: "When we first met, you seemed to know the importance of Italy to me. Now I can tell you that everything can be sacrificed for that land. Not only Switzerland, but I myself, if necessary."

"I understand, but it's hard to imagine that the French and Burgundians are now too busy to take care of themselves, so why do they have the courage to anger your territory? If you don't agree, I don't think they dare to fight Switzerland." What Baizhou actually wants to ask is what the price is that it makes you agree to give up Switzerland, a strategic location connecting the three countries. Even if you agree only half of Switzerland, seriously, giving up Bern is no different from giving up the entire Switzerland.

"That's because they gave me something you couldn't have given me." Barbarossa smiled and gave an answer that was not the answer.

"Actually, you should understand that there are not many sheep around the empire. Maybe they look like sheep now, but if we start conquering Italy, we might suddenly find that they are just wolves in sheep's clothing one day." Barbarossa showed a cruel smile on his face. Indeed, Barbarossa could not be cruel. The king who could make a large-scale murder of the city would know that he would not be a kind person if he thought so.

"The French in the West are still fighting a mess with the English. This can be regarded as a real sheep. Poland and Hungary in the East cannot escape the threat from Byzantines and Russians (Kievan Russians). Italy in the south is the place where the king wants to attack. So, the wolf in sheep's clothing you are referring to can only be from the north, the Vikings." Bai Zhou said, and he heard that Barbarossa was just telling him that in fact, the Holy Roman Empire did not have much military strength to defend the threat from the west, especially when he wanted to go south, the troops guarding his own territory would inevitably be more empty, so even if he had the will, he did not have the strength to provide assistance to the Western Qin people. Indeed, in Barbarossa's eyes, Italy is much richer than Switzerland, of course, this is also a fact.

Therefore, what would make Barbarossa so worried and qualified to make the Holy Roman Empire worry. Bai Zhou looked around and seemed to be the only Vikings who were qualified.

The Vikings lived in Northern Europe, and their entrenched areas include today's Norway, Denmark and Sweden. At that time, Europeans more called it northman, which was literally translated as northerners, that is, northern visitors. Vikings are their self-proclaimed. In the Nordic language, this word contains two meanings: first, travel, and then plunder. Their long voyages cover the entire Europe, facing the Red Sea in the south, to North America in the west, and to Baghdad in the east. When they first appeared in front of local people, they were plundering and plundering as pirates.

The residents of Scandinavia have lived by grazing, farming and fishing for many centuries. In the sixth and seventh centuries, they began to trade along the Baltic Sea and the rivers and other places in Russia. Driven by some unknown reasons, they suddenly began to aggressively invade the European coasts in the late eighth century AD. It was possible that they were marveling at the wealth they encountered while doing business, or that they perceived the weakness of the southern races; it could also be that new navigation and shipbuilding techniques allowed them to voyage or move quickly.

Of course, at this stage, the Vikings no longer appeared before the world as robbers, partly because after becoming Christians, they no longer obeyed the warrior values ​​of past pagan beliefs. In addition, Scandinavia was divided into several kingdoms, the most representative of which were Denmark and Norway, and the new rulers focused on managing the land they already owned. In addition, the Viking colonists were also assimilated by the cultures around them in Russia, France and Britain.

However, even so, these Vikings have always coveted the wealth of the South. Just as the Holy Roman Empire was greedy for Italy's wealth, the Vikings who survived on the barren northern lands were naturally also greedy for the wealth of the Holy Roman Empire.

This is a problem that any Germanic ruler cannot avoid. The cold and barrenness of the Scandinavia decided to conquer them, which was a thankless thing, but once there was something in the Germanic situation, the robbery of the Germanic wealth was the most popular thing for the Vikings. Although they were not moving at all now, they were like a docile sheep, because they knew that the Holy Roman Empire was not something they could afford, but once they smelled the blood, these Vikings would pull off the sheepskin without hesitation and reveal their sharp fangs.

This also determines that even when Barbarossa conquered Italy, the defense in the north could not be relaxed at all. Poland and Hungary in the east, even if they are in good terms with the Holy Roman Empire, no one can guarantee that if the internal defense of the empire is empty, will the two great powers take the opportunity to take a bite?

"You know the Vikings too? Haha, sometimes you really don't look like an alien." Barbarossa finished speaking, pondering for a while, as if thinking about something important, and then he spoke again: "If, I mean, if, just let you Western Qin people face the Burgundians, how sure are you?"

Bai Zhou was stunned at first, and then understood. Barbarossa's meaning was to let himself face the Burgundians alone, that is, he had to rely on the soldiers of the Western Qin to resist the possible "invasion" of the Burgundians. It seems that Barbarossa was not so willing to give up Switzerland like this, but under the pressure of external enemy forces and some kind of "gift" sent by the French, he had to make a compromise. However, if only the soldiers of the Western Qin would fight, there would be no consideration in this regard.

"I originally had no intention of relying on your soldiers to fight against the Burgundians." This is indeed Bai Zhou's real idea. To defend his own home, outsiders are unreliable. A living example, if Middle-earth had completely relied on itself to defeat that sunset country, I believe that Tian Khan's hometown, Indochina Peninsula, etc., are still Middle-earth now, and there will be no embarrassing situation where the coastline is surrounded by other countries' territory, and the ships on our side will be detained.

"Oh?" Barbarossa looked at Bai Zhou meaningfully, "That is, even if you know that I asked you to withdraw from northern Switzerland, will you still stay there?"

"I don't want to answer such hypothetical questions." Bai Zhou is not like a teenager at all, and he is not at the disadvantage of Barbarossa by word of word. "The reality is that you don't think you want to lose Switzerland in vain. I think you are exactly the same as yours. However, I have a few requirements."

"Say." Barbarossa looked at Bai Zhou with interest.

"Food, armour, horses. In short, I need a large amount of supplies." Baizhou is not a person who is willing to suffer losses. Although this war with the Burgundians has nothing to do with Barbarossa, when the war was fought, Xi Qin won. Barbarossa not only gained the benefits of the French, but also continued to maintain a complete strategic location. If it was defeated, it could also consume a lot of the Burgundians' strength, thus making Barbarossa's southward strategy safer. In this way, Baizhou could not make Barbarossa's blood work without any hesitation.

"Haha, I agree, and the quantity is guaranteed to satisfy you." Barbarossa felt that the little guy in front of him was becoming more and more similar to himself back then. He was a man who could not suffer any loss and was not afraid of heaven and earth. "I also hope you can surprise me again. You must know that over the years, you have only surprised me."

“As you wish.”

"In fact, the number of Burgundian troops is not as terrible as imagined. At least, as I know, they are still in a state of war with Joan of France. In a short period of time, their main force will not be transferred to Switzerland. Unless that Joan of Arc is defeated in a short period of time, but I think the possibility is very low. That girl is a genius." Barbarossa also showed a look of admiration when she mentioned Joan of Arc, as if she was sighing, sighing that this genius did not appear in his empire.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ps: The second update is here.

The war is about to begin and will move to the strategic and tactical level, instead of drinking, singing, and eating hot pot. Please give me some recommendation tickets.
Chapter completed!