In the Name of the Queen

If the Golden Kite News Agency were to write a report about the dinner, it would definitely say that the dinner was held in a harmonious atmosphere, and it would even publish a special issue to introduce the delicious dishes of the dinner.

However, what to eat at a dinner of this level is not the point, but who attends it is.

The essence of this dinner is indeed a feast, but the most important food is not the seafood dinner, but the future power division of the Golden Kite.

Every dance invitation may not necessarily lead to any communication, what is important is the attitude.

Whether to accept the invitation, how to refuse if refused, and how to respond if accepted, each sentence has a different charm.

With the death of Marco, Alina returned to Xidai, and the political landscape of the Golden Kite was bound to be reshuffled.

There are also many old wealthy families returning to Xidai with Alina.

The five dukes and more than 40 hereditary earls of the old empire are eager for Alina to bring the country on the right track they want.

They are very happy to support Alina as the new emperor as long as they can share the benefits.

Is it strange that the Republic has an emperor? Then just return to the empire.

They were eager to get close to Alina, but they were also wary of each other.

Dozens of noble families were still too many.

The cake was so small, and if there were too many people to share it, each person would get less.

The actual situations of these nobles were also different.

Some nobles were tactful during Marco's reign and escaped Marco's liquidation. Some people could not distinguish the situation and were sent to the guillotine by Marco.

What's more terrible is that one duke and seven earls have no legitimate heirs, and their titles are vacant, and it is necessary to clarify the ownership of the titles as soon as possible.

Should the titles be retained, and if so, who should inherit them?

All this requires Alina to express her position as soon as possible.

The old Duke of Champagne invited Alina to dance with her.

Looking at the Duke of Champagne, who was as kind as an old grandfather, Alina, who originally did not plan to leave the dance floor, really couldn't find a reason to refuse, but she was a little tired from the battle of wits and courage with Sif just now.

Just as she stood up and was about to hand her hand to the old duke, Alfonso, the Duke of Champagne, smiled and shook his head, sighing softly:

"Alina, I'm old, my legs and feet are not very convenient, let's have a cup of coffee."

He was full of worldly wisdom and saw the nagging in Alina's eyes at a glance.

Of course he wouldn't force it.

Although Alina was a beautiful child, at his age, he could only admire beautiful girls and would not have any other thoughts.

Alina pinched the hem of her skirt and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

The two found a table in the corner and sat down.

The court waiter brought coffee and left tactfully.

It was certainly not a casual chat for a big shot to drink coffee at such a dinner, and he didn't dare to hear things he shouldn't hear.

The Duke of Champagne sipped his coffee and mentioned Alina's father as if he was chatting casually.

"Your father is 21 years younger than me, but we are good friends. I tried to persuade him when he gave up his fiefdom, but his idea was too romantic."

"He always thought that others could be as indifferent as he was."

Alina wanted to refute that her father was not so naive and that he had considered everything, but when she thought of her father's ending, some words could not be said at all.

There is no if in political struggle, only results.

Failure is failure, and finding more reasons is just an excuse.

Seeing that Alina's face was a little ugly, Alphonse's face also became a little more sad.

"It's good that Carlo is still alive. If he can see you grow up, he must be very relieved."

This sentence seems to be a casual chat, but it is actually secretly praising Alina, but it sounds a bit harsh to her.

If her father is not dead, will she not grow up?

Thinking of her performance during the Sussex mission, Alina was silent.

Of course she is growing up, but it is far from enough.

Although she is reluctant to admit it, her father's death objectively accelerated her growth. Although she thinks that her growth comes from Roland's help and her efforts.

Seeing that the topic was a little awkward, Alphonse reminded softly: "Alina, nice words are like honey, eating too much will cause tooth decay, so..."

"Uncle Alphonse, just say whatever you want to say. You are my father's good friend and my elder, so of course I will listen to your opinions."

Alina's reaction surprised Alphonse a little.

According to his observation, Alina's expression tonight was a little strange, as if she was worried.

He boldly guessed that Alina was missing her father, so she started the topic with Carlo.

When he mentioned Carlo's past, Alina would definitely be excited even if she didn't burst into tears.

Some things should be mentioned while she was emotional.

However, Alina's reaction made him slightly stunned.

She didn't feel sad for her deceased father at all, but was worried about other things.

Alphonse, who couldn't guess Alina's thoughts at all, felt uncomfortable as if he had punched cotton with a punch.

He took the opportunity of drinking coffee to adjust his mood.

After thinking about it, he still couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

He boldly bet on Alina, took sides in advance, and had already won the right to speak for himself.

Since he couldn't guess, he might as well speak openly.

"Alina, what kind of country do you want to build in Jinyuan?"

"Freedom, justice, equality. Well, relative equality."

In the old man's half-smile, Alina couldn't make up any more polite words, so she had to laugh at herself and tell the truth.

"Mr. Alphonse, there is no absolute freedom, justice and equality in this world. What I mean is that everyone has a free identity, is protected by the law, and everyone's personality is roughly equal."

After a pause, she sighed softly, her voice lowered a few centimeters, "Of course, even in a free country, there are a few people who are more equal than others. This is a fact, there is no need to avoid it."

Alphonse breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart was relieved.

Unless he wanted to change the dynasty and become the emperor, his power and status had reached the top and could not be raised any higher.

He did not ask Alina for power, but was afraid that she was too idealistic and even wanted to take back all of Carlo's policies.

Looking at Alphonse's expression, Alina certainly knew what he was thinking.

She said in a gentle and unquestionable tone: "Mr. Alphonse, the mistakes my father made will not continue, but good policies will also be adopted. Everyone's legitimate rights and interests will be defended."

"Please tell others not to always focus on the immediate interests, but to look at the long term. The territory they lost cannot be made up from the mainland, but can be expanded overseas."

This is Alina's bottom line.

She acknowledged the status and power of the old nobles, but it was impossible for her to get her territory back.

This was the result of the struggle to overthrow the old empire. If history was reversed, it would be a betrayal of all the dead.

More than 90% of the land in the Golden Kite Kingdom was in the hands of the state, a proportion far exceeding that of other major countries.

As long as there was a correct development idea, the future of the Golden Kite Kingdom was limitless.

No one could reverse this.

But these nobles supported her, and she couldn't let them down too much.

Alina reminded her kindly: "Go to the South Continent, the New World, and the more distant overseas archipelagos, where there are vast territories that have not yet been occupied. If you want territory, go there and get it."

Alphonse was stunned for a few seconds, stammering, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Alina's meaning was very clear.

The nobles' confiscated native territories would not be returned, but they could open up territories overseas according to their own titles.

What is this?

Are their territories coming back? No. But as long as there are strong private armed forces, they can still open up territories.

But how can ordinary nobles support so many armed forces?

Seeing through Alphonse's thoughts at a glance, Alina smiled and said, "Mr. Alphonse, in the war against traitors, I found that the private soldiers of local lords have poor combat effectiveness. I am afraid that they cannot seize the territory by themselves."

Alphonse breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly.

It seems that Alina finally realized the problem and planned to mobilize the power of the state machine to help them.

However, Alina's next sentence made him instantly confused.

"The army must have unified organization and dispatch to have combat effectiveness. I plan to integrate all the nobles' private soldiers, unify the organization and command. This army will be supported by the nobles according to the proportion of investment, the state will provide subsidies, and the spoils will be distributed according to a certain proportion."

"The purpose of this army is to help everyone get back the territory. After completing the mission, it will be unified into the National Defense Army, and the nobles' territories will also be guaranteed by the state."

Alina smiled and said, "The power of the state machine can always be trusted."

Alphonse was stunned.

According to Alina's plan, there is indeed a great chance to seize enough territory from overseas to compensate the nobles, but the price is to hand over private soldiers.

Although the nobles can still retain a small number of private guards, they no longer have the strength to fight against the state machine.

Without waiting for Alphonse to refute, Alina spoke first and blocked his words.

"Mr. Alphonse, I don't want to see a bloody civil war."

"If you are really loyal to the country, why do you reject this suggestion?"

Alina's eyes flashed with a cold light, and she said in a deep voice: "Too much blood has been shed, and the country can't bear another Marco."

Alphonse and Alina stared at each other for a long time, and finally couldn't resist her clear and firm eyes, just shook his head and sighed, "I'm old, this world belongs to you young people. I support you, but I can't guarantee that others think so."

Watching the old duke leave, Alina's eyes flashed with a trace of weakness that she had never seen in front of others.

Roland, Sif, I will definitely pay you back what I owe you.

Even if all the Golden Kite people oppose it, I will stand on your side.

She bit her lip and thought silently.