King

The disarmament proposal was passed at the meeting without any danger, and the nobles began to disband the army with a tacit understanding.

It seems to be asking for opinions, but in fact it is forcing everyone to accept it. Starting next month, the kingdom will no longer provide logistics supplies for the army.

If you think you can afford such a large army, you can continue to retain the current huge armaments.

Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of nobles' private armies. There is no law in the kingdom that stipulates the size of the nobles' private army.

It's not that the king doesn't want to issue a similar decree, the problem is that the nobles below are all princes of one party, and it is impossible for them to agree to such a self-restricting decree.

In some special times, the strength of some great nobles once surpassed that of the king. This is nothing new.

"Earl, the Alliance Council has issued an announcement to establish three kingdoms and four principalities in the Orc Steppe. We are currently collecting country names from the outside world."

After hearing Tom's words, Hudson frowned slightly. The structure of the Three Kingdoms and the Four Principalities is undoubtedly the result of compromise between all parties.

I originally thought that the orc prairie in the future would be filled with small countries, but I didn’t expect that the integration would have already been completed just after it started.

The ability to jointly build a country is obviously the result of multiple forces uniting together. The meaning of the Alpha Kingdom should not be too obvious.

As a senior member of the Kingdom, Hudson now has to broaden his horizons and consider issues from an international perspective.

The birth of the Seven Prairie Kingdoms does not threaten the survival of the Alpha Kingdom in the short term, but it also blocks the future expansion of the Alpha Kingdom.

Even if the vast orc prairie is divided into seven parts, it will not be a small country.

Surrounded by big powers, the Alpha Kingdom's development space is basically locked.

Breaking the situation, let’s forget it!

As a rising nobleman, Hudson did not have such great ambitions.

What's more, everyone doing this can be regarded as giving enough face to the Alpha Kingdom. If they deliberately cause trouble and establish a unified country in the orc prairie, that will really make the Alpha Kingdom sleepless.

Everyone is busy digesting the fruits of victory. There will be no major conflicts between the parties for a long time in the future. This is enough.

As for the new seven crowns, Hudson didn't bother to pay attention. Anyway, no matter who comes to power, it will not be his turn.

In the continent of Aslant, which values ​​bloodlines, the throne is always something you are born with. If you are not born with one, there is a high probability that you will not have one.

There are many cases of counterattacks, but they are all driven by the right time, place and people. Without any one of these links, a successful counterattack is impossible.

Everything has two sides, and the great changes on the grassland also have a positive side for the Alpha Kingdom.

At least Hudson's current troubles can basically be overcome safely. In the face of potential border threats, it is also very necessary to appropriately strengthen the strength of the nobles in border areas.

If nothing else happens, Caesar III will soon choose to give in and allow the country's great nobles to plant flags in border provinces.

After all, the previous restrictions on movement were essentially based on the fear that they would expand northward after they established a foothold.

Now that the hope of northern expansion has been cut off, there is no point in keeping an eye on everyone.

It is destined that some people will be happy and some will be sad.

If nothing unexpected happens, according to the previous distribution model, the big nobles will take 40%, the middle nobles will take 2.5%, and the small nobles will take the last 3.5%.

Originally, the royal family still had a share, but this time the situation was special. The royal family regained their homeland in three provinces, and everyone also helped with great efforts.

The land in these three provinces alone is enough for the royal family to digest for decades. As a smart man, Caesar III would naturally not be greedy.

Looking at the map hanging on the wall, Hudson smiled slightly. No matter how the north changes, it has nothing to do with him, a noble from southern Xinjiang.

The same applies to nobles when people leave their hometown and become humble. The old aristocrats have a network of connections all over the place. Even if they shift their strategic focus, they can integrate into the new circle in a short time.

It would be better for an upstart like the Koslow family to stay where they are. If you rashly break into a new circle, you will only be eaten up and wiped out.

The group of northern nobles who went south before are the best example. Even if the background is strong enough, he will still be tortured by local snakes.

If those guys hadn't followed the right boss this time, they would have been liquidated after the war.

Even with Hudson taking care of it, the dividends of this war have nothing to do with them now.

All because they are Northland nobles!

If you enjoy the benefits brought by the political interest group of the Northern Nobles, you will have to bear the corresponding backlash.

Now that the Northland noble group is suppressed in the kingdom, the development of these children of the Northland nobles is naturally limited.

This kind of political suppression will continue in the coming years, even decades.

There is no way. Who made the Northland nobles offend the whole kingdom when they were strong, and then everyone happened to catch them?

Looking at the entire Alpha Kingdom, except for themselves, everyone else is a political enemy.

What's worse is that their geographical location and the strength they possess seriously threaten the interests of the kingdom's nobles in the north.

Unless everyone feels that the potential threat has disappeared, this kind of suppression will continue.

The best way to get out of this predicament is to wait. Time can dilute everything. When everyone slowly forgets the threat of the Northland nobles, relations can normalize.

There are ways to speed up this process, such as the most common operation: political marriage.

"Tom, send someone to notify the think tank and ask them to come up with a plan to deal with the changes in the situation in the kingdom as soon as possible!"

Hudson immediately ordered.

After working hard for so long, we finally put together a think tank team. Unfortunately, I am still too immature and am currently in the internship stage.

In normal times, it's okay to help with trivial matters. Once major political changes are involved, the shortcomings of insufficient vision are immediately exposed.

This is determined by birth. No matter how talented the minor nobles are, the education they received since childhood still limits their horizons.

Now Hudson can only provide them with as many exercise opportunities as possible. Even if you know that it is difficult for them to see through the essence of the problem, you can only force them to understand it.

For all this, Hudson can only console himself: It's better to have a little ability, so as to avoid the headache after being poached.

Competition between the great nobles has always been full of tricks, and poaching each other is also common.

Hudson has not been poached, not because he is so good, but simply because he does not have outstanding talents that make everyone take notice.

When he was the commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief was able to run smoothly because the auxiliary officers were all drawn from the great nobles.

These people serve the coach, not Hudson himself. Once you leave your current position, people will instantly stop buying it.

…

"Your Majesty, Earl Hudson has submitted his resignation again!"

The Minister of Military Affairs, Archduke Efiero, said with a troubled expression.

"Three resignations and three requests" are not popular in the Aslant continent. Generally, if you submit your resignation, it means you really want to resign.

As a rule, the kingdom will not force nobles to hold important positions. After all, there is a shortage of everything in this world, except for people who want to be officials.

What's more, he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, a position of high authority. As long as the wind is released, the nobles who want to sit in this position can line up from the royal capital to Blood Moon Castle.

Anyway, the war is over, disarmament work has begun, and the ability requirements for commanders have also dropped significantly. It seems that it is not difficult to replace someone.

However, this is only the surface. It seems that everything is calm in the kingdom, but the undercurrent hidden underground has never stopped.

If it weren't for the pressure of a strong coach, all the nobles in the kingdom would not be so peaceful. Going out to duel if they disagree is nothing new in aristocratic circles.

"Tell Earl Hudson to assume his duties as a noble of the kingdom.

When the disarmament work is completed and the nobles of the kingdom return to their fiefdoms, I will agree to his resignation.

Before these tasks are completed, he, the coach, must be on duty! "

Caesar III said helplessly.

It's incredible to think about it. Other kings were worried that their powerful ministers would hold on to military power and threaten the safety of the royal power. When he arrived, he became a coach who wanted to resign every day, but he, the king, refused to let him go.

In fact, he had already had the idea of ​​​​substituting someone else. Looking around at the generals in the army, he found that there were too few "own people".

The direct line generals of the royal family either do not have enough prestige to convince the public; or they are not capable enough to shoulder this important task.

When it comes to military power, one should never take it lightly. There was no trouble during the war, but it would be embarrassing if something happened during peacetime.

The key is that once the big nobles get their hands dirty and want to do military affairs in the future, it will be difficult.

"Your Majesty, Earl Hudson was in a hurry to resign, probably because of the pressure exerted by the nobles in the military.

In order to promote the disarmament plan, Earl Hudson also made a lot of efforts. It is said that there were several quarrels in the middle, but in the end he was forced to pass as the head coach.

This time, the kingdom's standing army has been significantly reduced, and the power of the major nobles in the military has probably been reduced to a great extent.

It was not easy to avoid causing trouble! "

Efiero explained openly.

The most critical factor in why the number of standing armies has been so severely reduced is that there is no money to make trouble.

"Borrowing debt is a temporary pleasure, but repaying debt is a crematorium."

The Kingdom of Alpha has successively issued a large number of bonds, and coupled with the foreign debt it owed before, the kingdom's finances have long been overwhelmed.

In order to save money, even the celebration banquet was kept simple. The administrative expenses that can be reduced in the kingdom have been reduced to the extreme.

No matter how much we save money, facing a huge debt of nearly 100 million, it still seems like a drop in the bucket.

Not to mention repaying the principal, just paying the interest on the funds has put a lot of pressure on the Alpha Kingdom.

Among the many daily expenses of the kingdom, the largest expenditure is military expenditure. In the past, military expenditures accounted for more than 60% of the total expenditures.

This is why Hudson was immediately regarded as a "loyal minister" by the kingdom's senior officials after he proposed the disarmament plan.

The biggest expense has been cut. The kingdom's finances, which were on the verge of bankruptcy, were saved.

There may be hard times ahead, but in the end we can survive without having to worry about financial ruin all day long.

"That's it!

The situation in the grassland is changing rapidly. The emergence of the three kingdoms and the four principalities is completely beyond our expectations. Continuing the stalemate is not an option.

Find out Earl Hudson's last report, slightly modify it, and implement it as soon as possible! "

Caesar III said with a sigh.

It seemed that Hudson could not withstand the pressure, but in fact it was him, the king, who could not withstand the pressure.

This is the biggest feature of a joint-stock country. When the shareholders of more than half of the shares agree, they have decision-making power, and the king, as the major shareholder, has to compromise.

The changes on the grassland only accelerated the time for compromise. In essence, the royal power was at a disadvantage in the game with the princes.

Similar scenes often occur in the Aslant continent. It cannot be said that there are no kings who stick to their word, but overall they are still a minority.

Theoretically speaking, it is not impossible to withstand pressure and do things according to one's own will, but the consequences will be a bit serious.

It's not a big problem once or twice, but if it happens too often, the people below can't help but change the king.

A wise monarch will compromise at the appropriate time. After all, political games are always long-term.

This time the political goal was not achieved, there will be another chance. There is no need to put yourself on the opposite side of the aristocratic group just to win or lose temporarily.

In essence, the king and the nobles were in the same interest group. There may be conflicts due to internal division of stolen goods, but more often than not, they work together to maintain governance.

"Your Majesty, the time for the interest settlement of the first batch of bonds in the Kingdom is approaching. Do you think we should follow the example of the Principality of Moxi and levy a debt service tax?"

Marquis Delgado suggested bravely.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer, he had never had a good day since the outbreak of the war.

Just by looking at the hairline on his head, you can tell that in the near future, there will be another bald man in the court of Alpha Kingdom.

"Don't think about it. They will develop new fiefdoms next, which is when they need to spend money. It's strange to reach out to them at this time and get the money!

Find a way to collect a sum of money first and settle the interest first. After a few months of delay, the taxes from below will be sent up, and then the gap will be filled. "

Caesar III decisively objected.

He was very familiar with the styles of the nobles.

When we ask everyone to pay during the war, they are reluctantly cutting off their flesh and blood. In this peaceful age, if they continue to let them cut off their flesh, they will have to turn their backs directly.

Of course, the most important thing is the little nobles below, who really have no money now.

During the war, the successive war taxes had already overwhelmed them. Many small nobles are heavily in debt.

If the expropriation continues, the big nobles may have little impact, and the small nobles at the bottom will collectively go bankrupt.

For the king, the numerous small and medium-sized nobles below were an important part of checking the big nobles and balancing the domestic situation.

Once a large number of small nobles go bankrupt, a new round of land annexation will inevitably begin. The final result is: the small nobles are gradually eliminated, the big nobles become more and more powerful, and finally the royal power is reduced to a decoration.

Similar negative cases have not happened in the Aslant continent. There are even countries now that are in the era of oligopoly controlled by a few big nobles.