King

Stepping into the royal capital again, Hudson clearly felt a sense of sadness coming to his face. Obviously, the death of Caesar III not only affected the top leaders of the kingdom, but also spread to the people.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, I was invited to a party in the evening. The table full of delicacies failed to whet Hudson's appetite.

Different from the banquets in normal times, this time there was no wine or beautiful people at this gathering. Smiles on everyone's faces were even rarer, and even when they appeared, they were forced.

Human nature is the most complex.

When the king was alive, the restrained nobles wanted him to die immediately; but when Caesar III really died, everyone was thinking about his good fortune again.

Listening to the analysis and discussion of the international situation by a group of nobles, most of them had the same judgment as Hudson and were pessimistic about the future situation.

Especially the border nobles in the southern part of the kingdom are even more frightened by the current situation. The rear area suddenly became the front line of future conflicts, which really caught everyone off guard.

Relatively speaking, the southeastern provinces are pretty good. At least there are a few mountains in the middle, so there is no need to face the pressure of the Hessian Kingdom directly for a while.

The main reason is that Caesar III died too early. According to everyone's previous estimates, everyone thought that the king could last another three to five years.

With such a long time buffer, the kingdom's debt crisis has basically been resolved; the kingdom's emerging nobles, those who can hold on to their foundations, have gained a firm foothold; and the recovered land has almost been re-incorporated into rule.

The provinces in the central and southern parts of the kingdom that were less affected by the war have all recovered from the shadow of the war and regained their strength.

With seven or eight points of strength restored, even if the new monarch has limited abilities, he can still protect himself in the face of complex international situations.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel. Caesar III did not live as long as everyone expected, and various conflicts that were originally suppressed are now in danger of detonating in advance.

Seeing everyone constantly calling for unity, Hudson knew that unity was getting farther and farther away from the Alpha Kingdom.

The guys from Northland didn't show up at the party, but in Hudson's mind, figures gloating about his misfortune had already appeared.

Unity is important, but it is based on self-interest.

Perhaps they will not talk about unity until the nobles in various parts of the south are weakened and the kingdom is on the verge of collapse.

…

"Dear Earl Hudson, you are a military master. Judging from the current international situation, if one day several big countries in central China want to move north, where will they choose to start?"

Count Carlisle's words pushed Hudson to the front desk, and everyone's eyes focused on him.

"My dear Count Carles, this assumption makes no sense.

The major kingdoms in the middle are not monolithic, and we cannot treat them as a whole. Even if they all want to advance northward, their strategic goals are different.

At most, they join forces in name only, but when it comes to specific actions, they still fight on their own.

If you open the map of the continent, you will know that there are too many entry points for the central countries to choose from.

If you want to prevent their invasion, all border provinces in the south of the kingdom must build defense lines.

Perhaps we can be a little optimistic. They are just testing the waters and are not ready to invade the north now! "

Hudson said helplessly.

I originally thought that I was pessimistic enough, but I didn't expect that these guys were even more pessimistic than him. They were all thinking about what to do if the enemy came over.

It is a good thing to have a sense of crisis, but if you are too nervous, it will become a unfounded worry.

These are all issues left over from history.

The Alpha Kingdom faces the threat of orcs all year round. Whenever there is a situation, it is a bloody battle, which implants the awareness of crisis into everyone's bones.

The method to deal with the crisis is also aimed at the orcs. Now that the venue has shifted to the infighting of the human race, the original traditional thinking model can obviously no longer keep up.

After all, the orcs can go south without any scruples, but the central countries are subject to multiple checks and balances and must follow the rules.

It is impossible for everyone to change their minds in a short while. The only effect that Hudson's words brought to everyone was to strengthen everyone's idea of ​​building a defensive line.

After withdrawing from the discussion circle, Earl Oran came over and pulled Hudson to the corner, and asked in a low voice:

“Hudson, I heard that you are going to be a father soon, how is Melissa now?

It seems like an ordinary statement about family life, but it contains a lot of content. On the one hand, he is concerned about his daughter and grandson, but more importantly, he is concerned about the marriage between the two families.

Melissa and the child in her belly are the link between the two parties.

"Don't worry, Earl. Melissa is in very good condition, and the baby in her belly is also healthy.

Counting the days, I will be born at the end of the month. It's a pity that the royal capital is busy with affairs now, so I'm afraid I won't be able to rush back in advance! "

Looking at the regretful Hudson, Earl Oran smiled slightly. Perhaps realizing that the situation was not right, he immediately restrained his smile after showing it.

"Don't worry, the child will be proud to have a father like you. The situation at home and abroad is very tense now, and it is right for you to stay in the capital.

Those guys in the Northland are now ready to make a move. You and the Locknard family are mortal enemies, so those in the north should be careful. "

Upon hearing the reminder from Earl of Oran, Hudson immediately realized that trouble was coming.

Without the leadership of Caesar III, the kingdom's repressive policy towards the northern nobles would surely be relaxed.

Once they are loosened, life will be difficult for the family's newly opened branch in the north.

Although he won't lead people to fight directly, it is still possible to secretly create some conspiracies and tricks to force the Koslow family to give up the northern fiefdom.

Rubbing his forehead, Hudson found out awkwardly: apart from reminding everyone to be careful, there was nothing he could do.

Even if they want revenge, the Koslow family's hands cannot reach that long.

You can't just fight the sap yourself, right?

If you really do that, the conflict will escalate. A proper lose-lose strategy, the final result will most likely be that both families will decline together.

As long as he can take advantage, Hudson will not want to hang out in the aristocratic circle. If everyone plays like that, who will have a sense of security?

"Why, the Hollister family also feels the pressure?"

Hudson asked concerned.

For a big family, it is very simple to target a few small nobles, and there is nothing much to say.

But if even emerging nobles like the Hollister family feel the pressure, it will be a different situation.

"It's not that serious yet, but after the news of His Majesty's death came out, the nobles of the North held a collective meeting, which lasted two days before it ended.

The specific content of their discussion is unknown, but it can be seen from the joy on everyone's faces when they left that the meeting was fruitful.

Perhaps this family relocation was a wrong decision. Compared with the five major families in the North, the Hollister family is too weak! "

Earl Oran couldn't help but sigh.

The biggest problem with the seven newly recovered provinces in Northern Xinjiang is that they are too close to the five major families in the North.

If there were no shackles to restrain the five major families, what would the nobles from the seven northern provinces who had not even moved their families do to fight against them?

Not taking action now does not mean that we will not take action in the future. Maybe the people and materials they worked so hard to relocate would end up being used to make wedding dresses for others.

Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world. Once you take this step, there is no possibility of looking back.

Either work hard and establish a foothold in the north; or fall into the dust.

"Your Excellency, don't worry too much. Those guys in the North are indeed powerful, but they also have many enemies.

As long as they could unite a group of nobles heading north, they would not dare to act rashly. Once this period of weakness is over, everything will get better. "

Hudson comforted him sincerely.

It was precisely because he knew that the north was a big hole that he chose to take root in the southeastern province. He had even vaguely persuaded Earl Oran at the beginning, but the Holliser family was determined to give it a try.

Now it depends on whether the new king can suppress the five major families in the North at the next meeting in the royal capital, otherwise the future of Northern Xinjiang is destined to not be peaceful.

…

The new king's succession to the throne and the state funeral were all prepared step by step. Whether it was the nobles within the kingdom or representatives from various countries, they all acted extremely calm during this period.

But Hudson's heart was not at peace. His intuition told him that behind the tranquility, there was often a greater crisis.

"My Lord Earl, Your Highness invites you to go to the palace to discuss matters."

After receiving this news, Hudson couldn't help but frown. The more critical the moment, the more necessary it is to cut through the mess quickly.

In his opinion, it would be better for Crown Prince Caesar to ascend the throne as soon as possible if he engages in these complicated ceremonial procedures.

The king and the crown prince have never been the same concept. As long as you don't wear the crown for a day, things may change.

Following the attendant into the meeting hall, Hudson immediately realized that something was wrong.

No matter how you say it, Crown Prince Caesar is also everyone's future monarch. Even if you don't like him in your heart, you still have to live up to his reputation.

But the reality is that everyone didn't even bother to pretend, they just put on a bitter face, and many people even glared at Crown Prince Caesar.

The confusion didn't last long, and Hudson's expression turned gloomy.

"Your Highness, since our Alpha Kingdom started a hundred years ago, the succession of monarchs has not had anything to do with the Holy See. Now you ask the Holy See to come over for a coronation, what does it mean?"

It wasn't that Hudson couldn't hold his breath, it was actually that Crown Prince Caesar was being too reckless.

The Alpha Kingdom is the mortal enemy of the Holy See. If someone from the Holy See is crowned at this time, wouldn't it mean compromising with the enemy?

In addition to the obvious reasons, the more important thing is that he and the Holy See do not deal with each other. Everyone rose to power by relying on the Holy See. The kingdom was repairing relations with the Holy See, and Hudson was definitely the one who was most hurt.

"Earl Hudson, don't be anxious. It's just a ceremony and it won't harm the real interests of the kingdom.

What's more, the Holy See has also made a promise, as long as we..."

Before Crown Prince Caesar could finish his words, Hudson forcibly interrupted: "Your Highness is really big-hearted. In your eyes, the battle between royal power and divine power is just an ordinary ceremony.

It's just that when His Highness did this, did he consider the political consequences? Let’s leave aside the domestic impact and simply analyze the international impact.

The most direct impact is that our relationship with the Frankish Kingdom will inevitably break down, and our relations with several other major human nations will also deteriorate.

As for the promise of the Holy See, as long as you read more history books when you have nothing to do, you will not have such illusions! "

As soon as the words were spoken, a large number of nobles who were anti-Vatican spoke in agreement, and in an instant it turned into a verbal siege of the crown prince by a group of fiefdom nobles.

The ministers of the DPRK and China, who were supposed to be on the side of the king and argue with everyone, now also sat on the sidelines.

Obviously, everyone is not interested in the proposal of Crown Prince Caesar.

Hudson vaguely realized something was wrong. Since everyone was objecting, why would Crown Prince Caesar do this?

"Everyone, please be quiet. This is not a vegetable market. There is nothing to be noisy about.

As usual, it is the new monarch who decides who will preside over the coronation ceremony.

Since His Highness has decided to ask people from the Holy See to host it, let them be responsible for hosting it. Don’t go beyond the rules just for your own selfish gain! "

Duke Hero's words instantly detonated the entire audience.

The Northland aristocratic group and the new king are getting involved. This is definitely big news. In a difficult situation, Crown Prince Caesar dared to make such a suggestion, and his feelings gained their supporters.

The most fierce opposition at present, except for Hudson, are all the old nobles in the central and southern part of the kingdom.

The Northland nobles + emerging nobles were all pulled over, and a new balance was formed between the two camps.

"Okay, let's leave the coronation ceremony to Archbishop Tyron, and let's stop inviting the Holy See!"

When the dust settled and Hudson won, there was no smile on his face.

When he was talking to Count Oran yesterday, he was still worried about the threat from the Northland nobles. Now that the two sides have completed the merger, there must be a story behind it.

Apart from the Crown Prince Caesar in front of him, Hudson could not think of a third person who could bring the relationship between the two parties together.

In an instant, he understood that the proposal made by Crown Prince Caesar just now was not really about inviting people from the Holy See to come for the coronation, but a deliberate temptation.

Perhaps in addition to testing the reaction of these people, Crown Prince Caesar is also sending a signal to the outside world: If push comes to shove, I will go to the Holy See.

Don't make any contradictions. In the face of interests, this thing is always worthless.

It was all planned. No wonder all the ministers in the court were silent.