King

In the Jade Palace, all the giants of the kingdom gathered together, frowning around the circle marked on the map.

The war is over and it's time to divide the cake. Unlike previous battles, this time the battle with the orcs was too easy.

Originally, this was a good thing. The war ended early, minimizing the losses to the kingdom, and there was still no less of the spoils that should be taken.

The trouble is here too!

According to past practice, rewards will be awarded directly based on the size of the merit. Those who deserve to be promoted to official posts or titles will be given promotions to those who deserve them, and those who deserve to be given fiefs will be given fiefs.

But this time the situation was different. Most of the nobles participating in the war only had to work hard. The few nobles who received military honors did not have enough merit.

It was won so quickly and so easily that the credit was mainly concentrated on Hudson as the coach.

When it came time to divide the cake, things got awkward.

According to the kingdom's strategic plan, this time it is necessary to advance 800 miles eastward. Referring to the Near East Strategy, we know that this planned expansion will only occupy more territory in the end.

However, there were only a few nobles who were qualified to obtain fiefdoms, and the space could not be filled at all. The remaining nobles had nothing but hard work. Not only did they lack the legal basis for granting titles, they also had no way to guarantee fairness.

After all, everyone was granted a fief, and with so many nobles in the kingdom participating in the carving up, the fief area was too small.

In the heart of the kingdom, it doesn't matter if this happens. But doing this in border areas is committing suicide.

If a family is allocated thousands of acres of land, how can they gather enough strength to resist the harassment of the orcs?

If only some powerful nobles were granted fiefdoms, it would undermine the foundation of the kingdom - the principle of fairness.

"Marshal, you have been on the front line for a long time and know the situation best on the front line. What suggestions do you have for the next division of fiefdoms?"

Caesar IV asked expectantly.

This thorny problem has been backlogged in the hands of the Royal Government for a long time, but there is no proper solution.

If everyone hadn't focused their attention on looting the Holy See, the pressure on the royal government would have been even greater.

However, this kind of thing can be avoided for a while, but it cannot be delayed forever. If the problem is not solved quickly and the matter in the Papal State is over, things will become more complicated.

"Your Majesty, things are not easy to handle!

The principle of fairness in the kingdom must not be destroyed. This is the foundation of our country!

But we also have to consider the situation in the prairie. After the new round of expansion is completed, the length of the national boundary between the Kingdom and the Orc Empire will increase significantly, and the corresponding national defense pressure will also increase.

The kingdom's standing army alone cannot take care of so many places, and it must be supplemented by the private armies of local nobles.

If you don't have a certain amount of military strength, it may be difficult to take root on the front line.

My personal suggestion is to encourage the powerful nobles in the interior to exchange their fiefdoms and move their families to the front line.

However, this kind of thing can only rely on everyone's conscious decision-making, and the Kingdom should not force it. After all, the risks on the front line are not low, and you may encounter an orc counterattack at any time.

Especially in the early stages, once attacked by orcs, you will immediately suffer heavy losses. "

Hudson replied seriously.

But if you analyze his words carefully, you will find that he seems to have said everything, but in fact he said nothing. They are all ambiguous answers.

The suggestions given may seem reasonable, but in fact they are not feasible at all.

In recent years, the Alpha Kingdom first recovered the seven provinces of Northern Xinjiang, and then occupied the Near East.

The powerful old middle-class nobles in the kingdom have long since jumped out of their original prisons and moved out with their families in order to achieve better development.

Although there are many ambitious people among the remaining nobles, the strength in their hands cannot support their ambitions.

They all seem to be middle-class nobles, but in fact the strength gap between each family is also very different. The strongest one can be more than ten times, or even dozens of times stronger than the weakest one.

Even if these people are willing to come, everyone is willing to give them a chance, but the family strength behind them will not allow it!

Without a core backbone, it would be difficult to organize a decent armed resistance just by relying on ordinary fiefdom nobles.

You can't just arrange people to go over, and your butt is not yet warm, and you will be harmed by the orcs, right?

It is not easy for the kingdom to gain strategic advantage, but it cannot be done willfully. If the frontline loses a few more times, the morale and morale of the troops that have finally been built up may fall again.

"Marshal, if the kingdom directly manages part of the frontline territory, do you think it is feasible?"

After listening to Count Linares's proposal, Hudson exclaimed deep in his heart: Great wisdom!

In the Alpha Kingdom, there are places directly under the government, but they are all prosperous metropolises that can provide the government with a steady stream of tax revenue.

During this expansion, not many nobles were eligible to receive fiefdoms, which indeed gave the royal government an opportunity to expand its direct jurisdiction.

But the problem is that the land in these border areas not only cannot generate tax revenue, but also requires a large amount of human, material and financial investment in the early stage.

The enfeoffment of nobles only requires an edict, and all local development and management expenses are thrown away. Just wait until the tax holiday is over to collect taxes.

The development of the Near East is going very smoothly because the land is our own and the nobles are working hard.

If it were managed by bureaucrats and cost ten times as much administrative overhead, it would not be possible to achieve the current results.

The Royal Government is already poor, yet it dares to take over this gold-eating beast. This means that it will not give up until the government is bankrupted!

For a while, Hudson couldn't figure out whether Count Linares was out of his mind or whether Caesar IV was behind the scenes.

After all, the biggest benefit of the increase in the number of places directly under the royal government is that it helps the central government centralize power.

“Theoretically, direct management by the Royal Government is also feasible.

However, this will bring about a series of problems, such as: the government's financial pressure will increase, and manpower and material resources may not be available.

After all, the royal government lacked experience in ruling large tracts of land. He immediately controlled more than a dozen provinces, and was not fully prepared in all aspects.

Of course, direct management also has its own advantages, but after most concentrated land development matures, the early stage belongs to the investment stage.

There are pros and cons! "

Hudson said with a smile.

If you want to commit suicide and jump into the pit, then come in by yourself! Anyway, he would not promote such an offending thing.

If the local nobles knew that the duck they had obtained flew away, I am afraid they would not be able to help but kill the instigator.

Although Count Linares is one of the giants of the kingdom, he is still not strong enough to withstand the counterattack of the powerful nobles.

No one even needs to take action directly, just to make the scene bigger. The unreliable direct jurisdiction strategy of the royal government will eventually lead to bankruptcy due to the government's lack of financial resources.

"Marshal, it is possible to accumulate experience. The Royal Government does not necessarily have to directly govern local areas, but this time the situation is special.

Under the premise of not violating the kingdom's military merit system, putting some areas on the front line directly under the government's jurisdiction is undoubtedly the best solution! "

Marquis Omar on the side added.

It's not easy to be the king's confidant. Now is the time to charge forward.

The royal government has direct jurisdiction over a certain area, which logically has little to do with Hudson, and there is no need for him, the marshal, to express his position.

At this moment, one after another is surrounding this topic, seemingly seeking support, but actually forcing him to take a stand.

Putting aside the problem itself and jumping beyond the chess game, you will find that the strength of the aristocratic camp in the Alpha Kingdom has rapidly expanded in recent years.

Although the power of the royal family was growing slowly, Caesar IV still felt threatened. Especially after Hudson won the title of "Human Marshal", he was even more afraid.

At this time, Hudson's reputation among the kingdom's army has exceeded that of the king. In terms of military say, he, the king, was far behind the commander-in-chief, Hudson.

However, Hudson is still too young, and the development speed of the Koslow family behind him is also very amazing.

If this situation is allowed to expand, even if there are no problems for the monarch of his generation, the successors will still face the embarrassing situation of "the tail is too big to lose".

It just so happened that the threat from the orcs had been reduced at this moment, and it was time to take action to limit the power of the nobles.

It's just that Caesar IV was unsure and worried that taking this step would destroy the kingdom's good situation, so he had today's temptation.

Unfortunately, the plan was good, but the situation did not develop according to plan. Hudson didn't take any action the whole time, and no one knew what he was really thinking deep down.

The question of whether or not to directly govern local areas suddenly returned to the hands of Caesar IV. Checks and balances are out of the question.

Unless Hudson explicitly refuses, no one would dare to deduct his share of the benefits.

The importance of the "fairness principle" is constantly emphasized in communication, which is actually an invisible warning. If someone dared to disobey, he would dare to kill him with a knife.

With Hudson's current status, it is not a big deal to kill a few "dirty ministers" if there is sufficient reason.

If you don't feel relieved, you can still attack the king.

Caesar IV had already experienced similar scenes. The former prime minister often criticized him, so he drove him home to farm.

The difference is that Hudson's situation is special. The "Human Marshal" is a natural commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king cannot remove his position without serious fault.

"Your Excellency, please consider this matter in the long term!

If it is really to be implemented, it must be authorized by the Noble Council to comply with legal procedures. Otherwise, the people below will make a fuss, and we won’t be able to contain it. "

Prime Minister Marquis Delgado persuaded him tactfully.

Being a member of the reformist faction does not mean that everyone has the same political philosophy. For example, he was opposed to this wave of temptations.

It is necessary to restrict "powerful ministers", but at this moment, the situation in Hudson has become overwhelming. Being able to lure people back to their fiefdoms is a great victory.

If the temptation fails and something happens, and Hudson, who likes to stay at home, changes his mind and takes a job in the capital, that will be a real disaster.

…

Elf forest.

Facing the complicated situation on the mainland, the three elf queens who have lived for hundreds of years also have a headache.

"Orcs, those idiots are really inferior to each other, and they can actually kill themselves!

It doesn't matter if they seek their own death, the key is that they ruin the alliance's major affairs. After this battle, our strategic advantage in the northern continent disappeared directly.

In the days to come, it will be difficult for us to live comfortably! "

The Forest Elf Queen couldn't help but sigh.

The great situation of the Anti-Humanity Alliance was actually taken away by a flood like a comedy. The key is that the water was caused by our own people.

"Sister, the orcs are too stupid to be useful, but they are also very warlike. Sooner or later they will decline due to war, but now the time is slightly advanced.

What's surprising is that the human civil war ended so quickly.

The Franks and the Anti-French Alliance, who were supposed to be fighting to the death, did not kill each other. Instead, they formed a group to carve up the Holy See.

This kind of operation is really incomprehensible! "

The prairie elf queen complained.

The living environment is different, and the thoughts and cognitions will naturally be different. With the elves' view of right and wrong, it is difficult to understand the operations of the human race.

“You’re right if you don’t understand!

The human race politicians are all thinking about interests. They are very skilled at betraying their allies.

But in the past, it was the Holy See who betrayed others, and this time it was their turn to suffer the backlash!

Thinking about it, the Holy See is really a waste. It has the strongest foundation of the human race, but it is so vulnerable.

Forget it, let’s not talk about these useless things, let’s take care of ourselves first!

The restless elves became more and more noisy. We keep clamoring for reform all day long, don’t we know the benefits of reform?

But the situation in the clan is not suitable for trouble now. If something goes wrong and the enemy takes advantage of it, you'll be in trouble! "

The forest elf queen said angrily.

The cult rebellion was successfully suppressed by the elven army. But the ideas left behind by the cult are constantly fermenting.

More and more elves are dissatisfied with the solidification of classes in the clan and are eager to open up space for upward development through reforms.

However, any "reform" that changes the political structure will not be tolerated by vested interest groups.

Even the three major elf queens have to stay away from the vested interest groups in their clan.

In this context, the "reformers" have become the biggest unstable factor among the elves.

Unlike external enemies, internal hidden dangers are the most terrifying. If this problem cannot be solved, disaster will brew sooner or later.

The trouble is: the "reformers" are also members of my own family. Except for their different political ideas, they are still normal elves in other aspects.

For the sparsely populated elves, every member of the tribe is precious. Before committing a serious crime, it is impossible to use thunderous means to suppress it!

What's more, the spread of ideas cannot be solved by killing people. If the problem cannot be solved at its source and the current reformists are suppressed, new reformers will emerge.

Even because of the bloody suppression, the two sides forged a bloody feud. The next time we meet, they will not be "reformists", but "revolutionaries".