Warlord: King of All Clans

There are few residential areas around the imperial palace in the imperial capital, most of which are various royal industries or imperial institutions.

There are only a few high-end residential areas here, all of which are the residences of the imperial capital's aristocracy.

Of course, the great nobles in the imperial capital all have their own large mansions, and only the small and medium-sized nobles will live in this kind of single-family residential area with a courtyard.

At the entrance of an alley, Six's little golden retriever poked his head out to watch for a while, and then above her, Ostara's pointed elf face also poked its head out.

The two men watched for a while before sneaking out.

Leo and the other two behind them were much more serious. They followed them as if they were shopping and chatted as they went.

Noreen is the daughter of the Earl of the South Territory and did not live in the imperial capital during her childhood, so it was basically Denise who introduced her to Leo.

"This is Violet Street, where many imperial nobles live. However, most of these imperial nobles do not have their own fiefdoms. They only have some industries in the imperial capital, and are slightly wealthier than the common people."

Leo said: "The North is still better. The noble titles in the North are directly tied to the land. Losing the land is equivalent to losing the title, whether it is an earl or a knight."

Denise said, "You in the North don't follow etiquette and worship power, but the South is different. The noble system in the South is more complicated."

"There are many landless nobles in the imperial capital. This has its origins. The southern border has been in civil war for many years, and the annexation has produced many exiled nobles. The defeated either became civilians or came to the imperial capital to ask His Majesty the Emperor for an explanation."

"Especially more than ten years ago, Queen Lola also implemented a system of inheritance for the second son. Although it was abolished in just a few years, it also led to the division of several earldoms. Wars broke out between brothers, and many of the defeated sons became landless nobles and came to the imperial capital to seek refuge."

"The issues here are complicated. It is difficult for the royal family to help them get their fiefs back, but their hereditary titles are retained."

Leo understood clearly that in the name of the old Emperor Charles VII's kindness, not only could he not deprive them of their noble titles, but he would most likely have to give these landless nobles some compensation so that they could continue to survive.

Especially the latter group of landless nobles, that was a historical problem caused by Queen Lola. For the sake of the royal family's reputation, it was impossible to let these nobles starve.

You can't encourage them to fight for the family property and then take back the noble titles of the losers.

Queen Lola's Enfeoffment Order was indeed able to effectively weaken the separatist forces, but it also created considerable chaos. Many earldoms and viscounties in the southern border were tragically divided, and at least half of them, instigated by those with ulterior motives and due to their own dissatisfaction, started a war.

However, these fish in the muddy water were ultimately not caught by the royal family, and they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen the central government's power.

The longer Leo stayed in the imperial capital, the more he realized the decline of the Orlantis Empire.

The entire imperial capital is filled with a decadent atmosphere. The ruling class is addicted to pleasure and living a life of drunkenness and dreams. The emperor of the empire is also incompetent and can be regarded as the biggest slacker in the empire.

Leo was fortunate enough to "attend court" once, but 70% of the issues discussed in the court meeting of dozens of people were affairs within the imperial capital and the province of Oranteri directly under the royal family.

Only the envoys from the vassal states in other provinces would speak of the conflicts outside the imperial capital.

As for Charles VII, to put it nicely, he was kind and open-minded, and he was able to hear both sides and gain a wiser view. To put it bluntly, he didn't care about anything.

The ministers at the court meeting were arguing in chaos, but Charles VII was absent-minded.

Whatever the earl in charge of the court says, that’s what we do.

If the objections are too loud, we will discuss it again and again.

It can only be said that after the death of Queen Laura, Charles VII, who was already mediocre, lost all his fighting spirit.

Such an empire had long been in a state of deterioration beyond redemption. It was obviously impossible to save an empire that had lasted for a thousand years by relying solely on individual capable people like Queen Laura and choosing top-down reforms.

Norin was a supporter of Queen Lola. Upon hearing what Denise said, she immediately said, "There is nothing wrong with the inheritance system of Mistress Lola's second son. The problem is the feudal lords who rule one side. Anyone who has studied in the Imperial Capital University for a few more years and read Queen Lola's theory of feudal lords harming the country will know that the feudal lords are an obstacle to the revival of the empire."

Denise knew this, of course, but she couldn't help but sneer, "Your Leopold family seems to be the great feudal lord you mentioned."

She and Noreen were roommates in college. They kept in close contact after returning from the North and now have a very good relationship, so she was not polite at all when speaking.

Her father was a viscount of the imperial capital, with only two manors in the suburbs as his fiefdom. The family's main income came from shops and workshops in the imperial capital, and they belonged to a class with money but no power.

This class, equivalent to the early bourgeois aristocracy, had a more urgent need for centralization, a stable business environment, and political status, so they were basically supporters of Queen Laura's new policies.

Norin's family is a family of earls to the west of the imperial capital. Although it is not as powerful as the great earl in the north, it is also a feudal noble family that can raise a full-strength legion.

In theory, this is the group that Queen Lola is targeting.

Hearing this, Norin raised her voice and said, "After my father passes away, I will persuade my brothers to divide the earldom according to the requirements of the second son inheritance system, so that my brothers can all inherit the land, and re-please the royal family and obey the royal jurisdiction."

Denise showed an expression of disbelief. "Do you have a grudge against your family? The second son's inheritance system has been abolished. There is no need to target your own family."

Leo on the side couldn't help but sigh. It turned out that Noreen was the real stupid college student. At least she failed the politics course.

The Enfeoffment Order could certainly weaken the separatist forces, but from the perspective of the separatist forces, it would be digging their own graves.

Once the Earldom of Leopold was divided, it would soon fall into civil strife and be taken over by the surrounding earls.

With the current mobility of the imperial family, they can't even get half a piece of the cake, let alone strengthen the central power. I'm afraid it will only give rise to a more powerful border earl.

With the coming of troubled times, various forces are taking the opportunity to expand, build up their own military forces, and avoid becoming the eaten fish. It can only be said that Norin is too idealistic for willing to become a small fish for the sake of the empire.

Norin looked downcast and whispered, "In the past two years, I have been searching for news about the princess in the north and south. What I saw and heard was horrible."

"The entire empire was in chaos and war, with roads cut off and people starving everywhere. Families were torn apart and wives and children were torn apart."

"Is this still the Empire we know?"

"The empire is no longer the prosperous and everlasting empire described in books."

"The Empire needs to be reunited."

Leo and Denise were both shocked by Noreen's words. Even Leo couldn't express such righteousness for the country and family.

Norin looked at Leo with a gleam in her eyes. "Leo, you are the adopted son of the Grand Duke and the adopted father of the Princess. Your intelligence and ability are beyond doubt. Perhaps you are the one who will help Her Royal Highness ascend to the throne and restore the glory of the empire!"

"Ah? Me?" Leo pointed at himself. He didn't expect that a small fry like him would be valued so much by Noreen.