Tome of Blood

  Chapter 283-133-The Oath of the Nobles

  Earl Gaston's cadenced voice sank into the tent like an elemental bomb, resounding in the hearts of the northern nobles.

  For a while, there was silence in the camp, and only the expressions of the nobles in the north could be seen.

  But soon, the silence was replaced by a rising discussion, and the whispering discussion soon turned into a noisy discussion.

   Undoubtedly, what Gaston told greatly exceeded the expectations of the Northland nobles, so that the Northland nobles fell into chaos for a while.

  Since the end of the Star-Moon War, Castel has been peaceful for too long, so peaceful that even an extremely suspicious rebellion could not make the northern nobles vigilant.

  As the big taxpayer of the Principality of Boulder and the "partner" of the Crescent Royal Family in the Mithril vein, the nobles of the Northland could never imagine that the royal family would actually take action against Castel.

  Absurdity, shock, anger, doubt, horror...

   Various expressions appear on the faces of different nobles.

  Charlotte took in all the expressions of the nobles, and was not surprised.

  Although the nobles of Castel have sworn allegiance to her, but to be honest, it is far from being truly sincere.

  It is more likely that they just clustered under the banner of the Castel family following the inertia of the family and history.

   At most... plus Charlotte's past unity and deterrence demonstrated during the period after taking over the territory.

   This kind of loyalty is not without a way out, but loyalty with a way out is actually quite fragile.

Perhaps when the Legris family rebelled, the Northland nobles who were colleagues would flock to Charlotte in outrage, but when the conflict of this rebellion spread to higher-level lords, everything...wouldn't matter. same.

Just like the stipulation in the "Sacred Code" - "The vassals of my vassals are not my vassals", as the lord of Boulder, the third prince who became the Duke of Boulder by marriage and the nobles of the Northland did not have a direct relationship with each other. feudal obligation relationship.

  Charlotte is the vassal of the third prince, and the northern nobles are the vassals of Charlotte.

  When the nobles of the Northland saw the third prince, they only needed to perform noble etiquette, instead of performing monarch and minister etiquette like facing Charlotte.

  Feudal obligations are like this, so are contradictions.

   In other words, when Charlotte, a vassal of Boulder, conflicts with the Duke of Boulder, the conflict generally does not spread to the next level.

  In the human history of the Myria world, wars between lords and vassals were not uncommon.

After the lord defeated the vassal, most of them would only take back or redistribute the territory directly under the vassal. For the lower-level nobles under the vassal, unless there was a reasonable reason, otherwise, it would not be because they participated in the rebellion. And to liquidate.

Even in the vassal war, the nobles who are loyal to the vassals make the higher-level lords hate it. As long as the higher-level lord wins, the nobles immediately swear allegiance to him, and the higher-level lord Nor has the right to do anything to the nobles who belong to them.

  The reason and reason are very simple, it is still "my vassal is not my vassal".

  Because these lower-level nobles were "not my vassals" but "vassals of my vassals", it is reasonable for them to participate in the vassal's rebellion, and they are fulfilling the noble obligations stipulated in the "Holy Code".

And after the higher-level lords won, they took back their titles, and these nobles who were not vassals became vassals. As long as they swore allegiance to the new lord in time, they had fulfilled their obligations under the "Holy Code" and should not continue to be liquidated during the rebellion Follow the actions of the old lords.

  This clarified and divided power and obligation makes the relationship between vassals and vassals extremely delicate, especially when there is a war between the vassal and the vassal of the vassal.

  According to the "Holy Code", the nobles can support the lord without any scruples in fighting against higher-level lords without worrying about the liquidation after the lord fails.

  And if it is substituted into the Castel rebellion, it means that the northern nobles can stand on Charlotte's side without any worries against the third prince.

   However, this is only in theory.

  The "Sacred Code" seems to solve the worries of the small nobles in the war of higher-level lords, allowing the small nobles to stand on the side of the direct lord without any worries, but it is not the case.

  Because the "Holy Code" protects the interests of minor nobles, when higher-level lords and vassals have wars, they often give preferential treatment and various promises to the nobles under the vassals.

   And this leads to a situation where—

   That is, according to the code, although the nobles can participate in the war between the lord and the lord's lord without any worries, in fact, after such a higher-level war occurs, the minor nobles will often become the targets of both parties.

   The final result is that many small nobles will not really follow the direct lords to fight, but will often remain neutral, and they will help whoever is most likely to win.

  The lords of the nobles are miserable, and sometimes they can only rely on their own direct territories to fight against their lords.

   It can be said that this rule that divides the ownership relationship of noble lords of different classes greatly limits the central authority of noble feudal lords, and it is also the brilliance of the holy royal court that established the "Holy Code".

  Through this strict aristocratic system, the interests of the minor nobles are guaranteed, and it is difficult for the feudal monarchs to achieve true centralization. Even if they have a powerful extraordinary power, they cannot pose a threat to the foundation of the church's rule.

   If it is applied to Charlotte, the problem will come.

  Perhaps the nobles of the Northland will all support her in suppressing the rebellion, but when the third prince attacks Castel, it is not certain which side the nobles will stand on.

  Whether it is to support Charlotte, who is directly under the lord, or the Duchy of Boulder at a higher level, it is actually possible.

And considering that the current Crescent King Louis V can be regarded as one of the greatest monarchs since the founding of the Crescent Kingdom, as his prince and a strong contender for the throne, the three princes have significantly higher stakes in this game of power of.

  Charlotte can almost predict that as long as the third prince declares war on her with high-sounding reasons, and at the same time promises that the interests of the northern nobles will still be preserved after victory, many of these nobles may choose to be neutral.

   This is also something that Charlotte was very worried about after knowing that the third prince planned to do something to her family.

  Her ruling foundation in the Northland is not stable, and she can withstand the rebellion, but she may not be able to withstand the test of war from a higher lord.

   To be honest, if the northern nobles collectively turn against her in the war with the third prince, she will really have a headache.

  To be honest, the phenomenon of vassals being both right and left is really disgusting to the lord.

  The New Moon King Louis V was determined to strengthen the centralization of power, and he was disgusted by similar things during the Star-Moon War.

  At that time, he was competing with King Henry II of the Fallen Star for the throne of the Crescent Moon.

   Because of this, Charlotte should avoid such situations as much as possible.

It is not realistic to control all the nobles in the Northland like Earl Gaston, and it is difficult to obtain the sincere loyalty of the nobles by relying on personality charm and interest binding, and Charlotte does not want to be a person who relies on mind control to rule the territory lord.

  Then the best way is to make the northern nobles completely disappointed with the third prince.

  If what Earl Gaston said was not what he said personally, but Charlotte herself told the nobles, perhaps many nobles in the Northland would not believe it.

  Or even though they believed it, more nobles would subconsciously think that the third prince's attack on Castel was only aimed at the Castel family.

  For the nobles of the Northland, the final result of the struggle between the two sides was just a change of the lord on the head, from the Earl of Castel to the Duke of Bold.

   But not now.

  The narrator is not Charlotte, but Earl Gaston, commander of the garrison at Boulder.

  For the northern nobles, the gold content and credibility behind this are different.

  The Castel family may tie the northern nobles to their chariots out of interest, but the Gaston family is different.

   They are not nobles from the Northland, their territories are all in the Boulder Region in the south.

  Combined with all kinds of evidence that seems to be true and false, it can be said...it is hard not to believe the truth behind it.

   "Lord Gaston, are you... telling the truth? The third prince actually intends to unite with Violet to take action against Castel? He wants to carve up Castel and turn the entire Castel into his own direct control?"

   There are still nobles who are still unwilling to give up, and can't help but ask.

   Earl Gaston just glanced at the other party, and completed the lore in two sentences:

   "Your Excellency, please don't forget that what our Majesty the King wants to do most is to further strengthen the authority of the central government..."

   "His Royal Highness the Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne, and the wealth of Castel is well known. If he wants to turn Castel into a direct government, will His Majesty the King support it or not?"

   There is no suspense after saying this.

  The nobles were thoughtful, and their expressions were not very good-looking.

  Yes, what His Majesty the King wishes most is to strengthen the authority of the central government.

   Compared with the second prince "Pilgrim" Francois who is not loved by the king, the third prince Philip is considered more likely to inherit the throne.

   Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult?

  To be honest, considering the delicate relationship between Louis V and the Holy Royal Court, the nobles in the Northland are really not sure whether this will be the acquiescence of His Majesty the King.

   One of the important reasons why the Blood Demon Cult is difficult to completely eradicate from the New Moon Kingdom is that many nobles in the kingdom may have inextricably linked with the Blood Demon Cult secretly.

   It doesn’t have to be refuge, it’s more likely to be cooperation or simple use.

   It is New Moon’s political correctness to completely wipe out the power of the Gorefiend Cult, but for the nobles, political correctness is only political correctness.

  Of course, perhaps seeking the support of the church is a way, but the beliefs of the northern nobles are very complicated, and many of them are even unbelievers...

  Introduce the Holy King Court to re-collect tithes?

Give me a break.

  Don't talk about dealing with the third prince. Before that, perhaps many nobles in the northern land will take the lead in opposing it.

  Seeing that the nobles fell silent, Charlotte knew that the fire was almost over.

She can rely on Earl Gaston to disclose the conspiracy of the third prince, so that the nobles can stop thinking of falling for the third prince, but if she wants to pull all the nobles of the North to resist the Principality of Boulder, she needs to let the nobles see more Benefits and hopes of winning.

  I saw Charlotte tap the armrest of the seat lightly, and the prestige technique was quietly released.

  For a while, the nobles of the north all focused their attention on her again.

  Charlotte swept across the audience and said calmly:

   "Everyone, although the third prince is powerful, we are not without hope of victory."

   "The collusion with the Gorefiend Sect is the failure of the third prince after all. Publicizing it will definitely bring him great pressure, and I, Castel, are not without reinforcements..."

   "I have hired overseas mercenary legions, and they will arrive in the Northland soon. Together with our combined forces, we still have the strength to fight."

   "This war is also an opportunity for us Castel. Once we win, Castel has the hope of taking back the Earl of Tulip and completely unifying the Northland."

   "The Earl of Tulip is a territory directly under the jurisdiction of Boulder. After taking it back, my Castel family will only take half of the territory under the direct jurisdiction.

   "In addition, once we win, we can declare independence from the Principality of Boulder. Once independent, I, Castel, will become a direct vassal of the New Moon Kingdom."

"The contract tax of the kingdom's direct vassals is lower than that of the principality. At that time, the contract tax of each family will be reduced accordingly. Not only that...you will also have the hope to step onto a higher stage and participate in various events held by the lords of the kingdom. kind of banquet."

"Oh, by the way, there is also the Castel Mithril Mine. Our mining workshop pays Boulder's dividends every year, which is also a big expense. After that, it can be saved. The royal family already has Mithril. The mining rights of mines are not considered our income."

   "I think...for any noble family, this is a good result."

  After hearing what Charlotte said, the eyes of the nobles all brightened.

  The future described by Charlotte is indeed very attractive. Although the Northland is rich, as a vassal under the principality, its political status in the kingdom is still too low.

  Casterland is famous for its commerce and trade. Almost every family of the nobles in the North has a business, and they often need to deal with various forces.

  If the political status in the New Moon Kingdom can be improved, it will be beneficial to every noble family without any harm.

  As for the new territory and lower contract tax, it is naturally better.

  Of course, the third prince can also promise these things.

   But Charlotte is undoubtedly a more convincing target than the third prince who assassinated the nobles of the kingdom, colluded with the Blood Demon Cult, and blatantly violated the "Holy Code".

   And if he could defeat the third prince, he might be able to completely cut off the other party's possibility of inheriting the New Moon Kingdom.

   "Lord Earl, I, the Len-Castel family, are willing to follow you to quell the rebellion, unify the Northland, and resist the tyranny of Boulder!"

  Viscount Leon-Castell took the lead, and tremblingly bowed to Charlotte respectfully.

   Soon, other northern nobles also knelt on one knee, expressing their follow and surrender:

   "Lord Earl! Our Valais family is also willing to follow you and fight against the enemies who invaded Castel!"

   "My Morrell family swears to the Lord God that I will follow Castel and resist the violence of the principality!"

   "..."

   All of a sudden, the nobles of the Northland knelt down on one knee and swore to Charlotte again, expressing their submission and allegiance.

   Seeing this scene, Charlotte smiled.

  She knew that the weakest link in her territory after the war with the third prince had been made up.

   After smiling, her expression quickly became solemn.

  Amidst the solemnity, there is a majestic aura that does not match the immature appearance.

   She gently pulled out the long sword representing Lord Castel, raised it above her head, and said:

   "Everyone, please remember your oath today."

   "Since that's the case, let's start with me on the banks of the Dorne River and crush these overwhelmed rebels... one by one!"

  (end of this chapter)