Gawain sat at the top of the conference table, relaxed and leaned back in his high chair, smiling as he watched the expressions on the faces of every Southern nobleman in the scene.

Everyone's reaction was evident, and no one of them reacted beyond his expectations.

Confusion, consternation, silence, resistance, a little thought, and the overflowing anger of a few.

These nobles were of little use in themselves, their rule had fallen apart, and after the loss of their land and army, the nobles who had come out of the castle were useless, and they could only consume food in prison cells, and they would not create much wealth by sending them to labor - and Gawain did not think that simple labor and indoctrination could fundamentally change these stubborn and dull people, so he did not care about the attitude of these people, and their own wishes.

But the "added value" of these nobles in addition to themselves is useful.

In order to establish a new order in the rigid and backward old order, the most common and biggest problem that pioneers encounter is the stubbornness and counterattack of the old order.

Although it is difficult to change the customs of the people at the bottom, in this social background close to the Middle Ages, the people are numb and have no freedom, and they will at most be slow to respond to orders due to their own numbness and ignorance, but they will never refuse the orders of the lords.

The "scholar groups" and "retainers" who were born dependent on the aristocratic system, relied on the old aristocracy's employment, or simply extralegal mercenaries (legitimate transcendental robbers) composed of the illegitimate children and adopted children of the old aristocracy, as well as the exiled knights and sworn knights who fled after the collapse of the old aristocracy, these groups that were destined to be affected or had been affected in the process of the change of the old and new order were the biggest hindrances in the process of social transformation, and the non-cooperation of these people was enough to cause great trouble to the nascent government office. Not to mention that some of them have even become violent factors that directly threaten territorial security.

Gawain knew that he was lucky, and compared with many pioneers who tried to establish a new order, his greatest advantage was that he was not only the founder of the new order, but he also represented the supreme authority of the old order - as one of the founders of the Ansu Kingdom, he had enough "legal justice" to formulate the rules for the operation of society, and even if someone questioned it, he did not care about it at all.

Now that he knows this, of course, he wants to maximize his "legal justice", and he wants to deprive and transfer the ownership of the old aristocracy in a way that conforms to legal principles, and use the "legal claims" of these old nobles to complete the smooth transition of the system, so as to minimize the counterattack of the old order - or in other words, reduce the excuse for their counterattack.

Gawain could flout the rules and order of the old aristocracy, but since the people of this age recognized it, he could use them without pressure, as long as they were of sufficient value.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these documents are not so difficult to understand," Gao Wen estimated the time, and only broke the silence when he saw that there were already nobles who couldn't hold back and wanted to speak, "If you understand, sign it." ”

"Duke...... Lord Duke," a slightly chubby middle-aged man finally couldn't help but be the first to stand up, "the contents of these documents...... Are you serious? ”

"Of course," Gawain nodded, "or else?" ”

Then, he slowly stood up, his eyes swept over everyone's faces, and said unhurriedly, "...... Except for the retention of the castle, all land and property attached to it shall be vested in the principality; Abolish all the privileges of the old system, including taxation, legislation, and conscription, and vest all powers in the Government Council; Uniform decree to abolish all old private law...... I've written this clearly. ”

"My lord, we are willing to swear allegiance to you, but these things ...... Are these things negotiable? Another nobleman stood up boldly, "This is almost a complete subversion of order, even if it is for your authority, you should think about it more......"

They have at least learned to be in awe and humble, but they have clearly not yet figured out the situation.

"I think you've made a mistake," Gawain barely changed his face, just quietly stating the facts, "what is written on these documents is already being put into practice, and you have already lost your land and property as early as the day the war ended, and what you want to keep is no longer in your hands - so I am not here to discuss with you today, I am just formally informing you." ”

The nobles of the southern realm in the hall were in a commotion, and dozens of days of prison life could not completely wipe out the thoughts in their hearts, so when these thoughts collapsed, even if there was a circle of guards standing around the hall, even if there was a ruler of the southern realm sitting in front of them, they couldn't help but start talking in a low voice.

However, Gawain just watched quietly, waiting for the discussion of these people to quiet down.

They finally quieted down, and Gawain continued: "Sometimes, it's more important to recognize reality than to try for things that you can never get. By signing this document, you will at least be able to live decently, your title of 'nobility' will still be retained, and you will be able to rely on your pension to maintain food and clothing, and even a relatively well-off life—if you can open your eyes to the hungry and cold people under your rule, you will know how lucky you are, and how fortunate you are to make great mistakes and still be so comfortable and comfortable. ”

On both sides of the long table, everyone's faces became tangled and embarrassed, some frowned and thought, some people wanted to stop talking, and finally someone couldn't control it, and a middle-aged man with a sallow face and sunken eye sockets stood up, "Please forgive me for not being able to accept it—Lord Duke, please forgive me for not being able to accept it!" I refuse to sign, even if it costs with my life - you can't break our traditions and laws like this! ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man looked to the side, his emotions seemed very excited, "Everyone, we have gone through the most difficult days, we have nothing to lose, glory is the only thing we have left, I ...... I'd rather take it in a coffin......"

Gawain looked at the middle-aged man's venting, and looked at the reactions of the nobles on both sides of the long table after hearing these remarks, which also expected that the nobles had a special way of thinking, they could hold their heads when the cannon fire fell, and they could not hesitate to abandon the castle and the people when the sword was about to end, but sometimes when it comes to the so-called "glorious blood and surname", these spineless guys puffed up their chests instead, this kind of behavior pattern that seems to be schizophrenic is difficult for outsiders to understand, But it is very much in line with the background of this era.

"Wayne? Viscount Snape, I hope I didn't call you by the wrong name. ”

Gawain's abrupt opening interrupted the middle-aged man's impassioned statement, and the nobles, who had already been in turmoil again, quieted down as they looked in Gawain's direction, while the latter beckoned to the side - a government official immediately left the room, and a moment later, the government official returned to the conference hall with a small metal safe in his hand.

Gawain opened the safe deposit box and pulled out an ancient document - it was written on enchanted parchment, and even if it was a transcribed version, it was hundreds of years old, and if it weren't for the protection of magical powers, it would have been weathered and worn out to the point that it was impossible to read.

Gawain opened the file and said casually, "Mr. Viscount, it looks familiar, doesn't it?" I'm sure you have something similar in your home, kept in the deepest part of your castle to prove the legitimacy of your titles and fiefdoms, to prove the antiquity and legitimacy of your surnames – like this one.

"Wayne? Snape, Snape, viscount, southern nobleman, branched out to the Spencer family in Ansu 476 and received a surname; The Spencer family, the counts, the nobles of the Plains of the Holy Spirit, began with the ancestor Maximilan? Spencer; Maximi? Spencer, Knight Lord, Earl, Gawain? The knight of Cecil, who was enshrined in the harvest month of the first year of Ansu, and his original territory was located on the west side of the Gray Mountain in the south, and later moved to the south of the Holy Spirit Plain due to the influence of the demon tide......"

"And then, here's another document," Gawain said, pulling out an older, more fragile parchment document from the safe, so old that the protective magic that worked on it was about to lose its effectiveness, and the old parchment was badly weathered and corroded, "Maximi? Spencer's canonization instrument – copies, of course. ”

Gawain raised his head and quietly looked into the eyes of the middle-aged nobleman at the long table.

"Wayne? Mr. Snape, guess whose signature is at the end of this document? ”

No one could have predicted this unbelievable situation in advance, even if Gawain had been resurrected for so long, named Wayne? Snape's nobles didn't associate the document hidden deep in the family castle and only took out to look at it when the heir obtained the knighthood with the "living person" in front of him, which had nothing to do with wisdom, but a limitation in the direction of thinking, so he could only stutter "Duke" now...... Lord Duke......"

"Wayne? Mr. Snape, you ask for tradition and law, then I give you tradition and law - Maximi? Spencer was a brilliant young man, and I regret to see that one of his heirs should not be able to bear his glory and exploits—it is the duty of the master to protect the honour of his followers, and for this I am compelled to strip you of your title of nobility. ”

Wayne? Snape's eyes widened, his mouth open like a fish suffocating on shore, and in the blow to the weakness, he groggily heard Gawain? Cecil's last sentence "...... Mr. Snape, you can leave now. ”

The hall became dead silent, and Gawain watched with satisfaction as the result was always the most effective solution, and attacking the nobles with their greatest weakness was far more effective than any reasoning or debate.

For them, taking away their title is more terrible than death.

Of course, he was able to do this because he had first mastered the crushing force of force, which forced these men to sit down at the negotiating table, otherwise his words would not be useful even if he had in his hands the canonization documents of every nobleman in the country.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't really want to do this," Gawain said with a slight increase in his voice after putting the documents back away, "I would prefer to have everyone sign smoothly in a harmonious atmosphere, so I have to emphasize here - the title and surname of each and every one of you here will eventually fall to Charlie after a few generations?" Under the name of Moen and the Duke of the Four Realms, and as the only surviving person among the founding kings and the dukes of the Four Realms, I can deprive each of you of the noble titles, even if the canonization documents of your ancestors are not signed by me, I am also a witness to the canonization ceremony seven hundred years ago, and I can question as a witness whether each of you is qualified to inherit your surname-"

Gawain's later words were not spoken, but his meaning was already clear

He could question whether the titles of everyone here were in compliance, and if anyone wanted to raise an objection...... Unless Charlie? Moen and the other three founding dukes crawled out of their coffins.

Didn't the nobles of the South want tradition and law?

This is the tradition and law of Ansu.

"It's almost time—ladies and gentlemen, the pen for signing is in front of you."