Stepping into the royal capital again, Hudson clearly felt a sad aura coming over his face. Obviously, the death of Caesar III affected not only the upper echelons of the kingdom, but also the people.

Perhaps due to the atmosphere, he was invited to a party in the evening. The table full of delicacies from the mountains and seas failed to arouse Hudson's appetite.

Unlike the usual banquets, there is no wine or beauty at this gathering. The smiles on everyone's faces were even rarer, and even if they appeared, they were reluctant.

Human nature is the most complex.

While the king was alive, the great nobles who were restrained were eager for him to die immediately; But Caesar III really died, and everyone remembered him again.

Listening to the analysis and discussion of the international situation by the nobles, most of them shared Hudson's judgment and were pessimistic about the future situation.

In particular, the border nobles in the southern part of the kingdom are even more worried about the current situation. The large rear suddenly became the front line of the future conflict, which really caught everyone off guard.

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

The main reason is that Caesar III died too early, and according to everyone's advance estimates, it is believed that the king will be able to last for three or five years.

With such a long buffer, the kingdom's debt crisis was basically resolved; Among the new nobles of the kingdom, those who can keep their inheritance have stood firm; The reclaimed lands were almost reincorporated into the rule.

The provinces in the south-central part of the kingdom that were less affected by the war have all come out of the shadow of the war and recovered.

The strength has recovered by seven or eight points, and even if the new monarch has limited ability, he can protect himself in the face of a complex international situation.

It's a pity that the reality is cruel. Caesar III did not live as long as everyone expected, and all kinds of contradictions that were originally suppressed are now in danger of detonating in advance.

Watching the constant calls for unity, Hudson knew that unity was getting farther and farther away from the Alpha Kingdom.

The Northland guys didn't show up at the party, but in Hudson's mind, there were already gloating figures.

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

Perhaps when the nobility of the southern regions was weakened and the kingdom was on the verge of collapse, they would talk about unity.

……

"Dear Earl Hudson, you are a military master. Judging from the current international situation, if one day the major countries in the central part of the country want to go north, where will they choose to start? ”

Earl Carles' words pushed Hudson to the forefront, and everyone's eyes were focused.

"Dear Count Calles, there is no point in this assumption.

The central kingdoms are not monolithic, and we cannot see them as a whole. Even if they all want to go north, their strategic goals are different.

At most, they will join forces in name, but when it comes to specific actions, they will still fight separately.

If you open the map of the continent, you can see that there are too many entry points that the central countries can choose.

If you want to defend against their invasion, all the border provinces south of the kingdom must build defensive lines.

Maybe we can be optimistic, they are just testing, and they are not ready for a northern invasion now! ”

Hudson said helplessly.

I thought I was pessimistic enough, but I didn't expect these guys to be even more pessimistic than him, and they all thought about what to do when the enemy came.

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

These are all problems left over from history.

The Alpha Kingdom has been facing the threat of orcs all year round, and whenever there is a situation, it is a bloody battle, implanting a sense of crisis into everyone's bones.

The way to deal with the crisis is also for the orcs. Now that the venue has been converted to the Terran infighting, the original traditional mode of thinking is obviously unable to keep up.

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

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

Exiting the discussion circle, the Earl of Oran came over and pulled Hudson into the corner, and asked in a low voice:

"Hudson, I heard you're about to become a father, how is Melissa doing?

It seems to be an ordinary narrative, but it contains a lot of content. Caring about daughters and grandchildren is one thing, but more about the marriage of the two families.

Melissa and the child in her womb are the bond of the alliance between the two sides.

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

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

Looking at Hudson, whose face was full of regret, Earl Oran smiled slightly. Maybe it was because he realized that the occasion was wrong, and after showing a smile, he immediately restrained himself.

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

The Northland guys are now ready to move. You and the Loonards are mortal enemies, so be careful to those in the north. ”

Hearing Earl Oran's reminder, Hudson immediately realized that trouble was coming.

Without Caesar III's leadership, the kingdom's policy of suppression of the Northland nobility would have been relaxed.

Once they are untied, the newly opened branch of the family in the north will have a hard time.

Although he won't bring people over directly, it is still possible to secretly engage in some intrigues and tricks to force the Coslow family to give up their fiefdom in the north.

Rubbing his forehead, Hudson was embarrassed to find that he could do nothing but remind everyone to be careful.

Even if they wanted revenge, the Coslow family's hand couldn't reach that long.

You can't just go and beat the stick yourself, can you?

If you do that, the conflict will escalate. A proper two-lose style of play, the final result is likely to be the decline of the two families together.

was able to take advantage, and Hudson also wanted to mix in aristocratic circles. If everyone is playing like that, who will feel safe?

"What's the matter, the Holliser family is also feeling the pressure?"

Hudson asked with concern.

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

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

"It's not that serious for the time being, but after the news of His Majesty's death broke, the nobles of the Northland held a collective meeting, and it took two full days of deliberation before it ended.

The exact content of their discussion is unknown, but it is clear from the joy on the faces of the people as they left that the meeting was fruitful.

Perhaps this family relocation was a wrong decision, compared to the five major families in the Northlands, the Holliser family is too weak! ”

Count Oran couldn't help but sigh.

The biggest problem with the seven provinces of Northern Xinjiang newly recovered by the kingdom is that they are too close to the five major families of the Northland.

If there were no shackles to bind the five major families, what would the nobles in the seven northern provinces who hadn't even finished moving their homes fight against them?

If you don't make a move now, it doesn't mean you won't make a move in the future. It's hard to figure out that they worked hard to relocate the population and materials in the past, and in the end they are making wedding dresses for others.

It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in the world, and there is no possibility of turning back after taking this step.

Either go all out and gain a foothold in the north; Or fall into the dust.

"Your Excellency, don't worry too much. It's true that those guys in the Northland are strong, but they also have many enemies.

As long as they can unite a group of nobles from the north, they will not dare to act rashly. After this period of weakness, everything will be better. ”

Hudson comforted inadvertently.

It was precisely because he knew that there was a big pit in the north that he chose to take root in the southeastern province. At the beginning, he also vaguely persuaded the Earl of Oran, but the Holliser family was determined to fight.

Now it depends on whether the new monarch can suppress the five major families in the north at the next meeting of the royal capital, otherwise the future northern Xinjiang is destined to be peaceful.

……

The new monarch succeeded to the throne and the state funeral, everything was prepared step by step. Whether it is the nobles within the kingdom or the representatives of various countries, they have realized extraordinary peace during this period.

It's just that Hudson's heart is not at peace, and his intuition tells him that behind the tranquility often represents a greater crisis.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please come to the palace to discuss matters."

Receiving this news, Hudson couldn't help but frown. The more critical the moment, the more you need to cut through the mess quickly.

In his opinion, Crown Prince Caesar is better off on the throne than to get on the throne as soon as possible if he engages in these cumbersome ceremonial processes.

Kings and crown princes have never been a concept. As long as you don't wear the crown for a day, things can change.

Following the attendant into the Great Hall, Hudson immediately realized that something was wrong.

No matter what you say, Crown Prince Caesar is also everyone's future monarch, even if he doesn't like it in his heart, he has to be able to get by in terms of face.

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

The confusion didn't last long, and Hudson's face became gloomy.

"Your Highness, since a hundred years ago in my Alpha Kingdom, the monarch has not had anything to do with the Holy See. Now you ask the Holy See to come and be crowned, what is it? ”

It's not that Hudson can't hold his breath, it's that Crown Prince Caesar is too nonsense.

The Alpha Kingdom is the sworn enemy of the Holy See, and at this time, to let the people of the Holy See come to crown it, wouldn't it be a compromise 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. The beginning was all stepping on the papal position, and the kingdom repaired relations with the papal see, and Hudson was definitely the most hurt.

"Earl Hudson, don't be in a hurry. It is just a ceremony that does not harm the real interests of the Kingdom.

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

Before Crown Prince Caesar could finish speaking, Hudson forcibly interrupted: "Your Highness's heart is really big, and the struggle between royal power and divine power is just an ordinary ceremony in your eyes.

It's just that His Highness did this, did he consider the political consequences of this. Leaving aside the domestic influence, let's simply analyze the international impact.

The most immediate impact would be a rupture of our relations with the Frankish kingdom, as well as a deterioration of relations with several other Terran powers.

As for the promise of the Holy See, as long as you turn to the history books more when you have nothing to do, there will be no such illusions! ”

As soon as the words landed, the anti-papal nobles opened their mouths to echo, and in an instant, it became a verbal siege of the crown prince by a group of fiefdom nobles.

The ministers of the court and the central government, who should have stood on the king's side and fought with everyone on the basis of reason, also watched from the wall at this moment.

It is clear that everyone is not interested in the proposal of Crown Prince Caesar.

Vaguely Hudson realized that something was wrong, and why did Crown Prince Caesar do this when everyone was against it?

"Everyone, be quiet, this is not a vegetable market, what is there to be noisy about.

According to tradition, it is up to the new monarch to decide who will preside over the coronation ceremony.

Since His Highness has decided to ask someone from the Holy See to preside over it, let them be in charge of presiding over it. Don't go beyond the rules for your own selfish gain! ”

Duke Hiro's words instantly detonated the audience.

The Northland aristocracy and the new monarch are mixed up, which is definitely big news. Crown Prince Caesar dared to make such a suggestion, and the feelings gained their supporters.

At present, the most fierce opposition, except for Hudson, the rest are all old nobles in the central and southern parts of the kingdom.

The Northland nobles + plus the emerging nobles have been pulled over, and the two camps have formed a new balance.

"Alright, the coronation ceremony will be handed over to Archbishop Tyranny, and the matter of inviting the Holy See will be over!"

When the dust settled, Hudson, who won the victory, could not see a smile on his face.

When he talked to Count Oran yesterday, he was still worried about the threat of the Northland nobles, and now that the two sides have completed the confluence, there must be a story behind it.

can match the relationship between the two parties, except for the crown prince Caesar in front of him, Hudson can't think of a third person.

In an instant, he understood that Crown Prince Caesar's proposal just now was not really to invite people from the Holy See to come over 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 he is in a hurry, Lao Tzu will go to the Holy See.

Don't talk about any contradictions, in the face of interests, this thing is never worthless.

It's all planned, no wonder all the ministers in the court are silent on the sidelines.

(End of chapter)