"Madeleine, send me Marshal Hudson!"

Caesar IV commanded.

The play must be performed in a full set, and if you want to hide people's eyes, the details must be in place.

The princess and the marshal came into contact, at most it was a good story of a hero and beauty, and no one would meddle in it. If the king had been in contact with the marshal in private, everyone would have to think about it.

"Marshal Hudson, shouldn't you ask me to do a dance?"

Princess Madeleine said depressedly.

The scene of dividing the spoils just now directly refreshed her cognition. Fortunately, he was born in the royal family, and since he was a child, he has cultivated the ability to change without being shocked.

Deep down, there is a faint regret. If she had known that Hudson, a potential stock, could soar so fast, she would have started directly when she met for the first time.

Of course, the Baron's Hudson could not have been a royal marriage. But as long as she made a move in advance, she would be able to drag Hudson's marriage down.

A royal marriage does not accept a grassroots aristocracy, which does not mean that a marshal who controls the kingdom's army will not be accepted. Now Hudson already has the value of being co-opted by the royal family.

For the princess who is destined to marry, the treatment of staying in the country is much better than marrying outside.

There are no ifs in reality, and if you miss it, you miss it. There is no point in thinking about this except sulking.

"Your Royal Highness Princess, please!"

Hudson said with a slight embarrassment.

Heaven and earth conscience, dancing he really can't. No matter how well Hudson mixes, his original family is only a little baron, and the resources in his hands are only a handful.

Daily cultivation alone consumes a lot of resources, how can there be resources to invite professional dance teachers to learn dancing and other subjects that seem meaningless to the low-level aristocracy.

This kind of occasion will not and must be attended. It's the same dancing, and other nobles who can't keep up with the rhythm will be ridiculed. With Hudson's current status, that is the embodiment of personality.

There was no accident, Hudson behaved very personally on stage, and had intimate contact with Princess Madeleine several times, and he thought he was flirting if he didn't know.

There was no collision with the people around them, it was very eye-catching, and spontaneously freed up a space.

"Marshal, be careful about the occasion!"

Princess Madeleine reminded in a low voice.

Hudson's face turned green in an instant, and he couldn't wash it away even if he jumped into the Canglan River.

Originally, he had never studied systematically, but Princess Madeleine still had to play difficult and show her elegance, and the result was that he was taking advantage.

Fortunately, Princess Madeleine was not really angry, otherwise the name of the disciple would have fallen on his head today.

"Your Highness, let's go down and have a drink!"

Hudson hurriedly proposed.

can't continue to toss on the stage, otherwise tomorrow this affair will spread throughout the aristocratic circle.

It may be a good thing for Princess Madeleine, who doesn't want to marry, but Hudson is miserable and must give an explanation to the royal family.

In the envious eyes of everyone, the two walked off the stage. It's just that what these people don't know is that Hudson is also envious of them.

Compared to Princess Madeleine, who can only be seen but not touched, these people have a chance to have a real affair tonight.

The masters of the love field all ran to talk about life with the widowed lady, and only Xiaobai still revolved around the aristocratic lady.

……

The Frankish kingdom, after the end of the Continental War, Luttia became more and more prosperous.

Precisely, the entire southern continent has become more prosperous. The hardships of the countries of the northern and central continents have injected a source of development into the southern continent.

In the face of the wanton raids of foreign armies, the nobles and merchants in the central and northern regions who longed for peace directly moved to the southern continent with thousands of years of wealth accumulation.

The Frankish kingdom, which took the initiative to collect refugees, was undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary. In a short period of time, millions of immigrants were harvested.

The arrival of these people provided both human and financial assistance for the development of new territories in the Frankish Kingdom.

The economy prospered, the living space expanded, and there were opportunities everywhere, and for a time the social contradictions in the Frankish kingdom fell to the lowest point.

Everything is going for the better, and the only shackles that plague the Frankish kingdom are the "religious problem".

The Frankish Kingdom, which has grasped the pulse of the times and successfully eaten the biggest dividends of the continental war, has surpassed its competitors and reached the pinnacle of the continent.

And this lead has been widened over time.

In the dark corners, there are boatloads of "Terran slaves", transported from the Central Continent and the Northern Continent to inject "fuel" into the development of the Frankish Kingdom.

Whether it was the slave traders' great powers, or whether the First Kingdom of the Terran and the Interracial Alliance secretly traded with each other, no one could tell.

If there is no evidence, it is equivalent to not existing. What's more, buying slaves from foreign races is not just the Frankish kingdom, the difference is that they are the first to act, and the scale of the transaction is also the largest.

Each takes what it needs, and there is no way to talk about a capital enemy. From the moment the alien coalition led by the elves did not play genocide and accepted the surrender of the Terran soldiers, the seeds were planted for this transaction.

The humans who control the area are themselves a hidden danger to the Interracial Alliance.

In the case of inconvenient slaughter, it is undoubtedly the best choice to sell them in exchange for the resources needed for their own development.

The Terran destroyed thirty-one countries, seemingly at the hands of aliens, but in fact, the remaining Terran countries and aliens jointly divided their inheritance.

On the contrary, it was the two alien races that were destroyed, and they were really wiped out. It's not that the Franks and Libyans don't sell foreign slaves, it's mainly that no one wants to buy them.

The Interracial Alliance is just an alliance, if the same race is captured, it is nothing to pay the ransom, forget it about the other races!

Everyone is not so virgin, if you really redeem a group of orcs and ogres, wouldn't you have to divide a piece of land to support them?

Up to the present in the war, except for the arms dealer dwarves in the interracial alliance, who still have good financial resources, the rest are poor.

In the last dozen or so continental wars, the main reason why the Terrans have been able to win more and lose less is not military strength, but logistical victory.

Many times, in the early stage of the continental war, it was the interracial alliance that prevailed, and as long as it dragged on for a year or two, the situation was reversed.

There is no way, no matter how the alien alliance prepares, the resources that can be mobilized are only enough for them to support the early battle.

Even omnivorous orcs who don't even let go of their own corpses will soon face logistical problems as long as they can't break through on the battlefield.

In addition to the "poverty", the uneven distribution of spoils within the interracial alliance and the entanglement of various interests also laid the foundation for the prosperity of the slave trade.

If the balance of power is upset, it will inevitably affect the political structure.

As its strength continued to grow, the voices within the Frankish kingdom for the establishment of a separate papacy also became more and more intense.

"Your Majesty, the time is ripe. The Holy See's poor performance in the continental war has caused its prestige to decline all the way, and this is the best time to attack! ”

Archbishop Edward tried his best to persuade him.

The Holy See's bloody scolding in the Terran Council is even considered by the outside world to be the party most responsible for the collapse of the situation in the Central Continent, and it is naturally indispensable to promote the efforts of various countries behind it.

The Frankish Kingdom, the number one anti-bone boy, is the main force among them. I was ready to set up another door early, just waiting for an excuse to make trouble.

"Bishop Edward, the Holy See's performance in the continental war is indeed not good, but to say that they colluded with the interracial alliance to betray the interests of the human race, I'm afraid it's a bit far-fetched, right?"

Charles III said with a slight hesitation.

Preparing to prepare and completely raise the banner of opposing the Holy See, everyone still can't help but hesitate.

Compared with the Terran countries, the history of the Holy See can be traced back to 10,000 years ago. In the continent of Aslanth, there is a law: ancient must be strong!

In this long history, the Holy See has not been without decline. It's just that with a deep heritage, every few hundred years, they will be revived again.

On the contrary, the enemies of the Holy See have disappeared in the long river of history in the long years. Only a few strokes in the history books can prove that they existed.

"Your Majesty, at this point, the evidence is no longer important.

According to information from the Marquis of Landry from the Alpha Kingdom, they have also been on the move recently.

The Archbishop of Tyranny even secretly formed: the Privy Council, the Inquisition, the Holy Knights......

Except that there is no pope, the organizational structure is exactly the same as that of the Holy See of Dawn, and its ambitions are obvious.

As long as we mobilize, they will follow. Once the Alpha Kingdom acts, the Principality of Moxi will also be passively involved, and the churches of the entire Northern Continent will be out of the control of the Holy See.

The three countries of the Central Continent are now angry with the Holy See, and they will definitely not be appeased for a while. Even if we don't set up another door, we won't fully support the Holy See.

Now it is only necessary to convince the Church of the Kingdom of Iblibam to set up another portal, and the rule of the Holy See on the continent of Aslant will completely collapse! ”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marquis Jesús, said in high spirits.

All these changes are due to the contribution of their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The contradictions between the three Central Continents and the Holy See were provoked by them, and the actions of the Church of the Alpha Kingdom also had elements of their instigation.

Even the Church of Ilibya, at their instigation, had the idea of secession from the Holy See.

After all, who wants to be the little brother of others all the time if they can come out and be the boss themselves?

The Frankish kingdom was not prepared to unify the religions of the nations, and its current actions were only aimed at breaking the monopoly of the Holy See and freeing itself from the control of religion over politics.

Similar political demands are widespread among mainland countries. In order to reduce the influence of the Holy See, governments have gone to great lengths.

"Oh, the Alpha Kingdom is so active, it seems that Caesar IV is not as weak and incompetent as rumored, and it is probably nonsense to be overlooked!"

Charles III said with a smile.

The prestige of the Holy See is too deep, and its influence spreads to every corner of the continent. Coming out alone to oppose the Holy See, even for them, the first kingdom on the continent, the risk is still too great.

With a few more allies working together, it's a different story. Back then, when he first ascended the throne, he dared to declare the pope illegal, in addition to being young and vigorous, there was Caesar III to help share the pressure.

After Caesar IV ascended the throne, the essence of the anti-papacy of the Alpha Kingdom remained unchanged, but the specific implementation of the law slowed down significantly.

"Your Majesty, since the alliance of the five major families in the Northland was suppressed, the forces of the various factions in the Alpha Kingdom have tended to be balanced.

In a situation where all parties are evenly matched, it is difficult to truly give birth to a powerful minister. However, the rumors that Caesar IV was overturned are not groundless.

It is said that Caesar IV was fond of military affairs before he succeeded to the throne, and personally led a large army to the Duchy of Moxi, but unfortunately the defeat was too bad.

Afterwards, Caesar IV still did not repent, and repeatedly pointed out the country with his own clumsy military level, forcing the high-ranking officials of the Alpha Kingdom to unify their positions and prevent him from interfering in military affairs.

However, it was his fiasco that laid the foundation for Hudson's rise.

The Alpha Kingdom was able to attack the Orc Empire in the north and cripple the Ancient Relic Alliance and deter the Elves in the west under the condition of heavy losses, and Hudson, the number one general in the Northern Continent, was also an important factor! ”

Prime Minister Duke Bergson sighed.

He did all this homework recently. I thought that the Alpha Kingdom had entered a period of decline, and the attention level had dropped to the third level, but I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, the kung fu would be resurrected with full blood.

may not be as good as the peak of the comprehensive national strength, but the record played is no worse than the peak.

"There is nothing surprising that the resilience of the Alpha Kingdom is recognized by the mainland. This unlucky kingdom has been hovering on the edge of life and death since its birth.

Archbishops, get ready, pick a good day, and the Kingdom Church will officially leave the Holy See.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should do a good job of coordination, and it is best to be able to pull the Alpha Church to act together.

As for the three countries of the Central Continent are now busy cleaning up their own messes, even if they hate the Holy See in their hearts, they don't dare to do anything at this time, let them stay in the middle of nowhere.

The kingdom of Iliba does not have to be extravagant, they have always wanted to replace it. We want to create rebellion against the Holy See, and they are the great loyal servants of the Holy See! ”

Charles III said sarcastically.

Especially the three words "great loyal minister" at the end aggravated the tone.

It's all about profit. The contradictions between the eldest and the second are usually difficult to reconcile. If the eldest and the second are the leaders, then there is no need to talk about it.

Unfortunately, the two great powers of Franks and Libya, the first and second kingdoms of the continent, are respectively neighbors.

When the alien race was strong, the two countries hugged each other to keep warm, and they were also the closest allies.

Unfortunately, with the success of the two countries' successive reforms, each embarking on the road to becoming a strong country, the threat of alien races no longer exists, and the original allies have become current competitors.

The fighting between countries is fierce, but the relationship between the nobles of the two countries is close, and the marriages between many families can be traced back more than ten generations.

With this blood tie as a bond, the two countries have been at loggerheads in the past years, but no major wars have broken out.

How long this calm will last, no one can say. Anyway, the reality is that the stronger the two countries are, the more irreconcilable the contradictions and conflicts will become.

Perhaps the day when the alien alliance disappears will be the time when the two countries will meet each other.

Of course, it is more likely that before the infighting, play a wave of camp confrontation and force all countries to take sides.

……

The Emerald Palace, the Near East Symposium kicked off again. Thanks to the agreement with the king in advance, Hudson felt a wave of what it means to be "someone in the court who is a good official".

With the support of the ministers of the royal family, many sensitive issues are understated under the cover of each other.

It went well, a few points faster than Hudson had expected. It is clear that there is a genuine lack of love for the land of the Near East.

Although some people were suspicious of Hudson's more than one to take possession, but let them go over to be companions, one by one they flinched.

It's not that the major nobles are not completely uninvolved in the Near East issue, but the resources that everyone is willing to invest are limited, and at most they throw a few members of the lineage who are not taken seriously, and more often they use the children of the side lineage to make up the number.

Although the intensity of participation is small, they have not lost a lot of fiefdoms. Basically, they all started with one county, and there were even several counties in a row.

Some of them were exchanged for land bonds, and some of them were rewarded for their military exploits. Although in principle combat merits cannot be transferred, special circumstances still exist.

For example, now, the major families have concentrated the fiefs obtained by the children of the clan due to military merits, and indirectly completed the transfer of military merits.

As for how to distribute internal interests after playing like this, everyone has a common rule, just follow the original rules.

Compared with the issue of fiefdoms, which is generous to others, the Near Eastern defense line, which requires real money to be invested, is the focus of the dispute between the parties.

The War Department's plan was sound, and not only Hudson's territory, but the entire Near East was covered by defensive lines.

According to the plan, the kingdom had to build at least 30 pass cities, hundreds of war fortresses, thousands of kilometers of city walls, and thousands of kilometers of war roads in order to connect the Near East.

With such a large-scale investment in infrastructure, the pressure on a feudal kingdom can be imagined.

In addition to the support expressed by the major northern provinces, the remaining major provinces of the kingdom were either skeptical or directly opposed.

At this point, the problem becomes awkward. The provinces that expressed their support for the construction were all poor ghosts.

There is no money or food, and even labor does not contribute much. On the contrary, it is the provinces that are clearly opposed to it that are the main force in providing people, money, and food.

"Governors, you are all knowledgeable soldiers, and you should know how difficult it is to bring a prairie under your rule.

If we don't build a wall, what will we do to resist the orc invasion?

In a short period of time, investing a lot of resources in the Near East is indeed a loss-making transaction, but the account cannot be counted only in the present.

Think about it, once the Near Eastern defense line is stabilized, then the current twelve provinces of Northern Xinjiang will be out of danger, and they will be able to contribute a lot of money and taxes to the kingdom every year from the front line to normal provinces.

As long as the time period is long enough, this revenue will definitely cover the cost of building the Near East Line.

As our national strength grows, the orc's national power will be weakened, and the kingdom's advantage over the orcs will become greater and greater.

If the plan is successful, we can continue to replicate it in the future, gradually advancing towards the prairie and slowly encroaching on the orc empire.

It's really difficult for everyone now, but this difficulty can be overcome. As long as we cooperate with each other to build a defensive line in the Near East, we can actually spend a penny at all.

The lords of various places have food to produce food, and resources to produce resources, and if it is inconvenient, they will send labor.

According to the original plan, the war would last for two to three years, and the provinces that had not yet completed the corresponding tasks took the opportunity to complete the tasks. ”

The Grand Duke of Ephiero calmly opened up with everyone, causing the representatives of all parties to look at each other.

The war ended ahead of schedule, and everyone was naturally not consumed to the point of running out of oil and lamps, but poverty is also true.

In order to silence his opponents, the military minister directly sent the "planned-build model", or the wartime economic model of the continuation of the kingdom.

The material resources and manpower needed to build the defense line were all requisitioned by the kingdom free of charge in the mode of apportionment, and the cost naturally came down.

The only thing that needs to be tested is the kingdom's organizational skills. However, the Alpha Kingdom has mobilized twice in the past five years, and the Kingdom's organizational ability is at its peak.

As long as everyone is determined to do it, they will definitely be able to build the eastern defense line, the only problem is the time it will take.

Seeing that the crowd was slow to speak, Caesar IV slowly stood up and walked to the middle of the courtiers.

"What do you have to hesitate about, just play your own little calculations, don't forget the current strategic situation of the kingdom.

The reason why the southern frontier can be stable, it is because we have shocked the elves and let them know that there is a terrible price to be paid for invading the kingdom!

Once this deterrence is gone, do you think that the elves are really peace-loving, or do you think that the Interracial Alliance is a harmless slime for humans and animals?

If there is no problem with the defense line in the Near East, there will be no problem with all the borders of the kingdom. If the Near East is lost, all borders of the kingdom will become war zones.

With the kingdom's current military strength, it is simply impossible to support a multi-front battle, and it is still a battle against an enemy who is stronger than us.

Fantasize about dealing with the enemy on one front first, so it's better to dispel this unreliable idea as soon as possible!

I have decided that in the next five to ten years, the kingdom will focus on building a defense line for the Near East. The big deal is that after a few more years of hard life, it's not that I haven't experienced it.

From now on, until the construction of the Near Eastern Line is completed, the royal family will donate all the annuities, and the court will be kept simple.

You also follow the example for the nobles below, save what you can in normal times, and put an end to extravagance and waste.

Don't think it doesn't make sense!

If we don't make every effort to build a defense line in the Near East, how can the nobles below who have been divided into the Near East develop with peace of mind.

If the next orc invasion breaks out, and the Near Eastern defense line is like paper paste, and it is stabbed and crushed by the enemy, then everyone will be finished together!

I don't think the Interracial Alliance will mind destroying the last two Terran countries in the Northern Continent, thus forming a strategic pattern of north-south confrontation with the Terrans! ”

Caesar IV's sudden outburst startled the courtiers.

The vigorous and resolute side makes them seem to return to the illusion of the time of Caesar III. and the previous king who was suppressed by his ministers, they are completely two extremes.

Slightly startled, Hudson was the first to react. The reason why Caesar IV backed down on military issues was because no one supported him.

A king without the support of his courtiers is a rubber stamp in itself. The current situation is obviously different, not only with the support of the northern provinces, but also with the help of the ministers and the military of the DPRK and China.

Such a good opportunity, it would be a pity not to take the opportunity to stand up.

If Hudson is replaced, he will also take advantage of the topic to play and take the opportunity to reshape the majesty of royal power.

"Your Majesty is right, it is imperative to build a defense line in the Near East, and the kingdom must not take this issue lightly!"

After being stunned for a moment, the governors of the northern provinces expressed their support.

The abrupt reversal of the situation left the Southern governors suspicious of the Near East's plans for a province.

The provinces of northern Xinjiang will be able to faintly dominate the government if they unite with the royal family and the court, and it will be even worse if there are more representatives.

(End of chapter)