"Duke, Marquis Landry is here!" Hearing Tom's words, Hudson's heart was full of doubts. Among the many dukes and counts of the kingdom, there was no such one.

Perhaps seeing this, Tom hurriedly added, "The Marquis of Landry is the former Frankish minister to the kingdom. Hearing this explanation, Hudson instantly returned to normal.

It seems that he is not lonely and unheard, who would care about a former minister? It is the norm for people to go to tea and cool, but it is normal in diplomacy.

No matter what the origin of the Marquis of Landry is, as long as he steps down as minister, he is nothing in the Alpha Kingdom.

"Take him to the parlor, I'll be there later." Hudson said with a blank face.

Regardless of whether there is weight in the kingdom or not, the person who comes is a marquis after all, and the etiquette that should be there is no less.

His intuition told him that a former minister, who had come all the way from the Southern Continent, would definitely have something big happening.

……

"Your Excellency Marquis, as far as I know, the Kingdom does not rule out the formation of a five-nation alliance, and negotiations between the five countries have officially begun. Now everyone is entangled in the obligations they need to bear and the rights and interests they obtain. As long as the payouts and benefits are equal, I think it's only a matter of time before an alliance is formed. We don't need to do anything extra at all! Hudson said with a smile.

Far-sighted politicians are well aware that the current situation on the mainland makes it imperative to form a five-nation alliance. But this process is not destined to be smooth sailing.

Alliances are not just lip service allies, but mutual military obligations and the fulfillment of allies.

At this point, everyone inevitably has to weigh the pros and cons. Bargaining is indispensable, who pays more, who pays less, who gets more, who gets less, are the focus of contradictions.

There are so many trade-offs to weigh and calculate, even if it were two or three years of arguing, Hudson wouldn't be surprised.

The Franks cared about this issue, which Hudson really did not expect. Under normal circumstances, the countries of the South Continent should break up this alliance.

Once the five-nation alliance is formed, it will be a giant and will inevitably impact the situation on the mainland. On the bright side, the official population of each country, after the five countries combined, has nearly 200 million people, and the real number will not be only that.

Hudson did not know the situation in the three countries of the Middle Continent, but the nobility of the Duchy of Moxi and the Alpha Kingdom were hiding the population.

Looking at the performance during the war, we can see that the Duchy of Moxi, which was known as 8 million people back then, was able to raise an army of 600,000 after losing hundreds of thousands of troops, which is not something that the population can do.

Not to mention the Alpha Kingdom, all the orc invasions have been able to pull out a million armies to fight the enemy for several years.

If there were only more than 30 million people on paper, and millions of young people die every few decades, I am afraid that they would have been wiped out by the country long ago.

Of course, because of the population of the land that accepted refugees + the queen's dowry, the population of the Alpha Kingdom on the surface grew to 40 million.

Among the many lords and nobles, it is estimated that Hudson is the most honest in reporting the population, with a registered population of more than 1.8 million in the fiefdom, except for the fact that newborns are not counted, they are basically reported according to the truth.

It has nothing to do with moral discipline, the main thing is that these immigrants have crossed the clear road. What the outside world knows, there is no chance to hide it.

At most, the mortality rate should be reported a little more, and it should not be too excessive, otherwise the news will be passed on, and no one will dare to immigrate here.

Not only Hudson's territory, but almost all the population of the new lord's fiefdom did not hide much.

The aristocracy hid the population, mainly after stabilization, and concealed the birth rate of the population. A little bit of hiding in a year, and the number of people hiding after a few generations, is very staggering.

As long as this part of the population does not move in their own fiefdoms, it is difficult for the outside world to find out. The entire aristocratic group is involved, and as long as it is not too excessive, no one will be serious about this kind of issue.

The union of hundreds of millions of people will have an impact on politics, culture and economy. If done well, all the countries in the alliance are an opportunity to take a leap forward.

"Marshal, you know that the negotiations on the alliance of five nations are not going well. The three countries of the Central Continent need your country's help to complete the military reform, but the current three countries cannot get an equivalent exchange at all. At such a critical juncture, a breakthrough in negotiations is expected unless your country can make concessions. I'm not asking your country to pay for free, but the current situation in the three countries of the Central and Continental Continents is really bad, and it is difficult to come up with a weighty compensation. It would be better to postpone the compensation and pay the old account when they can afford to pay it. Marquis Landry spoke.

In order to promote the alliance of the five countries, the Frankish Kingdom also tried its best, and lobbied the important ministers of the Alpha Kingdom to support the alliance, which was the most important part.

As the largest power on the mainland, the Frankish kingdom was also able to provide military assistance to the three kingdoms, but they took the route of elite soldiers.

The combat effectiveness is really powerful, but the investment is also high! The Franks were able to do this because they had enough economic support to support them.

Whether it is financial or material resources, the three countries of the Central and Continental Continents do not have the ability to imitate. Forcing to follow along will only make the situation worse.

In contrast, the military line of the Alpha Kingdom is the civilian line. Maximize military power at the lowest cost.

Although in the eyes of the Franks, most of the army of the Alpha Kingdom belongs to the cannon fodder level and cannot be put on the table at all, but it cannot be sustained in large numbers and is easy to replenish.

For the three countries of the Central Continent, which are not wealthy, it is the best choice at the moment to be able to spend a small amount of money to build an army with good combat effectiveness.

As for

"Quality" and

The battle for the "quantity" route is just a topic of conversation for the masses after tea and dinner, and the key is to see what is most suitable for them.

The Alpha Kingdom's reckless military force is unique in the whole continent, and there is no second one at all, including the Principality of Moxi, which gradually completed the military reform after obtaining help.

If you want to learn the skills of other people's livelihood, it is impossible not to pay tuition.

"Your Excellency the Marquis, everyone understands the truth. However, the previous performance of the three countries of the Central Continent makes it difficult for us to believe that after they have the ability to pay, they will still fulfill their debts. Maybe people take help for granted and ask for more. There have been only zero and countless compromises and concessions, and it is impossible for the kingdom to back down in terms of national interests! Hudson righteously refused.

The three countries of the Central Continent don't seem to be able to get reciprocal compensation, but the quality is not enough, and the quantity can be made up! Money and goods, magical research results, taking on more alliance obligations, etc., are all good ways to compensate.

Together, a multi-pronged approach will certainly fill the hole. Since the Foreign Ministry was still arguing with them, Hudson naturally wouldn't go over to join in the fun.

"Marshal, time waits for no one. The Orc Empire is undergoing a metamorphosis, and once the two camps reach an agreement, the military pressure on your country will be great. If the five nations had been able to form an alliance before then, the situation would have been very different. At present, the elves have no intention of provoking a big war, and without the support of their allies, the orcs do not have the courage to declare war on the five countries together! Listening to the words of the Marquis of Landry, Hudson instantly understood.

No wonder they came to lobby him, the feeling was that the Franks also knew about the changes in the steppe. Once the two camps of the Orc Empire compromise, the Near East will be a thorn in their common side.

As a front-line lord and commander, Hudson was under pressure to understand. From the standpoint of the nobility of the Near East, the sooner the Five Nations Alliance was established, the better.

With the strength of the Alpha Kingdom, it is inevitable to gain the right to speak in the alliance. If the orcs dare to invade, it will be a challenge to the alliance of the five nations.

The orc empire at its peak may dare to challenge it, and if you play like this at this moment, it will be pure death.

As long as the brain is not flooded, it is impossible for the orcs to act alone until they have the support of the Interracial Alliance.

"Your Excellency, Marquis, you are right, the kingdom really needs an environment for peaceful development. But isn't the civil war in the Orc Empire still going on, and who knows when the two factions will be able to negotiate? Maybe they were talking, and the two sides continued to do it. The battle has progressed so far, and the two camps have formed a blood feud. Even if the top management can compromise for the overall situation, can the simple orcs below understand? I'm afraid that even if the two camps reach a compromise, the tribes below each clan will still have to fight often. Even in the eyes of many orcs, taking out the enemy is much more important than invading the kingdom. In this context, invading the kingdom, I am afraid that they will have to have eighty percent of their energy to guard against their allies, and at most two percent of their minds will be spent on the kingdom. In that case, why be afraid? If there is a fight, the kingdom will not be comfortable, and the situation of the orcs will only be worse. Nine out of ten orc tribes are poor jingles. It is not easy to raise strategic materials to invade the kingdom. I don't think the rulers of the Orc Empire are crazy enough to gamble everything for the sake of a mere Near East. If the vassal races below are squeezed hard, maybe a second anti-royal war will break out! Hudson said with a serious slick.

It doesn't matter how likely the orc empire is, but the possibility of this kind of thing happening definitely exists.

From the perspective of the human race, it is a miracle that the orc empire has been able to survive until now. Since it is

"Miracles" are accidental. If it can be replicated over and over again, it will no longer be a miracle. Knowing that this reason could not convince Hudson, the Marquis of Landry stopped talking nonsense, and after a few words of symbolic persuasion, he directly said goodbye and left, leaving Hudson alone to worry.

How hard his mouth is, how bitter Hudson's heart is. He wasn't an orc, so how could he know what an orc thought?

Different races, different educations, and different social environments certainly have different ways of looking at problems.

Perhaps the irreconcilable contradictions in the eyes of humans have become commonplace on the orcs' side.

With the moral concept of the human race, it is definitely a very stupid thing to run to analyze the situation in the orc empire.

Doing things on the prairie, Hudson has always been only responsible for igniting the fire, and has not thought about how to control the subsequent development at all.

"Tom sent an order to all the county guards in the Near East to come over for a meeting in half a month to discuss the next defense of the Near East." Originally, Hudson was going to call the lords of the northern frontier together, but considering the political influence, he had no choice but to cancel it.

The nobility of the seven major provinces of the Near East gathered together, it is already very eye-catching, and if you add the nobility of the seven provinces of northern Xinjiang, it is one-third of the kingdom.

Hudson is not a king or a crown prince, and as the leader of so many nobles, it is easy to let himself fall into the trap of losing himself.

"Yes, Duke!" With that, Tom immediately went down to give the order. The area of the Near East region is not small, and half a month seems like a lot, but it is not easy to notify all the county guards to rush over.

It is mainly the communication magic arrays in various places, which have not yet been laid. Otherwise, if you give an order directly, it will be sent to the county guards immediately.

Summons are costly, and that's something the Chancellor of the Exchequer needs to consider, not a front-line military commander to worry about.

In war, what is needed is efficiency. The faster the communication, the more time there will be for the rear to prepare. …… The major forces are busy with their own affairs, and no one notices the ones under their rule

The number of "geniuses" has suddenly increased. In particular, the number of masters in small and medium-sized aristocratic families came to a big explosion overnight.

Under normal circumstances, limited by the inheritance of knowledge, the talent of a small nobleman who can break through to a big knight is very good.

If you can explore yourself, break through to the Silver Knight, and then go all the way up, that's all

"The pride of the sky". In some countries where class solidification is serious, it is very difficult for small nobles to get the cultivation method of big knights.

As for the magicians who burn money, that's not to mention. It has never been suitable for small aristocratic players, and forcibly joining in is just a contribution

"Workers". Only a few people with outstanding talents and special luck can be favored by the old antiques of the academy and obtain the key training of the academy, so that they can break the class restrictions and become a strong party.

This situation of defining the future by identity has gradually changed. More and more minor aristocrats have made breakthroughs in cultivation.

In the beginning, the great nobles didn't care. People with good luck will have them in every era, not to mention that now even the powerhouses of the Holy Domain have appeared one after another, which is obviously the beginning of a new round of golden prosperity.

It's just that gradually everyone has discovered that something is wrong, and the cultivation rate of the minor nobles under the rule in recent years has grown too fast.

If it's like this for two families, everyone can understand it, but if this happens in many families, then there is a problem.

"Butler, are you sure that the number of statistics has not increased, and the southeast province has increased so many good hands all of a sudden?" Governor Pierce asked with a solemn expression.

Under normal circumstances, the overall strength of the minor nobles under his rule should be in a stable state on the whole. Five years ago, the powerhouses above the Silver Knight in the Southeast Province were basically concentrated in the Dalton family and a number of middle-class noble families in the province.

The strong people born in the small aristocratic family are only a handful. Generally speaking, if you can become a great knight, you will be able to make a name for yourself in an area.

The current situation is obviously different, compared with five years ago, the number of silver knights in the southeast province has increased by three percent, and the number of big knights has directly doubled.

Except for some of the new good players from the Coslow family, most of the rest are scattered among the small aristocratic groups.

Obviously, this is by no means the strength boost brought about by the golden age. Under normal circumstances, if you want to improve, you will also improve together, and there is no reason to treat them differently.

"Master, how could I not verify this kind of life-and-death matter! Each person on the list has created a profile. All of them are well documented, and I have personally checked and verified them, and there is no problem with the information. Especially the guys who participated in the expeditionary corps and followed Marshal Hudson into the Duchy of Moxie, almost everyone has been promoted. There were all kinds of signs that they should have obtained a more perfect cultivation method in the Duchy of Moxi, so that their current strength had increased. The strength of the other minor nobles in the province has increased, and it is very likely that these guys have passed it on privately after obtaining the cultivation method. The old butler explained helplessly.

The increase in the number of strong people means that the kingdom is more powerful, which seems to be a good thing, but for vested interests, it is a disaster.

The Alpha Kingdom needs to become stronger, but by no means this kind of power that will upset the balance. Cultivation requires resources, and the stronger the strength, the greater the demand for resources.

The increase in the number of strong players also means that the competition is becoming more and more fierce. At first, the Daltons didn't notice, and that's because the Coslow family attracted attention.

In the past few years, the strength of the members of the Coslow family has skyrocketed. The top powerhouse is still Hudson's only seedling, but relying on the accumulation of resources, the number of knights is endless.

No matter how far the blood relationship is, as long as you have cultivation qualifications and are willing to work with Lord Hudson, you can become a knight.

One life essence is not enough, you can have another one. Anyway, in the future, he will work by himself to pay off his debts, and Mr. Hudson doesn't mind borrowing more.

Ordinary people have this treatment, and the original knights of each branch naturally followed the family development dividend.

Not only is there systematic cultivation knowledge, but all kinds of resources to assist in cultivation can also be freely exchanged.

Thinking about the fame of the Hastelloy magic potion on the mainland, you can know how quickly the strength of the Coslow family has improved.

Like many of the great nobles, the big knights are just ordinary people in the Coslow family, and they have nothing to do with the strong at all.

Even the Silver Knight, there were three people. Further up is naturally blank, after all, the time is too short, and the foundation cannot be accumulated overnight.

In this context, the eyes of the Dalton family have always been focused on the Coslow family. Seeing that the other party was able to form a knight order by relying on the children of the family, Governor Pierce lost his temper.

If Hudson hadn't suddenly jumped out of the Southeastern Province and went to the Near East, he wouldn't have known what the Dalton family would have done.

I thought that the trouble was gone and I could live a comfortable life for a few days, but I didn't expect that a new problem was born again.

"Damn Hudson, he's still a generation of famous generals, how can he spread his cultivation knowledge! Few of the little nobles are successful. A lot of idiots just need a few glasses of wine to eat, and they can talk about anything outside. If a family gets the inheritance, it is equivalent to his relatives and friends have obtained the inheritance. Passing it all the way, the consequences are unimaginable! Now he patted his ass and went to the Near East, but he was happy, but the mess was left to ......Lao Tzu to clean up," Governor Pierce immediately scolded angrily.

It was clear that this account was credited to Hudson. Under normal circumstances, cultivation knowledge is the secret of the major forces.

There is only one situation that will come out, and that is - in times of war! The great nobles who were destroyed could not keep the inheritance, and let these secrets be passed on, which has happened countless times in history.

It's just that everyone's inherited knowledge has secret words from pit people, and ordinary little nobles can only use these things for reference, and they are not able to decipher them at all.

Hudson was the exception, with his status at the time, he could trade with the declining nobles in private and obtain inherited knowledge.

In order to show their sincerity, it was not strange for the Moxi people to give him a complete cultivation inheritance.

In Governor Pierce's view, the source of the leak was Hudson. Even if he didn't do it, it was passed down from the mouths of members of the Coslow family.

There are many people and many things, and there are so many members of the Coslow family, there are always a few who are not strict-mouthed. If the family does not take measures in advance, leaks are inevitable.

It just so happens that the Coslow family has many relatives and friends, and their family can complete the export to the southeastern provinces, and even have the spare strength to spread to the entire kingdom.

Thinking of this, Governor Pierce's scalp tingled. Now that so many people are involved, how should he end up!

However, this is one of the duties of the governor, and he cannot shirk his responsibility, let alone dare to shirk his responsibility. If the situation is allowed to deteriorate, the dominance of the Dalton family in the southeastern provinces will inevitably collapse in the near future.

Kill somebody to do away with a witness? Just think about it, most of the nobles in the province are involved, and if they do it, it is unknown who will kill whom.

"Sir, you might as well post a message to ask Marshal Hudson. When such a big thing happens, you have to give an explanation to all parties. If it really doesn't work, then we must send these unstable elements away, and we can't let the situation continue to deteriorate. As tensions in the Near East grew, it was expected that it would not be long before the kingdom would send reinforcements. Let's just join forces with Hudson and push for these guys to serve in the Near East. ”……