In the Emerald Palace, the giants of the kingdom gathered together, frowning around the circle marked on the map.

The war is over, and it's time to divide the cake again. Unlike previous wars, this time it was too easy to win against the orcs.

Originally, this was a good thing, the war ended early, the losses of the kingdom were minimized, and the loot that should have been taken was still not a penny.

The trouble is here, too!

According to the past practice, the reward will be awarded directly according to the size of the merit. Those who should be promoted to the rank of official will be added to the rank of knight, and those who should be given a fief will be given a fief.

But this time the situation was different, most of the nobles who participated in the war only had hard work. The few nobles who have achieved military merit are not credit enough.

It was won so quickly and easily that the credit went to Hudson as a manager.

When it came time to divide the cake, things got awkward.

According to the kingdom's strategic plan, this time it will be 800 miles eastward, and with reference to the Near East strategy, we know that this kind of planned expansion will eventually occupy more territory.

However, there are very few nobles who are qualified to obtain fiefs, and they are simply not satisfied with the place. The rest of the nobles were only hard work, not only lacking the legal basis for conferring titles, but also unable to guarantee fairness.

After all, everyone granted a fief, and so many nobles in the kingdom participated in the partition, and the fief area was too small.

In the hinterland of the kingdom, it doesn't matter if this happens. But if you play like this in the border area, you are committing suicide.

If a family divides thousands of acres of land, how can it be able to gather enough strength to resist the harassment of the orcs!

If only some powerful nobles were granted fiefs, it would undermine the principle of fairness, the foundation of the kingdom.

"Marshal, you have been on the front line for a long time and know the situation on the front line best, what suggestions do you have for the next division of fiefdoms?"

Caesar IV asked expectantly.

This thorny problem has been backlogged in the hands of the Royal Government for a long time, and there is no proper solution to it.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone is now focused on the looting of the Holy See, the pressure on the Royal Government would have been even greater.

But this kind of thing can be avoided for a while, and it can't be delayed for a lifetime. Things will get even more complicated if we don't hurry up and wait for the Papal States to finish.

"Your Majesty, things are not easy!

The principle of fairness in the kingdom must not be broken, and this is our foundation!

It's just that the situation in the steppes, we also have to take into account. After the completion of the new round of expansion, the length of the border between the kingdom and the orc empire will be greatly increased, and the corresponding national defense pressure will also increase.

Relying on the standing army of the kingdom alone will definitely not be able to take care of so many places, and it must be supplemented by the private army of the local nobles.

If you don't have a certain amount of military strength in your hands, I'm afraid it will be difficult to take root on the front line.

My personal suggestion is to encourage the powerful nobles in the interior to replace their fiefs and move their families to the front.

However, this kind of thing can only be done by everyone's consciousness, and it is not appropriate for the kingdom to force it. After all, the risk at the front line is not low, and it is possible to encounter a counterattack from the orcs at any time

Especially in the early stage, once you are attacked by orcs, you will immediately suffer heavy losses. ”

Hudson replied earnestly.

It's just that if you analyze his words carefully, you will find that he seems to have said everything, but in fact he didn't say anything, and it was all ambiguous answers.

The advice given seems to be reasonable, but in fact it is not feasible at all.

In recent years, the Alpha Kingdom has first recovered the seven provinces of Northern Xinjiang, and then occupied the Near East.

In order to achieve better development, the powerful old and middle-class nobles in the kingdom have long jumped out of the original cage and moved out with their families.

Among the remaining nobles, although there are many ambitious guys, the strength in their hands can't support their ambitions.

It seems that they are all middle nobles, but in fact, the difference in strength between the families is also very large. The strongest can be more than ten times stronger than the weakest, or even dozens of times.

Even if these people are willing to come, everyone is willing to give them a chance, and the strength of the family behind them does not allow it!

Without a core backbone, it would be difficult for ordinary fiefdom nobles to organize decent armed resistance.

You can't just arrange for someone to pass over with your front feet, and your ass hasn't even been hot, and you'll be harmed by the orcs, right?

It is not easy for the kingdom to gain strategic superiority, and it cannot be tossed willfully. If the front line loses a few more times, I am afraid that the morale of the army, which has been gathered with great difficulty, will fall again.

"Marshal, if the kingdom were to administer part of the frontier directly, do you think it would be feasible?"

Listening to Count Rinares' proposal, Hudson shouted in his heart: "Great cleverness!"

In the Alpha Kingdom, there are not no places directly under the government, but they are all prosperous metropolises that can provide the government with a steady stream of tax revenue.

This expansion, there were not many nobles who were eligible to get the fief, and it did give the royal government the opportunity to expand the territory.

However, the problem is that the land in these border areas not only cannot generate tax revenue, but also requires a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources in the early stage.

The feudal nobles only needed an edict, and all the expenses for local development and governance were thrown out. After the tax holiday is over, the tax will be levied.

The development of the Near East is going well, and that is because the land is their own, and the nobles are working hard one by one.

Replacing bureaucracy with management and paying ten times the administrative cost will not necessarily achieve the current results.

Originally, the royal government was poor, and it dared to take over this gold-swallowing monster, this is not to toss the government into bankruptcy, and vow not to give up!

For a while, Hudson couldn't figure out whether it was Count Rinares who had his brain in the water, or whether Caesar IV was behind the scenes.

After all, the greatest advantage of increasing the number of places directly under the royal government is that it is conducive to the centralization of power by the central government.

"Theoretically, it is also possible for the Royal Government to administer under its direct jurisdiction.

However, this will bring a series of problems, such as the increase in the government's financial pressure, and the possibility that human and material resources will not be available.

After all, the royal government lacked the experience to rule large tracts of land. Directly came up to control more than a dozen provinces, and the preparation in all aspects was not sufficient.

Of course, the direct management also has its own advantages, but after the development of most of the concentrated land matures, the early stage belongs to the investment stage.

There are pros and cons! ”

Hudson said with a smile.

If you want to make a death jump pit, then come in yourself! Anyway, he won't push for this kind of thing that offends people.

If the local nobles knew that the duck in their hands had flew, I am afraid that they would not be able to resist killing the initiator.

Although Count Rinares is one of the giants of the kingdom, he still doesn't have enough strength to withstand the counterattack of the aristocratic real power.

Even if everyone doesn't need to take action directly, just make the scene bigger, the unreliable direct administration strategy of the royal government will eventually go bankrupt due to the lack of financial resources of the government.

"Marshal, experience is feasible to accumulate. The royal government does not have to directly govern the localities, but this time the situation is special.

Under the premise of not violating the kingdom's military merit system, it is undoubtedly the best solution for the government to directly govern some areas of the front! ”

The Marquis of Omar on the side took the opportunity to add.

The king's cronies are not easy to behave. Now is the time to charge.

The royal government directly governs a certain area, and it stands to reason that it has little to do with Hudson, and there is no need for him, the marshal, to take a stand.

At this moment, it revolves around this topic one after another, seemingly seeking support, but in fact forcing him to take a stand.

Putting aside the problem itself, jumping outside the chess game, you will find that in recent years, the strength of the noble camp of the Alpha Kingdom has swelled rapidly.

Although the power of the royal family was not slow to grow, Caesar IV still felt threatened. Especially after Hudson won the title of "Marshal of the Terrans", he was even more jealous.

At this moment, Hudson's prestige in the kingdom's army has surpassed that of him as a king. In terms of military power, he, the king, is far from being able to catch up with Hudson, the commander-in-chief.

It's just that Hudson is still too young, and the development speed of the Coslow family behind him is also very amazing.

If this situation is allowed to expand, even if there is no problem with the monarch of his generation, the heirs in the future will face the embarrassing situation of "the tail is too big" for the ministers.

It just so happened that the threat of the orcs had been reduced at this moment, and it was time to intervene to limit the power of the nobles.

It's just that Caesar IV didn't know the bottom of his heart, and he was worried that after taking this step, he would collapse the good situation of the kingdom, so he had today's temptation.

Unfortunately, the plan was good, but the situation did not develop according to plan. Hudson didn't answer the whole time, and no one knew what he really thought in his heart.

The question of whether to govern the territory or not suddenly returned to Caesar IV. Checks and balances are even more impossible to talk about.

Unless Hudson explicitly refused, no one would dare to withhold his share of interests.

The constant emphasis on the importance of the "principle of fairness" in the exchange is in fact an invisible warning. If anyone dares to disobey, he will dare to raise a knife and cut someone.

With Hudson's current status, it is not a big deal to hack a few "filthy ministers" to death if there are sufficient reasons.

If you don't understand your anger, you can also scold the king.

A similar picture was already felt by Caesar IV. The former prime minister often scolded him, and he was driven home to farm.

The difference is that Hudson's situation is special, the "Terran marshal" is a natural commander of the three armies, and the king cannot remove him from his position without major fault.

"Your Excellency, let's take a long-term view of this matter!

If it is to be implemented, it must also be authorized by the Council of Nobles in order to comply with the legal procedures. Otherwise, the people below will make a fuss, and a few of us won't be able to hold it. ”

The Prime Minister, the Marquis delgado, said tactfully.

Being a member of the reform faction does not mean that everyone has the same political philosophy. For example, he was against this wave of temptation.

It is necessary to restrict the "powerful ministers", but Hudson has achieved the general trend at this moment, and it is a great victory to be able to fool people back to the fiefdom.

If the failure of the temptation caused something to happen, and Hudson, who liked to stay at home, changed his mind and ran to the royal capital to take up a post, that would be the real disaster.

……

Elven Forest.

In the face of the complicated situation on the continent, the three elven queens who have lived for hundreds of years also have a headache.

"Orcs, those idiots are really not as good as the generation, and they can actually play to their own death!

It doesn't matter if they die on their own, the key is to ruin the big things of the alliance. After this battle, our strategic superiority in the Northern Continent disappeared directly.

In the days to come, we will not be able to live comfortably! ”

The Forest Elf Queen couldn't help but sigh.

The good situation of the anti-human alliance was actually taken away by a big flood like a comedy, and the key is that the water is still made by one's own people.

"Eldest sister, the orcs are stupid and useless, but they are still warlike, and sooner or later they will decline because of the war, and now the time is only slightly advanced.

It's just surprising that the Terran civil war has subsided so quickly.

The Franks and the anti-French alliance, which were supposed to fight to the death, did not kill each other, but instead organized a group to divide the Holy See.

This kind of operation is really incomprehensible! ”

The steppe elf queen complained.

The living environment is different, and the thinking and cognition will naturally not be the same. With the elven view of right and wrong, it is difficult to understand the operation of the human race.

"If you don't understand, that's right!

The Terran politicians are full of interests. Betraying allies, they are old and skilled.

It's just that in the past, it was the Holy See who betrayed others, and this time it was their turn to suffer the backlash!

Thinking about it, the Holy See is really a waste possession of the strongest foundation of the human race, and it is so vulnerable.

Forget it, let's not talk about these useless things, let's take care of ourselves first!

The restless elves are getting more and more noisy. If we are clamoring for reform all day long, don't we know the benefits of reform?

But the situation in the clan is not suitable for tossing at all now. If something goes wrong, the enemy will be in trouble! ”

The forest elf queen said angrily.

The cult rebellion was successfully suppressed by the elven army. However, the ideology left over from the cult is constantly fermenting.

More and more elves, dissatisfied with the solidification of the class in the clan, are eager to open up upward development space through change.

However, any "change" that changes the political structure will not be tolerated by vested interest groups.

Even if it is the three elf queens, in the face of the vested interests in the clan, they have to retreat.

In this context, the "reformers" have become the biggest destabilizing factor among the elves.

Unlike external enemies, internal hidden dangers are the most terrifying. If this problem is not solved, sooner or later a catastrophe will brew.

The trouble is: the "reformers" are also members of their own families. Except for the different political ideas, other aspects are still normal elves.

To the sparsely populated elves, any one of them is precious. Before committing a felony, it is simply impossible to suppress it by thunderous means!

What's more, the spread of ideas cannot be solved by killing people. Failure to solve the problem at the source has suppressed the current reformers, and new reformers will emerge.

Even because of the suppression, the two sides formed a blood feud. The next time we meet, it will not be a "reformist", but a "revolutionary party".

(End of chapter)