Iros put down his buttered bread, and under the illumination of the large group of candles and dwarf oil lamps around him, he smiled and said:
"All the Guards are going into battle? All the Knights of the Silver Hand are going into battle?
Then why not bring all the troops of the Char? Wouldn't that make it easier to solve the problem?"
"Of course it would be safer this way." Raymond was stunned for a moment and said quickly: "It's not impossible."
"You are mistaken, Raymond." Iros shook his head slightly. He picked up the potato stew and his face gradually became serious: "Do you think the Marquis of Angoulan is really a bad person?"
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"The Marquis of Angoulant has a very good character among the nobles. He is not only humble but also kind."
Fiona took over and said with a smile:
"The Marquis of Angoulan twice ordered the universal exemption of serfs from corvee service, and also ordered the cancellation of many excessive taxes, such as the fishery tax, and even asked all his nobles to swear to give up the right of first night.
He is also considered loyal to our Gross family. Even if we disagree, he never violates the agreement or sabotages it privately.
In this matter, his statement was open and in compliance with the procedures. If we send out a large army to suppress just because there are objections, what do you want everyone to think?"
"Then why does he oppose the Grand Duke?" Raymond asked subconsciously.
"This is not inconsistent with his opposition to me." Fiona took the wine offered by the serfs and nodded slightly:
"The Marquis of Angoulant's opposition to me is not a matter of moral character, but a matter of political stance."
To put it simply, the Marquis of Angoulant is not without talent, and his moral character is not perfect, but he is much better than a normal knight. He will oppose me purely because his position is with the conservative old nobles.
"Politics is like everyone sitting at this table to eat."
Fiona used a long table as an analogy: "Things that can be solved by talking, dividing food, and removing dishes, I can't just flip the table over as soon as I come up. Then everyone will think I'm too domineering."
I can show up here with a group of your guards, because as the Grand Duke of the Shire, I need some guards, but if I show up with the whole army, then I will overturn the table and it will cause a civil war, Raymond.
"
"I was stupid!"
Raymond lowered his head in embarrassment. After thinking about it, the commander of the Halberd Battalion couldn't help but be curious: "But if this is the case, what are you going to do?"
"Raymond, look."
Fiona made a gesture and signaled everyone to stand up. The Grand Duchess pointed to the long wooden table:
"Look, is all the food placed on this table? Are these bowls propped against the tablecloth?"
"All I have to do is..."
Fiona reached out and grabbed the tablecloth. She pulled gently, and in a flash of lightning, the entire tablecloth was completely pulled out from under the bowls, spoons and plates, but none of the bowls, spoons and plates moved even a little.
"This is my plan!"
On the afternoon of the third day, an urgent piece of information was delivered to the Marquis of Angoulan's castle desk. The Marquis of Angoulan took the envelope, opened the clay seal, took a look at the information above, and his expression changed drastically.
"he came!"
The Marquis put down the parchment, his face turning white and green for a while.
"who?"
"Our Grand Duchess, she appeared in my fief with Iros and a small group of guards!"
"He's approaching the eastern town of Lesavre!"
"Call everyone here! Have a meeting immediately!"
"Discuss what should be done!"
The ancestors of the Marquis of Angoulan were related by marriage to the Gros family, the rulers of the Charles, but they later became indifferent.
The Marquis of Angoulant inherited stability and conservatism from the deceased old Marquis, but he also inherited an indecisive character.
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When he called his staff, his first reaction was to say to everyone:
"They are here and Fiona appears. How can she appear in my fiefdom without my consent? Is this reasonable?"
The words of the Marquis of Angoulan made the staff not know what to say. Count Robert, who was in charge of the operation, could only come up and say:
"My Lord Marquis, she is the Grand Duke of the Shire. She has the right to appear anywhere in the entire Shire. This is the power of the Grand Duke and we have no right to stop her."
"But how could she come with an army?"
The Marquis of Angoulant was stunned for a moment before he realized that he had indeed overreacted. He had no right to object to Charles's love wherever he appeared.
"Lord Marquis, if we go by the intelligence, our Grand Duchess only led a small group of guards, less than a hundred people."
Earl Robert said in embarrassment: "This cannot be considered an army. The king should have guards."
"Of course, the one who came with him was Iros, the adopted son of Grand Duke Gros, who killed Dranosh. Judging from Iros's bravery, the number of the army really doesn't matter, because that kid can do it all by himself.
military!"
According to Fiona's information, the Marquis of Angoulan is a humble, kind-hearted and veteran nobleman who can listen to opinions. When his combat adviser, Count Robert, said this, the Marquis opened his mouth and didn't know what to say.
.
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So he turned his attention to his internal affairs adviser, Baron Edward:
"Edward, as the heir to the title of Marquis of Angoulan, I ask you a question. Please tell me the truth, okay?"
"Please speak frankly, Marquis."
When Baron Edward saw that he had reached this point, he could only nod.
"How many people within us support my voice?"
The Marquis of Angoulan frowned. He leaned out from behind his desk and asked with a very serious expression: "How many people support our cause?"
"Almost 90% of the direct nobles support you, my Lord Marquis."
Eduardo's words gave the Marquis of Angoulan a reassurance:
"According to the opinions sent back by the attendants and envoys, at least 75% of the knights and nobles in the entire fiefdom also support you. They also disagree with Grand Duke Fiona's decision to cancel the privileges of the nobles, and they are even opposed to the appointment of a governor."
"That's good, that's good, as long as everyone supports me."
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The Marquis of Angoulan actually had doubts about his influence, because the Gross family's achievements over the years were too brilliant.
But obviously, when it comes to their own interests, these old nobles still stand on their side, which is okay.
The Marquis breathed a sigh of relief and immediately took the map: "Where is our Grand Duchess now?"
"They are already close to Lessa Frey. Baron Otero of Lessa Frey is a neutral party. It is difficult for us to guarantee that he will be willing to come out and face the Archduke directly."
Earl Robert pointed to the map: "But there is good news, that is, the old Earl of Clement, west of Les Saffre, is our staunch supporter."
"The key question is, my Lord Marquis, what are you going to do?" Baron Edward said: "How are we going to treat Fiona and Iros? Are we going to consider using force?"
The Marquis of Angoulan hesitated.
As an old traditional conservative nobleman, the Marquis of Angoulan is of course extremely disgusted with many of Fiona's practices, including vigorously promoting free people, including depriving and restricting noble privileges, including taking back judicial power to establish a circuit court, including actually forming one out of mud.
The appointment of the Guards, including the appointment of a governor.
But as a Shire, the Marquis of Angoulant also admired the glorious deeds of the Grand Duke of Gros and Fiona, and how they led the knights from victory to victory, and from glory to glory.
The changes in Charles over the years were empathetic. Fiona did not use force first, and the Marquis of Angoulan was not willing to use force.
After much hesitation, the Marquis of Angoulan shook his head and said in a low voice:
"Order, do not use force unless absolutely necessary. The Shire people will not fight the Shire people! Let the old Count Clement send people to expel our Grand Duke from the territory of the Principality. We have nothing to bargain with her. She may accept it.
, or refuse!
Moreover, we are not sure that we can defeat Iros. If the plan fails, our heads will definitely be removed by Iros. At present, except for the old stubborn Gonzalez, there should be no one in Charles who can stop Iros."