Earl Gaston's melodious voice sank into the tent like an elemental bomb, ringing in the hearts of the nobles of the North.
For a moment, there was silence in the camp, and only the expressions of the nobles in the North could be seen changing expressions.
But soon, the silence was replaced by the rising discussion, and the whispered discussion soon turned into a noisy discussion.
There is no doubt that what Gaston told was far beyond the expectations of the Northland nobles, so that the Northland nobles fell into confusion for a while.
Since the end of the Star-Moon War, Castel has been peaceful for too long, so peaceful that even an extremely suspicious rebellion cannot make the nobles of the North be wary.
As a major taxpayer in the Principality of Boulder and the "partner" of the Crescent Royal Family in the mithril veins, the Northland nobles never expected that someone from the royal family would actually take action against Castel.
Absurdity, shock, anger, confusion, fear...
Various expressions appeared on the faces of different nobles.
Charlotte took in all the expressions of the nobles and was not surprised.
Although the nobles of Castells have sworn allegiance to her, to be honest, they are far from truly sincere so far.
So the best way is to make the northern nobles completely disappointed in the third prince.
Compared with the second prince "Pilgrim" Francois, who is not loved by the king, the third prince Philip is considered to be more likely to inherit the throne.
"The contract taxes of the kingdom's direct vassals are lower than those of the principality. At that time, the contract taxes of each family will be reduced accordingly. Not only that... you will also have the hope to step onto a higher stage and participate in the conference held by the lords of the kingdom.
Various banquets.”
But it's different now.
Bringing in the Holy Court to reimpose tithes?
Give me a break.
After hearing Charlotte's words, the nobles' eyes lit up one after another.
For the nobles of the North, the gold content and credibility behind this are different.
Yes, what His Majesty the King wishes most is to strengthen the central authority.
The "Sacred Code" seems to have solved the worries of small nobles in higher-level lord wars, allowing them to side with their direct lords without any worries, but in fact it is not the case.
If everything Earl Gaston said was not said by him personally, but was told by Charlotte herself to the nobles, perhaps many northern nobles would not believe it.
Or maybe even though they believed it, more nobles would subconsciously think that the third prince's attack on Castel was only aimed at the Castel family.
Feudal obligations are like this, and contradictions are also like this.
To be honest, the phenomenon of vassals playing both sides is really disgusting to the lord.
For a time, a large number of nobles in the North knelt down on one knee and renewed their oaths to Charlotte, expressing their surrender and allegiance.
"The Tulip Earldom is a territory directly under the jurisdiction of Boulder. After it is recovered, our Castel family will only take half of the territory under our direct jurisdiction. Those who have made merit will receive corresponding enfeoffments."
After a higher-level lord won and regained his title, these nobles who were not vassals became vassals. As long as they swore allegiance to the new lord in time, they would have fulfilled their obligations under the "Sacred Code" and should not continue to be liquidated in the rebellion.
Follow the actions of the old lord.
It is not realistic to control all the northern nobles like Earl Gaston. It is also difficult to obtain the sincere loyalty of the nobles by relying on personality charm and interest bundling. And Charlotte does not want to be someone who relies on mind control to rule the territory.
Lord.
At most... coupled with Charlotte's relatively past unity and deterrence shown during the period after taking over the territory.
At that time, he and King Henry II of Fallen Star were competing for the throne of the Crescent Moon Kingdom. The nobles of the Crescent Kingdom were vacillating one by one and taking everything...
I saw Charlotte gently knocking on the armrest of the seat, and her majestic skills were quietly released.
The Castel family may tie the northern nobles to their chariots out of profit, but the Gaston family is different.
The final result is that many small nobles will not really fight with their immediate lords, but will often remain neutral and play both sides. They will help whoever is most likely to win.
It can be said that this rule that separated the ownership relationships between different classes of nobles and lords greatly limited the central authority of the noble feudal lords, and was also the brilliance of the Holy Royal Court that formulated the "Sacred Code".
Because these lower-level nobles were "not my vassals" before, but "the vassals of my vassals", it is reasonable for them to participate in the vassal's rebellion, and they are fulfilling the noble obligations stipulated in the "Sacred Code".
This is also something that Charlotte was very worried about after knowing that the third prince planned to take action against her family.
Precisely because the "Sacred Code" protects the interests of small nobles, when higher-level lords go to war with their vassals, they will often give preferential treatment and various promises to the nobles under their vassals.
And this leads to a situation——
Crescent King Louis V was determined to strengthen centralization and was disgusted by similar incidents during the Star-Moon War.
Whether it is supporting Charlotte, who is the direct lord, or the higher-level Principality of Bold, it is actually possible.
For a moment, the eyes of the nobles in the North were focused on her again.
If the political status of the Crescent Kingdom can be improved, it will be a matter of great benefit and no harm to every noble family.
But compared to the third prince who assassinated the kingdom's nobles, colluded with the Blood Demon Order, and blatantly destroyed the "Sacred Code", Charlotte is undoubtedly a more convincing target.
Through this strict aristocratic system, the interests of the small nobles were guaranteed, and it was difficult for the feudal monarchs to achieve true centralization of power. Even if they mastered powerful extraordinary power, they could not threaten the foundation of the church's rule.
After smiling, her expression quickly became solemn.
It is more likely that they just follow the inertia of family and history and gather under the banner of the Castel family.
"Your Excellency, please don't forget that what our King wants to do most is to further strengthen the authority of the central government..."
As for new territories, lower contract taxes are naturally better.
"I think...for any noble family, this is a good result."
It is New Moon's political correctness to completely wipe out the power of the Blood Demon Order, but for the nobles, political correctness is just political correctness.
One of the important reasons why it is difficult to completely eradicate the Blood Demon Order from the Crescent Kingdom is that many nobles in the kingdom may secretly be inextricably linked to the Blood Demon Order.
It doesn't necessarily mean taking refuge, but more likely just cooperation or simple utilization.
If applied to Charlotte, the problem arises.
Perhaps when the Leglis family rebelled, fellow Northland nobles would crowd around Charlotte with indignation, but when the conflict of this rebellion spread to higher-level lords, everything...
It’s different.
"Your Majesty, the Leon-Castle family is willing to follow you to quell the rebellion, unify the Northland, and resist the tyranny of Boulder!"
"Oh, by the way, there is also the Castel Mithril Mine. The dividends our mining workshop pays to Bold every year are also a large expense. After this, we can save them. The royal family already has Mithril.
The mining rights of the mine are not worth our little income."
And soon, other northern nobles also knelt down on one knee to express their following and submission:
"My Lord Count! We, the Valais family, are also willing to follow you and fight against the enemies who invade Castres!"
In other words, when Charlotte, who is a vassal of Bould, conflicts with the Duke of Bould, the conflict generally does not spread to the next level.
Therefore, Charlotte should try her best to avoid such a situation.
The Castel Territory is famous for its commerce. Almost every noble in the North has a business, and they often need to deal with various forces.
The nobles were thoughtful, and their expressions were not very good.
Considering that the current Crescent King Louis V is one of the greatest monarchs since the founding of the Crescent Kingdom, as his prince and a strong contender for the throne, the third prince has a significantly higher stake in this game of power.
of.
"Lord Earl Gaston, are you... telling the truth? The third prince actually plans to join forces with Violet to attack Castel? He wants to carve up Castel and turn the entire Castel under his direct jurisdiction?
"
Charlotte is the vassal of the third prince, and the nobles of the North are vassals of Charlotte.
They are not nobles from the North, their territories are all in the Boulder region in the south.
Charlotte can almost predict that as long as the third prince declares war on her with a high-sounding reason and promises to still protect the interests of the northern nobles after victory, many of these nobles are likely to choose neutrality.
And if it is substituted into the Castel rebellion, it means that the nobles of the North can stand on Charlotte's side and fight against the third prince without any worries.
And if the third prince can be defeated, he might be able to completely eliminate the possibility of the other party inheriting the Crescent Kingdom.
However, this is only theoretical.
"In addition, once we win, we can declare independence from the Principality of Boulder. Once independent, I, Castel, will become a direct vassal of the Crescent Kingdom."
"I have hired an overseas mercenary army and they will arrive in the Northland soon. Coupled with our combined military strength, we still have the strength to fight."
To be honest, she would really have a headache if the northern nobles collectively defected during her war with the third prince.
Seeing this scene, Charlotte laughed.
Viscount Leon-Castle took the lead to take a step forward and bowed tremblingly to Charlotte with a respectful bow of surrender.
Charlotte swept across the audience and said calmly:
"Everyone, although the third prince is powerful, we are not without hope of victory."
That is, according to the provisions of the code, although nobles can participate in wars between lords and lords' lords without any worries, in fact, after such higher-level wars occur, small nobles often become the targets of competition between the two sides.
Some nobles still refused to give up and couldn't help but ask.
In the human history of the world of Miria, wars between lords and vassals are not uncommon.
The narrator is not Charlotte, but Count Gaston, the garrison commander of Boulder.
When the nobles of the North met the third prince, they only needed to show noble courtesy, and they did not need to show royal courtesy like they did when facing Charlotte.
For the nobles in the North, the final result of the struggle between the two sides was just a change of title, from the Earl of Castells to the Duke of Bold.
After defeating their vassals, most of the lords would only take back or re-divide the vassal's direct territory. As for the lower-level nobles under the vassal, unless there is a reasonable reason, they will not be judged for participating in the rebellion.
To liquidate.
After saying this, there is no suspense.
"We, the Morel family, swear to the Lord God that we will follow Castel and resist the violence of the principality!"
This clarified and divided power and obligation made the relationship between vassals and vassals extremely delicate, especially when there was a war between vassals and vassals' vassals.
Seeing the nobles fall into silence, Charlotte knew that the heat was almost over.
Perhaps the nobles of the North will unanimously support her in countering the rebellion, but when the third prince takes action against Castel, it is not certain which side the nobles will take.
Count Gaston just glanced at the opponent and completed the kill in two sentences:
The foundation of her rule in the North is not stable. It can withstand rebellion, but it may not withstand the test of war from higher lords.
"His Royal Highness the Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne, and the wealth of Castel is well known. If he wants to turn Castel into a direct jurisdiction, will His Majesty the King support it or not?"
Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult?
To be honest, considering the delicate relationship between Louis V and the Holy Royal Court, the nobles in the North are really not sure whether this is the tacit approval of His Majesty the King.
Of course, perhaps seeking support from the church is one way to go, but the beliefs of the Northland nobles are very complicated, and many are even simply unbelievers...
Even in vassal wars, nobles loyal to their vassals make higher-level lords hate them. As long as the higher-level lord wins, the nobles immediately swear allegiance to them, and the higher-level lord
He also had no right to take action against the surrendered nobles.
The lords of the nobles were in a miserable situation, and sometimes they could only rely on their own direct territories to fight against their own lords.
According to the "Sacred Code", nobles can support the lord in fighting against higher-level lords without any scruples, without worrying about the liquidation after the lord fails.
"..."
Just as the "Holy Code" stipulates - "The vassals of my vassals are not my vassals", as the lord of Bold, the third prince who became the Duke of Bold through marriage has no relationship with the nobles of the North.
Direct feudal obligation relationship.
The future described by Charlotte is indeed very attractive. Although the Northland is rich, as a vassal under the principality, its political status in the kingdom is still too low.
Of course, the third prince can also promise these things.
This kind of loyalty does not have no retreat, but loyalty with retreat is actually quite fragile.
Coupled with the various evidences that are both true and false, it can be said that...it is difficult not to believe the truth behind it.
"This war is also an opportunity for us Castel. Once we win, Castel will have the hope to take back the Tulip Earldom and completely unify the Northland."
"Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult is ultimately the third prince's failure. Publicizing it will definitely bring huge pressure to him, and I, Castel, am not without reinforcements..."
She knew that the weakest link in her territory after the war with the third prince had been made up for.
The reasons and reasons are very simple, it is still "my vassal is not my vassal".
She could rely on Count Gaston to disclose the third prince's conspiracy and stop the nobles from turning to the third prince. But if she wanted to pull all the northern nobles to resist the Duchy of Bold, she needed to let the nobles see more.
Benefits and hope of winning.
Let alone dealing with the third prince, before that, perhaps many nobles in the Northland themselves will take the lead in opposing it.
In the solemnity, there is a majestic aura that is inconsistent with the childish appearance.
I saw her gently pulling out the long sword representing Lord Castel, raising it high above her head, and said:
"Everyone, please remember your vows today."
"That being the case, let's start with me from the banks of the Dorne River and crush these rebels who overestimate their capabilities...one by one!"