Chapter 861 The Conspiracy of Chishui City

On the tenth day of the expedition, on the Chishui River.

Roland stood on the bow of the shallow-water heavy artillery ship, looking at the sparkling river in front of him, feeling quite heroic.

Behind him was a huge fleet. Although some of them had turned around and sailed towards the east three days ago, the remaining dozen or so steam paddle steamers were still a rare sight on the inland river. The chimneys standing like a forest of iron were painted in a striking snow white, and the black smoke from the jets pulled a "dark cloud" over the river.

After entering the central area of ​​Graycastle, there were significantly fewer ships, which meant that the kingdom's trade center was moving westward. However, the influence of several major cities in the central region is still there. Compared with the many sloops in the western region, most of the sailboats running here are much more exquisite and beautiful.

Along the way, all the merchant ships encountered along the way pulled over, and the brave sailors would lie on the side of the ship, pointing to the steel-cast flagship and marveling. And captains or merchants who recognize the meaning of the flag of the high tower spear will even salute the fleet with their chests and heads bowed.

Roland was already very satisfied with being able to save such a family in three years, but what made him even more gratified were the young officials trained by the city hall.

They didn't trace their lineage back hundreds of years, nor did they have a wealthy family background. They just received a short-term universal education and mastered writing, reading and writing. In the past, at best, they could only do clerical tasks under the hands of the nobles, but in Neverwinter, they gradually became the backbone of various departments.

Because of the lack of backing, the new generation of officials will support Roland wholeheartedly—except for him, no one will use civilians so regardless of their status.

Because they have never held a management position, they will carefully act in accordance with the regulations, and will take the trouble to ask their superiors for instructions when encountering any problems, and they have not suffered from the aristocratic exaggeration and conceit.

Because they are selected from ordinary citizens, they do things by themselves. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture lead farmers to plant wheat, and officials from the Ministry of Construction demonstrate the characteristics of cement to new workers. This is a common sight in Neverwinter. A powerful centralized government must have a strong control over the grassroots in order to realize its quick and efficient potential, and this move just satisfies this point.

Of course, the leap from the commoner class to managers is not without its drawbacks.

Just like the poor who never had any property suddenly got a fortune from heaven, it is easy to fall into the trap of greed and short-sightedness. According to the education level of Neverwinter, not to mention personal quality and professional ethics. Fortunately, there was Nightingale by Roland's side, and the internal review of the Security Bureau could effectively curb this tendency—after several screenings and severe punishments, those who remained in the city hall basically understood His Majesty's bottom line.

Nowadays, the growing number of young officials has become the guarantee for Roland to expand his own power. It can even be said that his plan to recover the kingdom is formulated according to the number of available officials.

Now, he finally has the foundation to unify the country.

"Notify the staff to come to the upper observation room for a meeting," Roland turned to Nightingale and said, "They should come up with a plan on how to take over Chishui City."

...

In fact, it was not the first time that the fleet of Neverwinter City went to Chishui City. As early as half a year ago, during the tooth extraction operation, the First Army had patronized this central city.

Therefore, the plan given by the General Staff is well-founded: "Your Majesty, Chishui is a city second only to the old royal capital in the central region. It not only has a vast territory, but also has many nobles. In that case, just force the lord to hand over the power in his hands."

Li Xiaochen's father, Sir Silt, further elaborated, "The ruler of Redwater City, Earl Delta, is not an ambitious person, which can be seen from the city's taxation—sitting at the intersection of inland rivers, he is completely You can ask for more. The Delta family has been operating here for generations, even if they give up the power of the fief, they will not go anywhere. Compared with rebellion and ruining their lives, the Earl should make a wise choice."

"But this does not mean that other nobles will follow suit. It is not easy to unify their opinions, especially the Sanhe family and Panshiling. It is rumored that they themselves are not on good terms with Earl Delta." He pointed to the map "And once your request is formally announced, it is likely to gather opponents together, just like in the past in the Western Territory. Therefore, we speculate that the First Army may have to go into battle next, forcing them to surrender by force." that power."

"Of course, this is not bad. Eliminating the conspirators can reduce the trouble of follow-up management, and your strong strength will definitely deter the rest of the evildoers. Therefore, we suggest that you first summon Earl Delta first, and persuade him before issuing a decree. ——Although those nobles should have more or less known your purpose of coming. If there are any disobedient ones, they can directly send troops to wipe them out."

Roland nodded, staring at the map in silence.

He didn't mind using the truth to convince his opponents, the First Army itself was used to do this, but Sir Sirt's words "same as the Westland used to be" made him a little worried. At that time, it took longer to clear the five major families than to capture the Changsong Fortress and the capital. The reason was that the area of ​​these fiefdoms was far larger than a city, and it took several days to go around. However, there are only a lot of fiefdoms around Chishui City. If they really need to be wiped out one by one, coupled with follow-up appeasement measures, I am afraid that it will not be able to end in two or three weeks.

"Isn't there a faster way?"

"Well, Your Majesty, faster means..."

"I don't want to spend too much time on this. There are still several cities in the future. If we all deal with it like this, by the time we arrive at Cold Wind Ridge, half of the summer will probably be over."

"This..." Jazz and the others were silent for a moment.

"There is a way, but it may damage your reputation," Edith said suddenly, "Just call them together and announce it on the spot."

"Oh?" Roland looked at her, "Go on."

"I have encountered the same problem as you, or even worse," Northland Pearl succinctly recounted her plan for the Howth family and the Lista family, "If you follow the tradition of nobles, you must first express your intention Acting, I am afraid that the northern border is still in their hands."

After hearing her plan, everyone in the staff department couldn't help but take a breath.

"Your Majesty, this..."

"Without evidence and without a trial, it's hard to convince people!"

"If it gets out, I'm afraid it will arouse the suspicion of other nobles."

"Haven't you forgotten that there should be no other nobles in Graycastle besides His Majesty?" Edith spread her hands and said, "When the nobles dealt with the common people in the past, there was no need for a trial." She looked at Roland at this point , "But whether you want to do this or not depends on you, after all, things like fame—"

"Only the winner is qualified to write history," Roland interrupted her, "For example, if you don't tell, no one will know that you have done such a thing. I have to thank you for your trust in me, and this matter does not It will be rumored. As for the takeover plan of Chishui City, just make it according to your ideas."

Then he saw a strange look in the opponent's eyes, and at that moment, Pearl of the Northland seemed to be breathing a little faster.

But she quickly concealed her expression and lowered her head deeply.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."