Chapter 1,274 The Grand Duke Abdicates the Throne
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Grand Duke Ricardo Carvey stood on the high platform of the conference hall, looking down at the gathered vassals and family stewards. There is a huge mirror hanging on the wall on the other side. On the other side of the mirror are the generals staying in the Western Army camp.
The three legions ready to attack the Risa family's territory were assembled in the camp and continued to train. Of course, when a large army is assembled, it is impossible not to have someone in control, so most of the young generals under the Kawei family stay in the camp, eating and living with the soldiers. The veterans stayed in the castle and designed an attack plan.
These people belong to the political and military team of the Grand Duke of Kawei.
In fact, given the size of the Grand Duchy, it would be easy to establish a kingdom without an emperor. But as the border ministers guarding the empire, it is certainly impossible for the Kawei family to rashly claim the throne. That would be tantamount to betrayal.
But even if they don't call themselves kings, the team that rules the territory is arranged according to the kingdom's system. However, in order to avoid taboos in job titles, titles such as 'minister' were not used, and of course there was no 'prime minister' or similar positions.
Now these people are whispering to each other. If most of the people here had not seen Duke Kawei when he was young, and if the heir Marquis Farshid was standing nearby, many people might not be able to understand that the middle-aged man with short reddish-brown wavy hair Why are you standing in front of the Grand Duke's throne?
But now, apart from confirming each other, they are just waiting for the adult to speak.
In fact, until the vassals gathered, the old Duke and his son were still exchanging opinions. In other words, the son is persuading his father. Unfortunately, regardless of seniority, status, or even strength gap, when Grand Duke Kawei has an idea, he is not so easily persuaded.
In the end, Marquis Farshid, who was unable to persuade him, took a small step back. I can only let my father show off.
"My friend." The old Duke glanced at everyone. Regardless of their martial arts skills, many of them were comrades who fought with him through life and death on the battlefield. "The first thing is that I will hand over all my noble titles and let my child, Noonan, inherit them all."
This declaration, of course, caused an uproar among the people.
The most important thing about a noble title is not the meaning of that title, but the fiefdom ruling power that the title represents. This is also why honorary nobles without fiefdoms are not accepted by some established noble circles. In addition to the fact that most honorary nobles do not have hereditary rights, one of the reasons is that they do not have any substantial assets.
Generally speaking, unless a noble title is deprived by the prince, only real death will terminate its rights. It is rare that the property is handed over voluntarily during lifetime and inherited by the first heir in line. Because doing so would mean that the original noble gave up the control of the territory and handed it over to the heir.
There have been cases of title succession in the history of Midi. Most of them were caused by the original nobles making irreparable political mistakes, so they used this method to seek forgiveness from the prince and the continuation of the family. A very small number of special cases are rarely seen in history books. Anyway, it’s rare to see someone voluntarily give up their power.
Therefore, the old Duke's actions seemed like he was going to abdicate to seek forgiveness from His Majesty the Emperor, and to write off the things that everyone had worked hard on recently.
Speaking of which, the grand duke's family raised a bloody flag to take revenge on another grand duke. Although everyone had no objection from the beginning, they did not accept it readily. However, as vassals, when the lord is humiliated, it is as if they are humiliated; nobles have a good reputation and cannot let go of this kind of thing lightly.
Besides, Duke Kawei did not hide the reason for raising the blood flag from his close followers, but only warned everyone not to publicize it. The son and his wife were killed, and the daughter-in-law and granddaughter were insulted. If they didn't get revenge, then everyone would have to consider whether to change families.
As a feudal lord, he has no blood. Not only can he not protect his family, he cannot even take revenge for it. Then everyone will think about whether such a prince can protect himself. The obligations between the rulers and ministers of Lost Land are relative. There is no such thing as "If the king wants his minister to die, he must die" or something like that.
So even though everyone was slightly dissatisfied with raising a bloody flag to take revenge on another grand duke, no one publicly criticized it, and everyone was doing their best in preparing for the war. Everyone knows that if one day he becomes the master of suffering, his inaction today may become the inaction of others tomorrow. This is also the reason why they gather under the banner of the Kawi family.
But is the Grand Duke timid? Are you planning to beg the emperor for mercy?
Thinking that the investment in early preparations for the war might be in vain, and even more concessions would be required, and the Rizal family would take a big bite out of them, no one could calmly view the news that the Grand Duke planned to abdicate. There was no commotion on the spot, because everyone had enough restraint, and because Ricardo Carvey's power was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Looking at the old guys below, although he didn't express any objection or question, the old Duke couldn't see the resentful look on his face. He was in a particularly good mood. After appreciating everyone's expressions, he continued: "The reason why I decided to abdicate is because I became the elect of the Gold Goddess and the bank matters have been settled."
The young old man said as he raised his right hand, showing the Koyin Holy Emblem on the back of his hand that could not be seen normally. It would emit some divine power after exerting a little force. This is proof of voter identification. Ordinary believers, no matter how devout they are, may not be blessed and have holy marks on their bodies. This is a privilege only reserved for special people.
Looking at the holy symbol, everyone was a little confused now. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
The old Duke waved his hand casually and said: "Map." An attendant quickly presented two maps and spread them out in front of everyone.
One is a large map of the northern border of the empire, including the territories of the Kawi family and the Rizal family. The other is a map of the Dukedom of Kawi and its surroundings.
Everyone is familiar with the second picture, including when using troops, they all know which roads can be marched on. What's special is that there are more than ten locations marked with red ink on the picture. These locations are all a city, or at least a town at a strategic point. This was also the location where everyone had discussed before and planned to set up the bank.
The old Duke glanced at Marquis Noonan Farshed. The son couldn't help but sneered: Even if his father really gave up the title of Duke, with his strength and prestige, he would still not have firmly grasped the throne. control. In his opinion, it was just a matter of taking off his pants and farting!
But Marquis Farshed could still tell what that look meant. When the son was identified, the arrangement that his father had mentioned before was repeated in front of everyone.
The content includes the construction location of the bank. It cannot be placed in the castle. It is best to place it near the lively market.
How to arrange the interior decoration. By the way, he also used the Great Water Mirror Technique to show several interior renderings of the bank built by someone in the holy city of Estali.
The main building of the bank must be constructed very clearly in accordance with the above requirements. After everything was completed, Duke Kawei, who had become the chosen one of the goddess, personally consecrated the great holy emblem of each bank.
If the requirements cannot be met, some prohibited matters may even be violated. Not to mention consecrating the Holy Emblem, I'm afraid there will be divine punishment.
In the Holy City, there are many magicians and ordinary people who have been struck by lightning. Every time you chop, everyone will have a new memory. Otherwise, there will always be people who think they can act cheaply and not follow the rules.
This part was discussed by everyone before. What Marquis Farshid conveyed was nothing more than the final plan that was put forward based on the goddess's request. So no one has an opinion.
But what really shocked everyone was that the construction of the bank actually exceeded the territory of the Kawei family and extended northward beyond the Gwana Empire. Moreover, it also included three small countries in the north and five towns with a large population.
Everyone was puzzled, and someone finally asked: "Sir, what is the purpose of your arrangement like this? That is not the scope of the dukedom."
"I know." The old Duke replied, and at the same time he named three old subordinates who had been knighted, and said: "The territory of the three of you is close to the border, and you have experience in dealing with those people in the past. Today we will A task is given to you, which is to reopen trade with the north. The internal trading of goods in the empire, which was originally stagnant due to the emperor's ban, select some unimportant items to sell to the north. In addition to guiding them to use the functions of the bank, they must also transfer their inventory The bad money and the good money are collected. Before they react, use the difference in the bank's currency to make a profit first. As for the bad money, use it at least half."
After saying this, everyone understood.
It is said that from the beginning, the Kawei family, a noble family that focuses on military achievements, will actively look for ways to open bank functions. In addition to being baptized by cars, people are more likely to accept new things. The advantage of currency exchange is also a very useful starting point to persuade some old stubborns who are not very flexible in their thinking.
If you take your bad money to the bank to exchange it, you can actually exchange it for coins that are damaged or have a lot of impurities. You must know that within the empire, when they have to use bad money, most people will use it half way. That means two bad coins can be used as one good coin.
The exchange gap in between is enough to make the old nobles flock to it. After all, who doesn’t have such a pity to throw away the garbage in their house?
Today, the Grand Duke's business and banking layout made everyone realize that the surrounding weak countries and nobles who were selectively ignored and forgotten were actually a breach of the emperor's ban. Not only can you digest the internal unsalable goods, but you can also make extra money by taking advantage of the currency exchange opportunity. Replenish everyone's wallets that have been depleted in preparation for war.
You know, in the past, we were not willing to trade with these small countries, not because they did not have special products, and the coins used in circulation were too poor, and they were disliked by everyone. Therefore, even if the other party is willing to buy at a premium, the people of the empire will proudly refuse, leaving only sporadic smuggling by some small businessmen on the border.
However, these small businessmen will still be worried about what to do if they receive bad money or single-sided coins not minted by the empire. This is also the reason why smuggling is not booming.
Now that the problem of money is no longer a problem, and when it is profitable from any angle, how can everyone not be tempted. And there is no need to send troops and risk death to plunder it. You can earn a lot of gold and silver by just selling the goods normally.
After thinking about it, everyone's eyes lit up.