Chapter 1,340 The Nobles Invite a Banquet
Just like my past experience in dealing with kings and emperors, even if I was invited by the other party, I could not see him immediately if I wanted to. When someone arrives, they have to wait for the other party to arrange a time before they can officially meet.
According to the imperial envoy, Count Efron, the time for the divine envoy of the Goddess of Gold to participate in the imperial meeting is set to be seven days later.
At that time, a tone that everyone can agree on will be set for the construction of the temple of the goddess of gold coins, that is, the bank.
In these days, the lost land is not as fussy about the content of the agreement as the earth is. Basically, a few big guys meet and the tone is set with just a few words.
Anyway, those who will comply will naturally comply, and those who will fall out will still fall out no matter what. Even if it is written in black and white, you can interpret it however you want on your own territory. What everyone wants to discuss involves more specific content such as amount and time limit, which can be decided on the spot. If you can't decide on the spot, it means that the negotiation will probably go south.
The waiting time after seven days is not set casually, nor is it deliberately intended to embarrass others. During this time, a banquet was arranged every evening.
If someone accepts these invitations without thinking, he may think that the Karlsruhe Empire really welcomes the Gold Goddess and his party, or that he intends to corrupt these divine envoys with his luxurious life.
But if you cooperate with the message sent by the empress, then the six-day banquet invitation will be quite interesting.
The inviter on the first day was the Duke of Messinaceri, and the venue was the Duke's residence in the capital.
The second day was for the Grand Duke of Frias, who was also in the Grand Duke’s capital residence. The third day was for the Grand Duke of Infanta. The fourth day was for the joint invitation of the Grand Duke of Piercenza and the Grand Duke of Parma. The fifth day was for the Grand Duke of Mu The Grand Duke of Greece and the Grand Duke of Montezuma.
On the sixth day, there was a banquet hosted by the empress, which was held in the green hall of the palace.
Simply put, each day's invitation corresponds to a noble faction of the Karlsruhe Empire, five in total. The last day was the emperor's invitation banquet, and then the formal imperial meeting.
With this kind of battle going on, Lin didn't think it was just about eating and drinking.
The secret meeting in private is naturally for personal gain. When doing big things, it is human nature to seek some benefits for oneself. Nobles can only do more, so how can they be exceptions? Perhaps these banquets were the first contact between the nobles of the five major factions and the envoys of the Gold Coin Goddess.
This is not to say that in the Karlsruhe Empire, these five major factions can include all nobles. For example, the Grand Duke of Oz is a fence-sitter who does not belong to any party. But he doesn't have a clear position, and he has reasons why he has to act.
As the main frontline against the Haider Empire, the Oz Plain is the main territory of the Grand Duke of Oz. The source of troops to protect this territory comes from the entire empire. If Lord Oz casually takes sides and other political opponents who are not in conflict with their faction do not send troops to support him, then he will be finished. So he, a fence-sitter, had to sit on the fence.
Other great nobles did not dare to force him to take sides. As long as anyone makes such a request, Duke Oz's conditions are very simple. Send enough troops to help him defend the Oz Plains. Whoever can do this will become his loyal supporter.
Perhaps it is very pleasant to be able to monopolize military glory, but military glory cannot be earned in vain. How many soldiers must die to have a chance to earn merit. If the land responsible for guarding is lost, even if there is no punishment, the soldier's life will be lost in vain.
Therefore, the battlefield of the Plains of Oz is a big mud pit that everyone defends, and no one dares to eat alone. This has become the capital of Oz’s advantage.
Except for the Grand Duke of Oz, those who failed to enter the five major factions were mostly unpopular minor nobles. Maybe their territory is located in a remote area, or maybe their territory happens to be in some embarrassing location, and they happen to have conflicts with some nobles in the faction, some like me but not others. Therefore, no one dares to recruit these small nobles at will.
Although these small nobles also know how to stick together for warmth, their political influence is far less than that of the five major factions. In other words, paying allegiance to the emperor in words would not help him in any way. Naturally, he was not qualified to hold a banquet alone and invite the divine envoys of the Gold Coin Goddess.
They will probably attend the banquet hosted by the empress on the last day to look for opportunities. We also have to look at the harvest of the big nobles in the past few days to judge whether they can get some meat from every corner.
Just from the invitation letter and Baron Mangadu who came to report every day, Lin felt a wave of political turmoil belonging to the Karlsruhe Empire. When I actually participated, this feeling became even deeper.
Although nominally the five major factions each invited the banquet, the people they invited were still the nobles of the entire empire. Except for those enemies who have grudges and have made it clear that they are not in contact with each other.
Some minor nobles are simple. As long as they receive an invitation, they will find a way to participate. This kind of banquet is a very important social occasion for the nobles. In addition to maintaining friendship, it is also an opportunity to show the strength of the family.
This is not to make people afraid or anything. Sometimes, if there are any seasonal specialties in the family territory, let’s talk about it on such occasions. Maybe someone is interested, maybe someone needs it, and if you find someone else privately, then the business will be done and the money will be made.
The nobles of the Karlsruhe Empire were not the same as those in other places. Waterways drive the prosperity of the empire's commerce, and whoever is the head of a family doesn't expect to bring greater benefits to the family, rather than just looking at the dirt for food. Without this flexibility, they would have been replaced by other brothers and sisters long ago, and they would not be able to sit in their current position.
But when it comes to invitations to these banquets, the nobles are very particular. Who can go, who cannot go, who has to go in person, who has to take family papers with him, and who has to just send his children and nephews, all aspects make sense. If you make a mistake, not only will you lose face, but the host of the party will also lose face. For nobles, losing face is the same as making a grudge.
But one thing is very clear, that is, those banquets attended by the great nobles themselves must have different friendships with the organizers of the banquet. It can be said that they are members of the same faction. So once someone doesn't show up when they should, or shows up on different occasions, it's no less than an earthquake for the empire.
But Lin had no chance to see such a big scene. The banquets in the first five days were actually pretty much the same, except that the actors opposite them changed one after another.
The nobles' demands were nothing more than a few. First, banking services should not be opened to their opponents. One is to use the money saved by the Gold Coin Goddess for them to use. If they don't obey, the stupid ones will bluntly express all kinds of threats and inducements, while the smart ones won't say much, or even just mention a few things and say nothing more.
Sure enough, money and silk are what move people's hearts. There was no way to trouble the goddess directly, so I had to trouble the little brats like them to see if I could get some of the money I had passed into my own pocket.
Regarding these things, whether Lin or other elves, they all push them if they can, and if they can't push them, they just pretend to be stupid.
The kind of statement that is willing to expel other gods and worship the goddess of gold coins, as long as the bank does not open elsewhere, does not say whether the goddess believes in the issue, but there is no need at all!
If the church of the Gold Coin Goddess still maintains its past belief model, the support of those in power and the exclusive belief in the territory will be a blessing. In order to achieve the goal, it is understandable to pay some price.
But now banks do not need the belief of being exclusive to one place. What is more important is to open widely. It is impossible to agree to the requirement that after a bank is established in one place, it will not open in a certain place.
Besides, with the current locust-like spreading speed of banks, other gods can tolerate it, isn’t it because banks will not invade their beliefs. If exclusivity is shown, even if it is only for one place, will it spread to other places in the future?
As long as there are signs of this worry, it will probably be a battle between gods, and it will be a battle between gods. At that time, even the Lord of Guardians will not be able to come forward to protect him. Confrontations related to faith really have nothing to do with this person.
As for those who have the idea of depositing the money in the Kingdom of the Goddess of Gold Coins, thinking about how to borrow it, and then defaulting on the debt, let alone the kind. Not to mention the aristocratic lords who openly asked for the money, who would beat people to death if they didn't give the money. Lin Ke suppressed his nausea and still refused.
The reason is also very simple. To put it bluntly, the operation process of the Midland version of the bank is actually like operating an ATM (automated teller machine) on Earth. Except for the person who deposits and withdraws money, no other living person will handle money.
Since there are no living people handling it, there is no room for operation. The unruly operation of blocking doors and collecting taxes was suppressed and dealt with by Ke Yin early on.
The bank's business has been promoted in other places for so long. Don't the nobles who opened this mouth know? But even if they knew it, they still couldn't help but ask this question when they met the envoy of the gold coin goddess. Maybe I will have a chance to reach out.
But the nobles didn't just ask for it, they also wanted a guarantee.
Since the Gold Coin Goddess's bank promotion, there have been cases where lords later regretted their actions and forcibly targeted banks that were already doing business. But with the support of the World Tree and the Wood Elf tribe, Ke Yin is not a mere commander and has no one to use him. He is directly surrounded by an army of elves.
The elves who can be assigned by the World Tree are not the kind of rookies who have just left the tribe to experience. Familiarity with martial arts is the most basic, and proficiency in military formation coordination. Coupled with the weapons and equipment produced by Yggdrasil, it's like a god-like outfit!
The most important thing is that the elf army takes action, only to injure but not kill. Such a request is not difficult for these elves who are accustomed to fighting, but it is not pleasing to them as a hostile party.
That's all if the soldier dies. If he is just injured, can he be saved? After being rescued, will we be able to arrange for treatment and care? With these people groaning in pain, is there still morale left in the territory? Especially if these people are not dead, who hit them? Belonging to the Goddess of Gold Coins, the elf task force became famous.
After all, this team is not permanent, and they come and disappear suddenly. If it weren't for the wounded soldiers left there, others would really think it was a dream. Therefore, when the nobles came into contact with the Goddess of Gold Coin, they also wanted to get to know the details of this team.
Come and try it quickly. 】
As for bribery, no noble had ever thought about it. Thinking about the armies established in the past that relied on divine authority, which one was not troublesome? This is true even today. So everyone is on guard.
If banks weren't really good things, this elusive army alone would make people sleepless.
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