Chapter 1,355 The Emperor and the Royal Family
Originally for the imperial meeting, Lin learned about the love and hatred among the imperial nobles from the information in the hands of the empress. But that information focused on complex interpersonal relationships. Regarding the situation within each faction, apart from pointing out who the leading noble is, there is not much emphasis on the internal hierarchy. Lin simply used titles to measure the status of nobles within their respective factions.
However, with the information provided by the elves one after another, and the parts that the goblin Luca had not handed over, Lin could more intuitively understand the strength of these nobles in the empire.
Among them, what surprised Lin the most, but not so surprising when he thought about it carefully, was the weakness of the empress Saint Alegria.
Although the roles of emperors and kings in a country are somewhat special, they can actually be regarded as members of the nobility. It's just that they are the strongest, so they are above everyone else.
The big and small countries that Lin has learned about in depth all follow this principle. It can also be said that when the emperor or king is no longer as good as his vassals, the time for a change of dynasty is approaching. There is no such thing as loyalty between the nobles and ordinary people in Lost Land. All loyalty is based on interests.
So how strong should the emperor be to have security? There is actually no accurate answer to this question. But taking what Lin knows about, and what should be closer to the facts, as an example, that is the emperor of the Gwana Empire, Armin Kazalnia.
According to the old Kawei, who resigned as the Grand Duke, the strength in the hands of the old emperor required at least six Grand Dukes from the Gwana Empire to unite before a war could be possible. This strength is calculated into the Iron Guards Corps that belongs directly to the emperor, but does not include the ten regular legions of the empire that must be commanded through the military department.
It is precisely this difference that allows the old emperor to entrust political affairs to the appointed imperial prime minister on the surface, but in fact the emperor's will can still be implemented. According to Lin's calculations, although the royal family of the Karlsruhe Empire did not have such a disparity in strength, three or four grand dukes would have to unite and go all out to be able to confront the royal family.
But the biggest difference between the two is that the old emperor of the Gewana Empire holds the entire royal family firmly in his hands, and the emperor's will represents the will of the royal family. But the empress of the Karlsruhe Empire, Saint Alegria, did not control the entire royal family.
It is different from the situation in my hometown since the Qin Dynasty, when most of the dynasties in the past dynasties treated the royal family and nobles like pigs and concentrated all power on the emperor. The royal family of Midi generally refers to the nobles who are related by blood to the emperor and who are in line for succession when the emperor passes away. Most of these people are powerful nobles with territories and armies.
Some people also regard families that have served the royal family closely for generations as members of the royal family. These people may not necessarily have a blood relationship with the emperor, nor may they have a high title, but they will also be regarded as the emperor's ministers and a member of the royal family. This type of people may be numerous in number, but in fact they do not have much political power and are just servants in the eyes of others.
And what was the situation like when Alegria ascended the throne? It was because the powerful heirs to the throne were committing suicide and losing the support of the nobles, so that she, who should have been a small and transparent existence, came into everyone's sight. Then a small feat was trumpeted into a huge achievement, and he became emperor with the support of the nobles.
So when our empress ascends the throne, should the other excluded successor candidates have no grudges and support the new emperor wholeheartedly?
Beautiful thought!
When Lin was at the banquet hosted by the Empress, he saw that Prince Behar was not alone in making trouble. It was just that his behavior was the most arrogant and outstanding. Basically, most members of the royal family are hostile to the empress, or at least unwilling to get close to her. It may be possible to obey orders if the country is in danger of being destroyed, but if you want to be able to give orders, don't even think about it.
As for the ministers who serve the royal family, although there are indeed those who are loyal to the position of 'emperor', they are not loyal to the emperor himself. However, these people who will only be loyal to the emperor no matter who becomes the emperor are still in the minority. What's more, as early as when the late emperor was still on the throne, he had chosen the person to stand with, and the entire family leaned on him half-sold and half-gifted.
Perhaps there are smarter people who know how to diversify their investments and allocate the family's heirs to a few royal children who look more promising. But St. Alegria, formerly known as Cono, has always been out of everyone's sight. Therefore, no one thought of investing in her first.
In the end, the only strength that the empress could trust within the royal family was the earldom she inherited since she was a child, and a few close ministers. Most of these people are people who were originally assigned to serve in the earldom, and only a few are patriots who are purely loyal to the position of 'Emperor'.
Logically speaking, since the royal family is restless and the empress is favored by other nobles, it would be better to just throw herself into the past. The empress's husband, Prince Thomas, was the first step taken by the great nobles to try to influence the empress.
It's a pity that this person dared to take his friends out on adventures even if they didn't agree with each other when they were young; and when they fell in love with each other during the trip, they dared to sleep with each other's fierce and beautiful girl! Even if she leaves the adventurous life and returns to the royal family, it does not mean that she will be a peaceful princess.
Not to mention that such a beautiful woman ascended the throne and became an emperor. Once she had the power, was it possible for her to be at the mercy of others? It is really possible for a person without any ambition to be pushed to the top by others. If the old Zhao from the Song Dynasty in his hometown was really careless, could he really be put in a yellow robe?
Although Alegria was interested in political affairs, he could not find suitable help due to his shallow foundation. After ten years of hard work, he is still in a situation where he is surrounded by enemies both internally and externally, and is ignored as a porcelain doll.
In other words, the actual situation of Empress Saint Alegria is more difficult than someone imagined. In addition to having a good reputation outside, it can be said that she has no allies in the highest governing circle of the Karlsruhe Empire.
To make matters worse, she and her husband, Prince Thomas, have been married for nearly ten years and have nothing to do!
The Karlsruhe Empire was based on the system of virtuous sonship. Regardless of race, people of all races advocated having many children and grandchildren. After all, the more choices there are, the better talents can be selected from them.
Besides, the rate of infant loss in this era of Midi is still very high even with the life priest of the Church of Three Holy Lights taking care of it. The main reason is that for children who are born with bad congenital defects and are inherently unhealthy, the goddess of life has no way to make such children healthy and grow up safely. The goddess of life mainly heals injuries, and secondarily cures diseases. If there are congenital deformities, she can't help. The gods of Midi have no regard for reincarnation.
Secondly, there is the large battlefield in the Plains of Oz that looks like a place where poisons are raised. Not all of the young people who set foot on this battlefield to gain fame and merit can return home safely. Perhaps this battlefield cannot be called a meat grinder, but it continues to swallow up the lives of young people.
The reason why the empire can withstand the consumption here is precisely because the subjects of the empire tirelessly raise their children and continuously inject new vitality into this powerful country.
Under such a social atmosphere, although women will not be reduced to reproductive machines, the number of children a married woman has will indeed affect their evaluation in the world. The situation faced by the empress Saint Alegria was the most serious form of married infertility.
Especially when Prince Thomas works tirelessly to publicize how hard he works in the palace, it is definitely not his problem to get nothing done anyway. These days, people still blame infertility on the woman.
It can be said that if the empress could lay eggs, not just one a year, but one every two years, she would have five children by now. Maybe her biological children may not necessarily be the next emperor, but the emperor's son's chance of succession will always be higher than that of other members of the royal family.
Not to mention others, the reason why Prince Behar dared to challenge the empress' status was because he was the late emperor's biological son. Especially since the current empress does not want to be controlled by the nobles and has no internal or external support, it is not surprising that the nobles who originally supported her would try to find a second puppet who is easy to manipulate.
Prince Behar may be young, but he may not be unaware of his situation. But when faced with such an opportunity, no one would be tempted. Isn't this the way the princess, who was originally called Keno and was not named a princess, embarked on this path?
After someone made such a judgment, he looked at the triumphant goblin Luca holding a large book and suddenly sighed. When the emperor should regard the goblins as the most important help, this is what it is.
Sitting on the balcony of the Jade Palace, even though it was night, Lin used the light technique to make reading much easier. And this bit of relief was completely overwhelmed by the empress' difficult situation, causing someone to frown.
The Empress herself brought someone a cup of coffee. Although she has been on the throne for ten years, in private situations, she is still the same as herself in the adventurer days of the past, doing everything as she pleased. Anyway, no matter how reserved you act, people who want to find fault can still find fault. So now she can be regarded as letting herself go.
Besides, the person in front of me is busy with his own affairs. There was no reason for Alegria to put on airs and act like a master. It's just the frown on his face, it's probably something that has troubled the magician.
The empress said with a somewhat self-deprecating smile, "It's not as easy as you think. Do you regret it now?"
After being asked this question, Lin finally looked up from the pile of information. He rubbed his temples and said, "I thought things would be difficult, but I never thought it would be so bad."
"Oh, are you planning to give up?"
Shaking his head, Lin said: "It's too early to give up. I can only think of five plans. Of course, there is only a general charter and no detailed content."
Alegria looked surprised and said, "Oh, you can have some ideas. It's really beyond my expectation."
"For now, there are one best strategy, two middle strategies, and two worst strategies. But Your Majesty, you should be able to understand that everything has to be paid for, and there will be a price. There is no such thing as free benefits. As for the results, there are short-term or short-term results. In the long run, nothing lasts forever.”
"I understand. So can you tell me about it?" Alegria asked with a smile.