Chapter 283 133 The Oath of the Nobles

Chapter 283 -133- The Oath of the Nobles

The cadence of Count Gaston's voice sank into the tent like an elemental bomb, ringing in the hearts of the northern nobles.

For a moment, the tent was silent, and only the expressions of the northern nobles could be seen changing.

But soon, the silence was replaced by the rising discussion, and the whispering discussion soon turned into a noisy discussion.

There is no doubt that everything Gaston said was far beyond the expectations of the northern nobles, so that the northern nobles were temporarily in chaos.

Since the end of the Star-Moon War, Castel has been peaceful for too long, so peaceful that even an extremely suspicious rebellion could not make the northern nobles alert.

As a major taxpayer of the Principality of Boulder and the "partner" of the Crescent Royal Family in the mithril mine, the northern nobles could never have imagined that the royal family would actually take action against Castel.

Absurd, shocked, angry, confused, frightened...

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 Castel swore allegiance to her, to be honest, it was far from being truly sincere.

They were more likely to gather under the banner of the Castel family just because of the inertia of family and history.

At most... coupled with the decent integration and deterrence that Charlotte showed during the period after she succeeded to the territory.

This kind of loyalty is not without a way out, but loyalty with a way out is actually quite fragile.

Perhaps when the Legris family rebelled, the northern nobles who were colleagues would gather around Charlotte in indignation, but when the conflict of the rebellion spread to higher-level lords, everything... was different.

Just as the provisions in the "Sacred Code" - "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal", as the lord of Bolde, the third prince who became the Duke of Bolde through marriage did not have a direct feudal obligation relationship with the northern nobles.

Charlotte is a vassal of the three princes, and the northern nobles are Charlotte's vassals.

When the northern nobles meet the three princes, they only need to perform noble etiquette, and do not need to perform monarch-subject etiquette like they do when facing Charlotte.

Feudal obligations are like this, and so are conflicts.

In other words, when Charlotte, a vassal of Bold, conflicts with the Duke of Bold, the conflict generally does not spread to the next level.

In the human history of the Miria world, wars between lords and vassals are not uncommon.

After defeating the vassal, most lords will only take back or re-enfeoff the vassal's direct territory. For the lower nobles under the vassal, unless there is a reasonable reason, they will not be liquidated for participating in the rebellion.

Even in the vassal war, the nobles who are loyal to the vassal make the higher-level lords hate them, as long as the nobles immediately swear allegiance to the higher-level lords at the moment of victory, the higher-level lords have no power to take action against the nobles who have surrendered.

The reason and reason are very simple, it is still "my vassal is not my vassal".

Because these lower-level nobles were "not my vassals" but "vassals of my vassals", so it is reasonable for them to participate in the rebellion of the vassals, which is to fulfill the noble obligations stipulated in the "Sacred Code".

After the higher-level lords won and took back their titles, these nobles who were not vassals became vassals. As long as they swore allegiance to the new lords in time, they would have fulfilled the obligations of the "Sacred Code" and should not continue to be liquidated for following the old lords in the rebellion.

This kind of clarified and divided power and obligation makes the relationship between vassals and feudal lords extremely delicate, especially when the feudal lords and the feudal lords of the feudal lords go to war.

According to the "Sacred Code", the nobles can support the feudal lords to fight against the higher-level feudal lords without any scruples, without worrying about the liquidation after the feudal lords fail.

If it is substituted into the Castel rebellion, it means that the northern nobles can stand on Charlotte's side without any worries to fight against the three princes.

However, this is only in theory.

The Sacred Code seems to have solved the worries of the small nobles in the wars between higher-level lords, and can allow the small nobles to stand on the side of their direct lords without any worries, but in fact it is not the case.

Precisely because the Sacred Code protects the interests of the small nobles, when higher-level lords and vassals go to war, they often give preferential treatment and various promises to the nobles under the vassals.

This leads to a situation -

that is, according to the provisions of the code, although the nobles can participate in the war between the lords and the lords of the lords without any worries, in fact, after such a higher-level war occurs, the small nobles often become the objects of competition for both sides.

The final result is that many small nobles will not really follow the direct lords to fight, but often remain neutral, playing both sides, and whoever is most likely to win, they will help.

The lords of the nobles are miserable, and sometimes they can only rely on their direct lords to fight against their own lords.

It can be said that this rule that divides the ownership relationship between noble lords of different classes greatly limits the central authority of the noble feudal lords, and is also the wisdom of the Holy Court that set the Sacred Code.

Through this strict aristocratic system, the interests of the minor nobles are guaranteed, and it is difficult for the feudal monarchs to achieve true centralization. Even if they have powerful supernatural powers, they cannot threaten the foundation of the church's rule.

If applied to Charlotte, the problem arises.

Perhaps the northern nobles will unanimously support her in suppressing the rebellion, but when the third prince takes action against Castel, it is not certain which side the nobles will stand on.

Whether it is supporting Charlotte, who is a direct lord, or the higher-level Duchy of Bolde, it is actually possible.

Considering that the current King of the Crescent, 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 higher stake in this game of power.

Charlotte can almost predict that as long as the third prince declares war on her with a high-sounding reason and promises to preserve the interests of the northern nobles after victory, many of these nobles may choose to remain neutral.

This is also something that Charlotte is very worried about after knowing that the third prince intends to take action against her family.

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.

To be honest, if the nobles of the North collectively defected in the war between her and the third prince, she would really have a headache.

To be honest, the phenomenon of vassals playing both sides is really disgusting for the lord.

King Louis V of the Crescent Moon was determined to strengthen centralization and was disgusted by similar things in the Star-Moon War.

At that time, he and King Henry II of the Fallen Star competed for the throne of the Crescent Moon. The nobles of the Crescent Moon Kingdom were wavering and playing both sides...

That is why Charlotte tried to avoid such a situation as much as possible.

It is not realistic to control all the nobles of the North like controlling Count Gaston. It is currently difficult to obtain the true loyalty of the nobles by relying on personal charm and interest binding, and Charlotte does not want to be a lord who relies on mental control to rule the territory.

Then the best way is to make the nobles of the North completely disappointed in the third prince.

If everything that Count Gaston said was not said by him personally, but by Charlotte herself, perhaps many nobles in the North would not believe it.

Or, although they believe it, more nobles will subconsciously think that the Third Prince's move on Castel is only aimed at the Castel family.

For the nobles in the North, the final result of the struggle between the two sides is just a change of the title, from Count Castel to Duke of Boulder.

But now it is different.

The narrator is not Charlotte, but Count Gaston, the commander of the garrison in Boulder.

For the nobles in the North, the gold content and credibility behind this are different.

The Castel family may tie the nobles in the North to their chariot for the sake of interests, but the Gaston family is different.

They are not nobles in the North, and their territories are all in the Boulder region in the south.

Coupled with all kinds of evidence that seem true or false, it can be said that... it is difficult not to believe the truth behind it.

"Lord Gaston, are you... serious? The Third Prince actually plans to join forces with Violet to attack Castel? He wants to divide Castel and make the entire Castel his own direct jurisdiction?"

Some nobles still did not give up and could not help asking.

And Count Gaston just glanced at him and finished the decisive move with two sentences:

"Sir, please don't forget that what our King wants to do most is to further strengthen the authority of the central government..."

"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 make Castel a direct jurisdiction, will His Majesty support him or not?"

There is no suspense after saying this.

The nobles were thoughtful, and their expressions were not very good.

Yes, what His Majesty the King wants most is to strengthen the central authority.

Compared with the second prince "Pilgrim" Francois, who was not favored by the king, the third prince Philip was originally considered more likely to inherit the throne.

Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult?

To be honest, considering the delicate relationship between Louis V and the Holy Court, the nobles in the north are not sure whether this is tacitly approved by His Majesty the King.

One of the important reasons why the Blood Demon Cult is difficult to completely eradicate from the Crescent Kingdom is that many nobles in the kingdom may have inextricable ties with the Blood Demon Cult in secret.

Not necessarily to surrender, but more likely to cooperate or simply use.

It is the political correctness of the Crescent to completely wipe out the power of the Blood Demon Cult, but for the nobles, political correctness is just political correctness.

Of course, perhaps seeking the support of the church is a way, but the beliefs of the nobles in the north are very complicated, and many are even non-believers...

Bringing in the Holy Court to re-levy tithes?

Don't be funny.

Let alone dealing with the third prince, before that, perhaps many nobles in the north will take the lead in opposing it.

Seeing the nobles fall silent, Charlotte knew that the fire was almost there.

She could rely on Count Gaston to expose the conspiracy of the third prince and stop the nobles from supporting the third prince. However, if she wanted to rally all the northern nobles to rebel against the Duchy of Bolder, she needed to let the nobles see more benefits and hope of winning.

Charlotte knocked lightly on the armrest of the seat, and the majesty technique was quietly released.

For a moment, the eyes of the nobles in the north were focused on her again.

Charlotte swept across the audience and said calmly:

"Everyone, although the third prince is powerful, we are not without hope of victory."

"Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult is the third prince's failure after all. If it is publicized, it will inevitably bring him huge pressure, and I, Castel, am not without reinforcements..."

"I have hired a mercenary corps overseas, and they will arrive in the north soon. With our combined military strength, we still have the strength to fight."

"This war is also an opportunity for us, Castel. Once we win, we, Castel, will have the hope of taking back the Tulip Earldom and completely unifying the north."

"The Tulip Earldom is a direct territory of Bolder. After taking it back, my Castel family will only take half of the territory back to direct jurisdiction, and those who have made contributions will receive corresponding fiefdoms."

"In addition, one Once we win, we can declare independence from the Principality of Bolder, and once we become independent, I, Castel, will become a direct vassal of the Crescent Kingdom. "

"The contract tax of the direct vassal of the kingdom is lower than that of the principality. At that time, the contract tax of each family will be reduced accordingly. Not only that... you will also have the hope of stepping onto a higher stage and participating in various banquets held by the lords of the kingdom."

"Oh, by the way, there is also the Castel Mithril Mine. Our mining workshops pay dividends to Bolder every year, which is also a large expense. After this, we can save it. The royal family already has the mining rights of the Mithril Mine and does not look down on our income."

"I think... for any noble family, this is a good result."

After listening to Charlotte's words, the nobles' eyes lit up.

The future described by Charlotte is indeed very attractive. Although the North is rich, as a vassal of the principality, the political status in the kingdom is still too low.

Castel Territory is famous for trade. Almost every noble family in the North has a business, and many times they need to deal with various forces.

If the political status in the Crescent Kingdom can be improved, it will be a hundred benefits for every noble family.

As for the new territory and lower contract tax, it is naturally better.

Of course, the third prince can also promise these things.

But compared with the third prince who assassinated the nobles of the kingdom, colluded with the Blood Demon Cult, and openly destroyed the "Sacred Code", Charlotte is undoubtedly a more convincing object.

And if the third prince can be defeated, it may be possible to completely cut off the possibility of the other party inheriting the Crescent Kingdom.

"My Lord Earl, my Ryan-Castel family is willing to follow you, quell the rebellion, unify the North, and resist the tyranny of Bolder!"

Viscount Ryan-Castel took the lead and stepped forward, trembling and respectfully performing a surrender ceremony towards Charlotte.

Soon, other northern nobles also knelt on one knee to express their following and submission:

"Mr. Earl! Our Valais family is also willing to follow you to fight against the enemies who invaded Castel!"

"My Morel family swears to the Lord that we will follow Castel and resist the violence of the principality!"

"..."

For a while, the nobles of the north knelt on one knee in a large group, and swore to Charlotte again to express their submission and loyalty.

Seeing this scene, Charlotte smiled.

She knew that the weakest link of her territory after the war with the third prince had been made up.

After smiling, her expression quickly became solemn.

In the solemnity, there was a kind of majesty that did not match her immature appearance.

She gently drew out the long sword representing Lord Castel, raised it above her head, and said:

"Everyone, please remember your oath today."

"In that case, let's start from the banks of the Dorne River and crush these unscrupulous rebels one by one!"