Chapter 129 The Relationship Between Monarch and Minister

Return to the palace.

After the tired people settled down, they happily took a hot bath.

Lothar immersed his whole body in the warm water and held his breath for a long time before he surfaced.

He let out a long breath, glanced at Prajna who was sitting on the lounge chair outside, and asked with a smile: "Do you want to take a shower together? You haven't taken a shower for a long time."

Prajna put down the book in his hand and said calmly: "You are in danger right now. It is really inconvenient to take off your clothes to perform the duties of a heavy-armed iron guard. Although I don't care much, I don't want to be naked with you unless necessary. The enemy fights.”

Lothar said: "Indeed, those two vampire assassins are not weak in strength. At least I am not sure that I can solve any of them. Fortunately, Fringilla and Jeanna's abilities happened to restrain them. Otherwise, Even if they can’t be defeated, it’s still very easy for them to escape.”

"Fringilla has conquered one of them. As a lower-level vampire under her control, do you plan to meet her?"

"Forget it, don't rush yet."

Lothar sighed softly: "I know that it is terrible for a mother to lose her son, but I did not expect that Dame Stephanie would move so quickly."

There is no right or wrong in this matter.

Lothar was right to kill Humphrey in order to protect herself.

It is not wrong for Dame Stephanie to want to kill Lothar in order to avenge her son.

Even Humphrey was not wrong. According to what the knights in Montreal said, Sir Humphrey was originally a very decent person, but he was gradually brainwashed and manipulated by the Crocodile God, and he lost himself.

But they are all right, it does not mean that Lothar will be magnanimous and let others take advantage of him.

Prajna said calmly: "Do we want to get rid of this Baroness Stephanie as soon as possible? We are not afraid of blocking the magic gold. It is not difficult to get rid of her."

Lothar did not hesitate and nodded: "Of course, since she has already taken action against me, it is only natural that I should use the same method to retaliate."

Prajna asked again: "Then how about getting rid of Leonard easily? It's better for the family to stay together."

Lothar frowned.

After a moment, he still shook his head and said: "Reynard, as the lord guarding the gateway to Transjordan, is actually very talented in military matters. He did well in Mengisa and the surprise attack on the Zoroastrian Holy Land."

"Moreover, assassination is the lowest method in political struggle."

If Leonard died suddenly just after being stripped of his title of earl, it would be a huge blow to his and Baldwin IV's political credibility.

The reputation he had finally accumulated among the nobles in the southern part of the kingdom might be completely destroyed in one fell swoop.

After Stephanie died - Leonard should have realized by then that this was a counterattack against their assassination. He would most likely not dare to publicize it, and would even have to hide it for Lothar.

As for whether Leonard wants revenge?

In this era, for a lord who relied on marriage to obtain a fiefdom, the death of his wife could be said to be a good thing, because it meant that he could marry a new lady who could bring a dowry.

Leonard of Châtillon originally only owned the small fiefdom of Châtillon in Gaul. He obtained the Grand Duke of Antioch through marriage, and later obtained Transjordan through marriage.

This is his ability to navigate the road lightly.

"In short, if you want to assassinate Leonard, you must not choose this sensitive and critical moment. It will take a year or two anyway."

"Of course, if he is really ungrateful and still wants to cause trouble for me, after I find the evidence, I will punish him openly as his lord. If he refuses to accept it, I will lead an army to attack."

Lothar lay in the bathtub, tiredness rising again.

He narrowed his eyes and gradually fell into sleep.

Although Prajna would always be by his side no matter what the occasion, which sometimes bothered him, he had to admit that having her by his side really made him feel at ease.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was completely dark.

The water in the bathtub has been refilled countless times, but it is still warm.

"Prajna?"

"I am here."

Prajna got up and walked in.

"Your Majesty the King's valet has come to summon you."

Lothar laughed at herself: "It's a coincidence that I woke up."

"No, I stopped him."

Prajna's tone was very calm.

Lothar smiled bitterly: "So that's it. Turn around quickly, I'm going to change clothes. His Majesty summoned me. There must be something important to discuss with me."

He quickly changed into his silk dress and walked outside the hall.

The heraldry officer's work was very efficient, or in other words, the extra bounty given by Lothar was tempting enough, including the dress and a gold ring with a brand new coat of arms.

This ring also functions as a seal. It can be used to stamp wax seals on letters, dip it in ink pads, and can also be used to stamp various documents.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Baldwin IV's valet smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Your Majesty has told me to wait until you have rested before summoning you again."

He looked at Prajna behind Lothar and said, "Madam, His Majesty has also invited you, please come with us."

Go through the deep corridor.

Lothar and Prajna came to Baldwin IV's room together.

He was not wearing a mask, and the disabilities and deformities on his face had almost completely disappeared. On the surface, he looked no different from a normal person.

"sit down."

Baldwin IV pointed to the chair opposite: "If you leave me, you should go to the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre to keep vigil."

"Losa, you have become a count and one of the most powerful nobles in Jerusalem. What are your plans next? Will you continue to stay in Jerusalem and lead the Royal Knights, or will you focus on the affairs of the territory?"

Lothar hesitated and said: "I hope to focus on my own territory. You should also know that I developed Yogurt Castle well. Moreover, during the war, I captured Prince Zahir, and through him and I received a large reward for the Mamluk cavalry under his command, and I hope to use this money to build up the territory."

Baldwin IV showed approval: "Yes, I advise you as well. When Count Raymond returns to Jerusalem, this place will inevitably become the center of the power struggle. Hebron is very close to Jerusalem. If you can train a team as soon as possible, The military is also a huge support to me."

"Your Majesty, since I have decided to focus on developing my own territory, what about the position of Grand Master of the Royal Knights?"

Baldwin IV said without hesitation: "As long as you are still in charge, you can send Knight Hans to take charge of the Knights for you when you are away."

Lothar hesitated, but still informed Baldwin IV about the assassination.

He was silent for a moment and asked, "How do you plan to respond?"

Lothar felt a little uneasy, but she still said frankly: "I will use the same method to fight back. I plan to send someone to assassinate Countess Stephanie."

Baldwin IV nodded and said: "Yes, a mother who lost her son will not care about anything anymore. As long as she can get revenge, she is even willing to sell her soul to the devil - but I hope you can stop there. Although Leonard knows , but did not participate, so..."

Lothar had already planned and naturally followed suit: "I understand, I will not attack Leonard."

Baldwin IV also asked Lothar about some of his next plans for governance, and he was a little worried about the "conversion" operation he decided to implement slowly.

Lothar said seriously: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I only intend to use means such as 'tax cuts' and 'rewards for wealth and land' to motivate and guide, rather than take tough measures."

His confidence comes from the statue that has been upgraded to an angel, which makes the people in the territory instinctively have a certain favorable impression of him.

Otherwise, he would not dare to implement the idea of ​​​​encouraging conversions in the holy places of the two religions with strong religious atmosphere.

After all, most of those who could make the pilgrimage to Hebron were devout pagans.

In the entire Hebron, pagans account for two-thirds, and this only refers to the permanent population. The vast majority of pilgrims staying in the city are pagans.

If he dared to force people to convert with swords and guns, these unscrupulous people would immediately pick up their swords and fight against Lothar.

In fact, religious purification is just a cover. Underneath, hidden is the tax reform that Lothar intends to implement.

In the final analysis, the purpose is to divide the local forces and raise a group of "converts" to prevent the powerful local tyrants from raising the banner of religion to resist the tax reform that Lothar intends to implement.

In Lothar's opinion, the tax farming system should be swept into the dustbin of history.

Relying on the tax collectors to indirectly rule the people, Lothar wanted to charge a tax of ten dinars, and the tax collectors dared to shout that the lord wanted to collect a sky-high price of fifty dinars.

When the time comes, Lothar will take the blame, and all the real profits will be taken away by the tax collectors.

Lothar's real plan was to confiscate the land of these pagan powerful people and give all their land to pagan tenant farmers for cultivation.

However, the land is limited, and there is still a large amount of land, manors, and hereditary fiefs belonging to the Crusader nobles, which cannot be touched by these people.

Therefore, it is impossible for everyone to get land.

As for who gets priority in allocating land?

A convert of course!

"That's good."

Baldwin IV let out a sigh of relief: "Losa, do you know why I favor you so much?"

Lothar knew this, but still shook his head to express his ignorance.

After all, you can’t praise yourself, right?

Baldwin IV praised: "In addition to your father's sake, your personal abilities, ideas, and character are all worthy of my respect for you."

"That day, when you brought the potion that could transform a mortal into a werewolf, I was actually very moved. Later, you invited Uldin to control the disease in me."

"Losa, as a friend, I am very grateful to you."

Not everyone understands the principle of reciprocating love.

After being soaked in the dye vat of power, mediocre aristocrats who are only interested in profit and short-sighted are everywhere.

Lothar smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I am also very grateful for your promotion. Looking at the entire continent, it is a rare thing to be promoted from knight to earl in less than a month."

Rare, but not non-existent.

There are precedents for many knights to rise to the rank of earl or even king through inheritance or marriage.

Baldwin IV chuckled and said: "I hope the friendship between you and me will not fade due to the difference between monarch and minister."

Lothar solemnly said: "I promise not to. I swear in the name of Heavenly Father, Your Majesty, I will always treat you as a friend and a lord who serves you."