Chapter 234
There have been two types of lords in the Northwest Bay of the Kingdom of Ordo for a long time.
One type is the indigenous lords. Most of them can trace their family lines back to the military leaders or religious nobles of the tribes that lived here in ancient times. Since the beginning of human civilization, their ancestors have taken root in the Northwest Bay - but according to scholars, their ancestors also migrated from the central plains of Ordo to the northwest. Another part was enfeoffed here by various regimes before the Rodney Dynasty, but they have a long history of living in the Northwest Bay. Some families were even enfeoffed here during the Gubella Empire.
The most powerful of these lords is the Ferdinand family. The other indigenous lords are basically vassals of the Ferdinand family or vassals of vassals.
The other type is foreign lords. Their ancestors were enfeoffed to the Northwest Bay after the establishment of the Rodney Dynasty. In the process of the new dynasty unifying Ordo, more than half of the original lords of the Northwest Bay surrendered to the current royal family, but a small number of lords did not see the situation clearly and were cleared. The vacant territory was rewarded by the Rodney royal family to the meritorious ministers who followed them.
The new lords appointed by the Rodney royal family, in addition to guarding the border, also shouldered the task of monitoring the indigenous lords. For a long time, the new and old lords have been restraining each other.
However, the Graman family is quite special. The original fief of this family was in the fertile central plains. Later, they stood on the wrong side in the political struggle and were kicked to the Northwest Bay by the royal family. The new fief is still a piece of unowned land. In a sense, the Graman family is also within the scope of "surveillance".
There are a total of twelve earls in the Northwest Bay, six of which are vassals of the Ferdinand family, and the other six are vassals directly appointed by the royal family. The strength of the major earldoms varies. The most powerful Kent family, in addition to its own direct territory, has 10 viscounts as vassals, while the weakest Graman family (before), let alone the second-level vassal, does not even have a formal knight fiefdom.
As for the other viscounts and baronies, they are basically vassals of the Duke of the Northwest or the twelve earls.
The current situation in the Northwest Bay is: five of the six earls enfeoffed by the royal family have formed an alliance against the Kent family headed by Earl Parker, while the Kent family has won over the other three earls who are also vassals of the Ferdinand family to form a confrontational alliance. The attitude of the remaining three earls is ambiguous and has not yet clearly chosen a side.
Although the Kent family seems to be at a disadvantage, Martz Kent, who controls Earl Ferdinand, can use the power of the Duke's direct territory and other vassals under the Duke's name in the name of the Duke. Some viscounts are still quite powerful, and their population is not much different from that of nominal earls such as Alda. Therefore, in terms of absolute power, it is Maltz Kent who has the advantage.
"Don't worry! Many of the lords under the Duke believe that the letter is true. As long as we can withstand Maltz Kent's offensive, they will support us in the rear."
At a meeting, Earl Parker shook a pile of letters and said the seemingly unreliable trump card in his hand.
...
In late March, the two factions, which had been sharpening their knives for a long time, attacked each other almost at the same time. Maltz Kent issued an ultimatum to the lords who did not obey the summons last time, forcing them to rush to Sent City to join within three days, otherwise they would be punished for humiliating the Duke. The anti-Kent alliance was unwilling to be outdone and publicly displayed the Duke's secret letter, and at the same time let Viscount Henry come to the fore. Viscount Henry had long been under the secret protection of Earl Parker. The appearance of the secret letter and Viscount Henry caused a public outcry in the Northwest Bay.
Martz Kent immediately said that the letter was forged. Henry Ferdinand was jealous of not becoming the heir to the Duke, so he escaped from the dungeon and framed him. A group of villains led by Earl Parker had always harbored ulterior motives, and the two sides immediately conspired against him.
He controlled Duke Ferdinand through the little wizard Andy to hold a public meeting in Center City, repeatedly stating this point.
However, Earl Kent was still a little scared in private. He had expected Henry to seek refuge with those who opposed him, but he did not expect this result.
And the secret letter in his hand was exactly the same as his actions and plans. Could it be that it was really written by Duke Ferdinand? Could it be that Master Barnett's control spell had a loophole?
When Martz Kent thought of this, a sharp pain came over his head, and then he naturally thought: How is this possible? How could Master Barnett's spell have a loophole? Praise Master Barnett, praise the Secret Society, Duke Ferdinand is clearly under his control. That's right! It must be that damned Henry who imitated his brother's handwriting.
As for why the content of the letter is consistent with the facts... it must be a coincidence! It must be a coincidence!
But... but..., why are there so many lords who follow old Puff Parker to oppose him? These guys usually meet me in a submissive manner, and their words are full of flattery, but now they have the courage to go against me.
In his original expectation, there might be one or two thorns who disobeyed him, such as that old man Price Parker, but with his dukedom, they could not cause any trouble. After he cleaned up those lords who were still loyal to the royal family one by one, he could establish himself in the northwest bay and stab them in the back while the royal government's attention was in the south.
But now it seems that Henry Ferdinand's escape and the secret letter he forged have aroused the vigilance of those outsiders - the name that the native lords privately called the newly appointed lords of the royal family - and made them unite in advance, and the original plan can no longer be implemented.
When the earl thought of this, he was extremely annoyed. He should have found an excuse to detain all these potential enemies at the duke's birthday party. Although the subsequent handling would be more difficult, it would be much easier to deal with than the current situation.
It is useless to regret now, and the truth can only be seen on the battlefield.
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A perfect poem, a post, a content, a 6-9 book, a forum!
After a long period of preparation, the two factions have gathered considerable military strength. They deployed their troops and the war was imminent. However, both sides have not forgotten the existence of the royal family. Needless to say, the Kent Alliance will definitely involve the royal family, and the Earl of Kent also needs to pretend to be a loyal minister of the kingdom for the time being. Both sides sent their own envoys to Jingyao to state the "real situation" to His Majesty the King, requesting the royal family to support themselves, and notifying other parts of the kingdom that the other party is a traitor.
I wish all readers a happy Spring Festival, and may all your wishes come true in the new year, and may everything go well!