The nobles of the younger generation were worried about Roddy's "layman", but Sally, who was at the center of the whirlpool, did not have such worries at all. She was more worried about the internal stability of Eiffta.
At the end of the day, ever since the orcs' invasion began last year, the entire Cullen Kingdom's aristocratic structure had undergone a dramatic change … Charles II's vitality had already been greatly damaged. If this continued, the kingdom was destined to fall apart. However, the sudden appearance of the Dragons allowed the royal family to reverse the situation and consolidate the nobles under their command, regaining the lost power in their hands.
This turn of events meant that the pressure Eiffta faced had suddenly increased.
The drastic change in the political system was carried out under the premise that the original vested interest groups had largely disappeared and Roddy had absolute control over the military. The current situation could only be said to be "relatively smooth", but it was definitely not smooth sailing. The cake was originally so big, and any reform was a redistribution of resources. How many vested interests would be happy?
Sally herself was actually the existence with the highest status among those who had "lost interests." But she was very clear that although it was not difficult to continue to be a law-abiding Duke, it was far from enough to face the threat from the Demonic Plane. Therefore, reform and the launching of war were ultimately unavoidable. And under the current conditions, the earlier it was launched, the higher the chance of success.
If they waited until the royal family supported by the Dragons became strong, then it would be too late to say anything.
But the problem now was that not everyone had this kind of awareness.
Sally was in her study in the Magic Tower, reading the latest summary of intelligence. Her expression became more and more unpleasant. Although the cabinet had finally agreed to launch this war, not all cabinet members had a positive attitude towards this matter. The intelligence showed that there were already two cabinet nobles who publicly expressed "pessimistic" views on the war. This was not a good sign for Eiffta, which had not yet started the war.
After all, no matter how dispirited the people below were, it was fine. If the highest level leader was like this, then it would be destroying his own morale.
"This bunch of old devils …"
Sally was so angry that her mouth twitched, but she could only secretly complain about this kind of thing. Roddy must have seen the same message as well, so what she needed to do now was to give her opinion on how to deal with it. As Duke, she currently had the power of "veto". That was, if she felt that the various bills proposed by the cabinet were not appropriate, she could directly reject them.
This was a reservation and respect for Duke's authority, but in reality, she wouldn't use it.
Within the political structure, the right to know, the right to suggest, the right to veto, and the right to decide basically meant a relationship of ascending power. Now the Prime Minister of the Cabinet was basically the pinnacle of power, but what worried Sally was that the existence of other members of the Cabinet was not as reassuring as before.
Choosing the Great Lord to enter the Cabinet was naturally to prevent chaos among the rulers of Efta. When facing the Orcs, they were naturally obedient, because it was impossible for humans and Orcs to stand together.
But now? Sally was troubled by the desire for power in the human heart. Although human progress depended on this desire, too short-sighted actions would often lead to disastrous consequences.
Holding the last page of the stack of intelligence, Sally rubbed the space between her eyebrows. At this time, there was a knock on the door. She looked up and found that it was a servant who had brought her a warm drink to warm her body. And Edith's illusion also appeared at the side. The Grand Arcanist saw her haggard face and asked, "It's so late, aren't you going to sleep?"
"After reading this, I'll go to sleep."
Sally got up and sat on the armchair at the side. She initially didn't intend to enter the Magic Tower to work, but since Edith caught two fellows who had infiltrated the servant team with the intention of assassinating her, Sally realized that her current position was no longer that of an unknown priest. For safety's sake, she lived in the Magic Tower under Roddy's suggestion, and except for attending important events, she basically didn't go out.
This wasn't cowardice, but it was to reduce as many variables as possible in the entire war.
In this period of time, Edith had been cramming knowledge about human development. After all, as a High Elf from 700 years ago, after becoming Efta's subordinate, she first had to understand the structure and origin of this country. Secondly, she had to speculate about the current development of the various forces on the continent. Until now, she felt that her choice was right. Although Efta seemed to be in danger, Edith, who had the power of a demigod, could easily see through the nature of the royal family.
Charles II couldn't even be considered "strong on the outside, but weak on the inside." His current momentum was completely an illusion created by borrowing the light of the Dragons.
"Lady Edith, did the High Elves also have this kind of war?"
Sally was a bit confused. She didn't want to think about the cabinet's problems, so she changed the topic to talk about something else, trying to relax.
"There won't be too many internal wars. Because of the development of the Crystal Stone, the citizens of the country are able to live a much wealthier life than the current humans. Furthermore, the royal family has control over a large number of Grand Arcana Masters and armies. Only the occasional famine or special circumstances will cause a faction to attempt to rebel, but they will be quickly suppressed."
Edith said simply, and then pointed at the detailed map behind Sally. "Actually, what Prime Minister Roddy is doing now is similar to what the High Elf royal family did in the past. I believe that in the near future, Efta will have a very stable situation."
"Really?"
Although Sally had been in the high position of "Duke" for a long time, her vision couldn't compare to that of a Grand Arcanist. Her gaze turned to the map, and after a moment of thought, she said, "You mean … these 'roads'?"
"Lord Duke, what other use do you think 'roads' will be used for other than this battle?"
In response to this question, Sally carefully looked at the "roads" marked with red solid lines on the map. The road from Elson City to Hollier City was already connected, passing through four territories in the middle, among which there were eight branches that led to the main cities of each territory and the more prosperous towns. And from the two places of Paar and Elson, there were also two parallel lines extending towards the east at the same time. This was obviously in preparation for the upcoming battle.
But the meaning of the "roads" in Edith's words was obviously not so simple.
"Hmm … With this battle, these roads will be centered around Elson City and Hollier City, radiating to the entire Efta area. In this way, future trade seems to be more convenient. "
"In line with the Prime Minister's reforms, in the future, the power of the lords will be taken back. Under the situation of free trade, the economy will naturally be gradually controlled by the 'Paar Chamber of Commerce'." Sally's eyes lit up. "This means … the power is not just centralized in name, the cabinet also controls the interests of each lord. This is the true meaning of the centralization of power!"
Edith nodded. These things were actually understood by a smart lord, and Sally was qualified in this aspect. But this Grand Arcanist obviously had more experience. She pointed with her finger, and the cities of the lords on the map lit up with a faint light.
"The time of war is for external affairs. After the war, if anyone in these places has ill intentions, then the army should take less than three days to get there from Paar."
The time Edith estimated was based on the data given by Roddy. Although Sally also knew, she still did not quite believe it. Because for as long as she could remember, the time it took for the army to go back and forth between the cities was calculated by the month …
"If they can really get there within three days, then it means that the Prime Minister has more direct military and suppression power than during the period of the High Elves." Edith said in a low voice, "Believe me, this ability is irreplaceable for ruling a country."
Sally nodded, but was still not confident. "I hope so."
*****
By the end of April, Elson had already warmed up.
The atmosphere in Elson City seemed to still be the same as before the end of the magic conference. There were many people in robes walking in the streets, and all kinds of magazines and newspapers were scattered around. But there was no sign of the Royal Weekly. Obviously, Roddy deliberately blocked all possible sources of information that might come from the royal family, so that the Mages in the city could study magic in peace.
The Mages and apprentices who signed the contract at the conference either entered the Magic Academy or joined the "Magic Research Department". Extremely high benefits, good wages, and a positive and healthy magic environment made these Mages very satisfied … Of course, this was under the circumstances that they did not know the movements of the royal family.
The public opinion in the city was firmly controlled by Roddy, so there was not a gloomy atmosphere like in Hollier. And the farmers living at the edge of the city were even more happy to open up the fields. Originally, due to the limited irrigation ability, even if the farmers had land, they did not dare to plant too much, because if they did not take care of it, it would be a complete waste of seeds. But now the situation had completely changed. Artificial rainfall solved the irrigation problem, and the new simple puppets developed by the research department had replaced the cattle. Not only could they plow the land, but they could also apply fertilizer to a large area of farmland in a very short period of time. Thus, the freed labor force could carry out more farming on a larger area, and obtain more food.
Of course, this benefit of expanding farming could only be done by the farmers under the jurisdiction of Elson City. Other farmers under the jurisdiction of the nobles or simple farmers had to spend money to rent or buy. Of course, in recent years, Roddy had been actively supporting the development of farmland. The rent of the arcane puppets was very low, and according to the number of times it was used, ordinary farmers could rent it once or twice when they were ploughing the land.
Therefore, compared to last year, the expected grain output of today's Elson had increased by several times. It could be said that such a remote territory, under the circumstances of intensive planting and centralized control, the total grain output had reached half of the total output of the farmland of the other territories of Efta …
This sounded really ridiculous, but under the influence of the Druid hybrid seeds, artificial rainfall, long tillage system, and fertilizer, the yield per mu had indeed reached this amazing level.
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