In terms of combat, Duque could single-handedly wipe out all the nobles except for a certain princess.
In terms of arguing, Duque was confident that he wouldn't lose to anyone on the other side.
The most detestable thing in the world was that the referee was biased!
Previously, for the sake of ease of control, William, who was only left with a cowardly personality, had become a silly mascot for a long period of time. Now, in order to obtain victory in the realm of the nobles, the Princess of the Black Dragon was playing with mental dominance.
William, who was sitting on the throne, said in a weak voice, "Respected Grand Duke Marcus, I also want Stormwind to be stronger and more fertile. Unfortunately, your views have shaken the foundation of the entire kingdom. I cannot agree with you. "
"Your Majesty, I …" Duque looked like he still wanted to argue.
"Sir Marcus! Who gave you the right to interrupt His Majesty's speech! " On the surface, it seemed like Katrana's Princess of the Black Dragon was showing off her power. Her speech immediately gained the support of the nobles.
Duque could only sullenly shut his mouth.
The weak version of William continued, "The nobles are the foundation of the kingdom. If the foundation is destroyed, the kingdom will no longer exist. Your proposal to restrict the nobles' power is equivalent to destroying the foundation. If I agree, I won't have the face to meet the late king and Uncle Andoine after I die. "
Hearing this, even though Duque knew that this fellow was a puppet, he just wanted to cover his face and spit at William.
Damn it, I really want to show these nobles why the flowers are so red.
At the same time, I can press this amusing version of William's head in front of Laing's grave to wake him up.
However, for the sake of the plan, Duque could only pretend to be obedient.
"Your Majesty!" Duque strengthened his tone.
As expected, Duque was ignored by the weak version of William. He continued to recite, "Dear Marcus, I can understand your original intention of wanting our kingdom to be strong and prosperous. But this time, I'm not only going to reject your proposal. I'm also going to reduce your territory as a warning. Please forgive me, Duke Marcus. I must set an example for the world's aristocrats, a role model – that is, the innate royal power, the aristocratic power is also an extension of the royal power. "
Not only was Duque a little stunned by these words, even Bolvar, who had always maintained a neutral stance, was dumbfounded.
What was face-slapping?
This was a slap in the face!
Generally speaking, as long as one did not commit treason, the king had no right to reduce the fief of his vassals.
Now, Duque had proposed to reduce the power of the nobles, but Duque had raised this issue publicly during the annual meeting due to internal conflicts.
Treason was definitely out of the question. If he were to reduce his title, it would be a little too much. Of course, the reason was also reasonable.
More importantly, Bolvar knew that the timid William's mind was being manipulated, but he didn't dare to do so.
For a moment even an honest man like Bolvar was on the point of flying off the handle.
Duque's thoughts were also spinning rapidly. At his position, he was no different from a king. But as long as he still acknowledged his position as a vassal of the House of Wrynn, he would definitely be at an absolute disadvantage politically.
No, it should be said that in a sense, even if he were to be reduced by one square meter, it would be a slap in the face.
The key now was how big Onyxia's appetite was.
If her appetite was small and only wanted to create Stormwind conflicts, she could let this puppet William announce that all of his fief would be reduced.
This left Duque with three choices:
First, he could expose her true colors and start a fight in Stormwind Fortress, just like in history. This would feel good, but the problem was that he would not be able to punish the nobles who supported her, as he lacked crucial evidence.
Second, Duque could pinch his nose and accept it, but this would obviously be a huge blow to Duque's reputation.
Third, Duque could rebel and declare independence. If Duque did not know that Katrana was the Princess of the Black Dragons, he might have really done this. Doing so after knowing would definitely be the dumbest choice.
If her appetite was average, she would only want William to symbolically reduce Duque's territory by one village. With this as a compromise, she would allow her forces to invade Duque's territory and seek a deeper infiltration.
Of course, what Duque hoped the most was that the Princess of the Black Dragons had a big appetite …
As expected!
William spoke, "I announce that I will take back all of the Marcus Family's territories in the Elven Forest and the Twilight Forest."
Almost in an instant, all sorts of emotions appeared in the meeting hall of Stormwind Fortress.
There was surprise! There was anger! There was confusion! There was confusion!
But more than that, there was anticipation —
The nobles waited for Duque's reaction to see how the great hero of the Alliance of Stormwind would react.
Were the nobles afraid? Of course they were afraid. If Duque were to kill everyone here in a fit of rage, they would not even have a place to cry.
But they were also looking forward to it, longing for it, hoping that if Duke would bow his head and continue to be a good vassal, obligingly providing more wealth to the kingdom for them to squander, that would be the best thing that could happen.
The humanoid Onyxia shot a provocative look at Duque. That pair of eyes that were clearly overflowing with mockery and intimidation seemed to be telling Duque — If you do not want to become the public enemy of the nobles in human society, you should pinch your nose and accept it!
Duque!
The Best Actor Duque!
His face was a perfect representation of how a reformer felt when he fell from the clouds of hope into the abyss of pain.
Was it anger because he did not strive?
Or was it sorrow because he could not get a response from his lord?
Anyone could imagine that under that agitated and twitching face, there was a deep rift between him and his lord, William.
In the end, Duque still lowered his head.
"Yes … Your Majesty …" These two words seemed to be squeezed out from the gaps of his teeth.
The meeting ended, and the news of Grand Duke Duke Marcus being reduced in Stormwind spread like wildfire. It caused a tsunami in the Alliance.
The nobles of Stormwind were originally full of joy and thought that this victory would become a role model for the Alliance. They thought that the nobles of various countries would jump out and impose heavy taxes on the trains that passed through their territories. However, there were no ripples.
In particular, the queens of various countries publicly declared that if Stormwind treated Duque unfairly, they were willing to give a Grand Duke's territory in their kingdom to Duque.
What made the nobles even more unprepared was that even though William, under the instructions of a certain dragon, had given all the confiscated territories to the nobles who had supported Duke as a reward for the political battle, their income didn't increase but declined instead.
This was because overnight, all the trains stopped passing through their territories. All the train drivers, mainly the dwarves, went on strike and dismantled the locomotives in the name of maintenance. The originally rich daily necessities were all stopped, and all the luxury stores in Stormwind City that were related to the Marcus Merchant Guild refused to sell goods to the conservative nobles.
What was worse was that rumors spread everywhere, saying that the nobles wanted to restore the 'right of the first night' and the cruel rule of reducing the citizens to serfs, which directly led to the citizens fleeing in large numbers.
All of a sudden, the nobles were also at a loss.
At this time, the old butler of the Marcus Family, Makarov, came to visit Countess Anristo and handed her a letter. There was only one sentence in the letter: "Valentine's Day, do you want to meet?"
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