Whenever Gwen started talking about the power struggle and the games of the nobles, Rebecca and Amber would reach a rare consensus and form a cute group. In the eyes of the two girls, the game of intrigue between the king and the nobles was too complicated and useless. Instead of studying it, it was more interesting to fight with wolves at home, make fireballs, slack off, and steal wine …
But even so, the two did not dare to say it in front of Gwen. Amber was always worried that Gwen would really smash her against the wall with an eggplant, while Rebecca could not forget the horror of being hung from the ceiling beam by her elders. After listening to Gwen, the two girls thought about it seriously, and Rebecca said thoughtfully, "So, the king is worried that the nobles will cause trouble when the Ansu and Typhon reestablish diplomatic relations?"
"That's pretty much it."
"But why would the nobles want to cause trouble?" Rebecca was confused. "Isn't it a good thing that the war between the Ansu and Typhon can be postponed?"
"It's good for the king, good for the commoners, but what's in it for the nobles who have divided their territories?" Gwen chuckled. "The king's war is just a routine duty for most of the nobles. As long as they send some Knight and squires who bring their own rations to the war, they will have fulfilled their duty. As for the outcome of the war, what does it have to do with them? If they win, the dispatched Knight will plunder a large amount of wealth and merit. If they lose, even if the country falls, they only need to swear allegiance to the Emperor of Typhon. Their titles and fiefs will not change at all. At least, for many Ansu nobles, this is the rule of the game. They don't know that there are other rules in the world. "
For Gawain in his previous life, this was an incomprehensible "rule". But in this life, Gawain had to face up to this fact: the aristocratic wars of this era were generally carnivals of fence-sitters and bandits. The aristocrats might be greedy and barbaric, but they would coincidentally abide by the rules of the aristocratic game. The wars between them were rarely to the point of death. Most of the time, the aristocrats only fought to plunder wealth and land. Once this goal was achieved, everyone would tacitly stop and carry out a set of customary "clean up" procedures.
In the war, only a few nobles would die. The worst outcome for most of them was to be captured. No one was willing to kill the noble captives because these captives could be exchanged for a large amount of ransom, and the ransom was completely legal. The most famous example was the battle between two earls in the Western Region in the year 576 Ansu. In the war that was tacitly approved by the royal family, Count Tokebell was defeated and even the count himself was captured. In order to redeem his liege, the Tokebell Domain paid twice the weight of the count and nearly 30% of the land ownership. After the war, the two earls and their descendants all survived. The captured Knight (low-level nobles), barons and viscounts also returned safely after their families paid enough ransom.
Except for a few unlucky nobles who were killed on the battlefield, "only" 6,700 civilians died.
Do not kill the noble captives, do not completely destroy any "glorious family name", and settle the war with ransom. These were the three major rules of the noble war.
No one would break this rule because it was a rule that all nobles abided by and carried out together. It maintained the "glory" of the nobles and also ensured the stability of the feudal system in the country in the past 700 years.
The nobles called this war "the war of civilized people" and said that it was "as elegant and dignified as a duel witnessed by the gods". In the beginning, this rule was to prevent the unstable human countries from falling into a quagmire due to serious internal divisions and struggles. But now, it had become a means for the nobles to show their nobility and moderation. The nobles of Ansu seemed to believe that even if Typhon really attacked and Ansu really lost, they could still use this set of rules to maintain their dignity — as long as they promptly swore allegiance to Emperor Typhon.
So they did not care about the results of the negotiations between the king and Emperor Typhon. They only thought about whether they could get some benefits in the process. In order to prevent the nobles in the country from becoming unstable, Francis II could only give out part of the "benefits" in advance.
Those nobles did not even think about the purpose of Typhon's attack on the country. Typhon, who was in the transition period, was like a gluttonous beast. Would this hungry beast care about whether its food was loyal to it or not?
Gwen glanced at the scroll in Rebecca's hand and sneered softly. "Francis II recognized my actual rule over Kant Hill. This was just a favor. He gave a piece of royal territory to the east of Kant Hill as a gift in the hope that the Cecil family could remain 'quiet' during the negotiation period. After all, although the Cecil family has left the power center of the kingdom, I have returned. Under certain circumstances, my appeal may bring unimaginable trouble to him. "
"Anyway, who doesn't want a free gift?" Amber summarized the meaning of the document in the most concise way. Then she frowned. "But the king sent a messenger in a hurry to deliver the letter. It's too careless. Although I don't understand the troublesome rules of the nobles, this is a deal between the king and the duke. Shouldn't there be a coronation ceremony or something?"
"Sending a letter in a low-key manner is the only choice Francis II could make." Gwen laughed. "Otherwise, what do you want him to do? He's the illegitimate son of the royal family 700 years later. Should he confer a title to an ancestor-level grand duke from 700 years ago? Let's not talk about other things. When we face each other at the coronation ceremony, will he bow first or will I bow first? Or will we bow together? Back then, I didn't have to bow when I met Charlie. Francis II is not afraid of shortening his life! "
Amber imagined the awkwardness of the scene and suddenly gasped. "Oh, that's so troublesome."
"Anyway, keep this thing first." Gwen waved his hand. "I have another more important thing. Rebecca, you know … Uh, you probably don't know. Go and find Heti. "
"What?" Rebecca listened blankly. When she heard that he was going to call Heti, she suddenly became a little nervous. "Ancestor, can't you tell me?"
Gwen squinted at the girl. "Tell you? Do you know the genealogy of the nobles in the Southern Territory? "
"Oh, then I'll go and find my aunt!"
Rebecca ran out in a hurry. Not long after, Heti came to Gwen's study.
This elegant lady not only had outstanding beauty and administrative skills, but she was also quite intelligent when it came to the rules of nobles and kings. As soon as she came in, she spoke first, "Ancestor, the letter sent by the messenger should be the king's conferring document, right?"
"Yes, the Kant Hill and the hills east of Kant now belong to the Cecil family, but that's not important." Gwen waved his hand. "I called you here to ask you if there's a noble family surnamed 'Gilan' in the south."
"Gilan?" Heti frowned slightly. After a short moment of thought, she nodded. "Yes, Viscount Gilan in the northeast. Ah, now it's Countess Gilan who rules that land."
"Countess?" Gwen raised his eyebrows. He could not help but think of Rebecca. Rebecca was also a countess. "Did the former Viscount Gilan pass the title to his daughter?"
He had already learned from Patty in the spiritual network that the current Gilen Family was managed by a female master. Therefore, he was not surprised at this moment. He was just curious and asked casually.
"No, the former Viscount Gilan is the current countess' husband." Heti shook her head. "The former Viscount suddenly died a few years ago. According to his will, the title was passed to his widow, Luo Peini Gilan." "Gilan."
Ansu's inheritance law was relatively loose. It was not rare for a husband and wife to inherit or pass on the title. In fact, many nobles relied on shrewd marriage to constantly expand their family's power. In a situation where nobles did not want to easily start a war, marriage was also one of the important means for nobles to seek benefits and land.
"Ancestor, why do you suddenly ask about the Gilan Family?" Heti was very curious about Gwen's sudden mention of a noble family that she did not have much interaction with. She could not help but ask.
Gwen pondered for a moment and said bluntly, "I suspect that this family is related to the Eternal Sleepers."
"The Eternal Sleepers?!" Heti was shocked. She did not question the reliability of this information. She did not even ask how Gwen got this information. With great trust in her ancestor, she directly asked about the threat level. "Is it the same situation as Kant Hill?"
"I'm not sure yet, but at least one of their family members is deeply related to the Eternal Sleepers," Gwen said with a serious expression. "This Gilan Family … Has there been any unusual changes in recent years? For example, like Kant Hill suddenly having extra output, or suddenly thriving in some aspect, and so on. "
"… Not at all. In fact, the situation is completely the opposite," Heti thought for a moment and shook her head. "The Gilan Family was originally prosperous, and the young Viscount Gilan was a very capable person. But in a magic experiment accident, Viscount Gilan died unexpectedly, and the Gilan Family and the territory they ruled quickly declined … Although Countess Luo Peini has controlled the situation in the past two years and got the territory back on the right track and gradually developed, there are no traces of the secret involvement of the cultists …"
At this point, Heti added, "Of course, the Eternal Sleepers are very mysterious, and everything is unpredictable."
"Died in a magic experiment accident …" Gwen slowly frowned. "I'm going to go and see what's going on."
"You want to go in person?" Heti slightly frowned. "It doesn't seem right for a duke to visit a lower noble in person …"
"We set the rules back then. Anyway, I've already visited Kant Hill last time. It doesn't matter if there's another Gilan Hill." Gwen waved his hand. "I'd better go and see with my own eyes. Otherwise, I'll feel uneasy."
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