Laing's suggestion stunned everyone present.
Wartime cabinet? What the hell was that?
Didn't he already have a cabinet? Now he was setting up a wartime cabinet? What did that mean?
The eyes of Berliat, Talleyrand, and the others lit up. The bureaucrats looked at their Sun King with great anticipation.
Feudal knights, no!
Using civil power to control military might, yes!
Especially Talleyrand and Berliat. Berliat thought that if this wartime cabinet was set up, with Laing's trust in him, he would be able to obtain the supervision authority of the army and expand his prestige and power.
Disregarding everything else, Berliat felt like he was about to ascend to the heavens.
Berliat and his men had been working on many specific matters regarding the resettlement of the millions of refugees in Estalia. Not only did this bureaucrat obtain great political prestige and greatly expand the boundaries of his authority, he even completed a certain idea he had all along — that was to establish a puppet regime and control a special department. This department should have a lot of authority and only be responsible to Laing.
Coincidentally, the Estalians did not trust the Brittany. Due to some historical conflicts between the two sides, the Estalians had always suspected whether the Brittany intended to take over their land (the truth was that the nobles of the knights did indeed intend to do so). At this time, Berliat became the target of the Estalians' trust.
Very few people could influence the fate of an entire race as a foreigner like Berliat, but Berliat did it.
Therefore, Berliat supported Laing's establishment of a wartime cabinet with both hands. Ugor was not afraid of offending people. He was ready. As long as Laing gave him the signal, he would immediately charge out and break through the enemy lines.
Talleyrand was different.
Cripple wasn't interested in Berliat's crazy attempts to seize power. The cunning high elf used the time to hire a total of 73 beauties between the ages of 14 and 18 from the Estalian refugees to work in his luxurious manor.
Talleyrand also used the opportunity to make a fortune. During this time, he spent around 3,700 crowns and some residences to obtain 126 national treasures from the Estalian refugees.
Crystals, paintings, tapestries, carpets, lamps, mirrors, pens, clocks, cutlery, and so on. Talleyrand also spent around 50000 crowns to buy a box of land and house deeds from the Estalians.
Of course, not all of this money was Talleyrand's own money. It could only be said that he understood everything.
After hearing this, Leon could only shake his head. From a certain point of view, "annexation" was simply a mortal's instinct. This kind of historical trend was almost unstoppable except for the founding emperor and a powerful centralized emperor like himself.
In contrast to Berliat, Talleyrand didn't want to take the lead. Cripple just kept quiet.
"Your Majesty, what are the responsibilities of the wartime cabinet? Who will be its members? What are they responsible for? " As the noble knight's representative, Laing could only bite the bullet and ask, "We already have a cabinet, so why do we need one? What's the difference between wartime and peacetime? If there isn't, why do we need one? If there is, please tell us, Your Majesty. "
Laing was silent for a few seconds before he continued, "As you can see, according to the cabinet's defence plan, Duke Adahad should've defended the city to the death instead of launching an attack. But he didn't listen to orders, which led to this Pyrrhic victory.
"Therefore, I plan to set up a wartime cabinet. The wartime cabinet is the main organization for strategic command of the war. Now that we are at war, we need such an organization to solve the strategic problems we are facing." Laing said, "As for the candidates, let's preliminarily decide on me, Suria, Berchemund, Laing, François, Bodrick, Bertrand, and Kalad."
"Your Majesty, this is really not necessary." Hagan, Duke Gisoleiox, obviously did not agree with Laing's decision. He strode forward and said, "I think the current cabinet is enough to deal with the current situation. Setting up a wartime cabinet is not in line with the current situation of Brittany, nor is it in line with the founding of the Knight King's Kingdom."
"I agree with Lord Hagan's proposal." Theodorick, Duke Bereon, also disagreed. He shouted, "Your Majesty, the so-called strategy of the war will solve all the strategic problems. Does this mean that we have to give up the glorious tradition of the Knight King's Kingdom and give up the basic national policy of the knights?"
"I also disagree, Your Majesty." Ford, Duke of Montfort, also stood up and shook his head. "Your Majesty has already taken a lot from us."
"I also disagree." Casson, Duke of Pallavon, also stood up. His words were even gentler. "Your Majesty, we are willing to listen to your orders and support you. You know this."
"Your Majesty, I also disagree." At that moment, Duke Bohemond also spoke up. The First Marshal shook his head. "Adahad underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. No one will make the same mistake again."
Seeing that everyone disagreed, the atmosphere in the room instantly became cold.
Obviously, the knights and nobles did not agree with Laing's so-called "wartime cabinet" plan.
Everyone could see that Laing was going to continue to consolidate power. If the wartime cabinet was established, the knights and nobles would lose their original military power! All the military forces in the kingdom would be unified under the wartime cabinet. The nobles' republic would be further eroded by Laing, and the wartime cabinet would become a tool for Laing's rule.
At this moment, the rumbling of thunder came from afar and rolled over the roof of the courtyard of the Fountain of Beauty. Then, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The originally bright magic lamp in the house flickered, and for a moment, it seemed to be overshadowed by the light.
Laing and Suria looked at each other. Suria was silent.
Laing did not expect to encounter such a strong resistance. Other than François and Kalad, who were silent in advance, almost all of the knights and nobles present were against the establishment of the wartime cabinet.
This was different from Laing's previous piecemeal reforms. The establishment of the wartime cabinet meant that Laing had completely penetrated into the core interests of the knights and nobles — military power. This was something that no knight or nobles could tolerate.
However, this was something that Laing had to do.
What did Laing look like now? He was now a little like an enhanced version of the Great Man of the Ages. On the surface, the Knight King was unified and listened to his orders. The military forces in various places also submitted to him.
However, they were still military forces in the end. In the end, they were still independent. The dukes were willing to lend their troops to Laing and listen to his orders because he was Laing, not because he was the king. Now that Laing wanted to reform the government and take back the power of the generals, the knights and nobles would not agree no matter what.
Outside the room, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The room was silent.
"In that case, would it be acceptable for another Duke to die in battle, and it would be a pyrrhic victory? Is it acceptable to have another failure? " Berliat came out to challenge the knights and nobles. Ugor said seriously, "Look at the situation now. The Northmen have already touched our shores. Kislöw has fallen. The Empire is also trapped by the undead of Sylvania. Estalia is almost destroyed. Lucini and Rimas of Tyrell are still resisting. At this time, are you still not willing to accept His Majesty's wise leadership?"
"Who do you think you are?!" Duke Ford scolded directly. "You have no right to speak here. Ugor, get out!"
Belial's face was flushed red, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. He continued, "Sir Ford, I respect you very much, but please state your opinion. This is the Imperial Conference. Are you going to use personal attacks and racial discrimination to express your opinion and the virtues of a knight?"
Duke Ford was so angry that his whole body trembled. He began to rummage through his pockets to find white gloves, but he was stopped by François.
"Ah! Ford! This is the Imperial Conference. Let people speak! " François immediately scolded. "Berliat is a knight of Brittany and also His Majesty's courtier. He has the right to participate in this conference. What right do you have to tell him to get out?"
"Because he doesn't know the rules of the Knight King!" Duke Ford said sternly. "Do you know what a knight is? Do you know how Brittany was founded? Do you know how we have lived for thousands of years? The laws of our ancestors cannot be abolished. If the wartime cabinet is set, in a year or two, there won't even be a need for nobles! Only you bunch of bureaucrats will be left! "
Duke Casson also disagreed. Duke Palawon pulled Ford down. "Enough, Ford. Calm down."
Then he saluted Laing. "Enough, Your Majesty. Enough."
Duke Berchemund also shook his head. "Your Majesty, although the war between Sylvania and Kislöw hasn't stopped, didn't the Empire win? If they won, what else do they need us to do? "
Everyone nodded. Crusade against Sylvania? Didn't they win? The undead were trapped by the Great Wall of Faith. Why would they still consider war?
Northern Barbarians? Wasn't Wilic's Army of World Spellcasters defeated by Ludendorff, the Grand Baron and Kurfürst of Hocke?
As for Estalia, the Skaven Rat Men were indeed a problem. However, it wasn't to the extent that they needed to establish a wartime cabinet!
"Boom!" Thunder exploded outside the room. Quarrels continued in the room.
The resistance in front of him was so great that even Laing felt a splitting headache. To deal with the Final Moment, they needed a unified command and a strong army.
Perhaps many people would think that since Laing was already a demigod, why would he still need to consider an army? Just go ahead!
Logically speaking, demigods were indeed very strong. However, they weren't strong enough to ignore the number of troops.
Otherwise, why would the Emperor establish the Thunder Warriors, Black Star Troopers, and the Emperor's Imperial Guards?
Otherwise, why would Forgen establish the Ashes Corps the moment he arrived in Lucia?
Otherwise, why would Ah Cha establish the World Exterminating Army?
The main reason was that demigods weren't invincible. Reality wasn't a game. Oh, after becoming a demigod, one's armor would be full, and one's HP would be thick. Others wouldn't be able to touch you.
That didn't exist. Demigods were indeed harder to kill than ordinary people. Their defense was stronger, and they were better at fighting against many people. One person had the ability to destroy a small army. However, they still needed the support of an army. They still needed protection. Even if it was a Saint-level expert or a demigod expert, if they weren't careful, they would be seriously injured if a mortal accurately shot them in the head.
Mildenheim's cannon once killed a Demon Prince with a precise shot.
Armoured Nur once killed a Giant Dragon with a volley of shots.
In the Battle of Wolfin, although the Auster army suffered huge casualties, they also defeated the Great Demon Nurgle.
Moreover, mortals could truly kill Gods. With the disintegration of the Great Guardian and the Great Whirlpool, mortals would also take back everything that they originally should have. Their power would become complete. If a God was killed by a mortal in the mortal world, then they would really die.
As for why Leon dared to appear without his armor, the reason was very simple. Humans were all despicable. He dared to do so because he had a trump card. He had the special ability of the Forgotten Shadow, and he wanted to experience what it would be like to instantly switch places.
Another clap of thunder disturbed the sky outside the Palace of Fontainebleau. Dark clouds rolled in, and a terrible autumn rain began to pour down. With a crash, it drowned out the quarrel in the courtyard. The wind whistled through the glass windows, and the curtains in the room fluttered in the wind.
Suria shook her head slightly at Laing, indicating that he was anxious. It wasn't time yet.
Seeing this, Laing calmly asked Lauren, "Lauren, what do you think?"
Lauren also calmed down. The Regent of the Kingdom knelt on one knee and said softly to the King, "If Your Majesty insists on establishing a wartime cabinet, please issue an edict!"
The wind whistled, thunder rolled, and lightning illuminated the faces of everyone in the house.
"If there is no edict, please forgive me, Lauren Leo Cornwall, for not being able to comply!"
Laing stared at Lauren, and Lauren also raised his head and looked directly at Laing's blue eyes.
"Let the Gods return to the Gods, and the mortals return to the mortals, Your Majesty." Duke Hagan also knelt on one knee. "If Your Majesty insists, please issue an edict!"
"Please issue an edict, Your Majesty!" Except for François and Kalad, almost all the knights and nobles knelt down.
Another clap of thunder sounded!
Laing's face was ashen. He was in a dilemma.
If he retreated at this time, it would be a great loss to his prestige. The knights and nobles could force him to abdicate once, twice, and naturally three or four times!
If he forcibly issued an edict at this time, it would break the law set by the Lord of the Phoenix, Asuyan, at the creation of the world!
If Laing refused to issue an edict and established a wartime cabinet by himself, then Brittany could prepare for a civil war now!
A civil war at this time?
The Sun King couldn't help but clench his fists tightly. Humans were such creatures after all. They wouldn't turn back until they hit the wall, and they wouldn't shed tears until they saw the coffin. Before the chaos came to their doorstep, no one would completely abandon all the prejudices of the past and unite.
For thousands of years, the only lesson that humans had learned was that they never learned from their mistakes!
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