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Every duchy has to build five permanent military fortresses?
Almost all the dukes expressed their dissatisfaction with this.
Does His Majesty the Knight King not have any concept of a permanent military fortress?
Building five permanent military fortresses for each dukedom was more than enough to bankrupt the dukedom! And it is a terrible disaster for the civilians.
The dukes were all silent, and the first to speak was Duke Taubert of Le-Angoulin. "I have an objection!"
"Speak." Laughan also frowned. As Richard's successor, Duke Taubert was anti-reform in his bones and had always been at odds with Laing. Of course, he was now powerless to face Laing's sky-high reputation and strength, but it was completely fine to contradict himself.
"First, the duchy does not have enough finance and manpower to build these so-called five permanent fortresses. Second, I don't understand why such fortresses are built. Of course, we know the pressure of the northern barbarians on our coast, but we have thousands of years of experience in defending against the northern barbarians. In almost all the important places, we have built strong castles and fortresses. Third, this kind of military fortress requires a lot of money and energy to maintain and garrison. May I ask who will pay for this maintenance cost?" Duke Taubert sat behind his seat and spread out his hands. "I don't think this is a reasonable decision. Apart from being a waste of money and manpower, paying for it? Is His Majesty Laing serious? "
Everyone nodded, and even Duke Bodrick said, "If every duchy has to build five permanent fortresses, then it means that the entire kingdom will have to recruit at least four hundred thousand men. Our census has just ended, and we have a population of about eight million. Doesn't that mean that we have to recruit five percent of the men, and all of them are adult males? Is this land still going to be planted? "
"Wait, I want to correct something." Laughan hurriedly added, "His Majesty Laing said that every duchy has to contribute and build five permanent fortresses at the borders of the kingdom. Not every duchy has to build five permanent fortresses."
"We're not talking about numbers now." Adahad, Duke of Lyonasser, waved his hand and said unhappily, "As you can see, Lyonasser has just recovered from a series of wars. We can't even guarantee the safety of our homeland. How can we use so much manpower to build a fortress? The Grand Canal of Brittany was only completed two months ago!"
"That's right. We understand His Majesty Laing's intention. Building a new fortress is of course good for our national defense, but … is it necessary?" "First of all, our current defense system has been strengthened many times. After His Majesty Laing and Emperor Karl-franz came to an agreement, the external pressure we face has been greatly reduced. Also, the Eight Peak Mountain Expedition suffered a lot of losses."
"I can't." Even François shook his head. "This is a bit disregarding the national situation. Our manpower and financial resources are limited. His Majesty Laing wants to build five fortresses at once?"
"No, one by one. First, build the foundation." Laughan shook his head.
François nodded. The Winford Duchy was very rich now. It was acceptable to build one fortress at a time.
"But that's not fair!" Duke Taubert of Le Angoulin said angrily, "Everyone knows that the Northern Duchies didn't gain much from the series of wars, but the cost was great. I don't want to say that the distribution is unfair. His Majesty Laing was very fair in the past, and I believe that he will be in the future. However, we don't have the money or the manpower now. At this time, you're telling us to build fortresses at our own expense? Even the serfs can't afford it, let alone us nobles! I'll say it right here. I can't do it. "
"Yes, you can't do it." The five dukes in the north, including Duke Theodorick of Bereon, disagreed. Laughan knew that if Aurora hadn't told him about the large-scale gathering of the barbarians in the north, he would've thought that Laing's idea was too much. The country shouldn't be tossed around like this.
The most important thing was that everyone thought that there was no need for such a high defense cost. As Duke Taubert said, building a large permanent fortress, garrisoning and maintaining it would cost money. If they didn't need it and built these things just for show, their output might not be able to keep up with the cost. Brittany's defense system was already very perfect after a thousand years of war. The dukes weren't fools. The safety of the duchy was related to their interests, so there were many fortresses that needed to be built. At this time, Laing's proposal to build a new military fortress was really incomprehensible.
For example, the barbarians' attack power was 10. Brittany's current defense system was 20. If they couldn't prove that the enemy's attack power was 20, 30, or even 100 +, then it would be a waste of money and manpower. There would also be a high maintenance cost in the future.
The Regent sat in his seat. Lauren was thinking about how to find an opportunity to propose an expedition to Obien. The Regent of the Kingdom glanced at the dukes who were arguing on both sides of the conference hall and suddenly remembered what Richard had said to him.
"The position of King isn't one where you can command the nobles of the kingdom as you wish. You have to be able to convince the people to sit in that position to make it more convenient for you to command the entire kingdom!"
Laughan sighed deeply. The Regent of the kingdom was suddenly very depressed. Since becoming the Regent, Laughan felt more and more that it was difficult to do anything for the kingdom.
If he wanted to reverse the decline of the entire kingdom, he had to fight against the inertia that had formed in Brittany over the past thousand years.
As the Knight King, Laing had saved the kingdom from danger many times. He had recovered Mu Xilon, won the final battle against Matthew Bard, negotiated an alliance with the Empire, and completed a miraculous victory in the Eight Peaks Expedition. With such great achievements and prestige, coupled with Laing's extraordinary personal bravery and leadership ability, there was a huge resistance to doing anything he wanted.
If he became the Knight King, he would probably end up like Richard. That was, he would be eager to make progress in the first few years after he ascended the throne. Then, he would constantly hit a wall and spend all his energy on the competition between the nobles and the Church of the Lake Nymph for the next ten years.
After he was exhausted and suffered another failure, it was very likely that he would start to dawdle and become more conservative and stable like Richard. He would start to be the spokesperson and rubber stamp of all the major nobles, wouldn't he?
Therefore, a person's fate naturally depended on his own efforts, but he also had to consider the course of history. Laughan knew that he did not have the ability to go against the heavens and reverse the trend like Laing did.
The discussion thus came to a standstill. They would further eliminate the incompetent nobles and send them to the Araby Expeditionary Army to receive "torture and training". This matter was handed over to Duke Berchemund. As the direct descendant of the first Knight King Arthur, the Red Dragon Duke was not afraid of offending people. No one dared to say anything about incompetence because Berchemund was very strict with his children. Three of his nine children died in battle before they reached the age of 30, and two of the remaining six children were arranged to be servants in the monastery because of their incompetence.
The matter of Chang Pingcang and the strategic food reserve was handed over to the two Dukes, François and Bodrick. They had experience in this matter and were also Laing's staunch allies. They were also Knights of the Holy Grail. Everyone could trust them.
There were two issues that could not be decided. The first was to further abolish exorbitant taxes and reduce tariffs. The second was to build at least five military fortresses at the border of the kingdom, and the Dukes had to pay for it themselves.
Laughan announced that the meeting was temporarily adjourned and that the discussion would continue at three o 'clock in the afternoon.
After a morning meeting, everyone was hungry. The Dukes called their attendants to prepare lunch. Laughan seized the opportunity and blocked Morgiana, who was about to go back to her room to pray and eat alone, in the corridor of the palace. "Your Highness Morgiana? Can you give me some time? "
"What's the matter?" Morgianna stopped in her tracks and stared at Clayon with her green eyes. There was no expression on her beautiful oval face. "Lord Regent, if there's anything, you should have said it in the previous meeting. You shouldn't have said it here."
"I have something very important to report to you," Laughan said seriously.
"…" Morgiana frowned. The Lake Goddess looked at Laughan's expression. After confirming that Laughan was serious and not joking, she nodded. "Alright, come with me."
The two came one after another to the Chapel of the Holy Grail. There were many prophets of the Lake Goddess, who were tidying up the scene. Morgiana motioned for Laughan to sit down. She said coldly, "You can speak now."
Laughan told Morgiana all the information he had learned, as well as the information he had gathered over the past few months. In the end, he concluded, "Your Highness Morgiana, I think it's completely appropriate to organize an army to attack Obien. The barbarians' defenses are empty, and we also need to investigate the barbarians' movements."
"You should know very well that our Regent, Laing, has clearly opposed Obien's expedition." Morgiana raised one of her legs under her skirt. The Lake Goddess Witch frowned. Her first thought was the national policy formulated by Laing. "As his appointed and trusted regent, is this how you help him deal with his internal affairs? Acting on your own when he's not here? "
"But the situation has changed, Your Highness." Laughan emphasized. "The barbarians' movements are very strange now. I think you know that every time the barbarians' movements are strange, something big has happened. This is what the information shows. I think it's necessary to investigate."
"Just for investigation, you want to form an expeditionary force? Your Excellency Regent, your investigation is truly on a large scale and with great fanfare. " Morgiana said sarcastically. "Don't think that I don't know anything. As soon as Laing left, you want to act on your own?"
"We don't want to act on our own, Your Highness." Laughan said sincerely, "We hope that through you, we can convey the news to His Majesty. Whether to allow it or not, it's up to His Majesty to decide. I know that you must have a way to contact His Majesty Laing, am I right?"
"You mean to inform Laing of this plan?" Morgiana raised her eyebrows.
"Inform Laing, and it's best to ask the lady if she allows it …" Laughan hesitated.
"Allow what, a war of chivalry?" Morgiana understood what Laughan meant. The Lake Goddess Witch suddenly closed her legs and raised her golden eyebrows. "Is this the meaning of the entire northern nobility?"
"Yes, it's everyone's intention." "Please be sure to convey," Ron requested seriously. "Also, please convey everyone's attitude about the construction of the military stronghold."
Morgiana was quite unhappy. Apart from facing Laing, the Lake Goddess Witch hated the feeling of being controlled and coerced, but she also knew that Laughan was telling the truth.
After hesitating for a while, Morgiana finally nodded. She looked very unhappy. "I see. I will tell Laing and the lady about this, but whether they agree or not, how they decide, is not something I can decide."
"Thank you very much!" Laughan was relieved. He knew that he had offended the Lake Goddess Witch because of today's incident, so he quickly got up and left.
On the other side of the palace, in the royal hotel, several dukes were sitting around eating.
This was a round table. The dukes sitting around it were François, Berchemund, Hagan, Bodrick, and Bodrick's eldest son, Fedmond.
In Brittany, eating at a round table symbolized the highest level of honor, and the status of several Knights of the Holy Grail was envied by the waiters around them.
In the middle of the round table, there was a large pot of bullwhip stewing, bubbling and bubbling.
"Bo Xi, you rascal. I was just wondering what you were talking about." François filled a bowl with bullwhip. Duke Winford was a little speechless. "So this is it?"
"What, you don't like it?" Berchemund scooped up a piece of stewed bullwhip with a spoon and chewed it in his mouth. "This is very nutritious. As an excellent knight, whether on horseback or off, you must ensure that your lance is full of fighting power! This is the teaching of King Louis. "
"No, I mean, it seems that after it's cooked, it doesn't have any effect other than filling the stomach." François wondered if Berchemund had been tricked again.
Berchemund had done something similar before. He used to like eating beef heart stew very much for several years, until one time when he was out, a serf complained to him that his courtiers were forcibly collecting cattle for farming, and the reason was that the duke wanted to eat beef heart. For every beef heart he ate, his courtiers would forcibly collect a cow from the people.
Berchemund didn't understand. Beef heart was a cheap cow's innards, and one could buy a bag of them in the market for a silver coin. Why did it become a case of eating beef heart, and his courtiers had to collect a whole cow?
He didn't understand, but the noble duke didn't want his subjects to suffer, so he stopped eating cow's heart. His courtiers repeatedly said that the duke didn't have to give up his hobby for these lowly people, but the duke refused to eat cow's heart again.
His patience lasted for more than ten years, until recently, when Laing's reforms made the market economy and commodity economy flourish, and goods circulate on a large scale. Berchemund found that he could directly order and buy beef heart on the market. There would be several food merchants who would go around buying and selling beef heart at the market of Bastogne Castle, and the price was very cheap. Only then did the duke regain his hobby of eating beef heart.
François was different. All the courtiers and merchants in Winford Duchy knew that their duke couldn't be fooled, or Laing's father-in-law would throw him into a cesspool to drown him and confiscate all his property.
The Grail Knights who had participated in the Grail Expedition were aware of some problems, such as nobles weren't born to be noble, and they weren't born to be rich.
"Sigh, why are you thinking so much? Just treat it as beef." Berchemund ate a few more mouthfuls, and Duke Reddragon said helplessly, "Look at your son-in-law, he really likes to cause trouble. It wasn't easy to conquer the Eight Peaks Mountain and live a good life for a few days. First, he went out to sea to find elves, and now he wants to reduce taxes and build fortresses. Isn't it good to have a good life for a few days?"
"That's our king," François said helplessly, "Laing never does meaningless things …"
"Yes, he's our king, but he's also your son-in-law!" Duke Hagan said unhappily. "You married Suria to Laing, and you got all the benefits. Now you want to reduce taxes and build fortresses, and it's our turn to do it? Isn't this too unfair? "
"That's right," Bohemond mumbled, with a mouthful of beef in his mouth.
François put down his bowl and spoon. Laing's father-in-law looked at them and found that the other three dukes had the same idea. In short, they enjoyed the current period of prosperity, and they didn't understand why Laing didn't let the kingdom live a good life for a few years. Instead, he wanted to cause more trouble, and he wanted to reduce taxes for the big nobles and send those unqualified nobles to die in Araby.
"I didn't want to start the class at this time." François sighed and shook his head. "Everyone, can I ask you a question?"
"What are we for this country? What are we for the Knight's Kingdom? What are we for the Knight's Kingdom?"
… I'm the section dividing line in the mouth of the beef …
At the same time, in the far north, the Chaotic Wasteland, the Northern Royal Court.
The crack of Chaos at the top of the world shone brightly. One by one, four armies of Chaos Demons gathered in front of the Eternal God's Throne. Each army was led by a respected demon.
More than a dozen armies of Chaos Demons had gathered in front of the legendary Northern Royal Court.
Behind the dozen or so Chaos Demon Armies was an army of 120,000 Barbarians. Countless Barbarians covered the entire Chaos Wasteland. Hundreds of tribes had gathered here and were prepared to follow the Eternal God of Darkness to the south in the name of the God of Darkness. They were going to obtain endless glory and unimaginable rewards for mortals.
The King of the Northern Region, the Ebon Marauder, the King of Noska, the Commander of the Army of Destruction, the Son of the Crimson Sky, the unparalleled warrior who defeated the Wife of the Blood God, the beloved of the Four Gods of Chaos, and the new Eternal God of Chaos, Ebon Motekin, stood proudly.
Under the throne covered in skulls and blood, hundreds of Chaos Champions and Eternal God of Chaos stood under the throne, waiting for orders. Once the King gave the order, they would go south and bring destruction to the cowardly Southerners who refused to accept civilization.
The Chosen of Tzeentch, Hal, the Eye of Eternity, stood on Motekin's left. He was a Sanctuary-level Tzeentch Wizard who came from the depths of the wasteland after receiving the Evil God's oracle.
The Chosen of Tzeentch Champion, Za-Zanaik, stood behind Hal. He was not satisfied, but this was the will of the Demon Bird God.
Hal, the Eye of Eternity walked to Motekin. The King had been sitting like this for a month or two. He kept chanting words such as "Empire", "Auster", "Oleg Von Zhukov", and "Revenge". Every time he said it, the power in his body grew stronger.
"Eternal God, Your Excellency, a small part of the vanguard army has been assembled. We can prepare to depart." Hal, the Eye of Eternity walked to Motekin and said respectfully.
"As for the Commander, leave it to the Chosen of God …"
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