Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 201 The Arctic court will never change

When Xia Houyan walked into the hall of Horned Eagle Manor exhausted, he happened to see Eldridge squatting by the fireplace, flicking the firewood in the stove with tongs.

"Commander Eldridge, are you still lighting a fire in this hot summer?" Xia Houyan tilted his head with great interest while taking off his golden goshawk-patterned robe.

"Lord Lord." Hearing his voice, Eldridge hurriedly stood up and turned around, with a simple and honest smile, "Brother, when I was stationed in the, ah, Cold Bone Mountain Range, I got a little, ah, cold leg disease. Bonfire, ah, I just want to light it up for warmth, but I can't change it..."

"Yo? Commander Ai, have you ever been to the Cold Bone Mountains?" Xia Houyan sat down on his armchair.

The school city where he studied for a degree in magic was already considered the northern border of the empire, but the cold Bone Mountains were even further north of the school city. The cold wind from the Bone Mountains.

"I used to run around with Grand Duke Rosario back then, ah, roaming..." Eldridge looked very humble.

Xia Houyan nodded thoughtfully, and crossed his fingers to look at Eldridge, who was sitting respectfully aside.

No matter how you look at it, there is nothing special about this young officer in his 30s - if we ignore his gray hair and the red scarf that is not removed even if he is indoors;

However, the deeds of Eldridge narrated quietly by Captain Cousins ​​made Xia Houyan have to pay attention to this person:
The double winner of "First Class Blood Eagle Medal" and "Grand Cross Star Medal"...

The owner of the "Grey and White Wall" in the "Four Walls of Roses" under the closest confidant of the Grand Duke Rosario...

He once killed a federal orc when he was only eight years old, and he killed countless enemies in his military career...

Not to mention the terrifying legends that can stop children from crying at night that are circulated among the people of the empire...

To be honest, before sending out the mission led by Bob Brook, Xia Houyan only felt that if he could benefit from Grand Duke Rosario, he should take a little, the more the better;

But when the Grand Duke really sent a confidant and [-] elite infantry to Shuangfengling, the lord fell into panic and anxiety:

Grand Duke Rosario is neither a fool nor a philanthropist. This time he gave the Igor family such a generous gift. In the foreseeable future, will this sophisticated politician turn to Shuangfengling for more money? For expensive compensation?

What's more, even though Rosario's gift is completely free, the [-] people from the Eastern Empire Army are still like a wedge inserted into Frost Maple Ridge, and they may cause trouble at any time ;
But...you can't send Eldridge and the others back to Rose City, can you?

This is a total of [-] elite infantry plus a peerless macho man. If Shuangfengling gave up such a powerful immediate combat power just because of fear, then according to the temperament of the lord, I am afraid that he will regret it so much that he will cry in the middle of the night. wake up crying...

So, the worried Xiahou official could only shrink back on his seat and suck his teeth, and greeted Rosario, the ancestor of the old fox by the way——

This powerful imperial aristocrat really gave Shuangfengling an undeniable condition...

In the end, Xia Houyan still looked directly into Eldridge's eyes, and carefully said:
"Commander Eldridge, so His Excellency Grand Duke Rosario means to let you stay in our Frost Maple Ridge?"

"That's right." Eldridge nodded, "The grand duke told me at the time, ah, your Lord Elliott Igor was able to, ah, kill the Luna Fortress in such a short period of time. A hunk..."

Xia Houyan was 100% sure that Rosario's original words were definitely not the word "macho".

Eldridge shook his head and continued:

"The Grand Duke said, ah, your Shuangfengling is so awesome, ah, the bandits on the wasteland are at the end... the stability of the south is also very important to the Grand Duke's, ah, military plan, the Grand Duke said , are good brothers, you can't let your Shuangfengling suffer, he has to give some..."

Xia Houyan rubbed his temples painfully.

"The Archduke originally meant, let me come, ah, to help you and wipe out the bandits on the wasteland..." Eldridge's upright face formed a sharp contrast with his flattering speech Contrast, "But when I came here to see it, I was shocked! The bandit coalition army was defeated by you, it's okay! So, before the Grand Duke gives other orders, ah, I will follow your command. If you have any tasks, just say it, I, ah, figure it out..."

Xia Houyan pondered for a moment, then tentatively said:
"Commander Eldridge, the three hundred infantry you brought...?"

"I listen to your arrangement!" Judging from Eldridge's tone, it seemed that Ya didn't care about the 300 people at all.

"Then I put them into the Igor Pioneering Army, do you have any objection?" Xia Houyan gritted his teeth secretly and said.

"Okay." Eldridge gave a thumbs up casually, "It just so happens that I don't need to direct, ah, it's so cool!"

Xia Houyan stared at Eldridge, and after confirming that the other party's expression did not seem to be fake, he said in a deep voice:

"Commander Eldridge, this is not Rose City after all. I can't transfer your position at the Grand Duke's side... In this way, I will arrange for you to be a military advisor in Frost Maple Ridge. Do you think it's okay?"

"No problem." Eldridge agreed, suddenly hesitated, and asked tentatively, "Well... I have a, ah, small request..."

The lord's heart is in his throat.

"You said." He asked timidly.

"Well, my lord, can you, ah, don't send me missions?" Eldridge said with a sad face, "Brother, I am in the east, ah, I was ordered by the Grand Duke like, ah, a beast... I still count on In the south, ah, have a good time and travel... By the way, if you can really write novels in the workshop you told that elf mage before, I, ah, really want to read it..."

Xia Houyan was really shocked.

"Commander Eldridge, your professional attitude has always been like this..." He searched for the right words in his mind for a long time, "...fishing?"

"Let your mother go..." Eldridge cursed halfway, only to realize that the other party is now his boss, and suddenly changed his face, and said embarrassingly, "...that, my lord, it's all against me, ah , Misunderstanding, only a real hunk can see my, ah, dedicated heart..."

Xia Houyan was speechless.

He suddenly had an extremely bold but logical speculation:
Could it be that Eldridge was sent to Shuangfengling to re-educate the poor and lower-middle peasants because he fished too much in the Eastern Territory and angered the Grand Duke?

What does Rosario think of us, Frost Maple Ridge? !
Trash? !
Depend on!
Xia Houyan was still curled up in the chair, his teeth itching with hatred, but Eldridge said cautiously:

"That, ah, my lord..."

"What's wrong?" Xia Houyan suppressed the unhappiness in his heart and forced a smile.

"Grand Duke Rosario asked me, ah, to remind you, when you are free, you probably have to go back to the imperial capital, ah, take a walk..."

"Back to the imperial capital?!" Xia Houyan was stunned, and when he turned his head, he met the equally astonished eyes of Mayor Joel and Master Laurie who had just entered the door.

"That's right." Eldridge's expression was surprisingly serious, "Grand Duke Rosario, ah, I'm afraid you don't know, the current title and title of your lord Eliot Igor, ah, is still empty ..."

Xia Houyan opened his mouth.

Indeed, after the incident of his hapless father's rebellion, the title of "Duke of Eagle's Rest" inherited by the patriarch of the Igor family has been deprived in essence—even though the lord escaped unharmed and was even sent to The Land of Cracking Souls opened up wasteland and land, but he is only a "Lord of Frost Maple Ridge" at present, and the official title of nobility has to wait for the official canonization of the empire.

Mayor Joel and Katerina discussed privately with the lord before. These two high-ranking Frost Maple Ridges who are more familiar with the politics of the empire agreed that after the treason case, it might be a bit difficult for the Igor family to keep their original duke title. Difficult, but it is better to strive to maintain the title of "Earl of Frost Maple Ridge" or even "Marquis of Frost Maple Ridge"——

——Although after the "Crown Act", the central government of the empire took back the power, and the rank of noble titles is no longer as effective as it was in the ancient days when the ranks of nobles were divided into layers, but a higher rank still means a lot in the circle of nobles. influence.

Xia Houyan had been thinking about when the envoys sent by the empire to confer titles and issue flags, badges and scepters would arrive at Shuangfengling;
Unexpectedly, today it was Eldridge who woke up the dreamer:

"The Grand Duke knows, ah, you don't know much about the recent changes in the imperial political arena...According to the regulations, didn't the imperial nobles and lords have to go to the capital every year, ah, to participate in the court meeting? At the beginning of this year, His Majesty the Emperor just promulgated, ah, The new regulations say that the noble lords, in addition to gathering at the court meeting at the end of the year, have to report to the majesty individually, and if there is a major fault, they will be lowered, or even, ah, deprived of the noble title..."

Xia Houyan and Mayor Joel exchanged glances.

"So..." Xia Houyan pondered.

"You are also bound by this regulation, ah, noble lord." Eldridge touched his nose, "The Grand Duke Rosario has already specifically asked, ah, people from the imperial court, what they mean is, They will not give you a formal title until you go to the imperial capital to report on your duties in person and prove that you, ah, have successfully opened up the territory in the Land of Broken Soul."

Xia Houyan couldn't laugh or cry:
"So I still have to go to the imperial capital?"

"Right." Eldridge gave a thumbs up.

Xia Houyan, Mayor Joel, and Master Laurie looked at each other, and found that each other's faces were a little gloomy.

As a descendant of a family charged with treason and a remote lord in the southern wilderness, once he goes to the imperial capital, he will definitely face a rather harsh political environment—not to mention a villain like the Duke of Houston who has been in politics. How many small moves will be made in the dark.

To be honest, no matter how you look at it, this trip to the imperial capital is full of danger like a Hongmen banquet.

However, as the lord of the empire, the Xiahou official really had to go to the imperial capital—violating His Majesty's regulations is almost equivalent to (the second) rebellion in the political context of the empire:
No matter how arrogant Xiahou officials are, they will not risk the disapproval of the world and go against their own emperor——

— at least for now.

"Commander Eldridge..." Mayor Joel remembered a key matter, "You said just now that the lord will go to the imperial capital to prove that he has successfully opened up territory in the wasteland, and the empire will give him an official title... But this 'Proof', what kind of 'proof' method is it?"

"It's easy." Eldridge snapped his fingers, "Just pay the money."

Xia Houyan, Mayor Joel and Master Laurie were all speechless.

Sometimes things are just horribly simple.

According to Eldridge, the method of "reporting" by the lords of the empire is that the lords of each territory personally go out and pay enough taxes to the empire according to the number of people within the officially designated territory——

——Although the previous imperial lords also had to pay taxes to His Majesty the Emperor according to law, but at that time, the amount of tax paid was not strictly linked to the population, and secondly, there was no need for the imperial lords to escort them personally and receive them directly from the palace finances. Therefore, it is said that there are many tricks in the process of supervision and payment at various levels;

His Majesty the Emperor probably also issued a new policy of "reporting work" in order to get rid of financial ills.

Hearing that the so-called "work report" is actually "payment", Mayor Joel and Master Laurie breathed a sigh of relief.

Now Shuangfengling is so poor that only money is left.

Xia Houyan pondered for a while, tapped the armrest of the seat with his fingers and said:

"Commander Eldridge, I understand... It seems that I have to go to the imperial capital again... Bah, pay taxes... The empire sent me to this shitty place, and they still have the face to ask me to collect taxes ..."

After all, it was the place where the sky was high and the emperor was far away. After hearing the lord's rebellious remarks, no one's expression changed at all.

"Holy Spirit..." Mayor Joel suddenly remembered something, and exclaimed, "Then...then according to the law we found earlier, the 730th year of the Imperial Calendar, the townspeople of the left bank town , Even the bandits and refugees in the cottage seem to be considered your legal subjects? Then... Then the population of legal subjects of our Igor family is not limited to the people on the Phoenix Terrace and Tongque Terrace... ..."

"Fuck!" Master Laurie's statement was more direct, "We were fucked up by the empire! If you calculate it like this, the taxes you have to pay for your job report will go to sea!"

"Relax..." Xia Houyan sneered, "Since ancient times, smart people pay taxes, and they will not pay their own money... I remember that before the war with the Bandit Allied Forces, when we were purchasing supplies, we were severely beaten by profiteers from the left bank. Knocked a fortune, right? That old bastard Faulkner still refuses to help? Well, now it's time to pay off the debt..."

Mayor Joel and Master Laurie knew that Faulkner, who had just become the chairman of the Left Bank Alliance and had been free for a short time, might be in for some bad luck this time.

"In short, let's go to the imperial capital to report on the work first." Xia Houyan rubbed the crowbar in his hand, narrowed his eyes and said, "We have to sort out the matters in the wasteland first - now, we need to prioritize three things: Bandits, towns on the left bank..."

"What about the third one?" Eldridge asked playfully.

"... Rock Creek City." The answer given by the lord almost scared the commander of the East Territory and fell off his seat.

(End of this chapter)