Dragon, choose cultural victory to make money

Over the next few days, things developed just as Drogo had described.

Under the continuous "bombardment" of "black material" about Figesin and content refuting this black material, this Sutton civil war finally became a huge news known to everyone.

Figesin's ideas and style also became the focus of discussion.

The number of supporters and opponents is rapidly expanding.

Most of the supporters are civilians, which is easy to understand. Figosin's attitude towards civilians has made a leap forward compared to the past.

The opponents are naturally the beneficiaries of the old system. It is normal for them to oppose, as Figosin is blocking their profits. However, another part of the opponents cannot quite understand it.

They are also commoners, but they choose to become lackeys of the nobles, barking at Figesin and his supporters, saying that they are all traitors and rebels, and they don't know how to be grateful. The nobles giving them the opportunity to work is already a great privilege...

In short, this is the kind of statement.

But from the beginning I didn't expect these people to change their attitude.

You need to know who is your enemy and who is your friend. These people are your enemies who are worse than the nobles themselves.

The good news is that this group of people is not large in number, they just make a lot of noise.

This is also the deceptive side of the Internet. The feedback you can see does not necessarily reflect the real situation because most people do not speak out.

So even though Figxin is extremely controversial online and seems to be a person with mixed reputations, he has already won offline.

Throughout the northern region of Sutton, enthusiasm for joining the army was extremely high.

The original situation where conscription required conscripting able-bodied men, or where people could only join the army to try their luck when they couldn't make ends meet, has changed to selecting the best of the best.

Even relatively strict physical examinations and tests are set up.

Compared to the standard of conscription, which allowed anyone with sufficient limbs to pass, the selection of the Northern Legion was more difficult.

In addition to height and weight, candidates must not have any serious illnesses and must pass some physical tests, such as long-distance running, short-distance running, push-ups, and pull-ups.

For ordinary people in Feilin, not many people are eliminated by this threshold, mainly because the current types of work are mostly physical work, and the physical fitness of ordinary people is still good.

Interestingly, there are more extraordinary people blocking the way than ordinary people, especially the mages.

Due to the special nature of the Northern Legion, the demand for extraordinary people is not that high, so unless you have extremely high levels and join through special talent channels, you still need to take a physical test.

This is completely different from the traditional idea of ​​formulating tactics around the Mage Corps. In the Northern Legion, the Mage Corps is just one of many arms. It has its own special features, but not that special. It must keep up with the pace of the entire legion.

For mages who are stuck in the laboratory all year round, are like stay-at-home moms, and would never do anything themselves unless they can use the magician's hand, physical examinations can be life-threatening.

Drogo had been to the scene to observe the mage's physical test, with no other purpose than to watch the fun.

Then I saw that I could run a thousand meters in five minutes, and my pace was like a zombie at the end;

You won’t trip yourself when you long jump;
When doing push-ups, my arms shake like butterfly wings;

The pull-ups were like a fish that had been caught, struggling madly but still unable to gain any strength.

It was like looking at a group of college students.

However, the real college students in the north and the wizards who graduated from Hogwarts all performed well in the physical tests.

Because physical education classes count for credits at Hogwarts.

While the Northern Legion was rapidly increasing its strength, another important task was also being carried out simultaneously.

Abolish the privileges of the nobles in the northern region.

After this period of cleanup, the nobles in all the towns under the control of Figesin, north of the plain where Dronburg is located, each family selected a representative and was "invited" to Dronburg.

They are not prisoners in name, so the treatment they are provided with is slightly better. They are currently living in a single room in a hotel that has just been built here.

Drogo's plan for Dronburg is to make it an industrial city and a transportation hub in the north. In the future, there will inevitably be many outsiders coming here on business trips, and naturally it cannot be like before, where there were only two hotels in the whole city.

They were now anxiously waiting to be summoned by Figosin, wondering what fate would await them.

According to Figesin's suggestion, all the property of those nobles should be confiscated, and then they should find jobs themselves and experience the life of the working people. Those who disagree should be sent directly to the guillotine.

"Their territory is now under our control. Their private soldiers have either been killed or captured. Even the people themselves are under our control. When we say we are inviting them, everyone knows that it is just house arrest. There is nothing to talk about. They are not qualified to negotiate at all." This is what Figxin said.

"No, it's not that simple. When we negotiate with the northern nobles, we are not just negotiating with them. We also have to show it to those who have not been conquered by us yet, and show them that although we have to make changes to the old system, we will not kill them all. There is still some room. In this way, most of the nobles will not fight to the death." Drogo explained patiently.

"We are not afraid of their resistance."

"Yes, we are not afraid, but the civilians are. If they break up into smaller groups, those knights and private soldiers will become bandits roaming around in the wild. That will cause a lot of trouble. No matter how powerful our forces are, we cannot guarantee that no one will be spared. Even some of the defenders of Dronburg have escaped."

According to subsequent statistics, there were nearly a hundred defenders who mixed in with the civilians or escaped on the way to surrender. The manpower sent by the North was simply unable to keep an eye on a population that was several times their own. Moreover, the battle was still going on that night and the situation was quite chaotic, so it was completely acceptable that only this number of people escaped.

"After those people become bandits, they will only hide from our regular army and attack civilians. If we want to clean them up, it may not be very difficult, but it will be troublesome. It will definitely be an unacceptable trouble. It will be time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly. And believe me, it will definitely cost more than you think now."

There is still a big difference between security warfare and direct war.

In terms of difficulty and intensity, a direct war is definitely much higher than a security war.

But the security war is like a mosquito hiding in your bedroom. Every time you sleep, it will fly out and buzz, disturbing your sleep.

When you make up your mind to get out of bed and turn on the light, and vow to fight the mosquito to the death with your eyes blinded by the light, you find that you can't find it.

After repeating the above process several times, I finally slapped the mosquito to death on the wall and fell asleep peacefully. When I woke up in the morning, I found two bumps on my body and realized that there was more than one mosquito hiding in the bedroom.

This is the security war, pure disgust and torture.

Figosin also understood the difficulties here. "So our best option is to negotiate with them and let them 'voluntarily' give up most of their privileges. Moreover, this negotiation should be made into big news and publicized to everyone. The content should be written as 'Northern nobles happily embrace the new era'."

"You have grown." Drogo said with relief.

Happily, and hugging, these little words already have some of Drogo's charm.

"Then what do we leave for them?" asked Figsin. She originally wanted to leave nothing for the nobles.

"The core area of ​​the fiefdom, where their castles or manors are built, is more or less their ancestral home. And then there's their title. Many nobles value it more than their lives." Drogo counted with his claws.

"Still retain the title of nobility?"

"Yes, but we will turn this title into an honorary title in the future and give it to people who have made significant contributions, such as scientists and artists with outstanding achievements, like Yuno."

Figosin nodded. As the chief academician of the Shenzhen Research Institute, Yuno must be more "sir" than those nobles who only eat and do nothing.

"Honorary knights enjoy an allowance, but it is not hereditary."

"What about the original nobles?"

"They also enjoy allowances, which can be considered as money to 'bribe' them to stop causing trouble. However, their allowances are not hereditary. Only the titles of nobility can be inherited. Moreover, if their descendants want to inherit the family property, they need to pay the nobility inheritance tax. For the time being, this tax only applies to the nobility."

"In that case, if the descendants are not good enough, the accumulated wealth will be spit out from generation to generation. How insidious Drogo!" Figosin praised sincerely.

Drogo rolled his eyes. "I prefer to call it shrewd."

"That's about it, is that all?"

"That's all. In comparison, it's a more difficult task to arrange jobs for the scholars, soldiers, wizards, alchemists, and servants who were originally loyal to the nobles. After the nobles lost their privileges, they certainly couldn't afford to support so many people, and they couldn't let these people remain unemployed. Therefore, the municipal government has a heavy responsibility."

"They'll take care of it."

Thanks to the universal education implemented in the North and Waterdeep, the number of literate people is far ahead of other regions, and civil servants are now being exported to these new places crazily.

However, since there are "opportunities everywhere" in Waterdeep, people who have received a complete education are not very willing to become civil servants, as they feel that they can see the end of their career at a glance.

In their opinion, "being able to see the end at a glance" is a huge disadvantage, as there are no more opportunities to do anything than to take an exam.

As a result, although the Northern Administrative Staff is not a one-click job, it is not much different. A position with ten applicants is considered a popular position with high competition pressure. Although it sounds unreliable, at least there is an exam, which is much more capable than the administrative officials who were originally appointed, recommended, and rewarded by the kingdom.

Figesin is very proud of this.

"Now can we negotiate with those nobles?"

"Yes, oh, but I need to make some preparations first." Drogo said mysteriously.

……

A few days later, because the mansion of Dronburg was still under reconstruction, they had to rent the mansion of a local wealthy businessman as a temporary office.

Merchants are easier to talk to than nobles. As long as the price offered is generous enough, they will not think there is anything wrong with their homes being temporarily occupied by others. Instead, they are afraid that Figesin will not rent it.

In a temporary meeting room converted from a restaurant, dozens of northern nobles, big and small, sat around two long tables.

There were no name tags on the table for them, but this did not affect their conscious seating arrangement according to their status.

Although they managed to maintain a calm expression, they frequently took out their handkerchiefs to wipe their sweat, revealing their nervousness.

No one was sure about it, but they still had to be tough, and the nobles who knew each other whispered to each other.

"What conditions do you think she will put forward?"

"No matter what conditions she proposes, we can't agree to them easily. Otherwise, what kind of negotiation is this? Be alert and don't lose face!"

"Well done..."

At this time, the guard stood in front of the conference room and shouted loudly: "Captain of the Northern Army, Figsin Sutton is here--"

Unlike the common appearances of nobles, Figesin's name does not have a lot of prefixes in front of it, but only states his identity as the legion commander.

But no one dares to underestimate this identity.

All the nobles present were silent at this moment, like eggplants hit by frost, and did not dare to look directly at Figesin who was walking between the long tables.

Figesin was still wearing light armor today, not a formal dress, with a sword at his waist, looking majestic.

In stark contrast to the depressed nobles.

The only ceremonial ornament on her body was actually the sword.

As a Barbarian, her primary weapon is usually an axe or a hammer.

He walked to his independent seat in front of the long table and stared coldly at the nobles present without saying a word.

A negotiation tactic, a test of compliance, Drogo had said.

If she did not observe any aristocratic etiquette at all and those nobles still bowed humbly, it would prove that today's negotiations were basically successful.

The nobles present felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Perhaps in order to ease the tension, or simply out of muscle memory, they stood up and completed a complete, complicated, and somewhat tiring ritual.

The specifications are for the king.

In fact, Figesin has not yet declared himself king, which is considered an act of usurpation, but no one has pointed this out.

I'm completely listless and have lost all my share.

Figesin did not return the gift, but said directly to the assistant present: "Send the document to them. My conditions are written on it. Please sign it as soon as possible."

There was no room for maneuver in his tone. It didn't sound like a negotiation at all, but more like an order.

The nobles opened the document, which also contained no polite words, and clearly stated all the conditions and details.

"Retain only the fiefdom of the castle or manor; abolish the legislative power of the manor; abolish the taxation power of the manor; abolish the right to recruit troops; abolish all private laws..."

Each one is trying to kill the noble.

After a long silence, the nobles present finally couldn't help but start talking.

Figxin did not interrupt them. Based on her understanding of these nobles, they would probably discuss and choose a representative, usually the most prestigious one, to raise objections.

But unexpectedly, a few minutes later, they actually chose a woman, a widow whose husband had died and had no son, so she inherited her husband's title.

She was obviously not the most prestigious person present, but those people wanted to become her new husband and inherit the fiefdom and property.

Perhaps they chose her because they thought that as a woman, Figesin would have a better attitude?
But they clearly miscalculated; Figesin's attitude was not determined by gender but by class.

She did not belong to the same class as the old aristocracy.

"Your Excellency," the Baroness said humbly, "We do not question your rule over this land, but are these conditions too harsh? The legitimacy of these rights you wrote has lasted for hundreds of years. A complete denial of them is really not conducive to the stability of your rule."

Figosin laughed. It turned out that none of these nobles were honest people who could say something like "it's not conducive to your rule".

She stood up, frightening the nobles, fearing that she would suddenly attack them.

In the rumors among the nobles, Figosin was portrayed as a crazy woman who would hack people at any time.

"First of all, it is not me who rules this land, nor should it be ruled by one man."

Figesin was telling the truth, she really did think so.

However, the nobles present thought that she was talking nonsense and saying irrelevant and empty words just to show off her superiority.

Their thinking really cannot understand why a person who has conquered a place would not demand supreme power.

"Secondly, you have no choice. You'd better accept these conditions now to avoid things developing in an unseemly way."

“You can’t take away what we have.”

"I've left the castle and the title to you. I'll also pay you money every year to support you parasites so that you don't have to work for the rest of your lives. This is the greatest respect I can give you. If you're still not satisfied, I don't mind sending you to the quarry to let you experience what kind of life the common people you once rode over live."

Figosin held the hilt of his sword with his hand, and his tough appearance was no different from a threat to the nobles.

The baroness was obviously frightened and wanted to accept such conditions, but her eyes kept glancing in the other direction. It was obvious that that person was the truly prestigious noble present, and the baroness was just a tool pushed out by him.

The nobleman, seeing that the situation was turning in Figesin's favor, knew that the time had come when he had to step forward.

He stood up and said emotionally: "Everything you want to take away is the glory we have upheld for a hundred years. For this glory, we are willing to die! Don't even think about trampling on our dignity!"

Figxin looked at this person and had some impression of him.

"Marquis Lloyd Fernandez, right? I remember that when the Northern Army attacked your territory, you surrendered without any resistance. Where was your dignity at that time?"

Marquis Fernandez's face flushed red. "I, I did that to protect my family from being slaughtered for nothing! I also had to protect the residents of my territory from being harmed by the war!"

"Protect your family?" Figesin automatically ignored the protection of the residents of the territory. He was kidding.

"of course."

Figesin turned around and gestured to his assistant.

Then a screen was activated, and after a short delay, a picture appeared on it. Many people immediately recognized that it was the castle of Marquis Fernandez.

The shooting distance does not seem to be far from the castle, and the more serious problem is that dragon claws appear at the edge of the picture.

This is a dragon taking a photo.

"You, what are you going to do?" Marquis Fernandez's voice trembled slightly.

"You definitely don't want your family to encounter a dragon disaster. If you don't sign, I can't guarantee that a group of dragons won't appear 'accidentally' and plunder your castle. And if I remember correctly, if a noble loses his castle and his territory, his title will be automatically revoked, right?"

Figgin said with a kind smile. (End of this chapter)