Throne of the North.

Chapter 424: The Participation of the Emperor Selectors, a Court without Plaintiffs
"Your Excellency, the Honorable Elector."

Ryan saluted to the power in the south and to the Emperor Chosen Volvo who appeared at the end of his sight and entered Zero Crossing City at sunset.

"Hello again, Mr. Ryan."

Volvo looked at Ryan with a smile, and his gentle tone made any noble instinctively believe in this noble man who had a noble status and would at least be a marquis in the future.

It is even possible that the other party will become the next master of the empire.

Being a natural nobleman with innate authority, he naturally became the object of loyalty of the noble leaders.

Ryan didn't feel anything about this. He looked at Volvo, curious about why this elector suddenly appeared here.

"I came to the North Wind Province to rebuild the West Sea Fleet."

To rebuild the West Sea Fleet, you need to come to the North Wind Province.

It was like a cold joke, adding a unique northern warmth to this winter.

"His Majesty, Emperor Flor, my father, has ordered the Northern Wind Province to provide sufficient metal minerals for the reconstruction of the West Sea Fleet. I will be responsible for the reconstruction of the West Sea Fleet together with Grand Duke Meyers."

Ryan looked a little hesitant and said:
"The iron mines in the Northern Wind Province are all owned by someone. They are all within the territories of the nobles. Most of the iron ore produced by those mines is sold to those chambers of commerce."

"This is a contract and transaction between the nobles and those chambers of commerce. I'm afraid this matter may be a bit troublesome."

Volvo looked like a listener. After hearing Ryan's words, he nodded and said with a smile:

"So I came to Lingdu City, especially to see you, Ryan."

"I would like to ask you to help me. You may not know that my father only allocated me one million gold coins. One million gold coins is an impossible task to rebuild the West Sea Fleet."

"This is a test from His Majesty the Emperor, Your Excellency the Elector."

Ryan echoed this, and then asked the other party how he needed help.

"On the West Coast, I have heard of your reputation, Llane. You led the army of the Northern Province and defeated the orcs once again. The poets of the West Coast compared you to the four archdukes."

"The Empire repelled the invasion of the orcs. The four Grand Dukes led their armies to defeat the orc king's court. You, Ryan, did it too."

"On the West Coast, many young people are no longer keen on becoming sailors. Instead, they want to come to the North and become your followers, Ryan."

"You already have a reputation that you can hardly imagine. I would like to invite you to become the deputy commander of the West Sea Fleet."

You invited me to be the deputy commander of the fleet, so I need to take the lead in getting the nobles of the North Wind Province to donate iron ore, right?

Ryan looked at the Volvo in front of him. This guy was no ordinary guy.

With just a few words, he got rid of all his troubles.

The West Sea Fleet was to be rebuilt, but it was the Emperor who gave only one million gold coins, and he, Volvo, was also a victim.

If the nobles have any dissatisfaction, they will target His Majesty the Emperor.

Then the Meyers family, the Grand Duke and the Elector were dragged into the picture. This was truly breathtaking news. All the nobles who heard the news would understand that Grand Duke Meyers had become a supporter of Volvo.

Perhaps he is the first among the three electors to have the support of the Grand Duke. In this way, the probability of Volvo becoming emperor in the future is higher than the other two.

The first elector who gets the support of the Grand Duke, if the other two are counted, the probability difference is almost 433. Don't underestimate this 10%.

Finally, he tried to win over Ryan, but he needed Ryan to do things, to help him harvest the iron ore in the North Wind Province, and most importantly, to save him from the troubles he had to bear.

In short, don't touch anything, but want to get everything.

A standard, excellent and powerful successor.

This is how Ryan describes Volvo.

But at the same time, Ryan also understood the significance of this royal test for Volvo.

He was born with extremely favorable conditions and power. The hereditary authority made the Emperor-Emperor a natural leader, but at the same time, as aristocrats and leaders, they could not just enjoy power, they had to bear and shoulder the responsibility of this empire.

This is the significance of this test for the emperor elects, to make them truly a noble and an emperor, rather than a parasite enjoying power.

An excellent means of training successors.

This is the so-called aristocratic education, no, royal education. What they want to cultivate is not garbage, but wise emperors.

This was not the wisdom of Columbus III, or even just the wisdom of the royal family, but the system of rulers within the entire empire that had been changed bit by bit over a long period of time.

Wanting the emperor elect to be a wise emperor is not what the royal family or even the emperor really needs, but this system must have such an emperor.

Only in this way can he overlook the entire empire from the palace, avoid being deceived by the nobles, and prevent the empire from declining.

Of course, this is an established system. As for what kind of leaders the emperor elects under this system will grow into, no one can say for sure.

Ryan felt the power of this circle, but he was unwilling to participate in it.

"Your Excellency, this may be difficult. The soldiers under my command have never seen the ocean. They cannot adapt to it."

Ryan refused Volvo's recruitment and became the deputy commander of the West Sea Fleet. How funny! A northern baron like him went to the west coast to become a naval colonel?
None of the dogs will go.

"However, I am willing to write a letter to Thunder Cloud County to inform them of your purpose. I think the nobles there should be very happy to see you."

Ryan said that Volvo wanted to use him to harvest the iron ore resources of the North Wind Province. Ryan also wanted to take advantage of the majesty of the emperor elect and use his name to inform other nobles of the arrival of the candidate for the crown prince.

Perhaps, this would make the nobles once again express surprise at Ryan.

Of course, these are just small profits. The key point is that Volvo is actually involved in the interest disputes within the North Wind Province at this time. He probably doesn't even know what political struggle is going on here?

It was normal for the Emperor-Emperor to act immature when he first encountered power, but it was also because there were no eyes belonging to Volvo in the North Wind Province.

Viscount Melendez could write to Ryan from the distant province of Calais, but no noble in the province of Borean had ever written to His Highness Volvo before.

He didn't know what was happening here, what was going to happen, what was happening.

How would you deal with it? Ryan looked at Volvo, who was a little surprised. Would the nobles be happy about his arrival?
He didn't think Ryan would deceive him or anything, and this was indeed not a deception.

Volvo Columbus stayed in Zero Crossing City.

He did not go to Beifeng City, nor did he go to Leiyun County to visit Marquis Beifeng.

"That's just a child, and the important thing is that woman. Ryan, you may not know how difficult that woman is."

"If I went to Thundercloud County, the news that I slept with that woman would spread in the Imperial Capital the next day."

Faced with Ryan's doubts, Volvo showed helplessness.

Shaya Meyers is a woman whose status is no less than that of a member of the royal family. Although the status of the elector is noble, this dignity also forces them to pay attention to their words and deeds in all aspects.

Why did Volvo have such concerns? First, because he could not deal with Shaya Meyers, but the other party could act like a shrew and do whatever she wanted. Second, because Shaya had a child with another elect. Although the other party had not expressed anything yet, strictly speaking, Shaya was Volvo's sister-in-law.

Volvo didn't want to mess with the woman who gave even the Grand Duke a headache and who didn't care about her reputation at all.

Ryan remained silent and did not respond. He arranged for Volvo to live in his own mansion.

Ryan's letter quickly reached Thundercloud County. As expected, when the nobles heard the news of Volvo's arrival, their eyes lit up frighteningly.

Excited, excited.

Joy was inevitable, and then a large number of nobles rushed to Lingdu City from Leiyun County.

Ryan was somewhat surprised that the first noble to arrive here was his younger brother, Norton Clayton.

"Oh, I thought you didn't want to see me."

Norton's face flushed. He was surprised at Ryan's change. Ryan used to be similar to him, but now he would even tease him.

"You want a piece of land, too?"

Ryan was surprised and looked at Norton strangely.

"Whose noble eldest daughter did you get pregnant? But her mother doesn't agree with this marriage?" Norton took a deep breath, looked at Ryan in shock, and then shook his head frantically.

"I have no children yet, and my mother is choosing a suitable marriage partner for me. I want to exchange for a piece of land."

Norton said this not for others, but for himself.

He is now a lord, Lord Norton Clayton. This lordship is entrusted to the Clayton family. Of course, this is not important. What is important is that the land that Norton was allocated was just a small village with a population of five or six hundred, and the iron mine was jointly owned with another lord.

In the successive wars, Norton's population became smaller and smaller, and the size of his land was also shrinking. The land could not be fully recovered from the destruction caused by the orcs for at least several years.

Norton could only cry silently as he watched his wealth dwindle, but now that he was independent, he no longer had the right to cry in front of Earl Clayton. In the end, he gritted his teeth and tried to find a way out from Ryan.

"I want the Twilight Territory, the quasi-barony in Thundercloud County."

Norton emphasized the term baronet, hoping to obtain a territory comparable to the size of a barony as a lord.

"You have quite an appetite."

Ryan looked at Norton. He was even bolder than himself. A lord actually wanted to take over the barony.

However, there has indeed been no lord there for a long time, and in the future... there will probably not be one for a long time.

Now is indeed a good opportunity, and the nobles are all scrambling for land, but Ryan still shook his head.

"I can't help you get such a huge amount of wealth and land. The nobles are now only eyeing the lands that have lost their nobles. The Territory of Twilight has been registered with the emperor as a territory without nobles. What will you do if His Majesty the Emperor remembers and wants to crown a Twilight Baron?"

"Can you tell our honorable Emperor that the land has become your territory?"

Norton opened his eyes wide, a little embarrassed. Ryan suddenly stretched out a finger and pushed Norton, causing him to stagger back.

"I can't even stand steadily."

Ryan was a little angry. Norton's words reminded him that there were still some lands in the North Wind Province that had no owner. Perhaps they could belong to him, Ryan. After all, the North Wind Province was now managed by the Meyers family.

"You were going to say that if the emperor crowned him Baron Shimmer, you would fight him back, and I might have helped."

"Really?"

Norton climbed up and asked excitedly.

"Do you really believe it?"

Norton became a little irritable. Of course he didn't believe it.

"You can't get it in the Glimmer Territory, but if you change to another territory..."

Ryan was halfway through his speech when Norton started shaking his head wildly.

"I won't change my name. I am the blood of the Clayton family. How can I change my name?"

Well, the only way is no longer working. The nobles tried every means to inherit those lands, and they needed to let their descendants inherit the surnames of the nobles who once ruled the land.

"This is a bit troublesome. How about you take your people with you to open up the wasteland?"

Ryan thought about it and decided that this was the only way.

"It's to open up new land."

Norton was somewhat reluctant, but Ryan was not willing to let this kid go. For this world, nothing was stronger than blood ties. Lord Norton in the North Wind Province was born to be Ryan's ally, just as Ryan must be a noble standing on the side of the Clayton family.

If Norton can develop, it will also be of great help to Ryan's reputation in Leiyun County.

"It's settled. I'll arrange for you to follow the Tundra Territory's reclamation efforts. You'll be living in the swamp for the time being."

"Don't worry. When the nobles are eating meat, I will find a way to get you some manpower. Are three hundred households enough?"

Norton was breathing rapidly. Three hundred households, at least two thousand people.

He nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, and was rushed by Ryan to visit the Elector. What did it mean that the nobles did not go to see the Elector first thing when they came here? It would be fine if the other party could not remember Norton, but if he remembered the name of Lord Norton, it would not be a good thing.

Elector Emperor, the upper limit of this title is the master of the empire, and the lower limit is the marquis who is nobler than the earl. In the middle are the nobles who are on equal footing with the great justice.

On the other hand, Volvo received the nobles numbly, not caring at all about what kind of nobles they were.

He didn't expect there was so much trouble here.

"Lian is smarter than I thought. No wonder he has become a newly rising noble in the Northern Wind Province."

Volvo didn't know whether Ryan did it on purpose or not, because it was not reasonable for Ryan to conceal the news of Volvo's arrival, but the result now was not so optimistic. He was actually involved in a dispute among the nobles to plunder the land of the dead nobles.

Compared to this kind of thing, Volvo would rather go to the Marquis's mansion in Leiyun County to sleep.

He came to the North Wind Province for the iron mines. Not only did he want to rebuild the West Sea Fleet's iron mines, he also wanted to own an iron mine of his own to continuously provide his knights with weapons and equipment.

But now, he couldn't move, and in the face of the nobles' requests, he had to smile but couldn't give an answer.

bother!
"Is it annoying?"

Ryan looked at the brightly lit mansion. The arrival of the nobles boosted the economy of Lingdu City. He couldn't help but smile. Volvo should be restrained now, right?
In this way, there will be no time to recruit myself. I will discuss the iron ore and other things with those nobles.

In the end it was all about compromise and exchange. Volvo got the iron ore, the nobles got the land, Volvo got a group of supporters, and also allowed its competitors to get a group of supporters effortlessly. It was that simple.

As long as you are involved, no matter what the outcome is, both friends and enemies will gain at the same time.

Your Excellency the Elector will surely gain a lot from this journey.

However, Ryan was a little surprised that Viscount Hogg did not get involved, but knocked on his door in the middle of the night.

"Lord Hogg, you're being sneaky like this, and people will misunderstand you."

In the banquet hall, Ryan looked at the sneaky Viscount and his wife Hogg and said helplessly that he was thinking about how to connect the Northern Brave Guild with the large number of nobles who had arrived.

My thoughts were interrupted by Viscount Hogg. I stared at this guy, not knowing what he wanted to do.

"I don't want to get land from His Highness Volvo."

Viscount Hogg came straight to the point and said this.

Why did he have such an idea? Ryan looked at Viscountess Hogg beside Viscount Hogg.

She is of royal blood and must be good-looking. Even from Ryan's perspective, she is a great beauty. No wonder Viscount Hogg arranged so many things in his castle just to please this woman.

The Viscountess smiled and nodded at Ryan, then pulled Avril to sit not far away, leaving Viscount Hogg to say slyly:

"Ryan, you may not understand the struggles of the royal family. It is not something that small nobles like us can get involved in."

"The land we got from His Highness Volvo will be fine if His Highness Volvo becomes Emperor Flor in the future. But if not, it will leave a deep hidden danger. Those nobles will have to pay a huge price to keep their unreasonable land rights, and they may even be deprived of them by the new emperor."

"Don't tell anyone."

Questioning that His Highness Volvo cannot become emperor may not necessarily lead to hostility from the nobles of the empire, but it will definitely be remembered by Volvo. Viscount Hogg is of course extremely nervous.

"My wife told me that something like this happened in the royal family before. After the new emperor was crowned, he directly stripped a group of noble titles with unreasonable qualifications and traded them to the great nobles who were close to him."

"There is no way. There is too little land in the south below the northern border, and there are too many nobles."

Ryan looked at Viscount Hogg.

"If you don't want to trade land from him, why are you coming to me?"

"I can only come to find you."

Viscount Hogg said helplessly that everything was going well, but now that the elector has arrived, the nobles are like defendants before the judge in court, frantically telling of their grievances and wanting to be judged by the judge.

There are no plaintiffs in this court. The plaintiffs are all dead, and their entire families were trampled by the orcs.

There is only one judge, His Highness the Elector Volvo, but there are two jurors, Meyers and Ryan.

(End of this chapter)