Throne of the North.

Chapter 474: Opponents, Fence-Sitting and the Aristocrats

The resurgence of the Dragonblood Warrior Legion finally made the nobles turn their attention to the north.

Since there is something as precious as dragon blood in there, their requirements are not high. Just something slightly less valuable than dragon blood will be fine. There should be a lot of it there, right?
Master Ryan, who had pretended to be dead for a whole winter, came out and took out a sapphire that was a circle larger than himself, with an extraordinary substance like starlight flowing inside it.

It is extremely precious and was a gift from the Frost Giant leader, Lagerlov, to Baron Llane last year.

"Of course the North has huge wealth. The original intention of establishing the North Chamber of Commerce was not only to obtain resources from the North Wind, but also to enter the North, to the land where our ancestors lived more than a hundred years ago, to dig for ancient wealth."

"It's worth more than we ever imagined. I don't even know how much this gem is worth."

The powerful alchemist Rose Jackson, the most powerful follower of Baron Ryan of the Frozen Territory so far, personally used alchemy to create a huge ritual. When the sapphire was inlaid in it, the ritual slowly turned, and a layer of hazy mist evaporated around the sapphire.

The surrounding vegetation and even the soil have all been cared for, giving rise to a rich vitality.

This is the power of this gem, a specialty of the Frost Giants, because the vitality of the Frost Giants comes from the cold and dead ice and snow.

They are the darlings of the world of wind and snow, but they also represent that even in such a dead world, there is also brilliant vitality.

This gem is the perfect interpretation of the meaning of the frost giants' existence.

It took Rose a whole winter to thoroughly research it.

Ryan invited many nobles to observe, and they were shocked by the wealth. It would take at least ten years for the gem to completely evaporate.

That at least represents ten years of warmth on Xijiao Mountain.

The nobles began to ponder the value of the North.

The sapphires were not used up. Ryan used the scraps to make eight necklaces. The thumb-sized sapphires emitted a light that was beneficial to life.

"They will be presented to this year's Eight Knights, representing the friendship of the Tundra Territory."

Ryan described it to the nobles in this way, and some nobles who were keen on politics finally understood it.

"Is Baron Ryan using this method to fight against the Meyers family's marriage alliance?"

The nobles were surprised, and they had to say that Baron Ryan's method was good. Now many nobles, especially those who had been very close to Baron Ryan for various reasons in the past few years, were hesitant.

The nobles are concerned about interests. They will naturally lean towards whichever side can bring them higher interests. Most of the fence-sitting nobles are like this.

But it doesn’t feel like enough.

The reason why political means such as marriage are called the best solution is because the bloodline is so strong and stable.

The nobles who were sitting on the fence did not even have the qualifications to sit on the fence due to their bloodline, so they naturally stood firmly on one side.

"What's the point of a fence-sitter? Meyers doesn't want such a fence-sitter, so what's the point of me coming?"

Ryan said this with a smile. He used dragon blood, frost giant gems, the Northern Brave Guild and the Eight Knights to attract the nobles to be close to him, but this excitement can only be said to be an economic means to prosper Zero Crossing City and the Northern Brave Guild.

The real political method, of course, is to tie someone up to death.

For example, Xilin Dragon who came back from the North.

He only had his left arm left.

"I heard that you were in a very bad state, but were found and rescued by adventurers in the North. You were very lucky. You slept in the ice and snow for a whole day and night without freezing to death."

Xilin was lying on the bed, and Ryan was glad that this guy came back alive. His relationship with Viscount Dragun was not good to begin with. If Xilin died in the North, Ryan would probably start a war with Dragun.

"I encountered a blue-skinned monster. He was very powerful. After I escaped, the monsters in the north smelled my scent. The group of adventurers showed up just in time."

Xilin said this, telling Ryan that the blue monster was very tall, about two heads taller than the human knight. They also had limbs, similar to wild beasts, but were smarter and stronger than wild beasts. Most importantly, they had adapted to the extreme environment of the North.

"As long as I survived, it's fine. A broken arm is troublesome, but it's not impossible to grow it back."

The extraordinary world is so unreasonable, especially in the era of the rise of life magic in the empire. Before that, the divine arts mastered by the priests of the Dawn Church were even more miraculous.

"But I don't want to waste the potential of my life seed."

Xilin said that no matter what means were used to make the lost arm grow back, first of all, the new arm would be fragile and would require a long period of training to recover little by little. Secondly, the regeneration of a broken limb would consume vitality.

Having lost his arm, the knight's seed of life has already been damaged. If he continues to regenerate with a broken limb, the seed of life that was born when he became a formal knight will be damaged again. That would basically cut off the possibility of him becoming a high-level knight because the foundation has been badly damaged.

Xilin is not a sky knight, and his seed of life has not undergone a second sublimation, so his vitality is simply not enough to support this consumption.

Even using dragon's blood can't make up for it. This is a fundamental problem.

Ordinary people may not care, but Xilin, a knight who dared to give up the title of Viscount, could not accept it at all.

After all, a tiny gap could result in him being unable to receive the legendary gift in the future.

"Then...you only have one solution."

"Go find Mr. Rose. He has the same arm and has made rapid progress on the Knight's Path recently."

The one-armed man in the frozen land has one, and Rose Alchemist's right arm is an alchemical arm. This has not affected this monster with terrible talent at all, and he is now moving forward on the third extraordinary path.

"Thank you, Master Ryan."

Xilin said sincerely that in Ryan's opinion, this is the binding, and it is not the group of nobles who are fence-sitters.

Opponents, fence-sitters, and base, what Ryan needs to do is to expand his base and then win over those fence-sitting nobles. As long as he occupies two-thirds of them, he will be able to have all the power over the North Wind Province.

No one can be greedy and possess everything. No matter how wise and powerful a ruler is, he will have his own opponents. He can just use the majority will to suppress the minority will and then rule the entire land.

And the existence of opponents is not meaningless.

"The honorable Emperor Flor gave the North Wind Province as much as 100,000 gold coins for repairs. We repelled the evil orcs and killed their king, but it does not mean that the threat of the orcs has disappeared."

"We still need strong, solid fortresses."

"The Xiangshan Plain needs support, and the homes of the nobles need to be rebuilt."

Ryan's words were not groundless. With the arrival of the new year, the nobles felt that the world had returned to its original state, but the people in their territories did not feel the same.

Orcs still exist. Their numbers have decreased a lot this winter, but the remaining orcs will still invade the nobles' territories from time to time, forcing the nobles to bring knights and troops for protection every time they travel.

Count Sauron invited the nobles to review the Dragonblood Warrior Legion, which had become even stronger. Taking this opportunity, Ryan told the nobles these words.

His words were directed directly at Lei Yunshan. Although Governor Marquis Beifeng was still a child now, his identity meant that the nobles could no longer treat him as a child.

In name, the Marquis of Beifeng is nothing, but the Governor of Beifeng is the one who holds the most power in the Beifeng Province.

The baby in the cradle also became Ryan's opponent at this time.

He also sided with the Meyers family.

"Where's the money?"

Ryan didn't say it, but his eyes didn't lie.

The noble Emperor Flor was kind enough to allocate funds from his own treasury to the North Wind Province, a marginal land that he had no interest in, to repair the homes of the nobles and the Xiangshan Plain Fortress, but why did the money disappear? Could it be that the children hid it?
A baby in swaddling clothes may not be sensible, but the Marquis of the North Wind and the Governor of the North Wind cannot be ignorant.

That is enough wealth to renovate the homes of the nobles.

Just like Ryan, who has opponents, fence-sitting nobles, and a firm base, Meyers also has nobles in this land who are firmly opposed to Meyers.

Even Ryan was a little surprised that Viscount Landa, the tragic hero of the North Wind Province, and Viscount Hogg of Yinchuan County would become those who firmly supported him.

Viscount Hogg had another explanation. After all, as for marriage, Viscount Hogg had an ancient noble bloodline, and he was currently married to a woman from the royal family, so he didn't have to consider the marriage status between him and the family of Grand Duke Meyers.

Viscount Landa, as the most miserable noble in Beifeng, his territory and tribe were defeated and killed as many as three and a half times.

The extra half time was the fierce fighting in the process of defending the Xiangshan Plain Fortress. After all, the ones who protected the nobles were knights, and most of the knights came from large families with noble bloodlines, and were his relatives or something.

Logically speaking, Viscount Landa is the one who needs to gain sympathy the most among the aristocratic circles in the south. Those aristocrats can easily develop sympathy for him because of their many years of comfortable and peaceful living environment.

Especially those noble ladies, if Viscountess Landa cries a few times, she might be able to bring back a lot of wealth.

Unlike the nobles of Beifeng, none of them are poor, but various conditions make them stingy. In addition, Viscount Landa is a victim, so aren’t they also victims?

But Viscount Landa actually gave up this path.

Could it be that he didn't get the money when he cried poor in the south?

Ryan could only blame Viscount Landa for the huge changes he had undergone during the several failed and devastated wars. After all, he had not returned to Hanshan City County, nor to his own shattered territory, until now.

He is also one of the county governors of the Northern Province.

Ryan targeted the Marquis of Beifeng, but the Marquis of Beifeng could not respond because the child was still breastfeeding on Thunder Cloud Mountain and it was impossible for the Marquis' mother to appear in Longshan City.

The nobles wondered what Ryan was going to do, but in fact Ryan just told the nobles that Marquis Beifeng could do nothing.

It is only natural for people who shouldn't do something to do nothing, but it is a problem if people who should do something don't do anything.

Ryan didn't intend to target the orphans and widows on Thunder Cloud Mountain. He just wanted to put some eye drops on the nobles. He could do this once a year, and he could do it for eighteen years.

And don't forget, during the previous war, many orders were issued in the name of Marquis Beifeng, and the consequences of those orders are gradually fermenting over time.

Isn’t this how the rival between Meyers and Marquis Beifeng was born?

"Among the great nobles, the Marquis of Beifeng cannot be won over. He is destined to be the opponent. The Earl of Winter does not have a good solution yet, but he can be won over. He is currently sitting on the fence."

"Among the minor nobles, the Viscount has won over two. Viscount Miles of Lingdu City cannot leave, so there are three now. Viscount Dragun... counts as four. The Viscounts of other counties are a bit troublesome. I am not very familiar with them, but most of them are native nobles in the land of Beifeng. Earl Sauron's attitude should have a great impact on them."

"The process of integrating into the empire will also change these nobles, but it doesn't seem to be a big problem for the time being."

"The barons are the most troublesome. They want everything, but because their titles are too low, they have no connection with the barons when they are implicated. Their dependence is not strong, unless they are like Xilin, who has his own strong pursuits and stands on the same boat with me."

"but……"

Most of the nobles are parasites. Enjoyment and luxury are their main themes. It can be seen from their fat bodies that nobles like Xilin and Connie are very rare.

While Ryan was thinking, he saw Norton running around at the banquet and making friends with nobles.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"My dear brother, I need your help."

The lordship system has only been in place for less than two years, and the system is not yet mature enough. In short, there is a lot of room for manipulation.

In the North Wind Province, the lords are even more immature, because many of them were forced to come here with the development orders from the previous great nobles, especially Meyers.

Of course, many died in the war, and the lords did not have time to expand, resulting in the fact that there are not as many lords as before.

Logically speaking, most of these lords should be loyal to Mayes. In fact, although this is the case, the remaining nobles naturally cannot belong to Mayes.

Just like Norton, Norton Clayton, Ryan's younger brother, like most aristocratic families, although they are brothers, their relationship is not usually close, because being born into an aristocratic family, it is destined that the older brother and the younger brother are not only brothers, but also a monarch and subject relationship. As a younger brother, he cannot even change the object of his loyalty.

And a lord like Norton comes from a great noble family, so the marriage opportunity left by Chrysostom of Meyers does not have much value and temptation for these people.

When they marry, they give priority to the political stance of the nobles behind them. If they accidentally become enemies because of the marriage, it will become a big joke.

The Lord is not free, at least not as far as Norton is concerned.

He is in the North Wind Province, and unlike his baron brother Ryan, Ryan is now the head of the Ryan family, while Norton is still a lord-level retainer of the Earl of Clayton's family.

So he represents Earl Clayton, and there are many things he cannot do as he pleases.

When Ryan slapped him on the shoulder, Norton began to tremble all over. He turned around and saw Ryan giving him a charming smile.

"Was that Baron McKinley? I heard he has a very pretty daughter."

"Yeah, I've secretly seen her before, she's very pretty."

The nobles are not shy in this regard. Norton has taken a fancy to the other party, and Baron McKinley also wants to get closer to the Clayton family.

After all... the current imperial politics is still dominated by a group of nobles headed by Grand Duke Fleming and Earl Clayton.

"Although you are of the Clayton family bloodline, you are only a lord after all. Considering the title, Baron McKinley will definitely want to find a baron for marriage."

"He's still hesitating, but my stupid brother, when he starts to hesitate, you've already been put into the fish pond candidate."

"There are only interests among the nobles, unless you let them see the strong interest attribute in you, then the result will be in accordance with your ideas. At that time, you will no longer be in the fish pond, but she will be in your fish pond."

"As a lord who came from the south, you should know a lot of lords, right? Don't forget that I have lived in the Imperial City for more than ten years. I know better than you those who are not qualified to inherit the title but obtained the title of lord because of their father's love."

"They must have made a mess of their land, right?"

Ryan's words made Norton's eyes widen. He was surprised how Ryan could hit the nail on the head.

Not to mention the other lords who acquired lands out of doting, even Lord Norton, who became a lord because the Clayton family needed to expand, managed his own territory in a mess.

They want to prove themselves, but since they have been spoiled since childhood and have not received any education as heirs, they find it difficult to handle daily life.

It is easy to be a noble lord, but it is difficult to be a good noble lord.

This is what has been bothering Norton recently. After the war ended, he got a lot of population subsidies thanks to Ryan's relationship, but the various problems brought about by the population made him overwhelmed.

Not only did many people starve to death in one winter, but Lord Norton was almost going to have to pawn his underwear.

"I want to prove myself, but I can't manage my territory well."

"But sometimes, nobles don't need to do the management of the territory themselves."

"How can a noble manage a territory every day? Look at these nobles, which one of them doesn't lie on the breasts of their maids every day? When I visited them before, I saw the maids around them, and they were all drooping."

"I have a very good idea. It depends on whether you are willing to prove yourself to your father."

(End of this chapter)