Chapter 234
There have been two types of lords in the northwest bay of the Aldo Kingdom for a long time.
One type is the indigenous lords. Most of them can trace their family lines back to the military leaders or religious nobles of various tribes who lived here in ancient times. Since the beginning of human civilization, their ancestors have been in the northwest. The Gulf took root - but according to scholars, their ancestors also migrated to the northwest from the central plains of Aldo. Some of them were enfeoffed here by various regimes before the Rodney Dynasty, but they have a long history of living in the northwest bay. Some families were even enfeoffed here during the Gubera Empire.
The most powerful of these lords is the Ferdinand family. The other indigenous lords are basically vassals of the Ferdinand family or vassals of vassals.
The other type is the foreign lords. Their ancestors were all enfeoffed to the Northwest Gulf after the establishment of the Rodney Dynasty. In the process of the new dynasty unifying Aldo, more than half of the original lords of the Northwest Gulf defected to the current royal family, but a small half of the lords did not see the situation clearly and were cleared. The vacated territory was occupied by the Rodney royal family. Rewards were given to meritorious officials who followed them.
In addition to guarding the border, the new lords appointed by the Rodney royal family were also tasked with monitoring the indigenous lords. For a long time, the old and new lords had restrained each other.
However, the Gleiman family is special. This family’s original fiefdom was in the fertile central plains. Later, they took the wrong side in the political struggle and were kicked to the northwest bay by the royal family. The new fiefdom is still the same as the original fiefdom. In Borderlands, in a sense, the Gleiman family is also under "surveillance".
There are a total of twelve earls in the Northwest Bay, six of which are vassals of the Ferdinand family, and the other six are vassals directly entrusted by the royal family. The strength among the major earls varies. The most powerful Kent family, in addition to its own direct territory, also has 10 subcounties as vassals, while the (previously) weakest Gleyman family, let alone It was a sub-level vassal, not even a formal knight's fief.
As for the other viscounties and baronies, they are basically vassals of the Northwest Duke or the twelve earls.
The current situation in the northwest bay is: five of the six earls entrusted by the royal family have formed an alliance against the Kent family, headed by Earl Parker, while the Kent family has attracted the other three earls who are also vassals of the Ferdinand family. A competing alliance has been formed, and the remaining three counts have ambiguous attitudes and have not yet clearly chosen a side.
Although the Kent family seems to be at a disadvantage, Maltz Kent, who controls Count Ferdinand, can use the power of the duke's direct territory in the name of the duke, as well as other vassals under the duke's name. Some viscounties are quite powerful. , their population is not much worse than that of a nominal earldom like Arda. Therefore, in terms of absolute strength, it is Malz Kent who has the advantage.
“Don’t worry! Many of the lords under the Duke believe that the letter is true. As long as we can withstand Maltz Kent’s offensive, they will support us from the rear anyway.”
At a meeting, Earl Parker shook a stack of letters and revealed his seemingly unreliable trump card.
......
In late March, the two major factions, which had already been sharpening their knives, attacked each other almost at the same time. Maltz Kent issued an ultimatum to the lords who did not respond to the summons last time, forcing them to arrive at Center City within three days to meet up, otherwise they would be punished for humiliating the Duke. Not to be outdone, the anti-Kent alliance publicly displayed the Duke's secret letter, and at the same time brought Viscount Henry to the forefront. Viscount Henry had long been under secret protection by Earl Parker. The appearance of the secret letter and Viscount Henry caused a sudden surge in public opinion in the Northwest Bay. Wow.
Maltz Kent immediately stated that the letter was a forgery. Henry Ferdinand escaped from the dungeon and framed him because he was jealous because he did not become the heir to the duke. However, a group of villains headed by Count Parker had always had different intentions. Both parties hit it off and plotted against him. Through the little mage Andy, he controlled Duke Ferdinand to hold on to the dying soldier's body, and held a public meeting in Center City to reiterate this point.
But privately, the Earl of Kent was still a little scared. He had expected that Henry would seek asylum from those who opposed him, but he did not expect such consequences.
And the secret letter in his hand is exactly the same as what he did and planned. Was it really written by Duke Ferdinand? Is there a loophole in Master Barnett's control spell?
When he thought of this, Malz Kent felt a sharp pain in his head, and then he naturally thought: How is this possible? How could there be a loophole in Master Barnett's spell? Praise Master Barnet, praise the Secret Order, Duke Ferdinand was clearly controlled by him. That’s right! It must have been Henry, that damn fellow, copying his brother's handwriting.
As for why the content in the letter is consistent with the facts...it must be a coincidence! It must be a coincidence!
But...but...why do so many lords follow old Puff Parker to oppose him? These guys were usually submissive to me, and everything they said sounded like flattery, but now they actually had the courage to go against me.
In his original expectation, there might be one or two thorns in the side who were dissatisfied with him, such as that old guy Price Parker, but when he took advantage of the duke's honor and righteousness, he couldn't do it at all. Can't make any trouble. After one by one you clean out those lords who are still loyal to the royal family, you can stand on your own in the northwest bay and stab the royal government in the back while its attention is on the south.
But now it seems that Henry Ferdinand's escape and the secret letter he forged have aroused the vigilance of the outsiders - the name the indigenous lords privately called the new lords of the royal family - and made them If we gather together in advance, the original plan can no longer be implemented.
When I think of this, the Earl is extremely upset. He should find an excuse to detain all these potential enemies at the Duke’s birthday party. Although the follow-up processing will be more difficult, it is better than the current situation. Much easier to deal with.
There is no use regretting now, we can only see the truth on the battlefield.
......
After a long period of preparation, the two major factions have gathered considerable military strength. They mobilize their troops and generals, and the war is about to break out. However, neither side has forgotten the existence of the royal family. Needless to say, the Kent Alliance will definitely want to win over the royal family, and the Earl of Kent also needs to temporarily pretend to be a loyal minister of the kingdom. Both parties coincidentally sent their own envoys to Jingyao to state the "real situation" to His Majesty the King, request the royal family to support them, and inform the rest of the kingdom that the other party was rebellious.
I wish all readers a happy Spring Festival, may all your wishes come true in the new year, may everything go as you wish, and may the sesame blossoms bloom steadily!
(End of this chapter)