Chapter 370 Enfeoffment 2
Haha! As expected, the old manager took the initiative, and Paul nodded greatly in his heart.
As expected of an old man who is well versed in the world, he must have seen through the double act played by Paul and Bryce.
Being the first to call Bryce's name for enfeoffment, Paul was gambling to see if others behind him would "imitate" him in devoting administrative power to his territory.
Since he was the first to be enfeoffed by the lord, it means that Bryce ranks first in the lord's heart in terms of overall merit. If such a person takes the initiative to hand over power, the people behind him must also weigh it.
But if the second person doesn't understand this meaning, then the effect of Bryce's "demonstration" will be greatly reduced, and it will be difficult to proceed further.
If this is really going to happen, what else can we do? Paul could only hold his nose and admit it, and then it would take him several years or even longer to slowly take back his power.
This is really a gamble! Before Controller Ford made his statement, Lord Earl's heart was pounding.
It’s okay now. The old manager’s statement has further amplified the effect of Bryce’s demonstration. With his status and popularity, this is magnified exponentially.
“Okay!”
Paul said loudly, and then realized that he was a little too excited. This is not okay, we can’t let people see that we don’t want to delegate power.
He tried hard to suppress his inner excitement and said in a calm voice: "In that case, follow Bryce's example and reward the Graiman family's real estate in the Red Rock Town area to You.”
Red Rock Town is within the territory of Alda. There is no land in Alda that belongs to the government treasury. Except for some private fields, other real estate belongs to the lord.
“Thank you for your generosity!”
Old Ford thanked him, and then stood aside with a calm expression.
"Irving Schroeder!"
Paul smiled and called the third person's name. The chief of staff walked steadily to the steps and knelt down on one knee.
"Schroeder, you were originally a knight of the Northeastern Legion. You have made many contributions after returning to Arda. Now I formally ask you: Are you willing to be loyal to the Graiman family from now on?"< br>
Schroeder raised his right hand: "I swear to the Lord of Light that from now on, I will be loyal to you and your legal heirs."
Paul was very satisfied: "Very good, I Announcing your canonization as Baron of Riverdale Town”
Schroeder put his hand on his chest: "Thank you, Lord Count, and I also request that my territory be handed over to the Government Administration Council, just like Lord Bryce and Lord Ford."
Damn! Still coming?
Everyone shouted with great grief and anger in their hearts!
Paul also shouted in his heart: "It's done!"
If he hadn't been guarding so many people, he would have jumped up from the lord's seat on the spot.
"Then I will also reward you with the real estate in River Valley Town!"
Now he doesn't even need to ask the reason.
Okay, now that the top three bosses on the merit list have handed over their power, let’s see if the little shrimps behind have any discernment.
The enfeoffment continued, and just as Paul expected, the little shrimps all obediently handed over the administrative power in their territories.
However, there are also those who are blind. When Paul was entrusted to Quaker, he almost overturned.
The status granted to Quirk is "hereditary knight", which is not a real noble, but it can be regarded as touching the threshold. From now on, he can be called lord by the common people in a dignified manner. This is not the lord that the rural landowners say to each other, but the real lord. He is strictly in his own territory - the knight's territory. It can only be called a fief - enjoying legal administrative, judicial, and military powers, although Quaike's fief is just a relatively large village.
I want to say here that although the landowners and squires in Alda who do not have the status of nobility or knights have no administrative and judicial power in name, due to the weakness of administrative power in the past, the landowners actually occupy these powers. , especially large landowners with the status of "tax collectors", have great influence in their respective villages. Hereditary knight, this is something that Quirk never dared to dream about before. Two years ago, he was living at sea by robbing houses. Who would have thought that one day he would become a master. Unlike Bryce and others, Quick, who came from a truly grassroots background, lived entirely on the salary paid to him by the Navy. Such a large piece of real estate and various powers fell from the sky all of a sudden, and he forgot about it in joy.
“Thank you Lord Grayman for your gift!”
After accepting the reward, Quick happily returned to his queue, and did not notice that his boss Austin kept giving him He winked.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became cold, and everyone fell silent.
"Why don't you continue?" Quick still felt a little strange.
The man sitting on the lord's seat spoke: "Quick, in that case, then you should step down from your position in the army and seal it in your own fief."
What? What? What? What did the count mean?
Quick was shocked. Lord Grayman seemed to want to kick me out of the navy.
He quickly ran to the steps and knelt down: "Sir, I still want to continue to serve you! Please allow me to continue to stay in the army."
Paul shook his head: "What Bryce said just now reminded me How can one person do two things well at the same time? I can't bear to let your fief go to waste. Go ahead and manage it well and make it prosperous. Your descendants will thank you."
< br>"No, no, no! I can't leave the navy. I can't breathe even if I leave the warship for a day."
Quick almost burst into tears.
"Uh-huh!" Austin, who wanted to kick him, cleared his throat vigorously. Why did the Navy produce such a blind person?
He reminded: "Quick, why don't you also hand over the governance of the territory to the Government Administration Council, so that nothing can be done wrong?"
Quick struggled fiercely in his heart.
Lord of real power! An elusive goal for how many civilians?
But he also knew that the former "knights" of the Grayman family, after quelling the pirates, left Lake Town one after another because they could not adapt to the many regulations in the new army. They were still loyal to Grayman. The Man family vowed to return if called upon. But in many subsequent wars, the earl did not recall any of them.
In other words, if you do not hold public office, you are basically insulated from Alda's power system.
Are we going to stay on land and guard that one-third of an acre of land from now on?
No, he also wants to ride a larger ship, command a larger fleet, see stronger winds and waves, sail farther seas, and gain higher honors.
This is obviously not something that the lord of a village can do.
After repeated struggles, Quick finally made up his mind and asked Paul: "Please allow the Government Administration to manage my fief."
Paul's face remained calm, but in his heart Exhale.
"Okay, I accept your request, and the real estate in the fief will still belong to your name."
"Thank you for your generous reward!"
Quick felt relieved, anyway, anyway There is no loss of economic interests, the harvest in the fields is still his, and the taxes collected from the poor in the countryside are not enough, and giving orders in a village is meaningless, which is not as exciting as commanding a mighty fleet.
Ah, I will buy a new ship soon! His thoughts returned to the three-masted battleship that the count had personally promised them.
After Quick's appearance, everyone present generally understood what Paul meant - if you want to continue to stay in Arda's military and political system, you must hand over your power, and the lord will continue to Treat yourself as one of your own. If you don't hand over your power, just wait to be kicked out of the system. To put it harshly, you will be a "foreign minister" from now on, separated from the lord.
After these two years of development, everyone has personally experienced Alda's rising trend. Staying in this system will obviously bring greater benefits to themselves.
Leaving Alda’s system and becoming a small lord would probably be the end of my life. If you are not a big feudal lord at the level of a duke, marquis, or earl, what is the use of a little bit of power?
Those who have been sealed and handed over their power breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they made the right choice, while those who have not yet been sealed have also thought about what they should say.
(End of this chapter)