Chapter 45: father-daughter conflict

Earl Morin pushed the absurd thought that had flashed through his mind out of his mind. magic? how is this possible?

The gods of the church always use legends about evil wizards and witches to frighten ordinary people, and they even set up a special referee. Traces of witchcraft. Because of their influence, the public believes these statements deeply, especially the ordinary people at the bottom.

But in the eyes of a few well-educated people, the sayings such as wizards and witches are just fabricated by the church in order to expand its influence. With the development of the times, a large number of mysterious phenomena have been reasonably explained. For example, the phenomenon of "will-o'-the-wisps" in the tomb was previously said by the church to be haunted by evil spirits, but after research by alchemists, it was just a phenomenon called The substance of "phosphorus" just ignites spontaneously. Because the lies were debunked, the church disliked these scholars who dared to explore the unknown, and many people were labeled as wizards and persecuted. However, this cannot stop people's curiosity, and even some factions have emerged within the church, advocating approaching and understanding gods by exploring the unknown and studying nature, such as the famous "Mingrikai".

The church far-fetchedly associates some people or things that they cannot explain with witchcraft or devils, and uses people's fear to strengthen their dependence on the church. This kind of statement has been circulated in a small circle among the high-level nobles, thinking that wizards and magic are things used to deceive those foolish men and women. Earl Morin himself thought so, but most of the nobles still held the attitude that they would rather believe what they had or not.

"Please Mo Linqing to continue to investigate this matter. But no matter what the truth is, the reality of food shortage will never be changed."

The king broke the silence in the study by addressing the most pressing question at hand.

Catherine frowned and said: "Father, I have ordered the collection of food and grass in the royal territory, but it will take a long time."

"Even if some food and grass can be raised, it is not enough to support the army to go deep into the south for a long expedition."

Rodney XVI fell silent, and said for a long time: "We can only buy from lords who support the royal family."

"The king should be self-sufficient" is an unwritten rule in this world.

Since the collapse of the ancient Bella Empire, new regimes, large and small, have been established in her territory. Newly born countries fought frequently, and the monarchs of these countries did not have the vast territory of the Bella Empire to rule, and their wealth was unable to support a large standing army. In order to meet military needs, countries generally adopt two methods to maintain their own military power.

The first is to keep only a small number of elite troops at ordinary times, such as knights with various names, and to recruit a large number of civilians to form an army during the war.

The second is to adopt the enfeoffment system. The king bestows land on meritorious nobles, making them lords of the land. The great lords can distribute the land in their own territories to their vassals, and the vassals can entrust their own vassals. Enfeoffment came down to the rank of knights. The lord mainly relies on the income in his territory to form military power, and during the war, he is obliged to respond to the call of the lord and provide his military power to the lord for use.

Correspondingly, the lord has no obligation to pay taxes to the lord or only pays a little symbolically. The royal families of various countries basically rely on the income of their own territories to meet their expenditure needs.

Therefore, as the king, Rodney XVI can summon the lords from all over the world to lead troops to serve the king, but he has no power to order the mobilization of the food stored on the lord's land. Of course, he can force this order in terms of law, but the result must be more The lords of the country forced their way to Giles.

Catherine suggested: "Let the royal commissioners we stationed before be responsible for communicating with the lords of their respective residences, and try to keep the price as low as possible."

The king agreed, Earl Morin took the order, and the royal commissioner was in charge of his intelligence system.

He took out the second scroll and handed it to the king and princess, and reported: "After our investigation, there are indeed people behind Giles."

The king unfolded the scroll and read the information with the princess. Catherine said grumblingly: "No wonder, he didn't have enough strength a year ago, and he raised the flag of rebellion so confidently a year later."

The count looked at the princess and said, "Our analysis shows that the forces supporting him may be 'over there'." He pointed to the east direction while talking.

The princess glared at the earl: "Don't talk nonsense without conclusive evidence!"

The count bowed his head and replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

The king suddenly said: "Don't say that about Sir Merlin. The relationship between countries is very complicated. There are too many things that are done in person and behind the scenes."

The princess wanted to say something: "But, Father..." But she hesitated to speak.

Rodney XVI took a loving look at his eldest daughter. This daughter is the greatest pride of his life. She is so outstanding at such a young age, but she still needs a lot of tempering in politics.

He turned to Earl Molin and said, "Okay, Sir Merlin, go back and rest today, I have worked hard for you during this time."

"This is the responsibility of my subordinates, and I dare not talk about hard work." Earl Molin saluted and left the study.

There were only father and daughter left in the study. Rodney XVI stood up and walked slowly to the window. UU Reading www. uukanshu． The king turned his back to the princess and said, "Catherine, there is something I want to tell you."

The princess waited quietly for her father's next words, but she heard the news that shocked her.

"I intend to marry your sister to Veblen."

The study room suddenly fell into silence, only the pendulum of the grandfather clock was heard, and Catherine couldn't say anything for a while.

Finally, she still asked: "This...why?"

In fact, the princess's heart is very clear: the Duke of Veblen is the strongest among the lords in the east of the kingdom, and he is also the strongest among the lords who are currently watching from both sides and have not expressed their support for which side.

The king did not answer, for he knew that his daughter must have understood his purpose.

"Irene is only 15 years old now, has she agreed?" The princess's tone suddenly became sharp.

The king still turned his back to her, and whispered: "15 years old is not too young..." But he didn't say whether Catherine's sister agreed.

"But that Veblen is almost 50 years old! And there are such and such comments! You want to marry your own daughter to such a person!" The princess raised her voice and almost shouted.

"Enough! I've made up my mind! Step back."

The king turned around all of a sudden, glared at his eldest daughter and shouted sternly, his eyes no longer showed the kindness before, but instead revealed a sense of determination.

Catherine understood the meaning in her father's eyes. She looked at her father coldly and said, "Obey! Your Majesty the King." Turning around and walking outside, the door of the study was slammed shut with a "touch".

Rodney XVI stood blankly in front of the window. He sighed for a long time, walked to the desk, and slumped on the chair weakly.

This daughter is still too naive in politics.