Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 166 - 164: Imperial Court Meeting · Part 1

Chapter 166: Chapter 164: Imperial Court Meeting · Part 1

After a brief interlude, the imperial council finally formally convened.

The first topic on the agenda was, unsurprisingly, the post-war disposition of the three nations that had surrendered.

"Regarding France and the other nations, I recommend adopting a conciliatory policy. Our main goal right now is to prepare for the upcoming cold winter, and we don’t have much energy to spare for the post-war disposition of the three nations. Adopting a conciliatory policy to reduce unnecessary troubles is a good choice," a middle-aged knight in knightly attire was the first to speak. As he spoke, he cast a disapproving glance in Perfikot’s direction, "Moreover, treating the surrendered nations kindly is in line with the knightly spirit. Having caused such a horrifying slaughter, we shouldn’t add unnecessary persecution to the innocent people of these nations."

His proposal was evidently unpopular, and he was met with a barrage of opposition before he even finished speaking.

"That’s the vice president of the Knight Association. The Knight Association has expressed extreme dissatisfaction with your actions, viewing the massacre of civilians as a violation of knightly spirit and even trying to persuade the church to put you on religious trial, demanding that all knights refuse to swear loyalty to you," Eldest Princess Annie explained in a low voice to Perfikot, sitting beside her.

"They must be either out of their minds or have ulterior motives," Perfikot wasn’t bothered by this at all, seeing through their true intent with a single glance.

Have the church put me on trial? It’s no longer the Dark Middle Ages, where the church’s power surpassed the monarchy. Attempting to conduct a religious trial on a powerful imperial noble is a grave provocation to royal authority.

If the Knight Association and church actually tried it, the entire noble class of Victory would be extremely displeased.

Honestly, in this steam era, using the outdated tactics of the feudal era, thinking religious trials and guild prohibitions could affect a powerful imperial noble, is truly out of touch with the times.

Annie, the Eldest Princess, merely smiled ambiguously at Perfikot’s comment, not minding the liberties in her words.

Though the Knight Association once had significant influence within the Empire, with the rise of the industrial revolution and military reforms, the Knight Association is today quite different, and its influence is not what it used to be.

They are only allowed to participate in the imperial council because, despite being a shadow of their former selves, the knight groups controlled by the Knight Association still hold a considerable proportion in the imperial army.

Regarding their portrayal of political demands and actions against Perfikot, the Eldest Princess viewed it merely as a move to seize benefits and enhance their own voice.

Considering all that has transpired in the Empire recently, it’s not hard to discern that their true target is not Perfikot, but the Steam Knight she invented.

After all, Steam Knights are still called knights, and it’s still the knights of the past who use steam armor. From a certain standpoint, the Knight Association’s desire to include Steam Knights under their control is a reasonable and compliant demand.

Yet for the Empire, there’s no way such a heavyweight armed force could be handed over to a single association for management.

Indeed, for the Empire, Steam Knights may only belong directly under the Military Department, and it’s unlikely even the Royal Family could hold them.

This is not to say the Royal Family cannot control the army, but rather the current political landscape of Victory Empire does not permit the royal family to hold excessive military power.

Having a few knight orders loyal to the royal family and a portion of the Imperial Guard directly under royal control ensuring their safety is the maximum all factions can accept.

This was the premise for local lords to relinquish military power during military reforms, otherwise if the Royal Family took over their military power and still held absolute force, wouldn’t the nobles be like lambs to the slaughter?

Therefore, the army is nominally under national control, even the royal power cannot override the nation itself.

This is the new ideology formed after the industrial revolution, with some even questioning the necessity of a royal family, believing that nobles are just parasites of the nation, leading to events like the overthrow of the royal family in neighboring France.

Victory’s Royal Family naturally worries about such events, but relying on strong military force for repression is clearly impossible.

Thus, there has been a compromise between royal power and nobles, as well as the emerging bourgeoisie, gradually yielding royal power to form a new structure similar to constitutional monarchy.

Currently, the royal family still holds considerable power and influence, so royal authority is still quite stable in Victory.

Nobles and the emerging bourgeoisie are happy to delineate their spheres of influence; traditional military nobles rush into the Military Department, while court nobles compete with the emerging bourgeoisie for various political rights, while royal authority stands high above, overseeing all.

Under this power structure, for the Knight Association to seek control over Steam Knights is truly a pipe dream.

Not even giving this Knight Association vice president a chance to present his true proposal, he was immediately sprayed with criticism by military bigwigs, and even the Civil Servant Group sent a representative to mock the Knight Association, nearly angering him to the point of coughing up blood.

This is perfectly normal; after all, how could these old foxes be ignorant of things Perfikot easily saw through?

Who isn’t aware of the Knight Association’s scheming? They’d already wanted to intervene in the military’s formation of the Steam Knight Order before.

But the military and Civil Servant Group had already reached a consensus on the matter, not giving the Knight Association any chance.

Facing obstacles, they now seized the opportunity to implicate Perfikot, hoping to make breakthroughs through her, yet things won’t go as they wish.

According to their ideas, if realized, Perfikot who has made great contributions to the nation would become very awkward, a ruined reputation would be a minor concern; mainly these guys can’t harm you but they vex you, constantly tying Perfikot down with this matter would only restrict her, ultimately affecting the entire Northern Territory expansion plan.

Not to mention, before the Empire announced apocalyptic news, neither Perfikot nor the imperial government could openly carry out immigration operations, only encouraging and calling upon local citizens unable to sustain themselves to head towards the Northern Territory for development.

If the Knight Association really persuaded the church to deliberately smear Perfikot, pinning the massacre label on her, it inevitably impacts those heading to the Northern Territory for expansion.

After all, who wants to work under a Demon King?