King
Chapter 148 - 148 108 Not Under Oneself's Control_1

148: Chapter 108, Not Under Oneself’s Control_1 148: Chapter 108, Not Under Oneself’s Control_1 Looking at the hanging map, Hudson shook his head helplessly.

Ambitious nobles were everywhere, but few had real power.

The best locations in both counties were occupied by the Northern aristocracy.

Despite the Governor’s Mansion’s efforts to stir up chaos with sporadic enclaves, it failed to change this fact.

Among the native nobles, those in slightly better geographical locations were small nobles who inherited their family businesses.

Whether they could preserve their family’s foundation remained uncertain.

Hudson alone couldn’t support them, let alone with the combined support of the native nobles of the two counties.

Neither could match up to Baron West.

In the end, a noble’s world relies on their own strength.

Outside help is just support and cannot fundamentally change the power gap.

Especially so with Baron West, who has a grand duke as a father.

Although the extent of their support was unclear, the 800 elite soldiers that accompanied the baron was enough to deter any challengers.

Even Hudson, after falling out with Baron West, did not rush to act for fear of the Grand Duke’s intervention.

There was no alternative.

The difference in status and disparity of power between the two was too vast.

They were simply not on the same level.

It was one thing to secretly foment discord, but another to confront each other openly.

What if the old man didn’t play by the rules and sent someone to kill him?

Could he count on the Dalton Family to intervene?

If he had previously accepted Earl Piers’ solicitation, perhaps there would be hope.

Now, it was already generous enough that the Governor hadn’t retaliated against him.

Reviewing his previous smooth progress, Hudson gradually sensed something amiss.

Suppressing the rise of small and medium-sized nobles within one’s own sphere of influence was the instinct of a major noble.

The rapid development of the Mountain Domain, and its rising momentum, was clear for all to see.

The fact that the Dalton Family hadn’t reacted at all was peculiar.

Thinking of the thriving Baron West, Hudson immediately understood.

His previous smooth progression was thanks to this noble’s benefaction.

Although the Governor’s Mansion had employed many underhanded tactics, they were far from enough to drive out the children of the Northern nobility.

If the Dalton Family had taken action against them, then Earl Piers would not have intervened in the disputes of the two counties so early.

They just needed to wait for the conflicts to escalate, then step in to clean up after a dozen or so nobles had died.

As for the previous tense situation in the continent, could those old men tell that both sides were just bluffing?

If a crisis were to occur, the Dalton Family could eliminate the unstable elements before things got out of hand.

The continual fanning of flames, attempting to strike down the Northern Nobles, might have been thwarted due to pressure from the families behind these northern nobles, or because they had made a deal with the Dalton Family in other areas.

If they couldn’t go out themselves and didn’t want the Northern nobles to establish roots in their own backyard, then they needed to use their pawns.

There was no doubt that the native noble offspring in the two counties were pawns of the Dalton family, and Hudson was no exception.

The last time they were in Dardiel City, Earl Piers openly tried to stir up trouble between Hudson and Baron West.

Having reached this point, Hudson began to complain internally.

Sure enough, the more he knew, the more troubles he encountered.

If he didn’t know anything, he could start a fight with Baron West and slowly bring him down using his numerous connections.

Are 800 elites that formidable?

If he stirred up a few more neighborhood disputes, they would quickly become 700, 600, 500…

Constant victories, but gradually weakening power, until the day their advantage was exhausted.

Unless his grand duke father was willing to continuously invest, Hudson had ways to gradually bleed Baron West dry.

However, now that he knew about Earl Piers’ scheme, Hudson couldn’t play that way anymore.

He needed to compete with Baron West and create enough chaos to distract the Dalton Family’s attention, earning himself a more relaxed development environment.

Best case, the Dalton Family would think that their competition was evenly matched, unable to determine the winner for the time being, or that Hudson was slightly at a disadvantage.

As long as the stalemate persisted, the Dalton Family would think everything was under control and wouldn’t rush to suppress the development of the Mountain Domain.

“Tell the messenger that I will be there on time,” Hudson said coldly.

He must attend the gathering, not to pay homage, but to stir up trouble.

It might seem petty and the tactics not sophisticated enough, but as a small noble who needed to survive, tactics needn’t be too clever.

Sometimes, if one tactic was too clever, it could be a crime.

In the world of nobility, when the power of a family was weak, while an individual’s was too strong, often, that person would suffer greatly.

…

In the Maple Domain, with a large number of orc slaves moving south, Baron Katelai had indeed picked up quite a bit of cheap labor.

“Monopolizing the orc slave trade”, becoming the “largest orc slave trader in the Southeastern Province”…

These grand goals, Baron Katelai had all achieved.

But then, things got awkward.

He was good at leading soldiers in battle, but business was a struggle.

His subordinates, a bunch of warriors, clearly weren’t cut out for business.

Although they had engaged in smuggling trade in the Northland, those businesses were led by the family, and he was just an executor in the chain.