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Chapter 83 - 83 82 Storm Brewing Seeking Votes _1

83: Chapter 82, Storm Brewing (Seeking Votes) _1 83: Chapter 82, Storm Brewing (Seeking Votes) _1 Baron West, having barely repaired a few houses in Dardiel City, finally had a place to settle down.

Before he had time to consider the development of his territory, a group of northern aristocrats came running.

As he listened to their grievances, the rage that had been building up in West slowly calmed down.

Human nature is such a strange thing.

When you’re down on your luck, realizing that there are others in the same boat can instantly lift your spirits.

Dardiel City may be in ruins, but its superior geographical location remains.

Once Layton County begins to develop, this place will still be the most suitable area for trade, with immense potential for growth.

…

“Knight Dailun, calm down.

Impulsiveness will not solve anything.

No one wants to see this kind of situation happen.

We’re all victims in this, but that doesn’t mean we can act recklessly.

Going directly to their door to seek justice sounds simple.

But what if they refuse to admit it, insisting they were only aiding refugees, that would put us at a great disadvantage.

The Governor’s Mansion will not support us.

If they have an excuse to intervene, they will definitely take sides.

I personally suggest we use a carrot and stick approach.

We can send them a gift to thank them for taking care of our domain people these days, and then demand they return them.

If they agree to hand them over, that would be great.

If they don’t cooperate, and we have to resort to drastic measures, we will at least have the moral high ground.

This way, even if the Governor’s Mansion wants to intervene, they won’t have a reason to.”

West said calmly.

The trials of the Northern Battlefield were not endured in vain.

Being at Duke Cavadia’s side, he absorbed a lot about politics.

When thinking about how to solve the problem, he naturally chose “politics first”.

Right or wrong doesn’t matter in the world of nobles.

What they value more are the pros and cons.

West’s rational response disappointed some nobles who were hoping he’d confront the situation impulsively.

How can they compete when their rival is not only powerful and has influential connections, but also thoughtful?

Somewhat unsure about competing for the position of leader, or lacking certainty, some nobles have begun to consider whether they should pledge allegiance to West.

The nobles capable of venturing out to establish a new life are carefully chosen from each family.

Although their capabilities may be limited by their upbringing, they’re not fools.

They quickly understood West’s true intentions.

Pretending to coexist peacefully with local nobles is a ruse; creating a legitimate excuse to establish his power is his real goal.

To survive in unfamiliar territory, newcomers should demonstrate their power first, not seek unity with locals.

Without a doubt, displaying power tactfully is crucial.

To establish a footing in Southeastern Province, one cannot create deep-rooted hatred, at least cannot push all the local nobles to the opposite side.

“Sir West, the nobles of Southeastern Province harbor great hostility towards us.

I fear they will not only appreciate your good intentions, but may also perceive it as us being afraid of them.

As territorial snakes, these guys have deep roots here.

Once we resort to drastic measures, they’ll definitely call for allies.

We wouldn’t fear a fight, yet outside of the battlefield, we would face new difficulties.

For instance, the price of grain in Southeastern Province has begun to rise drastically, increasing by fifty percent compared to our arrival, almost catching up with the price of grain in the Northland.

The prices of other necessities have also been inflating, especially the price of slaves, which has doubled compared to the same period in the past.

Have you all noticed that merchant caravans detour when they see us, let alone do business with us?

This abnormal situation seems manipulated.

If the conflict with local nobles escalates, this situation would likely worsen, possibly even leading to a full-blown economic blockade against us.”

Baron Sutton warned.

Hailing from a clan that specializes in logistics and finance, Baron Sutton was particularly sensitive to changes in commodity prices.

Upon arriving in Southeastern Province, his first task was not to rush to his territorial land, but to inquire about price changes and find any potential business opportunities.

Instead of finding any opportunities, he detected a crisis.

The order of Alpha Kingdom still remains.

Even with internal struggles, things are generally kept within reasonable bounds.

The conflict between noble lords isn’t considered dangerous.

Even if heavy casualties occur, it’s the soldiers below who suffer.

The safety of nobles is still secured.

People can’t be killed, and territories naturally cannot be forcefully taken; even a direct ruler cannot unjustly strip a territory from his vassal.

In contrast, the battle outside of the battlefield where no gunpowder is visible is even more bloody and brutal.

Economic blockades due to internal strife rarely happened in the past, and the key reason for this is that under the unique territorial economic system, almost every lord was a small loop of industries, capable of being self-sufficient.

Especially in fertile lands like the Southeastern Province, even if they were blocked for three to five years, the noble lords would still have enough to eat and drink.

But it was different for the lords present.

They had not yet had time to establish their foundation.

In territories that were like uninhabited zones, they didn’t have the ability to provide them with the most basic material guarantees.

After hesitating for a while, West gritted his teeth and said: “Since there’s a possibility of an economic blockade, we should take the initiative to strike first and break this blockade net.

No matter who is controlling behind the scenes, the economic blockade can only be aimed at us newcomers, and it cannot fundamentally block the native nobles.

To tear this big net, we need the cooperation of some of the native nobles.

Under normal circumstances, they certainly won’t cooperate, so we can’t avoid using extraordinary measures.

As for how to do it, everyone can think for themselves.

But be careful, don’t push people too hard.

In case we go too far, and they give up on the construction of their territories, just drag us down, then the trouble will be great.”

After two days of expressing their opinions in Dardiel City, the session of the nobles of the North finally ended, it’s worth mentioning that no banquet was held during this time.

Obviously, these predominantly battlefield-tested nobles, compared to formal ceremonies, valued pragmatism more.

…

The counterattack of the nobles of the North began, and the native nobles from Layton and Wharton Counties were suddenly under pressure.

Knight Kurelio from South Hill Knight Territory, who just inherited his territory, was one of the unlucky ones.

He originally didn’t plan to take advantage of the situation, after all, his own territory took a heavy hit in the rebellion, and he decisively didn’t have the capital to cause trouble.

But while he was sitting at home, a blessing came from heaven.

He didn’t do anything, but a group of refugees mistakenly entered his territory.

Looking at his neighbors mobilizing troops to snatch people, quickly replenishing the labor in their territories, it’s fake to say that he wasn’t jealous.

Since the refugees came voluntarily, and he wasn’t the one who snatched them, he decided to take them in.

With the addition of over five hundred refugees, the reconstruction of his territory significantly advanced, making Kurelio euphoric every day like he was on cloud nine.

Unfortunately, good days are always short-lived.

After not enjoying the benefit of the population for a few days, the boss came over to ask for it.

Looking at the gift in front of him, Kurelio wished he was not at home.

Unfortunately, the other party didn’t even give him a chance to refuse, they explained their purpose, put down the gift, and left.

Being weak is a sin, bowing to the strong is not a disgrace.

After using free labor for more than a month, it’s not a loss to return it now.

But the problem was that he had only received five hundred refugees, but the other party insisted that he had received a thousand.

After thanking him for his kindness with gifts, they demanded refugees.

This was clearly extortion, and this matter couldn’t be compromised.

But the problem was that he genuinely couldn’t beat them!

Other than him, the Lord, only a few guards were left.

The rest of the armed forces had been depleted in the war.

Gathering a bunch of serf soldiers to fight against the elites from the North, the outcome of the battle was known before it even started.

If you can’t defeat in a one-on-one match, try ganging up.

As a noble who has been rooted in this land for many years, he shouldn’t lack personal connections.

Unfortunately, most of these relationships were buried in the rebellion.

Even if the inheritance was fortunately preserved, the current situation is similar to Kurelio’s.

They are too busy to take care of themselves, so how could they worry about others?

There were indeed some external county relations, but unfortunately, in order to smoothly inherit the nobility, nearly all the relations had been exhausted.

The key point was that even if they want to help out of past relationships, it doesn’t help with the current thirst.

“Master, how about asking the Divine Archery Knight for help?

Although you have never interacted, your great-aunt married into the Koslow Family.

We are all relatives.

The relation may be a bit distant, but it is indeed a fact that we are in-laws with the Koslow family.”

The words of the old steward reminded Kurelio.

If he insisted on calling it a relative, it would indeed be a bit reluctant, but it is true that they are in-laws with the Koslow Family.

Regrettably, the marital relationship had passed three generations, and the people involved had long been buried.

Even the party of the marriage was a branch of the Koslow family in Wharton County.

Theoretically speaking, even if he needs to ask for help, he should ask his relatives in Wharton County.

It’s a pity that the Wharton branch is also too busy to take care of themselves.