Todd listened to Emerson's explanation, his mouth agape in disbelief.
An old man who had just entered Muxi City was able to thoroughly understand the entire kingdom's network of relationships within just half a month.
Looking at the king's expression, Emerson guessed what the king was thinking. He neither took credit nor shirked responsibility: "Most of this information came from Huggins and that security agency. At first, he refused to tell me, but later I got Cumberland's help and finally convinced him."
Todd nodded, agreeing with this statement.
"Having discussed the figures and factions of Muxi City, we will now talk about the kingdom's political system."
Emerson lay on the ground and drew a large circle in the center of a piece of white paper with a pencil. Then he drew several smaller circles below them, and finally countless dots below the smaller circles. He placed the paper in front of Todd and said, "The diagram I'm drawing now represents the power structure of most countries on the continent. The largest circle represents the king or emperor, the smaller circles represent nobles who have received fiefs, and the even smaller dots represent fief lords who are dependent on noble families, such as barons or knights."
Seeing Todd's thoughtful expression, Emerson continued to explain: "Each lord can divide his territory into several plots and grant them to his subordinates, thus forming a hierarchical network of equilateral triangles. But this power structure raises a problem—the king's power is often limited to the capital city. Once outside the capital, although it is nominally still his territory, he has no right to govern it. Whether it is sending troops out or levying supplies, he must negotiate with the vassal lords, or even humbly request them."
"Therefore, every king's dream is to reclaim fiefdoms and centralize royal power. Your Majesty, by abolishing noble fiefdoms and retaining only knightly titles, you have completely completed the process of centralization and ended the custom of granting fiefdoms. In a sense, you have become the first monarch on this continent to achieve centralized power!"
Emerson smiled and said, "At first, when I heard that you were taking the initiative to delegate power, my first reaction was that you were crazy. So many monarchs have dreamed of this, and you are giving it up after obtaining it. Of course... after talking with you, I finally understand your good intentions."
"Therefore, considering the factional structure and power dynamics of the Kingdom of Muxi that I mentioned earlier, I am now considering two things: First, how to clearly define the boundaries between royal power and civil power, that is, which powers can be divided and which powers must be held by the king? Second, how to balance these divided powers among the four factions through official positions and appointments, so as to both accelerate the development of the kingdom and prevent factional conflicts from hindering its progress."
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