Chapter 368: Choice (Two in One! Please subscribe!)
Actually...
As a noble, Pitzman's actions were what Duke Yersin Paris of Dorne least wanted to see.
But at this time, this is the only thing we can do.
Forbidding the nobles to leave the city and forcing countless nobles living in the imperial capital, Saint Lawrence, to be dragged into the water, such an order would undoubtedly push many nobles who had originally remained neutral to the side of Rez.
But,
At this moment, Pittsman has no other choice.
If Pittsman cannot hold on to the imperial capital of St. Lawrence, then everything he has now will come to naught, and even his life will be in danger.
The nobles are the richest group of people in the world. What comes out from between the fingers of a noble is enough to equal the oil and water squeezed from tens of thousands of common people.
Only by gathering as many soldiers and food as possible before Reitz's troops arrive at the city, will Pitzman have the capital to continue this "game".
Only by keeping the nobles living in this city in the imperial capital can their families avoid turning to Rez, and Pitzman can gain more support from these nobles' pockets.
As for whether the nobles can agree with him, this is actually not a problem he needs to consider now.
and……
In any case, he was also the eldest prince of the Norman Empire, the patriarch of the Alexander family of the Norman royal family, and the most legitimate first-in-line heir to the Norman Empire.
…
The walls of the Norman Palace cannot be said to be impenetrable, but at least they are full of holes.
When the news of the total defeat in the Central Plains reached the ears of the nobles, they also heard the order of martial law in the imperial capital.
However, they did not know that they, who had previously enjoyed privileges, were also under martial law.
Therefore, in addition to being shocked, countless nobles began to quietly pack their bags, count their gold and silver, and prepare to flee overnight from this place of trouble where war was about to break out.
"Ferona, do you think... do we need to leave St. Lawrence?"
In an aristocratic manor outside the imperial capital of St. Lawrence, Marquis of Soto, Johann Graf, looked at his sister in confusion.
After the banquet that day, Ferona ordered her people to pack up all the family's property in St. Lawrence, gathered her mercenaries and experts, and left the imperial capital St. Lawrence, known as the "heart of the empire", with her younger brother, Marquis of Soto, Johann, overnight.
"The news from the palace has spread. The entire St. Lawrence is now under martial law. If we leave too late... do you think we can still get out?" Ferona said lightly.
"But we are nobles!"
Qiao Hann understood the meaning of his sister's words and seemed a little surprised.
Although Johann holds the title of Marquis and has a fiefdom in the central part of the empire, since the death of their father, most of the decisions of the Graf family have been made by the slightly older Ferona.
Firona knew very well that in the central part of the empire where nobles were swarming like dogs, even though Johan was a marquis, he still needed to please everyone because of his little experience and limited network of contacts.
Therefore, Ferona has always attached great importance to information from all over the world.
Relying on the advantage in intelligence, Ferona can respond more quickly, allowing the Graf family to escape from the quagmire as soon as possible in various changes.
It is for this reason that Ferona Graf, as a noble, has never looked down upon those merchants and mercenaries.
Because she understood that these merchants and mercenaries who traveled far and wide would often bring her experiences from all over the world, so that even though Firona was in the imperial capital, she could still understand the rumors happening in various parts of the empire.
For example, news from the western part of the empire, wars in the central part of the empire, secrets in the palace, or... the Principality of Idar that suddenly rose in the eastern part of the empire.
Hearing what Qiao Han said, Filona couldn't help but sneer: "Even if they are nobles, so what? If Pizman opens the city gates and allows the nobles to leave in a swagger, then a large number of these nobles who leave will throw themselves into the arms of the Second Prince Reiz, and may even send food and soldiers to the Second Prince Reiz!"
"Only by detaining the nobles in the city can they avoid surrendering to Reitz and obey Pitzman's words."
Hearing this, Qiao Han seemed a little dazed.
Although he has become the Marquis of Soto, due to his nature, Johann is not as convoluted as other nobles. He is straightforward and even seems a little naive at times.
So, after hearing my sister's analysis, I suddenly realized it, and then I felt extremely fortunate.
If Filona had not reacted in time and left Saint Lawrence before the martial law order was issued, I would probably have been detained in the imperial capital like the other nobles...
only……
"Ferona, where are we going now? Should we go back to our fiefdom?" Johan asked immediately.
As luck would have it, the Marquis of Soto's fiefdom was located in the Great Plains of the Central Region, and was exactly on the route that Rez's army had to take.
"Although Second Prince Reiz has gained an absolute advantage, I still feel that the outcome of this war is still unknown..."
Felona frowned slightly, looking a little hesitant.
As the eldest daughter of the Graf family, Firona has always shouldered the glory of the Graf family and is now the de facto helmsman of the Graf family.
Therefore, every decision she makes may affect the future trajectory of the Graf family, which means that in many cases, Ferona needs to think twice before making a decision.
"Is there any variable? But His Majesty Rez has now broken through the defense line of the Central Great Plains. He will be able to reach St. Lawrence in about half a month..." Johan asked puzzledly.
"West of the Empire..."
Ferona murmured suddenly.
"What?"
"If it were in the past, the nobles would have taken sides and expressed their opinions at this time, but now... neither the nobles in the western part of the empire nor the rising Duke Idar in the eastern part of the empire have made any response to this war."
"Moreover...the two great nobles in the western part of the empire, Duke Carter and Duke Rune, are even aggressively amassing troops and expanding their armies. It doesn't look like the war is about to end at all!" Ferona said in a deep voice.
"Then what should we do..."
Johann quickly looked at his sister, trying to get an answer from Ferona.
After hearing what Johann said, Sophia seemed a little hesitant.
If the Graf family does not surrender to the Second Prince Reiz, then they will only have two options.
One is to go to the western part of the empire and join the noble families that have been running the business for generations, and the other is to go east and try your luck in the newly emerging Principality of Idar.
In fact, for most nobles, if there were no extremely special circumstances, the nobles would choose the former western part of the empire to escape the war as their first choice. As for the eastern part of the empire... only a fool would go there! Because it was not just Ferona, almost all the nobles in the empire had heard about the way the Principality of Idar treated the nobles.
Apart from the Stuart family, the rulers of the eastern part of the empire, the land in the eastern part of the empire could not even accommodate any noble vassal who owned land.
If one wants to continue living in the Principality of Idar, the only choice is to give up one's noble privileges and obtain the status of an ordinary Idar citizen with the permission of the Duke of Idar.
This is a requirement that almost all noble lords living in the inland of the empire cannot accept!
If the Norman Empire was not currently at war, the actions of the Duchy of Idar would definitely be questioned and condemned by all the nobles, and the royal family would definitely respond.
"Ferona, you don't want to go to the eastern part of the empire and seek refuge with the so-called Duke of Idar, do you?"
Although Johann may not know everything, he knows his sister very well.
Therefore, when he saw that Ferona's expression kept changing and she never gave a clear answer, Johan guessed the extremely tangled thoughts in Ferona's heart.
Under Johann's gaze, Ferona finally nodded with difficulty.
"Why?"
If it were any other noble, they would most likely explode in anger or even argue loudly.
The reason is simple. The rule promulgated by the Principality of Idar that "no noble other than the Stuart family is allowed to own sealed land" is enough to discourage many nobles.
But for Johann Graf, Marquis of Soto, who had been living in the imperial capital of St. Lawrence and had only returned to his family's fiefdom a few times, this condition did not seem to be unbearable.
"The Principality of Idar is by no means as simple and mediocre as those eastern nobles say. In the eyes of many businessmen, the Principality of Idar is as attractive to them as the imperial capital, Saint Lawrence."
As she spoke, Ferona looked past the window and toward the outline of the giant city looming in the distance.
"The merchant's words?"
"Although the nobles have always looked down on the merchants traveling back and forth between the north and the south, it is undeniable that seeking profit and avoiding harm is the instinct of merchants. Their sense of smell is often much sharper than that of many decadent and dull nobles." Ferona said seriously.
"Ferona, during this period since my father's death, every judgment you made has benefited the Graf family greatly, so... as the Marquis of Soto and the patriarch of the Graf family, I trust and support the decisions you make."
Johann could not understand Ferona's flattery of businessmen, but he unconditionally believed in this elder sister who grew up with him.
"But, Lord Marquis Soto,"
Filona's expression suddenly became serious, and even the way she addressed her brother Johann changed:
"...Perhaps you don't care about your family's fiefdom, but it is the foundation of the Graf family passed down from generation to generation. If you give it up like this, then the future of the family..."
Before Ferona could finish, Johann interrupted her sister: "Ferona, I am the patriarch of the Graf family, and I trust your judgment. Besides... there is no need for us to make a decision so early. We can go to the land in the east of the empire first!"
"If the Principality of Idar is really a magical place, then we can choose to stay. But if not, we can still go to the Kingdom of Basel, or seek refuge with His Majesty Rez."
"What's more... our family's fiefdom is not in the eastern part of the empire. The Duke may not impose the same requirements on us as he imposes on the eastern nobles. You may have considered too much this time!"
Seeing her brother so determined for the first time, Filona couldn't help but hesitate and said, "Then... give it a try?"
"Butler! Pack your bags! Get the mercenaries ready! We are going to visit the mysterious Duke Idar!"
Qiao Han finally showed his aura as a marquis and spoke in a deep voice towards the door.
Under the cover of night,
When the nobles living in the inland of the empire began to flee to the west of the empire, and the nobles in St. Lawrence stared at the closed city gate in front of them...
Marquis Soto's convoy began to move slowly towards the eastern part of the empire.
…
The eastern part of the empire, the Principality of Idar.
The four-day Idar Civil Service Examination and Idar Public University have been announced to be over and have entered the final closed marking stage.
According to Bruno's estimation, a complete admission list will be officially announced around the beginning of next month.
The summer in the Principality of Idar is still hot, and all candidates taking the exam always have a vague anxiety in their hearts.
Although the candidates have put in a lot of effort in their daily lives, they have only studied for about a year after all. It is normal for them to have doubts about some questions.
In addition, the open-ended questions at the end were beyond the syllabus, so they had to explain according to their own understanding, and they were not sure whether their answers would meet the examiner's wishes.
Bruno does not need to do the specific work of marking the test papers.
The marking rules and specific implementation strategies for the two examinations, including the civil service examination and the entrance examination to Idar Public University, will be the responsibility of Mr. Nicholas, the president of Idar Public University.
Only open-ended questions that are unanimously rated as excellent by the examiners will be submitted to Bruno for further scoring and screening.
As the impact of the war continued to expand, more and more refugees poured into the Principality of Idar during this period. However... seeing the increasing manpower in this land, Bruno did not rashly start the construction of the third wonder, but officially put the "Noble Manor" project on the banks of the Idar River on the agenda.
This project, which Bruno called "Noble Manor", was actually the first real estate project he developed in the Principality of Idar.
Not today.
(End of this chapter)
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