Chapter 354: Do you dare to have any objections?
Changhe Town.
The atmosphere in the lord's hall was very serious.
Originally, Leon's return was a happy event that made everyone cheer, but now, all the lords present were a little uneasy.
They didn't know where to go - just as they returned to Changhe Town, a messenger brought a king's order from Sarleon City...
The content is to recruit all the lords of the entire Sarleon Kingdom and ask them to go to Sarleon City and return to the army of King Ulric, to whom they once swore allegiance - otherwise they would be breaking their oath and would be regarded as treason.
"This is indeed King Ulric's handwriting and seal. What are you going to do, gentlemen?"
Godric readily stated that the king's order was authentic.
Many of the lords present, including Leon, had sworn allegiance to King Ulrich, and Ulrich had never done anything unfair to them. In terms of treating the nobles, Ulrich could be considered a wise king.
They had no reason to break their oath.
Although they knew that Ulrich must be a dead man and was possessed by an evil spirit, the problem was that other people didn't know!
Others might have believed that this was the real Ulric. News was slow to spread these days, and others might have thought that King Ulric had a long-term plan and used the tactic of faking his death to deceive the entire continent, and finally eliminated the biggest threat in one fell swoop...
If they don't take Ulrik seriously, the entire Pendor continent will regard them as traitors!
The formal oath of allegiance is a serious contractual relationship, not just something you say casually.
In this era, the price of breaking an oath is greater than treason - as long as there is a reliable reason and it is in line with the honor of a knight, even if the rebellion fails, you can still be accepted by other countries.
However, although nobles who break their oaths will not be struck by lightning, they will be hostile to all uninformed countries and civilians, and their noble identities will be difficult to be recognized again - the entire family will not be able to hold their heads up.
"Lord Godric, what about you yourself? What are you going to do?"
No one else spoke, except Ralph, the Knight Commander of the Horn Summoning Rangers, who asked for the others - he was just a subordinate of Oden and did not need to be loyal to Ulrich. Moreover, he was stripped of his knighthood by the Duke of Alma, so being a commoner was a relief.
"Me? I never swore allegiance to Ulrich - I swore allegiance to his father, not to him."
Godric shook his head: "So he has never been able to stand me..."
"No, I mean, what about Amy?"
Ralph pointed to the empty main seat.
Amy and Leon publicly announced Ulrich's death, and then Amy ascended the throne - if Ulrich is resurrected, it means that Amy is usurping the throne...
Godric said nothing, just frowned and sighed.
"If you ask me, Lord Leon... Ahem, Your Majesty! Why don't you just raise the flag of the Kingdom of Pendor? This is the true orthodoxy! It has both status and justice! In front of the true king of Pendor, Ulric is just a descendant of a thief..."
Leofric gave his opinion.
Leon remained silent. He couldn't tell Leofric that the guy who was using Ulric's body was the true king of Pendor...
"If we raise the flag of the Kingdom of Pendor, it means that we have to become enemies of all countries... But the current situation... Sigh... Everyone, I must tell you that our treasury is almost empty."
Eric, the head of logistics, looked at the people in the hall and sighed.
He is Li Ang's loyal subordinate, and of course he hopes that Li Ang will become king, but the reality is not optimistic...
"But now, we are enemies with all countries..."
Leofric retorted.
"No, it's different... At least the Bacchus Empire is not an enemy now..."
Eric shook his head.
"Yes, they are not enemies... But, Eric, you should know best where the money and grain in the treasury have gone? They are all in Bacchus, right? Of course, I am not blaming anyone, and I also know that I am forced to do so... But..."
Leofric glanced at Alina.
Alina sighed. "In fact, if it weren't for His Majesty Marius' concern for the people's livelihood, the Fierce Lion Territory would have already been..."
"If Alina hadn't been here, Changhe Town would have been in flames a long time ago... She didn't return home because once she went back, Governor Justus would have no reason to avoid the war, and the entire East would be dragged into the war!"
Anson spoke a fair word for Alina.
"Leon, you're back!"
As he was speaking, Amy suddenly rushed in from the door, exhausted, and hugged Li Ang.
The serious meeting scene suddenly turned into a disgusting soap opera...
Wendy curled her lips beside her.
"Amy... ahem... let's talk business!"
Godric reminded.
"I know what you are going to talk about... It has something to do with the Silver Throne, right? But I don't want to be a queen! Besides, it's easy to solve the problem brought by Ulric. Everyone in Pendor knows about the Son of Prophecy..."
Amy really didn't care about the throne, she had always just wanted to be a female knight.
Speaking of the child of prophecy, everyone present knew about Madigan's prophecy, and most people here knew Leon's life experience - after Amy became king, Godric and Amy no longer hid it from these people, so Leofric immediately swore allegiance after seeing Leon on the battlefield.
"Leon, you once told me that maybe one day, in order to ensure your own safety, you would also call yourself the Son of Prophecy... I think this day may be here."
Amy still held Leon tightly, but turned to look at Alina: "Alina, you are still the envoy of Emperor Marius, right? I need you to bear witness on behalf of the Bacchus Empire - I will return the Sarleon to the Kingdom of Pendor as the Grand Duke of Sarleon..."
"That's right... Let Leon be crowned as the King of Pendor, and Amy be re-appointed as the Grand Duke of Sarleon, and restore the country with the support of the Grand Duke of Sarleon - I witnessed all this as the envoy of His Majesty Marius... Indeed, only the Bacchus Empire has the qualifications..."
Alina understood.
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"In other words, Amy, on behalf of her ancestor, the former Grand Duke Alfred of Sarleon, returned Sarleon to the Kingdom of Pendor... This is the most legal and moral decision! The people of Pendor will support it!"
Leofric was the first to approve of this decision.
"At the same time, this is equivalent to creating a good reputation for Archduke Alfred... In this way, Archduke Alfred will become a hero who saved the continent. It was just that the situation forced him to temporarily sit on the Silver Throne in order to unite the domestic lords... Now Amy has inherited the title of her ancestor and become Archduke Sarleon again, allowing Sarleon to return to the Kingdom of Pendor. If Ulric still calls himself king..."
A smile appeared on Alina's face: "Then he has no legal basis in the eyes of all the people of Pendor... This is openly stealing the country, and it is ruining the reputation of his great-grandfather Alfred ..."
"But...if Ulrich is still here, Amy will bypass Ulrich and directly represent Archduke Alfred. This seems a bit..."
Anson felt that this was a little out of order.
"That's easy. Just let Amy and Leon get married. And that's the most reasonable thing to do..."
Ralph looked at Amy and then at Leon.
Everyone nodded.
Indeed, for most people, there must be a reason for this. And the marriage between the descendants of the Pendor royal family and the heir of the Lord of Sarleon is the best reason...
"Ahem... about this matter... aren't you going to ask for my opinion?"
Li Ang coughed twice, a little embarrassed.
"What? You dare to object?!" "You are unhappy?"
Godric and Amy asked at the same time.
Godric's eyes were wide with anger, and Amy's face was full of resentment.
Li Ang immediately said: "No... I have no objection..."
Wendy hid in the corner and pouted.
I have a comment...
Wendy thought.
But she didn't dare say it.
Only Alina noticed Wendy's expression and took her arm as they left the hall.
…
After being filled with people from Sarleon City, Changhe Town was almost unable to accommodate more people.
Due to the economic downturn in the past year, Changhe Town seemed a bit deserted.
Today, Changhe Town is bustling again, with people discussing the latest news in the streets and alleys.
There are a lot of new things in the past two days, and they are all particularly eye-catching.
Lord Leon, who was struck by lightning, returned after being missing for more than a year.
Then, Lord Eric announced that Lord Leon was about to marry Her Majesty Amy!
Then, according to the gossip coming out of the Lord's Hall, it was said that Lord Leon was planning to be crowned king!
With so many big events, of course the people of Changhe Town have to come out and join in the fun.
Merchants seized the opportunity to sell off all kinds of overstocked inventory - most of which were needed for ceremonies or large banquets...
Many fruit vendors from the surrounding villages also came to sell fruit - which can also be used in the ceremony...
A lot of supplies were also sent from Brave Shield Castle, such as plush carpets and tall, beautiful mixed-breed horses—for use in the ceremony...
This is a triple blessing!
Everyone thought that Lord Li Ang would definitely make a big deal about it.
However, several days passed and Li Ang had no intention of holding any ceremony directly, and he didn't even show up.
He stayed with Amy the whole time.
However, they are not doing anything unspeakable, but studying how to fill the empty warehouse again.
The territory is so poor, Li Ang doesn't plan to hold such a tight ceremony...
Moreover, Li Ang's understanding of ruling power is not just about blood or legal principles.
What he needs is the genuine support of the people - in terms of legal principles, he cannot be compared with Kavala.
But Li Ang was once a commoner, and he knew what commoners wanted...
It is not blood, nor honor, nor legal principles; it is wealth and peace.
Of course, if you want peace, you must first be rich, otherwise how can you attract more fighting forces to join?
So Li Ang planned to use some special means to make his own territory prosperous.
In fact, being rich and being wealthy are two different things. If you have money but cannot buy supplies, it will not make people live better, it will only cause the currency to depreciate.
Whether a country is rich or not does not depend on how much gold there is in the treasury, but on whether its people can earn money, whether they have abundant material life and whether their lives are good.
If people earn more and live more comfortably than before, then for ordinary people, this ruler is truly legitimate.
To be honest, as long as there is enough power, there are many ways to stimulate the economy.
For example, construction...
Since the credit of Pender Bank is still there, Leon plans to let Pender Bank issue a large amount of magic coins, then use his own company to loan out the money, and then use the money for large-scale construction.
For example, Changhe Town could be built into a majestic city like Lieshi City, and a large number of standardized small villas could be built.
For most rulers of this era, large-scale construction is a waste of money...
But for Li Ang, the rulers' construction efforts may not necessarily lead to ruin, but may instead enrich the country.
If Changhe Town were to be built to the size of Lieshi City, it would directly create jobs for tens of thousands of people, and also boost many upstream and downstream industries, allowing people in the surrounding areas to have a stable source of income.
Yes, everyone, not just raw material suppliers, builders and engineers.
The people who build the city can make money directly, and they will naturally spend the money in the surrounding areas, which will boost their food, clothing, housing and transportation.
When basic domestic demand is stimulated, Li Ang can guide people to pursue a "better" life through various implicit standards.
This is the so-called consumption upgrade...
Use large projects to solve the problem of food and clothing for most people, then sell standardized villas and properties, and promote them as "the first property of young nobles"...
Li Ang plans to use his own wedding ceremony as a model, and even plans to come up with a 'must have for young nobles to get married' - having a car and a house!
The car is a beautiful and exquisite four-wheeled carriage, and it will be sold quite cheaply, but some parts that are difficult to process are very expensive...
Besides, the better Changhe Town is built and the safer it looks, the more people will come - especially those relatively wealthy but powerless businessmen.
Nobles are generally unlikely to leave their territories, but merchants are different...
Moreover, Li Ang is also preparing to announce a 'regular policy' of exempting commercial taxes for three years.
Three years of tax exemption might be more common in modern times, but in this era, it has only existed in Leon's territory.
Maixiangling exempted commercial taxes in the past, and as a result, a small village with only a few hundred people has now become the most important cargo distribution center in the eastern region. The daily expenses of accommodation, meals, etc. for people coming and going have made most people in Maixiangling earn a fortune.
In addition to the rent from merchants for renting warehouses, Li Ang himself also made a lot of money.
No matter which world you are in, the essence of things remains unchanged. As long as there is traffic and popularity, there are many ways to make money.
After all, all consumption is brought about by people.
Of course, overdrawing bank reserves and over-issuing credit currency will certainly involve huge risks.
But in fact, as long as the money remains within your own country, there is no problem.
For Leon, although the dinar can be transferred from one person to another, it will eventually stay in his own hands...
If it really flows out of the country accidentally, then we can send troops to take it down wherever it flows...
