Chapter 325: Chapter 56: Duke Qinghui: Whoever Has Milk Is Mother

Silenced by Mephit, the True Storm Banner Old Gale Heart Grand Knight, the Knight Lords said no more and dropped the issue.

’Excellent! What a good dog she is! (And I mean that in the best way possible.)’

Westheid was very pleased with Mephit’s loyalty in defending her lord. However, letting the blue-haired girl draw all the fire wasn’t quite enough, so he quickly changed the subject.

"I’m sure you all know that the proposal I made during my tour was to abolish serfdom in Yonglan. Since you were all able to swear fealty to me, it seems you have all accepted this reform, correct?"

’Accept it? My ass!’

This move to abolish serfdom would never receive the wholehearted support of any normal Knight Lord, with the sole exception of a few Rangers who’d taken the Path of Chivalry to heart. The only difference between them was the degree of their opposition. Although some Lords believed the ancestral laws should not be changed, they also felt it wasn’t worth clashing with a competent and powerful Knight King over the matter.

"...During your reign as Knight King, we will abolish this system."

The Yonglan Knights had always been candid, speaking their minds freely. One of them said bluntly:

"To be honest, most of us do not believe abolishing serfdom is a wise move. It damages the very foundation of Yonglan. Even now, we wish for Your Majesty to reconsider."

Past Knight Kings had also attempted drastic reforms in the Country of Yonglan, especially the three kings who followed the Path of Chivalry. Although none had gone as far as Westheid to uproot serfdom, they had implemented measures that benefited the populace and made the current Knight Lords very uncomfortable—things like lighter taxes and levies, canceling the right of first blood, adding more paths for promotion to Knight, and so on...

In the end, all of it was rolled back.

It all came back to the same thing: mortals have their time. Westheid couldn’t stay in that position forever. When the ruler perishes, so do his policies. It’s as simple as that.

They wouldn’t even have to wait for Westheid to abdicate. Once the disastrous consequences of abolishing serfdom came back to bite him, he would naturally realize that this path was a dead end.

But Westheid just looked at this group of confident Knight Lords, shook his head, and chuckled.

"The Realms of Order share a common flaw. You all blindly imitate the experiences of the Divine Ancestor, as if doing so will bring you closer to the Riding God. But from where I stand, you are all engaged in a clumsy imitation. You don’t understand the Knightly Path at all."

"You muddle-headed fools! You worthless lot, content to wallow in the mud! You still don’t understand. In the future, there will be no need to deliberately torture serfs to wear down Yonglan’s foundations! In a future where the Celestial Gods have withdrawn from the Mortal World, what awaits us is endless conquest!"

"With so many battles to temper your wills, you still cling to that incredibly inefficient, sluggish system of selection. How utterly foolish!"

Westheid’s harsh tirade did not provoke the Knight Lords’ anger. Instead, they became intensely interested in the Knight King’s words.

"Wait, Your Majesty. Are you planning to launch an expedition?"

Westheid smiled.

"When I began my tour, I promised you something else: an unprecedented, great expedition."

He spread his arms and walked forward, passing by one Knight Lord after another, some martial and handsome, others striking and beautiful.

"In the past, the Country of Yonglan was bound by the Law of the Divine Ancestor. Our military campaigns could only be directed toward the Chaos Domain, pioneering new territories in those uncivilized lands to gain glory. But conquering the Land of Chaos is far too difficult. Even with all our might, it is hard to achieve satisfactory results... Most critically, ordinary people cannot resist the corruption of Chaos, so they naturally cannot be tempered through such expeditions."

Westheid’s voice was resonant and forceful. Though not particularly loud, it stirred the anticipation and emotion of everyone present, for most of them had already guessed what the Knight King would say next.

As expected, Westheid smiled faintly and declared with his head held high:

"So then, everyone... why not wage war upon the Mortal World!"

"Even mortals who have not embarked on the Knight Path can move freely in the Mortal World! We can use the pure flames of war to forge souls of steel and storm. This is the true path proven by the Riding God! Think about it: when did the Yonglan Riding God ever turn his blade upon his own followers? What he did his entire life was relentlessly press forward and fight."

"To battle the Great Chaos Enemy! To battle vile miscreants! To battle Spirit Monsters and Demon Beasts! This is the spirit of Yonglan! These are the virtues of a Knight! If you have forgotten, then I will make you remember!"

When all was said and done, trying to win over the steel-minded Knight Lords through moral critique was a bit of a joke. The best way was to give the Yonglan Knights an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Serfdom was an artificially imposed, harsh environment designed to place mortals in suffering to temper them into possessing the qualities a Knight should have.

Duke Qinghui’s suggestion was not to seek out hardship unnecessarily, because bitter days were still ahead. In an age of conflict, if you wanted to suffer, there would be no end to the suffering you could find.

Isn’t tempering one’s will through war far superior to cowering in your own castle, where your "love for the people" is as flimsy as paper?

If you just say you’re abolishing serfdom, the Yonglan People will say you’re being a bit too extreme. But if you say the reason for abolishing serfdom is to take everyone on an endless expedition, then nobody cares about serfs anymore.

In any case, all Westheid needed was the military might of the Yonglan Knights, and the Yonglan Knights would never shy away from a fight. One was eager to command, the other was eager to obey. A win-win!

Westheid’s passionate speech made the Knight Lords’ blood boil with excitement. They were rubbing their hands in anticipation. After exchanging a few glances, the Lord of Yingxi Castle, as the earliest of the king’s "confidants," stepped forward.