King-Chapter 1074 - 154, Duke of Snow Moon_2

It wasn’t deliberate harassment; a Governor without this level of strength could have their head chopped off by the Orcs at the front lines at any time.

The death of lower-ranking Nobles was one thing, but if a Major Noble died so casually, where would the Kingdom’s dignity be left?

To send out troops for revenge would overstrain the national power, yet not retaliating would expose the Kingdom’s vulnerability and invite more prying eyes.

There could be exceptions; if the Governor was a Sanctuary Powerhouse or if there was a Sanctuary Powerhouse with the army, these restrictions would be waived.

There was nothing wrong with the exception clause; it was tailor-made for Hudson. Without this loophole, where would the weak Koslow Family find so many seventh- or eighth-order strongmen?

As a result, in the newly established Near East Seven Provinces, only Hudson’s vast Governor’s province had a Governor, while the other six remained vacant.

Caesar IV had repeatedly nominated Noble Children from Major Noble families to take up the Governor’s post, only to be tactfully declined. There was no other reason; to throw so much military force into the Near East Region was simply too risky.

Some weaker Major Nobles could only meet the standard by pooling all their resources together, practically asking them to relocate their entire Clan.

The standards demanded by the Kingdom were high, and so was the compensation. In the past, a decree of enfeoffment with a few years of tax exemption was the norm, but now there was also support in the form of population.

Knight’s territory received support for five hundred people, Baron’s Territory for one thousand five hundred, Viscount’s Territory for four thousand five hundred, Count’s territory for fifteen thousand, and Hudson’s Duchy directly received one hundred thousand people.

Without any surprises, these people were all refugees gathered by the Kingdom.

As several small countries in the Northern Continent and Central Continent fell, not only did the nations of the South Continent reap the benefits, but the Kingdom of Alpha was also a beneficiary.

With a large influx of refugees, besides the Nobles recruiting people, the Kingdom Government was not idle either.

The mere people provided by the Light Kingdom were naturally not enough to develop the Near East Land, but for grassroots Nobles, this was already a rare foundation.

By calling on friends and recruiting some people over, they could initially set up the framework of a domain. The remaining problems could be slowly figured out later.

Every major war was the most active time for Slave Traders, these money-grubbing fellows who didn’t care about their lives and got moving early on.

Unfortunately, this time, the war spoils were too few. Besides the Expedition Army Corps gaining something, the rest of the Nobles fighting domestically were basically working in vain.

Without money in their pockets, naturally, they couldn’t splurge on purchases. This struggle was about family background; the richer the Clan behind them, the greater the support they provided, and the stronger the power they wielded.

The impoverished and declining Noble Children were in a worse position, having to rely solely on their efforts. Not to mention development, just figuring out how to sustain their domain people was enough to worry them.

Unless something unexpected happened, they would be "foremen" for a long time to come, leading the domain people allocated by the Kingdom, battling on the front lines of construction.

The path of development was already planned out by the Big Shots above them. Either accepting the Kingdom’s hired work to fortify defenses or first working for the wealthy Nobles to build Castles.

After accumulating a certain foundation, they would then go back to build their own Castles. If they managed their relations well with their neighbors, they could even stay at their neighbors’ places for decades.

In the border regions, this kind of banding together for warmth was all too common.

Without knowing how to unite, lone Knight’s territories and Baron’s Territories couldn’t withstand the havoc of the Orcs.

...

"What? Establish a separate Clergy?"

Upon hearing this news, Hudson nearly cursed on the spot. He had no objection to the creation of a new Clergy, but it was all about timing!

The Kingdom was busy dealing with the Near East issues. For the next few years, the strategic focus would be tied up on the Middle East Front; there was no time to deal with Clergy troubles.

Although Hudson didn’t think the Clergy, with its navy suffering a great loss, had the guts to send their fleet north to trouble the Kingdom, there was no need to rush out and attract hatred.

"Your Majesty, which idiot came up with this plan? Don’t they know that it’s not suitable for the Kingdom to sprout branches at this time!"

Hudson replied without any courtesy.

Whoever proposed it, he was set against it. If the Kingdom acted stubbornly, he might as well not bother with the Near East domain and just go back to his own domain to live a peaceful life.

"Marshal, this has nothing to do with us. The plan was proposed by the Frank people. Although we had prepared an independent plan, we were not ready to launch it."

Archbishop Tyron hurriedly explained from the side.

He wanted to become Pope, but it was for the development of the Kingdom. If the establishment of a separate Clergy delayed the development of the Kingdom, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Essentially, the Clergy was both a faith and a business. Aside from the openly demanded Tithe, the Clergy had many other means to make money through faith.

Every year, a large number of believers donated wealth and bought indulgences from the Clergy. Even though the Kingdom of Alpha and the Clergy were at odds, this did not hinder the Clergy from bleeding the Kingdom dry.

Hearing that it wasn’t someone from his own side who stirred this up, Hudson looked much better, and the complexions of the other Nobles present also eased.

"Even if it’s proposed by the Frank people, we must reject it. At least until the Kingdom has a firm foothold in the Near East, it’s not suitable to sprout branches out of season!"

Prime Minister Duke Newfoundland’s words clearly indicated he was also unaware of this matter and was firmly against it.

In that moment, Hudson read between the lines; the Royal Family was not united on the issue of establishing a separate Clergy.

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