Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 390 - 5 Mobilization and Assembly

"Firstly, the Duke of Bavaria, though he stands with the Emperor’s camp, does so because of the current trend," said Nora. "In fact, a few months later the expedition against the Church Court is likely to meet with more disasters than successes. Apart from the Emperor, whose mind is influenced, the other Dukes are probably already aware of this fact."

"Therefore, when the Pope orders the Diocesan Priests to proclaim the decree, all the Dukes would certainly not obstruct it to avoid directly offending the Church Court. Their excuse to the Emperor would be, they’re afraid of being excommunicated."

"At the same time, they send their own officials to read the Emperor’s decrees to ensure they have covered their bases with the Emperor. Meanwhile, they guide public opinion like this: a vassal being loyal to his lord is faultless after all, which aligns with the social customs of the Frank people. As for issues with the lord, well, everyone can speak freely."

"That is to say," Nora continued, her face showing a sudden comprehension, "they try not to offend both the Church Court and the Emperor, while also distancing themselves in the public opinion."

"Another point is that while forced by the Emperor’s demands, the Dukes have to conscript within their Duchies, they definitely hope that their own troops suffer as little loss as possible in the battles," Aske continued. "Thus, through similar public opinion propaganda, they create a subtle unified stance within the Duchy, which facilitates preserving strength appropriately in subsequent battles."

"But if that’s the case, won’t conscription itself become a problem?" Nora asked, puzzled. "If the public begins to oppose the war, won’t conscription face difficulties?"

"Nora, the mobilization capability of a feudal country is inherently weak," Aske responded. "Under any circumstance, conscription is very difficult, and it can only rely on the military force of the conscription officers for enforcement." freewēbnoveℓ.com

"For the Emperor, how vigorously each Duke conscripts within his Duchy is a standard by which their loyalty can be gauged. Whether the conscripted soldiers are willing to fight is beyond what the Dukes are compelled to enforce."

"That is to say, perform diligently where the Emperor can see, and engage in various surreptitious actions where he cannot see, right?" Nora surmised.

"Exactly right," Aske said with a smile. "Even the Emperor himself might guess such actions are happening, but due to ’not seeing them,’ he can only tacitly permit them. This phenomenon not only appears in war and conscription, but has actually permeated all aspects of feudal nations, forming a ’Noble’s playbook’ that comprises explicit legislation and unspoken rules."

"What the nobles often refer to as ’Law of Reason.’"

"Hmm..." Nora hummed thoughtfully, feeling enlightened.

In her homeland, Italy, although it technically operated as a city-state system, the concept of city-states had become quite blurred. The overly developed commerce forcibly broke labor movement barriers and upon this, entities like the ’Thirteen Families of Italy’ oligarchs were born.

Therefore, in all of Italy, ’contract supremacy’ prevailed. A vast and complex volume of legal statutes fundamentally permeated all aspects of society, with wealthier corporations employing powerful legal teams to gain a decisive advantage in legal disputes.

Later she arrived in the East Solomon Empire, a centralized bureaucratic state. Although inheriting legal statutes from the Ancient Solomon Empire, their judicial interpretations were relatively ambiguous compared to Italy, granting judges at all levels significant discretionary powers.

In other words, it meant playing politics.

For example, if the upper echelons emphasized stabilizing public security this year, even lighter offenses like theft and fraud would receive harsh sentences; conversely, if they emphasized religious education, even severe crimes like murder and robbery might be sentenced more from terms of imprisonment and rehabilitative labor perspectives.

In the Holy Solomon Empire, the role of law seemed further diluted, replaced instead by the personal will of feudal Lords and a multitude of ’conventions’ and ’unspoken rules’ among Frank Nobles.

’Law of Reason’ should actually be ’Reason’s Law,’ the law in principle.

Very backward, in Nora’s view, but also quite interesting.

Ignoring these street dramas, the two purchased a large amount of vegetables, fruits, and meats, and then discreetly teleported them back to Fire Island.

"Speaking of which, your magic potions should have digested by now, right?" Aske asked.

"Nearly," Nora responded.

Since defeating the Demigod Hidden Strings, over a month had passed.

Dependent on the exceedingly high training loads each day, everyone’s digestion of the Magic Potion was remarkably fast, and they were ready to welcome the next stage of promotion soon.

Considering the upcoming campaign in the south, getting promoted faster was paramount and urgent.

Nora teleported back to Fire Island to oversee the preparations for everyone’s promotions, while Aske continued to wander around outside with the Ancient Book.

Then, on the streets, he saw Meyer, who was carrying a sword.

"Hey, shouldn’t you be in Strasbourg?" Aske asked in surprise.

Ever since he last helped Meyer offer the book and repay his debts, Meyer had been planning to return to Strasbourg.

Strasbourg, located on the border between the West Frank Kingdom and the Swabian Duchy, is a rare autonomous city without a lord’s rule, where Meyer planned to open a swordsmanship gymnasium.

Therefore, after the civil war ended and the roads became passable again, Aske thought this Sword Saint had already gone back, but unexpectedly, he saw him again in Mingxing City.

"Alas, there was no choice," Meyer said, twirling his goatee, "Since last time I presented the book, the Duke of Bavaria sent people to find me and gave me several generous rewards."

"I thought it was because he appreciated my swordsmanship, but it turned out he wanted to recruit me for war. The appointment and the ennoblement came down this morning."

"What ennoblement?"

"A knight," Meyer said, "Of course, it’s the kind without a lordship."

In the Divine Luo Empire, there were two types of knights: those without lordships, naturally without fiefdoms too, who only received a title and had to fight in wars—with a slim chance of being granted land based on military merits. This type of knight was generally the highest rank a civilian could achieve.

The other type was knights with both a lordship and a fiefdom, generally intended for nobility youths, especially those from lesser noble families with illustrious ancestries.

Exceptions existed, such as Ludwig ennobling Aske as his own vassal with Berg Village as his fief, which was essentially an invitation to join his family line, paving the way for Aske to become his brother-in-law.

These were the games of nobility during peacetime. As the Magic Tide ascended, the disparity in strength among different Transcendents widened, and these old noble rules would soon be shattered.

Aske and Meyer, both seasoned Transcendents, paid no mind to this, and chatted casually about the war, exchanging the information they had on hand.

"Lord Aske!" A breathless voice came from behind, and Aske turned around to see Knight Captain John from the Weisbach family approaching.

"Your appointment letter, please," Knight Captain John performed a knight’s salute to him and then presented the appointment letter with both hands, "Tomorrow afternoon, please gather your men at the racetrack outside Mingxing City."

"My appointment letter?" Aske was somewhat puzzled.

"You are a vassal of Viscount Gao Ting." The Knight Captain explained, "The Weisbach family has already declared war. According to the summons from Viscount Gao Ting, you are also required to assemble troops."

Aske: ........

He had just remembered that he, too, had been ennobled.

Well, going to war was already part of the plan anyway, whether as a member of The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps or as the Lord Knight of Berg Village was just a title.

No matter anymore.

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