sjar Chapter 249 A sudden turn of events
Chapter 249 A sudden turn of events
Armand VII was an emperor who wanted to make a difference.
Although he knew from the day he took over the throne that it would be difficult for him to completely overthrow the power of the great nobles, he still tried his best and tried many methods to take back a lot of power from the nobles.
Since the nobles did not care about the royal authority at all, they did not care much about the selection of ministers. Armand VII took advantage of this negligence and selected many capable people from the public and recruited them into various departments.
When the original powerful ministers were quietly sidelined, the emperor shifted his focus to the army.
"The Empire's army is the sword and shield that protects the country. It cannot become the private army of the nobles."
Because this matter really concerns the normal operation of the country, the great nobles did not dare to openly disobey the emperor's decision.
In the end, the emperor regained control of several legions in exchange for allowing the fiefdom nobles to have private armies - but the military expenses of these legions could only be raised by the royal family itself.
Although the emperor at that time had indeed been troubled for a long time over military expenses, the invasion of the Cardia-Corinthian coalition brought him a turning point.
"In this critical moment, I ask all citizens to join me in resisting the foreign enemies!"
Since no one knew how much land the aggressive coalition forces wanted to obtain, even the three dukes who had their own troops in their territories had to invest a lot of resources into the border defense forces.
The emperor not only took the opportunity to obtain a large amount of military funds, but also fortunately discovered a military genius - Maren Moti.
After several years of fighting with the Allied Forces on the great plains on the western border of the empire, the young general eventually caused a split within the Allied Forces.
After the Principality of Corinth took the initiative to seek peace, the Kingdom of Cardia was forced to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Empire.
So after the war, Armand VII, who was only 40 years old at the time, reached his peak of popularity in the country.
"I will confer the title of Marun Moti as the Marquis of the Border, and he will continue to guard the border for the empire."
Due to the emperor's popularity and Maren Moti's military achievements, the great nobles at that time were unable to prevent the birth of a new nobility.
The Marquis of Moti also became a thorn in the emperor's side in the aristocratic circle, causing some differences between the feudal nobles and the honorary nobles.
——If you can get a fiefdom from the emperor if you do a good job, then why should you abide by the rules set by the great nobles?
Although these contradictions were never brought to the surface, the emperor did succeed in weakening the voice of the great nobles.
"But it seems that this is all I can do."
Marquis Moti, who was discovered and promoted by the emperor, did indeed increase the power of the royal family.
But if one wants to completely overthrow the aristocratic forces of the three dukes and more than ten marquises, these alone are far from enough.
Although the great nobles divided the royal power, they were not foolish and greedy people - under their rule, most of the people in the noble territories lived and worked in peace and contentment, and had little desire to fight.
Armand VII was of course well aware that without sufficient popular support, it would be difficult for him to shake the existing power base by force.
"Then let's pass these things on to the next generation. When my child and the little one from Marquis Moti's family grow up, we can work together to complete what I failed to do."
So in the following twenty years, the emperor never took any action against the noble circle.
Until the family of Marquis Moti died in an "accident", leaving only a "waste" eldest son with no talent in the territory.
……
"Your Excellency Wushen, what do you think of the current situation?"
Although Armand VII, who was over 60 years old, was still quite majestic, his eyes and eyebrows had lost their former sharpness.
The warrior next to him, with strange spiritual blue crystals growing on his body, had served in the royal family for nearly a hundred years, but still looked like he was only in his early forties.
"I don't know much about politics, but I can see the current situation clearly. I'm afraid the empire will soon change."
"Hehe, that kid from the Moti family is the last stone that breaks the balance."
Even without Aarons Moti's existence, the fragile balance between the nobles would be broken by potential betrayers.
But the eldest son of the Marquis, who was always despised by everyone as "waste", accelerated this process which should have been long countless times.
"If he hadn't publicly stated that he would support Luo Lan's succession to the throne and killed the heir of the Booker family, I'm afraid these things would have to wait until I die before they happened."
Some of Aarons' key actions did disrupt the originally peaceful situation.
Although conflicts among the great nobles have existed for a long time, they have never reached the point of life and death.
Although the traitors lurking in the dark wanted to use foreign enemies to destroy the foundation of the empire, they did not have a suitable opportunity.
These things would probably have to wait until the emperor died and the new emperor ascended the throne when the political situation was unstable before they would happen - but Aarons used his not-so-good hand to force all the players on the field to put forward their chips.
——I’m going all in. If you don’t follow me, I’ll continue in the next round.
Then, the Duke of Booker, who didn't like to suffer losses, lost his patience and launched a counterattack, but lost his heir.
"Old Booker's loss has given everyone a good opportunity... If I weren't so old now, I would also like to do something else."
After sighing with some regret, the emperor suddenly felt dizzy for no reason.
I am indeed getting a bit old... I drank some wine when I was meeting a guest yesterday, and I am still drunk.
"His Highness Kunlan will be a good emperor, and that little fellow from the Moti family will probably be able to make those nobles bleed."
"After this matter is over, give him the record that old Morti left for me... It's a pity that Claire is not my biological daughter, otherwise, if I let that boy become a prince, I would be doing justice to old Morti who left earlier."
Many nobles knew that Claire was actually a child adopted by the emperor. Although giving an adopted daughter the title of a princess without power was not a big deal, many people could not accept letting her husband become a prince.
"Forget it, this is all about the children. I... um..."
"His Majesty?"
"The wine from the Covenant Alliance has a really strong aftertaste..."
The emperor, who was about to stand up to pick up a book, suddenly felt dizzy again and fell back into his chair.
Realizing that something was not right with the emperor's condition, Ling Qing Wushen immediately picked up the spiritual talker on the table and contacted the imperial physician in the palace.
"Your Majesty's physical condition is a little abnormal. Send someone over immediately."
"Haha, Your Excellency Wushen, you are worrying too much. I just drank too much yesterday. It's just a small question--"
However, before the emperor could finish his words, he suddenly started to tremble all over as he sat in the chair.
"Xiao, Xiao Wen...it's...it's okay..."
——Before Ling Qing Wushen put down the Linghua microphone in his hand, the emperor, who was slumped in the chair, collapsed without any warning, foaming at the mouth.
"Damn it! The emperor is having a medical emergency! Someone come quickly!"
Recalling that the emperor had specially received a group of travelers from the western part of the continent yesterday, Ling Qing Wushen keenly realized that this was not a disease.
The Covenant Alliance's Star-Seeking Brigade must be a problematic organization!
"There is no other way... We must preserve the royal bloodline."
Thinking of the oath he had made to the fourth emperor in the past, the war god who had lived for more than a hundred years immediately dialed the number of the Ministry of the Interior.
"I am the Martial God Lingqing! Seal off the palace immediately! Do not let anyone in or out for the time being! At the same time, send someone to notify the eldest prince immediately... No, let the third prince Roland Armand return to the imperial capital to meet with an audience!"
In order to fulfill his promise and preserve the bloodline of the Armand family... after the emperor suddenly collapsed due to an unknown acute illness, the guardian god of the country independently chose the person he wanted to protect.
——And this is the beginning.