King
Chapter 68 - 68 67 Against One's Will_1

68: Chapter 67, Against One’s Will_1 68: Chapter 67, Against One’s Will_1 The initial success had no impact on the fierce competition that followed.

From the second land dispute onwards, there was never a moment of harmony on the scene.

It was not that everyone did not want to coordinate, it was that coordination was practically impossible.

Once a fief was settled, there was almost no possibility of change, one step back now might lead to a lifetime of regret.

Both were Baron’s territories, but the difference in annual income between the best and the worst could be as high as tens of thousands of gold coins.

Of course, that’s theoretical.

The current state of the two counties could not reach this level.

Without ten or eight years of diligent management, it would be impossible to restore them to their peak.

Take the Salam Mining Area chosen by Hudson for instance, it monopolized the supply of pig iron in the county.

Its products also had a high market share in the surrounding counties, making it a high-revenue area.

However, mining comes with high labor costs, part of the charcoal needed for smelting needed to be purchased externally, and the local grain production could only satisfy part of the demand, which diluted the mining profits.

The most important point was that a mine will eventually run out, while grain production could be infinitely cycled, which implicitly decreased the value of the territory again.

But this was an external view, to Hudson, an industry that could be monetized in a short span of time was the best of all.

To accumulate wealth through agriculture would take an exceedingly long time.

For most nobles, the first twenty years of developing a territory would be poverty-stricken.

Of course, both Wharton and Layton Counties were well-developed and fertile, making the conditions much better.

As long as the labor force was replenished, it could quickly recover its vitality.

Especially for local gentry, after decades of peace, most nobles’ territories had a sufficient labor force, undoubtedly reducing the difficulty of developing new territories.

Immigrants were tragic in comparison, they could only purchase slaves in large quantities to serve as labor.

As for transferring the population from the Northern Border, the Kingdom would be the first to disagree.

For the safety of national defense, the Kingdom deported a large number of criminals to guard the frontier every year.

The rule was only incoming population, not outgoing population.

Each Province had a mandatory task of transferring population each year.

If the required number was not met, the nobles needed to spend money to buy slaves to fill the quota.

Even the prisoners captured during the recent suppression of the Skeleton Society rebellion were sent to the Northern Border in batches.

The Orcs behind the scenes would take care of attracting haters, solving the contradiction once and for all.

The Alpha Kingdom was relatively peaceful because it bore the heavy responsibility of resisting the invasion of the Orcs Empire.

They did not dare to engage in too much internal or external fighting.

Human kingdoms without the threat of foreign races were quite different, they enjoyed freedom.

Small wars every three months, big wars every five months, war was the main theme of the Continent.

Each war produced a large number of captives.

They were released after ransoming according to rules.

After a certain period of time, if nobody paid the ransom, they would be sold as slaves.

Looking at the bickering crowd, Hudson became an onlooker.

By the middle stage, not only the involved parties were arguing, their supporters also joined the battlefield.

The scene was extremely chaotic, if it weren’t for Earl Piers suppressing the situation, these fellows might have started physical fighting on the spot.

The verdict of the Noble Parliament was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The most feared situation was when the strength and the networking were evenly matched.

If no agreement could be reached, a vote would be conducted.

According to the Kingdom’s “Nobility Act”, any noble who owns a fief was a councilor of the Noble Parliament.

According to the rules: Knight received one vote, Baron three votes, Viscount ten votes, Earl thirty votes…they were cumulative and immediate voting took place on the scene.

The advantage of larger number became apparent at this point.

Including several nobles who did not participate in this war for special reasons, the Koslow clan had two Barons and nine Knights holding voting rights, totaling fifteen votes.

Unfortunately, Hudson, Adrian and two other members who succeeded the title did not have voting rights temporarily as they had not completed the legal procedures, otherwise, eight more votes could be added.

Without these eight votes, the direct result was the defeat of Knight Lester and Baron Kroll by a slim margin of two and three votes respectively.

Seeing these two discouraged men, Hudson and his son didn’t know how to console them and could only pretend to not see.

The failure was inevitable, even with the eight votes, nothing would have changed.

The small gap in votes was Earl Piers manipulating the situation.

As the ticket king of the Southeastern Province, Earl Piers, who held multiple positions, had fifty-four votes alone.

Adding the nobles influenced by him, he could control even more votes.

In the interest of political balance, the Koslow Family will inevitably not have a share in the unexpected boon this time round.

Unable to participate themselves, they could only watch others perform.

Hudson had personally witnessed Baron Redman fill in three different names on the ballots.

Observing his father’s calm demeanor, it seemed normal to support multiple candidates at once in the nobility circle.

They were either friends or they had received multiple gifts.

To reconcile with this, such scenes usually played out.

Only family and close kin would give all their votes to one candidate at once.

While this may seem amusing, it is also a form of political wisdom.

Hudson, who originally thought he has already become a qualified noble, suddenly realized that he still has a lot to learn.

The loud and boisterous banquet carried on until the next morning, finally ending this feast of division.

In the end, with some rejoicing and some in sorrow.

As one of the winners, Hudson was in high spirits.

On the carriage, looking at his elated son, Baron Redman exhorted solemnly, “Hudson, determining the territory is just the first step, the subsequent implementation is key.

I just got word from Adrian.

Your Excellency the Governor is in a rush to implement the territorial plans, largely due to the new arrivals.

I hear the Governor’s Mansion and the Capital are not on good terms.

Although the King had agreed to Earl Piers’ proposal of restricting the highest ennoblement to barons, but he instead awarded Dardiel City and Fertile City to others.

Of the Dalton Family’s three progeny serving in the Northland, only one received a baron’s territory and two others, knight territories.

This greatly dissatisfied Earl Piers.

Being robbed from, the Dalton family will certainly not let it rest.

They will retaliate.

The specifics are unknown, but it is very likely related to their territories.

The Koslow clan, not being well-known in the kingdom, are unable to join the fray of the powerful.

If conflict brakes out, you must be cautious and not get caught in the storm.”

Hudson nodded seriously, and immediately assured, “Don’t worry, father.

I would rather evade such matters, let alone voluntarily participate.

The nobility that managed to extricate themselves from the quagmire of the North and snatch from the jaws of the Dalton family, surely have no ordinary backgrounds.

By risking offending the top noble of the Southeastern Province, a mere baron’s territory will undoubtedly not satisfy their appetites.

Likely, a ferocious battle will ensue.

However, they are still newcomers, and their family does have a hefty influence in the two counties.

As long as the territories we hold support each other, I believe we should be able to defend ourselves sufficiently.”

Though he appeared relaxed, Hudson was far from tranquil.

He was aware of the southern migration of the Northern Nobles, but he did not anticipate this group of powerful individuals to be capable of snatching from the mouth of the Dalton Family.

If these guys took over the county city, then there’s likely no mystery in the upcoming county head dispute.

It’s clear that they have just begun seeing the big reshuffling of the two counties, intending to use this county city as the foundation for their slow planning.

Next, it depends on how much support they have from their forces and whether they can withstand the counterattack of the Dalton family.

Regardless of the outcome, the small nobles of the two counties will have a tough time for quite a while.

While the Koslow family have four fiefdom nobles to form an alliance with, two of them have been severely damaged in the previous Skeleton Society rebellion, the remaining two have just entered this field.

What worried Hudson the most is Knight Adrian who has always been with Earl Piers.

The imprint of the Dalton family on him is too overwhelming.

If a conflict occurs, while others may find ways to get out of it, only Adrian cannot withdraw.

If things escalate, he might involuntarily get involved.

Unfortunately, Hudson had no choice but to depend on the support of the Governor’s Office if he wants to gain more in the territorial division.

While troubles lie in the future, benefits are within reach.

It was a firsthand experience of the reality of the nobility circle being beyond their control.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.