Trouble Stirs

In the Dadir City, Baron Ciss, who had barely managed to repair a few houses, finally had a place to stay.

Before he could even consider the development of his territory, a group of Northern Aristocrats rushed over. Listening to their complaints, Ciss, who had been harboring deep anger, gradually calmed down.

Human nature is so strange; when you're down on your luck, finding a bunch of other unlucky people around you can instantly lift your spirits.

Dadir City may be defunct, but its advantageous geographical location remains. Once Wright County develops, it will still be the most suitable region for trade, and its development potential will remain the greatest.

"Knight Daren, calm down. Impulsiveness won't solve anything. Nobody wanted this to happen."

We are all victims in this matter, but that doesn't mean we can act rashly.

It's easy to just take people to their door and demand an explanation, but the problem is that if they refuse to admit it and insist that it was for refugee relief, we will be in a very passive position.

The Governor's Mansion is unlikely to support us; if they find an excuse to intervene, they will definitely take our side.

My personal suggestion is to try diplomacy first, then resort to force. We could send someone with a gift to thank them for taking care of our people these past few days, and then ask them to return the people.

If they can hand over the person, that would be ideal. If they don't cooperate, we can resort to drastic measures to gain the moral high ground.

In this way, even if the Governor's Mansion wanted to take sides, it would have no reason to intervene.

Ciss said calmly.

The trials and tribulations on the Northern Frontier Battlefield were not in vain. Serving alongside Grand Duke Cavadia, he was exposed to politics most often.

After calming down, when considering solutions, the natural choice was to prioritize politics.

As for right and wrong, they are not important in the world of the nobility; what they value more is the advantages and disadvantages.

The rational response deeply hurt the nobles who had initially wanted to incite the Ciss to take action. Their rival was not only powerful and influential, but also intelligent; how were they supposed to compete?

Some nobles who were initially undecided or uncertain about their chances of becoming the leader are now considering whether to join their side.

The nobles who are sent out to establish their own businesses are all carefully selected scions from their respective families. They may lack some overall ability due to their upbringing, but they are definitely not fools.

He quickly understood Ciss's true intentions: peaceful coexistence with the local nobles was a pretense; what he really wanted was to create a plausible excuse to establish his authority.

For newcomers to establish themselves in an unfamiliar place, the first thing they need to do is not to build relationships with others, but to demonstrate their strength.

Undoubtedly, demonstrating strength and establishing authority requires skill. To gain a foothold in the Southeast Province, one cannot let hatred run too deep, at the very least, one cannot push all the nobles in the province to the opposite side.

"Sir Ciss, the nobles of the Southeast Province are very hostile towards us. I'm afraid they will not only fail to appreciate your good intentions, but will also think that we are afraid of them."

These guys are local bullies with deep roots in the area. If we take drastic measures, they'll definitely call on their cronies.

We are not afraid of a challenge, but the key issue is that we will face new difficulties outside the battlefield.

For example, grain prices in the Southeast Province have already skyrocketed, increasing by fifty percent compared to before we arrived, almost catching up with grain prices in the north.

Prices of other daily necessities also rose accordingly. In particular, the price of slaves doubled compared to the same period last year.

I wonder if anyone has noticed that caravans always take detours when they see us, let alone do business with us. This is very abnormal, as if someone is manipulating things.

If our conflict with the local nobility escalates, this situation could worsen, and they might even impose a complete economic blockade on us.

Baron Sutton spoke up with a warning.

Coming from a family that dealt in logistics and finance, Baron Sutton was exceptionally sensitive to fluctuations in the prices of goods.

Upon arriving in the Southeast Province, his first priority was not to rush to his own territory, but to inquire about price changes and see if there were any suitable business opportunities. He didn't find any business opportunities, but instead sensed a crisis.

The Alpha Kingdom still maintains order, and even though internal strife exists, it is generally kept within reasonable limits.

The infighting between noble lords was not considered dangerous. Even if there were heavy casualties, it was the soldiers who died. The safety of the nobles themselves was still guaranteed.

People cannot be killed, and territories cannot be forcibly seized. Even a direct lord cannot deprive a vassal of their territory without cause.

In contrast, the battles fought outside the battlefield, without the smoke of gunpowder, are far more bloody and brutal.

Economic blockades due to internal strife are rare in the past. The key reason is that under the unique territorial economic system, almost every lord operates a small industrial cycle and is basically self-sufficient.

Especially in fertile lands like the Southeast Province, even if they were blockaded for three to five years, the nobles and lords could still eat and drink as usual.

The lords present, however, were out of luck; they hadn't yet established their own territories. Their lands, resembling a no-man's-land, lacked the capacity to provide them with even the most basic logistical support.

After hesitating for a moment, Ciss said fiercely, "Since there is a possibility of economic blockade, let's take the initiative and break through this blockade first."

Regardless of who is behind it, the economic blockade can only target us outsiders; it can't possibly contain the local aristocracy.

To break through this network, the cooperation of some local nobles is necessary. Under normal circumstances, they certainly won't cooperate, so extreme measures will be unavoidable.

The specifics of how to proceed are up to you to decide. However, it's important to be mindful of boundaries and avoid pushing people too far.

"If we go too far and they abandon their fiefdom development altogether, and just keep dragging things out with us, that would be a huge problem."

The Northern Nobles, each expressing their own opinions, held their meeting in Dadir City for two days before concluding. It is worth mentioning that no banquet was held during that time.

Clearly, these nobles, who spent years shedding blood on the battlefield, valued practicality more than a ceremonial presence.

The Northern Nobles began their counterattack, and the native nobles of Wright and Hutton Prefectures instantly felt the pressure.

Knight's Territory, who had just inherited the Coelho's Territory, was one of the unlucky ones.

He hadn't originally planned to take advantage of the situation, since his family had been severely weakened by the rebellion and had no resources to cause trouble.

He was sitting at home when good fortune came to him. He hadn't done anything when a group of refugees wandered into his territory.

Watching his neighbors seize people to quickly replenish their territory's workforce, it would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous. Since the refugees came to him of their own accord, not because he had to abduct them, he simply took them in.

With the addition of more than 500 refugees, the reconstruction of his territory was also greatly accelerated, making Coelho extremely happy every day.

Unfortunately, the good days were short-lived. After enjoying the demographic dividend for only a few days, the owners came back to demand it back.

Looking at the gift before him, Coelho wished he wasn't home. Unfortunately, the other party didn't give him a chance to refuse, explaining their purpose, dropping off the gift, and leaving.

Being weak is a cardinal sin, and bowing to the strong isn't shameful. Having used over a month of free labor, returning it now isn't a loss.

The problem was that he had only taken in five hundred refugees, but they insisted that he had taken in a thousand. After expressing their gratitude for his care with gifts, they demanded people from him.

It's clearly extortion; there's no way we can compromise on something like this. But the problem is, we genuinely can't win!

Aside from the fact that he, the lord, was capable of fighting, there were only a few guards left, and the rest of the armed forces had been wiped out in the war.

He gathered a group of serf soldiers and challenged them to a duel with elite troops from the Northern Frontier. The outcome was already known before the battle even began.

If one-on-one duels fail, they resort to ganging up. As nobles who had been rooted in the local area for many years, they originally had no shortage of connections, but unfortunately, most of these connections were destroyed in the rebellion.

Even if they manage to preserve their legacy, their current situation is similar to Coelho's. They are barely able to take care of themselves, let alone others.

He did have some connections outside the county, but unfortunately, he had already used up most of those connections in order to successfully inherit the title.

The most crucial point is that even if someone is willing to help out of consideration for past relationships, it's still too late to solve the immediate problem.

"Master, why don't we ask the Divine Bow Knight for help? Although we've never met before, your great-aunt married into the Coslo Family, so we're relatives."

"The relationship may be a bit distant, but we're still neighbors. It would be embarrassing for him to just watch you get bullied!"

The old butler's words reminded Coelho. To call them relatives was a stretch, but it was true that they were related to the Coslo Family by marriage.

Unfortunately, the marriage alliance had lasted for three generations, and the parties involved were long gone, with even the marriage partner being a branch of the Coslo Family in Whitton County.

Theoretically, even if they were to ask for help, they should have approached their relatives in Whitton County. Unfortunately, the Huaidun branch is currently preoccupied with its own problems.