The Emperor of the Empire (V)

Being Emperor Florian was not so easy.

Under the system of monarchs and nobles, the monarch's power was severely restricted, while the nobles held ninety percent of the Empire's power.

If an emperor lacked wisdom, he would only be toyed with by the nobles. Through their actions, the nobles would tell their esteemed His Majesty the Emperor that the Empire could keep running even without him.

But Columbus III was not that kind of emperor. He possessed both shrewd methods and wisdom. In just half a month, he had made all four grand dukes bow their heads, showing every noble that none of the four grand dukes could oppose the emperor's will.

The words "I follow your will," a vow of loyalty from follower to leader, had been displayed in full over the past half month.

There were still half a month until the Divine Grace Festival. Many great nobles who had been confused finally saw the emperor's methods clearly.

They thought the emperor was targeting the four grand dukes, but in truth, His Majesty the Emperor's objective was the far more numerous lesser nobles of the Empire.

Knights, barons, viscounts—this group of lesser nobles was Emperor Florian's true target.

Why?

Because only lesser nobles lacked the ability to handle danger independently. They needed to rely on stronger nobles, and those stronger nobles could be great nobles, the four grand dukes, or the emperor.

But with the four grand dukes suppressed by the emperor's authority, when the lesser nobles arrived at the Imperial Capital, the only one left before them was the emperor.

They also had a voice in the Empire. A grand duke's voice could shake the heavens, while a baron's was barely audible.

But numbers could be frightening too.

This was where the emperor's wisdom lay. He stripped