Raine's Current Situation
"It's a pity. The nobles in the Central Region are suppressed so severely by them, but we are blocked in the Carson Mountains. If our army could cross the Carn City and enter the Central Region directly, it would definitely receive a strong response from the Central nobles."
Alex added a final sentence, his face showing regret.
"But that's not necessarily true. After all, if Count Colt hadn't led the Northern Frontier Allied Army into the battlefield, perhaps the Grand Duke Jola, who was supported by the Central and Eastern nobles, would have won the final victory. I guess the Central nobles also hate you very much and would love to see the Northern Alliance Army and the Duchy's Direct Legion fight to the death."
After listening to Alex's words, Victor realized what he meant and shared his own opinion.
As for Baron Rossi, he seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to speak but dared not.
Alex noticed Baron Rossi's hesitation and asked directly, "What insightful opinion does Baron Rossi have? We would also like to hear the analysis of the current situation of our Grand Duchy of Vera from the nobles of the Raine Kingdom."
Baron Rossi shuddered and quickly waved his hand. "I dare not presume to offer such insightful opinions. I merely feel that within the duchy, the power of the nobility has not yet undergone significant differentiation. There are no major differences in the nobility's power or values. The great nobles and the Grand Duke of the duchy do not dare to directly oppress the smaller nobles."
Then, Rossi sighed, "It's not like that in the Raine Kingdom. The nobles in provinces without Duke are a little better off. At most, the king will raise taxes every now and then, and everyone's life will be a little difficult. But in Wos Province, where there are nobles of the Duke level, these dukes have received concessions from the king. These Duke are practically local lords. They can take whatever they want from the lesser nobles. If you're not careful, you'll be demoted, have your title reduced, or even be stripped of your title. Everyone lives in fear, afraid that one day they will be stripped of their title and territory."
Alex and Victor listened with great curiosity, eager to learn more about the Raine Kingdom from Baron Rossi. After all, the two countries had previously been separated by the natural barrier of the Tears of God, resulting in very little commercial exchange. Their knowledge of the Raine Kingdom came primarily from merchants and books, which were mostly outdated. While geographical knowledge was still relatively reliable, social and cultural aspects were undoubtedly undergoing rapid changes.
Seeing the curious looks in their eyes, Baron Rossi naturally wouldn't keep them in suspense. After all, the future revival of the Oleander family might depend on the two people in front of him, so he told them everything he knew without reservation.
"During the 50 years of the reign of the Great King and the previous King, the Raine Kingdom had always wanted to expand to the south. However, due to the constraints imposed by the Barbarians of the Skyline Grassland and the Fas Kingdom, the southward expansion strategy yielded little success. On the contrary, the private armies of many small and medium-sized nobles who responded to the call to arms suffered heavy losses and gained nothing. During that period, the total number of nobles in the Raine Kingdom decreased by nearly 10%, mainly due to the bankruptcy or even extinction of their lineages caused by the war."
In order to continue assembling the troops needed for the southward expansion strategy, the then-king continuously delegated power to the high-ranking nobles, further increasing their votes in the local Noble Council. Combined with the already reduced votes of the middle and lower-ranking nobles, this enabled the high-ranking nobles to use the assemblies to achieve their goal of annexing the lower-ranking nobles.
Baron Rossi seemed to be thinking about his own experiences and fell silent for a moment.
"After the current king came to power, he directly canceled the strategy of advancing south by land and instead made breakthroughs by sea. Although taxes are increased from time to time, it is already a good life for us small and medium-sized nobles. My father was always grateful for the king's tolerance. I never expected to encounter these things suddenly."
Alex patted Rossi on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. Rossi looked grateful and continued, "The Raine Kingdom had not carried out large-scale expansion for more than a hundred years. The nobles, Court Noble who had made meritorious contributions, and Freemen all longed for promotion and to become nobles. That's why the first two kings wanted to move south, but for various reasons, they were unable to succeed."
The current king directly changed the strategy. With his support, the Kingdom Navy became a new power in the military. Originally, there were only two fleets, with a total of only about two hundred ships and a small navy. In just ten years, it expanded to eight fleets, more than 1,500 ships, and a total force of nearly 100,000. Along with this, many new nobles emerged.
Of course, they did achieve some results. Through naval attacks, they captured several important ports and strategic locations along the coast of the Tears of God, and completely annihilated the navy of the Central Principality Alliance, gaining absolute naval control over the Tears of God.
However, the Central Principality Alliance has now abandoned the coastal lands and focused its forces on key outposts along the coast to enter the interior. The navy is also unable to launch an offensive, and the kingdom's southward expansion has once again reached a stalemate.
Therefore, the king also faced some backlash, because he had always supported the naval policy and placed his base of support and reformist forces in the navy.
Some established forces and local nobles in the army were affected. They did not obstruct the kingdom's southward expansion when it was going smoothly, but they jumped out after the sea route southward expansion was thwarted. The king and the navy have had a very difficult time in the past few years.
However, the navy unexpectedly found the key to breaking the deadlock. They found a route across the Tears of God, directly to the eastern shore of the Tears of God, which is the Grand Duchy of Vera, giving the king and the navy another chance to win.
Although the Western nobles and the opposition within the army have joined forces to do these things, and even planned to betray the internal opposition within the duchy to the Grand Duke Silver Maple in order to interfere with the eastward expansion strategy, I do not think they will succeed. I guess that's what they were thinking too, which is why they made me this envoy, and if necessary, they can make me a scapegoat.
The king and navy will definitely persist in advancing eastward. As long as they advance eastward, the kingdom's nobles will have the opportunity to be promoted and expand their territories. Those Court Noble will have the opportunity to become independent nobles, and talented Freemen will also have the opportunity to improve their status. No one can stop them.
Therefore, I believe that even if Count Colt and his allied Northern Frontier Allied Army suffer a temporary setback, it doesn't matter. As long as they persevere, the Raine Kingdom will surely send troops to their aid, and then they will naturally be able to overthrow the rule of Grand Duke Silver Maple.
Rossi recounted everything he knew, and Victor and Alex listened attentively.
Victor understood the current situation of the Raine Kingdom. The Raine Kingdom was riddled with internal conflicts, like a ticking time bomb. The king and his reformist nobles wanted to unleash this power to fuel the expansion of the Raine Kingdom. They had chosen the Grand Duchy of Vera and would not give up, otherwise this bomb would blow them to pieces.
Although it's unknown what will happen to the Raine Kingdom in the future, this is good news for the Northern Frontier Allied Army at least for now.