Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 529 Bloody Night: Weird Sheep Eating People (7300)

As early as last night, Byron's Guards [Death Wings] and the elite Marines of the Lancaster Party had reoccupied Kingston under the command of Guardian Knight Bruch, [Blood Red Whiskey] Alfred, and the honest man Eight Fingers.

Then a curfew was imposed immediately and stability maintenance work was initiated.

The Lancastrians were all too familiar with the city, which they had lost control of for two years.

They easily occupied the key departments and the treasury, and watched over the residences of the core members of the royal party.
After the pirate ships blocked the shipping routes from the sea, teams of messengers went ashore and delivered the orders to the castles of the lords and the town halls.

Administrative officials and nobles were required to go to the capital as soon as possible to meet the new king and participate in the coronation ceremony of the King of the Wild Hunt.

If one fails to do so within the deadline, he will be regarded as an accomplice of the traitor and face the consequences of being stripped of his title or sentenced to death.

The lords of both the Royalist and Earl's parties, along with their core high-ranking officials and even the main fighting forces, were all destroyed. There was no need to fight another land battle to remove the bastions one by one. One imperial edict was enough to pacify the country.

Of course, Byron's new king group actually wishes there were a few more idiots who would disobey their orders.

The pirate officers who haven't had enough fun are clamoring to find a troublemaker to make an example of him, so that everyone can tell who is the king now!

Before daybreak, the Guards worked tirelessly to organize the ceremony for the new king's entry into the city, announcing to all the citizens of the capital that Lancaster had returned.

Wearing the formal uniform of Hattings and holding bolt-action rifles, they lined up neatly on the dock of the River Tame like an iron wall.

Behind them, citizens of all classes, officials, and nobles in the royal capital had already packed the limited space.

None of the major central administrative departments, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, consulates of various countries, universities, chambers of commerce, and professional guilds of extraordinary people dared to find excuses not to come, and those who came must be prominent figures.

Regardless of their stance, when they saw with their own eyes the [Legendary Battleship Golden Deer] in the intelligence and the commerce raiding fleet that seemed to be glowing with golden light, they suddenly felt as if they had awakened their talent for "singing and dancing", and that gentleness and obedience were their nature.

The four words "conquer people with virtue" are embodied vividly.

Therefore, even before the Lancastrian etiquette officer led the way, the cheers of people from all walks of life who were deeply impressed by the new king's "virtue" were already like a tsunami:
"Long live your Majesty!"

"Long live!"

Byron rode on the back of the eight-legged Pegasus Slipnir and was the first to reach the port. His uncle and father did not come out to steal his limelight.

Alongside him were the two queens, Catherine and Violet, riding ghost horses.

Cardinal Theresa, holding a silver cross in her hand and shining with holy light, followed closely, symbolizing the support from the "Church".

Behind them were hundreds of tall, cold knights in armor from the Wild Hunt, as tall as iron towers, with colorful iris flags representing Byron's identity fluttering in the wind.

After landing, the knights even rode their horses in perfect unison, and as they marched together, even the ground was shaking slightly.

It is clearly the most gorgeous dressage, but in the eyes of others it looks more like a ruthless killing machine like a flood.

Behind them were the neatly lined-up navy soldiers and marines, with neat uniforms and solemn faces, not looking like a ragtag army at all.

They were filled with the high morale and strict military discipline unique to the new regime, which was completely different from those private soldiers of the nobles.

In Byron's spiritual vision, he could clearly see that the originally fluctuating thoughts and wishes in the sky above the royal capital quickly stabilized, and he nodded with satisfaction:

"The one with the strongest army and the most powerful horse will be king. This is the most unwavering destiny in the world."

Some people missed his invincible grandfather Henry V and his kind and benevolent uncle Henry VI, and hoped that the Lancaster legal system could continue in him.

Some people worship strength and firmly believe that justice will prevail over evil, because strength represents justice, and they are glad that they will have a powerful protector.

Most people were afraid of his military power. After weighing the pros and cons, they realized that the consequence of doing something might be their own precious life, so they immediately hid their various little thoughts.
Gathering people is indeed the most powerful force in the world, but how to deal with people and make them all follow your will is also the most difficult knowledge in the world.

Byron led the team forward, waving to the people, but when they saw the banner with the special edition headline:
“Welcome His Majesty to his faithful Kingston!

The people of Kingston, who have suffered so much under the rule of the tyrannical White Rose family, will always be loyal to the great Red Rose! "

But he shook his head in his heart:

"Eternal loyalty? That's a fancy word.

Edward IV is gone now because he believed the lies of 'the great loyal minister Byron Tudor'.

There is no eternal loyalty in the world, only eternal interests."

Mortals cannot imagine the power of gods. Even if they are just false gods, they are experts in manipulating thoughts and will.

[Authority of the Underworld] can allow Byron to directly observe and interfere with the collective subconscious of mankind, and clearly see the emotional aura revealed by each "collective" at this moment.

Blue represents calmness and rationality, yellow represents happiness and hope, red represents enthusiasm and welcome, black and red represent hostility, and pure black represents hatred.
In particular, the "pardon rumor" spread by Guts has been quietly fermenting overnight, and with the help of [Echoes of History], it is clear who supports and who opposes it.

Byron silently recorded each of them in his own [Ship's Log].

"The royal power of Hastings has been weak for hundreds of years. Where the royal power cannot reach, there are naturally others who will occupy it for us.

The power of the entire country has been divided up among various interest groups.

If I cannot eliminate the aristocratic feudal system and strengthen the royal power and laws in my hands to the maximum extent, new challengers to the throne will appear sooner or later.

Fortunately, solving problems with swords rather than words is the exclusive right of every founding monarch!

I used violence to seize power and wiped out the two largest factions, the Royalist Party and the Earl's Party. The power of the great nobles has been almost wiped out.

No force is bigger than my fist.

The remaining crowd is leaderless and can be defeated one by one without causing violent unrest.

Especially.”

As he traveled, people from all walks of life presented him with gifts according to tradition: flowers, cheese, and fine wine. He also had cordial conversations with representatives from all walks of life with his impeccable demeanor.

The accompanying [painters] of the Palace sequence quickly recorded the scenes, while the [novelists] wrote furiously for tomorrow's newspapers.

Until we were almost at the end of the welcoming team.

After bowing to Byron, several representatives of the land nobles tore off the red silk covering the gifts around them.

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the new land nobility and the Black family, we pay you our highest respects."

The brilliant golden light instantly stung the eyes of the onlookers, and the bustling dock became silent in an instant.

After discussing countermeasures yesterday, they decisively asked the [craftsman] to create a pure gold bust for Byron overnight.

This is the "simple folk customs" they want to offer to the new king!
But what others saw was the golden statue, but what Byron saw was the blood and tears of countless landless peasants, as well as the lingering dark thoughts and wishes.

His face remained expressionless, and the "Great Kind Man Halo" above his head quietly lit up, showing an especially kind smile to these new nobles who actually wanted to overthrow the royal power according to intelligence:

“You and the Black family are my friends.

You can rest assured that I am the protector of the entire territory of Hattings and will strictly protect the people's "legal" private property in accordance with the Magna Carta.

Land nobility is the cornerstone of the kingdom. While owning vast territories, your responsibilities are also extremely heavy.

As long as you pay taxes, recruit soldiers, and defend your land, I will always protect your legal rights."

The three basic obligations of a feudal lord: paying taxes, conscripting troops, and defending the territory.

To pay taxes means to pay taxes to the king or the person who bestowed the title (great lord); to be called upon means to lead troops to support the king or the person who bestowed the title;
Defending the territory was an open conspiracy of the kings against the border nobles. Once they lost their land due to war, natural disasters, strange events, etc., the royal family could nationalize it after retaking it.

Nobles without their fiefdoms are nothing. Not to mention seeking political power, even survival is a problem.

Just the issue of "defending the territory" alone provides a lot to be done.

After Byron finished speaking, he turned his head and glanced at a window of a building next to the dock, then rode away and headed straight for Ganquan Palace.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We must abide by the law!"

Upon hearing Byron's "promise", the land nobles couldn't help but smile and celebrate.

The new king was unexpectedly powerful, and it was almost a fantasy for the title of prime minister to replace the title of king. For them, at this stage, being able to keep their existing interests with the help of the king was a huge victory.

As long as they controlled the country's economic lifeline, the king had to rely on their power.

The reason why they have such bizarre ideas is not because these people are not smart.

After all, swords and guns can conquer the world, but I have never heard that swords and guns can rule the world.

Just like the gentry class in the ancient dynasties of Byron's previous life who ruled the world together with the emperor.

They have successively experienced the emperor and the kings of the same surname ruling the world together, the military nobles ruling the world together, the aristocratic families ruling the world together, the clans ruling the world together, the literati ruling the world together, and the gentry ruling the world together.
A king's governance of a country is inseparable from a ruling group with great influence.

The gentry, who were inertial in their thinking, still wanted to use the same tactics as in the past to threaten the foreign imperial court, but they did not expect that the foreign emperor had his own "iron crops" as his base.

He pulled out his knife and chopped them off again and again until they finally realized their new identities.

He is a typical example of someone who won't cry until he sees the coffin.

So in the eyes of the land nobles, after the royal party and the earl party were gone, the remaining main forces, apart from the church, which also occupied almost 20% of the land, were these new land nobles.

It is impossible for immortal gods to do everything by themselves. As long as they can control the distribution of secondary interests, it is equivalent to controlling the power itself.

But like the gentry in Byron's previous life, they did not realize that they were not irreplaceable.

The Holy Golden Empire, which served as a pilot, has delivered a satisfactory answer.

The national center uses the [Midnight Demons] of the Demon Banquet Council or the excellent [Wild Hunt Servants] who have retained their consciousness, and administrative departments at all levels are headed by officials who are selected fairly through examinations.

It can fully guarantee the normal operation of a country.

And these land nobles are actually their own gravediggers.

It was precisely because they drove large numbers of farmers into cities and eliminated their personal dependence on the land that they lost their wings and the possibility of gathering to cause trouble.

It also made the densely populated cities surrounded by large farms the main body of the country's administrative units, and these places could be governed by far fewer managers than in the past.

In addition, the sufficient labor force just met the prerequisites for industrialization, and all that was needed was the introduction of whale oil-powered steam engines, so that factories could be built one after another.

Finally, Byron took back their land and redistributed it according to the villages, thus completely winning over the hearts of the people without spending a penny of his own money.

Of course, the basic principle of land distribution is: "Water, mining and urban land belong to the state, while collective residential and mountain land are retained by the owners."

Farmers only have the right to use the farmland but not the ownership. They cannot buy or sell it, but they can use it as a reservoir and floodway for the lower levels of industrialization.

Even if workers leave the city due to cyclical industrial ups and downs, and become farmers again, they will not become vagrants or unstable factors due to having no land to farm, which will greatly improve the stability of the entire country.

One fish, four ways of cooking it, they cooked it themselves and served it to Byron.

What kind of spirit is this?
Byron thanked their ancestors for the past two hundred years from the bottom of his heart.

So, no matter what the attitude of the land nobles is.

This New Year pig must be slaughtered, and 20% of the land must be taken. If not, the king's family will not be able to celebrate the New Year.

A group of land nobles thought they had received promises from the new king.

But the banker Hal Black, who did not test it himself but was glanced at by Byron from afar, felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

The moment their eyes met, it was as if a snake was opening its mouth wide to swallow them whole.

When I came to my senses, my back was covered in sweat.

"No, I have to run!"

A bystander sees things more clearly. Byron just repeatedly mentioned the word "legal", which made him feel a huge crisis.

The land nobles did not have this awareness, but the [bankers] who dealt with contracts and legal provisions all day long knew:

"The law is the bottom line of morality. If someone claims to be law-abiding all day long, he may be a scumbag!" It is easy to imagine how they are positioned in the new king's mind.

Even though Hal Blake had no idea where Byron's confidence in ruling the country came from, and did not realize that he and his money could not escape, he knew that the land nobles were probably in big trouble.

But just after taking a step, he stopped again, with an uncertain look on his face.

"Wait, wasn't the original intention of our 'Free Masons' to become a world aristocracy beyond the country?

As long as this goal can be achieved, what difference does it make whether we rely on the land nobles or on royal power?
We also want a powerful and ambitious monarch. After all, only an unprecedentedly strong national strength can allow the iron hoof of the financial empire to trample the entire world and wantonly dump all commodities such as wool products.

The [King of the Wild Hunt] is not only the [Night Demon Lord] of the Bloodthirsty Order, but his Vanguard Colonial Trading Company and Vanguard Bank have huge influence in the colonies and the southern continent.

Such a bloodthirsty and rentier person should be the natural leader of the Free Masons! "

Thinking of the rumor that Saint Byron was equivalent to the Holy Spirit, he finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind:

“At the beginning, our ancestors betrayed the incarnation of the Son of God, causing this savior of the transition between the Myth Age and the Silver Age to be nailed to the cross.

And today, the new savior [Holy Spirit] who came at the transition between the Silver Age and the Luoyan Age has come again, and we have once again come to a crossroads.

I'm sorry, my allies and compatriots, I can only continue to respect the decision of our ancestors and sell you out!
After all, this is the tradition of our ethnic group. The Remit people believe in money and nothing else.

Don't blame me, blame our ancestor who accepted the thirty silver coins.

At that time, I will act as an insider and let the defeated "Money Restoration Party" transfer all its assets to Hastings, so that His Majesty the [King of the Wild Hunt] can see my sincerity.

Maybe I will have a chance to drink the [Elixir] and become an immortal night demon."

In the eyes of the "Free Masons", the Remit people are more of an identity recognition. They are scattered across the country and live there. After wandering for thousands of years, who knows how many times their bloodline has been mixed?
If you compare their blood with that of people living in their homeland, you may find that theirs is more authentic.

The so-called Remitianism is just a cover for identifying one's identity. Even if he converts to another religion and changes his faith, it doesn't matter to him at all.

“It doesn’t matter if this Remit is a bad person!

For the sake of lofty goals, necessary sacrifices are worth it. For the sake of the overall situation, you can only be sacrificed.

Oh no, I’m sending you to see the Creator.

We all have a bright future!"

As Hal Black thought about this, his chest slowly straightened up.

Facing the direction where Byron left, he tapped his chest four times in a serious manner:
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, with the clouds of heaven came one like a son of man.

They were brought before the Ancient of Days and were given authority, glory, and a kingdom, so that people of all tribes, nations, and languages ​​would serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.

Praise Saint Byron!"

An anchor chain of faith appeared out of nowhere, and it was surprisingly thick.

Human beings always seek benefits and avoid harm.

It is so simple for a powerful person to do things, and he will be surrounded by good people and loyal subjects.

You don't need to give instructions to get things done, there are always countless people who will take the initiative to figure out your preferences and intentions.

It's just like falling in love with a handsome and rich man, there's no difficulty at all.

In the coming chaotic times, strength is Byron's greatest asset. Even if he stands there and does nothing, countless people will jump onto his boat.

At this time, the deepest part of Ganquan Palace had been heavily blocked.

[The most beautiful woman in the Channel Islands] Elizabeth Woodville was dressed in a gorgeous dress, sitting in front of the dressing table and putting on makeup.

Even though she has given birth to ten children, she is still beautiful and charming.

In addition, she had a bottle of Bloody Mary, which was offered as tribute by the Bloodthirsty Cult in previous years, so her appearance was almost frozen in the past ten years.

This "first beauty" will never change.

But now, when she heard the noise coming from outside, her hands trembled slightly.

Yesterday she saw with her own eyes a black stream of water flowing out of the void, sweeping away all eight children she had with Edward IV.

In particular, the eldest son of Edward V, who was considered to be the next king, was her greatest support.

In just a few months, she lost her entire family, her husband, and her children. At this time, with every step the new king got closer to Ganquan Palace, her status as "queen" was stripped away a little bit, and she was about to lose even her last position.

Elizabeth gently stroked her red lips and delicate collarbone, and a strong sense of confidence returned to her face:

“It’s okay, no man can resist my charm, especially those powerful kings.

As long as Byron Lancaster sees me as a king, he will want to possess me madly and will never look down on other women.

I don't love young girls, I only love widows.

Kneel humbly on one knee and put the queen's crown on me again.

Just like when Edward fell at my feet!
At that time, everything will come back to me.”

She stood up and stood in front of the palace gate, quietly waiting for the new king to arrive.

As the sound of horse hooves rang out, the white roses in the entire Ganquan Palace bloomed one after another, but as they bloomed, they all turned red.

Even in a world with extraordinary powers, this scene seems like a miracle!

It was as if the destiny of the red rose was retaking this place little by little.

However, what Elizabeth was waiting for was not a new king.

But it was Catherine, who had grown from 19 to 21 years old after two years of escape.

Her long golden hair is as dazzling as the sun.

The fiery red lips are charming and tempting, the lake green eyes are like two bays of pure lake water, and the delicate skin is white and flawless.

The exquisite dress with lace trims outlines the perfect figure like a slender branch with fruits hanging on it, revealing the delicate collarbone and a touch of snow-like whiteness on the chest.

It has the beauty of the [Flower of the North] and the brilliance of the [Mithril Dragon], just like a shining pearl, so beautiful that it is really dazzling.

"You? Where's the new king?"

Elizabeth couldn't help feeling jealous when she saw Catherine at this moment, and vaguely felt that her beauty seemed to dim in front of her.

But secretly cheered myself up:

"It's okay, I'm the [Most Beautiful Woman in the Channel Islands]. No matter how beautiful other women are, as long as the title and ability are still there,

Click!

As soon as the thought came to Elizabeth's mind, she heard the sound of something invisible breaking above her head, and her face turned pale.

Her title of "The Most Beautiful Woman in the Channel Islands" collapsed at this critical moment.

"Do not--!"

This is the drawback of titles and relics with words like "best" or "first". When they are replaced by others, the abilities they originally possess will instantly collapse.

When the "Flower of the North", which was still a little immature in the past two years, gradually grew up and showed its true colors, Elizabeth's title of the most beautiful woman was no longer unworthy of her.

"Aaaaaah. Give me back my title!"

Just when Elizabeth, who had lost everything, was about to pounce on Catherine hysterically and scratch her face to regain her title ability.

The evil spirit Bloody Mary, who has been hunting down members of the Woodville family but has been helpless against the former queen, quietly appears behind her.

He opened his mouth, as dark as a city gate, and swallowed her in one gulp.

Elizabeth also became the first person to be "killed by beauty" by Catherine!
Catherine, who had no idea what was going on, was the only one left. She scratched her cheek and waved her hand to ask the maids to clean the palace.

Byron did not go to the bedroom at all, nor did he want to see the widowed queen again. Instead, he led his "Right Hands of the King" to the Privy Council and began to arrange the final cleanup tasks.

"The Star Chamber is responsible for the Upper Town, the Stormcloaks are responsible for the estates outside the city, and the Royal Tax Inspection Bureau is preparing to go out on business."

The three forces of Andrew's Star Chamber, Guts's Stormcloak, and Alfred's Royal Tax Inspection Bureau together constitute the secret police force that safeguards the royal power.

Especially the Royal Tax Inspection Bureau headed by Alfred, the Gold and Yuan Sequence [Gourmet].

They are equipped with armed personnel: armed inspection teams, prisons, courts, lawyers, and intelligence departments. They can go head-to-head with any noble family in the country.

Responsible for collecting taxes on land, commodity transactions, trade and imports, striving to not miss a single penny of tax.

Department motto: "The only things that are inevitable are death and taxes."

The three of them going out together are the real king's personal army:
"I will solve the cases that the Inquisition cannot solve, I will kill the people that the Inquisition dare not kill, and I will take care of the things that the Inquisition dare not intervene.

In a word, I will take care of what the court can handle, and I will take care even more of what the court cannot handle. I will execute first and report later. This is a special permission from the royal power!
This is the Star Chamber/Stormcloaks/Tax Collector, is that clear enough?"

To put it simply, they are Byron’s East, West and Central factories.

After the army was reorganized and the tasks were assigned, a curfew was immediately imposed in the royal capital at nightfall.

Tap tap tap.
The sound of dense footsteps resounded throughout the entire royal capital.

The three parties mobilized in full force and began a comprehensive purge based on the intelligence collected in advance and the list of enemies that Byron had seen in person during the day.

The blood mist enveloped the entire city in the blink of an eye.

The [Iron Law of Royal Power - Magna Carta] above the kingdom is growing rapidly. Every time a dissenter is dealt with, the legal network becomes brighter.

Byron stood on the tower of the royal palace, feeling the blood energy above the capital gradually reaching its peak.

Take a deep breath.

He took out the [Golden Fleece] obtained from [Captain Goat] Alex from his pocket space, pulled out three strands of wool from it, and blew hard at them.

call--!
The three wool strands suddenly expanded rapidly in the divine light, constantly absorbing the blood energy diffused over the entire city, as well as the two hundred years of resentment of the landless peasants against the land nobles, and successively turned into three golden sheep-headed men.

To be more precise, it is a fourth-order monstrosity [Sheep Eating Man]!
In the past, the sheep ate the farmers, but this time, the wrongs were settled and the debts were settled, and they ate the land nobles.

They will start with the nobles whose hands are stained with the most innocent blood and who have accumulated the most resentment, and eat them one by one.

The land nobles could certainly flee and leave their territories like the peasants before, but as soon as they fled, the Royal Tax Inspection Bureau would take back their land.

Just like what they have been doing to farmers for the past two hundred years.

As the protector of the entire territory, His Majesty Byron is the king of the nobles as well as the king of the peasants. He is absolutely fair and just and treats everyone equally.

Baa, baa, baa.
The three sheep called to Byron twice, then immediately turned into streams of light and disappeared into the night.

At this moment, he looked like a truly qualified king, with a blank expression on his face:
"Since I have absolute power, who has the leisure to play the game of thrones with you?

Clean the house before welcoming guests."

After a pause, he turned his head and looked in the direction of the third circulation belt.

"There's really not much time left for me."

(End of this chapter)