Throne of the North.

Chapter 229: Marquis Beifeng
Marquis Beifeng?

Among the five ranks of nobility in the empire, Marquis is special because all marquises are members of the royal family.

They firmly held the title of Marquis, cutting off the possibility for all earls to make slight progress and annex land.

The emergence of the lordship system determined the improvement of the status of the fifth-rank nobles, because the birth of the lordship title meant that it would be more difficult for others to become nobles overnight than before. Naturally, the titles of barons and fifth-rank nobles were improved.

But after carefully studying the history of this world, Ryan realized that the lord system was not the first.

The emergence of the lord system indicated that the status of the fifth class of nobility was once again elevated.

Why again?

It’s because of the Marquis.

After the Pan-Dimensional War of Gods, only the royal family could serve as the marquis of the empire. Above the earl was the marquis, and above the marquis was the duke and grand duke.

However, since only members of the royal family could become marquis, it was impossible for an earl to become a marquis. Naturally, it would be difficult for an earl to gain more say and wealth by upgrading his title.

If the difficulty of upgrading from earl to marquis is 1, the difficulty of upgrading from marquis to duke is ten.

So in theory, as long as you complete these eleven levels of difficulty, you will have the chance to become a duke.

But the fact is, if an earl cannot improve step by step, the difficulty for him to move from the title of earl to the position of duke is not eleven, but one hundred!
It’s one thousand!
This was the first time that the five ranks of nobility were implicitly solidified, but it only affected the great nobles and had nothing to do with other people, so it was not as lively as when the lordship system appeared.

The emergence of the lordship system is actually the same in nature as the change of the marquisate system.

In short, all the marquises in the empire, and even in the entire southern land, are members of the royal family or the royal family.

Within the empire, a marquis is not necessarily more powerful than an earl. For example, in the province of Calais, the family of the Earl of Clayton is more powerful than that of the Marquis of Calais. This is true in many provinces.

The royal family can suppress the earl's title, but it is difficult to cut off their strength in all aspects that has been gradually improved over the years. As a result, when people talk about great nobles now, they generally think that there are only earls and four grand dukes.

The Marquis gradually became the eyes of the royal family, supervising the nobles in the provinces. The master of the empire was more powerful than all the great nobles, so in the provinces, no nobles would have conflicts with the Marquis.

After all, the Marquis is only weaker than some earls. This does not mean that the Marquis is weak, but that those earls are strong.

How could the Marquis be weak given his political power in all aspects and his fiefdom?

"The Marquis's change occurred during the initial war between theocracy and monarchy. The first war between the Church and the Empire was brutal and bloody. The Church could not accept that there were people in this world who dared to refute their believers in the gods. The Columbus royal family and the nobles of the Empire were also worried that because this war was unprecedented, some nobles would stab them in the back for starting a war with the Church."

"That's why the Marquisate system didn't cause any disturbances. They all needed the Marquisate title to supervise other nobles. Because in the war between theocracy and monarchy, the bloody massacre of the Church by the Empire was also a purge within the Empire."

Ryan thought to himself.

Why did the empire have a clear ban prohibiting killing among nobles within the empire? It meant that nobles should not die in war. This ban protected many nobles.

But the fact that this ban was written speaks volumes.

It was because that purge was too terrifying that the empire had to write down this ban clearly in order to calm the nervous hearts of the nobles.

Also, why did the nobles of North Wind Province suddenly become active after discovering that Earl Weiss was colluding with the Church? On the contrary, the nobles of Thunder Cloud County immediately recalled their troops?

It was also because, in that war between theocracy and monarchy, the nobles who survived and passed down were all nobles who firmly stood on the side of the monarchy. Otherwise, their ancestors would have died long ago. It was also because of this that in the inheritance of each family, the existence of the Church was repeatedly ordered to be strictly prohibited, and those who could not collude were their enemies.

The first marquis was born in this environment, to supervise the nobles and prevent them from colluding with the Holy See to betray other people in the empire.

But a hundred years later, everything will change.

"All the nobles of the North Wind Province resisted the Church and killed a thousand Holy Heavenly Knights. How could the Empire still crown the Marquis of the North Wind?"

Ryan asked Hora, North Wind Province is the only province in the empire without a marquis, which should also be related to the political struggle in the south. After all, it was okay a hundred years ago, but thirty years ago, North Wind Province became the territory of the empire. The situation was clear at that time. The royal family wanted the marquis to come to North Wind, but other nobles were unwilling to do so.

So, just because Grand Duke Meyers lost a political struggle thirty years ago doesn’t mean that the royal family won.

They are also losers because Marquis Beifeng did not appear thirty years ago.

but now……

"According to the news that the Earl knows, the Columbus royal family took advantage of the new round of war with the Holy See to crown the Marquis of the North Wind."

After Hola finished speaking, his voice began to become lower. Obviously, what he said next was just gossip and not evidence.

"It is said that the Columbus royal family and other great nobles discussed using the coronation of the Marquis of the North Wind to consolidate the belief in the gods within the empire. In the eyes of the empire, the Marquis of the North Wind is the most powerful pioneer of light."

"He is favored by the God of Light and the Lord of Dawn, and has been blessed by the gods to offset the so-called Son of God created by the Church."

“He is a charismatic person.”

The one blessed by God? This was the second time Ryan had heard this name. Back then, the old butler Beard and even many people in the frozen land territory believed that Ryan was the one blessed by God, but he himself felt that he did not look like one.

but now……

"Really?"

He asked, and Hora said that he didn't know either, but with the means of the empire, it shouldn't be difficult to create a divine being.

Regardless of whether it is true or false, this matter involves the war between the Empire and the Church, and it seems that the appearance of the Marquis of the North Wind shows that the Empire's decision is correct.

But... Ryan asked faintly:

"Where is the territory of Marquis Beifeng?"

"He doesn't have a territory commensurate with his title, but the Empire has designated a 100-mile radius around Thunder Cloud Mountain in the name of Marquis Beifeng."

"..."

Both fell silent.

"hehe."

After a long time, Ryan sent Hola away.

(End of this chapter)