The Knight's Journey to the Empire

In the officialdom of the Kingdom of Essex, it is well known that officials in the royal court are mainly divided into three factions.

On one side is the radical faction headed by Prime Minister Hein Kalliot, whose members are mainly composed of civil service groups and emerging commercial gentry.

The radicals advocated learning from history and reforming the kingdom's systems and institutions in line with the times; at the same time, they attached importance to the development of domestic commerce and protected the interests of merchants; they vigorously promoted and selected capable grassroots officials and young officials to keep the kingdom's entire bureaucratic system fresh and vibrant and avoid repeating the mistakes of the empire.

The other side is the conservative faction headed by the military minister, Duke Reginald of Balhamus. This faction is mainly composed of traditional hereditary nobles and military generals.

The conservatives advocated a policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, restricting commercial activities and the personal freedom of civilians and serfs; at the same time, in order to protect their own vested interests, they fully supported the feudal hereditary system, and the private property of the nobility was sacred and inviolable; they also obstructed military reforms and resisted the implementation of the "conscription system".

The last party is the neutral faction headed by the Minister of Finance, Count Coldens Logpit. This faction is mainly composed of tycoons, merchant groups, big businessmen and court nobles.

[Note: Court nobles are a special group of nobles. Their titles are divided into five ranks, like hereditary nobles, namely duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron. However, all countries usually only grant the highest title of earl.

The title of court nobility is granted by His Majesty the King himself to tycoons, big businessmen, powerful knights or other professionals with special abilities, but this title cannot be inherited from generation to generation.

Today's court nobles are essentially used by His Majesty the King to make money, because most tycoons or big businessmen will choose to donate their wealth to the royal court to obtain the title of court nobles, so as to protect their other wealth or interests. 】

So this neutral faction is more of a vassal of His Majesty the King than a faction.

They seem to hold the financial power of the kingdom, but in reality they are the "money bag" of His Majesty the King.

Because the power to spend the national treasury is firmly in the hands of His Majesty the King.

If it is not enough, these tycoons and big businessmen will even have to pay extra.

After all, no matter how strong and powerful these so-called chaebols and big businessmen are, they will never be able to defeat the kingdom's state apparatus even if their blood vessels burst.

The neutral faction in the Kingdom of Essex did not have their own clear propositions. They just wanted to protect their wealth from being violated.

However, it would be possible if we could open up trade routes and gain more wealth.

Therefore, the neutral faction followed the orders of His Majesty the King and was willing to act as a regulator for His Majesty the King to mediate the conflicts between the radicals and conservatives.

Of course, all three factions have the common goal of restoring the former glory of the powerful empire!

And it is precisely because of the existence of this common goal that the open and covert struggles among these three factions have not reached a life-and-death situation!

Therefore, in the royal court of the Kingdom of Essex, the overall situation of the court officials was stable.

Under the mediation of His Majesty the King, both sides deliberately restrained themselves and tried not to touch the bottom line of the other faction.

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At present, in the royal court of the Kingdom of Essex, the question of "whether to send troops to the north to suppress the rebellion and recover the lost territory" is mainly divided into two directions:

The conservatives believed that the radicals were too conservative and that they should seize the rare opportunity and send troops to the north to suppress the rebellion, which would be in line with the interests of the kingdom.

The radicals, on the other hand, believed that the conservatives were too radical. Given the kingdom's current basic situation, they should first prepare for the Northern Expedition, make plans carefully before taking action, and wait until after the autumn harvest this year before launching the Northern Expedition.

The common point between the two sides is that they both want to send troops to the north to recover lost territory, but the point of conflict is the dispute over the timing of sending troops.

Faced with such a conflicting situation, even King Chris VI, a powerful lord, found it difficult to make a decision.

After all, he is a heroic ruler, not a hegemon, so he still has to listen to the opinions of his ministers.

So he could only announce the suspension of regular court meetings and discuss the matter again on another day.

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The conference room side hall next to the meeting hall of the Essex Royal Court is where the successive kings of the Kingdom of Essex would summon their important and trusted ministers to discuss state affairs after the regular court meetings.

The overall area of ​​the conference room is not small, about one hundred square meters.

In the middle is a rectangular conference table covered with white cloth and twelve wooden chairs, all made of precious wood, exquisitely carved and valuable.

On the walls are hung portraits of successive kings of the Kingdom of Essex, from the first king who founded the country to the fifth king who died for his country.

There were several oil lamps around, each covered with a precious glass lampshade. The bean-sized flames, emitted by the glass lampshade, illuminated the entire conference room quite brightly.

At this moment in the conference room, Chris VI sat at the head of the long table, closing his eyes and meditating.

Chancellor Hein and Duke Balhams sat at the bottom, on the left and right, while Finance Minister Count Coldens sat at the second seat at the long table on Chancellor Hein's side.

In addition, there were two others who stood on the left and right behind Chris VI, but Prime Minister Hein, Duke of Balhams and Count Coldens would not look down on them for this reason.

Because these two people are also close ministers who are deeply trusted by Chris VI.

The one on the left is named Trumpston. He used to be the personal butler of Chris VI, and now he is the eunuch of Chris VI, responsible for taking care of all the daily life of His Majesty the King, including eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.

He was an old man in his fifties or sixties, thin, a little hunched over, and always with a faint smile on his face.

Trumpston now stood there with his head bowed, his back hunched, and he was extremely respectful and careful with his words and actions.

The one on the right is named Obamanas. He was formerly a famous "God of War" officer in the Essex Kingdom Army. He has the professional rank of Knight of the Pillar State, is full of martial virtues and powerful.

Now he is the close bodyguard of Chris VI, responsible for commanding the Royal Guards, protecting the safety of the entire Essex court, and closely protecting the personal safety of His Majesty the King.

He was also an old man in his fifties or sixties, but he had a strong build, his back was as straight as a pine tree, and his face always had a cautious and steady expression.

Obama now stood there with his head held high, his face solemn and serious.

The six people in the small conference room are the power group of the Kingdom of Essex.

Currently, all decisions concerning the fate and future of the entire Kingdom of Essex are made by this six-member group.

After announcing the end of the regular court meeting, Chris VI kept them all.

Because he felt that instead of listening to the ministers arguing with each other in the council hall, it would be more efficient for a few people to discuss in the conference room and reach a resolution, and then let the ministers implement it.