RLAAQ - Chapter 27 <The Age Of Sail >
Refusing Love As A Queen
Why?
This is actually a very simple question. Almost everyone present can talk about a few points. The struggle for royal power after the death of Edmund III, the hatred between the Old Gods and the New Gods, the control of the port by the major families, tax chaos, the decline of the fleet...
But the problem is, these reasons are, more or less, related to those here.
Then, the room fell into silence.
"Tell me, Rodri."
Adele looked past the other silent people in the room and directly pointed at the Archbishop.
This made some people's expressions become subtle. Before, they would never have made any association with the Queen and the Archbishop. But now, everyone has not forgotten Old Father Balder's accusation. Some of the things Archbishop Rodri did before were not in line with his usual image of an ascetic monk.
The chancellor's first reaction was to see Heinrich.
Unexpectedly, Heinrich didn't react at all. He just sat there quietly, half of his face shrouded in the shadow of the back of the chair.
"We lost our fleet, and we also lost our shield to meet the sword."
Archbishop Rodri said. This was his first time to participate in the Queen's Royal Council, and he was also the only heterogeneous person present. Everyone else was choosing, more or less vaguely, between Dalton and Heinrich. Now this confrontation has been torn apart by the entry of Archbishop Rodri.
The Chancellor speculated that perhaps this was the reason why the Queen wanted Archbishop Rodri to join the Royal Council.
An outlier used to warn others.
Thirteen years ago, a maritime war broke out between the Roland Empire and the Yager Kingdom.
General Roland, who commanded the battle, was an unlucky man. The main ship was sunk after the war began. After the fleet lost its command, it was defeated one by one by the Kingdom of Yager. The most direct impact of the naval battle in 1546 was that Roland lost Nightingale Island, the most important colonial island on the east side of the Sea of Heaven. After the defeat, a treaty was made, and Queen Adele's sister was forced to marry King John VI of Yager.
The impact of this fiasco on Roland was profound.
The heavy war debts made it difficult for the Roland Empire to maintain a fleet as powerful as before. The loss of Nightingale Island caused the Roland merchants to lose their habitat on the east side of the Sea of Heaven. Since then, Roland's caravan has become the favorite prey of pirates traveling across the straits and rocks.
"That's right,"
Adele nodded.
"Gentlemen, I know that some of you..."
When she said "some people", she glanced at Heinrich.
It is known that the Two-Headed Serpent family is deeply rooted in the important ports of the empire, like the snake of the deep sea coiled next to its treasure.
"Your interests are closely related to the port. I believe you know better than me how fragile and vulnerable a caravan without sword protection is when it sails on a long voyage. At the same time, I believe you know better than me about the loss of Nightingale Island. Later, the changes in Roland's status at sea. The taxation of the port, changes in the entry and exit of various commodities, the immigration of merchants..."
"We need to reorganize the fleet."
A member of the Royal Council, Bulger, guessed the Queen's meaning, Speak carefully.
Before the Queen, Roland's royal council was dominated by nobles. After Adele was crowned king, she made three lawyers members of the council, one of whom converted from the Old Faith to the New Faith. Although Parliament has always been dissatisfied with the Queen's decision, through this method, the professionalism of the parliament has been greatly improved.
Compared with his colleagues, Bulger was bolder.
He comes from a businessman family. He is a fair and handsome young man, but he has the ability to do things that is different from his age. He is familiar with all the legal provisions of the empire, but more importantly than this, he does not have the support of his family, nor does he have an army like Dalton. Without the queen, he is nothing.
"According to imperial law, major port cities and chambers of commerce are responsible for providing ships with a tonnage of more than 100 to the empire."
Dalton looked at the Queen and Heinrich thoughtfully.
He did not think that the Queen's intention in today's meeting was as simple as rebuilding the navy.
"Roland without a fleet is like a lion without fangs."
Adele said softly.
"But, gentlemen, what should we use to build our fleet?"
Just as the finance minister was about to speak, the Queen pulled out of the desk. A stack of papers.
"Merchants have been dissatisfied with the heavy exploitation of port tariffs for a long time. Imposing the task of the fleet on them will only arouse the dissatisfaction of the merchants. I believe that the Yager Kingdom is very happy to fund the merchants' rebellion."
The Queen spoke calmly, as if directly pointing out the nobles. She is not the one "exploiting heavily".
"Businessmen are the brave and fearless adventurers of the empire. I hope we can return the power that belongs to them to them."
The hearts of those in the room trembled as the Queen finally expressed her stance on the upcoming port and navigation regulations.
And this attitude is directed at the various families that have controlled the port for a long time.
As the Queen said, they were like unbearable hurdles for the merchants in the port. In addition to paying standard taxes, merchants also need to pay other payments to the port controller to prevent their goods from being detained under various names during import and export.
Of course, there are also those who do it more cleverly, such as the two-headed snake family, who control the market by controlling the chamber of commerce.
"The Empire will protect those who make it prosperous."
Adele said
"The regulatory companies that appeared in the southern ports did not hinder the interests of the empire, and Congress had no right to suppress them. At the same time, the Kingdom of Yager is targeting At the provocation of the Empire, I will grant a privateering license to the ancient protectors of the port."
This was said to Heinrich. Or rather, with the aristocracy headed by the Heinrich family.
A transaction.
The Queen was determined to regulate the empire's ports, protect the interests of merchants, and promote the development of commercial companies. This means that she will take back some of the interests originally occupied by the nobles. There is no doubt that this will cause dissatisfaction among these families, and Roland cannot usher in a second new turmoil just after the coup and religious turmoil. As a result, the queen also made concessions to the nobles.
Privateering license.
The term "private license" is actually more subtle. The licensed ships can legally be armed, and the government allows them to attack the ships of a specific enemy-this specific enemy is obviously the ship of the Yage Kingdom at the moment. Looting merchant ships without a license will be severely punished.
Heinrich was silent.
The weird atmosphere was such that no one dared to speak.
Daylight falls into the Queen's study through the rose window, slanting through and dividing the room into two halves. Like this silent and dangerous dispute.
It is true that the rewards brought by a privateering license are not less, and may even be more generous than exploiting domestic merchants at the port. It went even further than the "license for armed civilian ships" agreed between the Queen and Heinrich during the mutiny. However, the license for armed civilian ships is based on strengthening control of the port, while the license for privateering is based on the loss of control.
This is not a good choice in the long run.
"Sir Heinrich, what do you think?"
Adele said softly.
Her eyes were cold.
"Please remember, never be my enemy."
Heinrich did not ignore the cold light of the sword under her soft words, but... the Imperial Council is almost the epitome of the highest power of the entire empire, and in this microcosm, Dalton, who symbolizes the army, did not know when he sided with the Queen.
Rodri knelt down in front of the Queen in the corridor on a rainy night, and the object of allegiance of the last Temple Knights of the Old God Sect changed accordingly.
And that rain...that miraculous rain that flooded the world.
This is the moment when the Queen's prestige is at its highest, and the nobles have lost the ability to confront the Queen head-on like they did in July.
Changes in the arena of power have always been as unpredictable as the world itself.
After a long silence, Heinrich stood up and leaned towards the Queen.
"I will follow your will."
The ancient aristocracy of the Empire, after a long period of arrogance, finally bowed to it. The hostess lowered her proud head.
"The privateer's action against the Yager Kingdom is likely to further intensify the matter."
After the imperial meeting ended, Dalton did not get up and leave but waited until everyone else had left.
He admitted that the Queen's idea was very clever. She not only gradually took back control of the port from the hands of the nobles, but also used the privateers invested by the nobles to attack Roland's enemies, killing two birds with one stone.
But this is not a long-term solution. Once the dispute between the Yager Kingdom and the Root Empire in the Tuva area is resolved, John VI will definitely be extremely angry and retaliate.
"It is of course extremely stupid to put eggs in the same basket."
Adele replied without looking up as she flipped through the documents submitted by the clerk. Dalton looked at her intently. Kelly has a pair of deft hands. Today she arranged the Queen's thick hair into a complex and beautiful hairstyle, which is somewhat similar to the day of the cruise.
She used several curved hair combs studded with diamonds to fix them on the back of her head. Her beautiful face was completely exposed, and the edges of her face reflected bright golden lines in the light.
With such a Queen, it is indeed understandable why Rodri's family, whose minds are filled only with Gods and Saints, would prostrate themselves in front of her like fanatical believers. He once thought that the Queen at the ball was dazzling enough, but today Dalton discovered that he was wrong.
Adele belongs in the crown. Wearing a crown and wielding power, she is the most dazzling. Dalton found that he didn't know why people had always believed that politics had nothing to do with women - it was clear that power created her sharp and unparalleled beauty.
"I brought something."
Dalton said suddenly.
Adele looked up at him, obviously, this was the reason why he stayed until now.
Dalton pursed his lips, looking a little embarrassed for the first time. He avoided the Queen's gaze, placed a medium-sized wooden box on the table, and pushed it to the Queen.
"I think..."
He hesitated before taking out the gift, but now he did not doubt his choice.
"You might like it."
Dalton opened the box.
The gifts placed on the dark velvet had an icy sheen in the sunlight.
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