MTL - Magic Tower Starry Sky-Chapter 1432 Sources of Aristocratic Power
Before the other grand dukes offered their opinions, Lin grabbed the conversation again and said: "Don't say anything like now, divide it into five seats, and everyone can discuss who will sit. Even if there are too many seats, is there no one who is dissatisfied? Even if There are really so many positions, and everyone is arranged, and some people have to worry about why others are taller than me, not why I am taller than others. In a word, there is no end to greed. You adults can create the current situation, I think there must be unknown bitterness in it."
The Grand Duke Montezuma didn't try to defend or solve the problem that a magician said, but asked directly: "Then how do you think the strength of a nobleman should be evaluated?"
"Money? No, an aristocrat who knows how to spend money and can't save money doesn't mean he's weak, maybe he's just not so stingy. Even if it's not just counting the number of coins, some places where money is spent are not disclosed, so naturally they can't be converted Capital is included in the calculation of noble wealth. Therefore, money is not suitable as a standard."
Lin himself proposed an idea, but denied it himself. Save these nobles from thinking about it and building a preconceived concept for themselves. He continued:
"Land? In fact, this is not suitable. Some lands are fertile, some are barren, some have mines under them, and some can't see anything except yellow sand. Under these kinds of differences, the value of nobility is It is not suitable to judge by land.
"Some people will say that food is the most important thing when using the area of arable land as the standard. This is right and wrong. Food is important, but even if those wealthy merchants do not farm land and do not have any arable land area under their name, their strength is weak Is it? I think not.
"Military strength? The person who proposes to use this as the standard, my lords, treat this guy as a person with bad intentions, and deal with it directly. Such a talent is not worthy of living in this world."
This time Lin asked and answered by himself, but it annoyed a certain elder. The Grand Duke of Pircenza said: "No one can say wrong when judging by military strength. The ultimate manifestation of all strength is in the army in your hands. If there is a weak person who dares to surpass the strong one, when the army in the hands of others is It's just a decoration."
Lin replied: "What if someone resorts to military action? What if someone makes a fool of themselves and temporarily recruits a group of farmers to fill the scene? What about the game of making books and eating military pay? The local army, the orthodox army, and the ace army, these are different levels. How to calculate the strength of the nobles in the army? Is it really possible to fight it? If it can be solved like this, don’t stay by the emperor’s side, just to get a small job. If you are convinced, you can be the emperor yourself."
…
When the grand dukes heard this, there was nothing wrong with this. If you want to list military strength as an indicator, not many people will be convinced if you don't pull it out for a fight.
Even in the empire itself, among the several legions, no one thinks that they are inferior to others, at most they are good at different directions. For example, dragon cavalry can fly, wolf cavalry is good at raiding, horse cavalry is good at running, and sheep cavalry is good at fighting in mountains.
It's just the military merits accumulated from generation to generation that gave them a name. But in a confrontation, victory or defeat depends on many factors, not just whoever wins.
Therefore, the military power does not seem to be suitable.
Lin negated several indicators in the general direction once, then changed the subject and said: "Actually, the indicators for judging the strength of nobles should be considered from the source of the power of nobles."
"The source of power?" Grand Duke Mu Xi, who was still outspoken, repeated in confusion.
Lin explained: "The reason why a nobleman is a nobleman is that he rules a group of people and promises protection. He has enough wisdom and justice to let him act as an arbitrator in case of disputes. Things like land, wealth, and military power are all It was born from these people. The larger the population, the more wealth it can bring to the nobility; the population needs to be large enough to allow the development of the territory and at the same time organize an army. Some people may think that only land can afford it People. But in fact, this kind of thinking is limited by the situation of this era. If I have wealth and an army, it is not convenient to grab a piece of land. If I don’t have enough troops, I can keep it from generation to generation. The land that came down. Therefore, the population is the source of all the power of the nobles."
The distinction between nobles and commoners was basically based on two arguments in the old Europe of their hometown. One is the divine right of the king, and the other is the theory of noble blood. The lord is granted by the king, and the king is approved by the only god, so the nobleman is a different creature from the commoner, and the former is much nobler. Don't drink the same water, don't eat the same things, don't even **** together.
However, in Midi, the divine grant of monarchy is completely unacceptable, because there are really gods in Midi. In other words, the God of Lost Land is not as far away as the God of Hometown. Even if the lost nobles and lords can accept that there is a king and a **** on their heads, when there is a conflict between the two, who do they listen to?
The so-called sky without two suns is not a kind of arrogant statement of self-importance, but has its actual needs. Even if I am from a modern hometown and work in a company, I have two direct supervisors, and I have to listen to everyone. When one of them wants to go east and the other wants to go west, and the job can be done, then hell.
Not to mention that he has become a king or emperor, how can he accept that there are other existences on his head that can command him!
As for the theory of noble blood, it may be possible to talk about it elsewhere in Midi. But in the Karlsruhe empire, this argument was weak and unchallenged.
Because behind the succession of the Karlsruhe Empire, the selection of talents and not selection of leaders is the thinking of those who are capable. Everyone's blood is red, and no one is golden. Even if the starting point is high, it does not mean that the achievement is also high.
Without ability, it is only natural to be replaced by capable people. Even lords with serious titles have been replaced by people without blood relations in the history of the empire.
Some are extinct and inherited by others. Some of them really did too much shit, and their lords couldn't keep their titles even if they wanted to, so they could only deprive them of their titles and hand them over to others. If you don't do that, and if you don't talk about public grievances, you may even be in danger.
The folk customs of the Karlsruhe Empire are so aggressive.
This is also the reason why a certain great crossover group will try to establish a constitution in this empire and promote the process of legalization. Because the Karlsruhe Empire already has suitable soil, there are also signs of this.
Even if you don't do it yourself, within a hundred or two hundred years, the empire will face changes, and you only need to encounter an opportunity. So, this is a smooth sailing thing. Only a time traveler who is afraid of trouble would want to try it, what is it like to be such a pusher of history.
The grand dukes in front of them, of course, were not the ones who would accept everything unconditionally.
The Grand Duke of Pircenza said at this time: "This is the reason why you think the lower parliament should be formed. A certain number of people elects one representative, and the more representatives there are, the more advantages they will have in voting. If so, It would be nice to let each nobleman represent the population of his territory. When voting, he represents how many people."
Lin did not directly refute such an opinion, but Lin raised a question: "If the lord of the territory directly represents the population under his jurisdiction in this way, then cities such as Neuquén, Sani, and Hurricane Bay can be regarded as They all belong to the emperor's direct territory. There are also many nobles gathered together, and cities that prospered due to commerce have similar situations. Just let it all belong to the emperor, or a lucky lord with a title, okay? ?”
Now it was the turn of the grand dukes to stop talking and silently calculate an account.
Not counting those secondary titles, among all the nobles in the empire, the noble with the largest territory, the largest population, and the strongest strength is the emperor. If the sub-titles that were entrusted are counted separately, there are quite a lot of large cities in the territory directly under the emperor.
The status quo of these big cities is not what the emperor said. In the city, big and small forces are intertwined, and there are very few big nobles who do not plant their flags.
Perhaps taxation and labor belonged to the emperor in name, but were actually in the hands of the finance minister of the empire, but which big noble did not benefit from it. According to the ownership of the territory, its lord can represent the population of the territory, UU Kanshu www.uukanshu. com Isn't this just sending what's in your pocket to the emperor for nothing? No one can agree to such a stupid method.
If a certain number of people is used to elect representatives, it also means that the nobles can not only have the number of representatives in their own territory, but also win over these representatives in the Mohu area. Some people even wondered if there was a way to reach out to the territories of other nobles and win over the MPs in those disputed areas.
Thinking about it this way, perhaps the solution proposed by the magician in front of him is to open up a new battlefield for nobles like them. But this battlefield is a virgin land that has not been developed by anyone, which means that there is a lot to do.
If it works well, it can also expand its political influence without involving the taboo of territorial disputes among nobles. Who would not be willing to try such benefits and challenges.
The grand duke with a good brain figured it out in a few moments. Even those few who used to pretend to be stupid in front of outsiders understood the twists and turns.
It can be said that this method not only allowed them to legally share the power of the emperor, but also provided an opportunity to expand their influence. Even if some people didn't think of this level for a while, they didn't reject this method in their hearts.
However, the expression and acting skills of the grand dukes have been tempered, and Lin Tongxian couldn't see their inner thoughts from their performance. Unless you take out the box cutter cheats and read their minds. But he didn't do that after all, but threw out another thing.
Just like the constitution, the content of the text is displayed on a magnified water mirror screen so that several grand dukes can clearly see it.
The Grand Dukes at first thought it was a document like a constitution. But upon closer inspection, the title reads 'Royal Law', and the content also revolves around some privileges and norms of the emperor and his family. Everyone was frowning and puzzled.
