Tome of Blood Chapter 222

  Chapter 222-72-Proposal

   "Oh? A duke title and a large territory no less than Castel? Let me guess, you should be talking about the territory of the Fallen Star Kingdom?"

  Charlotte chuckled lightly and asked back.

  Earl Ulster nodded:

   "Naturally, it is the territory of the Fallen Star. As you can see, once the Ness clan regains its former power, the promise to exchange the territory with you will naturally be a no-brainer."

  Charlotte laughed:

   "However, the current control of the Fallen Star Kingdom is not in the hands of the Ness clan, is it?"

   "And I even heard that even before the Lilac War, the Ness clan was only relatively influential in the Fallen Star Kingdom. Even if you regained your former status, so what?"

   "How can you convince me that the Ness clan will have the power to control the Fallen Star Kingdom in the future?"

   "Not to mention, in order to obtain the so-called territory, do I still need to contribute manpower and material resources to fully support the war of the Nice clan?"

   "Using future territorial promises to gain my support, what is the difference between this and me personally laying down a piece of territory?"

  Yurst looked solemn and said:

"Naturally, it's different. Edward III has been brutal these years, and the Fallen Star Royal Family has lost popular support. Once we start a war, it will inevitably be a war of changing the throne, and the new Fallen Star King will naturally be a member of our Ness clan. "

"At that time, we will naturally give you the territory as the Royal Family of the Fallen Star, and what you pay is nothing more than giving us a certain amount of support in the war. This is not particularly difficult for the rich Castel. thing."

   "Besides, to tell you the truth, we have already gained a lot of support from the nobles of the Fallen Star Kingdom. Once the war starts, the vast majority of the nobles of the Fallen Star Kingdom will stand by our side."

  Charlotte shook her head:

   "Your Excellency Earl Ulster, there is no need to say such things. If you are really sure to win the war, why seek the support of others?"

   "I know that you want to be the behind-the-scenes court of the Fallen Star Kingdom like the Valadet clan, but I think you seem to have got one thing wrong..."

"Varadette has been holding the control of the Koria Kingdom from the beginning to the end, fighting against the Holy King, and expeling the power of the clerical state from Koria time and time again, but the Ness clan... as early as It has lost power after the Lilac War.”

   "What you have to face is not only the fallen star royal family, but also the sacred royal court behind the fallen star royal family. This is your biggest enemy."

   "And I have no interest in going to war with the Holy Royal Court, after all... I am a devout holy believer."

   Earl of Ulster: …

  He glanced at Charlotte, who had drawn the cross sign on his chest in a standard way, and he held an old trough in his throat, but he didn't know how to spit it out.

  A follower of the Holy Royal Court?

  If he hadn't learned the secret behind Castel through the Duke, maybe he would have believed it!

  After learning about Rose Thorn and seeing the servant of the blood race in the Earl's Mansion, the ghost believed that she was a follower of the Holy Royal Court!

   "Your Excellency Castel, I don't think you need to worry too much about the Holy Court, because we are not planning to let the blood race come to power, but to support the new king."

   "For Luo Xing, this is still a civil war, not a war of faith, and a secular war...the Holy Royal Court cannot directly intervene."

   "The lessons and mistakes of the first Lilac War, we will not make a second one."

   "Not to mention, don't you want to know where the territory we promised is?"

   Earl Ulster said.

  Charlotte shook her head:

   "Sorry, Your Excellency, to be honest, I'm not interested in an additional enclave, let alone an enclave far overseas, which may be much larger than Castel."

   "The title of duke is certainly tempting, but I haven't even fully controlled my own territory yet, so I don't have such a big heart to eat a fat man."

   "Not to mention, if I become the Duke of the Falling Star, am I a nobleman of the Falling Star or a nobleman of the New Moon?"

   "The legal principle of the duchy is higher than that of the earl, and I don't want to be the common target of the nobles of the two countries. The Star-Moon War is over, but the territorial dispute between the two countries has always been shelved."

  Earl Ulster smiled:

   "Your Excellency Castel, you have misunderstood. In fact, what we promised was not an enclave."

"Ok?"

  Charlotte paused slightly.

  The Fallen Star Kingdom is an island country, hanging alone overseas.

  If it is said that what the Nice clan promised was not the enclave of the duchy on Luoxing Island, then... the rest of the territory can only be one.

   That is the enclave of the Fallen Star Kingdom on the mainland, where the Roman family started. It is also the most controversial territory between the Fallen Star Kingdom and the New Moon Kingdom—the Roman Duchy.

  Thinking of this, Charlotte glanced at Earl Urst in surprise:

   "Your Excellency Earl Urst, is your bargaining chip actually the Roman Duchy? Are you going to give away the ancestral land of the Roman Dynasty?"

  Earl Ulster nodded:

   "You are right, it is the Principality of Romania."

"The Principality of Roman is the last territory of Luoxing on the mainland, and it is also a close neighbor of Castel. If you obtain Roman's territory, not only will the territory increase by nearly three times, but the population will also increase several times. .”

"Not only that, although Castel has a coastal plain and the land used to be quite fertile, but due to long-term sea erosion, many areas are no longer suitable for crop growth, and the grain production is actually limited. As far as I know, buying grain from other territories has always been It is one of the things that Castel nobles must do every year..."

   "During the Star-Moon War, Castel experienced more than one famine. In fact, the refugees from Violet and Roman would not have chosen to flee to Castel if it were not surrounded by war-torn lands."

   "Unlike Castel, the Principality of Romania has a large amount of arable land, and it is also an important grain-producing area in the north of the mainland. It is also the main area of ​​Castel's grain trade."

   "Once the Principality of Romania is obtained, Castel will make up for the last shortcoming and become the most powerful force in the north of the mainland."

   "I think... you should know what it means to have the Duchy of Romania."

   "As for the legal conflict you are worried about, it is naturally not a problem."

"The Duchy of Romans used to be the territory of the New Moon Kingdom. Even now, the New Moon Royal Family is always thinking about taking back this old land. If Luoxing gives up on its own initiative, the New Moon Royal Family will only be happy to see the success. You are still the New Moon Kingdom." The Duke of Yue, there is no territorial dispute."

   "At that time, Castel will not have to worry about the resumption of war between the two kingdoms and the war will spread to the North, because the largest disputed territory, the Duchy of Romania, has been resolved."

   "And as the middle ground between the new moon and the falling star, Castel can completely monopolize the trade between the two countries in the Xingyue Strait..."

"Your Excellency Castel, for the Northland, no territory is more attractive than Roman. As early as 500 years ago, before the Roman royal family took control of the Fallen Star Kingdom, your ancestors fought with Duke Roman more than once. Go to war and compete for the border territory, I think...the Castel family should be very aware of the importance of the Roman territory."

   "Your Excellency Castel, now... do you think our sincerity is enough?"

   Earl Ulster asked with a smile.

  Charlotte was silent.

   I have to say that she was indeed moved.

It's not that Charlotte is an expansionist, but Castel's various problems. Long before she came to the territory, she had also learned from the materials in the manor's study room, such as food shortages, strategic locations in danger, etc. …it's all true.

   That is because Castel is rich and can buy food from nearby noble territories, so this problem is not prominent on weekdays.

   But wartime is a different story.

  The Duchy of Romans has the food that Castel lacks. Not only that, but many industries of the Duchy of Romans and Castel are already complementary. If the Duchy of Romans can be obtained, the power of the Northland will indeed undergo a qualitative change.

   Not to mention, Charlotte also knows that the Principality of Romania was formed because the northern tribes migrated, and many of the people there are descendants of the northerners.

  Although they have become very close to the New Moon people culturally through the intermarriage of generations, they are very similar to Castel in terms of belief.

  The vast majority of people there...are not holy believers!

  By the way, as far as Charlotte knows, the population of the Roman Duchy is twice that of the Castel Territory, up to 8 million.

  In the long run, the Duchy of Romania can also become a good source of faith.

   At the same time, like Castel, the Principality of Romanes is located in the north of the mainland, far away from the center of the Holy Royal Court, and separated from the hinterland of the Crescent Moon by the Principality of Violet, which is also rugged and steep.

  If you have the Principality of Romania, in time, Charlotte may even develop a local power that can rival the Holy Royal Court like the Kingdom of Coria!

  Contemplating the future, Charlotte was moved.

   But at the same time, she remained calm.

  Earl Ulster's proposal is indeed attractive, but now is not a good time.

  Because Castel's current situation is actually quite delicate. It looks rich, but in fact it lacks the secular power to protect itself. The internal aristocratic forces are ready to move, while the external...

  Since the feud with Bold, Charlotte's desk has received more than one complaint letter from the border nobles, all of which are being tested by other nearby lords.

   That is to say, Castel has not broken face with Boulder now, otherwise, she doubts that other nearby duchies may have tried to start a game of territorial disputes.

  Castel has internal and external troubles. Under such circumstances, Charlotte does not feel that she still has the energy to launch a foreign war.

  Charlotte reckons that these descendants of Ness don't know about these things, otherwise they wouldn't be able to make such a promise.

   As for why the Ness clan changed its direction to show favor to him, although he doesn't know the specific reason, Charlotte can roughly guess it.

  The Ness clan should be short of money.

   Not only that, they should also be thinking of relying on Roman and Castel to block the connection between Falling Star and the mainland.

They are good at observing and occupying, and they already know that there is a "resurrected god" behind Castel. Although they don't know that this "god" is her own, but they make them be cautious, and at the same time change the strategic direction, no longer infiltrate Instead, try to win her over.

   Besides that, maybe they still have the idea of ​​shrinking their power in the future and making Castel a buffer between the falling star and the crescent moon, thus completely isolating the power of the Holy Royal Court from Falling Star Island...

  The Principality of Romans is good, but as the foundation of the Roman family, it is a hidden danger for the Naiss clan to keep it.

   This is a conspiracy that Charlotte can guess.

   It's just, how does Charlotte feel that the Ness clan is so urgent and willing to pay such a high price, not only as if they want to regain their sphere of influence as soon as possible, but also as if there is something that makes them have to do this...

  However, the other party's urgent attitude moved her heart, and she had some ideas on how to deal with Castel's current predicament and opportunity.

   "How, Mr. Castel, what do you think?"

   Urst asked.

  Charlotte withdrew her thoughts and looked at the other party.

  She turned her eyes slightly, smiled slightly, and said:

   "Your Excellency Yurst, your proposal is indeed very tempting, but this is something in the future, unpredictable. For me, Castel, if I want to win our support... I am afraid it is not enough."

  (end of this chapter)

Chapter end