Chapter 343 — Cecil's "Order"

"Very good," Gaoyang said with a satisfied nod. "If only everyone could have your understanding..."

Then he paused, and gave his order: "I want you to summon all the enfeoffed knights of Kant Territory. The time has come for them to swear their allegiance."

All along, it had been Sir Philip who handled liaison affairs between Kant and Cecil, so he was the obvious choice for this task.

The young knight lowered his head: "I will certainly fulfill the mission."

After Philip left, only Amber and Gaoyang remained in the study.

The half-elf young lady circled Gaoyang twice—strictly speaking, she made two full circuits around the entire desk. Her behavior made Gaoyang speak up despite himself: "What are you circling for?"

"I think you're about to do something big," Amber said, looking at Gaoyang with a solemn face. "But I can't figure out just what it is you're about to do."

"Not bad—that you can tell I'm about to do something is already rather surprising," Gaoyang said, looking with some astonishment at this half-elf who ordinarily knew nothing at all about territories, decrees, traditional nobles, and the like. "How did you tell?"

But the moment Amber opened her mouth, Gaoyang wanted to slap her against the wall: "The thing I'm best at in this life is making trouble. You think I can't recognize the aura of my own kind?"

"You... never mind, I wasn't expecting you to understand anyway."

"Don't say that, I can still make out the general picture," Amber said at once, eyes glaring. "I know how many privileges you took back when you changed 'fief' to 'demesne,' and how you brought those privileges under the administrative hall's control. Before that, apart from you, the territory had only Viscountess Rebay and the two knights, Byron and Philip. I was curious even then—who were you aiming at, setting all this up in advance? Now I see it. I can't say who you'll aim at in the future, but right now the old knights of Kant Territory are certainly going to be the first under the knife... Aren't you afraid those knights will band together and resist?"

"Enfeoffed knights are 'half' landed aristocrats. The privileges they hold are far fewer than those of true lords; they never had powers like legislation or minting coin to begin with. Once they submit to Cecil's new law, all they do is turn their former land-rent income into annuity income, and lose their legal right to rule their fiefs. But they can gain far more benefits from the new social order... Anyone with a little wisdom and foresight will know how to choose."

"Good heavens, you're actually demanding that they have wisdom and foresight—the two things nobles lack most!" Amber said in a wildly exaggerated tone that begged for a beating. "What if they don't?"

"Then so much the better. The annuities saved will be enough for me to open several steel foundries in the Kant region."

Looking at the heartfelt smile on Gaoyang's face, Amber suddenly recalled the "negotiating tactics" he had mentioned before.

She suddenly felt a little cold...

"Still, I think it's more likely they'll see the situation clearly," Gaorong said. "As I said, the privileges they lose are not many, so their resistance won't be that strong—at least it won't reach the point of risking their lives to resist. And once they witness the power of the Cecil Order afterward, they'll know just how right their choice was."