Just when he was thinking that the kind of arson tool is easier to make, the personal guard walked in, "Your Majesty, the messenger from the North wants to see you."
It's only been a day... Roland is a little surprised, don't they plan to wait for the Duke to hear back, but are going to directly reject their request
"Take them to the parlour," he ordered after a moment of silence. "Also notify Carter to block the diplomatic building and temporarily prohibit the envoys from going out."
"Yes."
Since the other party cannot agree with the policy that they will implement, they have to be forced to stay.
…
When Roland walked into the parlor on the first floor, he found that the person opposite the long table had changed seats. The woman who was supposed to be Cole's assistant was sitting in the guest seat, while Cole was sitting in the second seat with a book in hand.
"Your Majesty, greetings to you, I'm Edith Kant, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Evernight City, Cole's sister." The woman stood up and gave a standard aristocratic ceremony, "This is not the first time we have met, go up. Cole forgot to introduce my identity once, please forgive me."
"Calvin's daughter?" Roland was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help but become interested, "So you are the leader of the messenger group?"
"That's right," she said while rubbing her chest. "My father has entrusted me with full responsibility for this mission and handed me the duke's letter."
In this era, it is not impossible for women to participate in politics, but it is very rare, not to mention a young woman with outstanding appearance. It can be seen from Edith's expression that it is obviously not the first time that she has dealt with a superior, and she is impeccable in terms of words and deeds. As for concealing her identity, Roland has realized that this is a trick by the other party to attract the attention of negotiators, and she did not conceal it on purpose, but just borrowed the disguise of women to make people misunderstand. Think of it as an act of fun. I have to say, this one really works.
"That is, you can make decisions on behalf of your father?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, to be precise, he will follow my advice."
Really confident answer, Roland couldn't help laughing looking at Cole, who was scratching his head and scratching his head.
"Okay... Miss Edith, then what's the purpose of your request?"
Roland thought that she would euphemistically express that she could not accept such conditions, or adopt other more "interesting" methods to try to get her back the new law, but she didn't expect that she would take out a book from the bag behind her and spread it out on the floor. On the table—that's the brochure he wrote.
"I have some questions I want to ask you," Edith said bluntly, "You said that the reason why the enfeoffed nobles will be eliminated sooner or later is due to the continuous expansion of the central power, but without the assistance of nobles, what method do you use to ensure effective management? What about all parts of the vast kingdom?"
This is... Want to discuss current affairs with yourself
Looking at her sincere eyes, Roland realized that the other party was serious.
It had been a long time since he had heard such an interesting question.
"It's the people, and the advancement of technology." He replied after hesitating for a while.
"Do you mean those freedmen? And what is technological progress?"
"That's right, a management team trained by the city hall, paid by the city hall for salaries and administrative expenses, and provided by the city hall with manpower and supporting facilities does not require the manager to have strong assets or rich manpower, so whether it is a noble or not does not matter. It's important." Roland began to elaborate on what a centralized government should look like and how ordinary people could be promoted, and then he talked about the practical significance of technology for territorial control. This lecture lasted for half an hour.
"How do you plan to avoid dereliction of duty by administrative officials far from the capital?"
"After the reunification of Graycastle, how should the trade in different places be distributed?"
"Can productivity really be used as a measure of policy?"
"… "
The more she asked, the brighter Edith's eyes became. It wasn't until it was close to noon that she let out a long breath, "I see, you really didn't write that opening statement casually."
Roland also took a sip of tea contentedly. As a professional, his knowledge of political reserves can only go so far.
"Thank you for your answer, I didn't expect you to tell me this in such detail."
"The most basic requirement for a city hall in the new era is to publicize the policy. Everyone must clearly understand the content of the new policy, so that it will not be strange when it is implemented."
Edith nodded and changed the subject, "Can you provide the steam engine production equipment and personnel to the north?"
"The staff is not available at the moment, because Neverwinter City is also in short supply, but you can send people to study, provided that the nobles of the northern land give up the right of enfeoffment and obey the management of the city hall."
"Can the construction techniques of paddle steamers also be taught?"
"Naturally, as long as you pay for the golden dragon, these are not problems. But without the help of the witch, it will be difficult for you to move the full production line to the north in a short time."
"Your calmness surprises me, Your Majesty," she pondered for a while, "but I don't understand one thing, according to your plan, as long as you wait another ten years, you can easily annex the entire Graycastle, and then push the New Deal. There is no resistance at all, and we don't need to care about our thoughts, why are you so eager?"
Roland fell silent, and after a while, he said, "You really want to know the answer?"
Edith probably didn't expect him to answer so seriously, and she also said solemnly, "Yes."
"Come with me then," he said, getting up. "I'll show you something."
…
Stepping into the shaded backyard, Roland led Edith into the wooden shed in the middle of the olive grove.
The amputated devil was lying flat on a long table, with various bottles and jars piled up beside it, and Agatha was making the final preparations to draw blood.
"God is above, what is this?" Edith let out a low voice in disbelief, but Roland noticed that there was only shock on her face, not fear.
"I should lock the shed, and let the leaves surround the yard," Agatha frowned, "Don't tell me you plan to let a mortal participate in the making of the rune, if I'm fusing the divine stone, it's probably a failure. already."
"Of course not... just now," Roland coughed twice, turned his head and introduced to Edith, "The alien creatures in front of you are the legendary devils. They haunt the north of the Desolate Mountains, and they are also the ones that human beings are about to face. The greatest enemy of the two races - the war between the two races has nothing to do with territory and wealth, but decides who can continue, and the loser will perish completely."
"The devil? The war decided to continue?" she couldn't help muttering.
"That's right, this is a long story, and it's also a secret that has been concealed by the church. It can even be traced back thousands of years ago. People in the past called it the "War of Divine Will". "