"First of all, although the Duke of Bavaria stands on the emperor's side, it is because of the current trend. In fact, the result of the expedition to the Holy See in a few months is likely to be disastrous. Except for the emperor whose mind has been affected, the other dukes have probably realized this."
"So when the pope ordered the parish priests to read the decree, the dukes would certainly not stop it, in order to avoid offending the church directly. The excuse they gave to the emperor was that they were afraid of being excommunicated."
"At the same time, send your own officials to read out the emperor's edict, so that you can give an account to the emperor. At the same time, guide public opinion among the people: after all, there is nothing wrong with vassals being loyal to their lords, which is also in line with the social customs of the Franks. As for any problems with the lords, everyone can speak freely."
"In other words." Nora showed a look of sudden enlightenment, "On the one hand, he tried not to offend the Church and the emperor, and on the other hand, he cleared himself from public opinion."
"Another point is that although the dukes have to recruit soldiers within the principality due to the emperor's request, they certainly hope that their own troops will suffer as little loss as possible in the battle." Ask continued, "Therefore, through similar propaganda, a subtle unified opinion can be formed within the principality, which will facilitate the subsequent preservation of strength in the battle."
"But if that's the case, wouldn't conscription itself become a problem?" Nora asked in confusion, "If the people start to oppose the war, won't conscription be difficult?"
"Nora, the mobilization capacity of feudal states is inherently weak," Ask replied. "No matter what the situation, conscription is extremely difficult. We can only rely on the military force of the conscription officers."
"For the emperor, the dukes' loyalty can be judged by how hard they work in recruiting soldiers within the duchy. As for whether the recruited soldiers are willing to fight, it is difficult to force the dukes to do so."
"In other words, do your best where the emperor can see you, and do all kinds of crazy little tricks where the emperor can't see you, right?" Nora seemed to understand.
"That's absolutely right." Ask said with a smile, "Even the emperor himself could guess that this behavior existed, but he could only acquiesce because he 'couldn't see' it. This phenomenon not only appeared in wars and conscription, but actually permeated all aspects of the feudal state, forming an 'aristocratic style of play' composed of clear provisions and unspoken rules."
"That is what the nobles often call 'legal principles'."
“Hmm…” Nora hummed for a while, feeling as if her eyes had been opened.
In her hometown of Italy, although the political system is a city-state, the concept of the city-state has actually become very vague. The super-developed commerce has forcibly broken the barriers to labor mobility, and on this basis, trust oligarchs such as the "Thirteen Families of Italy" were born.
Therefore, the whole of Italy is basically "contract first". The vast and cumbersome legal provisions are the foundation that runs through all aspects of society. The more capital-rich a company is, the more it can gain an absolute advantage in legal confrontation by hiring a strong legal team.