king.

As soon as the news of the opening of the smuggling trade was released, the aristocratic circle of the Northland was boiling.

The largest dealer in the smuggling trade in the Alpha Kingdom is the Northern Noble Group headed by the five major families.

Smugglers and slave traders are all attached to this group.

Since the outbreak of the Continental War, the smuggling trade has been completely cut off.In order to restore the trade line, the nobles of the Northland have been running around in the kingdom for a long time.

It's a pity that the popularity of the five major families is not good. The harder they lobby, the tighter the border blockade will be.

In the past, the supplies of the nobles in northern Xinjiang had to pass through the northern land, and they were inherently controlled by others, so they had to choose to compromise.

However, the current border is the Near East, and with the convenience of port and sea transportation, Hudson does not need to look at the nobles of the Northland.

Under Hudson's leadership, the kingdom's standing army often attacked the smuggling trade.The smugglers who dared to take the lead were basically almost dead.

No matter what the background is, death is for nothing. "Crime of colluding with other races", no one dared to claim it.

Seven or eight out of ten smugglings had accidents, so that in the past few months, children of nobles in the Northland had been accidentally killed.

No matter how profitable the business is, it can't stand such a disaster.The Northern Noble Group, which suffered heavy losses, gnashed Hudson's teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do.

After all, it is a business that cannot be put on the table. It is okay to do it secretly, but it cannot be said on the table.

The loss of profitable business is second, and the political embarrassment made the northern nobles even worse.

Not to mention looking for Hudson's bad luck, their political power in the court is now hard to protect themselves.Caesar IV found a chance for many officials from the northern lands to be imprisoned, and their lives and deaths are now uncertain.

At one time, these five major families wanted to develop the navy and open up trade routes leading to the orc empire from the sea.

It's a pity that the idea is beautiful, but the reality is very skinny.It's true that the North has a port, but they don't have a shipyard!

The port was opened up in the era of Caesar III, and it has only been in operation for a few years, and it has not had time to accumulate naval heritage.

In this regard, they are worse than Hudson. At least Hudson was able to buy the shipyard from the royal family through political transactions.

The current situation of the five major families in the North is: even if they have money, they can't spend it.What's more, they don't have much money in their hands, so they can't use money to stun the seller.

No one would risk falling out with the royal family to help someone who has a problem with his family.

Forced into the vicious circle of militarism and self-depletion, the five dukes saw it and were anxious in their hearts.

No one is sure whether the king wants to attack them or is deliberately playing psychological tactics.

Now Caesar IV's actions against them are all naked conspiracy.

If the army is abolished now, maybe one day the king will take their evidence and mobilize a standing army to wipe out the rebellion.

As long as the procedures are legal and the interests are in place, the great nobles in the kingdom will not mind removing them, an eyesore, from the chessboard.

"The news has been confirmed. Hudson does intend to liberalize the smuggling trade, but he will impose heavy taxes and restrict trade goods.

It can be preliminarily judged that there is something wrong with Xue Yueling's finances.

Although the Hudson swept across the Quartet during the Continental War, because of the inconvenience of carrying it, he actually did not get much spoils.

It is already very difficult to maintain a huge armament relying on the income from the mountain territory and magic potions, let alone the development of Xueyue collar.

However, Hudson also likes to gain fame and reputation. He doesn't even charge the transit tax for door-to-door delivery, and opening up smuggling channels is a last resort.

It shouldn't be a conspiracy against us! "

Duke Rodriguez analyzed rationally.

Life is hard, and people are panicked, making them look like a threat to everyone now.

No matter what happens to you, first analyze whether the wave is a conspiracy against yourself.

This overly cautious temperament allowed them to avoid many risks, and the price was that they started to lose their hair at a young age.

"It's not a conspiracy against us, it doesn't mean we can benefit from it.

Hudson is in power now, and it's too easy to target us. "

While speaking, Duke Angel also glanced at Duke Torsten.

I don't know if there will be accidents in the business of other people's family. The business of the Lochnard family will definitely not be able to continue in the Near East.

If it weren't for the fear of political influence and fear of triggering a chain reaction, they would all want Duke Torsten to return the ancestral land of the Koslow family to others.

It's all grievances from a hundred years ago. The original direct descendants of the Koslow family are all dead, and Hudson is just a side branch of the rise. It is nonsense to say how much engraved hatred there is.

The two sides have been carrying the confrontation to death, and it is more of a nobleman's face.

The more newly born aristocrats are, the more they pay attention to the family's face.The lost ancestral property is the shame of all members of the Koslow family.

It's a pity that there is no way to go back this step.The worse the situation is, the stronger it is.

If they show timidity to the outside world, making the outside world mistakenly think that they have declined, it is easy to trigger a group of attacks.

"The situation is not that bad. As a new great nobleman, Hudson cherishes his feathers very much and will not mess with his reputation.

Hudson has been able to hold high positions all the way, not only because of his ability to fight, but also because of his reputation of distinguishing between public and private and being principled.

After so many years of fighting in the South and the North, have you ever heard that he deliberately deceived others and avenged his personal revenge?
Everyone in the kingdom believed that he could deal with problems objectively and fairly, which was the reason why all parties ignored his background and pushed him to the top position.

So the business can still be done, but within the scope of the rules he set, the profit may not be as high as before.

Another detail is that Hudson likes orc slaves.It can be seen from the decree he formulated that he is encouraging everyone to trade slaves from the orc empire.

If there are enough slaves, they can even offset taxes and buy the most advanced weapons.

With such a clause, it is estimated that all smugglers will be part-time slave traders.

We still have an advantage in this regard. It is not a problem at all to find the cooperation of those big tribes and get tens of thousands of slaves a year.

If the interests are right, we may even be the best partner for Hudson. "

Duke Rodriguez said with a smile.

As a core member of the northern nobles, who has not participated in the slave trade during the smuggling process?

These are old businesses.With their long-term contacts in the smuggling trade, they are inherently more advantageous than latecomers.

"Why does Hudson want so many orc slaves? Is it really what he said to the outside world, to weaken the orc empire as much as possible?"

Duke Hiero said slightly suspiciously.

To weaken the orc empire, just purchase slaves from powerful races.Not to mention the low combat effectiveness of ordinary orcs, they also reproduce very fast.

"Maybe it's simply a lack of people!

With such a large area of ​​Xueyue Territory, there is not enough population to fill it.

Especially the construction of the defense line in the early stage requires more labor.If you don't have enough manpower, use the orcs to make up the numbers.

Simply doing coolies, these orcs can still make do.What's more, he used a lot of orc slaves in the early days of his business, and he probably accumulated a lot of experience.

It's just that he ignored the difference between the Near East and the Mountain Territory.Few orc tribes could bear the excitement of using orc slaves wantonly under the eyes of orcs.

Let's wait and see a good show, maybe we can see an orc riot, a big show where the inside should cooperate with the outside.

Of course, it is also possible that our Marshal Hudson had already prepared and deliberately set a trap for the orcs to drill.

In terms of using troops to fight wars, our Marshal Hudson is still very reassuring. "

Duke Rodriguez replied with a half-smile.

Regardless of how the other companies choose, anyway, he is involved in this deal.

No matter how great the risk is, it is better than going bankrupt in situ.

In order to raise funds, they have squeezed the territory to the limit.

Not only the life of the serfs was difficult, but the caravans passing by were also squeezed out, and they had already suffered unspeakably.

Today, those simple grassroots businessmen have almost disappeared from the Northland.They are still insisting, and they basically have aristocratic backgrounds behind them.

Not to mention offending the people outside, the younger brothers below are also complaining.Forced to follow the expansion of the army, it is impossible to stop and take a break.

As a knowledgeable nobleman, Rodriguez knows very well that this situation cannot continue, otherwise it will definitely collapse.

However, the cruel reality forced him to grit his teeth and persist.

Time is what they need most.It is impossible for the king to keep his eyes on them all the time, just waiting for the situation to change, everything will be different.

The counterattack has already begun, and the new large territory of the royal family is the source of trouble.

It's just that in order to hide themselves, they can only wait for the incident to slowly ferment, and dare not directly jump out and fight against the royal family.

……

With the arrival of a large number of smugglers, Xueyue Territory presents a scene of prosperity.

The most direct beneficiaries are the hotels and taverns in the city, and many shops are showing signs that they are full for the first time.

Affected by this, some discerning businessmen have taken the lead in developing the characteristic tertiary industry.

As long as enough money is given, all shops can be sublet.

Master Hudson has engaged in a bunch of business, mainly to attract traffic, but he is not prepared to engage in all industries.

It is more convenient to collect rents and taxes directly than risky business.

Crescent Port, with a high population flow, needs economic vitality, and the planned economy obviously cannot meet the demand.

Just relying on the gang of shop assistants who drive ducks to the shelves, they can only listen to orders mechanically to sell goods, so what can they compete with merchants?

Hudson also admitted that he lost money in a short period of time, and he was not prepared to insist on a long-term loss-making business.

The number of shops operating at a loss continues to decrease, and the rental income continues to increase. It is only a matter of time before it turns losses into profits.

Especially with the emergence of bulk commodity purchases, Hudson finally received the first "smuggling tax", which changed the embarrassing situation of only leaving the territory but not entering.

Everything is going in the right direction, and trouble has found its way.

Capturing slaves from the Beastman Empire is nothing more than that. Although it does not meet the mainstream moral standards, there is no law prohibiting it in the kingdom.

Even if there is a Holy Mother, at most they will spout a few words secretly, and no one will sympathize with the orcs on the surface.

The troublesome thing is the smuggling trade. In the past, the Kingdom of Wan had acquiesced in its existence, but after all, it was shady.

On the surface, smuggling supplies to the orc empire is a felony crime of ransacking one's home and destroying one's family.Once the evidence is caught and put on the table, it will be fatal.

The trade line had just opened, and Hudson felt the pressure.The important ministers in the kingdom who opposed the smuggling trade directly attacked the court.

Some nobles who disliked Hudson also contributed to the flames.

Hudson didn't know how the Northland nobles handled these things back then. Anyway, he knew that this matter was very difficult to handle.

"Baron Jose, write to His Majesty the King for me.

Tell Your Majesty that we are conducting a training camp, and the smugglers took advantage of it.

After the training of the army is completed, the smugglers will be arrested immediately, and these kingdom moths will never be let go! "

Admitting is impossible.As the supreme military commander in the Near East, how could he have anything to do with smugglers?

It's all because the smugglers were too cunning and took advantage of the army's training camp.

Anyway, in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the frontline army, it is impossible to stop the training.The problem of cracking down on smuggling can only be dealt with after the work is done.

Perfunctory can't solve the problem, but Hudson has no choice.

Under the guiding ideology of political correctness, it is impossible for him to defend the smugglers.

Even if it is to investigate the intelligence of the Orc Empire, it is impossible to say: All smugglers go with missions.

"My lord, I'm afraid this explanation can't be fooled. Under the pressure of all parties, the kingdom is very likely to send an investigation team, or even directly form an anti-smuggling team.

These are precedents.When the northern nobles were at their most rampant, they dared to sell anything to the Beastman Empire. In order to combat smuggling, the Kingdom formed an anti-smuggling team, which once interrupted the smuggling.

Later, due to financial pressure, the kingdom acquiesced in the existence of smuggling trade under the operation of the nobles in the Northland, but the behavior was restricted.

The smuggling trade in the Near East has just begun, and there are no weapons and equipment among the commodities we sell, which are within the tolerance of the kingdom in principle.

However, in the smuggling trade back then, many dignitaries in the kingdom shared the benefits.Our side has just started, and we have not yet had time to build a community of interests.

so……"

After hearing Jose's analysis, Hudson instantly understood what was going on.No wonder it was targeted, this is the cheese of others!
Right off the bat.Under normal circumstances, with his popularity in the kingdom, even if he was hated by others, it would not cause such a big disturbance.

Except for the northern aristocratic group, among the other powerful groups in the kingdom, there are not many descendants promoted by his master Hudson.

Maybe these people can't control the right to speak, but there is always some kind of incense.If there is no conflict of interest, it is impossible for so many people to attack.

Thinking about it carefully, everyone is still merciful.All the impeachments were only for the smuggling trade, not Hudson himself.

It is easy to figure out the problem, but difficult to solve it.The cake is not something that Hudson can share if he wants to.

Every major distribution of benefits requires a long-term game to reach a new balance before a community of interests can be formed.

"Send the letter first, and delay for a while. Even if the Kingdom wants to form an anti-smuggling team, it cannot make a decision in a day or two.

Secretly leak some news to them, if you want to participate, come!Anyway, our Xueyue Territory is not the only region that borders the orcs, and it is inconvenient for them to stop them if they want to join.

In the follow-up, let them go to fight, who gets more and who gets less, in the end it depends on the strength to speak! "

Hudson said impatiently.

The distribution of benefits is always the most troublesome.It was too late for him to hide from this kind of thing, let alone actively participate in it.

In the past, when trade lines were blocked due to war, everyone went hungry together, and no one had any objections.Now when I see someone eating meat, my mind becomes unbalanced instantly.

Do not suffer from widowhood but suffer from inequity.

The current orc empire is definitely not as fat as it was back then.Even if the smuggling trade is liberalized, the income will not be as good as before.

The Alpha Kingdom can import a series of daily necessities such as tea, cloth, salt, pots and pans, spices, etc. to the Orc Empire.

The only commodities that the Orc Empire can produce are: slaves and furs.

Livestock are not easy to sell.A large number of animals were transported, and the movement was too great.What everyone is doing is smuggling, and there is no way to cross the road.

Any noble officer who caught this matter and pursued it could kill the smugglers.

It's useless to have a backstage, once it's on the table, the king's face can't cover it.

Similar things happened from time to time in the past years.Even if an agreement is reached above to acquiesce in the existence of smuggling trade, they cannot ignore the kingdom's laws.

It is very common for this kind of thing to happen once you meet an aristocratic officer who has a personal grudge.

Even if the bigwigs retaliated afterwards, the parties would not be able to see it.With the crime of colluding with other races, it is difficult to not die.

Smart smugglers are as low-key as possible.Especially when transporting commodities whose origin cannot be explained, one must be very careful, and it is best not to alarm the nearby garrisons.

There are few commodities that can be sold, so hard currency can only be used to make up for it.There are not many magic crystal mines and gold and silver mines in the orc empire, and the rich mines are monopolized by several royal families, and most of the orc tribes are very poor.

Apart from raising livestock, the only thing they could do was hunt some wild animals, or go deep into the Ula Mountains to hunt monsters and collect magic materials.

These trades are definitely not reciprocal.Regardless of how valuable it is in the human world, it just can't be sold on the orc prairie.

Many small and medium-sized tribes do not encounter caravans once a year, and have no bargaining capital at all.

If you are squeezed hard, look for opportunities to do a wave of no-cost transactions.But this is also risky.Merchants who can open trade lines are not soft persimmons.

Inside the Orc Empire, there is also the umbrella of these guys.Compared with the restraint of the dignitaries of the Alpha Kingdom, the inside of the Orc Empire is more naked.

Who shelters which caravan is open to the public.When a problem occurs, dare to come out to the platform as soon as possible.

……

The turmoil in the Near East did not cause the slightest disturbance in the world. At most, everyone sighed: Alpha Kingdom is promising!

Now everyone's eyes are on the Frankish Kingdom.Just five days ago, under the auspices of the Frankish Church, representatives of churches from various countries launched crazy complaints against the Holy See.

Directly charged the Vatican of Chenxi with ten crimes:

[-]. Fake oracles;
[-]. Impure faith;
[-]. Blasphemy;
[-]. Collusion with heresy;
[-]. Regicide;
[-]. Corruption prevails;
Seven, greedy;
[-]. The Holy Mountain of Fornication;
[-]. Hereditary priesthood;
[-]. Persecution of nobles.

Any one of them can bring the Holy See down from the altar, and ten of them can be collected at once, and evidence can be found for all of them. Everyone knows that the Franks are playing for real this time.

As the sacred and inviolable Holy See, it should be a flawless existence.Everyone's requirements for them are very high, and no stains are allowed at all.

The behavior of the clergy is also under the magnifying glass.

The matter of covering the lid was suddenly exposed to the sun, and the impact can be imagined.

However, the governments of various countries are still behind the scenes, spreading the evidence to the whole continent, and everyone knows the Holy See's crimes almost overnight.

The mentality of countless fanatics has collapsed, and it is really difficult to accept that the Holy See, which is sacred in their minds, is so stupid.

Pius VII was very embarrassed, just clamoring to excommunicate Charles III, the Frankish Church turned around and gave Charles III the title of saint.

And this behavior has also been approved by representatives of churches from many countries.The reason is: Charles III exposed the dark inside story of the Holy See and laid the foundation for purging the Holy See.

All of a sudden, he made himself a villain, and the countries that originally supported the Holy See actually pretended to be deaf and dumb, as if they were waiting to see a joke.

Everyone knows that all parties want to weaken the influence of the Holy See in the country.Since the Frankish Kingdom takes the lead, let them go.

What left the believers speechless the most was that after such a big event, the great Lord of Dawn did not show up.

Sending down "divine punishment" and clearing up the heresy in the Holy See has become a beautiful dream in the hearts of countless believers.

The Holy See was also disappointed. The storm had affected their faith, and the gods hadn't come out to stand on the platform, which made them very passive.

The gods did not express it, and in the eyes of many people, that was the default.Some arcanists even clamored openly: The gods are dead!
The two camps were busy fighting among themselves, blatantly blasphemous remarks, but no one paid any attention for a while, which made Hudson very upset.

There was no way, the blasphemous remarks were emanating from the Academy of Arcane Arts where he was honorary headmaster.If you say it's nothing to do, no one will believe it!