When she walked into the study room, which was covered with dark blue velvet carpets, Victoria felt as if things had changed and people had changed.
The first time she walked into this place was with her father. Under the leadership of the previous Duke of the North, she met Francis II here who was still in his prime, and also met Francis II when he was a boy. Wales Moen, at that time she was still a young girl who still had a trace of innocence, and the country was running smoothly and dullly as it had been for hundreds of years, as if it would never change.
The last time she came here was on the eve of setting off for the giant wooden crossing. Sitting behind the desk was Welsh Morn who had returned to Silver Castle. The kingdom was being divided, and no one had thought of it. A terrible crisis is brewing in the Holy Spirit Plains.
Now, she has experienced a near-death crisis and is facing a turning point in the fate of this country. The owner here has become the Duke who has come back from the dead. She has a vague feeling that history is gradually coming into focus. In this room, I... am experiencing all of this.
"Sit down, you can do whatever you want," Gawain stood by the desk, watching the two Protector Dukes enter the room, watching the attendants close the door and leave, and said in an easy-going tone, "We want to talk Let’s talk about issues related to the future of this country.”
“It’s...Duke,” Baldwin nodded and found a seat to sit down. He still called Gawain “Duke”. Because Gawain has neither been crowned nor finalized or announced the future framework of the country, for the time being he can only continue to refer to each other as Duke.
"Wait a moment, there is another participant." Gawain pressed his right hand slightly, asking the two guardian dukes to wait, while his eyes fell on the magic network terminal that had just been placed on the desk. , "She is establishing a connection... The magic network here is not very stable and is being debugged."
The two guardian dukes simultaneously turned their attention to the glimmering machine with a triangular metal base. It was not the first time Victoria had seen the Magic Network Terminal, but Duke Baldwin had never seen it in person before, but had only seen descriptions of it from some reports and hand-drawn manuscripts. The Duke of the Western Region stared intently, not hiding his curiosity at all: "Is this the magic device that can cheapen the communication technique?"
Gawain nodded: "You can think so, but in fact it It is much easier to use than communication technology - although it requires a complex infrastructure to operate, its scale limit and unit cost are far beyond that of communication technology."
"I once imagined it. How to expand the scope of the communication technique and reduce its casting requirements is of great benefit to the economy and military, but there has been little progress in research." Baldwin couldn't help but get closer to the device, as if he wanted to understand it carefully. principle, "...It's a completely different route..."
"Buzzing——"
As he spoke, the Magic Network terminal suddenly made a buzzing sound, followed by The projection crystal as the core brightened instantly, and BirdDuke Wen took a half step back in surprise and saw a beautiful lady with a calm and elegant temperament wearing an elegant dress emerging from the holographic projection above the crystal.
"Good afternoon, ancestors," Hetty first greeted Gawain, then turned her eyes to the two dukes, "Grand Duke Franklin and Grand Duchess Wilder, good afternoon."
< p>She has never met Duke Baldwin, but she has read information about almost all the high-ranking nobles in the kingdom. Many basic knowledge about the Kingdom of Ansu is even included in the textbooks at Cecil College. The people from the South know about this country. The top nobles are no strangers."Good afternoon," Baldwin said in greeting, and after a moment of hesitation, he matched the other party with the information in his mind, "Ms. Hetty Cecil, you and the rumored Just as beautiful."
"Thank you for your praise."
"We have entered Silver Castle," Gawain said from the side. "You should have received the detailed information. "
"Yes, the communication between the Government Affairs Office and the front line is smooth," Hetty nodded, with an undisguised relaxed smile, "I'm glad to know that your war is going well - extra supplies sent to the north. He and the civilian staff have already boarded the ship from Pompeii, using a fast mechanical ship."
Gawain exhaled slightly: It is really worry-free to have a reliable and capable n-level great-granddaughter like Hetty. , he basically doesn’t have to worry about logistics and local order issues. Basically, except for not being able to get married, casting spells and black eye circles to fake sick leave, Hetty has no shortcomings with him...
He sat down behind the desk, and the two guardian dukes sat on the two high-backed chairs next to him. Together with Hetty's holographic projection, a remote meeting that was very uncommon in this era began.
"The history of Anzu has ended. The evaluation of this kingdom, the merits and demerits of the kings, and its end are left to historians to discuss. Now what we have to consider is How to ensure the stability of social order, ensure the survival of the people after this disaster, and end the disorder in this country as soon as possible?" Gawain looked at Baldwin and Franklin, "Although the system of feudal lords is backward, it at least reflects the There is a benefit - the enfeoffed territories operate independently, to a certain extent, like countless self-sufficient and self-sustaining small kingdoms. The end of Anzu's royal power will not immediately cause the collapse of order in these territories, and we have some operations. Time."
"Yes, Victoria and I have discussed this," Baldwin nodded. "The two of us still have influence among the aristocracy of the old country, and we will use it in this process. China will do its best to cooperate with you to minimize the backlash in various places and ensure the stability of the country's reorganization process."
Heti also nodded: "The southern border has been prepared, and the governor and the Government Affairs Department have each other. A working group and security forces composed of senior officials are on standby at Panshi Fortress and can go to the north to reestablish order at any time."
"Rebuilding order in the north requires the cooperation of local forces to a certain extent. The Military Intelligence Bureau has experience in this regard.Since I have rich experience, I will let Amber assist me," Gawain said. "The other two guardian dukes will also assist in this process. "
After a pause, he added: "Currently, the southern border has limited manpower, and the digestion and control of the government system is also limited. It is impossible to eat the entire Ansu in one go - prioritize the reorganization and reconstruction of the Holy Spirit Plain area. , first restore the production functions in the hinterland of the country, the western border and the northern border...Leave it to Baldwin and Victoria, I will send political officials to assist you, no problem? "
The two guardian dukes responded after a brief thought: "No problem. ”
“In this process, all the old nobles must sign to obey the new law, including you two. At the same time, the military power of the two territories will be returned to the Military Department of the Supreme Government Affairs Office, and the original Mountain Legion and the Western Territory Legion must accept To reorganize, the two territories still need to accept the garrison of the Supreme Government Affairs Office," Gawain said one by one. "The economy, military, and politics... must all be unified. The feudal system will be ended and replaced by Cecil's law and order. . Obstacles are bound to appear, and there may even be regional and staged recurrences, but I hope everyone can at least be clear: the new era has arrived, and its advancement is inevitable. Obstacles may arise, but they must eventually be eliminated. . "
His eyes swept across Victoria and Baldwin. One of the two guardian dukes maintained a calm expression, while the other had a free and easy expression.
"The Morn royal family The era has ended, and the aristocratic system of the Holy Spirit Plain has collapsed. If there is any factor in this country that is qualified to act as an obstacle, it is the two of us." Baldwin said with a smile, "We choose to support you, then the remaining nobles , I am not qualified to be an obstacle - in this regard, I am still somewhat confident. "
"The strength of the Mountain Corps has been severely weakened, but the Wilder family's deterrent to the northern mountains is still there. "Victoria also said briefly.
"Very good. After that, I will use the system of the Principality of Cecil as a basic template, make some adaptations and improvements, and then promote it to the whole country. I plan to divide Ansu into several provinces with the highest government affairs office in the capital as the center, with provincial governors in each province, and then with the big cities as the center, city government affairs offices and city governors will be established...< /p>
"I am the supreme ruler of the country, but I will also obey the legal constraints. At the same time, my rule over the country will be carried out through the government affairs department system. Under me, a grand consul will be set up as the supreme government affairs department. The person in charge. The current Grand Consul is Hetty, but I plan to add two more, with two Guardian Dukes... After that, the combination of three Grand Consuls will be the norm until the system becomes inappropriate or something extraordinary happens. If no changes are made...
"The Grand Consul implements my will and carries out the specific management work of the Supreme Government Affairs Office, but he should also make timely suggestions to me based on his own judgment...
"For specific implementation methods, the Supreme Government Affairs Office of the Principality of Cecil has accumulated considerable experience. It can also be discussed with officials in the southern border for reference..."
Gawain talked about his ideas one by one, and Hetty kept adding to them. Gradually, Baldwin and Victoria also adapted to the rhythm, and their one-sided listening turned into a fruitful one. Communication, in this study that once belonged to Francis II and to Wales Morn, they discussed how to restore order in the country, how to rebuild the production activities damaged in the disaster, and how to establish a new national framework …
During the discussion, Gao Wen’s ideas were also improved little by little - many of the ideas he put forward were actually just general frameworks in many cases, and even had many gaps and flaws. Wrong and overly idealistic framework, but the greatest significance of his ideas is their inspiring focus. Under his inspiration, Baldwin and Victoria put forward a series of valuable reference opinions, gradually filling in the Gawain made the frame.
Even so, the discussion they are having today is still destined to be preliminary and framework-based. There are definitely many parts that need improvement and changes that need to be adapted to reality, and no matter how good the framework is, , later implementation also requires a lot of trial and error, running-in, adjustment, and a lot of iterations and setbacks... The last king of Ansu tried his best to remove the obstacles to change, but the obstacles will never completely disappear. After all, it requires three major costs: time, manpower, and material resources to solve slowly.
Gawain knew this very well and was mentally prepared for it.
Their discussion lasted for a long time, so long that everyone seemed to have forgotten the passage of time. It was not until the sun set outside the window and the lights in the castle area lit up that the discussion came to an end, and Duke Baldwin Franklin Then he breathed a long sigh of relief and asked: "Then, we should give this kingdom that is about to be born a name."
"The era of kings and lords is over, it is not a kingdom," Gao Wen said slowly, "It is the empire."
After a pause of two or three seconds, he said word by word: "Cecil Empire."
He chose to use His current surname was used to name the new empire, completely distinguishing it from the former "Kingdom of Anzu".
He will bury the former Anzu, and that ancient and once glorious kingdom will become history, together with its name, both symbolically and in a practical sense, the new empire. All must be separated from the word "Ansu", which is also one of the measures to weaken the influence of the old forces.
He will also reflect his authority in the name of the new empire, ensuring the concentration and efficient operation of power from the side - in order to face the next challenges and the crises that are about to break out, he must Choose to use centralization of power to improve the efficiency of social operations so as to be ready to respond to crises as soon as possible.
The study was shrouded in solemnity for a while, and after a long time, Victoria said softly: "From now on, no matter whether you have merit or demerit, you will resist."
"When I choose to lead the army When we go north, we will be prepared.”
"Then," Baldwin stood up from his chair, "pay tribute to the Cecil Empire."
Victoria stood up next: "Pay tribute to the Cecil Empire."
"Salute to the Cecil Empire." Hetty said the same.
Gawain glanced at the three of them and exhaled softly.
"It will be worthy of your tribute."