Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Wheel of History Was Already Rolling Forward

Looking at the two noble stewards before him, Earl Dainer asked with a smile, "Gentlemen, the Eastern Archduke's summons was meant to invite every landholding noble in the eastern territory. What is this supposed to mean?"

As soon as the royal election had ended, that lord had issued a convocation, summoning all nobles with holdings to discuss the future development of the eastern territory.

The contents of the summons were most peculiar. Discussing the eastern territory's future development—was that not each lord's own affair?

By custom, this was the archduke's summons. Every noble of the eastern territory, whatever the case, ought to show some respect and at least be present. Yet even now, fewer than ten nobles had arrived, and every one of them was a viscount from his own lands.

There were three earls in the eastern territory in all: Earl Barret, Earl Leif, and himself. Aside from him, the other two were old nobles with histories stretching back hundreds of years.

To put it politely, they were families of great antiquity and deep roots.

But in Dainer's investigation, these so-called houses of centuries-long heritage had in truth already fallen into decline. Their strongest retainers amounted to no more than third-rank grand knights, and neither could even muster a complete extraordinary cavalry company.

Two useless scraps. Dainer could take them both on at once. Given time to travel to the dwarven lands and have a proper weapon forged from true gold, crushing them would be no trouble at all.

And yet these two relics, surviving on the glory of their forebears, had dared to defy that lord's summons.

Could it be that the terrifying brilliance he had displayed during the royal election was still not enough to inspire fear in them? Who had given them the courage to show him so little respect? Could someone be backing them?

Dainer was filled with doubt. He truly could not understand why these nobles had made such a foolish choice.

Earl Leif's steward said apologetically, "We are deeply sorry. Because of the green-ghoul calamity, there have been a great many refugees. My lord cannot bear to see so many suffer, and must remain in the territory to settle them."

The steward of Earl Barret, seated nearby, likewise said with contrition, "His lordship Earl Barret very much wanted to answer the archduke's summons, but we have suddenly received the king's command to settle the refugees as quickly as possible."

Dainer did not believe a single word of it.

How shameless. Even I, after imitating this for so long, have not managed to cultivate a heart of pity for the common people. You old nobles would sympathize with peasants? If you truly cared so much for them, why did you not lead your knight companies to resist during the green-ghoul disaster?

Yet they put it so nobly: obeying the king's command and settling the refugees.

Dainer asked again, "So the two of you are representing Earl Barret and Earl Leif?"

"We are deeply sorry. Our lord truly cannot spare the time. The king's command must come first, so I have come in his place to offer apologies to the Eastern Archduke," said Earl Barret's steward with a face full of regret.

The other steward beside him adopted much the same explanation, also expressing his apologies.

Dainer had basically confirmed their meaning. They had no intention of heeding the Eastern Archduke's call, not even sending the viscounts under them.

If the masters do not come, how can the dogs come running?

These people were as cunning as ever, never directly saying they would not show the Eastern Archduke respect, but instead using the king's command as a shield. As for settling the commoners, that was nothing but a way of funneling refugees this way.

This was the nobles' first test of the Eastern Archduke. In the future, such things would only grow more frequent. More than anything, they feared that lord. The nobles were afraid that if they attended this strange meeting, he might sweep them all up in one go.

Dainer said with feigned emotion, "For the sake of order in the kingdom, the two earls have made such a great contribution. I cannot simply sit here either, so let me explain this to the Eastern Archduke. I am certain he will not pursue the matter. After all, this is the king's command!"

The implication was clear: he would cover for them.

The two stewards also showed knowing smiles. This Earl Dainer was indeed a sensible man.

Still, he had no choice. After all, who told him to live so close to the Eastern Archduke? He could not even run if he wanted to.

"Exactly, exactly."

"Though the Eastern Archduke's summons is very important, in the face of the kingdom's order, we must still step back a little."

In the face of this suddenly emerged Eastern Archduke, all the nobles had only one word: delay.

That Eastern Archduke was black-hearted to the core. No one could be sure whether they might not be toyed with before they even realized it. Back in the royal capital, so many people had been no match for him; what chance did a few of them have?

So the nobles put their heads together and decided on one thing: never get close to the Eastern Archduke. No matter what excuse he used, they would keep their distance. The farther away, the better.

Besides, compared to that, the Eastern Archduke should be worrying about himself. He was already in mortal danger.

Not even the king of the entire kingdom had the means to settle so many refugees at once. Soon, the territory of Olina would be overwhelmed by the flood of displaced people. They wanted to see how that black-hearted archduke would stop it. Without the king and the Hunters' Guild, this time his brilliance would have nowhere to go.

...

On the third day, at dawn, within the New Law base.

Qin Le got up very early, washed and dressed swiftly in formal attire, and came to the assembly hall New Law had set up.

The hall had been erected on a very broad stretch of concrete ground. This open area was in fact an airplane runway, but because of time constraints it had not yet been fully completed, and thus served perfectly as the venue.

On the red platform stood a lectern, and above it hung a huge banner:

The Eastern Consultative Conference

Below it were rows upon rows of chairs, each placed one meter apart, neat and orderly. On the side tables lay fruit and purified water transported from New Law, with a total of 242 seats.

There were three earls in the eastern territory and 239 viscounts in all, and the venue was arranged according to the most standard specifications.

The scene was orderly, proper, solemn, full of New Law's pursuit of rules and order, and of the gravity with which it treated affairs of state.

New Law had learned days earlier from Earl Dainer exactly how many nobles would attend. As for the others who had used the king's command as a shield and failed to come, New Law was not surprised.

But even knowing few would appear, New Law still arranged every invited person's seat according to standard procedure. As the host of the conference, New Law upheld a solemn and respectful attitude toward all matters of state, and therefore laid out the venue according to the original process.

Children, if they cannot win, may roll on the ground and throw tantrums, but New Law could not. New Law was a civilization with a history of thousands of years, with its own rules and etiquette, not some child of only a few hundred years.

New Law had shown its attitude and respect, giving face and substance alike. What happened next would depend on their own abilities, and they had best not fail to appreciate it.

Under the guidance of the reception staff, Earl Dainer and the two earls' stewards arrived at the venue. Looking upon this strange assembly hall, everyone felt their hearts unconsciously lift.

It lacked the extravagant decoration of a noble ballroom, yet the atmosphere carried a peculiar weight.

Orderly, solemn, grave.

It was as though some sacred place of a church, yet with a little less sanctity and a little more killing intent.

They came to the front of all the seats, found their places, and sat down.

Their bearing was proper, their expressions grave, even somewhat stiff.

Qin Le strode onto the grounds in formal wear, walking along the carpeted path down the center and passing row after row of empty seats.

At present, there were only a scant few people in the entire venue: Olina, Aimoya, Earl Dainer, two noble stewards in tailcoats, and the viscount under Dainer.

The scene was exceedingly desolate, not even comparable to a single viscount's gathering.

Qin Le walked to the platform and stood at the lectern. Looking down at the handful before him, his expression did not change in the slightest. There was not even the anger they had imagined, only calm and solemnity.

The two earls' stewards' hearts rose all the way to their throats. For reasons they could not explain, this was even more terrifying than facing his rage.

"First, I would like to thank all of you for honoring this Eastern Consultative Conference with your presence," Qin Le said, lifting the speech in his hand. His voice, carried by the amplifier, spread through the entire hall.

"In keeping with our nation's policy of peaceful development, and in order to promote harmonious growth between New Law and all parties, and to ensure that the fundamental interests of the vast majority are not infringed, New Law hereby convenes the Eastern Consultative Conference..."

A series of initiatives followed.

To get rich, build roads first.

In order to improve the transportation environment of the eastern territory and strengthen the ties between its cities, New Law plans to construct four main arteries, each a two-way four-lane road, running through the entire east, as well as several highways connecting the major towns.

Lords are obliged to provide New Law with a large labor force to assist with the great infrastructure project in the east. New Law will pay wages of one copper coin per person per day.

Liberate productive capacity, and allow serfs to buy back their freedom.

In order to increase overall consumption in the eastern territory and stimulate the people's productive enthusiasm, New Law will urge the lords to permit serfs to redeem themselves: one gold coin for those over sixteen, five hundred copper coins for those under sixteen.

The full redemption fee shall go entirely to the lords.

Open the trade routes, and abolish merchant caravan tolls.

Hire the Hunters' Guild to protect road construction.

Purge harmful creatures within the eastern territory.

The brief, ten-minute address passed very quickly. Qin Le lowered the script and looked at the few people below the stage.

"This is New Law's Eastern Grand Development Plan for the coming period. Does anyone have any objections?"

By now, everyone below had their mouths hanging open, too astonished to speak.

What the Eastern Archduke had said was very strange, but every person present had heard it clearly and more or less understood what he meant.

He had explained everything with remarkable clarity, making plain what he intended to do next, how he would do it, and what they would receive in return.

Qin Le waited ten minutes. Seeing that no one raised any objection, he said, "In that case, the first consultative conference is concluded here. Thank you all for your participation. The future of the east will be changed because of us."

Thus the meeting ended, in a way that was utterly baffling. From beginning to end, Qin Le had spoken alone, and no one else had said a single word.

New Law had never expected these people to offer anything constructive, nor did it wish to hear their opinions, still less care what they thought.

New Law had merely informed them that the wheel of history was already rolling forward.

...

Human beings are selfish and foolish, always seeing only what they wish to see and ignoring what they do not.

The Eastern Archduke had summoned all the nobles of the eastern territory, yet in the end only a handful had appeared. He had lost face, and though furious, dared not speak.

The noble and elegant aristocrats, in the leisure of midday, savored a peaceful and comfortable afternoon tea while mocking the Eastern Archduke for his overweening ambition.

Without the king and the Hunters' Guild, that so-called black-hearted archduke was nothing more than a clown playing little tricks.