Free Web NovelChapter 1279: Chapter 1278: International Reactions
The difficult choice.
During this period, Major sent his girlfriend’s entire family to the Federation, and her family expressed approval for being able to leave at this time.
The Gafura people are not actually foolish; the conflict between the nobles and the Imperial Family is growing increasingly intense, and those who can leave the Main Island have already found ways to do so.
Those who cannot leave can only grit their teeth and pray that the conflict between the big players does not affect the civilian population.
During a series of trials, the Eldest Prince was simultaneously found guilty by the Gafura Noble Court and the Supreme Court.
He was stripped of his status as heir to the Imperial Family, and the Chief Justice directly declared in court that he would be imprisoned for ten years!
At the last moment, the Eldest Prince finally lost control; he furiously cursed at the nobles, completely losing the grace and dignity of a member of the Imperial Family.
The newspapers described his appearance in court as "like a lame wild dog kicked by someone!"
The most important member of the Imperial Family was finally taken down by the nobles.
But this was not a victory for the nobles; rather, it marked the beginning of a terrifying war!
The next day, the Emperor also announced from the Imperial Palace the abolition of a total of seventeen nobles’ titles and reclaimed the family lands granted during ennoblement.
All buildings on the land must be relocated within a specified time, or else they will be collectively confiscated by the Imperial Family!
At this moment, the tightly stretched nerves of the nobles snapped, and a suffocating air permeated the entire Imperial Capital!
The end of the month was approaching, and Lynch arrived early at the scene in the Secretariat.
He and the young Count, among others, adopted a low-key approach, huddling in the corner, not attracting much attention.
Shortly after nine o’clock, the Secretariat was already packed, including the heirs, wives, or sons of those nobles who had been stripped of their titles.
They all looked woeful, faces filled with terror and loss.
Losing their noble status meant the privileges they’ve enjoyed would depart from them. freewebnoveℓ.com
To maintain their current family business status, they have to find other nobles to affiliate with; merchants attached to them have long begun to settle accounts and divide shares with them...
It all felt like doomsday, with some planning to cheaply buy their houses, assets, and those precious works of art!
These people were like hyenas, surrounding them, constantly trying to tear a piece of flesh from them.
More terrible is that those nobles also have to serve sentences, which feels like retaliation for the Noble Court’s judgment of the Eldest Prince, with nobles likewise sentenced to ten years and imprisoned with the Eldest Prince in the same prison.
When Duke Phoenix and other great nobles appeared, a meeting determining the future of Gafura began.
"Duke Phoenix...", a family member of a victim stood up, she was a girl in her twenties, looking very pretty.
Her eyes were swollen, causing nobles with "overflowing sympathy" to feel a sense of sorrow, as if the tragedy were happening to them. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
She greeted all the great nobles in turn, then spoke about the situation her family was facing.
"Those cunning merchants have already torn up agreements, and some people who don’t know where they came from are wielding various debt proofs demanding debts we don’t know about."
"More terrifying is that the Royal Bank has frozen our accounts, so our life has become very difficult; only by pawning some...assets and works of art can we sustain living."
"I heard the Emperor is still collecting criminal evidence against other nobles, continuing to frame other nobles; if you still don’t speak out for us when we’re persecuted, maybe..."
She bitterly smiled, "Soon you too will stand where we did, facing various unfounded difficulties, political persecution, and likewise, no one will speak out for you."
"Until...we all become a thing of the past!"
The girl’s words did not actually express much plea for help; instead, they were uniting the nobles, her words causing those still wavering to abandon the last shred of naive thoughts.
Indeed, once this war is launched, there must be one side to fall, the Imperial Family’s offensive continues, and if the nobles do not unite now, they will never have another chance.
At this moment, another young man stood up and, after glancing around, looked at the great nobles on stage and shouted loudly, "Given...the Emperor’s tyranny, I formally, on behalf of my family, impeach the Emperor and the Imperial Family at the Secretariat..."
Immediately, one noble after another stood up to express agreement with this proposal; their common wish was to impeach the Emperor and make the Emperor "end his shift."
More and more nobles stood up, and a group that wasn’t so noticeable in the corner became less...low-key.
People looked at them, looked at Lynch, some people’s eyes were filled with a twisted gaze similar to "come on, integrate with us."
Some people also showed expressions of rejection and disgust, perhaps thinking that Lynch and his group were unworthy of being called nobility.
While the other nobles were fighting, this previously most active group, instead, retreated.
Faced with so many gazes, the young Count and others felt some pressure, but Lynch seemed unaffected.
After all, he’s experienced situations far more terrifying than this.
"We abstain."
Some nobles immediately showed unpleasant expressions, but fortunately, they knew it wasn’t the time to provoke conflict. They’ve witnessed Lynch’s unreasonable actions.
Clearly a noble, yet always doing things that other nobles wouldn’t do or even think of.
For example... using violence on others.
Excluding these few different choices from the rest, the nobles within the Secretariat almost unanimously passed the proposal.
Only a few Royalist Party members voted against it.
Duke Phoenix looked at these people and, after a brief silence and a simple exchange with other major nobles, solemnly accepted the proposal.
"According to the rules of the Secretariat, we will immediately announce our decision to the public. I also hope... everyone is prepared."
The young man who first proposed the idea respectfully bowed to the major nobles and then asked, "If... unwilling to accept this result, do we need to resort to force to resolve the issue?"
Everyone sensed the bloodiness between his words; using force to launch a coup is terrifying.
Duke Phoenix, as always, was unsurprised and maintained his calm composure.
He neither supported nor opposed but instead mentioned something else.
"Since the twelfth, the Federation’s First Fleet has been patrolling no more than three hundred nautical miles away from us. Do you know what this means?"
He looked down at these nobles, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces. Unfortunately, he found no expression that satisfied him. Most nobles remained in a state of shock or confusion.
Duke Phoenix sighed lightly in disappointment. "This means the Federation people have already started trying to do something. You might not be clear, but the country that originally had the rights to lease Amelia Province to us is gathering troops at the border."
"The Governor of Amelia Province has already sounded a Level Two alert. War could break out at any moment."
"The Peng Jieao people are secretly transporting troops..."
The international situation is dire. The struggle between the Noble Group and the Emperor has just begun to heat up, and the international response has been somewhat extreme.
Duke Phoenix looked at Lynch, who raised his glass in respect with a smile.
He withdrew his gaze. "You have no idea what this implies, yet you dare to speak of a coup using force."
"Once you choose to change this country through a coup using force, the Federation will quickly intervene."
"They have many reasons to do so, whether it’s to support the nobility in resisting tyranny or to help His Majesty stabilize domestic order. For us, this is a disaster."
"The Amelia Region might also return to a state of war. Civil war, combined with external interference, might mean from the moment you make such a decision, this country’s countdown to destruction begins..."
Only at this moment did Lynch realize that the First Fleet had already approached Gafura’s Main Island. Mr. Truman hadn’t told Lynch about this, mainly out of concern for the line’s security.
Some matters, even if unsafe, wouldn’t affect certain arrangements. But if such crucial information were intercepted by the Gafura people, they could easily threaten a certain part of the Federation, drawing the Federation’s navy far away from the Main Island.
The Federation’s Second and Third Fleets are still under construction and won’t be completed any earlier than the year after next, so there’s no time.
Also, the standoff in the Amelia Region has escalated. The Governor hasn’t publicly disclosed this information but secretly informed the ministers, shifting the trouble onto them.
The international pressure also indicates that once these people find an opportunity, Gafura will fall - that’s Duke Phoenix’s phrase, but in reality, the situation is not that critical yet.
Only upon the outbreak of a large-scale civil war will that point arrive.
According to the information Duke Phoenix holds, that day will not come, and everyone will "exit" in a relatively "orderly" manner, completing the Prime Minister’s plan.
The nobles will take two steps back, and the Imperial Family one, releasing more power and fully integrating into the entire society.
Future Gafura citizens will have the right to vote, significantly strengthening the people’s power, but at the same time, the obligations they must bear will also be unprecedented.
Perhaps this is not the best path for Gafura, but for now, it is the only path.
