Chapter 525: Return to the Royal Capital
Royal Capital! After a year and a half, he was back!
Barov looked at the gradually clearer cyan stone walls, his heart surging with excitement.
In fact, his mood had been restless ever since he received the order. The Fourth Prince defeated Tyfico as expected, and he did it so cleanly and decisively. The result once again proved that no one could resist the army of the Lord of the Western Territory.
Of course, it was no longer appropriate to call Roland the Lord of the Western Territory.
He was now the only son of Wimbledon III, the inheritor of the bloodline, and the legitimate heir to the royal family.
The obstacles to ascending the throne had been swept away.
It was foreseeable that Roland would soon be crowned king.
And he would become the Prime Minister before the King, second only to the king in power... This joy immersed Barov in boundless reverie—what expressions would his "old friends" who were thinking about him show when they saw him climb to a height they dared not even imagine? Shock, jealousy, envy, even gritting their teeth and having to force a smile, desperately trying to please him? These scenes were pleasing to him just thinking about them. It would be even better if his former mentor, Finance Minister Lauren. Moore, could see this scene.
……
The cement ship slowly docked at the suburban pier. Barov walked down the gangplank and, together with Kemo. Strale and others, passed through the familiar streets under the escort of the First Army soldiers and entered the inner city palace.
The Twin Tower Palace was still as magnificent as he remembered. In the past, he could only look at it from afar in the small house of the City Hall, but now he could walk into the palace openly.
Going straight up to the high tower room, he saw Roland. Wimbledon again.
Barov knelt down on one knee with excitement and said, "Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Graycastle is yours!"
"Not really yet, the Eastern Territory and the Northern Lands are still the territory of Tyfico's remaining forces," Roland smiled, "Get up quickly, we still have many important things to talk about."
His expression was as always, his tone was peaceful and approachable, as if he was not affected by the upcoming coronation at all. Barov's attitude became more respectful. He slowly stood up and responded with a hand on his chest, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"The top priority now is to maintain the operation of the royal capital, which I have already explained in the letter," Roland poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to him, "Do you have a preliminary plan?"
Barov quickly took the teacup, "It is not difficult to maintain the existing order. You can leave those small nobles to me. They will know how to choose the advantages and disadvantages. And I also brought ten of the most outstanding disciples from the Border Area, some are proficient in commerce, some are good at taxation, even if I am not here, with them staring at the City Hall, those nobles will not be able to steal any oil." He paused and added, "But you have to let the First Army stationed here cooperate with their supervision work. Without the guarantee of force, supervision is difficult to play the due warning role."
Roland looked a little surprised, "Don't you want to stay in the royal capital?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty," Barov replied without hesitation, "The government affairs of Neverwinter City are much more complex and important, and I cannot leave for too long. If you personally handle these trivial matters, it will be too exhausting. Please let me continue to manage the Neverwinter City City Hall for you. Serving by your side is what I am suitable for."
He knew very well in his heart that since His Majesty recognized Neverwinter City as the new capital of Graycastle, it would surpass this city sooner or later—the former's population and development potential had already left the royal capital behind, and with the launch of a new batch of recruitment plans, its scale would undoubtedly exceed any major city in the Four Kingdoms. Staying in the royal capital can certainly experience the wailing of those "old friends", but listening to it too much will also be boring, and these wailing will not bring power, but will gradually distance yourself from the center of power. Only by frequently appearing in front of His Majesty Roland can he leave a deep impression on him, which Barov knew very well.
Roland stared at him with interest for a while, until he lowered his head in guilty conscience, before agreeing, "Then let's do that, but the premise is that the royal capital will not be in chaos due to the change of City Hall officials. You should know that I need every population in this city."
……
Afterwards, His Majesty carefully inquired about the mining and farming sowing in the Longsong Area, especially the latter, down to the details of whether the division of responsibility fields for serfs and promotion rules had been explained in place. Fortunately, Barov knew Roland's preferences very well, and had learned about this from Peiro in advance, so he answered very fluently, and His Majesty nodded frequently.
The afternoon passed quickly. After asking the last question, Roland patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "You did a good job. This way, I can rest assured when I lead the army to fight outside. Go have dinner first, and tomorrow we will talk about the development plan of the Longsong Area."
"Yes..." Barov hesitated for a moment. He found that of all the questions the other party asked, the only thing missing was the coronation, "Your Majesty, when do you plan to ascend the throne and announce it to the world?"
"I don't have any plans for that yet," Roland replied easily.
"What?" The City Hall Chief Manager couldn't believe his ears, "This kind of thing should be implemented as soon as possible! It can bring you great prestige, and it can also unite the hearts of the people in the territory, which is not bad for you at all! Why are you——"
"Because of time," Roland interrupted him, got up and walked to the window, looking at the magnificent city under the sunset, "I asked the ceremonial officer, and a complete coronation ceremony takes months to prepare. In addition to casting the golden crown and jeweled scepter, we also need to send invitations to the church and other three countries, and it can only begin after the envoys they send arrive. Even if we exclude Hermes Holy City, Everwinter and Wolfheart, it will take more than a month just to contact the Radiant Church, which will seriously drag down the second half of the spring offensive's combat objectives."
"You can simplify the process..."
"That would greatly reduce the prestige, or even have a negative impact," he shrugged, "Even Tyfico followed this process, and I can't seem to be more anxious than him. However, the ambassador to the Radiant Church will set off soon, and I will let him take this news with him, and it will not be too late to consider this matter after receiving a definite answer."
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After Barov left, Roland let out a soft breath.
He had another reason that he did not explain to the other party, that is, he was deeply influenced by the concept of "accumulating food widely and slowly claiming the title of king", or in other words, making a fortune in silence... Now he only occupies the Western Territory, and the territory is less than one-third of the time when Tyfico claimed the title of king. It is better to restrain himself before the church officially attacks the Radiant Church. In case Hermes prioritizes targeting himself, it will be troublesome—although he is no longer afraid of openly turning against the church, he does not want to attract hatred for others.
Then he summoned Kemo. Strale to the room.
He hoped that his chief alchemist already had a way to subdue the Royal Capital Alchemist Association.