Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 292 The Limits of Domination (Part 1)
In the Grand Duchess's study, Selma's eyes widened: "What?"

Thales stared blankly at the new teacher who had uttered such astonishing words.

This……

This is this...

Are you really here to be a teacher?

"I..." In the awkward atmosphere, the Grand Duchess, at a loss for words, stammered and couldn't utter a single word for a long time. She could only habitually cast a pleading look at Thales.

“Mr. Hixser,” Thales finally couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up, “this joke is a bit… Selma and I, we…”

However, the culprit behind this atmosphere, the gaunt Merry Hixter, still gripped his cane, looking at Selma with a half-smile.

The next second, the girl took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and then—she decisively lowered her head, bent down, and picked up the book "Selected Poems of Cahill Leaf" that had fallen to the ground.

That seems to be very important.

The awkward situation was left to Thales alone.

But he quickly recovered from his embarrassment.

“Yes!” The old crow with glasses turned its head and interrupted Thales without any politeness.

The old man blinked slightly behind his monocle, glancing past Thales who was about to speak, before fixing his gaze on Selma:
"You must really like him."

Selma, who had just straightened up while holding the book, froze awkwardly again and had to say, "Um, we're just good friends..."

Thales nodded in agreement.

“Otherwise, without the Grand Duchess’s deliberate protection, a hostage prince from the stars…” Unexpectedly, the old raven Hexer’s playful expression slowly faded. He ignored Selma and Thales’s clarification, simply shook his head, and continued speaking:

"It is simply impossible to stay unharmed for six whole years in the Dragon Sky City of the Northerners, surrounded by the hostility of wolves."

The two students were both taken aback.

Hexer's expression had lost its initial ease and comfort.

Although his smile remained, the turbidity in his eyes had slowly disappeared.

He pulled his cane closer.

What do you think, Thales?

The prince came to his senses.

He suddenly realized that the old man's words were by no means a casual joke about their relationship.

It seems...

He's overthinking it.

Faced with Hixser's question, Thales, relieved of his embarrassment, let out a slow sigh.

“I can’t deny it,” the boy glanced at the slightly blushing girl and nodded hesitantly, “that without Selma’s protection, the people of the North wouldn’t have been so kind to me—I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Selma did not speak.

Hicksor sighed softly.

“Then, may I ask you a question, Selma,” the old raven addressed the Grand Duchess by her name without any hesitation or reservation, just as he addressed the prince: “Why are your people, your vassals, your subordinates so rude to Thales?”

"Has the prince done something unforgivable to them?"

Selma glanced at Thales.

“No, Thales did nothing wrong,” the Grand Duchess shook her head vigorously, “but he is a prince of the stars, so the people of the North have every reason to hate him—it’s hatred between nations.”

The new teacher squinted: "Why? Why should people from the North hate the Prince of the Stars?"

“Eighteen years ago, during the ‘Bloody Year’ of the Star Kingdom,” Selma paused for a few seconds, glancing at Thales with concern. Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, she took a deep breath and answered, “We—Exter and the Star Kingdom fought a devastating war.”

Thales looked intently at the old raven, whose smile remained undiminished yet gave off a strangely serious air: he suddenly understood what Hexer wanted to talk about.

“The Year of Blood, of course, that’s what the stars call it,” Hixer murmured, his gaze deep and unfathomable. “From the beginning of 660 to the middle of 661 in the Ending Calendar, the Year of Blood…”

The new teacher's gaze turned serious:
"So, what did the Star People do during the war?"

"That's why Exter, who initiated the invasion, harbors such deep hatred for the Star Kingdom?"

Thales frowned.

Selma hesitated for a second, but under Hixser's smile, she recalled the content of the book and past classes, and answered verbatim, "Because of the Fortress Treaty."

"At the end of the war, the Northerners were forced to negotiate with the Stars under pressure from various parties, and even signed a peace treaty."

"Aside from a disputed woodland northwest of the fort before the war and some financial reparations, Exter did not gain much land or spoils."

“Many people—from the Grand Duke to the vassals, from the nobles to the soldiers—are dissatisfied with the fact that they have conquered the North and won the battle, but have had to return to the North in disgrace. So,” the Grand Duchess glanced at Thales again cautiously, “they feel that this is a disgrace brought upon them by the Star People through despicable means.”

Listening to the conversation between the old man and the young man, Thales recalled everything Gilbert had told him in the carriage on the eve of the National Conference.

This is less a peace treaty and more a record of humiliation.

“Very well, so this is the answer—the Fortress Treaty, disproportionate to the results of the war, is the source of the Northmen’s hatred for the stars,” Hexer said, then gave a look of confusion. “However, this answer inevitably brings more problems.”

“Although Selma was probably too young to understand things at that time, and Prince Thales hadn’t even been born yet,” Hixer tapped his cane repeatedly and exhaled, “but, according to what you just said, why?”

"Given that Exster had gained such a huge advantage that they had defeated the entire North and half of the Clifflands, why was the Fortress Treaty signed in that way? Why did Exster only demand compensation, while giving up every piece of Starland they had painstakingly conquered and occupied for nearly half a year?"

Thales and Selma both frowned, beginning to ponder the old man's words.

Hexer turned his head and looked kindly at Prince Star.

"Thales, what's your answer? Would you like to guess?"

Thales raised his eyebrows slightly.

A memory from long ago flashed through his mind.

It was still in that bright classroom, and the sounds of keys clicking and notes being taken still filled the air.

【Qi Ren, what's your answer to this question?】

Over the past six years, such strange yet familiar memories have not flashed back often, at least not as frequently as they had during his thrilling adventures six years ago.

But they will not simply fade into obscurity.

Such as now.

How do social relationships, or rather, an individual's position within a social network, influence an individual's behavior?

[Based on the assumption of "rational man"... then, knowing that their actions will bring corresponding losses, or at least that the risks are unpredictable, why do many individuals still habitually follow and repeat the actions of those around them, based on the closeness of their relationships?]

only……

In his memory, the owner of that vague, indistinct, gentle female voice that always stirred up emotions in Thales, yet whose name he could never recall, never appeared again. "Thales?"

At Hicksor's gentle urging, Thales finally snapped out of his reverie and hurriedly said, "I think..."

"Is it because of the joint intervention of multiple countries? I think that neither Hambul and Suye on the other side of the sea, nor Cornmas in the Western Continent, nor a group of small countries, want to see an excessively powerful dragon kingdom..."

But Thales, who kept talking, looked into the eye behind the lens, at the inexplicable meaning and smile in that gaze, and his heart stirred slightly. He unconsciously stopped talking.

Heathcliff, sitting in the leather chair, smiled.

His shoulders trembled, and his hands, which were holding the cane, shook slightly.

His laughter was weak yet cheerful, like that of a happy old man teasing a child, without a trace of eeriness.

Like a... happy crow?

Selma looked at the old man, puzzled.

Finally, Hixer stopped laughing and nodded. "Sorry... I remembered a book I once read."

Thales looked puzzled.

"According to the History of the Northern War, when the two countries began negotiations, although countries such as Commas and Hambul expressed their concern, there was no consensus within Commas on the terms of Exter's withdrawal, while Hambul expressed respect for King Noon's wishes, and the messenger from the day and night was on his way, only symbolically sending a raven to show his attitude."

"Looking at it this way, either the author of 'The History of the Northern Frontier' is exaggerating and giving false testimony for the 'insider information' he obtained, or... what do you think?" Hexer raised his head and looked at Thales with amusement.

The prince frowned again.

So, this means that the so-called multinational intervention was actually quite weak and not worth mentioning to Exter.
There must be another reason why Exster relinquished the spoils, and even for the peace talks between the two countries?
“Ah, I just remembered something. One of my students told me,” the old man chuckled, “King Nuen once generously distributed the eight counties in the northern part of the Starry Sky that he had conquered to six earls as a reward for them. Similarly, the Grand Duke of the City of Visor, the Grand Duke of Wilan, and the Grand Duke of Black Sand also tried to seize the lands they had conquered for themselves.”

Hicksor's eyes darted around slightly: "Exter even managed to get many families on the original Star Lands to switch their allegiance to the new lord of the North."

More confused than ever, Thales and Selma exchanged a glance, both giving the old man a puzzled look.

"But in the end, the Exter people still withdrew and gave up?" Thales asked in confusion.

“It seems so,” the old raven nodded slightly. “First it was Earl Mende of Black Sand Territory, then the Grey family under the Guardian City, and finally the earls of Dragonsreach. When their armies withdrew, the Starlands that nominally belonged to them changed their flags, refused to pay taxes and serve in the military, drove away the remaining Exter nobles, and returned to the rule of their former masters. Even many families that were originally forced to submit to the Northlands have turned against them again and returned to the Starlands.”

Thales's mind sank.

"why?"

Selma asked curiously, "Could it be that the reign of the King of Changzhi has been so deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people that the loyalty of the populace and the nobility is unshakable?"

Hixser rubbed his wrists and clicked his tongue, "In that case, why did the loyal nobles surrender to Exter in the first place? The people of the North are, strictly speaking, Northmen, and they are not lacking in the courage to fight to the death."

Selma was speechless.

But Thales, standing to the side, fell into deep thought.

and many more……

Refusing to pay taxes and serve in the military...

Drive away the remaining noble officials of Exte...

The prince's heart stirred.

He suddenly remembered the tense and dangerous negotiation in the Hall of Heroes six years ago, the expression on Chaman Lumba's face, and... what he was truly afraid of.

"I understand."

Prince Star suddenly raised his head and looked at Hexer, whose smile remained unchanged.

He solemnly stated, "Back then, Exter did not have the ability to rule the North."

Selma looked at him curiously.

Hicksser's eyes changed.

The next second, the old man smiled and raised his right hand, gesturing for him to enter.

Under the gazes of the other two, encouraged, Thales took a deep breath and recalled what he had thought about six years ago.

"Whether it's paying taxes, judging cases, serving in the military, or handling daily life matters, the people of the Stars, from the highest to the lowest, from the noblest to the most humble, have gradually become accustomed to their country's way of being ruled: a system and rules that have matured step by step, starting with a wise ruler."

"As for Exster, they cannot follow the Star system, nor can they rule this land in the Star way—not only are the nobles of the North unaccustomed to it, but the Dragon Kingdom also has far too few qualified officials to send to rule the North. They can only and will only use Exster's old methods to rule the Star."

The prince frowned, recalling what little Joseph's chef father had told him not long ago about their village:
The lord's cronies from the Northland come to collect taxes from the peasants. This month's tax might be a chicken or a sack of wheat, but a few months later, if your land has been harvested, or if a different tax collector has come, it might be a cow or two sacks of wheat. It all depends on the tax collector's mood and greed, and on whether the lord is kind or cruel.

If you are a craftsman who makes money by doing small business at the market with a good idea, and you want to expand your business, you may face the covetousness of lords or nobles—because even being able to trade at the market is a favor they have bestowed upon you.

As Thales continued his conjecture, he said to Hixer, whose smile had widened, and Selma, who was dumbfounded, "So, if King Nunn were to arbitrarily grant land in the Northern Starfield to his vassal nobles, as he had done in the past, and let them manage their new territories according to the old traditions of the co-governance oath, all sorts of problems would arise..."

Hicks coughed and chuckled.

The old raven said calmly, "As far as I know, during the period when Exter occupied the North, the Grand Duke of Lombard, who was in charge of managing the rear, and who is now the King of Chaman, once tried to fulfill the responsibilities and rights of a lord as he did in his own country, and to collect taxes from the residents of the North in exchange for ensuring a safe life, in order to subsidize expenses."

"But it was obviously quite inefficient—people didn't want to deal with his tax collectors."

Thales' eyes lit up as his conjecture was corroborated:
"Of course, because the lands of the stars are different."

"The people of the North have gradually become accustomed to a different way of life and governance, no longer blindly and submissively pledging allegiance to a lord from the North with the rugged style of a dragon—and this is only the North; the Central Territory and even the South may be even more so, because their cities are larger and their villages more complex. I have heard that artisans and merchants have even formed guilds and have the right to negotiate with the lords."

Thales recalled the look in Rumba's eyes back then, and felt a sense of感慨 and enlightenment: "Simply put, the Kingdom of Exter at that time did not have the ability to peacefully rule the North after winning the victory."

"Correspondingly, if the invaders do not have this ability, then the people of the North Star will certainly not submit to the rule of Exter," the prince thought of the lowly tax collector who had defected from the Star Kingdom to the Black Sand Territory and served under Lumba: "because the latter not only cannot give them the life they want, but also brutally damages their interests."

Thales sighed: "So even though King Nunn's army has effectively occupied the North, he is powerless to govern it effectively and can only subdue it by force."

Selma blinked and, as usual, gave Thales a look of amazement.

Old Crow Hexer shrugged, the furrows on his face seeming to deepen.

"From our discussion just now, it seems that Exter did not turn the lands and people affected by the invasion into beneficiaries," the gaunt old man said quietly, "but rather into enemies?"

Thales nodded, his expression grave: "So, if Exter wants to continue occupying the North, it means that he must station troops there for a long time and use the violence of the dukes to suppress the endless rebellions and dissent, and to quell the growing public anger caused by the changes in their lives."

Or perhaps—Thales recalled the promise Rumba made to the Grand Dukes six years ago in "Dragon's Blood".

Alternatively, the Grand Duke or even the King himself could be stationed in the Northern Territory to quell any potential sources of trouble, and then gradually... synchronize with and align with the existing system of the Star Kingdom.

To truly make it...our own land.

The prince unconsciously clenched his fist.

So, is this what you learned in that bloody year eighteen years ago?

Chaman Lumba?

I just finished moving and I'm a bit tired, so please excuse me for going to sleep now. I'll proofread the sentences and correct the typos tomorrow morning.

By Wujian, who looked sleepy.

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(End of this chapter)