Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 476 I, a traitor, want money!

When a group of pirate warlords and big pirates reached an agreement in Black Sail Harbor and formed a treasure-hunting alliance with high morale, an uproar was spreading far and wide from here.

The news that [Wild Hunt] and [Son of the Devil] Byron Lancaster appeared in Pirate City swept across the Bantaan Islands like the wind.

It then continued to spread to the "Beast Paradise" in the southern continent and the "Dragon King's Court" in the old continent.

The "Red and White Rose War" that lasted for thirty years was declared over only last year, and it was a hot news topic for quite some time.

When talking about what happened, many people still remember it vividly.

However, most people only heard that the last heir to Lancaster disappeared quietly after escaping to Anchor Bay, and no divination could find his whereabouts.

My guess is that, like many young people of this era who have great ambitions but whose talents do not match their ambitions, he has probably died in some corner.

Unexpectedly, nearly a year later, he suddenly appeared at Blacksail Port at the end of the first gyre, and merged his identity with the famous [Wild Hunt].

None of the popular chivalric novels on the continent would dare to be written so bizarrely.

It is simply a story of "Prince's Revenge" with twists and turns in the plot.

With the addition of a cool and beautiful Taiwanese princess, all the story elements are gathered together, and the topicality and legendary nature are maximized on the spot.

Even though he hadn't started doing anything big yet, just by simply showing up, his legend level soared to 28 points.

Perhaps other irrelevant forces are just viewing this as a fun event, and at most are secretly trying to add fuel to the fire and stir up further civil unrest in Hastings.

But for the Kingdom of Hastings, especially the royal party, it was a complete bolt from the blue.

"Why are these Lancasters like cockroaches that can never be killed?

Can anyone tell me why this is happening?!"

When Edward IV received the news, he was already at the forefront of the battle between the royalist and neutral coalition forces and the earl's party troops.

boom! boom! boom! boom!
There was a roar of artillery fire and shouts of killing from both sides on the front line. From the sound of the gunfire, one could tell that the weapons of the two sides were completely different.

The king suddenly flew into a rage, ignoring the tent where a war meeting was being held, where most of his top commanders were gathered.

The hands holding the letter were shaking with anger:

"Last October, we wiped out the Lancastrian line in the Strait of Dover.

In April of this year, the anti-bandit commander-in-chief, Byron Tudor, Earl of Stromgarde, killed thousands of remnants of the Lancastrian Party in the Bantaan Islands, completely cutting off the most loyal backbone of the Red Rose.

In early July of this year, the Earl of Stromgarde pulled the Blue Dragon King out of the belly of the North Sea Kraken in the first colonial war in the southern continent, and even killed the undead of Lancaster again.

Creator, isn’t this a thorough enough killing?

Why did the [Son of the Devil], who was the only one left, dare to betray my kindness and jump out again?
Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!"

Edward IV, wearing the [Sun Crown], had red eyes, like an angry lion.

The bloody [Iron Law of Royal Power - Magna Carta] appeared behind him, and heavy pressure weighed heavily on the hearts of everyone present.

All the members of the royal party were frightened and silent, and no one said a word when asked.

Only Marquis Thomas Neville, holding the [Dictator's Prop], stood aside with an expressionless face.

Others thought that he had not yet recovered from the grief of losing his beloved daughter, but in fact he had already obtained some information about Byron from his daughter's dream.

Of course, all this information has been encrypted by contract. Not only can it not be disclosed to outsiders, but even if he is killed, the information cannot be dug out of his mind again.

Marquis Neville looked at the furious Edward IV in front of him, and listened to him recounting the battle results achieved by his "capable generals" one by one, with a trace of pity and a hint of absurdity flashing through his heart.

"Humph, there are still many explosive news that you don't know.

If you knew the truth, wouldn't you be so angry that you would die?
To be honest, that young man who seemed insignificant in the past is really scary!

Maybe it's the ancestors of the Bay People who are blessing Lancaster? Some people are born to be tide-riders and stir up trouble. Well, Henry VI and Prince Thornburg are not as good as this nephew. "

For a moment, Marquis Neville even had the idea of ​​changing his dead daughter's marriage partner, but he immediately gave up the idea.

Now the matter has already been settled. If I change my fiancé, it will not be a marriage, but an enemy.

Another person who was not afraid of Edward IV's wrath was his younger brother Richard, the Devil Duke.

Only he, who is also a member of the York royal family and one of the Three Suns, knows best why his brother is so furious about the appearance of the Wild Hunt Byron Lancaster.

You know, before today, the situation seemed to be very good for the royal party.

Lancaster is gone, the neutrals have surrendered, and as long as the earl's party and other thorns are eliminated, a prosperous era belonging only to the White Rose will be born.

Especially after obtaining the [Sun Crown] symbolizing the destiny of the Three Phantom Suns, Edward IV obviously felt that he was able to do it again.

Before setting out on the expedition, he went to the kingdom's holy lake, Lake Langos, and tried again to pull out the [Level Zero Holy Relic: The Sword in the Stone], which symbolized the royal power of the entire Channel Islands!
The result was undoubtedly a failure.

Richard also tried it secretly himself, but failed.

The two brothers could not help but wonder, just like Byron did in the past, whether this "Sword of the King-Chooseer" could only be drawn by the undisputed king of the entire realm, rather than whether only the person who drew the sword had the qualifications to become king.

Perhaps only by possessing pure enough and concentrated enough power can one pull out the Sword in the Stone.

This was one of the main reasons why they had to kill all the Lancasters.

Lancaster always retains the "right to claim the throne" which represents legitimacy!
Because the social classes in the countries of the Old World were severely rigidified and society was stagnant, many of the powerful families, organizations, and forces in each country could exist for hundreds or even thousands of years.

No country has ever been established by peasant uprisings to overthrow everything.

Therefore, the "Mandate of Heaven" representing the orthodox ruling right was preserved for a long time, and the orthodox atmosphere "since ancient times" was very strong.

The so-called "right to claim" is actually legitimacy. The one with greater influence and more compliance with the law is a "strong claim", while the one with weaker influence and less compliance with the law is a "weak claim".

At the same time, the entire Old World has never had a strong centralized empire that could suppress the church since the Silver Age, and the royal families have long been accustomed to "alliance-style royal power" or "limited royal power."

Therefore, even the "royal power" that symbolizes the highest secular power must be recognized by a large number of long-standing nobles and various organizations.

Only if the nobles and gentry, who constitute the ruling class, obey you can you sit firmly on the throne.

If a vassal's claim is too weak and his power is insufficient, the crown will inevitably be shaky. The House of York, which is now facing waves of challengers, is the most typical negative example.

Both Warwick the Kingmaker and Byron Lancaster the Wild Hunt are challengers to the legitimacy of their thrones.

The only difference is that the confidence of the former comes from strength, while the confidence of the latter comes from the "strong claim" in their hands.

Of course, things are not so absolute.

Since the law is rooted in people's hearts, if someone is strong enough to kill all the original ruling class, it doesn't matter whether you have a "strong claim to power" or a "weak claim to power", and you don't need anyone to recognize you.

Just like the founding emperors of the Eastern world who “trampled the bones of nobles on the streets.”

Who cares about the claim right from ancient times? The knife handle in my hand is the claim right!
The emperor takes turns to be my emperor this year. There is only one standard for the "Five Virtues Replacement", and that is that the one with abundant "Martial Virtue" becomes king.

To seize the imperial seal is to be blessed by heaven. Even if you only hold it for one day, the history books will record your death!
Since the York family cannot kill all other forces, its "weak claim right" in legal terms will always be suppressed by Lancaster's "strong claim right".

A throne that was castrated by the Magna Carta, half of which was divided by the "Kingmaker" Warwick. Now Lancaster has jumped out to fight for it again. The day when the sword in the stone is pulled out seems to be a long way off. Who wouldn't be annoyed?
Although Richard, the Devil Duke, is also eyeing the throne, at least his interests are now aligned with those of Edward IV.

He suppressed his hatred towards the Wild Hunt and stepped forward to offer his advice:
“Your Majesty, the war against the Earl’s party has already begun. We are already busy at home and it is difficult for us to spare the strength to deal with Lancaster.

Although the intelligence personnel have not figured out why the "Son of the Devil" appeared in the Pirate City.

But now the primary goal is to kill him. We cannot allow this Lancaster to have the opportunity to threaten our overseas interests, nor can we allow him to gradually grow bigger and stronger."

Edward IV was decisive enough and immediately adopted Richard's suggestion, saying coldly:
"The Admiralty!"

A nobleman in naval uniform stepped forward and buttoned his chest to receive the order.

"His Majesty."

"Immediately promote Colonial Governor, Earl Byron Tudor of Stromgarde to Vice Admiral of the Navy, with full command of the Seventh Fleet.

Grant him the authority to mobilize all materials and manpower within the colony."

He paused here.

It is a truth that even a fool knows that the emperor has no shortage of hungry soldiers.

He had just ordered an increase in taxes on the colonies to supplement military expenses, and now faced two options.

Option 1: Allow the unfathomable Wild Hunt to stir up trouble in the colonies, cut off trade routes, and even attack cities to cut off the financial resources of the royal party.

Option 2: Stop drawing extra blood from the colonies and maintain stability in the rear area that is completely under the control of oneself (the loyal minister Byron). As long as one can get through the difficulties, everything will still be his.

No matter how confused Edward IV was, he could still tell the difference between a full meal and a full meal.

I originally wanted to make life hard for the civilians in the colonies, but now it seems I can only make myself suffer first.

It would only take a little longer to defeat the Earl's party, with greater losses and more damage to his own private treasury, but he believed that the final victory would belong to him.

Thinking of this, although Edward IV was extremely sad, he still ordered:

“The colonial tax revenue will be reduced by 30% based on last year’s standards, and the amount submitted to the central government will also be reduced by half.

The remaining half was at the sole disposal of the Tudor governor.

I want to prove to the people that our White Rose is stronger than his Red Rose!

The white rose is here, and good days are coming!

This order shall stand from now until the moment Byron Lancaster is beheaded."

The implication is that whenever they feel like they can sit back and relax, they will immediately take it back and work even harder to get back all the losses.

In the Earl's camp across the battlefield, Warwick the Kingmaker received the news only slightly later than Edward IV.

The reaction was quite the opposite of that of Edward IV.

"Wild Hunt? Lancaster? That's great!"

He almost jumped for joy holding the letter.

The Earl's party has relatively small interests in the colonies, and the Wild Hunt will not harm him for a while.

Moreover, the opponent's threat has been greatly reduced after most of its wings were clipped, and it does not have the strength to counterattack the homeland.

Even if they were to cause trouble, the top target would only be the White Rose York family, which could greatly relieve the pressure on the Earl's party, which was outnumbered.

After pacing back and forth, his eyes flashed:
“Come here, send goodwill to the Wild Hunt in the name of the Warwick family.

Allocate some funds for his rebellion, and give him the sealed [Super Battleship Name: Dreadnought] to help him capture the Bantaan Islands and get rid of that nasty Sea Hunter who always does bad things. "

Just like the battleship name [Golden Deer] can be transferred at will.

Many ancient warship names are blessed by the [Silver Law] and the expectations of the people and possess special powers.

For example, the HMS Dreadnought and HMS Indefatigable of the Hastings Navy. They have been rebuilt countless times, but they always have the same name (Chapter 37).

And each time it rebuilds it gets stronger and stronger.

As long as you hold the nameplate of the old ship and hold the corresponding ceremony, you can give the new ship the power contained in the name.

“A rare warship is nothing to me, but it is extremely valuable to Lancaster, who must be penniless now.

If I suffer now, I may be able to rise to prominence in the future with this potential stock."

A shrewd and experienced politician like him would never put all his eggs in one basket, and investing in Byron was another way out.

Once Byron gets his support, there is a one percent chance that he will ascend the throne, and the title of "King Maker" will surely take a big bite out of the "new king".

Therefore, Byron didn't even need to say, "I'm a traitor, give me money!"

Edward IV immediately gave his full support to Byron Tudor, the Sea Hunter, and Warwick supported Byron Lancaster, the Wild Hunt. They both saved money from their teeth to support "them" in the war.

What good people they are! Byron was so moved that he cried!

(End of this chapter)