Throne of the North.

Chapter 800 The Initial Establishment of the Knight Academy (Part 3)
Imperial capital city.

No matter what happens in the world, the capital city will always be bustling. There may be places in the world that are perpetually hungry, but the capital city can be perpetually extravagant.

The most arduous and exhausting work here probably falls to the Imperial Knight Academy.

In the capital city where even beggars can live comfortably, it is these knight cadets who are sweating every day. Whether for the glory of their fathers or for their own future, they need to prove themselves here.

especially……

Rumors gradually spread about Neiqiu Province.

As noble lords, they naturally knew the news several years ago: the two extraordinary raw materials for refining life potions in Neiqiu Province were becoming increasingly scarce, and the scale of the Flower of Life and Bloodrage Fruit was no longer what it used to be.

However, the knightly ranks below the nobility, as well as the peripheral collateral bloodlines within noble families, will remain unknown for a considerable time.

Furthermore, the reason this news recently came about wasn't due to a matter of time, but rather because of the political struggle between the imperial nobles and Emperor Columbus IV. It's unclear whether it was the Emperor or a nobleman who spread the word, but the students of the Imperial Knight Academy were able to learn about it.

Rumors are terrible, and the Knight Academy is the most affected. They have already learned from their own instructors that the share of Knight Life Potions this year has been reduced by 15%.

This is a terrifying number, representing at least several hundred people who will lose their chance to become knights.

The once harmonious Imperial Knight Academy has become tense and indifferent, filled with hostile competition between people.

As for why the rumors about the life potion in Neiqiu Province would affect the cradle of knights in the Empire in this way, no one asked such a question.

No matter how many knight potions the Neiqiu Province produces, the emperor and nobles are the first to seize them, and only what slips through their fingers goes to other places.

Amid this tense atmosphere and situation, polarized conflicts have emerged within the Imperial Knight Academy.

That is the conflict between powerful bloodlines and marginalized bloodlines.

First of all, there are no so-called commoner knights here.

Secondly, what is meant by lineage of real power?
A baron has a small town as his territory, with a population ranging from several hundred to several thousand. The baron has absolute authority within the territory. His eldest son, the heir to the baron's title, is the second most powerful person in the territory. If the baron is wealthy enough, his love for his children can extend to his second child, or even his third child.

Under the lord's authority, these people, due to the wealth of their territory and the lord's favor, wielded real power, because everyone who faced them had to consider their father.

In contrast, the situation becomes quite simple for those of marginalized lineage.

A lord can be a family, but more likely a clan. This clan shares a common bloodline, but apart from the baron's family, everyone else is a vassal of the baron lord.

A baron is a king, his collateral relatives are his subjects, and the commoners and slaves within his territory... they have no connection to power whatsoever.

In such a situation, a baron's territory has limited resources, so naturally priority should be given to core personnel with real power.

The nobles of the empire are indeed wealthier than those outside the empire, to the point that those nobles of the kingdoms are called country bumpkins, but raising a child on the path of the extraordinary is never cheap.

Just like Baron Ryan's wife, Avril Melendez, who received the Viscount's training because of her decent talent in the path of magic, even so, still aroused the jealousy of the other sons in the Viscount's territory.

The resources available to nobles are limited, and with so many people, the remaining people who want to be trained or receive support must find other ways.

The Knight Academy is just one path.

However, the Knight Academy has been established for many years, and the concept of power has long permeated the entire capital city.

The nobles are not stupid; they are driven by profit. Who will benefit the most from the emergence of the Knight Academy?

Initially, there were commoners, but later there were none. Then, the sons of nobles who already held power within their own territories also entered the Knight Academy.

This is inevitable. These powerful bloodlines can enjoy the resources and assistance provided by their noble fathers, and at the same time, they can take advantage of their quick progress to obtain resources from the Knight Academy.

The two resources are combined to cultivate a more powerful knight.

However, under such competition, those bloodlines who already regarded the Knight Academy as their only way out naturally faced even greater difficulties.

Previously, this was not a problem; the dramatic changes in the empire over the past century had already resulted in an overflow of resources. Now, resources are depleted, rumors are spreading in the Neiqiu Province, and the quota for life potions within the academy has been reduced.

Then the conflict will escalate.

The conflict between so-called powerful lineage and marginal lineage will be amplified.

In just a few months, hundreds of conflicts, large and small, have broken out within the Imperial Knight Academy, resulting in numerous injuries.

Those noble sons wouldn't go so far as to turn against their own family members, after all, the relationship between the two sides was like that of a monarch and his subjects, and this ruling relationship was not to be shaken, but it was different for other people's families.

Small groups are easily formed, and once these groups grow large, those nobles of peripheral bloodlines become less afraid of the direct descendants of nobles who are not related to them.

The conflict intensified, an extension of the rivalry within the Knight Academy. Everyone wanted to obtain the academy's extraordinary resources, which was a rare opportunity for these minor nobles.

Besides, this is the capital city, where fairness often exists. Within the Knight Academy, regardless of your status outside, the differences between students are not that significant.

They were all apprentice knights, with little difference in combat strength, and their territories were scattered all over the country, so they might never see each other in their entire lives.

Naturally, they have no scruples.

The only ones who would be respected were the sons of great nobles, but they were not in any competition with them.

In short, as the scale continues to expand, things will naturally affect the upper-level rulers.

This is the capital city, where the eyes of the entire empire are focused. The Knight Academy's antics, after being talked about with relish by the so-called masses of the capital city for several days, have now been brought to the forefront.

No one knew what had happened; only the nobles in the capital city could sense that the political struggle between the emperor and the nobles had continued at the Knight Academy.

The result was likely that His Majesty Columbus IV, who gradually gained imperial authority, once again triumphed over the nobles.

The conflict within the Knight Academy has come to an end, and a resolution has been reached.

"All students who graduate from the Knight Academy and are promoted to knights must obey the Empire and the orders of His Majesty the Emperor, and serve in the Empire's First Legion for ten years!"

"At the same time, the Imperial Knight Academy's system was changed to a three-year cycle."

This result left the students of the Knight Academy puzzled, but many instinctively rejected it.

They naturally had to make sacrifices to train and cultivate within the Knight Academy, that much was certain. But before, after becoming knights, their only options, besides the Imperial Guard in the capital, were various places close to His Majesty the Emperor.

All chivalry is for the service of His Majesty the Emperor. Loyalty is absolute for them, and staying close to the Emperor is their way of demonstrating loyalty.

But what is the First Legion of the Empire?
After some investigation, the students of the Knight Academy finally learned what had happened.

"With the war against the orcs in the North over, His Majesty the Emperor has reorganized the Imperial army at Thermopylae Fortress into the First Imperial Legion, with Grand Duke Russell as its Marshal." "An army of 100,000 Imperial soldiers requires a large number of mid- to low-ranking officers."

Once the answer was revealed, the students of the Knight Academy behaved themselves and were even less inclined to go.

What kind of place is the North? It's cold, poor, and miserable. The chances of encountering monsters are greater than the chances of encountering women. They become knights for honor, not to fight monsters.

At least, that's what most people think.

"The Orc Wars are over, so the North shouldn't be so dangerous anymore."

Some people think the same way, out of helplessness and because they have no other choice, since if they don't accept the assignment after graduating from the Knight Academy, they won't be able to enjoy the resources of the Knight Academy.

This is why the minor nobles speculate that His Majesty the Emperor has won this political struggle.

Because in the end, it is His Majesty who benefits.

"The First Legion of the Empire".

"The 100,000 soldiers of the Hot Spring Province are a pure army, free from all slaves."

"The emperor is consolidating the power of the nobles and winning over Archduke Russell."

"However, this cooperation between the two sides should end here."

The nobles who could stay in the capital city were undoubtedly politically astute, and they quickly analyzed the process after the answer appeared.

Such is the art of aristocratic politics: exchange and compromise. I wonder what benefits Archduke Russell gained from it.

With the matter of the Knight Academy settled, it was an acceptable outcome for the noble students who yearned for the extraordinary and saw it as the only way to obtain wealth and status.

"The First Legion of the Empire should be safe."

That's what most people think, and then it's their loyalty to the emperor that makes them compromise.

Wherever you are, you're still serving His Majesty the Emperor.

Ryan only learned of the news from the capital city several days later. Both Earl Clayton and Earl Pascal sent messages, and Ryan sensed something different about the compromise made by the nobles, led by Grand Duke Freming.

This is certainly an inevitable historical trend of imperial prosperity and the integration of civilizations, but when it comes to people, there will inevitably be vested interests involved.

"Simplifying the army is certainly a good thing for the empire, but the armies under the control of nobles will decrease due to expenditure pressures, and those affected will be..."

"Minor and middle-class nobles".

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly. If the First Legion of the Empire is going to be followed by the Second and Third Legions, then war will no longer be about nobles gathering their armies together, but rather war centered around the Empire.

The armies held by minor and medium-sized nobles will become dispensable, as will those of the major nobles.

The great nobles are unaffected.

In any case, the Extraordinary Legion cannot be eliminated due to cost issues; as long as this is the case, the status and power of the great nobles will not disappear.

Besides that, what about the Imperial First Legion?

Or perhaps in the future, the second and third legions will be ruled by nobles and royalty.

They simply transferred their power from their own territory to the entire empire.

The changes in the army harmed the lower and middle nobles, while the exchange of power among the higher nobles naturally increased Emperor Flor's authority.

"This is most likely not Volvo's doing, but rather a centralized power scheme left behind by Columbus III."

Ryan thought to himself that if Columbus III had not died under divine punishment, these things should have been done by him. With the combination of royal and divine authority, his authority could easily have enabled military reforms, instead of the current situation where the emperor had to exchange benefits with the great nobles.

"Is the Knight Academy in the capital city the first to be affected?"

Ryan has already seen the changes at the Knight Academy. The offspring of those great nobles will definitely follow the path of power within the great nobility. The lesser nobles have nowhere else to go, and if they want wealth and status, they will be continuously added to the Imperial Army.

Ten years may not show any difference, but a hundred years later, all the minor and middle nobles will be supporters of the royal family.

At that time, the authority of the royal family will be able to overwhelmingly influence the great nobles.

Standing on the shoulders of giants of history, Ryan saw a glimpse of the future, but he couldn't be sure if he was right, after all, this was an extraordinary world.

There are still differences.

Ryan was still holding a letter from the Earl of Clayton, who, in addition to informing him of the outcome of the political struggle in the capital, also told him about the Clayton family's choice.

A high-stakes gamble.

If the Second Imperial Legion emerges, then Aatrox Clayton will become its commander.

Meanwhile, at least a hundred members of the Clayton family will become mid- to high-ranking officers in the Imperial Army.

This is a deal between the Earl of Clayton and the Emperor. As for whether the Earl of Clayton will have a chance to become the Grand Duke of Clayton, that depends on the situation.

Ryan was part of this process; as a member of Clayton, he couldn't avoid it. Earl Clayton hoped that a portion of the noble army in the Northwind Province would be incorporated into it.

Ryan did not respond immediately, but instead pondered the Knight Academy in the Imperial Capital.

I am now qualified to obtain the Knight's Life Potion from the Inner Hill Province. The Northern Knight Academy doesn't need it, but the students of the Imperial Knight Academy should be in dire need of it.

"Perhaps, this can help me gain fame."

Ryan smiled; the reforms at the Imperial Knight Academy were good news for him.

The political struggles in the capital city had a significant impact, but as long as they didn't affect Ryan's power in the North, he didn't bother with them.

The saying "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away" applies equally when reversed.

"I plan to have you take the students of the Knight Academy to the Knight Academy in the Imperial Capital."

Ryan summoned Brand and gave him his first long-distance mission.

(End of this chapter)