Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 370 Congressional Chaos
When news of Kuraki establishing a parliament reached the capital, the nobles were furious and demanded that his territory be sealed off and that he be punished.

But when the discussion reached the highest levels, all the councilors fell silent, and no one shouted or argued as loudly as before.

Because this time, there is a real possibility that a resolution will be passed to ban Kuraki.

Throughout Ailton's thousands of years of history, no one has ever bypassed the royal family and declared themselves a duchy; this would be tantamount to independence.

Of course, there were many who were granted fiefdoms and titles, but even the most arrogant and domineering generals, or those with great power, would have to consult the king or parliament. For Su Mu to do this was unprecedented.

"Utterly arrogant! He has no country or ruler! Does he still consider himself Elton's general?"

One member of the royal family started swearing, hoping to incite public anger and condemn Su Mu, but the rest of the people remained silent.

He looked around; the congressmen were staring at him with grim faces, as if he were a fool.

Did they think it was during the height of their power that the royal family made decisions on a whim? Now that they've offended the Arcane Empire, the eastern hill front also depends on Kuraki for support. If they were to seal off Sumu's territory, it would be tantamount to surrendering and letting the enemy rush in and slaughter them.

No matter what outrageous things Sumu does, or how unruly he may be, one thing remains constant: he is guarding Elton, and to this day he continues to fight on the front lines against foreign enemies.

As long as we can hold off the Arcane Empire and the Isidore Empire, the mines and trading posts in the heartland can be preserved, and the businesses and assets of the nobles can be kept. This is the most important thing.

A powerful minister in the capital coughed a few times and said, "I think everyone should calm down. There's no need to make a fuss."

Su Mu must have his reasons for doing this. He has to resist the barrier while also fighting against the tower. He doesn't have any real support from the Demon Hunter Marshal. It's hard to imagine.

Establishing a parliament would allow him to recruit cavalry legions and upgrade his castle, greatly enhancing his current defenses.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, what is there to worry about?

A member of the royal family retorted, "That doesn't mean we can make decisions arbitrarily and ignore the capital and parliament. Who would dare to use such a general in the future?"

This time everyone is speechless. They've been pushed to the brink, so who cares about these rules and regulations anymore?

Simply put, without advanced troops, you can't win and your country will perish immediately; with a country, you can still fight back, and given Su Mu's record, you might actually be able to win. Such a simple question, how can you not choose?
In other words, the royal family and nobles, having occupied high positions, were used to being arrogant and thought that no matter how talented someone was, they had to be obedient in order to survive. They didn't even consider the current situation. Heroes who could fight were the most valuable resource, and everything else was nonsense.

After much deliberation, the matter remained unresolved, and everyone turned to look at the speaker.

The Speaker still needs to decide what to do, but judging from everyone's discussion, it is highly unlikely that the territory will be sealed off, as the current kingdom does not have that capability.

Speaker Quentin's face was grim. It was impossible for him not to be angry. The kingdom's generals had openly disregarded the authority of Parliament, granting themselves fiefdoms and showing no regard for them whatsoever. How could he, as speaker, possibly maintain order? Would the other generals still obey?
But the reality is that, beset by internal and external troubles, they simply don't have the energy to make any changes.

Scouts reported that the nobles on the western border were becoming increasingly dissatisfied due to the constant troop conscription. They already had a special relationship with the Emerald Kingdom, but relations had become strained since Su Mu's brutal attack on the fortress troops, leading to the closure of many trade routes.

The council finally managed to mediate and appease the nine-headed royal family, but the tribes below were very dissatisfied and colluded with the border nobles to cause trouble every day.

Now they've gone so far as to intercept the kingdom's conscription supplies, and even escalated the situation by saying that if the parliament doesn't compensate for previous losses, they'll seize even more resources and minerals.

What could Quentin do? As the Speaker of the House, he had no choice but to endure it.

Thinking about it carefully, these resources would be better given to Kuraki. If the other side can defeat Isildur, the kingdom might actually be saved.

"Alright, Su Mu is certainly at fault in this matter, but considering that there were reasons for it, and that he was resisting from both sides and was under great pressure, he had no choice but to establish a private parliament. Therefore, we will not seal off his territory, but instead will not issue tributes or financial support for three years."

Congress sent a highly respected figure to admonish him, and the matter was temporarily dropped. With powerful enemies surrounding us, the most important thing is to unite all the generals and resist the foreign invaders!

The Congress ultimately refrained from sending Su Mu's old acquaintance, Gwen, to Kuraki to appease the generals. The Speaker instructed that conditions could be offered privately: if Kuraki could hold the line and repel the invasion of Arcane and Isildur, the Congress would be willing to request a duke for him.

Gwen scoffed at this, saying that since they had effectively created their own country, why would they care about your title?
It would be better to be more generous and offer the reward sooner rather than later; perhaps Su Mu would be grateful.

Congress's relentless suppression of Conrad's case has alienated his generals, and it seems the damage is irreversible.

Before leaving, the second prince specially summoned him.

Born Finaksia, the once ambitious prince, now appears cautious in everything he does.

Since his mishap in the trading city and subsequent warning, he was even confined for a period of time. After his release, he became noticeably more cautious.

Even when summoning Gwen, he would send a trusted confidant to deliver the message secretly.

He risked meeting her for only one thing.

"Can this sappanwood be used by me?"

Luckily, Gwen was well-prepared, otherwise she would have spat out the water she had just drunk. Even Congress can't control a frontier general; what power does a prince have to command loyalty from him?

Seemingly realizing that his words were somewhat absurd, Born added, "If Congress is unwilling to grant him a dukedom, the Royal Family is perfectly capable of doing so! It is the Royal Family's prerogative."

"Such a brave and mighty hero, if he were to serve me, how could Elton not rise to prominence?"

Born's face flushed red as he imagined himself turning the tide. But Gwen interrupted him: "Before your father fell into his sleep, he delegated all power to Parliament. Even though you are the first in line to the throne, you have no right to bestow a duke title upon anyone."

Moreover, Su Mu is a man of great talent and ambition, and to put it bluntly, he is very ambitious; not just anyone can control him.

This was already a very mild statement. If it were a minister with a bad temper, he might have directly said, "Are you worthy? You can't even defeat the Speaker of the Council, yet you can make a general who defeated a legendary hero bow down to you? Even travelogues and novels don't describe it like this."

After being doused with cold water by Gwen, Born finally calmed down and managed to squeeze out a sentence after a long pause: "Wolf-like ambitions! They're all a bunch of traitors. Does Elton still have any loyal and patriotic generals?"

The court minister felt that the other party was beyond saving. He originally thought that the eldest prince was too stubborn and self-righteous and was not suitable to be a monarch. He wanted to help the second prince.

In the early stages, Born faced little pressure and was quite adept at networking, managing to befriend influential figures. However, once he encountered difficulties, he discovered he could rely on no one and was even warned and threatened, which turned him into this person, devoid of any trace of his former kingly demeanor.

It can only be said that the kingdom's decline was not without reason. These princes were perhaps not much better than the heirs of the Salman family. If the power were handed over to them, things might be fine in peacetime, but now they would only face certain death.

Disappointed, Gwen turned and left, but as she reached the door, she warned, "I heard there's been news of the missing Crown Prince. Someone saw him in the heartland. You'd better be prepared."

This time, Born wasn't angry; he was terrified. He had always presented himself as a dutiful brother, only revealing his true nature after the eldest prince's disappearance. If his elder brother returned, he would lose all his power, and no one would care about the second in line to the throne anymore.

But Born was filled with doubt. Shouldn't his beloved older brother have died in that dangerous place?

what happened?

(End of this chapter)