Chapter 157: War Rights

Chapter 157: War Rights

Young Master Parker was the third son of Count Odysse, overshadowed by his accomplished elder brother and sister.

His brother, a young man revered in the high society of the Rhine Kingdom, had already been capable of handling the family business at Parker's age. His sister, celebrated as the foremost female official in the east, served as the city administrator of the largest city in Odysse territory.

Despite the Rhine Kingdom's tendency to undervalue women, the doors of power were never closed to elite women. Women of high society, if sufficiently capable, could secure bureaucratic positions and even contest for inheritance rights with family support.

Growing up with such distinguished siblings, Parker never faced significant pressure. His father, Count Odysse, had always vacillated between his talented eldest son and his politically gifted daughter, barely considering his youngest child for any critical role.

Even so, being the son of a count, Parker had developed a sharper political sense than most minor nobles. He found Yang Qiu's proposition absurd. Seeing Yang's determination to persuade them, Parker mustered his courage to respond tactfully, "Respected Yang, I do agree with your perspective Charlie Rex is an exemplary lord, and my cousin Dart speaks highly of Weisshem's transformation.

"However, Weisshem, being a small town, is quite different from a barony or county like Indahl. Perhaps Charlie needs more time to familiarize himself with governing a territory before considering further steps It would be more appropriate. That's my opinion, at least"

Parker's suggestion was as diplomatic as possible. Charlie Rex, an illegitimate child not recognized by the Rex family, had no standing to compete with the Bartalis family for Indahl.

Even if the Rex family acknowledged and accepted Charlie Rex, he would still lack the credentials to contest; a peripheral figure like him had no right to instigate a territorial war. Expecting the Odysse family to support such a figure was utterly unrealistic!

This proposal wouldn't even be considered feasible by his father, let alone his brother and sister. They would merely see it as a fanciful dream.

Yang Qiu wasn't surprised by Parker's rejection and simply smiled.

In any society where social classes were becoming or were already rigid, the essence of internal competition and power struggles remained constant; lower classes relied on luck in birth, the middle classes on personal connections, and the upper echelons on blood and kinship.

It was like this on Earth, and it was the same in this other world.

In the high-stake game of power revolving around territorial domains, nobility by blood was the sole ticket to that arena. Yet, merely possessing it wasn't enough. After all, even within the upper echelons, there were hierarchies within nobility.

But Yang Qiu wasn't concerned about thisall he needed was that ticket. He had no intention of dancing to someone else's tune within the confines of the rules to their game!

Yang nodded in understanding. "I appreciate your concern, Young Master Parker. Indeed, compared to the Bartalis family, Rex's status may seem inadequate. But what if a church were to support Rex?"

Young Master Parker thought he was hearing things. "Whose support?"

"The church. Church of Lady Gold Coin."

Young Master Parker : "( '-' )"

He turned to his good friend Grey, blankly.

Parker, wisely not pointing out that his family hadn't yet decided to ally with Rex, smiled and raised his own cup.

On matters concerning family interests, Parker absolutely wouldn't be so foolish; casual verbal agreements were one thing, but the Odysse family certainly wouldn't commit any real resources to support an illegitimate child whose prospects seemed dubious.

Yang, older than even Parker's great-great-grandfather and well-acquainted with nobility, clearly understood the young master's considerations

After letting the young master, who believed himself to be quite tight-lipped, retire to his room, Yang Qiu went to find Rex, who was busy in the next room tallying the autumn harvest and grain storage accounts.

In the presence of Rex, Ji Tang, and a few clerks working overtime, Yang Qiu declared boldly, "With verbal support of the Church of Lady Gold Coin and a count, you can legitimately wage a territorial war against the Bartalis family."

Rex shuddered, his trembling hand nearly knocking over the stacked account books on his desk.

"D-d-did you say war? I wage a territorial war?!" Rex stammered in horror.

"Exactly," Yang Qiu replied cheerfully. "Ms. Zhao is currently securing the Church of Lady Gold Coin's support for you. It will also take some time for the young master of the Odysse family to relay the message, so let's declare war after the autumn taxes are settled. That way, we can also profit from the autumn taxes the Bartalis have just collected."

"D-declare war?!" Rex was utterly dumbfounded.

"Of course, a formal declaration of war. Initiating a war under the guise of a noble territorial conflict means that once the Bartalis family is driven out, Indahl will be ours," Yang Qiu explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "An undeclared war would be dishonorable. Even if we succeeded in ousting the Bartlalis family, we would face endless security conflicts and potential third-party interventions. That would be extremely troublesome."

When it came to wars on Earth, regardless of the purpose, the instigator always tried to justify their actions as righteous.

The United States, with its global influence, had waged wars in Vietnam, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, always claiming to uphold justice regardless of the reasons. Each of the presidents that made the decision needed to have thick enough skin to withstand the criticism thrown their way.

The Chinese, whose own had also gone through thousands of years of war themselves, viewed such a tactic with disdain. Aware of the true nature, the nation adhered to the policy of not firing the first shot and only engaging in defensive counterattacks.

The concept of Earth's "just war" didn't quite work in this plane. With a history that's both extensive and verifiable, this other world had never seen a "single superpower" dominance. The common folk might be unenlightened, but the upper echelons were as cunning as millennia-old foxes. The shameless act of fabricating excuses for a so-called "just war" simply wouldn't fly here.

Consequently, people in this world didn't bother with the pretense of righteousness in war. Instead, they limit the "eligibility" for waronly kings might declare war on other kings, and only nobles might wage war against their peers. Commoners lacked the standing to challenge nobility, and higher-ranking nobles could not declare war on those of lower rank.

Wars of equal status were considered honorable and acceptable to society. If these conditions were not met, third parties were entitled to intervene and seize the spoils of victory from the winner.

Rex, being merely a bastard, lacked the necessary status to wage an "honorable" territorial war against the Bartalis. Therefore, the recognition of the church and a Rhine Kingdom count was needed to elevate Rex's status and validate him as a noble capable of waging war. Once the Bartalis family was driven out, Taranthan would have time to gradually assimilate the lands of Indahl.

Seeing Rex's jaw practically hitting the floor, Yang Qiu said in dissatisfaction, "What's with that reaction? You don't really think you can remain the lord of Weisshem forever, do you? The Bartalis family aren't fools. Their reluctance to oust you this year is merely due to the impending autumn taxes; waging war now would disrupt the tax collection.

"Once the taxes are settled in the 10th, maybe the 11th month, before the end of the year, the Bartlalis family would surely back a noble of equal status to declare war on Weisshem. Are you just going to wait for the threat to knock on your door instead of proactively neutralizing it?"