Lord Edgar Clanton said with great sorrow:
"But what was the result? As a descendant of the loyalist, Giles raised an army in rebellion with a single proclamation, almost reaching the gates of Crystal City. If the royal family had not been prepared in advance, the one sitting on the throne today might be this Grand Duke Greedy Wolf!"
The hall fell silent. Giles' rebellion was the kingdom's most painful memory in recent years, almost shaking the very foundations of the country.
Earl Clanton raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Judging from the current situation, Paul Gleman is quickly becoming the second Giles... no, he should be far surpassing Giles. He is based in Arda, ruling the Northwest Bay with the power of a marquis. Even His Majesty relies on him to resist the orcs, and now the entire northern army is being entrusted to him..."
At this moment, the Earl suddenly sneered, "Sword-wielding nobles who have reached this level are no longer subjects, but potential challengers to the throne. Although Gleiman has shown no signs of rebellion, power is like poison; the longer one holds it, the harder it is to let go. His Majesty the King is too young; he only sees him standing in front of the orcs, but he cannot see the shadow of the sword behind him, which has already quietly pressed down on Aldor's crown."
Walsh McKee nodded in agreement: "The real threat to the royal family has never been Abar on the plains, but those who are supposed to be protecting the crown."
"Greyman must be kept in check," Jassim said again, his voice low and resolute. "He can continue to be the shield of the North, but he must not be allowed to become a sword pointing at the throne."
Yuriko leaned back in his chair. "But how do we dismantle his power? Although Abar has retreated to the steppes, he could return at any time. If unrest breaks out in the north, who will bear the responsibility?"
"We can let him go for now," Earl Walsh McKee said slowly, taking a sip of his wine. "But we can't let him grow any stronger. Manpower is the key. Once he can recruit soldiers on his own in the northeastern territories, that army will no longer be Aldo's army, but his Greman's private army."
"Damn it!" Walsh said bitterly, "If Veblen weren't still entrenched in Paradise Basin, we could have spared our attention to deal with the North!"
A moment of silence fell over the banquet. Back when Giles rebelled, Veblen also joined in. Although they didn't actually fight many battles, Veblen took advantage of the chaos to completely seize control of Paradise Basin, making it a semi-independent force.
Even today, with Giles long gone, Veblen still lives a vibrant life on his territory.
However, the terrain of Paradise Basin is relatively closed, surrounded by a ring of difficult-to-traverse mountains. It is difficult for the outer army to enter and the inner army to leave. Therefore, although Veblen rebelled, he did not pose a great threat to the kingdom's central government.
Jassim nodded slowly. "Let's deal with Gleiman after Veblen, but he can't continue to grow stronger! He can guard the border, fight the orcs, and command the existing army, but he absolutely cannot be given the right to conscript soldiers again this time."
"You all focus on Gryman's sword, but forget about another, more hidden blade—Myron Garnard."
At this moment, a nobleman seated at the end of the long table slowly spoke. He was Baron Derek Thorne. The baron touched the gold chain on his chest and said calmly:
"This man has long followed Paul Gleman and enjoys Gleman's deep trust. The King even appointed him as the governor of the Sihanoukville Special District!"
With the full support of King Rodney XVIII, Mellon drew on the successful experience of the Northwest Bay and implemented new policies tailored to local conditions—reducing commercial taxes, protecting patents, and establishing workshops. With the support of technology transfer from the Northwest Bay, all kinds of emerging industries sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone has now begun to contribute to the Kingdom's finances, becoming an important source of revenue for the Kingdom's government, and this revenue is growing larger and larger.
Thinking of this, Baron Thorne felt a pang of sadness.
He sneered, "The West Port of today is no longer the old port that relied on fishing, salt production, and transshipment. Along the river valley stand rows of brick and stone factories, chimneys dotting the landscape, machines roaring. Merchant ships come and go in a constant stream. But—"
The baron's voice gradually turned cold: "How can the king continue to place such an important place under the control of an outsider?"
To Baron Thorne and other established nobles, Myron Garnard from the Northwest Bay was an absolute outsider.
He sneered, "Greyman wields the sword, Garnard holds the purse; they are His Majesty's right-hand men. We nobles, who have served the royal family for generations, have become nothing more than decorations?"
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Earl Walsh McKee frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "But Earl Garnard is indeed capable, and the results in West Port are undeniable..."
"Results?" Derek scoffed. "It's just a new way to amass wealth. True financial power should be in the hands of royal confidants and established families, not some guy from the frontier."
Baron Derek Thorne's words had barely left his lips when they were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in the water.
The atmosphere at the banquet instantly became tense and heated, with other nobles echoing each other, their voices filled with dissatisfaction and resentment towards Myron Garnard and his West Port Special Zone policies.
"That's right!" A young nobleman named Everett Hall was the first to step forward. His family had controlled several important mines in the south of the capital for generations.
"Since Mellon implemented those so-called policies to develop industry and commerce, our family's mining business has been greatly impacted. He lowered tariffs, attracting a large influx of foreign merchants, making it difficult for local mine owners to maintain their original price advantage. To make matters worse, he also encouraged commoners to open their own workshops. These nouveau riche did not play by the rules at all, arbitrarily lowered prices, and stole our orders."
Another nobleman, Earl Aiden Fallon, slammed his wine glass down on the table with a thud: "That's right. Garnard is clearly a nobleman himself, yet he allows those lowly commoners with no connections or background to open factories. Do you know? Right now in Westport, any blacksmith can transform into a factory owner with dozens of workers simply by getting government loans and technical support!"
A nobleman engaged in trade said indignantly, "Garnard has reduced import taxes on many goods, cutting our family's profits, while foreign merchants are able to dump their goods at even lower prices."
A nobleman from the textile industry complained: "In the past, we could freely copy any successful design, but now we can't. The new laws have tied our hands and feet."
But what is most intolerable to everyone is the attitude of the nouveau riche from humble backgrounds who have grown up under the protection of the new policies towards them.
"A commoner is a commoner. They have no respect for tradition. They get carried away as soon as they have a little money and forget their place!" Baron Derek Thorne sneered. "They are aggressive in the market and even dare to challenge our authority. Just last month, a commoner small factory owner openly rejected my cooperation proposal and claimed that he was capable of running the business on his own. This would have been unthinkable before. The cooperation of a nobleman would have been a great favor to him!"