In the Name of Empress-Chapter 572 - 343: A Family Letter (Part 3)

Sofia said that Roland leads everyone, even if they have opinions, they must keep them to themselves.

Roland felt a bit bemused.

This facade of borrowing authority is quite enjoyable, but unfortunately, the process of replacing some old-timers must be slowed down.

After all, they are seasoned Cabinet Ministers, how could they be changed without major mistakes?

Good news: Everyone in the Cabinet supports it.

Bad news: Too many people support it.

Fortunately, Roland reacted quickly. Since everyone supports it, there is no need to make the appointment so ruthless that everyone thinks he is a harbinger of disaster.

Since there is at least a superficial consensus, Roland directly presented the development blueprint, took out the pointer, and began an analysis pointing at the map.

He did his homework thoroughly, knowing the Vladimir Empire as well as a professional official.

The Cabinet Ministers, who originally had reservations about him, gradually changed their attitude.

Everyone is very optimistic about Roland’s proposed development blueprint, but does not agree with his plan to emancipate slaves and servants.

After Roland spoke for over an hour and took a sip of water, the waiting Cabinet Ministers finally seized the chance to speak.

"Cardinal, you still don’t understand our Vladimir Empire. Those farmers only know farming and understand nothing else, is it not enough to provide them food and shelter, must we grant them freedom too?"

"Cardinal, private property is sacred and inviolable, it is a policy passed down through generations of Emperors, you cannot change it based on personal preferences."

"Cardinal, this is the law of our ancestors."

The appearance of these doubts was not unexpected to Roland.

In fact, he had been waiting for someone to interrupt, so he could seize the opportunity to assert authority, yet these Cabinet Ministers politely listened to his speech.

Good news: The classroom order is very good.

Bad news: The classroom order is too good.

He had to stop to drink water, giving the Cabinet Ministers the opportunity to speak freely.

After patiently listening to their varied concerns, Roland raised his right hand, instantly quieting the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to ask, what is the point of keeping serfs?"

"To have them work for the lords and create wealth!" a Cabinet Minister exclaimed.

"Great, it is wealth, right?" Roland extracted the keyword, staring at the respondent.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, who just spoke, felt vaguely uneasy seeing Roland’s lips curl upward, yet he couldn’t identify the trap, cautiously supplementing:

"Cardinal, serfs are also the property of lords."

Roland clapped his hands, glanced around, and asked with a smile: "I understand, you all want to protect your own interests, right?"

This blunt statement made the Cabinet Ministers’ expressions slightly unnatural.

The logic is sound, but is it good to speak so plainly?

It’s like pursuing a girl, who says directly ’I see you are beautiful and have a sweet voice, I want to sleep with you.’

They initially felt they had some barbaric attributes, but it turned out Roland was even more direct.

Though Roland’s words were quite blunt, they nonetheless bridged an intangible gap with the Ministers.

Seeing everyone silent, Roland continued: "If I guarantee that after freeing the serfs, the lords can gain more significant benefits, and the country will become stronger, does anyone oppose?"

Roland ensured the interests of the nobility and lords while presenting the national interest above. With everything said, who dared to object?

Seeing Roland’s confident expression, someone couldn’t help but counter: "Cardinal, anyone can say nice words, how do you guarantee it?"

"Through the successful industrialization and international trade experience obtained in the Sussex Empire."

Roland calmly said: "None of you should doubt the industrial strength and international trade capability of the Sussex Empire, right?"

The Cabinet Ministers were speechless.

Such indisputable matters, forcibly opposing them would only make oneself seem foolish.

Though internally uncomfortable, they accepted Roland’s statement.

Yet there were still those who questioned hesitantly, "Cardinal, industrialization requires technology, international trade requires fleets, which we lack."

"I have them, to be precise the Sussex Empire has them."

Roland smiled and said: "The war is over, post-war reconstruction requires many things, so the prospects for international trade are very bright. Having no ships is easily solved, I can take responsibility for acquiring them, I can even request the Sussex Empire to support with emergency fleets."

No one doubted the authenticity of this promise.

After all, the Empress of the Sussex Empire is his wife, what’s the big deal about that?

Everyone laughed along with Roland, joy permeating the hall.

But soon someone disrupted this pleasant atmosphere.

"We need peace, but the Empire cannot accept peace achieved through concessions."

This statement quieted the hall.

The Ministers gradually cooled down.

Indeed, Roland is a Sussex person, his heart surely leans towards his homeland, surely he would have the Vladimir Empire concede interests for peace, wouldn’t he?

Seeing everyone’s worried expressions, Roland laughed aloud:

"Don’t be so gloomy, everyone is a winner, a guest at the table; what we need to consider is how to claim an extra piece of steak, rather than fighting tooth and nail with other guests."

Roland picked up the pointer and aimed at the large map, sweeping it grandly to draw a circle over parts of the Wende Empire.

"These lands are ours!"

Then he pointed towards the Three Northern Kingdoms.

"These are ours as well."

"These, these, and these are handed to our allies. As for the Sussex Empire and Jin Yuan Republic, their demands are only these."

In fact, what Freedom Alliance demanded was no less than Holy Alliance, but in Roland’s narrative it seemed much less.

Roland’s partition proposal won the approval of most Ministers.

Even though the Wende Empire was temporarily annexed, their awareness of resistance was strong, ruling there would be very difficult.

Roland marked out areas all comprised of the Western Rurik people who preserve traditional Rurik culture, which would be easier to assimilate.

The lands allotted to the two allies were fertile but identified more with Wende people rather than Western Rurik people.

The ruling costs of these regions were too high.

After seventy percent of the territory was partitioned, the Wende Imperial Family retained the core area for revival but must downgrade to a Kingdom.

This preserved land was very clever, mostly royal family direct territories.

Although the Empire lost some areas, it was the nobility’s flesh that was cut, not affecting the Imperial Family.

Even though it wasn’t completely wiped clean, everyone thought it reasonable.

After all, the Wende Empire is an empire, could it be swallowed in one gulp?

Seeing Roland’s sincere defense of imperial interests, the Ministers initially resistant to him now viewed him in a new light.

Everyone enthusiastically gathered around the map to discuss partition details.

As for the opinions of the partitioned countries, no one ever cared, this time was no exception.