RNP Chapter 535
Chapter 535
Chapter 535
Power is the most powerful force.
Caroline Sinclair now deeply understands the meaning of those words.
At this moment, she is being accompanied by a Guardian Knight on her way to collect taxes from an ancient family.
The Barlow family were direct vassals of the Sinclair family.
Legend has it that a thousand years ago, the "hero" Stefan Barlow, wielding a meteor hammer, conquered the first city that refused to surrender for the Sinclair family by force.
Although Stefan was previously just a miner, he was granted a vast fiefdom by the Sinclair family, located near the capital, which would have made it easier for him to enter the palace to rescue the emperor.
For the next two hundred years, their families will undoubtedly have a place among the court's Guardian Knights.
Unfortunately, Oliver Barlow, nicknamed "The Belly," lost his ancestral weapon—a precious weapon said to possess extraordinary power—in a drunken gambling match.
The Barlow family has never produced a powerful warrior since then, and it seems that even their family's traditional fighting style has gradually been lost.
However, their family was not good at managing their finances, so they had to sell land to maintain their extravagant aristocratic lifestyle.
It is said that three years ago, the Barlow family sold their last estate with a mill.
Since then, he has never paid a single penny of taxes.
It is precisely because of their family's close ties with the royal family that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has always adopted a conservative policy on their family's tax issues.
This item weighs less than half an ounce if it's not weighed, but once it's weighed, it becomes as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has been a supporter of the eldest prince, but the eldest princess recently learned of the matter and claimed that it was the result of the Chancellor's deliberate cover-up.
This leads to the conclusion that the individual committed embezzlement and bribery.
No one wants to be labeled with these accusations so easily, but what the eldest princess presented was indeed the truth.
Faced with the eldest daughter's deliberate provocation, the finance minister could only deny it repeatedly, but in the end he had to admit the crime of negligence and was fined three months' salary.
At the same time, an order was issued to thoroughly investigate and recover the Barlow family's taxes.
In fact, the eldest princess had just achieved a great military victory, and then launched an attack on the finances controlled by the eldest prince, her intentions were very clear.
The eldest princess wants to use her current high prestige to seize control of the treasury in one fell swoop.
In this way, the eldest daughter's faction gained the upper hand in the succession struggle.
Therefore, Caroline suspects that the Ballow family's tax problems were probably already known to the Eldest Princess's faction, who were just waiting for the right moment to make their move.
This may seem like a trivial issue, but right now it's proving to be quite thorny.
The best outcome, of course, would be for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be able to collect the taxes owed.
This would put an end to the matter, and even if the eldest princess prepared many more treacherous schemes afterward, she probably wouldn't be able to use them.
The problem is, the eldest princess must have calculated that the Balo family couldn't afford the money.
What will happen then? Confiscate the Barlow family's property? Seize their remaining castle and land?
Regardless of who the Chancellor of the Exchequer is chosen, the eldest prince behind him will always be labeled as a "persecution hero".
Those families who rose to power by following Eugene's conquests would inevitably harbor resentment towards the eldest prince.
The so-called weakening of the enemy is to strengthen oneself, and this is clearly a situation that the eldest princess wants to see.
This is why the Royal Armoury was asked to replace the Treasury in collecting this tax.
This request is not without reason, as the Heraldry has always been responsible for handling affairs between various families and the royal family.
Since it was Sinclair who levied taxes on his direct vassals, the Heraldry had the right to intervene for the sake of the Sinclair family's honor and reputation.
Of course, if it were the Jonas of the past, he probably wouldn't have bothered to get involved in this dispute and would have refused the Chancellor of the Exchequer's request.
But this time, Jonas chose to take it on and sent Caroline to handle it.
His intention was clear: he wanted to side with the captain, the prince, and prevent the princess's power from expanding too quickly.
This was done, of course, for Caroline's sake.
Sending Caroline also had another advantage: she was a newcomer and a woman.
As one of the few female officials in the palace, their work abilities were never recognized.
Jonas was also sending a message to the Eldest Princess—
I'm not targeting you personally. You see, I only assigned a female heraldic attendant to handle this matter. Taking on the task was purely out of duty.
But no one else knew how much Jonas trusted Caroline's talent.
Caroline knew this, of course.
Therefore, Jonas did not tell Caroline exactly what to do.
Caroline must make all the decisions herself.
Caroline was also thinking about how to prevent the eldest princess from succeeding in her plan.
The knight accompanying Caroline was named Diego.
He is considered a neutral figure among the Guardians of the Knights, as long as the king is Sinclair.
He would bend his knees no matter who it was.
Jonas's choice of him was a way of telling Caroline that she wouldn't get much help, but this man would do his best to ensure her safety.
Following behind the two was a royal army led by two officers.
They were the people of the eldest princess and the eldest prince, and their purpose in coming here was simply to keep an eye on Caroline and ensure that she did not make any underhanded moves.
Caroline was very troubled, as this meant her room for maneuver was greatly reduced.
In the distance, a castle gradually comes into view.
The castle was built of massive steel stones, clearly designed as a fortress.
From its geographical location, this city served as the last line of defense for the royal city in the southwest.
The Crimson Prince landed in the southwest and swept all before he could even arrive with intelligence, capturing the former dynasty's capital.
Could it be that Eugene Sinclair is also afraid that someone can replicate the Scarlet Prince's feat?
The Barlow family's siege hammer emblem is embroidered on every banner that flutters atop the city walls.
Ironically, their family has lost the treasured hammer that they consider a source of pride.
Caroline sat on her horse, the late spring breeze too gentle to stir her heavy coat of arms.
Arriving at the foot of the city gate, I looked up.
Above the tightly closed city gate stood a dozen fully armed men.
A gaunt, sunken-eyed, listless man, clad in heavy, oversized plate armor, asked in a weak, shrill voice, "Who are you? This is Barlow family territory! What do you want? We are friends of the Sinclair family. Do you want to make enemies of the King and the Royal Family?"
Caroline laughed and said, "Don't worry, we are royalty. Didn't you see the flag we're raising? That's the Sinclair family's Platinum Code."
"Who are you?"
I am royalty: "I am the Heraldry Officer of the Royal Household Agency —"
Caroline paused for a moment, then said the name: "Annie Booker."