LOL: Summoner of Goddess Jana

Chapter 393 Swain's Promise
Under Swain's tough attitude, the nascent Noxus Empire finally passed the first month after its birth smoothly.

A month later, the Immortal Bastion.

This used to be the emperor's council hall, but now it has been changed to the seat of the highest authority of the empire, the Trifali Council.

Unlike the Trifari Council of Three on the "Original World Line", the Trifari Council established by Swain at this time was closer to the Merchants' Republic Council in Piltover.

Swain served as Speaker, Darius as Deputy Speaker.

Leicester and other reformist generals represented several seats in the parliament.

Amistan represented the defected old aristocrats and took a seat.

At first glance, Swain seems to have taken a big step, changing the feudal monarchy into an aristocratic republic.

But in reality, the power structure of Noxus has not changed so much.

After all, Swain's personal prestige is unparalleled, and his control over the army is also extremely stable—at least, it is still the case for now.

Therefore, his power as a great commander is almost unlimited.

Everyone can see that the Trifali Council is not so much a council as the "Emperor's Cabinet" led by Swain.

Leicester and the others are actually his subordinates.And Amistan is even more a mascot stuffed in to represent the interests of the local princes in order to appease the hearts of the people and stabilize the situation.

In the entire parliament, apart from Swain, only Darius, who holds the control of the Northern Legion, is the one who really has the weight to speak.

That's why outsiders joked that the current Noxus Empire is actually "co-government by two emperors".

Swain is the real emperor, and Darius is the deputy emperor.

The two "emperors" share similar interests and cooperate sincerely, but they have always lived in peace.

But after only one month, this originally stable and stable situation has undergone very subtle changes
"General Darius—"

Before Commander Swain arrived at the venue, Lester, Amistan and the others pulled Darius to hold a small meeting quietly.

They made no secret of their worries and anxieties, and collectively petitioned Darius: "Now that the power of the leader is growing, the officials and generals of the empire are all worried about it, worrying about the future of Noxus day and night. .”

"As for General Darius, you are the only one who can talk to Commander Swain on an equal footing and persuade him to change his mind."

"Please also help us convey to the commander-in-chief the urgent and unbearable concern for the country at the regular meeting and so on—at least, ask him to disclose some details about the plan to deal with the future threats of the leaders."

"This will also calm the restless people's hearts and relieve everyone's growing worries!"

"This..." Although Darius hesitated after hearing this, he also deeply agreed in his heart.

He knew what Lester and the others were worried about.

A year ago, the Guild of Leaders was just a crazy raving written by a Zaun apprentice in a 5 square meter rental house.

But half a year ago, the Leaders Association was already a powerful local force that dominated Zu'an, Megatron Leather City, and made the Noxus Empire feel a little threatened.

At that time, the empire was deeply mired in the quagmire of war, and was frightened by the power of the Goddess Janna in Shuangcheng, so it was still unable to make up its mind to make a move.

Then, after another half a year, the leader became a behemoth that united Demacia and Ionia and could defeat the Empire on the frontal battlefield.

"The black roses who were in power in the past were sinister and short-sighted. They were all greedy for self-protection and refused to work hard. They allowed the leader's forces to grow wildly like weeds, so that they were defeated by the leader in a single battle and turned against themselves."

"Now the same mistake, shall we make it again?" Lester petitioned Darius earnestly.

"Yes!" Amistan said more directly and frankly: "General Darius, do you know what the leaders have been doing for a month after they defeated the Empire in Balua?"

"They divide the fields in the province of Barua—take the fields from the original owners, and give them to the useless weaklings!"

This move really scared the military nobles of Noxus.

At the beginning, the leaders liquidated Ziben's family in Shuangcheng, and they accepted it.Because they are not Ziben family.

Later, the leader liquidated the pirates in Bilgewater, and they could accept it.Because they are not pirates.

Now that the leader has begun to carry out land reform in Ionia, these Noxus military upstarts are completely intolerable.

The most important resource of Noxus is land, and land has always belonged to the strong and the nobles.

The dream of every Restoration soldier who followed Swain was to eradicate those nobles who brought disaster to the country and the people, and then... replace them.

Now they finally managed to succeed in their uprising, and they are about to obtain a large fief and become a great nobleman.
As a result, your leader is going to carry out land reform?This is simply the Noxus version of the collapse of ritual and music!
It is bearable, but unbearable!
"Hmm..." Darius didn't have much interest in land.

The land reform carried out by the leader, in the eyes of this poor man, even has some merits - after all, you have to give the poor some minimum living guarantees so that they can continue to provide new recruits for the empire. !

But Darius knew that a person like him who cared a little bit about the bottom was extremely rare in the entire imperial military.

And the rare collective statement of Lester, Amistan and others also made him smell a little danger.

He had reminded Swain a month ago that the thing he had been worrying about for a long time might have been slowly brewing in secret.

This contradiction must be resolved as soon as possible.

"I will help you guys and express my opinions to Commander Swain." So Darius agreed to the request of Lester and others.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a burst of clear and powerful footsteps came from the long corridor outside the palace.

Here comes Swain.

"Well..." Lester and the others, just like the evening self-study students who heard the head teacher's footsteps, restrained their expressions, stopped talking, and returned to their seats quietly.

Finally, Swain walked into the venue.

"Commander Swain!" The crowd nodded respectfully to him, completely without the excitement shown when they made their private wishes to Darius.

"Everyone, please sit down." Swain seemed completely unaware of their private connection.

He sat down in the main seat with a calm expression, and then got straight to the point of the meeting: "Everyone, let's briefly report on the latest work progress."

"Yes!" Lester and the others nodded.

In other words, after Swain took power, he was not in a hurry to make drastic reforms.

Because he is too familiar with Noxus.

Swain is very clear that with the current corrupt bureaucratic team in Noxus, it is simply not capable of carrying out any reforms.

For example, if he wants to cut taxes and reduce the burden on the common people——

The bureaucratic nobles and powerful landlords in that place will only maintain high taxes on the lower levels, and then pay lower taxes to the higher levels.

In the end, tax cuts turned into tax cuts for the rich, which not only failed to benefit the common people, but also indirectly emptied the national treasury.

And if he wants to raise taxes on the rich, fill the treasury, and make things easier—

The bureaucratic nobles and powerful landlords in that place will come up with [-] ways to squeeze the taxes they need to pay from the civilians and tenant farmers who are attached to them.

So the tax increase turned into a tax increase for the poor. In the end, not only did the common people not benefit, but it also drove them to a dead end.

This is just a simple example.

In short, Swain has realized that the current him is far from capable of saving the people of this country.

The corrupt nature of Noxus has not changed.The more he does now, the more he may be wrong.

Governing a big country is like cooking small fish.What's more, Noxus is still such a large and seriously ill country.

As a practical man with many years of experience in reform and governance, Swain knows very well that he should not be carried away by ideals, and act recklessly as soon as he takes over the power.

Therefore, in the first month of the new official's tenure, he only did three things in total:

One is to conform to the people's will and withdraw the troops with a truce:

Under Swain's order, Noxus began to fully shrink its forces from the four fronts in the southeast, northwest, and the Noxus, who were tired from fighting for a long time, finally ushered in a respite.

The second is to stabilize the internal situation:
After the fall of Darkwill, there are still many old powerful nobles in the empire who are unwilling to lose the high positions they originally occupied.

And many of them are warlords and princes who own territories and feudal states, and the power in their hands should not be underestimated.

So in theory, this is the hardest thing to do.

Surprisingly:
"In the past month, we have encountered only a few insignificant rebellions. Most of the local vassals and warband leaders have expressed their loyalty to you, Grand Commander Swain."

"And those who held the central power of the empire in the past, those Darkwill, no, the high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the Black Rose faction—"

This group of people is the most powerful and the most incompatible with Swain.

Swain had come to overthrow them.In theory, they should be radicals against the Swain regime.

"But among these people, only some chose to fight with arms. Many nobles accepted our rule obediently without even making any resistance."

"Maybe it's because of that woman." Lester carefully mentioned LeBlanc's name.

As the true master of Noxus, LeBlanc has always been secretly manipulating those imperial nobles.

Even, some of the nobles of the empire were simply transformed by LeBlanc's avatar.

"She is still looking forward to cooperating with you, teacher, and of course she doesn't want to waste her energy on internal friction with us."

"So, we were able to take over the power from the old nobles so smoothly, perhaps because LeBlanc secretly manipulated those nobles and cooperated with us to stabilize the internal situation."

"Otherwise, it is impossible to explain the docileness of those old nobles in front of us, like domestic dogs."

Because of the deadly threat posed by the leader, Lester carefully but eagerly understood LeBlanc's kindness and spoke good words for this former enemy of life and death.

"En." Swain just nodded noncommittally, and didn't make any statement.

His attention seemed to be on those tedious state affairs: "Go on, Lester."

Further down, it was the third thing Swain had done this month.

The first two things are the truce and withdrawal of troops, and the second is to stabilize the internal situation.

This means that the empire no longer transfers contradictions outward.

But the contradiction will not disappear in thin air.

The most intuitive point shown is that there is no money in Noxus treasury now.

So, to whom should the conflict be transferred, and from whom should money be obtained?
Of course, in the second thing Swain did, those old nobles who were liquidated by him in the process of stabilizing the interior.

So, the third thing he did was something that everyone liked to see - ransacking the house.

"Teacher, look, this is a list of property that we have confiscated from the names of 36 nobles in the capital, seized and collected into the national treasury."

"And the fiefdoms they occupy locally, as well as various industrial investments, have not yet been checked and counted."

With that said, Lester presented Swain with a thick checklist.

With such a thick document and report, most people have no patience to read it all.

However.
Swain actually took over the document from Lester on the spot, which was thick enough to be used as a shield, and then, in the strange pupils of the red-eyed crow standing on his shoulders, came a set of "Quantum Fluctuations Quick Read".

"This..." Lester suddenly became a little nervous.

But after quickly flipping through the report, Swain showed a very satisfied look to him: "Good job, Lester."

"Teacher, you are absurd." Lester secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Then I just heard Swain say: "You only lost [-]% of your property this time, and left [-]% for the empire. That's very good."

Lester: "."

The congressmen present were sweating coldly, and the atmosphere at the scene became very delicate and tense.

"You, what are you?" How did he know so clearly!
How did he see the disproportionate proportions from that meticulously embellished list of goods?
Could it be that the war masons sent by Swain have already quietly lurked beside them?

"You think—" At this time, Swain pointed to the crow on his shoulder: "Why is it called the 'hidden' demon?"

"." There was another terrible silence.

In the shadows around the palace, countless pairs of red eyes quietly opened.

They are all ravens, personifications of hidden demons.And until these crows showed up on their own initiative, no one present could notice their existence.

As a result, the air became more dignified.

"Everyone, don't be nervous." At this time, Swain said sincerely, "I don't mean to pursue everyone."

He is really happy.

In the previous Noxus, if he didn't personally watch over the house raids, it would be nice if the imperial officials in charge of the house raids left [-]% of the treasury's wealth in the end.

But now, Lester and the others have gone through layers of drifting, and they can still leave a full [-]% of their property to the public.

This shows that he, the leader of Noxus, still has enough dominance.At least for now, no one under his command dares to fool him as a fool.

"I won't pursue what you took away this time. It's just that it's not an example." Swain dismissed the matter calmly.

However, the real problem lies ahead.Swain doesn't need to say this question, Leicester and others also secretly realized:
Under the surveillance of the hidden demon, can they still have secrets?

"Teacher Swain." Lester quickly stood up and confessed to Swain.

"I heard everything you told General Darius just now." Swain "rushed to answer" and said, "And LeBlanc has been trying to win you over, hasn't he?"

"." Everyone dared not respond.

Only Darius, after hesitating, persuaded Swain in a deep voice: "Commander Swain, you can't blame them for this."

"The leader is the empire's confidant. Even if you don't want to be an enemy now, you should disclose your plan to everyone, so that everyone can have a clear mind."

"That's right!" Amistan plucked up her courage and advised Swain, "Now we are not attacking the leader, but the leader is invading us."

"Did you know? Because of the infiltration and propaganda of leaders, more and more middle and lower-level officers and soldiers have believed their confusing theories. There are even many high-ranking generals and noble families who have Just like the Midarda family, we are secretly dealing with leaders in the rainy day!"

"If this continues, the Noxus Empire will be peacefully evolved by the leader!"

Amistan spoke sincerely.

"." Swain was in no hurry.

He is not in a hurry, the generals present are about to be in a hurry.

Finally, just when everyone was anxious for a "second restoration", Swain said in a calm tone:
"Wait a minute."

"This..." everyone felt at ease when they saw his calm expression with the wisdom pearl in his hands.

Yes, Swain is a wise man.He never does stupid things.

Maybe. Waiting is part of his plan?

"How long?" someone asked impatiently.

"One month." Finally, Swain gave the exact time.

"A month later." Lester asked cautiously, "What will happen?"

Swain laughed silently.

In fact, he didn't know what would happen in a month.Anyway, Li Wei needs his help to delay the time.

"General Swain." At this moment, Darius reminded vaguely, "Is the date you gave accurate?"

The specific date is given, which is to draw a clear psychological bottom line for everyone.

If the time comes and the decisive battle that Swain promised doesn't happen, then there will be big troubles.

"Of course I'm sure." Swain still didn't care.

After all, what he was waiting for was the "big mess".

The more chaotic the situation will be, the more people will jump out, and the empire will be cleaned up in one go.

"That's good." Seeing that Swain was so confident, everyone was finally relieved.

"By the way—" Swain looked at Darius again:
"General Darius, I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Darius looked seriously.

I only heard Swain say meaningfully: "I have received information that a rebellion is about to occur in Besilico."

"That's your hometown—"

"I think you should go there."

　Today's update, ahem, originally only planned to write a transitional chapter of the plot, but accidentally, I wrote more and more excitedly about the introduction of the political situation of the empire, and the writing became longer and longer, and the last chapter was written at 5000 words.

　　5000 words, it is not appropriate to split it into two parts.

　　But if you want to add another update, you have to stay up all night again.In order to protect the schedule that I have finally adjusted, I can only cough_(:з」∠)_
　　
　
(End of this chapter)