Chapter 1064 Sanctions
"In that case, we'll take our leave now, Marquis." Earl Haverson politely shook Noel's hand.
"Yes. Please take care of the situation over there."The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
"Of course. It's time to destroy Earl Canmond economically." Earl Haverson smiled and took a step back before walking away.
Earl Havenson was the last noble he met before going home. During the day, they had been walking around the town to greet the citizens.
And after taking care of everything, they could finally return to the main city with everyone.
While looking at Earl Haverson's back, Noel's expression turned sad.
"What's wrong? Isn't the plan going well? Or is there a problem?" Anna, who was accompanying him the whole day, couldn't help but look concerned.
"It's nothing. The plan itself works very well. It's just..." Noel paused for a moment. "The ones who will suffer the most are the common people."
Anna held his hand. "I know you've done your best. Sadly, there is no other way to do this. If we seek the Greenwood Kingdom's help, the royal family will take action against us. If we engage in a territorial war, it can be seen as rebellion. That's why I know that you want to end this problem as quickly as possible, so even when the common people suffer, it will be for a brief moment. You have even prepared the relief supplies."
Noel bit his lips. As a lord, he had to be merciless to his enemies. But he knew that if he fought nobles, the common people under those nobles would suffer the most.
"I love that kindness of yours." Anna rested her head on Noel's shoulder.
"Kindness, huh? It's just my principle. It's just... I'm afraid that if I continue doing this, the bad and corrupted effects of being a noble will affect me and turn me into someone that I hate."
"When that time happens, I will surely give you a good smack."
A small smile appeared on Noel's face. He took a deep breath and said, "Let's go back, shall we?"
"En."
While Lounstein was celebrating the marriage, the four nobles were facing a huge crisis right before their eyes.
"My lord! It's not good!" A butler entered Earl Canmond's office with a panicked expression.
"What's wrong?" Earl Canmond's expression turned grim. The situation in his territory wasn't good, so he thought there might be a riot starting.
Unfortunately for him, the one that struck him was much worse than a mere riot.
"Earl Haverson has just declared economic sanctions against us. Anyone who dares to cross his territory to bring the goods will face an enormous tax. Those who try to smuggle will be cut down!"
"What?" Earl Canmond's heart sank. His brain was revolving at crazy speed, connecting all the dots. "Impossible. Check the two nobles where we sell our clothes and wool!"
"How does the Lord know?"
"Know what?"
"Those two nobles had also declared the completion of the Golden Trade Road!"
"This Earl Canmond is so useless. I have to get away right now. I don't want to risk my companies..." Matthew gritted his teeth. "To think that both of my companies are being pressured from all sides. Even our sales have dropped to 70%. If this continues, they might even drop below the top ten companies in this kingdom."
Matthew was angry. He never thought that Marquis Ardagan's plan was this thorough. It was no wonder he was so confident in that meeting.
And judging from what happened, those three merchants that took Noel's offer were ready to take the top spots.
His biggest miscalculation was that the young Marquis, who became a lord only for a few months, managed to do this well. It was as if he were fighting against a noble who had decades of experience.
"Wasn't he supposed to be a lazy young master? He should have no experience governing the territory." Matthew bit his lips.
The coachman who drove his carriage suddenly knocked on the carriage and opened the peephole. "Master. We have a problem here."
"What's wrong?" Matthew saw the small piece of paper in his assistant's hand. It contained the recent news, not about the economic sanction against the four nobles, but regarding the movements of Maxwell, Theressa, and Zephyr.
Unlike the merchants who didn't join Noel because of the risk, Matthew was showing his hostility openly.
And it was time for Noel to counterattack.
"Bastard!"
"Are you insane?"
He kept screaming inside the carriage, letting out all his anger.
The coachman couldn't do anything other than close the peephole and drive safely while listening to Matthew cursing for half an hour.
As Earl Canmond predicted, the other nobles also received economic sanctions at the same time.
This sanction might only last for a while because the royal family could intervene, but at that time, it was already too late. The four nobles wouldn't have any fighting power left even after getting bailed out by the royal family's decree.
In addition, if the royal family helped them by giving a decree, it would be seen as them abusing their power. If the royal family didn't help these four nobles, people would think they were just mere pieces that the royal family could throw away after using them.
Count Lesen was rampaging in his mansion for a few days when he heard the news. Count Yatcher's blood pressure went up so much that he spurted blood out of his mouth and passed out. Meanwhile, Count Caulbot was desperately struggling against the sanction. Unfortunately, the Stargaze family was also in that area and ready to crush them completely.
With this, Noel would be able to erase the royal family's power in the north. It could be said that the Ardagan family had become an overlord in the north.
However, Noel didn't have any intention of challenging the authority of the royal family. That was why he let other nobles devour those four nobles instead of himself.
His father-in-law, Kevin, had warned him not to become too big after all. If he became too big to the point where he could rival the royal family, it would be easy to make people believe he was preparing for a rebellion. After listening to what happened in the previous life from Anna, he was doing his best to avoid the same thing.
Still, Noel didn't dismiss anyone if they thought of him that way. If the demons were going to invade them, they would come from the north. If he became the overlord in the north, he could rally people to resist them together, which would become a valuable force for Noel's future battle.
And the biggest contributor to this plan was none other than his father's former ally, Countess Christina.
She was the one handling the nobles in the middle part of the kingdom.
Without her, Noel might struggle a bit against these four nobles. However, with this, he should be able to wrap up the battle against the four nobles... or so he thought.
At that time, he forgot one variable that he had thought was not possible yet.
