Chapter 80: Olivia's Power

Just what was Olivia trying to do?

Many people wanted to know the answer to this question.

However, as someone close to Olivia, Chen Heng could guess at what she was thinking.

At the end of the day, this was a change that he had brought about.

Olivia held Chen Heng in high regard. This was not just because of his fighting power but because of his abilities in other areas as well.

As such, the two of them often discussed things, including the administration of the Kutu Principality.

The Kutu Principality was a classic feudalistic kingdom, with the King as the head. The King then conferred titles, creating nobles who acted as rulers over their own territories.

In actuality, the Kutu Principality was not a very complete Kingdom; rather, it was a military alliance with the Kutu King or Queen as the head.

Apart from the territories that the royal family directly ruled over, the other rulers did not need to pay tax to the royal family; they only needed to provide military support and conduct certain tasks now and then.

Even these duties were not always enforceable.

When the royal family was powerful, the rulers would naturally be obedient and would not try anything.

However, once the royal family went into decline, they would not necessarily be so obedient. When that time came, it would be good for them not to make any trouble for the royal family; how could they continue to act loyally?

Even though having many nobles ruling over their own territories saved on the costs and effort of governing the kingdom, it brought with it its own risks.

When the royal family became weakened and could no longer suppress the nobles, the nobles would sometimes gather together and attack the royal family.

This had happened many times before in the Kutu Principality's past.

The current royal family seemed to have been established like this.

As a transmigrator, Chen Heng could naturally see the hidden risks in this structure, and he had mentioned them to Olivia.

Because of what he had told her, Olivia took the initiative to weaken the nobles and even took land away from some nobles.

In actuality, every generation of King and Queen would do such a thing.

After all, it was every monarch's instinct to make themselves more powerful and others less powerful.

It was just that Olivia's actions seemed a bit too rushed and tyrannical.

Observing Olivia's actions, Chen Heng could not help but frown.

She was not wrong in wanting to weaken the nobles and taking their land.

However, she needed to find appropriate reasons and excuses, which would allow her to continue to suppress them.

If she did not have a proper reason or excuse, this would result in intense anger and fear from the nobles, resulting in them viewing Olivia with hostility.

Without absolute power to suppress them, this could result in unfavorable outcomes.

When things reached an extreme, they often moved in the opposite direction. The nobles of this world held great power, and they were not to be underestimated.

If they were really forced into a corner, the power that they could explode out with would be terrifying.

However, Olivia did not have any proper reasons or excuses.

Otherwise, Chen Heng would not have frowned when hearing about what she had done.

As for absolute power, Chen Heng thought to himself.

Olivia's power came from three sources.

The first was her own territory.

This had been given to her by the late King, and she had developed it for many years. It was her own territory and was quite stable.

The second was her position as Queen and the royal family's power.

This power was quite great, and it had been accumulated by the royal family.

The third was from subordinates like Chen Heng.

Most of them were nobles who had supported her to ascend to the throne.

It was just that as time went on, this third source of strength would gradually fade.

This was because of a variety of reasons, but the main one would be because they had not been sufficiently rewarded.

These people had supported Olivia to become the Queen, and they naturally wanted to receive abundant rewards for helping her.

However, after becoming Queen, Olivia had not satisfied their desires.

Even though most people had been given land, their territories were close to the border of the desert.

That was the case for Chen Heng as well.

After all, his territory, Sordar, was a remote land close to the desert.

Even though Chen Heng had greatly developed Sordar over the past five years through his efforts, not everyone else had the same capabilities or resources.

Most of them bitterly struggled in those regions, and many of them had even died in battle against Outlanders.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive would not be very grateful towards Olivia.

On the other hand, Chen Heng's suggestion to open up new territory was executed quite well by Olivia.

Thinking about the situation, Chen Heng could not help but feel a bit of a headache, and he lightly rubbed his forehead.

His suggestion to open up new territory was for Olivia to give nobles without territory or those younger sons of noble families an opportunity to receive a title and territory in the north.

After all, they did not have anything, so if they could obtain territory, they would be satisfied.

Moreover, it would be their own choice if they went to the north. Even if they died, Olivia would not receive any blame.

However, it was different for her subordinates and followers.

These subordinates and followers had contributed much to Olivia's success. They had given much and would naturally also expect much.

What they wanted was not remote and barren lands in the north but more prosperous territories.

However, Olivia's actions had disappointed them.

During the past five years, Olivia had continuously stamped out any resistance and had confiscated territory, but she had not given that territory to her supporters, keeping it for herself.

As for those who had been loyal to her, they had been sent to the north to open up new areas.

No matter who it was, no one would be satisfied with such a situation.

As such, her power from her supporters had gradually waned over the years.

Moreover, if Olivia did not change her method of doing things and continued on like this, she would force away everyone by her side, causing them to become her enemies.

As for her own forces and the royal family's strength, they were relatively stable for now. However, if things went on like this, problems were bound to arise sooner or later.

After all, from how Chen Heng saw it, Olivia's rule was quite heavy-handed.

Thinking to there, Chen Heng could not help but sigh, and he began to write a letter.