It was 1149 in the Sacred Calendar of Xi Dalu and 562 in the Xilan King Calendar. In the Reims Cathedral, which was open on all sides, city representatives, sect leaders, chambers of commerce, as well as generals from the four legions and fifteen legions of the Free Army, as well as high-level officials of the national salvation government, swarmed in.
As the bells continued to ring throughout the process, groups of priests and nuns gathered in the square to pray, and numerous soldiers prepared to be reviewed. All kinds of people were eagerly awaiting and attracting attention; it was rare for a soldier to put on a gorgeous gold-rimmed white robe. Jiang Tian also stood in front of the high altar.
Then, Duval, the leader of the Redemption Knights holding an ancient sword, Lacha, the chief priest holding a gold-inlaid scepter, and Feius, the chief administrator holding a huge seal, took over these tokens representing the authority of the kingdom. utensils; and finally put on the crown on the main altar.
From then on, the bells rang in unison and various musical instruments such as pipe organs played in unison; amidst the tsunami-like praise and calls from the mountains outside, Jiang Tian also came to the terrace outside Reims Cathedral, promulgated the oath to ascend the throne as king, and on the spot Re-accept the oath of allegiance from all.
Thus, under the witness and persuasion of thousands of people, and through the traditional consecration and enthronement ceremony in Reims Cathedral, the new dynasty known to the world as the Knight King Rorschach I began. As the coat of arms and dynasty symbol chosen by Jiang Tian, it was the tulip.
That’s right, tulips originated in Turkey in another time and space; in this time and space, they were spread to the Western Continent hundreds of years ago with the Silver People/Serlis traders who were active along the Mediterranean coast and became A popular ornamental flower.
Of course, the real reason is that according to the tradition of the kingdom, when it is necessary to choose a flower as a symbol; in the memory fragments of his predecessor, Jiang Tian accidentally remembered his hometown, the small border town of Lonno, which had been destroyed by the war; the dilapidated knight's house was He supports his family by growing tulips.
It was also because Jiang Tian was just an unknown knight's family; therefore, it had neither a decent territory nor a named fief or manor. Therefore, we can only use the ancestral surname Ingram, that is, "Raven of the Forest" as the beginning of the new royal family's bloodline and lineage.
It can be regarded as the last bit of understanding of cause and effect in this body. Of course, the biggest difference between when he first established the Southern Salvation Government and became its leader, and now when he further proclaims himself king, is the right to claim the legal authority of the entire Sealand Kingdom, and the inevitable enfeoffment of officials and titles.
This is also what the subordinates who have been following for a long time are most looking forward to and longing for. Although it is still early to actually award rewards based on merit, the titles that have been planned will be announced first. Of course, the newly awarded title was completely decoupled from the fiefdom, leaving only the basic income rights.
Moreover, the economic rights of this designated area are no longer managed by the title holders themselves, or the dynasty sends people to take care of them; instead, they are converted into a certain amount of money or physical output according to the local tax rate, and then the kingdom Disbursements are made by government special committees.
In this way, the nobility and titles that once pervaded all aspects of the kingdom will gradually transform into honorary titles that distinguish status through ceremonial privileges. Specific income includes, in addition to the remote fiefdom corresponding to the title, annuities for holding honorary positions and donated manors.
However, in addition to the donated manor that can be passed down to the family, most titles must be passed down to the next generation for a period of participation in public affairs of the government, or service in the military for the country; and during the observation and assessment period, No ethical mistakes or mistakes were made.
If something similar happens or fails, the only option is to postpone the assessment or change the successor candidate. Despite this strictness, the profound influence of noble status and title since ancient times still makes the Free Army full of expectations and expectations.
Of course, the origin of the title system in the Western Continent is not exactly the same as the vassal system in the East since the "Book of Rites of Zhou" in which princes and princes were reduced to princes and princes. It can only be said that they are completely different. Because they originated from the leaders of barbarian tribes after the collapse of Rome.
The Franks, the original branch of the barbarians, led by their leader Clovis, destroyed the surviving Western Rome; but they suffered from insufficient administrative power and manpower to rule the ruined Western Roman homeland; so they followed him. Seal into lords.
While allowing them to self-govern a certain area, they also bear certain tributes and the obligation to be called into battle; this is also the origin of the earliest count, similar to the concept of chiefs and leaders of the barbarians; although the populations of each territory vary, in the original military Peer-to-peer in democratic meetings.
Later, as the situation evolved, the Franks needed to deal with attacks and attacks from other barbarian tribes, or they needed to be responsible for continued suppression and occupation after following the king to conquer a new area; military governors who were in charge of several counts were born - —Marquis of the Borders.
Later, as the wars became more frequent and intense, and when the king was unable to fight in person, a new title was born; the military commander who led the wars of the domestic lords on his behalf - the Duke. At the local level, as the population of the territory multiplied and grew, affairs became more and more complicated.
Therefore, on the basis of the bishopric/county, an additional secondary title - viscount - was established and appointed to assist in management and share responsibilities; and in order to check and counterbalance these overpowering earls, the king promoted his direct knights to become a A barony.
Many baronies constitute the lower ranks of the kingdom's aristocracy; they also manage a number of semi-independent fief knights, or banner knights who are family branches or vassals. But no matter the duke, marquis, earl or baron, they are all independent and equal princes.
And the aloof royal family is just the most powerful co-owner among the princes. Later, with the development of productive forces and commodity circulation, the citizen class rose and became wealthy. And under the king's clever name as a means of generating income, the so-called non-lineage lifelong knight group was born.
It was not until the reigns of the previous generations of Sun Kings and Sun Kings that Orientalist-style reforms were implemented; the "Terror Minister" Le Xingque, who had been in power for decades, defeated one rebellion after another by domestic and foreign nobles. , and restored most local powers to the Imperial Council.
As for the Free Army and the national salvation government, which are now based on the vast number of knights, citizens, and industrial and mining groups, there are not many remnants of the old era, and naturally there is not as much historical baggage as the center of the traditional kingdom; the only former great noble Feiyou Si, he is still a foreigner.
Therefore, Jiang Tian only used the relatively mature title and title system of previous dynasties in the planning of the new political power. On this basis, he also referred to the experiences and lessons of another (Datang) world, and finally promulgated the seven-level twelve-level system. The "Grade Law" for equal titles.
Among them, the titles of the first and second ranks that are exclusive to members of the royal family are ignored; the remaining five ranks are still dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons; but there are additional deputy viscounts and baronets, totaling seven ranks; and then (military merit) Knights of the Town and (Civil) Knights of Honor.
Finally, the Free Army also inherited the special knighthood created by the kingdom in order to sell officials and titles. Although they did not have many rights and interests such as annuities, estates, honors, etc., they could have lower-level pomp and titles, and even designed their own family emblems. and lineage inheritance.
The main purpose is to open a small window for those chambers of commerce and wealthy businessmen who have been willing to donate large sums of money to change their background through donations. Since we want to completely destroy the system of the old dynasty, we must find ways to bring in all strata of society that were originally suppressed.
Then there is the identity of the Knights and the Church. The Knights of Redemption are the simplest. Knights who have not yet awakened their bloodline inheritance will continue to be treated as fief knights; while knights who have awakened the power of bloodline will add one level to their status as fiefdom knights and become so-called barons.
The church is much more complicated. Today, in the Religious Affairs Committee of the Free Army, in addition to the Universal Church dominated by the Declarants, there are also several branch sects such as the African Order, the Cathars, and the Eastern Orthodox; about them The positioning needs to be weighed and considered.
In fact, according to the historical practice of the kingdom, the archbishop of the region, the abbot of the great abbey, etc. have a higher status and treatment than the great nobles; they even enjoy special territories and autonomy, and were once called the ecclesiastical princes of the kingdom. The Archbishop of the Capital Region is even more powerful than a church prince.
Not only does he possess the purple coat and two holy crowns chartered by the Holy See of Rome, but he is also the teacher and baptized person of the royal heir. He also owns a large number of real estates such as special palaces and castles, private gardens, etc. But it has also become one of the causes of church corruption that has been criticized by the secular world for a long time.
Since the new regime created by the Free Army wants to eliminate shortcomings, it is naturally impossible to give such high reciprocal treatment to the church. Therefore, in accordance with the newly promulgated "Ecclesiastical Teachings on Virtue", the Religious Affairs Committee will take over the real estate management rights of most non-religious places of the universal Church.
At the same time, most churches, monasteries and theological schools will receive special financial allocations and quotas for daily maintenance and upkeep. However, as a disguised form of reciprocal compensation, starting with rural priests and town deacons, they will enjoy exclusive government subsidies.
From the city bishop and above, ceremonial preferential treatment is given to the knights/honorary knights of the same fief; all the way up to the members of the Joint Council of Bishops. The leaders of various local religious groups and sect leaders are also treated equally with the earl and baron classes according to the clerical tenure in their respective locations.
This is undoubtedly the result of depriving most of the resources and privileges that were originally monopolized by the upper echelons of the church and a small group of people; and then feeding them back to the clergy at all levels in the middle and lower classes in disguised form. In addition, there were the ascetics of the monastery, who were obliged to undertake a period of public service;
Although it seems to make the church more completely secular and utilitarian, it is also an out-and-out poaching of the church. But in the face of this kind of conspiracy that directly points to the true nature of human nature, it is impossible to change and reverse the trend just by relying on a few "people of insight" who know how to do it.
Moreover, it seems that the three major groups and promotion routes of the robe-wearing aristocrats (civilian officials), the sword-bearing aristocrats (military merit), and the ribbon-bearing aristocrats (religious) were laid down and created by the Terrorist Era; but the basic core and evolutionary trends have changed. It's another story entirely.
However, when Jiang Tian proclaimed the first count of military merit on the spot, everyone was surprised but not surprised. Because he is the adjutant Poli who participated in most of the journey to create the Free Army, and is also the legion commander who is currently leading several overseas corps to conquer the Central Plateau.
