Chapter 396: Unpredictable people
The bosses all left, and the military meeting naturally could not go on, and everyone dispersed. Only Marquis of Trensou thought for a while and chased the direction where the duke left.
After a while, he met the Duke alone in the Duke's private dining room.
"Do you think I should continue the fight? Or should I retreat? Or should I surrender?" The Duke looked a little tired and asked impatiently.
The Marquis of Trensou smiled: "Sir, I want to ask a question."
"what is the problem."
"If you surrender Thrace, a knight can still be a knight, a baron can still be a baron, a viscount can still be a viscount, an earl can still be an earl, and a marquis can probably still be a marquis, but can a duke still be a duke?" The Marquis of Lunsu said, "As far as I know, there are only two dukes in Thrace, whether they are 'Storm' Elanz or 'Mountain' Piduts, who can resist the king's chambers and can oppose the Thracian family The person who said 'no'. Your lord, do you think you have the confidence to do so?"
Duke Norma smiled bitterly: "Don't make fun of me! The strength of the Norma family is not necessarily comparable to that of the Marquis of Thrace, let alone the two dukes!"
"Then... do you think that if Thrace surrenders, the Norma family will still be able to maintain their status as dukes?"
"Probably not... but it's not a big problem. It's nothing more than breaking up a family into several marquis, or even more earls." Duke Norma said, "I believe that as long as the negotiation is done, try hard to get it. , at least the land and population, should not be shrunk much."
He sighed: "Like what Yuneruo said just now, you will definitely not be able to fight. If you run again, the loss will be too great... In comparison, the loss of surrender may be a little smaller."
The Marquis of Trensou listened to him quietly, and then asked with a smile, "Sir, what should you do then?"
Duke Norma was taken aback for a moment, looking at him suspiciously, not understanding what he meant.
"If you surrender, the Norma family will be split into at least two marquis, or three... At that time, which of the three marquis do you think is better for you?"
"It doesn't matter which one you want, anyway, I'm still the patriarch of the Norma family. After all, the other marquis still have to..." Duke Norma's words stopped abruptly, his eyes widened, his face showed strong unease, and even a little panic .
He understood what the Marquis of Trensou meant.
Even if he was demoted from duke to marquis, he was still the patriarch of the Norma family, but would Thrace allow such a situation? Is it possible for them to allow themselves, the defeated general, to still control the entire Norma family?
Certainly not!
So what would Thrace do?
On the bright side, they might retire themselves, and let their children and two of their peers from the Norma family serve as three marquis. Such a branch has a high historical status, and the other two have high seniority, so a balance has been achieved between them.
From a bad point of view, they would choose to directly withdraw themselves and their immediate family from the core ruling circle of the Norma family, and let the collateral line of the Norma family serve as all three marquis. Everyone has the same status, and no one can overwhelm the other.
In fact, there are even worse possibilities...
The knife and fork in Duke Norma's hand fell on the table, panting violently. His face was so pale that there was no trace of blood, and his hands were shaking constantly.
After a while, he finally calmed down and asked, "Look, what should I do about this?"
The Marquis of Trensou smiled: "It depends on your choice, doesn't it?"
Duke Norma sighed, "Old friend, stop joking with me, I'm so confused right now that I can't think carefully!"
The Marquis of Trensou put away his smile and said solemnly: "The future of the Norma family is nothing to worry about. No matter what you choose, this huge family will never decline in a generation or two. But What will happen to my old friend, but I'm very worried... If you can't keep your seat, then your identity and prestige will become a noose around your neck instead!"
"So...I have no choice?"
"Yes, you didn't have a choice."
Duke Norma nodded, and didn't mean to be surprised or sad: "If there is no choice, there is no choice, and this choice is not unacceptable - but now there is a question, how can I convince everyone?"
He said distressedly: "Considering everyone's interests, it should be better to surrender..."
The Marquis of Trensou sighed, worried at the weakness of his old friend.
This old friend of his is not a fighting profession, but a scholar. If in a peaceful era, a lord like him is obviously a good thing for the territory. But in this chaotic era of swords and swords, his gentle and easy-going personality has become a huge flaw, and it can even be said to be fatal.
He also knew that, in fact, for himself, and for the Trensu family, colluding with Thrace and betraying the Norma family was the way to get the most benefit.
But he couldn't do that.
There are two brothers in the world, who said that everyone is a good friend who has learned and played together since childhood!
Over the years, the Trensu family has been taken care of by friends, and he has to repay it regardless of reason.
"The easiest way to get them to make concessions is to be severe," he said. "No matter how many entanglements of interests there are, surrender is always a taboo thing. We will have a military discussion later. I will severely criticize this kind of thinking. If you dare to mention surrender again, you will be locked up immediately, you can only be released if you win, and you will be executed if you lose!"
"Isn't that dead?" Duke Norma was taken aback.
"Is there anyone else who dares to touch the bad?" asked the Marquis of Terence.
Duke Norma thought for a while, then nodded: "You are right, I will clearly support you at that time. Under such circumstances, no one dares to mention surrender at the military council, at least not this time-- If you don’t dare this time, you won’t have another chance next time.”
"That's not enough," said the Marquis de Terence. "There is one more thing that must be done—that Yuneruo must be severely punished!"
"He is also for the good of the Norma family, for the good of everyone..." Duke Norma hesitated, "It's fine if he doesn't accept his kindness, how can he be punished!"
"You are a kind person, but remember, kindness alone is not enough!" said the Marquis of Trensou seriously, "These are extraordinary times! In extraordinary times, extraordinary means are needed. Well-intentioned or not, but he was always the first to offer to surrender.
"But……"
"There's no 'but'! It's your life and death now, and you can't tolerate being soft-hearted at this time! If you don't use tough means to get everyone to obey, if you don't calm down the situation at once, you'll be finished!"
Duke Norma was silent, and after several minutes, he sighed deeply.
"You're right." He looked frustrated. "Just do it."