Chapter 004: A Atmosphere of Dread

Although the nobles allied with Prince Fischer emerged as winners from this coup, in reality, it was Prince Fischer himself who reaped the greatest benefits.
Over the centuries of the Gavin Empire, countless lands had been granted as rewards, and these fiefdoms and powers were deeply entrenched within the empire, even affecting its stability to some extent.
As a result of this coup, Prince Fischer managed to reclaim nearly half of the lands previously granted by the empire. This meant more lands would be directly under imperial control, thereby strengthening the monarchy.
This actually achieved what Duke Green had analyzed back then—restoring imperial authority…
Moreover, the usually stable Belinger family turned against them, giving the royal family a perfect opportunity to deal with them…
The Belinger family had controlled the empire’s finances for years and had become incredibly wealthy. Due to this control, they exerted significant influence over the empire and, consequently, over the stability of the monarchy.
Although there were other powerful noble families in the empire with considerable influence, their influence mostly lay in politics and the military.
As long as these families did not unite, it was easy for Prince Fischer to maintain balance.
Thus, by dealing with the Belinger family, half of the previously delegated imperial authority could be reclaimed.
Many seasoned politicians saw all this clearly.
At such a time, since Prince Fischer was the ultimate victor and would become the future ruler, no one dared say anything unnecessary.
Prince Fischer also seemed very pleased. After bringing everything to an end, he waved at the nobles and said, “Well, everyone… if you have nothing else to do, you may leave now… I still have some matters to attend to.”
Since Prince Fischer had given the order to leave, the nobles did not dare stay stubbornly and left promptly.
Du Fan had no idea what Prince Fischer’s true intentions were. He hurried back to discuss the situation with Duke Green and quickly headed toward the palace gates.
But after taking just a few steps, a court servant rushed up to him, bowed, and said, “My lord, Prince Fischer requests your presence…”
Inside the palace’s garden, in a finely crafted study, Du Fan followed the servant inside slowly.

When Du Fan arrived, he found that not only Prince Fischer but also Prime Minister Kimberly, his own father, Redcliffe and other loyal followers of Prince Fischer, as well as the heads of imperial noble families, were already seated in the study. Seeing Du Fan approaching, Prince Fischer suddenly smiled gently and said, “My dear Duke… I’m truly sorry for neglecting you in the back hall just now… But there are some matters that need to be dealt with quickly. It’s already quite good that these aftermaths of the coup can be resolved within a day… Well then, now… my dear Duke, I think… we can discuss an issue.” Du Fan frowned slightly and said, “I’m not sure, Your Highness…” Prince Fischer laughed heartily. He suddenly walked over to the bookshelf in the study, searched for a moment, then took out a scroll and tossed it onto the desk, declaring loudly, “My Duke… take a look at the map. Choose any place you want as your territory… pick whatever you like…” At these words, everyone in the study was shocked! But those who could stay here were none ordinary people. Though surprised, a few of them had already anticipated that Prince Fischer would do such a thing, so they merely twitched their eyes slightly without showing any outward reaction. Others even sneered secretly. Prince Fischer’s gesture might seem generous, but it was actually the best way to test a subject’s ambition. Du Fan’s reaction at this moment would determine the glory and wealth of his remaining years. If he chose the right place, his glory for life would likely be boundless; but if he chose the wrong one… well, despite his current prominence, in the future… humph… Such an act of surpassing the ruler could not be done casually. If it weren’t for Prince Fischer’s unstable position right now, well, humph… there has never been any ruler in history who would sit idly by while his subject became even more powerful than himself… Du Fan also showed a surprised expression on his face. Although he had long anticipated this outcome, he still had to pretend to be extremely shocked, stammering, “Your… Your Highness… this… this isn’t right, is it? It’s better if Your Highness decides freely. No matter which territory it is… I, Du Fan, will definitely have no objections.”

“Is that so?” Prince Fischer smiled meaningfully, but soon he said calmly, “I’m giving you a choice… so choose… You’ve made great contributions on the day of the coup. If I can’t even give you this, I suppose it won’t work, right? Or perhaps… my dear Duke… you disdain this small territory of the Gavin Empire?”
With Prince Fischer’s words reaching this point, if Du Fan still refused, it would be outright insubordination.
At that moment, he could only study the map carefully. Suddenly, he smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness… I think I’ve chosen a place!”
“Oh?” Prince Fischer’s expression was half-smiling, “To make a decision so quickly, it seems my Duke already had plans in mind… So tell me… which feng shui treasure land have you picked?”
The looks around were extremely complex.
Du Fan slowly stretched out his finger and pointed at a spot on the map…
Some nearby people couldn’t help but wonder—what political awareness could this young Du Fan have? Most likely, he would choose the eastern provinces, right? Those areas had fertile land and abundant resources, and they hadn’t been affected by wars for years. They could be considered the wealthiest parts of the Gavin Empire. If he chose that place, the Green family would likely become extremely wealthy within a few years.
Or maybe he would arrogantly choose the northern regions? Although the land there wasn’t as good, with years of management by the Green family, it might be the easiest to control. But if he chose that place… hmph…
Yet Du Fan’s finger ended up on a corner of the map. With a smile, he said, “Your Highness… I’ve made up my mind. I’ll choose this place for my territory!”
Seeing his action, everyone around froze…
He actually…
Even Prince Fischer’s originally calm expression vanished. His face instantly turned ugly. He stared at Du Fan for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Do you… really not know, or are you pretending not to know?”
Du Fan still smiled and asked, “What?”
Prince Fischer, furious, said, “Du Fan! Don’t you know that the southern regions have already fallen under the control of the Lanny Empire? By choosing that place now… are you trying to mock me?”

Du Fan met the Prince Fischer’s gaze and suddenly smiled, saying, “Your Highness… The Southern Lands were once part of the Gavin Empire, and they will remain so in the future… As long as Your Highness grants me this land, I will personally reclaim it for both Your Highness and myself… to repay Your Highness for your kindness!”
Everyone around him looked astonished, thinking Du Fan must be insane…
After all, the Gavin Empire had lost every battle against the Lanni Empire, and everyone within the empire knew the southern plains were unrecoverable.
Even if the empire’s most powerful force, the Northern Legion, were to send troops, their chances of success would be only about 50-50.
Moreover, the Northern Legion’s current task was to deal with the remnants of the Azalea Dynasty in the Northern Lands—how many troops could they spare for Du Fan to pacify the south?
Was Du Fan really not crazy?
“Are you serious? Don’t you regret it? If you change your mind now, I’ll treat everything you said before as never having been said!” Prince Fischer stepped forward and stared into Du Fan’s eyes.
“I don’t regret it!” Du Fan smiled. “I beg Your Highness to grant my wish…”
The corner of Prince Fischer’s mouth twitched slightly before he finally smiled and said, “Very good! I’m satisfied with your determination… It wasn’t in vain that I made you a duke. Here’s what I propose… If you insist on doing this, I’ll appoint you as the Special Envoy of the Southern Lands. Any province you manage to reclaim, aside from your own, will be under your control… You can choose troops from the Imperial Guard as you see fit—I’ll give you one hundred thousand men!”
With that, Prince Fischer turned sharply and left the study, leaving everyone present staring at each other in confusion.
As he turned, the smile on his face gradually faded, and where no one could see, his expression turned grim!