Chapter 2487: Law Requires Authorization

From this booklet, Xia Duo saw the sincerity of the Seven Towers, but he also saw their ambition; he could already guess the situation that would emerge in Netheril once this New Covenant was established.

It would likely be nothing more than a struggle between centralization and independence. Although the New Covenant clearly defined the independent status of the territories, with the development of the era, as a unified country, there were indeed many powers that needed to be brought under central control.

For example, unified commercial taxes; the current situation where lords everywhere act on their own is very unfavorable to the development of commerce. Commerce is, in fact, the economy, and if the economy fails, it is difficult for other aspects to develop.

Take, for another example, the standing army that Xia Duo had been concerned about previously. The war mobilization capabilities of other countries in the Northland Alliance are constantly improving; surely Netheril wouldn't wait until the moment of battle to start conscripting?

Of course, for now, so-called combat power largely refers to the advanced spellcasters themselves, but having been tempered in the Projection Plane of the Red Heart Alliance, Xia Duo knew very well how great the difference was between a standing army and temporarily conscripted spellcasters.

Not to mention weapons and equipment, just in terms of fighting will, temporarily conscripted cannon fodder could never compare to full-time warriors who have undergone long-term training and have long possessed the awareness for battle.

Anyone can fight a battle with the wind at their back; once there is even a slight headwind, those temporarily conscripted without fighting will are likely to become a fatal weakness.

Therefore, in Xia Duo's vision, even in a world of magic, a standing army ready to fight at any time is indispensable, and the sooner the separation of combat and research duties for spellcasters occurs, the better.

Those who are good at fighting and like to fight should be allowed to specialize in combat; those who like research and are good at research should be allowed to specialize in research.

Letting professional people do professional things is what Xia Duo has always advocated and championed.

……

In the Seven Towers proposal booklet provided by Zhenna, there was almost no mention of areas involving future centralization. This could perhaps be interpreted as the Seven Towers not having thought of those.

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But the Seven Towers could not possibly have failed to see the centralization reforms that the Elven Nations of the Northland Alliance had long since begun. As long as they saw it, it would naturally not be difficult to associate it with the many key areas that must be centralized in the future.

Not mentioning it now is hard to interpret as anything other than an intentional trap.

Because once the Seven Towers get through this hurdle, fully integrate Netheril, and grasp the moral high ground, this is actually similar to the "curbing of vassal states" in the ancient times of Xia Duo's homeland; as long as those above want to, they can always find a pretext that is legally justifiable on the surface.

To put it very bluntly, the interests of the Seven Cities Council and the interests of the Netheril Lords are not entirely consistent, and the difference with the interests of the Netherese is even greater.

However, Xia Duo had no intention of designing a system for Netheril that was universally fair and benefited all ordinary people; that was unrealistic. Moreover, if the system were too perfect, how would his Daxia Territory and Daxia Order be able to seize control?

……

After pondering for a while, Xia Duo closed the Seven Towers proposal booklet in his hand and handed it back to Zhenna. Zhenna was stunned for a moment, then asked cautiously:

"Is Lord Xia Duo not satisfied with the proposal here?"

"No, I think it is very good, it is just that there are still some clauses that are worth discussing."

"This—"

Zhenna looked at the booklet on the table that still had traces of being flipped through, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Lord Xia Duo, feel free to speak plainly about which clauses you still have objections to. I can convey them to the Seven Towers. If some principled issues can be resolved before the formal consultations, it will also be conducive to ending the recent chaos as soon as possible."

The Seville Covenant is a principled issue; Xia Duo's objections to the clauses of the Seville Covenant were naturally a principled opposition to the Seven Towers' proposal.

If these problems are not explained and handled properly in advance, even if they are dragged to the Council of Great Arcanists, there will be no improvement.

"In front of President Zhenna, I will speak plainly: the boundaries between the executive power of the Seven Towers and the power of the lords in the New Covenant are not clear. While it seems to regulate and list rights and obligations, there is a large gray area in between."

"Then, according to Lord Xia Duo, how should this be resolved?" Zhenna asked directly.

If the Seven Towers had sent someone directly, they certainly could not have asked this; otherwise, wouldn't the Seven Towers appear too incompetent? But it didn't matter for Zhenna; she only needed to understand Xia Duo's true thoughts and then convey them to the Seven Towers.

"In my opinion, regarding the Speaker of the Seven Cities Council—the typical representative of the Seven Towers' executive power—and all the permanent institutions under the Council, any action not passed by a vote of the Council must be regarded as a violation of the Covenant."

"And for the lords, as long as it is not an action explicitly prohibited by a vote of the Council, it should be regarded as within the normal scope of the lords' rights."

In fact, this is "nothing can be done without authorization" directed at the Seven Towers, and "everything not prohibited is permitted" directed at the lords. The "law" here is, of course, the highest authority in Netheril—the Seven Cities Council.

The reason Xia Duo said this was naturally to cage public power as much as possible and allow private power to be asserted. Of course, this is from the perspective of the Council-Lord level.

Specifically regarding the Lord-Territory level, this logic could actually also be applied to limit the power of the lords, but one of the principles of the Seville Covenant is the independence of the territories, and the content rarely involves how internal affairs of the territories should be handled.

……

Hearing Xia Duo's clear stance on the division of power between the Seven Towers and the lords, Zhenna was stunned for a full few seconds before she subconsciously said:

"In that case, wouldn't the Seven Towers become everyone's butler and servant?"

In Zhenna's perception, for power to be so restricted and to require complete authorization from another party, it really was the role of a butler or servant. Although she was a bit surprised by Xia Duo's bold proposal, for some reason, Zhenna subconsciously felt that perhaps it should be this way.

"Isn't it? Otherwise, President Zhenna, what do you think the role of the Seven Towers should be? The indisputable ruler of Netheril? A master holding a chain over your head and mine?"

Once Xia Duo said this, Zhenna also realized that she had just completely stood on the side of the Seven Towers. She was only willing to come over as a mediator because the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce had good commercial dealings with the Seven Towers, and such behavior would not have any negative impact on the relationship between her and Xia Duo.

That was why she was willing to come and be this mediator, not because she was a subordinate of the Seven Towers.

Now, after Xia Duo's reminder, Zhenna re-examined her relationship, and indeed the relationship between the entire Netheril and the Seven Towers; as Xia Duo said, the Seven Towers is not a ruler, let alone a master.

The source of the Seven Towers' executive legitimacy came from the original Seville Covenant, but at that time, Netheril only had the power of the Seven Towns. Later, when the Zun Netheril Jiazu was honored as king, they were merely nominal rulers.

Not to mention the later transfer of royal power; the Seven Cities Council is the rightful ruler of this country, and the Seven Towers is merely a league of lords that inherited the names of the original Seven Towns.

Although the executive status of the Seven Towers was confirmed by the Old Sevinton Covenant, there has never been any claim that they naturally possess executive legitimacy.

At this time, Netheril is about to welcome a brand-new Seville Covenant. In order to ensure the smooth integration and transition of power, it is necessary to maintain the executive status of the Seven Towers, but isn't it only natural to impose corresponding restrictions?