Chapter 67
Ekaterina's POV
It's going to take a little longer for them to arrive. I know this because the cheers I could hear were still further away.
It's not much of a distance from the Imperial Castle to the Duke of Yurinova's residence. It's roughly the same distance as from the Imperial Palace to the Akasaka Imperial Palace in my previous life. Come to think of it, the Imperial Palace in Akasaka used to be the location of the Edo residence of the Kishu Tokugawa family. I guess the hierarchy between powerful people will be the same even if the world changes.
The annual visit to the three dukes is widely known among the citizens of the Imperial Capital, and people gather to catch a glimpse of the Imperial family on the way. The wide streets of this normally quiet neighborhood, lined with the Imperial residences of high-ranking nobles, were crowded with ordinary people on this occasion. The Imperial family also waved at them as they drove their carriages slowly, so it took a long time to get around.
In the first place, the purpose of the Imperial Family's visit to the three dukes is to show the unity of the Imperial Family and the dukes. That's why they set up traffic control along the route to the destination in advance, and come with the Imperial knights in a grand parade-like fashion.
In this way, the imperial family's intention is to increase the authority of the three dukes and give them the power to suppress other nobles, as well as to encourage a spirit of competition among the three dukes and deter the possibility of them joining forces to harm the Imperial family.
The Yurigrand Empire has been in existence for four hundred years. This is a rare length of time in history for a nation, though it is due to a variety of factors.
The Imperial family has maintained the government for such a long time.
Even the three dukes, whose role was to protect the Imperial bloodline, were to be feared and respected.
The cheers grew closer, and soon enoughーーー
"Ekaterina, can you hear me?"
"Yes, brother."
What I heard was the sound of a horn being blown.
Alexei gave the signal, and the musicians of the Order of Yurinova raised their horns and blew loudly.
During the founding of the country, when Piotre the Great, the eldest brother, and his three younger brothers, who would later become the founders of the Dukes, led their armies through the battlefields, they not only raised a visible banner, but also used their horns to blow a melody that they had set for each of them, so that they could communicate the location of their armies on the battlefield and cooperate with each other.
Following this tradition, when the emperor comes to the dukes, he would have his knights blow the melody of Piotre the Great on their horns before they arrive.
The dukes would respond with the melody of their respective founders.
Ahhhh, the History geek blood in me is boiling!
3rd POV
Ekaterina, who had been reluctant to accept the royal family's visit, is now excited. The history of this world is also fun. The episodes of the four brothers during the founding of the empire were particularly interesting to her.
The founding father, Piotre the Great, was a maxim who won the hearts of many generals, and as an individual, he was a legendary warrior with powerful lightning magic, as well as a man with vast political power. However, he was not good at leading individual battles, and he was often rescued many many times by his brother when he was on the verge of defeats.
It was usually his second brother Sergei or his youngest son Pavel who came to his rescue. The third son, Maxim, was good at diplomacy and domestic affairs, but like his eldest brother, he was not good at commanding on the battlefield. However, Maxim was very ambitious, and many times he tried to conspire with Pavel to defy his eldest brother. However, after Piotre became emperor, he contributed greatly to the stability and development of the empire.