Ore wa Seikan Kokka no Akutoku Ryoushu! - Vol. 6 Ch. 28.1

[Noskal_Borg]

"If she breathes, she's a thot" - Liam Bancroft

He needs to be rehabilitated! Breed him!

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Explanation crew, please! How is it possible to deprive noble of their land, their most sacred right?

It really depends on what kind of Empire we are talking about here and their culture because there are many types in history.

Taking away land wouldn't be possible without problems if it's like medieval Europe, where the King gives land to nobles in exchange for their loyalty, military, and other services as a contract. The King cannot arbitrarily take land away from nobles without creating legal issues and stuff like the Magna Carta.
Also, regicide is more serious there because it involves faith.
A king can only take land away if the noble breaks a law or the contract. It's not a sacred but a legal thing.
And if there's something like a parliament or church, then the king has to take it to them first, especially if he was elected/supported by them.

In feudal Japan, the Shogun could seize land using a decree while the Emperor couldn't do much.

From what we know, the Empire here seems to be more centralized with the imperial army and stuff, so it's more like Imperial China where the Emperor was absolute and could do anything.

Actually, it's like a mix. Remember that it's fiction and another world, and it doesn't look like the author went too deep into that (but hey, that's just my current opinion and also I haven't finished this yet).

 

[kwendy]

It really depends on what kind of Empire we are talking about here and their culture because there are many types in history.

So, you are suggesting that ducal house was either a) direct retainer of an imperial crown with feud under liese from emperor, but without political backing from lower nobles at all to threat the dethroning (in already unstable situation due to borderline succession crisis) or b) banished by absolutist that somehow eliminated legal foundation of the state without purging it into civil war?
(I am just having fun with speculations, it's obvious c) Author didn't go out of his way to research the matter)

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

So, you are suggesting that ducal house was either a) direct retainer of an imperial crown with feud under liese from emperor, but without political backing from lower nobles at all to threat the dethroning (in already unstable situation due to borderline succession crisis) or b) banished by absolutist that somehow eliminated legal foundation of the state without purging it into civil war?
(I am just having fun with speculations, it's obvious c) Author didn't go out of his way to research the matter)

Damn. It's kinda hard to say how they got there...
Do you know something I don't? (I don't mind spoilers)

A makes more sense than B to me. 2,000 years is more like a few centuries here in terms of human lifespan but I really don't know how much has changed in that time.
The core problem is the new Emperor immediately doing those things to the ducal household and even setting up some kind of organisation to bully them for millennia without getting into trouble. You really can't do that without being absolute or if the ducal household and/or the prince they were supporting were notoriously disliked by everyone. Yeah, doesn't look like anybody was supporting them so that could be it.

Perhaps there wasn't much of a legal foundation in that area to begin with either?

Maybe it's more like ancient Egypt or North Korea where the new ruler is seen as god? Doesn't look like they have any religion here though... But legal procedures seem to be rather simple here.

Perhaps that guy already had support from almost everyone for being seen as more competent or through bribes/threats and just needed to take care of his opponents and their supporters. Then the rest would be already supporting him or too scared to oppose him.

Man it sucks when the author isn't clear about things and the only way for things to make sense would be through complicated headcanons or delayed exposition.
I'm still having fun though.

 

[kwendy]

Damn. It's kinda hard to say how they got there...

|Only going by what I've read in manga, didn't touched novels if you are about that. I am curious if original story has more lore but not curious enough to actually read it XD
|Legal foundation is assumed because we have space feudalism in the first place.
|Theocracy is an interesting thought, but the fact they have no problem with pushing some heirs or killing others to promote their interests speaks against it.
By the way, god-kinghood is more of a fantasy concept - actual antiquity rulers only could ride their titles until they cross other big political powers. Egyptian pharaohs barely could unite Egypt with their power, primarily because other factions can easily declare they think their god is more important or any other theological reason as long as they had organised religious cult of their own.
That and humans are more pragmatic then they seem. Alexander the Great declared himself a god once, and other kings even let him play the part, as long as it didn't touch their field of interests. Touch their borders - and they had a problem with that. Crusaders declared themselves rightful owners of small provinces based on sacred visions and prophecies, but it didn't cut with larger pieces of cake.
As for North Korea - it's not even monarchy, it's people republic with highly consolidated power due to high degree of foreign pressure. If great director do at least 1/10th of what South Korean propaganda says he does his credit of trust would allow him to plow a year or two by the inertia before questions would be axed and heads would roll. We can't seriously talk about establishing cross-generational bullying organisation with this input.
So.
We gathered so far, that emperor is machiavellian political genius (but also incredibly petty) that not only basically cleared and rebuilt whole political field, but did it completely covert and without breaking into civil war and by merely victimising single noble house.
If you look at state of rim of the Empire, your suggestion about massive bribery campaign might hold water. I wonder if we will also discover royal fingers in pirates soup.
The only thing bothering me now is that he is both progressive with establishing central power and proper rules of succession and destructive with feudal degradation and corruption. I think there were people like that in history, but interesting contradiction none the less.
I am also having fun with world building galore.