I'd like to take a second to defend burning the city and everyone in it to the ground. If you don't have any allies and your only goal is to be in power, this is a great way to get everyone in line. Following that kind of razing, the other Houses would have tremendous pressure from their constituents to comply the Queen because they know that if they don't, literally everyone will die and the city will be wiped off planet. Before, if the Lord didn't comply, he/she probably gets beheaded, but the city and everyone else get to continue on with their sh***y lives.