Chapter 72: Land Strategy

Chapter 72: Land Strategy

First, let me explain the current situation.

Lord Raul and Lord Aquicurl have raised their armies, but they arent going to march towards the capital anytime soon. Both parties are in the process of gathering troops, preparing supplies, and working on the handover.

The transfer of authority is done in stages. If all those stages are done in a rush, then you can lose everything you have built up just like me. A lot of the authority and vassals that the Emperor had was not passed to me when my father and grandfather died, and I suddenly became the Emperor. Many of the former Crown Prince Jeans vassals worked for Lord Warung, not me. It was inevitable that they would follow their master after losing Crown Prince Jean.

The same thing was happening to Duke Raul and Duke Aquicurl due to the purge at the coronation ceremony. Well, unlike me, they are starting from a place where they have some power, but sudden changes create huge backlashes. Their power must be really fragile.

Or, if Duke Raul, who had a large private army, had managed to control his army, then it would be possible for him to direct them towards the capital but they are now pinned down on the eastern frontier by the Gotilova Tribe.

He cant make a move at the moment, but we can. The choice is ours. Should we strike from the east or from the west? I want your opinion on this.

We couldnt strike at both armies. I could divide the forces into defence and diversion units, but I would like to have our main forces in one place.

By the way, this isnt the current course of action but the next course of action. My current course of action is to bring the southern part of the Empire under my complete control. So, I am conducting various operations in Count Bunra fief to achieve this.

All that remained to be seen was if Anslem Marquis Dzran will follow me now that he has defeated his parents and brothers. I have already sent a message to summon him to the capital. If he doesnt come, then the first step would be to attack Marquis Dzran.

Your Majesty, I would like to share my thoughts with you as someone who knows the finances of the Empire.

The first to speak was Count Newnbal, the Lord Treasurer.

The people of the Empire are short on all kinds of goods at the moment, but we have a large surplus of food. We should first attack Aquicurl in the west, secure its port and then conduct trade there to obtain foreign currency.

The Empire also has many neighbours on land, but most of those nations see the Empire as an enemy or do not have a very close relationship with the Empire. Even if we trade with them through the land route, at best we would have to lower our prices, so if we want to trade then it would be essential to take control of the sea. It was an opinion from an economic point of view, typical for the Lord Treasurer.

As someone who commands the army, I believe we should start from the east.

The next person to express their opinion was Lord Warung.

If we attack Aquicurl, we can expect strong resistance from the aristocrats of the former Aquicurl Kingdom. Those people are a nuisance, but Duke Raul is from Bungdalto. It should be relatively easy to suppress him if we keep winning.

The Aquicurl aristocrats? Oh yeah, it seems that Lord Warung was once troubled by the guerillas during the war with the three southern nations. This opinion seems to be based on his own experience.

I agree with Lord Warung. I believe we should attack the east.

After Lord Warung, Fabio, Marquis LMitedeau, stated that priority should be given to the east.

It will give people the impression that the Empire is strong if we beat the Raul Army which is known for its strength. Occupying the fief is a separate matter. I believe we should attack the Raul army at least once and support the Gotilova Tribe.

One victory would certainly bring many benefits.

All of your opinions are worthy of consideration

But if I had to choose between a military threat and economical gain, I would choose the former.

But we do not have the time to ponder over these opinions today Ive decided, lets start by attacking Duke Raul in the east.

Even though the Gotilova Tribe is good at fighting in the mountains, they are not immune to exhaustion. It could affect our future relationship with them if we put too much strain on them.

If its a large mercenary group or a famous mercenary group who are always sought after by different nations, then they wouldnt do something that could affect their next job, but if they are former bandits who just call themselves mercenaries, then they might do it since they are not conscious of their next job.

That had completely slipped my mind. Lord Warung was extremely helpful.

I see, you make a good point. Thank you, Lord Warung.

It is nothing. I apologise for interrupting you, Your Majesty.

Then we will be responsible for sending them their additional rewards. You will leave immediately, Count Chamneaux.

Haha.

That should take care of the military course of action for now. Now it is time for diplomacy.

I have one last thing to discuss. Its about our neighbours.

They will definitely try to intervene in this civil war either directly or indirectly.

I dont plan on having anyone other than our allies intervene, not as our enemies or as our allies.

It would be troublesome if the nation who intervened was an enemy, but it would be even more troublesome if they became allies to make us indebted to them. It would be a burden to prevent interference completely.

Therefore, I shall assume the position of Foreign Minister for the time being and negotiate directly with different nations.

You will, Your Majesty?!

Count Newnbal shouted. Lord Warung and Count Chamneaux were equally surprised, and well, Fabio was surprised as well. The only person who had not reacted was Count Palatine Vedett or rather, this man hasnt uttered a single word since the military was brought up. He refrains from making unnecessary remarks when he deems that it is out of his area of expertise

Yeah. By law, it shouldnt be a problem for me to hold that position while being the Emperor.

But it is unprecedented. There have been Emperors who have been marshals but

Well, because its showy to be on the battlefield as a monarch. I guess a lot of the emperors were show-offs. Being a Foreign Minister might seem modest compared to being a marshal.

I personally believe that it was a waste of time to be a marshal as an emperor since the emperor has the authority to command the military.

Of course, this is only temporary. I will show the nations that Im willing to negotiate directly with the neighbouring nations.

Well, were simply shorthanded. Id hate to see someones health deteriorate as a result of working too hard if I delegate this position to someone else.

There will be times when we will have to take a hard line with them or negotiate weakly with them but all of this is to buy time until the civil war ends. I dont intend to enter an agreement with them. You must keep that in mind.

I have to act like a weak person again. I dont want them to be disappointed or rebel when they see this, so I had to tell them this in advance.

This concludes todays meeting. It was a productive meeting.

We have shared most of our most recent and general action plans.

The plans will need to be adjusted each time depending on which side the returning lords side with.