Chapter 100 Seeking Peaceful Resolution

Next day,

As the sun rises, Riz is doing his daily exercise. Jogging, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, et cetera.

Improving his body is a must. Unless there's something important he needs to deal with, he never neglects his daily routine.

By now, the maids in the mansion already grasped the amount of time he spent on daily exercise. They tacitly understood their master's habits and were able to prepare the bath water for him without being told.

After comfortably washing his body from sweat and changing his clothes, he enjoyed a simple breakfast meal with the rest of the family. Today's menu is toasted bread with half-cooked eggs.

It was his favourite and he stuffed his stomach until it was full.

'I hope I won't get lazy to use my brain later on.' His hand is patting his stomach a couple of times.

The first thing Riz does after finishing his breakfast is to call his Minister of War and Defense, William Geoffrey to come to his office.

As he mentioned yesterday, he wants to discuss the problem with William.

Ten minutes passed before he even realized it. William is finally here. He gently pushes the unlatched door,

"I've arrived, Your Majesty." He greeted.

"William! Please take a seat," Riz enthusiastically reply. He hasn't seen him in a while now.

Obediently doing so, William stares at the young king in front of him. He is thinking about the reason the king summoned him.

"So, how is life treating you?" Riz starts the conversation with pleasantries. This is something he doesn't usually do regardless of who. But since he rarely sees William, he decided to do it once.

"Pretty good, I guess," William replies despite the shock on his face.

"Great! Before we go to the main topic, can you briefly tell me the current progress of the ministry?"

William straightened his back, "As you wish, Your Majesty. Our army has a total of 25,000 active soldiers ready to fight. In case of war, the ministry can double that number of 50,000 by conscripting another half. I have to say that we are probably the largest number of soldiers among the kingdom in the mid-mainland of Jozia. All active soldiers are assigned to the military bases we have established in the capital, Portsbury, Baroks, Tegrot, Csorvar and Durbotes. Currently, we are in the process of supplying these bases with sufficient artillery and ammunition."

Staring at the map, Riz can see that the location chosen are all cities near the border and several entry points to the kingdom.

They protect the inner cities and towns in case of outside invasion. If the attack comes from inside, soldiers can encircle them. In case the attack comes from outside and inside, the bases near the border can focus on the outside forces while bases in Bideford and Portsbury will do the cleaning.

"Good work. What about military law? Did you guys make it yet? I'm very sorry I couldn't help you with that. It's out of my expertise." asked Riz. To control this many soldiers, the nonexistence of reward and punishment systems can pose trouble in keeping their discipline and motivation to serve the kingdom. No matter how beautifully someone describes patriotism, no one is willing to sacrifice their life for the country if there is no benefit for themselves or their family.

"It's okay, Your Majesty. We've finished drafting them and you will soon receive them for approval. You can see if you want to make some changes, suggestions or if there's a part you're unsure of." Replies William before he added another topic to the conversation. "In addition to that, the ministry has completed the recruitment criteria and training module for the new soldiers but..."

"But what?"

"But I believe if we can build a military academy, our recruitment process will become smoother and the quality of soldiers is guaranteed," William suggested.

He is aware of the various ongoing projects that are happening. He didn't want to put more burden on kingdom finance which is why he is hesitant to tell.

"Yeah, I think the same as you. Having a military academy is much better and easier to implement changes in the future. But not right now. We have enough soldiers for now. This one takes priority first." Riz nods to William's idea but decides to postpone it. He then passed the letter to William.

William read the letter which he suspected to be the reason for his summon to the king's office. "This..." He is baffled by the event that occurred. For foreign soldiers to easily enter their kingdom. It is a failure on his part as a defence minister.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Your Majesty. This is my negligence to take care of the border."

"No, we are busy establishing bases and I didn't really emphasize you about the border either. Fortunately, Baroks was smack right in front of the entrance to the north or else they will venture deep inside our territory."

Honestly speaking, it was kind of his mistake too. He didn't establish a tight border checkpoint yet because he wants people to easily migrate into his kingdom. Ryntum needs manpower now and even more in the future. He knows this method poses a risk of spies infiltrating. However, he is confident in SIN's ability to track them down.

SIN tracks anyone suspicious, captures them, conducts interrogation and kills all the spies unless the king said otherwise.

"Should we prepare for war, Your Majesty?"

"No, don't. I want to avoid war at all costs. It will disrupt our economy. We need a peaceful time to develop ourselves. Thus, we'll seek a peaceful resolution."

Riz watches his defence minister's face start to frown. William is making a 'if we're not going to war then why the hell you're calling me' face. But only one word manages to come out of his mouth.

"How?"

Riz smiles, "You see...King of Inver ignored all my letters when I sent them to discuss the issue of coal prices. At first, I didn't take it to my heart and assumed he was a busy person. But, this incident has proven to me how wrong I thought of him and how little he thought of me. Therefore, if I want to settle it peacefully, I need to use the power I possess to back up my word. And nothing works better than flaunting our military power. You said you're supplying our bases with artillery, right?"

William nods. He can guess where this is going.

"Then, prioritize arming Baroks first. While you are at it, conduct a military exercise near Filgen."

"Worry not, Your Majesty. I'll order the soldiers to shoot some cannons in the south direction."

Riz chuckled out of amusement when hearing William's enthusiasm, "Good. Let the sound of explosions fill that area during training. How much do you plan to supply artillery to each base anyway?"

"It depends on the number of soldiers stationed in each base. In Baroks, I plan to send 10 to 15 cannons there."

"Hmm...Sure, I'll leave it at your discretion. Ask someone to prepare a trip to Baroks. You can go now."

William stands up from his seat and walks towards the door.

Riz on the other hand is searching for a suitable candidate in his memory to lead a negotiation team to Inver.

This is a problem plaguing his kingdom.

The lack of capable and trustworthy leaders.

Because nobility has been in control for hundreds of years, the people never had a chance to lead themselves.

One hour passes in the blink of an eye and there are only two people that came to his mind.

Gerald and Audrey.

He immediately called him to his office.

Soon enough, Gerald came and sat in front of him. After explaining the situation to Gerald, he agreed to meet the King of Inver on Riz's behalf.

"Once again, I apologize for pushing this task to you, Gerald. You're the only one I think is suitable to do it." By all means, this is outside Gerald's job scope which left Riz with a bad taste in his mouth. He feels like an employer who gives out tasks that aren't meant for them to do.

"I don't mind it, Your Majesty. I'm aware of our current situation." Gerald calmly replies.