by Dojyomaru
Her marriage... huh, he thought. Not being able to see the princess on her wedding day is my one regret, but if I think of this as the greatest wedding gift anyone could offer, it doesn’t feel so bad. As for this wine... I will have to ask someone to see that it makes its way to that young king. Though, as he is the man who stole the princess from me, I am somewhat loath to do it.
With a self-mocking laugh, he imagined Souma and Liscia standing next to each other on their wedding day.
Will the king himself enter this castle, I wonder? I would dearly like to meet him in person and to talk just once.
That was Georg’s wish, but what came instead was a messenger.
“Reporting! King Souma did not enter Randel and has already departed leading the Forbidden Army to the west!”
...was what his report said.
Then, right after that, he also reported that orders had arrived saying, “Once the army is reorganized under Beowulf and Glaive Magna, they are to follow after the Forbidden Army at once.”
When he received that report, Georg’s eyes went wide for a moment.
“If you are to be a great tree blocking my path, I will step over you.”
He recalled Souma’s face when the young king had said those words. And so, Georg understood at once. “Gya ha ha! I see, so that was it! The king was looking to land a big fish of his own!”
Suddenly understanding everything, he let out a hearty laugh.
“I see! I’ve been used as a stepping stone! Was this the king’s plan? Or was it the Black-robed Prime Minister? Regardless, it was brilliant, young ones! This is the dawn of a new generation! My time has now ended. Now, my king, my princess! Hand in hand, step over this old tree and be on your way! Glory to the new buds, and glory to Elfrieden!”
As he witnessed the end of his own era, Georg blessed it with all his heart.
“Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree.”
That was the stratagem that Georg had followed, achieving the greater victory by sacrificing himself.
◇ ◇ ◇
Let’s sort out the details of the battle up until this point.
First, this series of battles began when the three dukes opposed the former king’s abdication, choosing not to swear loyalty to me. Ever since I had been given the throne, the three dukes had been secluding themselves in their duchies along with the armies they controlled.
The three dukes had been uncooperative during the period when I was gathering personnel and desperately trying to get this country back on its feet. Then, a number of nobles that I was having investigated for corruption as part of my reconstruction of the economy fled. When they took refuge in Carmine’s Duchy, that was one event that pushed us into a more definite state of opposition.
Then, when I had issued an ultimatum the other day, things had finally developed to the point where the king and the three dukes were in open conflict.
However, one of the three dukes, Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter, swore her loyalty to me when issued the ultimatum. This prevented the Forbidden Army and the Navy from coming into conflict.
After that, Georg, who rejected my ultimatum, and Castor, who was prepared to martyr himself for his friendship with Georg, raised the flag of rebellion against me. This was what had caused this current war... Well, anyway, that was the scenario that not only my people, but also the Principality of Amidonia believed.
—However, this scenario only appeared that way on the surface. The true state of affairs was completely different.
First, people thought that Excel had sworn her loyalty to me when I issued the ultimatum, but, in fact, she had done so before that. Excel had sent her granddaughter Juna to be at my side in order to judge whether I had what it took to be king. When she received reports back from Juna saying that I did, she swore her loyalty to me and we used Juna as an intermediary between us.
However, in order to monitor Georg, who had been making some disquieting moves, as well as to attempt to persuade Castor, we concealed that fact, and she continued to work alongside the other two dukes for a time.
Next, the reason this conflict had broken out was also different.
The plan Hakuya and I had been working on was something entirely different, and we hadn’t been thinking about subjugating the three dukes at all.
When Liscia told me what sort of person Georg was, I thought he was the kind of guy who would listen to reason. Even with Castor, I knew he had a short temper, but if Excel and Georg both worked to persuade him, I had thought he would reluctantly comply.
However, because Georg sheltered the corrupt nobles, my plans were all thrown off course.
That said, neither Hakuya nor I had seen the corrupt nobles as being of any great consequence. They had already been driven from their positions. If we sealed the border and could just seize their assets, I didn’t care where they went after that. However, Georg kept those nobles close at hand, adding their forces to his own.
At first, when I’d seen he was acting so differently from what Liscia had told me about him, I had been indignant.
That was when Glaive Magna, who said he had left the Army, had appeared before me.
◇ ◇ ◇
Technically, he had come to me in order to apologize for Hal’s rudeness in town, but even if not for that, I‘m sure he would have appeared before us. Glaive had been entrusted with a certain secret mission by Georg.
Once he finished apologizing for Hal’s impropriety, he began by saying, “Now then, sire. I realize this is incredibly rude, but I have come to tell you something.”
When I asked him what it was, he said, “Well... it is something best not heard by many people...” and he asked me to clear the room.
I had Liscia, Aisha, Hakuya, Hal, and Kaede remain, and dismissed everyone else. Once I did that, Glaive finally began to speak about Georg’s plan.
“Duke Carmine intends to gather all of the corrupt nobles in one place, launch a rebellion with them, then have Your Majesty put it down.”
This was to catch all of the corrupt nobles in one fell swoop, because they would be dangerous if left lurking around. Georg took a position of clear opposition to me, drawing these destabilizing elements to himself like moths to a flame.
Then he had Glaive and his people, the ones he trusted the most in the Army, break away due to “distrust over his having sheltered corrupt nobles.” They would join the Forbidden Army so that there would be people left who could reorganize the Army after the war. After that, he would reject an ultimatum from me, and once the destabilizing elements had gathered, he would take things onto the battlefield. His plan was to have the nobles captured along with him.
The Army were powerful enemies with 40,000 troops, but if the Forbidden Army, Air Force, and Navy all worked together, they could easily put them down.
In fact, even in this recent battle with the Army, all it took was destroying their anti-air repeating bolt throwers with a surprise attack by the Air Force to set the stage for a surrender. Then, at the same time as he surrendered, Georg’s retainers would detain the nobles and their personal armies, which included Zemish mercenaries.
That was Georg’s plan.
When I heard the plan from Glaive, I found myself shouting in anger without intending to. “What the hell?! Who ever asked him to do that?!”
“Your anger is understandable, but... this was Duke Carmine’s own idea.” Even as Glaive bowed his head, it seemed he had no intent of yielding.
“Why would he do that?! The corrupt nobles have already been dismissed. We’ve already seized their assets, too. Just let those cockroaches go!” I shouted.
“If you ask Duke Carmine, he feels that’s being naive.” Glaive raised his voice in anger, but then controlled himself. As a retainer, he couldn’t get into a shouting match with his king.
When I saw that, I cooled my head, too. “...What’s naive about it?”
“Sire, when grain rots, the rot spreads to nearby grain. The problem wi
th nobles is their wide connections. In order to preserve their influence, they repeatedly marry off their daughters to create new relatives. Most likely, if you only put them on trial for something minor like corruption, other houses will intervene to prevent it. Furthermore, even if they lose their own houses, it’s possible they will all seek protection from another house where they have relatives. As such, it is necessary to knock them down all the way to being traitors against the state.”
I fell silent.
I understood what Glaive wanted to say.
In order to bring judgment upon those corrupt nobles with all their ties, I would have to make them commit a crime that would cause their families to be held accountable. Then, fearing that they might be caught up in it as well, the other nobles would cut ties with them of their own accord.
It sounded like it made sense. It sounded like it, but...
“...Do we really need to go that far?”
“Yes,” he said. “There is one more reason.”
“What, there’s still more...?”
“You say you’ve seized their assets, sire, but you’ve only taken what was visible,” he said. “These shady sorts have money and influence in places where people won’t notice. In fact, the nobles who’ve already come to the Carmine Duchy have been using that dark money to hire Zemish mercenaries. I believe this is proof you have yet to take everything from them.”
When he pointed that out, I pressed my palm to my forehead.
Of course. I had been staring at ledgers and deluding myself into thinking that I knew where the funds had gone from that alone. It had slipped my mind that it was possible to accumulate wealth in ways that wouldn’t show up on the books.
When I looked to Hakuya, he had a similar expression on his face.
For me, who never had anything to do with nobles before this, and for Hakuya, who had been a recluse until just recently, we hadn’t fully appreciated how scheming nobles could be.
At times like this, I was reminded that I still lacked enough capable people.
“Does Georg intend to make the nobles use up that dark money?” I asked. “Even if he does, the money will just go to Zem for sending the mercenaries...”
That was when I realized the way to shake down Zem and reclaim the funds that flowed into their coffers.
“Ransom money!”
“Yes,” Glaive said. “At the same time as we capture the corrupt nobles, we will also capture all the Zemish mercenaries they hire.”
Like in Japan during the Sengoku Period, there was a system in place for soldiers who were taken prisoner to be released in exchange for a ransom. Ransoms went up depending on a person’s status, and if no one would pay the ransom, that captive would be sold as a slave. In most cases, those of low status would be released in large groups when their country paid a lump sum, but those of greater status would have their ransoms paid by the members of their house. There had been many instances where a house with limited ability to pay fell to ruin as a result.
“Georg intends to have the nobles use their dark money to hire mercenaries from Zem, and then he’ll recoup the money from Zem by making them pay ransom for their captured mercenaries?” I asked.
“That is correct.”
The mercenaries Zem sent wouldn’t be anyone of high status, but the amount they would have to pay as a lump sum would be considerable.
Honestly... it was a well thought out plan. That made this all the more irritating.
“Why do I have to waste a man who can think things through this well?” I protested bitterly. “I’m already short-staffed as it is, so if he’s that determined to help, he should just help me normally!”
“Please understand, sire,” Glaive said, looking me straight in the eye. “Duke Carmine has entrusted you with the future.”
I gulped. “...How could he believe in me so strongly? We’ve never even met before.”
“That, I do not know. When you meet Duke Carmine for yourself, I suggest you ask him.”
I fell silent.
◇ ◇ ◇
At that time, there had been no answer, but later, when issuing the ultimatum, I had tried to subtly ask Georg what his motivations were.
“What is it that drove you to this?”
To my question, Georg had answered, “My pride as a warrior.”
He’d continued, “Being more than fifty years of age, my body will only grow weaker from here, but now I have been given the greatest of opportunities. I will decide the fate of Elfrieden with my own talents. Once in his lifetime, it is every warrior’s wish to accomplish something that will be remembered by later generations.”
Depending how you interpreted them, those words sounded like something an usurper setting out on the gamble of a lifetime might say. However, the fact of the matter was, he had been declaring that he was ready to give his life for this country.
To decide the fate of Elfrieden with his own talents and to accomplish something that would be remembered by later generations... That was why he’d had to destroy the corrupt nobles, even if he had to sacrifice himself to do it.
I didn’t know if those words were the truth. However, I could tell that his resolve was unshakable. Liscia’s steadfastness may have come from this man, her teacher.
Let’s get back on topic.
The information brought to us by Glaive had been tucked away inside the hearts of all those present. There had been six people present: myself, Liscia, Hakuya, Aisha, Kaede, and Hal. If word of this had leaked out by some chance, the whole plan could have come undone.
That was why we couldn’t communicate this plan to Excel, who was already cooperating with us, or even to Ludwin, the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army. Because of that, Excel remained suspicious of Georg, and there was another miscalculation made.
Castor’s rebellion.
Because the plan had advanced in absolute secrecy, Castor harbored doubts about me, and so his Air Force ended up siding with Georg. For us, and for Georg, this event was completely outside our predictions. No matter how simple Castor might be, it hadn’t occurred to me that he would side with Georg when Georg was acting in such a blatantly suspicious manner.
I had never once thought that he would take only one hundred of his personal troops and throw his lot in with Georg, ready to martyr himself for their friendship.
Thanks to that, the battle at Red Dragon City had been a completely ad-libbed etude, one not found in Georg’s script. While it was fine, since we’d won, it was a situation that could have turned the entire script into improv theater.
Perhaps Excel might have been able to foresee that Castor would act like this. However, because we’d been keeping Georg’s plan a secret from Excel, there had been no way to consult her. Looking at the results, my failure to use the people I had available to me had caused the situation to become confused, so I probably had a lot to reflect on here.
Well, it was a battle with many twists and turns, but somehow I think we managed to play Georg’s script out to the end. Finally, the curtain could fall on the stage for Georg’s script.
Now, this was where it would start. Finally, we could get to the main event.
Hakuya and I would be the scriptwriters for this new stage about to start. We took the long route to get here because of Georg, but, finally, we were now able to raise the curtains on our stage.
“Now, let the subjugation begin.”
That was what I had declared.
Subjugation is a word used to describe putting down a revolt in one’s own country, but, more broadly, it can also refer to the suppression of a hostile foreign power.
Here, I would like you to remember one thing. Amidonia was invading from the southwest because of their correspondence with Georg, and it had been timed to coincide with his rising up.
However, Georg himself was only focused on domestic matters.
Of course, that meant he was never connected to Amidonia to begin with. Now then, who, I wonder, was it that assumed Ge
org’s name and sent those letters to Gaius VIII?
—Now, let the true subjugation begin.
Chapter 8: Declaration of War
—Evening, 1st Day, 10th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar — Near Altomura.
The Amidonian army had agreed to break their siege at the request of the lord of the castle, Weist Garreau, but when noon came, there was no sign of Altomura’s gates opening.
The sovereign prince of Amidonia, impatient with the current state of affairs, ordered that the siege be resumed. Then, once the encirclement was complete, he gave the order for an all-out attack. However, having broken the siege of the city, it took a considerable amount of time to encircle the city once again. It had grown close to evening by the time the task was complete.
“Curse you...” Gaius swore. “To think I’d be played for a fool by a petty man of no significance like Weist.”
Sitting on a stool in Amidonia’s main camp, Gaius tapped his foot impatiently. When they saw him like this, it put all of the officers and men standing at his side on edge. They knew if they did anything to set off his short temper now, it might cost them their heads. That naturally caused a heavy air to fall over the camp.
In the middle of it all, the crown prince, Julius, did his best to pacify Gaius.
“That just means a petty nuisance did as petty nuisances do,” he said. “He’s making a futile attempt to buy time. We’ll just have to ensure that we crush him this time. What is there to be so irritated about?”
“...Hmph,” Gaius said. “Yes, his struggle certainly has been in vain.”
He seemed mollified by Julius’ words, but continued:
“It’s too late for them to beg for their lives now. I’ll destroy that country town by the time the sun goes down. When that time comes, Weist, I’ll hang your head from the castle gates, but not before I torture you until you beg for death!”