That should give us an idea.

　I watched the training of the Transportation Corps.
　The Transportation Transportation Transportation Corps has two thousand men and two hundred carriages. The Transportation Corps has two thousand men, two hundred carriages and four hundred horses.

　This is a splendid organization.

　Rosward and Bartolo opposed the idea that 400 horses would be enough to add another 400 cavalrymen to the Transportation Corps, but it was a fine organization.
　We already have more than a thousand cavalrymen in our ranks.

　Since we can expect more and more reinforcements from Muzio in the future, I believe that reinforcing the cavalry is unnecessary for the time being.

　It is more important to secure supplies.

　I am sure that I am not the only one who has been in the vicinity of the battlefield, but from now on, I may have to travel to faraway places.
　We should organize the Transportation Corps from now on to accumulate its expertise for that time.

　'Your Majesty!

　While I was lost in thought, a kinsman on horseback came calling from a distance.
　He dismounted when he was 20 meters away from me and rode up to me.

　What's the matter?
　"Sorry to disturb you in the middle of government business, sir. I have a personal letter from King Evil.

　I get a letter of intent from the Kingsguard.
　I break the seal and check inside.

　....
　.........

　Should I call it an opportunity, or should I say I wish I had waited a little longer...

　Let's get the council of the great families started. Tell the other lords and ladies to meet as soon as possible.　
　Yes!






　"This is the first time I've asked you all to come together, ladies and gentlemen, to discuss the dispute between King Evil's kingdom and Zoldias'. You are here to discuss the dispute between King Evil's kingdom and King Zoldiers' kingdom. Some of you may have heard of it already, but you will have to explain it once, Ial.
　Yes, sir.

　Ial stands up and reads the pre-prepared document.

　The story goes back to three years ago, when a dispute erupted between King Evil's country and King Zoldias' country. At that time, our country was at war with King Evil's country. So we contacted King Zoldias and put pressure on him, and we succeeded in making peace.

　It was a process that everyone already knew about, and it was the beginning of Ial's rise to power.
　If King Zoldias hadn't moved at that time, the siege would not have survived.

　'After the peace with our country, King Evil's country and King Zoldias's country were at war with each other. The war ended with King Zoldias' country gaining the upper hand, and King Evil's country ceded part of its territory to King Zoldias' country, and some of the great families turned to King Zoldias' country at that time.

　At first glance, it seems cowardly to turn to the enemy the moment the country is in danger.
　However, from the point of view of a wealthy family, this is what they have to do in order to protect their home and fiefdom.

　You can't blame them all.

　''This war started when King Evil's country invaded King Zordias' country land to recover lost land.

　It's a matter of dignity for a king to be left in the lurch, with his land taken away forever.
　You might think that dignity doesn't matter, but being strong in war is a centripetal force in and of itself.

　If it loses its centripetal force, the great families will quickly drift away from the royal family.

　Well, that's not so much the case in our country today.

　'King Evil continued his rapid march and at one point invaded the royal capital of King Zoldias' country. But King Zoldiers took advantage of the complicated terrain of his country and attacked King Evil's army by surprise. As a result, King Evil's army was destroyed, and then King Zoldias invaded the city and now the city is surrounded.

　Well, in summary, King Evil had it coming.
　However, I owed King Evil a debt of gratitude for the reinforcements he had provided during his third conquest of the South.

　Even though it was useless in comparison, it did give us a diplomatic advantage.

　It's unbearable to abandon them, and we can't afford to overlook the growing strength of King Zordias's country.

　So, why don't we go to war with King Zoldias' country?
　That was the agenda for today.

　Well there's no need to discuss it.
　Since I've made my decision, the war with King Zoldiers' country is my decision.

　There's no need for a big family council but we will discuss it and adopt a resolution in the name of a good cause.
　It's called the courtesy of a big family.
　By the way, since it's called a grand family council, only those who have or had a fiefdom are allowed to participate.
　The newer nobles, Ains and Alexios, do not participate.


　''Do you have an opinion?''

　I look around.
　First Raimondo, Bartolo, and Ial agree with me.

　Then Ron, Rosward, and Gram.

　Finally, one by one, the great families gave their approval, and it passed without incident.

　Thus began the First Zordias War.







　It is said that the total number of the Zordias army is about 7,000.
　Since the total strength of the Zordias army is expected to be roughly around 10,000 based on past cases.......

　Considering the troops we have left for the defense of our home country, it can be said to be the total strength that King Zoldias' country currently has.

　Incidentally, the number of troops mobilized by our country is 18,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry (of which 700 is the national army and 1,300 is the allied army, including the Arva people).
　That's about three times as many as the enemy.

　Until now, we had three choices: slightly better, just barely better, or inferior to the enemy, but we could finally challenge the enemy by several times more troops than the enemy.
　It was a great progress.

　But.........

　I don't know much about King Zordias' country.
　I don't know much about it. I've never been involved in it in any depth before, so...

　The country of King Rosais is buoyant these days, but not long ago it was one of the small countries of the central South Adelian peninsula.
　It is full of only its own country and the countries around it.
　When it's a neighboring country next to a neighboring country, information is fuzzy.

　Recently, they've been following the example of the Roselle Kingdom and dispatching sorcerers to various locations to gather information, but perhaps because they're still inexperienced, it can't be said that they're doing well.

　I've heard that most of the country is mountainous, so agricultural productivity is low. That's why our agricultural productivity is low. But we have the technology to produce iron tools and iron sand in abundance. In addition, the people make their living mainly by cattle breeding and hunting, so they are very brave and courageous. Their military power is a threat........or was it?

　Most of the countries in the Adelian peninsula have adopted the Cilician phalanx, but King Zoldias' country seems to be different. It's probably because the country is all mountainous.
　It is said that short spears and swords are the main weapons to make it easier to handle in mountainous areas.

　In that respect, they are similar to our country.

　"I've heard that our current King Zoldiers is a skilled fighter. I'm sure he was once praised alongside His Majesty.

　The reason it's temporary (...) is because I have a much higher reputation now.
　That's if you increase the territory this much.

　Well, the war is 90% of Bartolo's achievement.

　"Your Majesty, Zordias is good. That place actually produces copper.

　It was Ains who interrupted me from the side.
　Ains can't lead an army, but he's good at preparing food and weapons.

　This time, they are following me as a serviceman.
　They are the merchants who follow the army to the battlefield and sell food, weapons, alcohol and women.
　They are also the ones who sell captured prisoners of war as slaves.

　Most of them follow me on their own, but in this case I hired them.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make a living out of it.

　I'm sure I'm not the only one.
　The Transportation Corps is not yet as dependable as our own.

　The Transportation Corps is not yet ready.　But I've never heard of it.

　Copper is an important strategic material.
　In addition to being used as a material for bronze ware, it is also widely distributed as money.

　In some cases, copper may be more important than gold or silver in terms of its use in everyday life.

　If copper were known to be produced, though, it would be more famous.

　'It's simple. It doesn't produce much. King Zoldias' country doesn't have the technology to dig out copper properly. If you ask for technology from other countries, you may be able to dig it out, but King Zoldiers' country has traditionally been a closed country. Successive kings of Zoldiers must have thought of digging out copper even if they invited foreigners. Therefore, only a few merchants occasionally went to King Zoldias' country to buy copper, and that's about it.

　So, if you have the technology....

　'I think it's a good amount of reserves. After all, we're just scraping off what's exposed at the surface now. Even so, we're producing a good amount of it...

　Copper......
　Copper is not produced in Japan.

　All copper coins in circulation are imported.

　Or rather, the only thing that can be mined in our country is salt.
　These days, though, we can dig iron from the occupied territories.

　I was just envying Gehenna for being able to dig for gold.
　By all means, if we can get copper....

　Where's the copper mine, by the way?

　You can't get that if it's too deep in the land of King Zoldiers.

　That's a bit further back than King Evil's border.

　It's a subtle place.
　It's a fine line between winning and losing........

　Well, we'll have to help King Evil first. Bartolo, I'm counting on you.
　You can count on us, Your Majesty.






　The rescue of King Evil itself was a success without any difficulty.
　Because as soon as our troops appeared, Zordias' army retreated like a wave receding.

　They know exactly when to pull back.

　''Well, you have come well. Your Majesty King Almus. Thanks to you, we have been saved.''
　'No no no you have to help your friend.

　King Evil and I shake each other's hands.
　Friendships between countries are determined by ad hoc interests.

　Well, let's have dinner together first. We'll tell you all about it then and there.




　So, how did you lose?

　I asked him monotonously as I grabbed a handful of lamb for the main course.
　King Evil smiles bitterly.

　'I hear you loud and clear,'
　I can't fight otherwise.

　King Evil wiped his hands with a rag and then folded his hands under his chin.

　'To put it bluntly, King Zordias set you up........'
　Did he set you up?

　King Evil nodded quietly.

　'As my army advanced, the Zordian army retreated a bit more with sporadic counterattacks. At the time, I wrongly judged that we were winning... but in hindsight, I think we were lured in. We took down very few men, and the enemy continued to use the terrain to escape and preserve their main force.

　Then they invaded the outskirts of the capital, and when they were caught off guard, they were taken by surprise.

　'Before we knew it, the enemy had moved around behind us. After a short time, reports arrived that the enemy forces were closing in on us from the right and left. When we turned our backs and retreated, the main force of the enemy kept running away as if it were a lie...or perhaps it was actually a lie. They chased after our troops with great force. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. The Zordiath army comfortably invaded our territory, and we allowed them to invade our capital. If you hadn't come to our rescue, King Almus, our country might have fallen. I thank you.

　'As for our country, the growing strength of the Zordias is a threat. We are going to give him a little moxibustion. Will you cooperate with me?
　'Of course we will spare you. I will not sleep with my pillow high if I don't give the little Zordias boy a loss equal to that of my army.

　I shook hands with King Evil.
　My hands were slightly slippery with grease.