'Short term instead of high risk. Safe instead of slow. Which strategy do you prefer?

　Bartolo made that statement at a joint military council with King Evil's country.
　'At any rate, I'll have to ask them both.

　'Explain it to me.
　'The Zordias army after we are on the plateau will turn tail and run if we show any signs of attacking. In pursuit of them, we will have a decisive battle deep in the land of King Zordias.

　Bartolo pointed to the map spread out on the desk.
　He drew a circle just below the country of King Zoldias.

　'Do you want to invade the territories of the small and medium-sized nations and lords that are friends and allies of Zordias in this area, or do you want to provoke Zordias and drag him out to the plains?'

　We know how King Zordias fights, because of the failure of King Evil's country.
　He drags them into the mountainous terrain, where it is difficult to take advantage of their numbers, and uses the advantages of the land to encircle them and take them by surprise.

　Do we dare to challenge this, or do we persistently drag them out to the plains and conduct a decisive battle?

　Either way, they would have to fight a decisive battle.

　There is plenty of time to spare. I'd rather play it safe. What do you think, King Evil?
　It would be best not to make the same mistake again.

　Okay, it's settled.





　After a military discussion, it was decided to split the army in two.
　First, the Rosais-Evil United Army, led by Bartolo.

　This is an army that takes up positions in the plains near the border between King Evil's country and King Zoldias' country, and gives Zoldias a glare. About 10,000.

　The other is a separate force led by Ron, Rosward and Gram. About 10,000.　　
　The main role of this army is to attack the countries surrounding King Zordias' country and pull Zordias out of the mountains.

　It's a poor idea to split the army in two, but even if you split it into two, both of them are higher than Zordias' total army.
　It won't be much of a problem.

　"You are the heart of the operation. .... but don't get too worked up about it. Don't worry about it.

　I encouraged the three of them.
　The three of us would finally be commanding more than ten thousand men.

　For me, I'm worried.
　I hope they do well.

　"It's okay. We have a manual.

　Ron showed me a wad of paper.
　This bundle is a military manual that Bartolo created. It's also known as "If you read this, you'll be a great general from today onwards - Beginner's Edition".
　How to choose an encampment, the criteria for making one, the speed of marching, how to choose a battlefield, and so on....
　It's detailed and determined.

　It is not a book of warfare. It is an operations manual.

　

　'I don't know if we're going to have an armed conflict in the first place. And I will encourage you to surrender through diplomatic negotiations.

　Ial said to me to calm me down.

　War is a means of diplomacy........who said that?
　As far as we are concerned, if we can drag Zordias out onto the level ground, our goal is achieved.

　Even if we don't engage in direct combat, it would be a good thing if the countries surrendered under that military pressure.

　Ial in a battle of words, and Ron and three others in a battle of weapons.
　They provoke Zordias.

　Bartolo bocoskas Zoldias, who came out numb, on the flat ground.

　........By the way, I'm going back to King Loseys' country.
　I can't say that the country is still stable, and we are in the midst of a campaign to cut down the Ascites.

　I can't afford to fight a war outside the country, and I have to help Raimondo.
　At this rate, Raimondo is going to die of exhaustion.

　And then there's Yulia and Tetra's pregnancy.
　I want to be there for the two of them, who are a bit emotionally unstable.

　'Then do me a favor.

　I left King Evil's country.

　Thus, on the other side of the Zordiath War, the First Western Conquest had begun.






　''You have finally returned. If you don't come, Your Majesty, we won't be able to proceed with the cutting down of the Ascites.''
　I'm sorry to trouble you.

　I thank Raimondo.
　Raimondo is a member of the Lossies clan. As the husband of a Tetra with an Ath clan wife, I'm the only one who has the power to negotiate with the Ath clan.

　"But the Ass clan is very stubborn.
　They're a born-and-bred dynasty...

　My purpose is to gather the great families together in the center and turn them into aristocrats.
　I want them to relinquish their lands by giving them the right to participate in the national government.

　By doing so, I aim to consolidate the financial and military power of the great families under the king.

　But there is one major challenge to this.
　If they were not interested in national politics, they could not be established in the first place.

　The Lossies, for example, have always been in favor of centralization and have been promoting it since long ago.
　The Lossies clan, for example, is originally in favor of centralization and has been promoting it for a long time.

　The Dibel clan, on the other hand, has no choice.
　Since the Digel Clan's suzerainty, Rigal Digel, was destroyed by me, they have no choice but to try to secure their lives and property by listening to my moods.
　I know that if I disagree with them, I will lose everything, so they obey me more honestly than I thought.

　But the As clan is different.
　The As clan is proud of being the victor in the last civil war, and at the same time, they have the security of knowing that Tetra, the only survivor of the As clan's suzerainty, is now the king's wife.

　And they are a group of people who have no interest in national politics and don't want to give up their ancestral land.......

　Nevertheless, the As clan is the second most powerful clan in our country.
　Without their understanding and cooperation, we won't be able to proceed.

　''Some of them have even made Prince Anx's accession to the throne a condition of their own...''
　'I can't admit to that...'

　You can't talk about fighting the first faction in order to bring in the second faction.
　On top of that, it would leave a bad taste in their mouths later on.

　Any great monarch would be a dark monarch if he failed on the issue of succession.

　''Is it weak as a condition to shoulder the debt?''
　It's tough. It's just one more push,

　It's hard to...
　It's easier to understand a foreign country where you can clearly see the enemy.

　If you ask me if the Ath clan is a friend or a foe, they are definitely on my side.
　I can judge them by the blessings of the Great King, but I can also see that they are loyal to me and I can see that they are respectful to me.

　You've helped me in the wars I've fought.

　But that doesn't mean I can't give up my vested interests, that's a different story.

　We owe them a debt of gratitude for all they've done for us, and we'd like to settle this matter quietly and with them convinced.


　'Can we increase the size of the land we recognize as a manor, and put the major powerful families in key positions?'
　'But if we add more manors, it will be a tumor for our country later on. Besides, there are only so many jobs available.

　Hmm, that's a problem.

　''As for the manor, I think we can reduce it later on by inciting the commoners to do so. As for the number of jobs ... what should we do?

　Well......
　It's the opposite of...

　"Instead of the major families, why don't we focus on the smaller, lesser families? "How about we target smaller, smaller families instead of the major families and offer them a job as a provincial officer in the occupied territories?　Then we'll have a stable life and...

　The income of a wealthy family with a small fiefdom is not stable. They are in debt.
　And they have little chance of getting ahead.
　If we give them a stable job, they'll bite right back.

　Maybe even appoint them as tax collection contractors.

　Our country currently has a tax collection contractor system.
　This is a very lucrative position.

　If the taxpayer pays a certain amount of taxes to the government, he or she can pocket the surplus.

　Well, the commoners have the right to sue the contractor in court, and if they are sued and lose, the contractor's property will be confiscated, so they can't do anything crazy.

　By the way, the local officer and the contractor are two different jobs.

　A local government official is a one-to-two year position, responsible for the administration and security of the place.
　A contractor is a temporary, part-time job.

　The reason why they are separate and distinct is to prevent the contractor from making a violent profit.

　Local governments are financed by redistributing taxes collected from all over the country.
　That said, local politics is appropriate in the first place.

　The military maintains the roads and bridges, and the security services are basically run by neighborhood watch groups.
　If a bandit is found, the military comes from the center and exterminates him or her as soon as he or she appears.

　At best, they inform the center of the situation in the countryside, prevent contractors from committing racketeering, take charge of the courts, and only conduct national political investigations when the order is given.

　Our country is a small government that does only the minimum necessary.
　Is this appropriate?　However, it is better to leave the details to the autonomy of the village, which is led by the village chief and other influential people in a local area, so that the cost and effort can be reduced.

　Let's rest on a tangent.

　That's a good idea. That may be a good idea, but if the majority of the wealthy families in the area follow suit, they will have no choice but to accept it.
　'Also, maybe we could put term limits on some of the key positions. Then we can rotate them all around.

　Rather than getting into a bloody battle for the post, the national government will be more stable if we take turns getting along and taking turns.
　A law could be passed that would allow for longer terms of office, but only in emergencies.

　In times of peace, it is more important to avoid chaos and stagnation in the government due to career battles than it is to put talented people in key positions.

　'Outwardly, Bartolo and Ial will take care of things. For now, we'll look inward. For now, we'll look inward, and we'll get the centralization done as soon as possible, preferably this year. Let's get this centralized as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the year.

　Let's aim for the 'founding' around the New Year.






　"Can't we somehow make Master Anx the next king?

　In the mansion of a wealthy family in King Rosais' country, a few of the wealthy families were meeting to discuss the situation.
　Their immediate concern was the centralization policy by King Almus.

　To King Almus, it may be part of a large territory, but to them, it is the land of their ancestors that has been passed down from generation to generation since long ago.
　They cannot simply hand over the land that their ancestors worked so hard to cultivate.

　They have no intention of disobeying King Almus.
　They recognize the king's abilities and understand that his policy is essential for the future of the country.

　However, we are still a great family.

　At the very least, we want to get good terms.
　One of those conditions is to produce a king from their own clan.

　''If the next Yulia-sama's son is a male, Anx-sama's succession to the throne will be crushed.......''
　''Huh ... if Tetra-sama is aggressive, we can do something about it, but ...''

　If Tetra were to say, "I'm going to make Anx king!　Absolutely!　Die Julia! Then the Ath clans could unite and urge the king to make Anx king.
　If that happened, the king would have no choice but to make concessions.

　At the very least, they could hope for concessions that would allow them to look at the possibility of succeeding to the throne.

　But Tetra and Yulia are on good terms with each other, and Tetra is backing down easily.
　There is no way for the Ass Clan to unite under this circumstance.

　The current Ass Clan is divided between the moderate faction, with Anx as their leader, and the radical faction, who want to make Anx the next king.

　Of course, those gathered here are a small group of extremists.

　''What's going on........''

　As the bigwigs were distressed, a knock on the door echoed in the room.
　The man who owns the mansion irritably asks what he wants.

　''What!''
　There's a Cilician merchant here to see you.
　Okay.

　It is a collection of debts.

　'Huh....'

　The great family let out a sigh.