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Chapter 9: The Duke’s Proposal
What does the emperor need to firmly express his conviction in the empire?
The first is a powerful force to back up his imperial authority. He needed an overwhelming force that could crush the private soldiers of the local nobles.
That’s why the knight order existed.
The central knight order, which consisted of more than 200 elite knights and at least three superhumans, was invincible!
No matter how large a territory a great nobleman had, he could not withstand the power of the knight order that only moved under the emperor’s direct command.
The second is a political force to push the emperor’s policies.
To counter the nobles, the emperors had established academies and cultivated talented people for generations. That’s how the imperial administration was formed.
They graduated from the academy and supported the new emerging nobles who had done their service, thus checking the power of the existing privileged classes. Marius and other close aides of the current emperor, who occupied important positions in the administration, were factions that were created that way.
And lastly, the third thing was…
“Money?”
“Funds! And where did you learn that rude gesture?”
Marius scolded Eurius, who showed his fingers curled up.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I saw some knights use it in the training hall sometimes, and I guess I copied it without knowing.”
He didn’t know he had picked up a habit from his previous life when he was rolling around in battlefields.
Eurius scratched his head and quickly stopped.
‘Well, honestly, there was a reason why I was disrespectful in my previous life. It’s annoying to hear such nagging all the time.’
Marius didn’t know what he was thinking inside and said again.
“I didn’t know Count Wallace was such a person. It’s my fault if he really belongs to the duke’s faction.”
His face was still doubtful.
That’s how flawless Count Wallace’s behavior was, and even Eurius himself didn’t believe he was from the duke’s faction until he betrayed him.
The biggest problem was that he was in charge of the financial source of the emperor’s faction.
[Ryan Trading Company]
It was the richest and most famous trading company in the empire, and Count Wallace actually owned it.
Some people from the noble faction also invested a lot of money in it.
Since it was such a big trading company, all the movement and trade of materials of the emperor’s faction were done through Ryan Trading Company.
“But how do we reduce our dependence on Ryan Trading Company? There’s no evidence, so I don’t even know if they’ll listen to me.”
Eurius had no immediate solution either.
If only he had decisive evidence that Wallace belonged to the duke’s faction?
Well, actually he did. But it wasn’t time yet.
As he pondered, a flash of thought crossed his mind.
“What if we can’t reduce our dependence, but invest in another place?”
“Invest?”
“Let’s do what Wallace did to us.”
Marius was not a fool.
He caught on as soon as he heard that.
“You mean you want to secretly open up a new trading partner on our side?”
“That’s right. It’s almost impossible to cut off trade altogether anyway, so let’s gradually move important trade and switch completely when Wallace notices.”
“That would be the most realistic way to minimize damage.”
Marius also nodded.
As long as Wallace was recognized as a pillar of the emperor’s faction, it was impossible to pull him down suddenly.
Then it would be more rational to choose a way to reduce damage when cutting off relations rather than cutting off relations right away.
“Then I’ll look for a suitable trading company for you.”
“Ah, about that.”
Eurius interrupted him and gave his opinion.
“I heard a story when I went to the administration office for training. Recently, some famous trading companies from ‘Hwan’ Empire in the east are trying to enter our country. Is that true?”
“Come to think of it, I think I got a report once.”
“Why don’t we look for a suitable trading company from there? It would be less risky than domestic ones, and if it’s from the east, it would be harder for them to pressure us here.”
“Your highness’s insight is amazing. I had a similar thought too. But…”
Marius raised his eyebrows suspiciously.
“There are quite a few loose-mouthed people among our bureaucrats. The problem with Goethe River flooding before, and now this information that you should only get when you visit for education.”
Eurius laughed inside.
‘I succeeded in my intention.’
In fact, he didn’t get that information from the administration office, but just fitted in his knowledge from his previous life.
‘There is only one trading company that enters the empire from the east at this time.’
Eurius planned to use that trading company to nibble away at Wallace’s power base.
If he knew the owner of that trading company, he could give him enough damage to raise his blood pressure with a little support from him.
Of course, thanks to his lie, the poor bureaucrats of the administration office were grilled by Marius, but that was inevitable.
At that day’s hall meeting, Duke Wilhelm, who rarely attended, was present.
The agenda was the development of the northern part of the empire.
The empire was a huge country that bordered a snowy mountain range in the north and a hot desert kingdom in the south.
But unlike the prosperous trade in the central and southern parts, most of the northern part of the empire was a barren undeveloped land.
In addition, there were many countries of minority tribes who lived by plundering in the north. Therefore, despite having fertile farmland and abundant natural resources, they had difficulties in development.
“We need to mobilize the central knight order and military force to promote the development of the north.”
“We already have enough territory in the empire. Why spill unnecessary blood and conquer the barbarians’ land?”
Of course, those who advocated development were mostly nobles from the emperor’s faction.
Most of the nobles belonging to the duke’s faction were wealthy nobles who already had rich territories in the central and southern parts, so they didn’t need to be greedy for more land.
If he tried to conquer the north, he would need a lot of money, so it was obvious that the emperor would impose taxes on them to raise troops.
Naturally, the nobles of the duke’s faction opposed it with foam in their mouths.
‘Tsk tsk, they’re only busy with their own bowls.’
The emperor clicked his tongue as he watched the two factions fight again today.
Of course, from the emperor’s point of view, promoting the development of the north was an absolute necessity.
If he conquered the north and gave stable income territories to bureaucrats who had done their service, he could help the emerging nobles of the emperor’s faction who were behind in financial and military power compared to the duke’s faction.
“Your Majesty! May I express my opinion on the development of the north?”
Suddenly, Duke Wilhelm, who had been attending the hall meeting for a while and watching quietly, raised his hand.
The emperor was puzzled but allowed him to speak.
“The Duke? What is your opinion?”
“First of all, I fully support the development of the north.”
“!?”
Most of the nobles, including the emperor, looked at him with disbelief. What had the Duke eaten to say such a thing?
But the Duke didn’t care and began to make his case.
“What is the most essential thing to conquer the north? It is a well-maintained road for transporting troops and supplies!”
Some of the emperor’s faction raised their hands urgently.
“But building that road would require a huge amount of manpower and money. How do you plan to solve that problem?”
The Duke glanced at them with a smile.
“Of course, the construction will not be cheap. But I and the other nobles of the south will share the burden.”
This time, all of the Duke’s faction almost fainted in shock.
They were already short of funds, and now they had to pay for everything? What kind of lightning strike was this?
The Duke swept his cold eyes over his faction.
“Eek.”
The nobles who were about to object were silenced by his icy gaze. They could only stomp their feet helplessly.
After subduing his faction with a look, the Duke continued.
“But there is something else that is important for the road construction.”
“What is that?”
The emperor’s side was so curious about his sudden change that they asked first.
“That is the person in charge and the staff of the project!”
That’s right! The road connecting the vast central and northern parts of the empire was a huge project that surpassed imagination. It was impossible to do it properly with a sloppy plan.
“Therefore, I recommend Lord Marius, the best administrator in the empire, as the head of this project!”
Now, the emperor’s faction was speechless. The Duke’s words fit perfectly.
A unprecedented large-scale road project in the empire!
Such a site needed excellent talents chosen by the emperor himself. Marius was undoubtedly qualified, so the emperor had to scratch his head.
“Marius is indeed competent, but he is too old. Besides, he is currently in charge of educating the first prince. Do you have to take him away?”
The Duke pressed on.
“Your Majesty! This project is also one that we nobles are working together on. How can we invest in the future of the empire without trusting a reliable person?”
It was a clear threat. If he didn’t give up Marius, they wouldn’t raise any money.
“Then let’s decide at the next war council.”
The meeting that day ended with the Duke’s shocking statement.