156 – The emperor gave me the duke (8)

A good commander is a commander who deploys his subordinate officers in the right places to maximize their capabilities.

Similarly, a wise emperor proves his competence by identifying the best people for economy, culture, and warfare, and placing them in the right places to serve them.

And the emperor, who has proven his competence, obtains the glory and fruits of the results of his servants, and bestows part of them on his subjects.

This is the rule of an emperor, and this principle is the truth that has been passed down from the birth of mankind to the present.

Conversely, an emperor who fails to prove this cannot be respected as a Myeonggun, and will only be branded as an incompetent monarch.

Neither I nor the emperor ever uttered this principle, but this simple principle must rule this place, no, the emperor’s mind.

“As the Lord said, if the expedition led by me succeeds, all the achievements will, in principle, belong to me. Conversely, if I fail, all the responsibility is on me too.”

At that, I didn’t answer anything, just nodded my head to convey the meaning of agreement.

“And whether you like it or not, nobles including you will pay a considerable price for this expedition. Numerous knights and soldiers, food, weapons, and monetary expenditure. It would cost an unimaginable amount of money and loss of life.”

“That’s right. However, since it is Your Majesty’s decision, we, as vassals, will only abide by that decision. With faith that His Majesty will succeed in this expedition.”

Having said that, to be honest, it is unclear whether this expedition will be able to produce more than the price we paid for it.

Because, anyway, the French Empire boasts a larger territory and larger population than ours, and the emperor who is in overall command of this war is an unscratched lottery who, unlike me, has never won a victory in a large-scale war.

If you look at it like this, it seems like you will fail inevitably, but…

Not necessarily, because the Francis Empire was limited in its ability to bring in the southern half of the empire to defend against the infidels of Northern Africa, Spain and Italy.

So, if we evaluate the number of soldiers who can be mobilized objectively, if we are 4.5, they are about 5.5.

“I guess so. If not, the other nobles would have objected when the expedition was announced.”

It’s just that the regent, the Duke of Brussels, and you, the emperor, have too much influence to refute it on the spot.

No, even if you were able to refute it, it would be neither porridge nor food if you refuted it without a proper justification…

In that case, it would be more effective to present a document with a lot of appeals saying that I agreed on the spot and later changed my mind.

However, judging from the actions of this emperor so far, he probably knew that, but he said something like that in case I objected to this expedition…

“But if you lose, it’s over. It’s a war in which the Empire put all its might. No matter how great you are, you will not be able to avoid that responsibility.”

Hearing that, the emperor could have been angry, but he seemed to think that this was too obvious, so he laughed and said.

“Because war is like that. Right now, my older brothers and sisters, and even my younger sisters who made foolish choices… Death was the price paid for losing the war. Of course, I deliberately kept some of the things I made ambiguous choices to use as ingredients for an arranged marriage… ”

No matter how much they are the princesses of the former emperor who caused the civil war, unless they are immediately executed for civil war, the symbolism of the bloodline of the imperial family will not disappear.

So, he must be using it to bestow the princess in the name of ‘marriage’ in exchange for part of the territory to be distributed to the nobles who played a major role in this war.

If you do that, you will control the suddenly growing noble families with the chain of marriage, and at the same time, the size of the territory you can acquire will also increase.

It’s really a nasty thing that only an emperor can use, but it’s the most effective policy of hanging bells around the necks of nobles.

Then, using that, the duke of Brussels and the Emperor, who tried to fuck me, should spend as much money as possible, damage, and instill distrust.

“Then especially, don’t trust anyone, including me. Just place us in their proper places, and place Your Highness the Regent of Brussels as Commander of the West. Through him, you can give his forces the same bleeding and price as ours. In particular, the vacancy of the second son of Her Majesty the Regent of Brussels… ”

At those words, the emperor laughed heartily and then spoke.

“Finally, my younger sister Yuria’s wedding date is approaching… very good! As soon as this expedition is over, I will arrange a marriage with Yuria for the second son of the regent.”

After that, the emperor’s eyes showed a little, no, quite a lot of trust in me.

Of course, since trust doesn’t build up suddenly, it’s a feeling that’s limited to the moment when you pick up what you want, tell it, and suggest it.

“I think everything Kyeong said is right, but… I have a question for you.”

“Please tell me.”

“Can you hand over the weapon called the gun that Lord used when he defeated Duke Akitel in the plains of Waine?”

To put it bluntly, the gun must have already fallen into someone’s hands.

Right now, when I checked the number of guns after the fierce battle in Waine Plain, I couldn’t recover the 14 matchlocks of the dead soldiers due to the madness of the infantry’s charge.

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Maybe a few years… No, because there is already a madman who has mastered the art of making cornerstones in Hamburg…

At the earliest, within a year or two, there will be several families that even clone gunpowder and guns.

The Duke of Brussels, who acts like an exclusive stalker for the Marquis of Creutel, is particularly likely to clone quickly.

However, it will not be easy to catch up with us, who already produce guns and have the know-how and ample supply.

And even if it is leaked, if you satisfy the emperor’s other needs, you will be able to survive without selling it yet.

“Your Majesty, the matchlock is a weapon created with the vision of our family, so we cannot recklessly sell it. Also, if all families use matchlocks… We will win this war too easily.”

If the Emperor had been in a stable situation, even if not perfectly, even halfway, he would be more willing to accept it if he heard that he would win too easily…

The current emperor is someone who wants to make all the nobles, including me, have their molars or teeth pulled out so that they are quiet.

To such a person, the fact that the nobles can easily and quickly build a reputation becomes something that only allows the nobles to do good things.

“I can’t help it if it’s a vision. Instead, I order your family to supply, in addition to the mobilization of troops, 20,000 iron breastplates for my men. to supply at the lowest price.”

No matter how much money they receive, to be honest, if the lowest price supply is 20,000, there will be losses due to transportation costs…

Even if you make a lot of profit, it is better than having the secrets of the matchlock disclosed, and the time when the matchlock spreads widely throughout Europe.

And just by instilling suspicion in the emperor about the Duke of Brussels, the check against the Duke of Brussels, who would become a potential enemy, was successful enough.

So, not talking anymore is just an honorable mention.

“I will obey your orders. Then I will step back.”

**

After the audience with the emperor and returning to the mansion, I immediately wrote a letter to the nobles belonging to the western and eastern armies and sent them.

In the letter he wrote:

[If the central army is organized like this, only our damage will be severe. Therefore, please appoint the Duke of Brussels as the head of the Western Legion and ask His Majesty the Emperor to provide more soldiers. His Majesty the Emperor agreed to this. -Marquis Ciel von Kreuttel-]

Then, two weeks later, among the lords of the Western District Army who received my letter at the military council, all but the Marquis de Pompadour, the commander-in-chief, all petitioned to appoint a regent as commander of the corps.

The intention is so obvious.

If the commander of the Western Army is the Marquis of Pompadour, it is relatively difficult to make a contribution in the war, but there is a high possibility that he will enter the war as a cannon fodder in a place where many sacrifices occur.

So, let’s appoint the Brussels regent, whom the emperor can never purify, as commander, and avoid being openly shot down.

At the same time, no matter how much an emperor can fly and crawl, his position will be in danger if he does not give the regent at the beginning of his reign a chance to make a feat… They probably want to eat the crumbs too.

That desire, Marquis Ciel von Kreuttel, will grant it.

Brussels, the regent, naturally petitioned the emperor that he wanted to assist the emperor, but the emperor, who wanted to be independent from the regent at this opportunity, refused the request.

And directly to the Duke of Brussels, he handed down the baton and sword, symbolizing the command of the Western Army.

Even though I can’t become the commander-in-chief of the Eastern District Army, I can’t completely lead the war on my own…

If you feed small achievements one by one… You will listen to me slowly… it will work out somehow.

Your Highness the Regent, I couldn’t stop you from making a crazy plan to hit Franchi… .

We tried to eat only the top of the yolk, so we made it fair ourselves.

If you don’t make an achievement, it’s impeachment, and if you do, we’ll exchange part of the territory you’ll receive with Her Highness the Princess.