168 – Eastern Franchi Expedition (3)

A month after the start of the expedition, our Eastern Expeditionary Force succeeded in occupying the entire Earl of Akitel without much resistance, as I expected.

I already had the information provided by the intelligence headquarters and the serfs from Aquitel, so I was able to take all of this for granted, but I wonder if it wasn’t the case for the counts and barons below the Duke of Orléans…

Seeing the progress of the occupation without much damage, they held a modest banquet once a week.

Well, an expedition is a business that is equivalent to investing in stocks by putting debt into the principal, and now that it is in the early stages of investment, you can already expect huge profits… don’t even do that

Perhaps because of that, the attitude of the Duke of Orléans, who always treated me with a sharp attitude when he saw me in the early days of the expedition, also softened a lot.

No, he treated me with an attitude as if he had let go of his guard, and occasionally suggested that we relax by drinking or eating meat together.

However, the French nobles, including Count Aquitel, are of course not fools, so instead of allowing the bloodless occupation…

“Marquis Creutel… According to the ruse you have conceived, we have succeeded in capturing a county without a single skirmish, serf rebellion or resistance. but… ”

“The enemy retreated and destroyed the defenses of the castle, and the supply reached its limit because the soldiers did not leave food for them to eat. If this condition persists, you might have to order your soldiers to requisition food from the serfs, right?”

“It is as you said. However, if food is requisitioned, the resistance and rebellion of the serfs will arise again, and it is a situation that has reached the depths of the county… If supplies were cut off even for a moment due to their riots, we would all die from lack of food. The conscripted serfs, who make up the majority of the force, are still unaware of the normal food supply and that this could be a problem, but even the mercenaries, already thick-boned, are somewhat aware. Is there any solution?”

When I heard that, I sighed and said.

“Your Highness, Commander, I can’t help but… If this is the case, it is best to maintain supply through war merchants. At least, if the Margherita upper house of Hamburg’s five major families guarantees safety during transportation, it is said that the Countess of Akitel sells it for only three times the price of grain in the market. Just like that, the upper house will arrive today.”

“Are you saying that you prepared for this and prepared everything? As expected, a genius who rose from a baron to a marquis in just 10 years is different… OK, three times… It’s a very conscientious price for a war merchant. At that level, if we spend the money we brought with us just in case, we can solve the military issue to some extent. In addition, the guarantee of rear transportation safety is… You can use some of the baron’s troops under His Majesty’s direct control.”

The duke understands that I simply anticipated all of this and made arrangements to receive supplies from the Margherita Merchant in Hamburg as soon as I arrived at Akitel Castle…

In fact, the Margherita family and the free commercial city of Hamburg are already my territory.

However, for now, I made a profit by selling 600,000 gold coins worth of food throughout the Elline Empire over two years using the ‘freedom’ of that city, and to hide the fact that I completely controlled the supply of the Eastern Expeditionary Force, I made it look like it was independent. I just dealt with it.

So, of course, 30% of the money the war merchants receive goes to the family’s profits, and most of the food they transport is also from Kreutel.

That’s why whenever I buy food and various items from our Eastern Expeditionary Force, I make a profit. You are copying money by borrowing someone else’s name.

So even now, if I lose my guard even a little bit, I’m going to burst into laughter in this serious situation, so I’m holding back hard.

“This is a wise decision, Your Highness. And from here, it’s cheaper to buy troops with money than to fight fiercely. So, don’t worry too much.”

“It is as you said. Also, that doesn’t mean we can’t miss out on the entertainment that soldiers have to pay for going to war… When the warlord arrives, I’ll take measures to ensure that the soldiers can play enough for Count Ilias and Isra. Let you do the same.”

“I will follow your orders.”

**

Tonight, as soon as the warlords arrived, I gave my men a break and went to meet Earl Ilias and Isra.

Since I’m a high-ranking person, I can’t go bare-handed, so I’ll bring the best wine and ham made in our estate for them.

“Are there Count Elias and Isra?”

When I asked the knight guarding the door, he immediately looked at the sentence engraved on my armor and replied with a bow.

“Aren’t you the Marquis of Ciel von Creutel? Yes, Count Elias and Count Isra are both here.”

“Thank you for letting me know. This is a small courtesy, so be vigilant and then go to the warlord and buy yourself a bottle of wine.”

“It is an honour!”

I handed two silver coins to the knight guarding the door, then went inside.

Inside, the two Counts Elias and Isra had been drinking and conversing amicably before I arrived.

“Ilias, I also risked everything for this war. In order to recruit and bring in over 10,000 troops, I signed a contract with a mercenary group that I wouldn’t normally pay attention to. Thanks to that, the finance minister came to me every day and cried out that if I lost this time, the estate would go bankrupt.”

“Certainly, everyone had surplus funds in the territory, as well as debts, to fight this war, but… It’ll work out though. Haven’t you already bloodlessly occupied a county, as the Duke of Orléans had planned? Also, it is the job of finance ministers to say such things every day, so listen in moderation and pass it on.”

“Well, if you win, it’s over. That’s right, let’s win big and get a little wider territory. Then you will be able to see those finance officers gasping for joy at the expansion of their territory.”

As I found out when gathering information about the Eastern Expeditionary Force, those two were children who inherited a small baronic family before supporting the emperor.

However, during the last civil war, it was a case where he quickly joined the side of the 2nd prince and received more lands and titles and became a count.

In the process, the two of them went through the same battlefield several times and built a friendship.

So, when persuading them, I thought it would be more effective to seduce them together rather than persuading them one by one… It seems that the judgment was correct.

If you’re close like that, if one side goes over, the other side will follow suit.

“I’m sorry for calling you this while enjoying the banquet.”

At that, the two counts shook their heads from side to side and said.

“no.”

“No, Your Excellency. On the contrary, I am happy to hear the heroic stories of His Excellency, who, despite being of the same age as us, was promoted from baron to marquis.”

“I’m glad then. Yes, first of all, since I took your time… I brought a little wine and ham. The wine is the finest quality made in the Aquitel region of our territory. It is to be presented to His Majesty the Emperor.”

After that, I immediately tipped the pottery bottle of wine and poured it into their cups.

When it dripped out of the bottle, worthy of the name of the finest wine, a strong grape scent lingered in the tent where we were staying.

“Let’s have a drink.”

We drank the wine slowly, savoring it.

The bitter taste and sweet and sour taste unique to wine, and the rich aroma of grapes stimulated the senses of smell and taste.

“Really delicious.”

“The fragrance is very strong. It felt like drinking the warm sunlight and freshness of summer.”

“When I go back later, I’ll give you one bottle, so share it with the knights. You will definitely like it. ok then… Now, let’s talk about the purpose of calling you guys.”

When I said that I was going to start a full-fledged conversation, the friendly atmosphere just before suddenly became heavy.

Elias and Count Isra both put on serious faces and listened as if they would not miss my words.

And I spoke to them cautiously, with the mindset that I had become a swindler who deceived innocent people at this time.

“As you all know, although we easily captured the Earldom of Akitel, we never fought a battle. So, all the credit for this occupation will naturally go to His Highness, the Duke of Orléans, the commander of this war. Also, I will receive some kind of reward for suggesting this operation.”

This is an unavoidable reality.

Because, anyway, the Duke of Orléans was the one who accepted my strategy and played the biggest role in setting up an unimaginable record of bloodless occupation, no, in advancing everything.

So when all this is done, it is reasonable that the Duke takes all the credit in all parts except for the project plan.

“But, according to what I just overheard… I heard that you brought a lot of soldiers for this war… If you finish the expedition in the same state as now, there is a strong possibility that you will only get a side dish, let alone pay for the amount you invested. Next time, the triumphant general who came back from winning the war would be bankrupt due to debt.”

Earl Elias and Count Isra’s expressions wrinkled when they heard that, but they didn’t refute at all whether they knew that my words were correct when judged rationally.

“So, I called you to give you some tips on how to avoid losing money in the business of this war. Are you interested?”