BXBX NOVEL Chapter 153: The Second Southern Conquest IV
Chapter 153: The Second Southern Conquest IV
“Ains, it’s been a long time. Have you lost some weight?”
Ains, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had lost a lot of weight.
His face seemed pale, and his eyes had dark circles.
I could guess the reason, but I dared not to say.
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
Ains smiled vaguely as he replied.
Although, his eyes were not smiling.
I’m sure he was not in a pleasant mood.
Ains is pro-Rosyth.
Now, they must be feeling a little hunched over in Lezad.
“Well, I thought Lezad had already declared neutrality, …… what can I do for you?”
“Yes, we have declared our neutrality with regard to your civil war, and we have authorized punitive action against those nations who supported it. …… but anything more would be a violation of the treaty.”
The treaty would be the one he signed with Lezad and Gehenna after he surrendered the country of King Belvedere.
It is a treaty dividing the territory of King Belvedere’s country and the area between Belvedere and Lezad.
As a result of the treaty, it was decided that the northern part, predominantly Adelnian, and the central part, a mixture of Cretian and Adelnian, would be made independent, along with the southern part, which was mostly Cretian. And the region in between came under the influence of Lezad and Gehenna.
This time, the civil war took place in the central part of the country, a small messy residential area.
And the city-states in the southern and in-between regions supported the civil war.
—————
And the results of the Second Southern Conquest: ……
Half of the city-states in the southern and bordering regions came under our control.
Lezad and Gehenna would have agreed if they had the southern end under control.
However, our country had taken control of half of it.
They must have thought it was a bad idea.
But, it wasn’t on purpose.
After the battle, the number of cities surrendering increased at once.
We didn’t even recommend surrender; instead, they brought a messenger of surrender and a tribute.
Naturally, there was no reason for me to refuse, so I continued to accept the surrender.
“Before they fought against us……Most of the cities offered to surrender before we even sent them a surrender notice. This must be a lack of control on their part…”
I crouched my shoulders.
Ains retorted in a more assertive tone.
“This is absurd! Are you trying to violate the treaty?”
“We have not trampled on you. However, they have asked us to surrender to them and form an alliance with them. I’m in trouble too. You could persuade me to stop it.”
Well, there’s no point in doing that.
Even if they return to the control of Lezad and Gehenna in mere form, they will betray me in an instant just by sending me a letter of intent.
The central force is no longer recoverable.
“…… It would be nice. Once we have made an alliance, we have no choice. Let us accept your point of view. We demand that you halt your advance.”
“I understand ……, but of course we need to stop the military actions of the Cretian cities and the support of your merchants first.”
To my words, Ains made a face like he had a bitter bug in his mouth.
“Your Majesty. You may no longer believe it, but …… our government has remained neutral throughout this war.”
“But it is true that your merchants have provided arms and supplies.”
“…… our country has no laws regulating it.”
I have heard that Lezad must have a very ‘small government.’
The state is responsible for public safety, national defense, and public works.
But, security maintenance and national defense are mercenaries hired by merchants, and public works are mostly volunteers selected by merchants.
Does this mean that the government has little or no power?
The image is like the United Nations.
Every single country is a merchant.
When the moment comes, the merchants can do as they please.
Such is the state system, I suppose.
“I don’t trust the country of Lezad. But, Ains. I trust you.”
“…… I’m glad to hear you say that.”
Ains let out a small sigh.
“We have already suspended the military operations to Cretian cities. The merchants have already given up on the cities and have stopped supporting them.” Ains said.
“Well, ……, hmm, all right. Would you excuse me, please. I need to discuss something with my advisors.”
I said that and forced Ains to step back.
I then asked Yal, Raymond, and Bartolo, who had been waiting on both sides.
“Do you think we should have a ceasefire or not? I want to hear what you think.”
When I asked that, Raymond opened his mouth first.
“The army should be immediately suspended. The supply problem has been solved because the surrendered cities are helping, but if we continue to maintain an army as large as 40,000 …… it will be a great hindrance to our agriculture.”
Raymond believed we should roll up our sleeves and stop the war.
I guess that’s what he thinks as a politician and a domestic officer.
“What did you say?…This is an opportunity. If we continue our march, we can conquer all the cities of Cretia. If we do well, we can even suck Lezad dry. Lezad is an economic powerhouse. If we can incorporate that country into our territory, our national power will soar. The obstacles to agriculture will not be a big problem then.”
Bartolo has the opinion that war should be continued.
It’s his idea as a military officer.
Raymond was quick to refute.
“Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. We must not neglect it. Besides, the movement to deny military service has just ended in our country. If we let the farmland go unattended any longer, the farmers will be exhausted. If that happens, the same thing will happen again. We should make peace now. Besides, if we march any further, Alexios Varka of Lezad will come out!”
Raymond exclaims loudly.
The military capabilities of Varca had been known to the nations since the time of the blockade.
The mobility of the mercenaries, combined with their mobility, would make them a serious threat.
“You think I’m going to let them beat us?”
“I wouldn’t say so, but it’s not playing with a child ……is it?”
They stared at each other.
For the time being, it seems that both of them have finished expressing their opinions.
“Yal. How about you?”
“We should make peace.”
Yal said once and for all.
“In Lezad, the war between the pro-Rosyth and anti-Rosyth factions is currently raging. The pro-Rosyth faction accuses the anti-Rosyth faction, saying ‘You have provoked the kingdom of King Rosyth. Conversely, the anti-Rosyth accuse, ‘Your friends have conquered our people.’ If left unchecked, it will naturally cause an internal division. When that happens, it will be an opportune time to conquer them. On the other hand, if we continue our march now, the anti-Rosyth faction will gain the upper hand at once, and Lezad will unite against our country.”
Have you turned your attention to the internal disputes in Lezad?
That was a very diplomatic opinion.
Now what to do: ……
I meditate for a bit and think.
Then I opened my eyes.
“All right, let’s proceed with the peace. Now we should steadily gain a foothold.”
I then called Ains back and asked him to mediate a peace.
1. Lezad and Gehenna, and the cities of Cretia, shall recognize the supremacy of the kingdom of King Rosyth concerning the cities newly allied with it.
2 The Kingdom of King Rosyth recognizes the supremacy of Lezad and Gehenna and its independence over the cities with which Lezad and Gehenna are allied.
3. Mutual and internal affairs must not be interfered with.
4. Lezad and Gehenna and the kingdom of King Rosyth shall establish embassies and ambassadors within each other.
5. The Property within the land of King Rosyth of the Lezad merchants who supported the Cretian cities shall be seized.
6 The Confederation of Cities of Cretia will immediately pay 500 talents in reparations to the Kingdom of Rosyth.
[Note: For those who did not know, a talent is a unit like I did not.
Talent was a unit of weight introduced in Mesopotamia at the end of the 4th millennium BC. It normalized at the end of the 3rd millennium during the Akkadian-Sumer phase, divided into 60 minas or 3,600 shekels.]
Hmm. Not bad.
I read the clauses exchanged on both sides.
Just to make sure that there are no loopholes in the treaty.
I’m Adelnian, but this text is written in Cretian.
There was some concern that it was a trick to fool us. ……
I guess my fears were unnecessary.
Well, it’s probably rather well known that I’m fluent in Cretian.
Suddenly, I looked at representatives of the Cretian cities.
They had a look of bitterness on their faces.
Five hundred talents would be an enormous burden ……
Well, you got what you deserved.
After I signed the text, I stamped a gold seal.
The representatives of the Cretian cities also signed, each with a bitter look.
Thus, the second southern conquest came to a successful conclusion.
The pillage and reparations were sorted out two weeks after the war ended.
“The gross profit from the pillage is about two hundred talents. The total amount of the payment is two hundred talents, and the reparations that were recently paid are five hundred talents. And the property we have confiscated from the Lezad merchants in the country amounts to 100 talents.”
Raymond read the written statement and reported back.
That means a total of a thousand talents of profit.
It’s more profitable than I thought.
War is very profitable. It makes money.
“And with the increase in allied cities, we can expect to see an increase in tax revenues as well.”
“So, in the end, the rebellion worked out for the better.”
It’s as the saying goes, “Saiou ga Uma.”
[Saiou ga Uma is a historical idiom that explains that happiness and misfortune do not go as expected by human beings and that one does not know what will be a disaster and what will be good fortune .]
Without this civil war, I would not have attacked the Cretian cities, gained a thousand talents, and increased tax revenue.
“Then we can steadily reform the military system at home and ……”
—Shall we conquer Lezado a year from now?
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, and one more thing. I got these weird vegetables.”
“Vegetables?”
I tilted my head.
Raymond instructs his men to bring the vegetable or whatever it is.
After a while, a red berry plant in a flowerpot was brought in.
“This is the vegetable.”
“…… tomatoes!”
This is also ……
You got some delicate vegetables.
……If possible, soybeans, potatoes, or corn would have been good.