"The Hidden Hand"
Efficiency is most evident in times of crisis. The national policy conference had just concluded when the nobles of the provinces of Kovasia and Obra rushed back to their fiefdoms overnight to take charge.
Regardless of whether war breaks out, it's always right to make thorough preparations.
It must be admitted that Caesar IV was quite lucky. Everyone's attention was drawn to the crisis in the southeast, and no one had the mind to continue testing him, the King.
With the nobles from the two provinces absent, the subsequent meeting proceedings proceeded at a faster pace.
People stopped worrying about minor issues. Even the nobles who had initially planned to cause trouble over the repayment tax chose to remain silent.
While it appears to be a crisis in the provinces of Kovasia and Obra, the entire southern frontier is actually shrouded in the shadow of war, at least that's what the nobles of the southern provinces think.
The southern nobles were in no mood to cause trouble, the emerging nobles lacked the confidence to do so, and the Northern Nobles, having just been won over by Caesar IV, were not inclined to immediately slap their leader in the face.
Apart from the kingdom relaxing its oppression of the Northern Nobles, the theme of this meeting was almost entirely focused on the war.
As a member of the pro-war faction, Hudson naturally did not hesitate to advocate for the Central Three Kingdoms.
The move was truly impressive. In an effort to ease the internal strife within the kingdom, Hudson went all out, throwing out three potential enemies at once.
Although only the Black Forest Kingdom and Alpha directly border the Central Three Kingdoms, it does not affect the three kingdoms' political situation in the slightest.
Given the current environment,
To enhance his persuasiveness, Hudson further analyzed the reasons for the invasion of Alpha by the Central Three Kingdoms from three aspects: political, economic, and military.
In other countries, this theory would just be used as a boast, and hardly anyone would believe it. But in the Alpha Kingdom, it gained a large following among the nobles.
The reason is very simple: Hudson did not focus on the kingdom's own security, but instead brought up the strategic security of the Central Three Kingdoms.
The Central Three Kingdoms are located in the heart of the continent, seemingly enjoying a superior geographical location, but strategically they face the threat of being attacked from both the north and south.
If we don't take advantage of the decline of the major northern kingdoms to advance northward, the good days for the Central Three Kingdoms will be over once they recover.
"North and South Join Forces to Divide the Central Continent," "The Path to the Growth of a Southern Power," "The Strategy for the Rise of a Northern Power"...
Hudson threw out a series of ideas that no one had ever even considered. It was as if the North and South had already reached an agreement to divide the central part of the continent.
In summary, the Central Three Kingdoms are in a very dangerous situation. The only way to escape this danger is to advance north and defeat the Alpha Kingdom.
When the conference ended, not only were the nobles of the southern provinces frightened, but even the Northern Nobles who were eager to try were also quite frightened by their own imagined scenarios.
No one is confident enough with just the Black Forest Kingdom, but if the Central Three Kingdoms come together, that would be a combination even more powerful than the Orc Empire.
Regardless of whether the Central Three Kingdoms will invade the north, once everyone put themselves in the shoes of the rulers of the three kingdoms, they all believed that if they were in the position of the rulers of the three kingdoms in the central region, they would definitely promote the Northern Advance Strategy in order to reverse the strategic predicament.
Under the overemphasis on crisis management, people are no longer considering whether the Central Three Kingdoms pose a threat, but rather when they will invade the kingdoms.
No matter how terrifying a threat is described by others, it is never as scary as a threat you imagine yourself.
It's like the legendary Great Tribulation of Ten Thousand Years; everyone knows about it, but few are truly afraid of it.
Ultimately, the time span is too long, and the relevant written materials were mostly destroyed in the war. The few fragments that have survived are almost like myths and legends.
No power lasts forever. Even the most prestigious noble families, which claim to have a lineage spanning tens of thousands of years, are in reality just an ancient surname, having been wiped out countless times along the way.
It's possible that their ancestors were driven by political needs.
They were randomly chosen along the way, and there is no blood relation between them.
Having convinced themselves that the Central Three Kingdoms would invade the north, many of the events that are happening now are being interpreted in depth as conspiracy theories.
After the meeting ended hastily, everyone rushed back to prepare for war. The nobles of the Southeast Province were no exception, and their most frequent topic of discussion along the way was how to improve the Blood Moon Defense Line.
There was no other reason than that everyone believed that defending the Black Stone Mountain Range alone was not enough, as the Hessians' army could also attack from neighboring provinces.
Some nobles with good relations even began to discuss joint defense. Those from the same family whose territories were relatively close together were even preparing to join forces to build castles.
For every person who rejoices, there is someone who is disappointed. Watching the heated discussions among the crowd, the ambitious individuals could only sigh inwardly.
The opportunity for a major annexation slipped through their fingers. Once the minor nobles banded together, they could no longer simply annex the territory at will.
Finding five people may not necessarily connect you to the whole world, but five nobles coming together can connect you with most of the nobles in the province.
They rode swiftly back to their territory. Hudson felt a wave of relief as he held his newborn son in his arms.
Being a master con artist is incredibly demanding and exhausting. Especially conning a group of seasoned swindlers—that adds another 1008 points to the difficulty...
Even now, Hudson still suspects that someone saw through his plan but chose to remain silent for their own benefit.
Apart from a few ambitious individuals, most nobles did not want to see the kingdom descend into endless infighting. The royal family, in particular, was particularly concerned about the escalation of the conflict.
During Hudson's deception, the prime minister and the Minister of Military Affairs, both from royal families, lent their support. Even half of the great nobles spoke up.
Whether intentionally guiding the debate or attacking from the sidelines, even when they were out to challenge the other side, they didn't hold back during the debate.
There were too many smart people, and Hudson was helpless. Only after returning home did his tense nerves relax.
"Hudson, be careful! You're so clumsy, what if you hurt Little Franz..."
Hearing Melissa's complaints, Hudson's eyes immediately turned resentful. His status in the family had already dropped by 1 since his son was born. What would happen if he had more children?
"Don't worry, Melissa. I'm an excellent magician, there won't be any problems. Look how happy Little Franz is!"
He boasted loudly, but his son wouldn't listen. No sooner had he finished speaking than Franz's smile vanished, followed by a burst of wailing.
Upon seeing this, Melissa snatched her son from Hudson's hands, giving him no further chance to play with him.
What's even more infuriating is that once Little Franz was in Melissa's hands, his adorable smiling face returned, leaving Hudson with a bitter pill to swallow.
Deep down, he had already decided to develop papermaking technology and prepare several more workbooks for Franz so that he could learn about the dangers of society in advance.
Seeing the Alpha Kingdom's overreaction, Alexander V the Black Forest Kingdom was at a loss as to how to handle the situation.
Standing Army just wanders around the border, the other side immediately mobilizes, causing extreme tension on the border.
The problem we need to consider now is not only whether to call back, but also whether they will call back.
A large forest has all kinds of birds, and a large noble family will produce all sorts of oddballs. Too many wars have been sparked by a few simpletons on the Aslant Continent.
"Claude wrote to me, outlining the pros and cons and expressing his opposition to starting a war. What do you think?"
Alexander V asked.
He was still quite satisfied with his son. An ordinary person would have panicked in such a situation, but Claude was able to deal with it rationally and not be swayed by his emotions.
It's a pity Claude wasn't the eldest son, otherwise the next generation of the Black Forest Kingdom would have been secure. Of course, the eldest son is quite good too; apart from being a bit too ambitious, he doesn't have any major flaws.
It's normal for young people to be proud and arrogant.
As you get older, your mindset will gradually become more stable, and things will get better.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has great insight and his analysis of the problem is very pertinent. The Alpha Kingdom is a quagmire."
Judging from the reaction of their domestic nobles, these guys are born for war and have no idea what politics is.
I guess it's because they've been fighting Beastfolk for so long that they've lost their minds; when they encounter a problem, their first thought is war.
We don't need to bother with these lunatics; it would only lower us to their level!
Duke Milton said, feigning disdain.
Deep down, he kept praying that the King would heed his advice and not jump into the mire.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right. The Alpha Kingdom is a complete mess right now. 'It's like a lake that can't be touched, and it sticks to people.' Whoever touches it will get all dirty."
Looking at past Beastfolk invasions, one can see how stubborn the Alpha people. Even the lowest-ranking serfs were willing to fight the Beastfolk to the death.
Even if we defeat a country like that, we'll hardly gain any benefit.
Finance Minister Baxterlo agreed with a look of approval.
The facts are clear: the Alpha Kingdom is heavily indebted, and its finances will collapse immediately if it is defeated, meaning it will certainly not receive war reparations.
Even if the Alpha people were willing to cede territory, other powerful nations on the continent would intervene.
Even if they maxed out their diplomatic skills, they could only take one or two counties at most. No more than that; otherwise, they'd have to give it all back eventually.
No country wants to see the Black Forest Kingdom grow bigger. Expansion that exceeds everyone's bottom line is forcing others to form an encirclement, which is determined by its geographical location.
The reason people are now encouraging them to take action is not to watch them expand, but to use them to probe the depths of the Alpha Kingdom.
The title of the third largest military power on the continent before the war was not just a boast, but was earned through one war after another.
In the past, the Beastfolk threat wasn't a major concern. Now that the threat has been eliminated, nations are forced to raise the development ceiling for the Alpha Kingdom.
After all, in terms of territory and development potential, the Alpha Kingdom is the top in the entire Aslant Continent.
Especially after recovering the seven northern provinces, its territory size jumped to surpass that of the Frankish Kingdom, ranking first on the continent.
Originally the strongest nation in the Northern Continent, if it recovers its strength and focuses on development for several decades, it has a chance to catch up with the Frankish Kingdom, the strongest nation on the continent.
It was precisely because he saw these things that Alexander V found himself in a dilemma.
On the one hand, he didn't want to see the Alpha Kingdom grow too powerful; on the other hand, he didn't want to be a pawn for others and make enemies for the Black Forest Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, let's try diplomatic means first! I met with Minister Alpha last night, and his attitude was clearly different from before."
After a series of probing attempts, I discovered that their national policy was undergoing a major shift, seemingly indicating a strategic retrenchment.
I casually mentioned that we should ask them to acknowledge the County of Corubia as our vassal state. I thought he would strongly oppose it, but he only gave a symbolic condemnation.
The feeling was that if we gave them some compensation, they would tacitly agree that we had annexed the County of Corubia.
Of course, it's also possible that the Alpha people urgently need to replenish their resources and want to share the County of Corubia with us.
The Marquis Krasna's words caught Alexander V's eye. It was clearly easier to succeed by bullying smaller nations than by challenging larger ones.
Although the County of Corubia speaks eloquently and offers a constant stream of gifts throughout the year, they are ultimately opportunistic.
For the past hundred years, they have been wavering back and forth. Sometimes they follow them, and sometimes they side with the Alpha Kingdom.
Alexander V did not consider these disloyal underlings to be his own people. With the support of the Alpha Kingdom, it was only a matter of time before they annexed the County of Corubia.
The specific operation is very simple: constantly find excuses to create disputes, seize a town today, a city tomorrow, and so on.
Slowly nibble away and swallow it up.
"Then let's give it a try, but tacit approval alone is not enough; we must also strive for the support of the Alpha Kingdom."
Whether it's jointly dividing up the County of Corubia or providing them with some compensation, we can discuss it gradually!
Alexander V said expressionlessly.
Those who know him know that their King is tempted. The County of Corubia is not large, with an area of only 50,000 square kilometers and a population of less than one million.
But it is precisely because the country is small that it is easy to annex. Even if a large country like the Alpha Kingdom were offered to them, they wouldn't be able to swallow it.
If one's appetite grows even slightly too large, it will trigger a chain reaction and provoke intervention from various countries on the mainland.
"Your Majesty, if you intend to seize the County of Corubia, then let us withdraw our troops stationed on the border by ten miles!"
The standoff continues, and an accident could easily occur. Incidentally, withdrawing troops could also serve as a gesture of goodwill towards the Alpha Kingdom.
In any case, the conflict between us and the Alpha Kingdom was caused by the County of Corubia. Once that problem is resolved, the rest will be easier to discuss!
Count Nicholas said with a smile.
Without a doubt, he was genuinely pleased. Invading the County of Corubia was clearly a more certain option than attacking the Alpha Kingdom.
The former has to work hard, while the latter can just lie down and reap the rewards.
"Um!"
"Retreating ten miles is still too close and not enough to show sincerity. Send down the order for the army to retreat thirty miles directly. The Foreign Affairs Department can handle the rest!"
If the matter can be settled, then let Alpha people issue a new investigation report on the assassination.
The Cult of the July Association was merely the executor of the assassination attempt; the mastermind behind it all was the County of Corubia.
Their goal is to provoke a war between us and the Alpha Kingdom, so that they can reap the benefits!
The specific details will be discussed and compiled by the Foreign Affairs Department and Alpha people.
The more they talked about it, the more outrageous it seemed. It was such an obvious frame-up that even Alexander V himself felt a little embarrassed.
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