The Empire's Troubles

Capital of Glory, Silver Moon Palace.

"News has arrived from the northern frontier. Duke Alvin led an army onto the grasslands and returned in crushing defeat.

"Almost all one hundred thousand northern frontier elites were lost, and more than two hundred thousand men in the supplementary army were handed over to the Tuwu People.

"The forward fortresses the empire built at great expense have all fallen, and Dragon Spine Pass is in imminent danger."

"As expected of the empire's fine duke. He certainly does things on a grand scale!"

Nicholas mocked him before the court.

The Holy Glory Empire was an empire of nobles. Even the emperor had to show the great nobles due respect.

Such plainly insulting remarks would not normally be made at court.

Yet no matter how close those present usually were to Duke Alvin, none of them stood up for him.

If he was incompetent, he should have stayed home. The empire could do without one more good-for-nothing.

If he lacked the ability, he had no business trying to lead an expedition.

It was one thing to disgrace himself, but he had thrown away the elites of the empire's Northern Frontier Corps. That was disastrous!

The Holy Glory Empire claimed to field a million soldiers, but everyone knew how inflated that figure was.

The empire had only ten true field armies in all, and three had been lost in the battle in the north.

Of its thirty garrison armies, five had been wiped out in that battle.

The supplementary army's combat strength could be disregarded, but it still consisted of more than two hundred thousand able-bodied men.

Losing so much military strength at once would have been a crippling blow to any empire.

Although Duke Alvin had artfully polished his battle report, he could not change the fact that the losses were severe.

"Your Majesty, Duke Alvin recklessly advanced in pursuit of glory. He must bear full responsibility for this crushing defeat."

Chancellor Benjamin was the first to state his position.

Someone had to answer for the losses of soldiers and generals at the front.

The emperor would not take the blame, and the government was even less willing to shoulder it, so Duke Alvin could only bear it himself.

As a political enemy, Benjamin had shown restraint simply by not exaggerating the duke's faults.

"Chancellor, you can't say that.

"Duke Alvin certainly bears responsibility for the defeat at the front, but it was more a matter of the enemy being too despicable.

"If the enemy hadn't colluded with necromancers and created an undead scourge on the grasslands, the Northern Frontier Corps would not have suffered such heavy losses."

Minister of War Lawrence immediately retorted.

Even though he was cursing eighteen generations of Duke Alvin's ancestors in his heart, he still had to step forward and explain. After all, Duke Alvin was his son-in-law!

"The undead scourge didn't appear out of nowhere. Once traces of it were discovered, the army could easily have avoided it.

"The disaster on the grasslands had nothing to do with the empire.

"If Duke Alvin hadn't played the hero and insisted on exercising his chivalry, the army would never have suffered such a devastating blow."

Chancellor Benjamin immediately shot back.

It was true that the undead were the mortal enemies of all intelligent beings, but an undead scourge on the grasslands was the enemy's problem.

In his view, Duke Alvin had let his blood run hot and led the army to put down the undead disaster for the enemy, only to bring suffering on himself.

The facts had borne this out. Rather than thank the Northern Frontier Corps for its contribution, the enemy had seized the opportunity to stab it in the back.

"The commander certainly should bear responsibility for a defeat at the front, but by no means all of it!"

"None of the many generals accompanying him objected. That proves the situation was already extremely urgent, and they couldn't have withdrawn simply because they wanted to."

"The Tuwu People had laid a trap, and our army had no choice!"

"If responsibility is to be assigned, every general at the front must bear a share."

Minister of War Lawrence offered a strained explanation.

A defeat was a defeat, but there was still a difference between acting of one's own accord and being forced into it.

Duke Alvin had made too much of a mess to escape punishment. If he wanted a lighter sentence, he could only share the blame.

"We can discuss accountability later. The urgent task is to relieve the siege of Dragon Spine Pass!"

Seeing that the conflict threatened to escalate, Foreign Minister Hamilton hurriedly interrupted.

The situation at the front had collapsed, and the enemy could breach the pass at any moment.

If they indulged in another round of factional strife at a time like this, the enemy would devastate the northern provinces.

"The foreign minister is right. This is not the time to assign blame. Let's discuss how to relieve Dragon Spine Pass first!"

Nicholas spoke with a helpless expression.

Given his temper, he would have liked nothing better than to tear Duke Alvin limb from limb immediately, but the empire was ultimately ruled jointly by the emperor and the nobility.

Dealing with a great noble who held an actual fief involved far too many considerations. It was not something a few words could decide.

"Your Majesty, speed is of the essence on the battlefield.

"The forces closest to the front are the Sixth Garrison Army stationed in Gale Gobi Province, the Seventh Garrison Army stationed in Twilight Highlands Province, and the Eleventh Garrison Army guarding Emerald Dream Province.

"If we issue orders now, they should be able to reach the front within a month.

"For the immediate future, we can only call up the private armies of nobles in nearby regions to address the urgent crisis.

"Even when they arrive, however, they will only be able to hold the border. It will be difficult for them to launch a counterattack against the enemy.

"The empire's dignity cannot be violated.

"I propose we dispatch four main battle armies and twelve garrison armies on an expedition against the Golden Horde Khanate, and show the Tuwu People the empire's might!"

Minister of War Lawrence made his proposal with murderous intent.

The defeat at the front had left the military utterly disgraced.

The only way to reclaim its lost honor was to wash it clean with the blood of the Tuwu People.

"My minister of war, are you sure you're not joking?

"Sixteen armies at once? How many standing armies does the empire have altogether?"

Chancellor Benjamin demanded mockingly.

In theory, the Holy Glory Empire had forty armies, and sixteen armies accounted for exactly forty percent of its total strength.

But eight armies had already been lost in the north. Sending another sixteen there would commit all the empire's main forces to the northern front.

The Pannosia Continent was home to many nations. Besides its troublesome neighbor, the Golden Horde Khanate, the empire bordered several powerful nations.

The Desais Empire lay to the south, the Radiance Empire to the west, and the Quake Empire to the east. Powerful enemies surrounded it on all sides.

The Radiance Empire in particular had fought a major war with the empire only twenty years ago.

Once all the empire's main forces were assembled at the northern front, no one could guarantee that this neighbor would not take advantage of its predicament.

"If we don't have enough troops, then expand the army!

"Ten main battle armies have long been insufficient for the empire's strategic needs. Whenever anything happens, we find ourselves short of troops.

"Given the current international situation, the empire needs at least eight more main battle armies and twenty-five more garrison armies to deter its powerful enemies on all sides."

As soon as Lawrence finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall grew tense.

"Where will the money come from?"

Finance Minister Scott was the first to ask the crucial question.

The court had never stopped discussing the expansion of the army.

The biggest reason no action had been taken was a lack of money.

The Holy Glory Empire did indeed have a vast territory and a population of over a hundred million, but its finances were quite ordinary.

Maintaining the current government was not much of a problem, but a large-scale military expansion would immediately stretch its finances to the limit.

To make up for its shortage of troops, the empire had also taken a measure of its own: forming supplementary armies.

Much like temporary outside hires, their soldiers were called up when needed and sent home to farm when the fighting was over.

It saved money, but their combat strength left much to be desired.

"So if there's no money, we just don't fight?

"When the enemy comes for us, do we just wait to have our throats slit?"

Lawrence shot back without the slightest courtesy.

Every time military expansion came up, the finance ministry invariably jumped out to oppose it. A lack of money had become its excuse for everything.

At first, he had thought it reasonable, but after hearing it so many times, it had taken on a different meaning.

The empire's finances were indeed tight, but there was still some room to maneuver.

The finance ministry could increase revenue and reduce expenditure, cut some unnecessary spending, and put the funds into the military.

Unfortunately, he had suggested it many times, but the finance ministry had refused to budge.

"Fine, then. The finance ministry won't allocate the funds. Your military can solve its own funding problem!"

Faced with the military's demands, Scott decisively resorted to washing his hands of the matter.

Increasing revenue and cutting expenditure sounded simple, but actually doing it affected all manner of interests.

Political reforms throughout the ages had basically revolved around finances.

Yet any measure to increase tax revenue would encroach on the interests of entrenched groups.

Over the years, the Holy Glory Empire had launched more than ten reforms, all of which had ended in failure.

In a history book, the words "the reforms ended in failure" amounted to little more than a brief expression of regret.

In real life, the ministers who launched those reforms had almost all spent their later years in misery.

Everyone might know that the empire needed reform, and might even sincerely hope for it to succeed.

But the moment their own interests were touched, their attitudes would change.

"Duke Scott, your finance ministry is being utterly irresponsible!

"If the finance ministry is unable to solve the financial problem, then grant our military the authority to collect taxes.

"As long as the government is willing to authorize it, the army ministry is willing to solve this problem for the empire!"

Army Minister Douglas made the proposal enthusiastically.

Under ordinary financial reform, the chances of collecting the money were practically zero.

If the task were given to the army, an institution of force, collecting taxes would be much easier.

But what difference would that make from handing the empire over to the military?

The most important powers in a state were command of the army, control of finances, and control of appointments.

Once control of finances and command of the army were combined, control of appointments would become an empty formality.

At that point, it would no longer be the state that possessed an army, but the army that possessed a state.