Chapter 137: The Benevolent Hand of the Empire

Within the throne room, Catherine walked forward to the imposing throne. Alfred sat with a kind smile watching her. It was a strange sight not having Chris by Alfred’s side, but Catherine was happy knowing he was protecting Isra. "You summoned me, Your Majesty." Catherine bowed before Alfred and quickly rose at his command.

"Yes, Duchess. Please follow me." It seemed pointless for Catherine to come here if Alfred was going to lead her away, but she knew it was simply a power play to show his strength to the other vassals. It was easier to use her than someone like William who was known as Alfred’s strongest ally. The Young Emporer got up leading her towards the side room that was used for the council meeting.

Inside she saw William standing there with his hands behind his back observing a map. Hearing the door opening he turned around bowing. "Your Majesty. Duchess." Alfred waved it off and took his seat, the other two following.

"I called you both here for the next stage in dealing with the Commonwealth. Horace has been a great help in identifying the... atmosphere amongst the high society and it is great to know that the pirate invasion has caused the necessary terror that we needed." Alfred put his finger on the Map of the Commonwealth and circled part of its southern coast.

"As we know these areas have been struck terribly. To the point where a mass evacuation had to be called until Snowid could mobilize the army. His military reforms were not as sophisticated as ours and it meant that he could afford to spread the army thin at the time of the attack. But because he stripped the nobles of their fighting power, the coast was easy pickings."

To any outsider, it was terrifying how easily Alfred discussed the brutalization of another Kingdom. They all knew the tales that followed the Pirate Brothers, especially Gage. Had the victims heard how he trivialized the attacks, they would have torn him limb by limb.

"The two great Dukes of the Commonwealth have used this opportunity to stop following Snowid’s orders, the vassals have begun to petition to scrap the policy all together and Snowid’s coffers dwindle each day doing damage control. Right now the situation isn’t too terrible. Snowid is still a strong ruler and no vassal will have any radical ideas, yet. But if things continue to get worse then who can say." A knocking on the door interrupted Alfred’s thoughts and he smiled.

"Enter." The door opened and a man in his late forties with greying hair wearing expensive clothing walked in. "Allow me to introduce you guys. This here is Dimitri Brantov, cousin of Grand Prince Alexei." The man bowed and took his seat.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Dimitri’s accent was thick but respectful. He flashed a polite smile and bowed towards the other two. He knew his cousin wanted to keep a strong alliance with Alfred and he was willing to be extra polite to ensure it; as long as he was treated with respect.

"I got into touch with the Grand Prince after Issac agreed to carry out his mission. As a sign of goodwill, Dimitri has come down to help us start phase two." His words got the two to lean in closer. They knew Alfred’s overall plan was to strangle the Commonwealth until it was weak enough for an invasion, but they were not privy to how it would be done. Alfred looked toward the man and he nodded.

Clearing his throat he started. "Under the guise of war preparations, Vladmire will cut trade with the Commonwealth. Unlike the issues the Empire has experienced our new lands have been less hectic to consolidate. Ali’s death and any successor that he would have to be dead had made it easier to destroy any leadership that our new citizens could rally behind. Sure we have some problems but nothing that can’t be brushed aside."

"Knowing this, we have begun to look north and east. Kosvo is a small land and easy to reclaim. War with them we think shall not even last two months. The Commonwealth after losing our trade will most likely look to our brothers across the lake or the Gotics. When we annex Kosvo our Brothers will have no choice but to look towards us and away from the Commonwealth, cutting off another ally. A new trade deal with the Slathan’s has also meant that we shall not lose out on cutting trade."

"With very few available trading partners, the Commonwealth’s economy should continue to tank, until they have no choice but to go into debt. Depending on the severity of the debt they will look towards Gold or Crystal bank. It matters not. Any invasion of the Commonwealth where they have been unable to repay that debt will see the Empire having the complete support of the banks."

Dimitri said his peace leaving the rest thinking about what he said. It was definitely the best-case scenario he described, but it could happen. "A question?" William, "How confident is the Grand Prince in recreating the Silesian Empire?"

It was an unexpected question and Dimitri fell into thought. He was someone who was privy to his cousin’s true thoughts and one of his closest advisors. "If the Empire supports him, 80%." He told a half lie. Even without the Empire supporting it Alexei was confident. Not having to deal with the South was a massive help. The Slathan’s were a threat but they were sure they wouldn’t attack. With the alliance between Alexei and Alfred, any war would be at a disadvantage. Adding to this the natural mountain border between the two was something that both sides, even during the days of the Silesian Empire, didn’t wish to destroy.

William nodded in acceptance to those odds. "Okay." He turned back to Alfred. "What will you have us do?" His question got a smile and Alfred turned to Catherine.

"The fleet. How confident are you about taking the Pirate Lords?" With a deep sigh, Catherine played with her fingers, obviously doing calculations.

"50-50. We don’t know much about them. Their fleet could be bigger than we could comprehend for all I know. And Pirates are a tricky one to fight. They don’t follow any rules. They will run and cheat. If the victory condition is the complete annihilation of them then I can’t guarantee anything." Her words were a sad truth and dampened Alfred’s mood.

"How many ships can you build within six months?"

"How much support will I get?" She asked a question back and it was Alfred’s time to calculate.

"Abu can provide manpower. William can provide troops needed to train in naval combat. Resource-wise, I will mobilize as many resources as I can spare. Assume you have free reign."

"If that’s the case, three warships."

"That’s fine. Begin as soon as you return."

"Okay. But I must ask Your Majesty. What is the plan going forward, so I can make the preparations."

Alfred nodded. He couldn’t keep things secret forever. He trusted the people in the room enough as well to say. "The Commonwealth lacks and real navel asset. They won’t be able to deal with the Pirate Lords in a way that will please the nobles or people. Maybe they can defend their lands but the damage has already been done and Snowid has lost a lot of trust. If we can give the people what they want. Then the bad image of the Empire in their eyes can be healed slightly. We offer them what their King wouldn’t and couldn’t do."

"It’s a very little thing," William said and Catherine couldn’t help but nod. Alfred expected this and raised his hands.

"True. But a lot of little things go a long way. Horace already knows that women in upper society are jealous and desire what the women have here. The freedom that Isra has created. It was unintended but it gave me the idea. The men are upset because Snowid took from them and failed to protect them. Some lost their wealth and others their entire lands were ruined."

"If we can prove to provide this security it may be enough for those nobles who are disgruntled to look in our direction. For the people, we have to play it by ear. If Snowid has to sacrifice them, we welcome refugees and people who wish to leave. We offer support for them and create goodwill. There are many things we can do, but we must know it will be slow. Horace said he may have found a way in to deal with the nobles and has begun his plans. If he can drip enough poison in their ears, we may get something unexpected."

He paused and saw the two look at one another. They both felt it could work but also wouldn’t. It was a risk and it had mainly to do with how Snowid acted. Despite this, they had no other alternative to offer so they nodded and silently made the preparations they needed to do.

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Marcus sat in his office. His hand shook as he held the pen. He needed to report to Alfred about the assassination attempt on Isra but he struggled. It felt as if the looming shadow of the young Emporer towered over his back. Every time he lowered the pen to the paper, the pressure increased.

His devotion to Alfred was true. He believed in Alfred’s vision and dreams. He was there when he made his speech on ascension to becoming Emporer. He was there through the entire conquest. Each day he woke up, he felt proud to be a soldier of the Empire. But he also knew of the history that followed Alfred. He knew the cruelty and blood he spilled to reach his position. He didn’t care before, knowing no man could hold his position without blood. He had proved himself on the field to reach his position. How many soldiers had he gotten killed, and how many lies had he told?

He respected Alfred for being able to rule as he did with the knowledge of what he had done. But now as he had to explain the attempted murder of his wife in a city under his watch. He could only gulp and pray that he wasn’t the one who would have to face his wrath. He was fine being punished but hoped it didn’t cost him his life.

He didn’t know why he had such a fear for Alfred. His deeds weren’t the cause. Everytime he looked at him an unexplainable feeling washed over him. He trusted his senses to gauge people and knew Alfred was a man not to mess around with. But he had a job. Taking a deep breath he wrote the letter.

Putting it to the side he wrote a second note. An order. He had the liberties to it and now was the time. With the signing of his name, Nakhla would fall under martial law. His hand had been forced.