Chapter 510 - To Give the People What They Want (Patreon)

"We can never forget our core strategic goal, which is to reunify the empire, and lead the Yaku people to glorious prosperity," Corco continued to brainwash the members of his privy council. "But to achieve such lofty goals, we will have to do more than just overpower the armies of my brothers. The Chutwa scholars have been involved with Amautu for a long time already. Now that the northern kingdom has been destabilized, who knows if they will use it as an excuse to send Chutwa troops in support of the northern kingdom. Chutwa's slave vassals in the north might want a piece of the Twin Isles as well. I hear those scholars are shopping around foreign countries to find a wife and ally for my middle brother. And who knows if the Arcavians will stay honest once the Yaku once more start fighting each other. Maybe they'll see it as another chance to jump in, a chance for redemption. I mean, they do have a history of working with my good uncle Pacha. And there might be even more foreign forces eager to get involved in our isles. Some of them, we may not even have in our sights yet. Since we haven't paid much attention to the outside so far, there is no way for us to know. Our international relations will continue to get more complex, and our standing with our neighbors, and even distant nations, will become much more vital to our strategic goals in the future. So I understand as well as you that we will need to find someone dedicated to the role of foreign minster. But that appointment cannot be a sloppy choice. It's too important of a role to simply hand out to someone who's loyal, or popular. I've been careful to pick the right candidate, but my candidate will still need more time to grow, and to convince everyone not only in this room, but also abroad. So until that someone is ready to take on responsibility, can I ask you — my most trusted supporters — for your help just a bit longer?"

Finally, after a long speech about the country's future, Corco came back to begging Brym and the others for their help. In the end, all he wanted was for the current departments to take on extra work, to help him handle international relations. Luckily, all that breath hadn't been used up for nothing.

"Of course, your majesty," Asiro was the first to stand up in support, though maybe because the minister of industry would be the last to be called upon when it came to foreign relations.

"House Queru is willing to take on the additional responsibility," Huaman followed immediately after, the lord not willing to be outdone by a commoner.

"House Makipura is the same. Our connections in the central kingdom are second to none," Lord Makipura added, to increase the profile of his house.

In the end, all the public pressure and Corco's fancy speech also managed to convince the king's little brother.

"I understand the necessity and importance of these duties, and will try to make extra time for them in the near future," Brym finally said, before he hesitated for a second and added: "Still, I am hardly suitable for work like this. It might be prudent to find a replacement sooner, rather than later."

In the face of Brym's repeated complaints, Corco knew that he had to present something more concrete to the crowd. He couldn't just keep them working for free indefinitely based on a few words alone. Luckily, the king had long prepared a solution to their foreign ministry problem.

"That's fine. I already have the perfect candidate ready to relieve you of your duties. I think it's time for a new appointment to this council, and a new direction for the kingdom." Corco turned towards a man who was sitting near the other end of the table, before he addressed him. "Admiral Atau."

"Present," Atau almost shouted. All throughout the meeting, he had lazily leaned into his seat. Only when the topic came to beating up his brothers in the northern kingdoms had he shown any kind of enthusiasm. Yet now that he expected a new appointment, the admiral of the kingdom half jumped out of his chair from excitement. It was an unusual reaction from a man who had never been eager for power. However, Corco knew why his cousin had such a strong response, and he intended to make full use of it.

"You say the situation in the west is stable, right?" Corco first confirmed his admiral's previous report from earlier in the meeting.

"Very stable, yes," an eager Atau nodded like a bobble head, much to Corco's amusement.

"In that case, would it be possible to leave your work to a stewart, while guaranteeing our continued success in the Verduic War?" he continued to ask, even though he already knew that Atau would make it possible even if it wasn't.

"Of course," the predictable admiral replied without thinking. "Captain Ivo can perfectly handle the work in my stead. He already does, whenever I'm dragged to one of these meetings. By now we're just going from island to island anyways, slowly clearing out the pirates one hidden cove at a time. Ever since our strategy's been set and your little privateers have flooded into the Verdant Isles, there's been no real threat of a comeback for the pirates. To keep it simple, they no longer have the space to operate as they did before. By now, if they fight back harder, they'll just lose faster, even when I'm not around."

"And as always, Rasacopa will cooperate as well," Sumaci added. "In any case, most of the fleet's logistics have been handled by the Green Court already."

Corco had almost forgotten, but his own wife used to be a well-respected captain herself. Though of course, he always remembered that she was also the queen of the Green Island.

"In that case, Queen Sumaci will coordinate the overall strategy of our war in the Verduic Sea — together with General Paec in Rasacopa who will be responsible for defensive operations on land — while the daily operations of the fleet will be handled by Captain Ivo in the absence of Admiral Atau," Corco concluded the new appointments, though it felt a bit redundant.

After all, these newly determined appointments simply mirrored the way the operations in the east had been handled all this time. Out of concern for her home, Sumaci was always eager to get involved in the decisions in the first place. Not to mention that legally, the Verduic Sea was the jurisdiction of the Green Island more than it was the jurisdiction of southern Medala.

Beyond that, it was a given that the highest ranking army officer would be in charge of land operations, while the highest ranking naval officer would be in charge of the navy. All Corco had done was make the current modus operandi official, and replace Atau with Ivo as the head of the navy. Still, it was better to make everything official, before some confusion or wrangling over authorities delayed the outcome of the war.

"Understood. I will note it down," Fadelio replied to conclude the topic. Of course, it was no longer necessary for the Prime Minister to note down anything, now that they had a minute keeper present at all times. Even so, Fadelio wouldn't let go of his trusty notes.

"And what do I get to do instead?" Atau interrupted the orderly proceedings. He clearly couldn't wait to ask about his newest appointment, evidenced by the slight tremble of excitement in his voice and the broad smile on his face.

"I remember the only admiral of this kingdom — who bears heavy responsibilities to match the prestige of his position — has been pestering his king for a long time. You've been asking me for an extended vacation, so you can freely sail the world and explore unknown waters again, isn't that right?" Corco explained as a smile crept on his face to match his cousin's.

For years, Atau had been forced to stay and command Saniya's navy, since the kingdom had been locked in a seemingly endless naval battle with the Colored Kings. All this time, the admiral of the kingdom had done his duties, rather than follow his own wishes. After all, Atau had never been interested in titles or power. All he had ever wanted to do was drink, flirt, and travel the world.

Though his more recent, more urgent desire to leave was probably also due to his mother Guanca, who incessantly tried to have him take over the business his family's estate, now that Atau was officially the lord of Puscanacra. Of course, the main reason for the urgent departure was still to run away from Tama, before she could force the playboy into a shotgun wedding.

"Yes, that's right," Atau once again confirmed his desires. "I would love to take on this new challenge, to improve the kingdom's relations in foreign lands."

He probably didn't even care about the appointment of foreign minister, so long as he could leave the kingdom and have some fun abroad. Of course, someone had to ruin the harmonious atmosphere, as always.

"I would like it put on record that the prime minister considers such an abandonment of one's duties irresponsible," Fadelio said, more towards the minute keeper in the back than towards Atau.

"Then I would like it written down that the prime minister is an emotionless stone with no joy in his life," Atau shot back.

"Okay, can we stop bothering the minute keeper for once?" Corco stepped in before these two took their rivalry too far again. Once more, he asked his cousin: "Do you want to go or not?"

"Of course, I'd love nothing more!"

"Then you'll start from Port Ulta, and you'll travel across the Weltalic Sea. First north to the Bronze Coast, then east to Shimoa and Arcavia. Use your connections in those places to gain some allies for us. As I look at the countries around us, I only see enemies, or potential enemies. I want you to change that. At the very least, we need to keep our enemies in our east occupied, as we deal with those in the north and west. Can you do that for me?"

Faced with the sudden responsibility beyond a simple pleasure cruise, Atau suddenly looked a bit hesitant.

"I mean, I do know some people, but I'm not exactly a diplomat, you know?" he said quietly, and stared at Corco from the corner of his eyes. Maybe he was gathering the courage to agree to the appointment, or maybe he was waiting for Corco to assign him some assistants who would do all the actual work for him. However, before he could actually go through with whatever plan he had, the king quickly moved along with his own.

"Not a problem at all. As I've said, I already have a candidate ready to handle our international relations from now on," he said, before he shouted towards the room's entrance: "Tamaya, please come in!"

As the door opened and the elegant lady with the curled, brown hair stepped into the room, a low murmur arose around the table. Everyone seemed to have something to say about the imminent appointment. The only ones who weren't talking were Fadelio and Atau, both of whom were paralyzed from shock. Tama, meanwhile, seemed completely unfazed by the attention, as she calmly walked past the crowd and came to a stop next to Corco, who eagerly introduced her to his privy council.

"Now then, most here should be familiar with Tamaya di Pluritac. For those who aren't, she's the eldest daughter of the late General Atoc di Pluritac, and is the current coordinator of the ghost warrior operations within the kingdom," the king explained. "For this journey, Tamaya will accompany Admiral Atau's fleet, in the function of the kingdom's chief diplomatic envoy. Should she have proven her abilities in negotiations with foreign powers by the time of her return, she will be appointed as the kingdom's foreign minister."

After Corco's introduction, the crowd was eager to congratulate the new minister-to-be. After all, her status as a daughter of the emperor's former confidante was sufficient to convince even the stiff nobles of her suitability for an advanced role. Her family had a long history of serving Medala's emperor in similar functions, after all. Not to mention, no one wanted to offend the leader of the terrifying ghost warriors for no reason. In the entire room, only two people remained silent from start to finish: Atau and Fadelio.

While Tama watched Atau with a sly grin on her face, both Atau and Fadelio only looked at Corco with accusation written all over their faces. The king, meanwhile, was eager to claim innocence. After all, he had given both of them exactly what they had wanted: An overseas position for Tama, and some time away for Atau. With this, surely, all parties would be happy.

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Annual Budget Meeting (Year-End Summary)

Name: Kingdom of South Medala

Year: 8th Strife

Population: 4.48m (+4.0%)

-----Royal Territory: 1.78m

Verdant Isles (all controlled territories): ~7m

Green Island: 3.24m

Income: 88.2m Sila

-----Seignorage: 12.0m Sila

-----Grain and agriculture: 33.2m Sila

-----Direct trade from government businesses: 19.3m Sila

-----Tariffs: 8.6m Sila

-----Other: 15.1m Sila (bond sales in the south and eastern Medala)

Treasury: 44.17m Sila

Precious Metal Reserves: 64.5m Sila

Debt Ratio: ~74%

Standing Troops: 12k commoners

-----Reserves: 20k commoners, 16k warriors

Steel Production: 760 tons

Farmland: 370.000 hectares

Yield: 0.72 tons per hectare

Literacy Rate: 17%

Hermit's Notes:

New Numbers! Total Income is down, because there were a lot fewer one-time sales (bonds and manufactories) compared to the previous year. However, since actual, yearly income is way up, the debt ratio has pretty much stabilized, despite increasing the debt by another 15mil. The increase in income comes mainly from extra trade income, mostly due to the end of wars and resumption of trade, the reopening of Amautu's northern kingdom to the Wonders of the World shops, as well as the new trade connections to Chutwa, including the new porcelain smuggling plan.

I think the other numbers are pretty self-explanatory, unless something looks weird, in which case, please do ask away.

Also, I've already mostly finished the next chapter already, so I might be able to upload that one tomorrow. Less talking, more action from here on (which will be my general mantra for Book 8, unless I change my mind completely and replan everything)!