Enlightened Empire

Chapter 351: The Final Talks

“Hah, finally, the king shows his true nature, acting like a tyrant towards his equals.” Mayu’s bitter laugh and harsh accusation rang across the snowy camp. Though Corco knew that his cousin was just blowing hot air into the cold, as he usually did, and remained unimpressed.

“No, that’s how I always act towards my enemies, especially if they approach me with an army,” Corco replied in a tone as cold as the air around them. “It’s just that you haven’t tried hard enough to be my enemy before. Congratulations, you’re almost there.”

Although there was an implicit threat in Corco’s words, Mayu still didn’t back down. With the same prideful posture and the same loud voice as before, he shouted out his nonsense.

“These lands are not part of House Pluritac’s estates. The troops under this governor’s command have every right to be here, since they have received the permission of Lord Ogulno.”

How long did it take you to prepare such a weak argument, I wonder?

“Oh, and you just came here by pure chance, did you? And now you’ve coincidentally taken up position to defend that city from my army, right?” Corco asked back.

Whether or not Mayu’s army had a right to be here wasn’t the question anyways. The question was what they were doing here in the first place.

“This governor may direct the same question at the king,” Mayu bit back. “This governor has led a coalition of lords to support a fellow noble in a time of dire need. Not long ago, the lords have received news that Lord Ogulno’s lands were being invaded by a foreign army, marching on Kapra. As men of integrity, the lords of the south decided to unite their forces and bravely step forward to lift the enemy’s siege.”

“So I’m the enemy now?” Corco narrowed his eyes, but his smile still remained.

“This governor was not previously aware that the invading force was led by King Corcopaca,” Mayu voiced his bad excuse with no shame. “However, although King should not be considered an enemy of the southern lords, this governor still has to ask what king aims to do here, on another lord’s estate.”

“You really have no idea what’s going on this time, right?” Corco asked, though he was fairly certain that Mayu knew exactly. He wouldn’t have just come here on a whim after all. “Ogulno went too far this time. Working with outsiders against his own people, conspiracy, and an attempted assassination on his king. After all that, do you really want to speak up for him?”

“No matter what, he is still one of the lords, and one of our own. Not to mention, Lord Ogulno is also this governor’s uncle, and ones family should be protected. This governor will not retreat until he learns what King plans to do here today.”

Again, Mayu was playing ignorant, while he indirectly accused Corco of forgetting his family ties. However, the king wasn’t in the mood to play any games.

“Really? You want to fight me to the death over this?” he asked as he leaned forward. The chair stood on a small elevation, so even in his seat, Corco towered over his cousin. “You better think about this twice. I’m not playing around this time. Don’t even think that your little army will be enough to make me retreat. This time, I will bring back Ogulno to stand trial for his crimes. Considering the things he’s done recently, and in the past few years, that’s more than within my rights.”

“And where is the evidence for these supposed crimes?” Mayu shot back straight away.

Whatever plan he had this time, it gave him enough backing to oppose Corco. Whether that was confidence or ignorance on Mayu’s part was yet to be determined.

“What, you think I suddenly lost my head and attacked a southern lord without any concrete evidence?” Corco asked while he stifled a fake laugh. “I’m not even attacking my enemies without a casus belli, let alone my allies. A couple days ago, I caught dozens of warriors from House Ogulno trespassing on my land. Now they’re my prisoners. They’ve already confessed their allegiance to House Ogulno, which is all the evidence you should need.”

Mayu once again opened his mouth, but Corco raised his hands and interrupted him.

“I know what you’re trying to say: Another lord, or maybe I myself, is trying to frame Ogulno, so we’re presenting fake warriors. But that’s a story that won’t survive any confrontation with reality and you know it. Those warriors didn’t just grow out of the ground. They’ve been part of noble society for decades. Other warriors and lords from other estates are bound to know one or two of those people I’ve caught. They’ll know where they come from as well. With this many, there’s no hiding their true identities, at least not for long. Not to mention that my advanced army pursued the rest of those escaping troops into Ogulno’s estate as well.”

Corco took a short break, but this time, Mayu didn’t do him the favor to defend the indefensible.

“I also have secured a river embankment that those people were trying to break apart,” Corco continued. “We’ve left everything the way we found it. You’re free to check it out yourself. The damage to the earth is still there, as are all the tool tossed all over the ground. There should be plenty of fingerprints too, so there’s no denying who tried to do the damage, and when.”

Again, Corco paused. Possibly because Mayu realized the trouble his uncle Ogulno was in, he was finally gearing up to speak, but the king interrupted him once again.

“Wait, I probably forgot a few things, so don’t start yet. I wrote down a little something for you.” He leaned over and pulled a stack of paper from the hands of his officer. “Here. I’ve been working on this over the past few days. This document contains a comprehensive list of all the physical evidence we found, as well as written and signed statements from the warriors we caught. Don’t even try to deny this, you’re not gonna win a debate based on facts.”

Although Corco held out the paper, Mayu made no attempt to take it. How could he, with his fists clenched like that?

“Whatever excuses you come up with, you will not punish one of our own with your despicable methods today. The lords of the south have come today to shield their own. Don’t even think about attacking Kapra!”

Now Mayu wasn’t even trying to sound formal anymore. Without any proper form of address, he pointed at Corco and screamed his vapid accusations.

“Or what?” the king asked back with a shallow smile. “Are you going to start a civil war over this! Is that the plan? Use your uncle’s death and the naivete of the lords around you to kill me, just because I stole your girl? You’ve lost your mind.”

“Your sharp tongue will not save you this time.”

Again, Mayu refused to engage Corco in proper conversation. Maybe he knew that he couldn’t win on the issues. So far, everything he had said was nothing but emotionally charged campaign slogans.

“This time, the combined lords of the south will stand to oppose your tyranny,” he continued in the same vein. “Today, this governor has come not only to defend Lord Ogulno from any injustice. No, this lord has also come to speak justice on behalf of all the lords of the south!”

Here it comes, Corco thought. What’s your real goal today, and how long have you been planning this little stunt?

“Looks like you have trouble counting,” Corco replied to take away Mayu’s momentum. “Those flags behind you certainly don’t represent all southern families, do they? You don’t even have half.”

“They represent more than enough. Including House Ogulno, a total of ten houses have come together to oppose the unclean methods of House Pluritac. As descendants of the Sachay ancestors, they will withstand the attempts of the northern imperial house to claim the power of the south and make the Sachay people slaves to the northerners!”

“Oh fuck off, little cousin! Who am I treating as slaves, exactly?” Corco asked, now just as worked up as Mayu.

Based on what did he look like an invader, exactly? House Pluritac had nothing to do with him anyways, not since his exile.

“Are the lords not slaves under the King of the South, living within their master’s house, begging for his gracious charity?” Mayu sneered. With an annoyed expression, he swept the collecting snow off his red velvet shoulders. “All the lords are stuffed together into Saniya, forced to live in that city, away from their ancestral homes, which have become harder and harder to govern and control from afar. None of them have any choice in this matter, because their great king would not bestow them any trade contracts if they are not willing to imprison themselves inside his city.”

“Oh, so now it’s my fault that I’m taking everyone to make money together? How are we supposed to negotiate any detailed deals if they’re not there in person? Via carrier pigeon? Before the Triumvirate was established, they already spent most of the year in Arguna anyways. Now they just spend most of the year in Saniya. What’s the difference?” Corco sneered as he spoke in a biting tone. “Oh woe is the brave lords, they are swimming in gold and silver while living in the greatest city in Medala. How dare I harm them so?”

“Hah, your vicious intentions have not remained hidden from the lords of the south.” Together with his fake laugh, Mayu struck a silly pose, pressing his hands into his hips. However, his words were filled with fire. “Why else would this governor be tasked with demanding back the rights that have been taken from them? With the establishment of more trade contracts, the other estates will become more and more dependent on Saniya. Even worse, what the lords receive are only crumbs of what the Pluritac estate can earn off the hard work of the Sachay people. At the same time, you stretch your hands into foreign estates by establishing the new roads and towers into lands which are not yours. Yet these towers are manned by your own people, the roads cleaned and maintained by your workers. Foreign invaders on our soil, that is what they are! Yet all these issues are nothing compared to your use of fertilizer. So long as Saniya holds full control over the distribution of fertilizer, none of the lords would ever dare to oppose their king, even if they are in the right. How can this still be considered an equal relationship?”

Finally, Corco felt like his cousin was getting to the point. Fertilizer, this was what Mayu had been aiming for all this time. His heart cooled and his muscles tensed as the king spoke his next words.

“Is this the plan then? After you’ve talked this much nonsense, you should finally be getting to the good part, right? Go ahead, state your demands.”

“The demands are simple,” Mayu said, once again with a gloating smile as if he was in full control. “The lords want nothing more than what they deserve: Security from prosecution through their king, as well as participation in the business which had made them dependents of Hosue Pluritac. In detail, the lords demand access and participation in Saniya’s fertilizer manufactory. Further, to avoid similar positions of weakness from occurring in the future, the lords also demand access to all other manufactories owned by the king, to ensure that no secret projects will threaten the sovereignty of the lords like the fertilizer has.”

“So you want to steal my property, and you think I won’t do anything about it. Very clever.”

“It is merely a supervisory function. Nothing will be taken away, so there is no theft of any kind.”

Right. It’s just a coincidence that you will be able to see all of Saniya’s trade secrets with your little setup. Not to mention, you ‘supervisors’ can invent a million reasons to take away ‘faulty machines’ or ‘insubordinate commoner experts’ to kidnap the industries over to your estates.

Finally, Mayu’s plan was revealed. The more Corco thought about it, the less it seemed like it was really his. His cousin had never been clever or insidious enough to come up with such a thorough strategy. However, the king still wasn’t too worried. For now, the lords only had demands, with barely any justification, and lacking power behind them.

“I wonder, how do you justify this nonsense exactly?” he asked thus, still in a calm tone. “I’ve never denied anyone from buying my fertilizer. It’s even being sold to the two northern kingdoms. So why would I stop selling to my own people? I’ve never used the fertilizer as a threat against you, or any other lords. And I never plan to do so. If you want, I can even write that into law. Isn’t your entire argument a bit weak?”

“The lords have seen how those are treated who do not conform to the unspoken rules. Lord Ogulno is the best example,” Mayu argued. “He has not received any fertilizer, and has been punished for remaining true to his people and staying at his estate, rather than moving to Saniya.”

“That’s his choice.” Corco shrugged. “He can buy all the fertilizer he wants, so long as he can pay for it. If he wants to move to Saniya, he is free to do so too. What am I supposed to do if he’d rather stay home and starve to death? Or do you want me to order him otherwise? I don’t demand slavish obedience from Lord Ogulno. I just want him to acknowledge that he’s not my superior, and I want him to stop assassinating me. But I guess that’s what makes me a tyrant, right? Sounds downright monstrous!”

Up until now, Corco had not taken the threats of his cousin seriously. So far, nothing during their talks had changed his mind. Even with all the brain-twisting excuses Mayu had come up with, the legal and moral right was still fully on Corco’s side. There was no reason to step back, since he was in full control. Even so, the young governor was not willing to step back either.

“No matter what you say, the lords will not stand down to tyranny this time! Your goal today is to destroy one of our own because he would not bow his head to you. But this goal will fail today. You should retreat your men, or this governor will take no responsibility for what will happen later.”

“That’s it, you lose the argument, so you put up your fists? Are you that eager to start a war with me, governor?”

Corco emphasized the word to remind Mayu of his status, and of his responsibility towards the other lords. However, he was once again thinking too highly of his cousin.

“If necessary, this governor will use force to intervene and guarantee justice for Lord Ogulno,” Mayu insisted, stubborn as ever.

Finally, Corco was really getting angry. The shallow smile faded from his face as he realized that there was no point in talking anymore. If Mayu was determined to start a fight, today Corco was willing to follow along.

“You and what army?” he asked. “You think those handful of warriors out there are gonna be an obstacle for me? Your armies aren’t even mobilized. Those leftovers out there are just whatever little strength you managed to assemble without me noticing. You have ten lords together, but didn’t even manage to collect two thousand warriors. That’s less than two hundred warriors per lord. Are you suggesting this ‘army’ of yours is a serious obstacle for me?”

“These troops are simply a sign of our determination, and a proof of things to come should King Corcopaca not see the error of his ways and compromise.” Now that he saw Corco’s smile fade, it was time for Mayu to show his teeth. “During this time, can you afford to fight a war against your own people? How many are you willing to kill, of your own, to achieve your dreams of tyranny? How many will have to suffer?”

This time, Corco was really angry. All acting was gone. Did this bastard really try to blackmail him with the lives of other Yaku? Mayu, like many others, should know how much Corco valued the lives of his people, and probably used them as a shield as his trump card. However, the king wouldn’t have backed down, even if he had been in a calmer state of mind.

“Don’t talk to me about strategy!” he shouted, rather than mention the lives that would be lost in a war. Pointing out his weakness more would only cause trouble. Instead, he would change topics and show his cousin that he could indeed afford to fight him head on. “You haven’t been in a battle all your life, you spoiled brat, let alone in a war! The war in the Verduic Sea is stable, our northern borders are secured, and the Arcavians will have no more supply lines in the east once I take out Ogulno’s snake pit.”

“And what about Saniya?” Mayu asked, now with an icy calm and a grin that turned his eyes into slits. “What about the troubles in the city?”

“Is this some sort of bluff? I was there like a week ago. Nothing’s wrong with my city.”

Although Corco said so, the ice from Mayu’s words slowly spread to Corco’s spine. Out here, he had no access to radio or his beacon towers. He had no idea what was really happening in Saniya right this moment. What had his cousin done, what was going on in his city?

“Much can happen in a short time,” Mayu said, still armed with an eerie smile. “Maybe, if King Corco insists on war today, he will have to fight not only against foreigners, not only against the warriors of his lords, but also against the people of his own city. This time, King Corcopaca, it may be wise to restrain your anger and not act on impulse, like you tend to do. This time, your rage may cause more damage than you can afford.”