episode_0151

Report from Adria.

“Is this… possible?”

It’s handmade. It’s not some kind of Three Kingdoms.

I look at the report again and again as the situation becomes absurd.

“Wow…”

I understand why everyone thinks so highly of William.

Of course, there were some incompetent enemy commanders, but I thought all William could do was waste time.

An unexpected major.

Sit on a chair and uppercut towards the ceiling.

“Nice!”

Although we have not yet gained control over all of Adria, we can completely block Ioanes’ supply with this.

“Wait, this is not the time to like it too much.”

Surely Ioanes will come with a large army this time.

If you expect it to be around 100,000…

Agrippa must land in Byzantion.

Byzantion is located slightly north of the center in the territory of Nicaea.

According to the intelligence report, most of the supplies are supplied to the Nicaean army from there.

If you destroy that place, Nicaea will collapse over time.

Of course, they may prepare to retake the Nicaean army from Byzantium, but…

The commander there was Agrippa.

It would be impossible to win against him.

No matter what anyone says, he is a commander who blocks demons.

“Hmm… Shall we start handing over the imperial faction to Theodora?”

Thinking like that, I draw my plans on paper one by one.

Hmm… shall we pass the bill?

At this time, we are thinking about passing a tax reform bill.

In the past, we couldn’t do this because we were worried that the imperial faction would start a civil war, but with Bohemia taking such a hit, there would be no power to start a civil war.

Since there is no Nicea anyway, there is not much they can do.

“Hmm… And submitted a petition to the National Assembly requesting the disbandment of the imperial faction…”

This is possible if I exercise the voting rights of Nicaea, Epirus, and Egypt and include a small number of anti-emperor and neutral factions.

At this time…

Theodora steps in and exercises her veto power.

The right to veto is one of the privileges granted to the emperor.

With that, we can exercise both the tax reform plan and the petition to disband the Emperor faction.

And you’re forcing me to choose between the two.

“Hmm… The picture isn’t bad.”

Then I choose taxes.

As if I couldn’t win.

Because of the negotiations, the imperial faction is spared and the tax reform bill I want is passed.

Not bad.

He is the emperor who protects the imperial faction against the tyrant of the empire.

Of course, it doesn’t really matter whether the Emperor faction is disbanded or not.

Since they have the shield of the emperor, they will try to maintain a good relationship with the emperor, right?

In the meantime, I’m passing on the tax reform bill.

“Good, good.”

I make detailed plans and spend my days looking at documents.

***

The afternoon of a few days later.

Heading to the Gold Area after a long time.

I used to take this route every day, but I guess it’s because I’ve been spending time only at the Grand Duke’s Office lately.

The path feels awkward.

Theodora went out, right?

Let’s stand in front of my mother-in-law’s room like that…

-smart!

The guard sees me and knocks.

-What’s going on outside?

“That… His Majesty the Archduke has arrived.”

-oh? Hurry up and tell them to come inside.

As my mother-in-law spoke, the guard opened the door.

“How have you been?”

My mother-in-law smiles softly at my greeting.

“Yes, it was great. But I was worried because it was hard to see my son-in-law’s face these days.”

I looked embarrassed by my kind mother-in-law’s serious words.

“Haha… That’s shameful.”

My mother-in-law smiles brightly at my words.

“Then how about coming to breakfast again starting tomorrow?”

After having a huge fight with Theodora in his room, he is deliberately avoiding breakfast.

That’s right… I also swung my fist, and I didn’t eat with the mother of the woman I assaulted because I felt it was shameless for me to eat with her.

My mother-in-law frowns a little at my words.

“I don’t really know what happened that day… but how can we not fight if we live together? So, I know you feel uncomfortable, but since we are a married couple, I don’t think it will be a big problem.”

My conscience pricks me and I clear my throat as my mother-in-law speaks kindly in a soft voice.

“Hmm… I’ll do that later. That’s what I came to today. Theodora, I understand that she wants to overthrow me.”

My mother-in-law stiffens at my words.

Then he frowns for a moment and then opens his mouth.

“That child is the emperor of the empire…”

I cut off what my mother-in-law said.

“Sorry to cut you off, but I don’t have any regrets about that. Rather, I think I should give it back to her someday.”

My mother-in-law carefully responds to my words.

“That means…?”

“But you can’t just go away. Theodora, she hasn’t proven herself yet, so I can’t let her go easily.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I continued speaking to my mother-in-law, who looked puzzled.

“Therefore, I try to give her power. A force called the Emperor faction.”

That’s how I became the director and my mother-in-law began directing.

***

William is troubled as he looks at the war map.

“Hmm…”

Unlike the incompetent general Dzeko, William, who expects Ioanes to come directly to Adria with a large army this time, is worried about the current situation.

‘It will not be an easy battle.’

It is difficult to reorganize and deploy the Nicaean army that has currently surrendered to him.

If there is a spy inside, there is nothing more difficult than that, so it is difficult to deal with it.

In addition, the walls of the Toulouse fortress were destroyed, and if the part was filled only with bricks, it would inevitably be vulnerable to magic attacks.

Also, the best way to stop Ioannes is to block the road connecting Dupol and Nicaea.

However, if there are reinforcements from the Jarl front and Byzantium, William’s army will inevitably be surrounded.

“Is it a siege in the end?”

William is currently considering occupying a large city, deploying his main troops there to stage a sit-in, and using the Golden Knights to attack the enemy’s supplies.

“Hmm… Should we just protest at all?”

Thessalonica, the Adriatic city.

If you move supplies here and take your time, the fall of Byzantium should be no problem.

‘I don’t know if this kid named Agrippa will be nice to me.’

William, who participated in numerous wars, feels uneasy because Agrippa, who only commanded one war, feels like a brat.

‘Whew… how do I do this?’

“Captain. The skirmishers who went to Dupol have returned.”

William answers those words.

“Yes. I heard that Ioanes is coming in person?”

“Yes. The military…”

“Probably around 70,000.”

William predicts the enemy’s troops like a prophet, and Matthew responds in surprise.

“Uh… how did you know?”

William says with a grin, looking at Matthew’s surprise.

“You have to drag me to that extent to be able to stop me. Perhaps troops will come from Byzantium as well. Have you heard from your scouts yet?”

“Yes. It hasn’t arrived yet.”

At those words, William rubs his chin and gets lost in thought.

“Hmm.”

William, lost in thought, opens his mouth after a long time.

“Mercury would be best.”

“Yes?”

William grins as he looks at Matthew, who doesn’t understand.

“There is such a thing. How did the negotiations with Thessalonica go?”

“That’s it. It looks like it’s almost finished.”

William nods his head at those words.

“Yes. Tighten the siege of Thessalonica and tell them strongly that if they do not surrender, they will be annihilated for treason.”

At those words, Matthew speaks with a puzzled look on his face.

“That… is that okay? If Congress finds out…”

William shakes his head and says to Matthew’s concerned words.

“I have no intention of exterminating everyone. It is simply for blackmail.”

Exterminating the residents of a large city within the empire was far beyond William’s authority.

Although it is called a war, it is a civil war, and annihilation is difficult because there will be a lot of opposition in the National Assembly, but William thinks that it will be able to induce a quick surrender by instilling fear in the other side.

“Woo… First of all, I understand.”

William looks at Matthew, who nods, and then looks at the map again.

‘It’s going to be a tough fight… soon.’

William was in a situation where there were few troops and the terrain was unfavorable.

But since he knows why he came here, if Byzantion falls soon…

‘I will be able to hunt my enemies then.’

***

“His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are looking for you.”

I am puzzled by the news that my mother is calling me.

Since it is rare to have a servant look for you like this, I am curious and ask.

“Why is my mother looking for me?”

“I just heard that you have something important to say.”

I nod my head and say that.

“Okay, go right now.”

So let’s head to mother’s room.

“His Majesty the Emperor has come.”

[Okay, tell them to eat it inside.]

When the door opens after hearing my mother’s words, my mother greets me with a bright smile.

“Mother, did you find me?”

My mother nods her head at my words.

“Hehe, yes. Aren’t you busy?”

I shake my head and say that.

“I’m okay now.”

Recently, I started working at the Ministry of Education, so there is more work than usual, but not as much as before.

[why not?! You did it all before, right?]

[Is it the same now as it was then? I also have a schedule!]

We had a huge fight with Debian and drastically reduced the workload.

As for the reason, we cannot neglect meeting nobles or outstanding talents.

It would be impossible to dislodge Debian without their support.

-Okay.

Just wait and I’ll kick you out and make you crawl like a dog.

My mother, who doesn’t know what I’m thinking, says with a bright smile.

“It’s been a while since I invited you to have a cup of tea.”

I nod my head at those words.

“I like it too. My head still hurt.”

My mother said, a little surprised by my words.

“Really? Things aren’t going well these days?”

As I nodded at my mother’s words, a good idea occurred to me.

My mother was the empress of this country and had watched my father, who was the emperor, for a long time.

As someone who personally witnessed the reign of my father, who was famous for his wisdom, I ask curiously how my father would have solved the problem.

“Mom, I have a question. What do you think your father would have done if he were in the same situation as me?”

At my words, my mother looked at the ceiling for a moment, frowned, and then spoke.

“Well? When he ruled, he maintained absolute power… I don’t know because I’ve never encountered a situation like this.”

I sigh at my mother’s words.

“Ha… I see.”

“Why? Are you thinking about how to save the Emperor faction and keep them under your control?”

I nod my head at my quick-witted mother.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sure he won’t leave the Emperor faction alone. I don’t know how I can protect the Emperor faction from him.”

Although his power has diminished significantly now, in his heyday, he was a strong enough force to keep an eye on the imperial faction.

It is obvious that if such a force supports me, it will be of great help to me, so I cannot allow it to disband as it pleases.

“Hehe, then how about this method?”

Listen to your mother.