Chapter 17: The Royal Assembly's conference
"How are our preparations for winter coming along?" Korogin asked.
"General Fuwu is truly scheming," the Master of Resources replied. "He destroyed our farms and stole our grain stores in the south. We managed to save a portion, and combined with the central province's own supply, we should be able to make it through."
"Judging your tone, we should be fine, but what about the refugees?" the Mistress of Justice frowned.
"Should we really worry about such leeches? Most of them are jobless and contribute nothing. It would be better to use this winter to cull the herd a bit," the Master of Information sneered.
"I agree with Lord Kendrick," the Master of Progress added. "If we have a deficiency this winter, then what about the next? How many will starve then if we try to feed everyone? We need to consider the future and save our strength."
The Mistress of Justice's frown deepened. "They are our citizens. They are not our war prisoners. We should be doing everything in our power to help them. How can we maintain the people's faith in the Royal Assembly if we disregard them at this crucial junction?"
The three bickered for a bit more but none of them were willing to compromise. Eventually, the Mistress of Wealth changed the topic. "I heard that General Fuwu set his eyes on Elwin Path."
"Elwin Path…" a few repeated in surprise.
"That's correct. They have already setup a base of operations there," Korogin affirmed. "However, we suspect that it's a diversion to throw our attention away from the Goron warfront. We should not be worried about an invasion into the Dimorin Plains anytime soon."
"Then why did you decide to pull General Gordon away?" the Mistress of Relations wondered.
"The Goron warfront has reached a stalemate for the time being. General Gordon's presence will not affect the overall situation. Instead, I have a separate mission for him and his army."
"Still, the Xingyuu Empire is too overbearing," the Mistress of Wealth exhaled. "During the First Great Kingdom War, it was a tact understanding that the war could not be won decisively so quickly. Therefore, the war was spread out into many campaigns, followed by recovery, and then more campaigns. But now…"
"Without any time to recover, the trade network in the south is virtually crippled," the Master of Trade said. "If this goes on, our southern provinces will collapse even without the Xingyuu Empire."
The Mistress of Wealth nodded. "Our treasury is also thoroughly in the negatives. We owe many debts everywhere. The financial strain of the Second Great Kingdom War is proving to be much greater than the First… I'm afraid that our economy may suffer a heavy backlash at this rate."
"How much longer can we sustain our current expenditures?" Korogin asked solemnly.
His wife, the Mistress of Wealth, shook her head. "If the war continues, then two years at most."
"What? Two years?"
Everyone was stunned. This sudden deadline was like a guillotine hanging above everyone's necks. Economy was the cornerstone of every civilization. Should the Alzar Kingdom's economy collapse, the consequences would be unimaginable! With the additional threat of the Xingyuu Empire bearing down their backs, the atmosphere in the room took a deep dive.
"Does the Xingyuu Empire want to die along with us?" the Master of Resources' face was incomparably dark. "Their economic strength should be the same as ours."
"There's no point in trying to understand such barbarians. We tried our hand at peace before and looked at what we gained! The Ambush of Sanguis Coast should be all the evidence you need," the Master of Information spat.
"There's also the rebels lurking about…"
"Did we not extinguish them during the Golden Nightmare?"
Korogin sighed as he explained, "We spotted a few rebel forces up in the north. They're probably the remnant forces from the Golden Nightmare. Right now, they seem to be gathering their strength again."
"We should deal with them immediately!" someone shouted. "With an enemy in front and an enemy behind, there's no telling what might happen if they conspire against us. The rebel forces are weak right now."
The Master of Information shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Naturally, they understand that as well so they're laying low. We haven't been able to sniff out their hideouts yet."
"Where are they getting their funding from?" the Mistress of Wealth wondered. "They must have a supporter from behind the scenes. It also must be a fairly large organization."
"In the worst case, it might be a Grand Nobility Household," the Master of Progress deduced.
The twenty-five Grand Nobility Households were the very foundation of the Alzar Kingdom. In normal cases, talking as if they committed treason was a truly foolish act. If it were anyone other than the Royal Assembly, then a swift execution would be in order. However, excluding the Mistress of Wealth, they were all the patriarchs or matriarchs of their respective Grand Nobility Households. They had the power to speak about such matters without fearing repercussions.
"A Grand Nobility Household, huh?" one muttered. "If the Grand Nobility Households are divided on their loyalty, that's a big problem."
"Although I cannot speak for everyone, the Highguard Household does not have such ill intentions," Korogin said. His message was clear. There may be traitors amongst the Royal Assembly.
Someone scoffed. "We know why the rebels chose to rebel against us. If we think along the same lines, the motive behind the Grand Nobility Households should be obvious. They want to become the new Royal Family."
"That makes sense," another agreed. "We have been without a monarch for some time. Lord Korogin staying as temporary monarch is undoubtedly making people wary."
Korogin's expression soured as the blame shifted to him. But inside, he knew this was the truth. When King Harth died, emergency powers were given to the Master of Strategy, as he was the one directly responsible for the warfront. According to norms, he was supposed to surrender these powers to the next heir of the throne, but there was currently no heir! Those who were worthy of it rejected it. Those who were not desired it. As such, he overstayed his welcome as temporary monarch. For the last two years, he worked tirelessly as monarch and Master of Strategy. To say he was overworked was an understatement. However, his efforts were not received well. People would mistake his diligence for ambition, ambition to become the true king! He understood this well. Inadvertently, he became one of the biggest threats to stability in the realm. With so many threats to the realm, even Korogin felt the monumental pressure!
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