AWDC Chapter 61

## Chapter 61: The King’s Declaration

The King was more a strategist than a soldier. Seeing that Prince Charles’ side had too few soldiers to strike at the center, he had been plotting from the beginning to separate the southern forces. After isolating the southern region, he further worked to break down Prince Charles’ side. Prince Charles had no means to counter this.

As time passed, Prince Charles’ forces weakened, and in the end, he surrendered the castle almost without resistance, as if begging for his life.

“Winning without fighting”—the King had achieved a truly ideal victory.

When the King raised an army to subjugate the southern region, the southern lords gave up fighting and immediately submitted. However, that alone did not excuse their showing defiance against the King. Their having rebelled against the King for two years could not be forgiven.

Key figures such as Prince Charles, Marquis Milenda, and Earl Milona were escorted to the capital to await interrogation. Viscount Christopher and Viscount Samarkand were also among them. Other barons and knight lords, exceeding 60 in number, were spared from being sent to the capital, but were destined to receive punishments such as reductions in their territories.

The southern lords had missed the opportunity to pledge allegiance to the King. Most of the lords had private residences in the capital and frequently traveled there, so they should have noticed that the King’s power was increasingly surpassing the Prince’s. However, Prince Charles’ entry into Milona forced them to reside nearby. They were gauging Prince Charles’ mood and hesitated to go to the capital. The southern nobles only sent retainers familiar to the Milona guards to the capital. They feared what kind of reprimand they would receive from Prince Charles if it became known that they had sent such retainers to the capital.

Unlike the Robertson family, they made no effort to send merchants to the capital to gather information. They only knew the situation in the capital from rumors spread by traveling merchants who occasionally visited. The merchants believed that pleasing their customers would lead to more business, so they only conveyed pleasant information, such as “The south is rich in agricultural products, so the residents live more peacefully than around the capital.” With such a poor information network, it was no wonder they were unaware of the reality that the King was cornering Prince Charles.

Meanwhile, Baron Robertson learned from Labos’ information that the King was steadily solidifying his foundation, making it unshakeable. Even though the nobles of the southern region sent troops to Prince Charles, Toriholi Village alone did not send soldiers. They had seen that the King’s dominance was irreversible.

Baron Robertson had, from an early stage, expressed his intention not to be hostile by sending many tributes to the King. The iron rule for those without power to survive in wartime is to quickly identify the victor and side with them.

To coincide with the new King’s enthronement, the Baron presented a luxurious chandelier. It was, of course, larger and more extravagant than the one given to Earl Milona, making it stand out. It was divided so it wouldn’t be noticed by Milona soldiers along the way and hidden on a boat going down the Mulan River. It was assembled by a craftsman at the Baron’s residence in the capital, and Labos presented it as his representative. There was still nothing this lavish and large in the palace.

“It’s as bright as daytime,” the new King was said to be very pleased with this gift.

In addition to that, he had been sending the King paper, axles, and other local specialties from the village one after another through Labos’ shop.

As the King’s army approached Milona Town, Baron Robertson and I rushed over immediately.

Perhaps appreciating the fact that he had been secretly sending tributes to the King from an early stage, the Robertson father and son were granted an audience with the King when they rushed to the King’s army’s camp surrounding Milona Town.

Considering that the other southern lords were now frantically seeking an audience with the King, but none were being granted, this was a great honor.

Furthermore, what impressed me was that the King didn’t adhere to formalities. When being granted an audience with Prince Charles, I was repeatedly required to kneel and rub my head against the ground. In my position as a commoner, it was impossible to have an audience with the Prince. I was forced by the Prince’s aides to press my head against the ground more than necessary.

But His Majesty the King was indifferent to such things and suddenly called out to us. Just seeing that, I felt the greatness of the new King’s generosity.

“It was a great service that you rushed here from afar.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I deeply feel the success of this subjugation, and I am pleased that the nation has been secured,” the lord lowered his head deeply.

“I remember that you have been sending me many valuable things from before.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I am unworthy of such praise.”

“But I hear that the Baron prepared 3,000 bags of wheat for that Charles fellow. How can you give wheat to a traitor to the country?”

It was an unexpected question from the King. The lord of Toriholi Village was covered in sweat.

“Yes, Your Majesty, I must explain. Prince Charles ordered us to send more than a hundred soldiers to his side. Our household has hardly any soldiers, and we couldn’t possibly provide that many. So, we reluctantly provided wheat instead.”

“Hmm, then how much wheat would you give to me?” It was still a severe question.

The Baron was at a loss for words. He probably could provide about 6,000 bags, but he didn’t want to be seen as stingy, which would be detrimental. On the other hand, he couldn’t grasp this year’s harvest yet, and he wanted to avoid shouldering too heavy a burden by saying something too big. It would be terrible if he misjudged this year’s harvest and said a number exceeding the harvest, even touching next year’s seed wheat.

“Your Majesty, I cannot do it immediately, but after this year’s harvest, I will prepare 10,000 bags.”

“What! Ten thousand? Is that true?”

The King immediately calculated in his head. Considering this year’s potato crop and the number of farmers suffering from hunger, 10,000 bags was a sufficient amount, if not enough, to alleviate concerns about famine.

(I hear that Toriholi Village is developing the Datar Plateau. The wheat in the fields under development seems to be growing well, which is why they gave Charles 3,000 bags of wheat last year. In that case, they should be able to provide twice that much, about 6,000 bags, to me.)

The King threatened the lord with the intention of inflating the number a little. But unexpectedly, he said he could prepare wheat far exceeding 6,000 bags.

The King’s expression immediately brightened.

“Ten thousand bags of wheat is a considerable amount. I like your story. Therefore, once this place is pacified, I will go and see if your story is true.”

“Really, you always seem to like surprising me. The number of 10,000 you told His Majesty wasn’t a lie, was it?”

On the way back, the lord asked Toma as if confirming.

“Yes, it’s okay. This year’s harvest will probably exceed 16,000 bags.”

“What! Sixteen thousand?” This time, the lord was surprised by that number.

“That’s just a number I calculated based on this year’s planting area and crop conditions. But I think it will be higher rather than lower.”

Toma said it nonchalantly.

“Listen, if you had grasped such a prediction, you should have told me sooner.”

Saying that, the adopted father and son hurried on their way home.

The King is coming to inspect the village.

I wanted to deliver this good news quickly, so I urged the horse on.

It was unthinkable that His Majesty the King would come to a remote village.

It had been nearly 20 years since he had even entered the southern region, and at that time, he had only stayed in Milona Town. Even so, it was a great celebration for the southern lords, and it goes without saying that all the lords attended.

That he would come to Toriholi Village, said to be the most remote and poorest in the south.

It was an event unprecedented in the village’s history.

“How on earth should we welcome him?”

Even the calm and collected Roy couldn’t suppress his excitement.

“Even if he stays at the hotel, the current facilities are a bit shabby, aren’t they?”

George was comparing the hotel’s VIP room with the palace.

“There’s not much we can do from now on. We need to quickly review the hotel, find and repair any damaged parts, and thoroughly clean it.”

At a meeting of village leaders, problems were pointed out and considered one after another.

“Also, the use of the hotel by general customers must be prohibited on the day. We will also need to prepare appropriate accommodation for the customers who are kicked out of the hotel.”

“We need to consider which parts of the village he will be shown.”

“If possible, I don’t want him to see the paper workshop or the glass factory, or the axle production site.”

“Can’t we refuse because the inside of the factory is chaotic and we can’t ensure safety?”

“But if His Majesty wants to see it, we can’t refuse.”

“After all, the best thing to do would be to show him the development status of the Datar Plateau.”

“If that happens, he will be riding the Rail Carriage.”

“The current Rail Carriage is too shabby, which is a bit bad.”

In any case, the village was in an uproar with preparations for his arrival.