Vol 2 – Chapter 19: Wolter’s Plan
Translated by XianPiete
The eleven members of the Council of Mages all sat around a great oak table. They finally decided to build a Tower of Magic in the remote area that Guy and Madeline had once been married in. They also built a facility for making airships. They were able to bring in people to work in the mines that the brought metal for the airships and workers to build the tower thanks to Olivier and Wolter borrowing help from their fathers. It didn't take long for the Tower of Magic to finish construction. The airship facilities and the mines that would power them would take a little longer, but not much thanks to the help of the Council of Magic.
As they sat around the table Wolter spoke up and said, "I would like to speak today about my long term plans. As you all know, once my father passes, I will become the Emperor of Wütendes Menschenreich, and my lady, Alicia, will join me in ruling over our country. I have heard the stories of what can happen if I choose to be a warlord, and what can happen if I choose to turtle my country up and frankly, I don't like the sound of either future. I would like to offer an alternate suggestion today, and I would like to hear from all of you about the possible consequences of this course of action."
Wolter unrolled a map of the known world and spread it out over the table. He pointed to the corner occupied by Wütendes Menschenreich and said, "Right now, for Wütendes Menschenreich to gain any territory we either have to sail around the coast here which is blocked by ice six months a year, or we fight our way through Pays de Abrutis, here through the Aumont or Montfort lands."
He looked at Madeline and Guy and said, "What I would like to propose is that Wütendes Menschenreich will stop the practice of encroaching on Pays Des Abrutis here and here and instead... He pointed down to the south of Wütendes Menschenreich, we would jointly conquer the untamed lands to the south."
Guy looked unamused as he asked, "Why do we need to expand?"
Alicia spoke up almost at once, "Resources. You all saw what the world was like in twenty years after you left the first time, we were already starting to ration metals in Wütendes Menschenreich. I heard that in places in the Aumont-Ito Empire the rationing was so severe that families were using wooden utensils because the metal was all being used in the factories and the airships."
Olivier nodded and said, "Guy, even if we slow progress down to a crawl, most wars of expansion on the continent have been fought over resources. Be it labor, food or metals." He thought for a while and said, "We also have to remember, even if we don't allow Wütendes Menschenreich or Pays Des Abrutis to try and expand, the other nations on the continent will be doing that and that leads to many other problems even if we stay out."
Alicia nodded and said, "Refugees, famine, plague, bandits."
Olivier nodded in agreement, "One of the hardest parts about being a ruler is knowing when to be cruel and when to be generous. It's why I would rather spend my days playing music and helping Ella to run her shop."
Guy tapped his finger on the desk and then asked, "Why are these lands to the south called the untamed lands?"
Madeline spoke up this time, "The people who live there aren't interested in trade or what we consider civilization. They are mainly nomadic hunter-gatherers who follow the herds of wild buffalo and fish along the rivers."
Sir évreux spoke up and said, "That's the frontier I mainly patrolled as a knight while I was gaining experience. The tribes are ferocious warriors, incredible horsemen but they aren't organized like normal military so you can't win a major battle against them. They just scatter once a large army advances. In the past when King's, including the last Montfort King, ordered areas to be reclaimed, the army marched through and secured the area, and then once the civilians moved in, the tribes just drove them off again. You would have to be ready to build fortresses and garrisons to hold it, which means more nobles and more fiefs. My own fief of évreux is one such piece of territory along Duke Aumont's southern border."
Wolter nodded and said, "The reason we will succeed where others failed is that our fortresses will be in the air."
Alicia nodded and said, "I suggest that we each build five dreadnaught class airships. If we station them as moving castles along that border, each of us can reclaim hundreds of miles of land."
Guy asked, "What about the tribes? I am not alright with starving them out or murdering them."
Renée nodded and said, "We might find their lifestyle difficult to understand, but that doesn't make it any less valid."
Wolter nodded and said, "We just need to push them south, the herds too. They will follow the herds. Once we have settled these lands, that will give us another hundred years of room for expansion."
Guy nodded and said, "We'll go with this plan, if things aren't what we expected, we can make a second plan from there. With five dreadnaughts we'll be the rulers of this continent anyway if we need to be. I have a few changes we'll be able to make to those large ships to make them less of a resource hog too."
Alicia then looked at Wolter before she asked, "One more thing I would like to discuss with you all. I would like to make another pact with the Council of Magic making certain kinds of magic forbidden for use in war."
Guy frowned and then asked, "Do you intend to rebuild the School of Wizardry?"
Alicia smiled and said, "In the future? Possibly? One never knows how history will change or remain the same. I would like that in place though before Wolter and I are sitting across the border from you and Madeline, assuming you become King and Queen."
Guy nodded and said, "I'll agree after we each have to take charge of our nations. As you said, a lot can happen in the meantime."
Alicia chuckled and said, "You never have been the trusting type. Well, I am fine with that as well, we are all still one big happy family right now and keeping our options open sounds prudent."
Renée frowned and then asked, "What's wrong with being a peaceful country?"
Alicia looked at her and said, "In this world, the peaceful countries get overrun by the strong. The strong get used by the stronger."
Guy nodded at Alicia's words and then looked at Renée and said in a soft calm voice, "Even our own world is like that. Although not to such an extreme degree."
Madeline sighed and then leaned against Renée, "I don't like it either, but they are right about this world. Peaceful countries get looked at like a piece of tasty meat by the warmongering countries. It is a hard cruel fact. It's why even us ladies have no choice but to learn to use a sword."
Algernon cleared his throat and then asked, "Couldn't we just conquer the world and then take away weapons?"
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