Chapter 467
(Kyle Calendar Year 516:
Age 23)
The Leap of the
Ist-Harias Holy State
On
the night that Castro and the newly renamed Harias made their new
resolve, purges secretly began everywhere in Isra. The person acting as
the Clan Head of Darkness and his daughter, the former Empress of the Griffonia
Empire, had already been struck down during the day, but the Apostles of
Darkness and their associates they had brought along, as well as those brought
by Lugner and Azel, were assassinated all at once. As apostates
against the Goddess Ishtar, and traitors to the Orthodox Theocracy...
Harias himself, wielding a bloodstained
sword and standing at the forefront, participated in their subjugation,
slaughtering them with a ghastly aura. And after dawn broke... It was announced
that the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, which had harbored the traitors who
were the root of all evil, had perished along with them, and that the Ist-Harias
Holy State was newly founded by those who protected the righteous doctrine.
It was added that the exiled guest general, the First Prince of the Empire, Glorious,
had also been struck down by the traitors, but the Imperial soldiers who lost
their general were unperturbed, and they pledged to become members of the new
nation.
On
this day, as the leaders of the new nation, the names of Archbishop Castro,
famous as a liberator, and an unknown man named Harias were announced;
one was welcomed with cheers from the populace, and the other was welcomed with
cheers from the soldiers. However, it cannot be denied that the beginning of
these two was built upon calculation.
Castro had lost many soldiers due to
repeated defeats, and more than anything, he lacked personnel to lead the
soldiers and oversee the army as generals. He himself had little experience in
military affairs and understood that he lacked the caliber of a general, but
the people worthy of entrusting command to had already been lost. But Glorious
(Harias) was different. Expected to be the next Emperor to bear the Empire
since childhood, he had received appropriate education in military affairs.
Above all, among the soldiers he led were the Imperial Guard Iron Cavalry, sung
of as the Empire's strongest, and excellent commanders. On the other
hand, there were issues on Glorious's side as well. He and the soldiers
he led were strictly guests, wanderers possessing neither their own territory
nor war funds. Until now, they had borne a part of the military affairs within
the Orthodox Theocracy in a form akin to mercenaries, but they had no
initiative within the country.
But
Castro possessed what they did not. In terms of funds, on top of the
vast legacy of the Clan of Darkness brought in from Tria, by occupying Isra,
he had obtained the massive funds the church had continued to exploit from the
populace over many years. Even if the beginning was calculation, by joining
hands for a common goal, a mutually complementary relationship was established
between the two, and those gears were about to begin turning at once.
「So... what will you do from here?
You may use the war funds to your heart's content.」
Castro, aware that he had no more fallback
in military matters, spared no expense at this juncture. Because if they didn't
win, they would lose all the wealth they held anyway.
「I appreciate that, but first I am
reorganizing the military strength and revising the chain of command. Other
than that, I would like a few more horses, but... do you have any good ideas?」
The
first thing Harias tackled was propping up the former Orthodox Theocracy
army, which was full of impromptu soldiers. It was about changing the
organization that was previously vertically divided by country of origin, and
transforming it into a strong army by placing Imperial army commanders in key
positions. Fortunately, he had many excellent commanders under his command,
making that possible.
「I see. An army of the weak led by
the strong will defeat even an army of the strong led by the weak; that is what
you mean. So, how many warhorses do you need?」
「If possible, I would like a thousand
urgently. Because I want to assemble a number of fast cavalry to lay a siege
net. I would like about three thousand by half a year from now.」
「Th-Three thousand! I would like to
scrape them together somehow, but there's also the circumstance that horses are
scarce to begin with. What to do...」
To
begin with, in the Istoria Imperial Kingdom, the military composition
was peculiar compared to neighboring countries. The most prized were the
longbowmen, followed by infantry as the main force, and cavalry were strictly
active only as upper-level commanders or in certain units, so the supply capacity
for warhorses was only matched to that demand to begin with.
「Then it cannot be helped. Shall we
pull them from a certain place? When full-fledged winter sets in, food will
become scarce in the north, won't it? Can you arrange to gather warhorses using
food as collateral?」
「Hahaha, I shall arrange for the
merchants to handle it well. And by doing so, making them even more short of
food, you intend to push them into one county with your reorganized army?」
「That is right. In doing so, we will
build a safe wall before we begin moving in earnest. I want you to dispatch a
messenger to the Kyle Kingdom declaring the establishment of the new
country and non-aggression, withdraw soldiers from the border with the former Lute
Kingdom, and issue a declaration of defenselessness.」
「Is a mere declaration to the Kingdom
sufficient? If it comes to concluding an agreement, we must follow a certain
procedure, but?」
「A declaration is sufficient.
Probably the Imperial Kingdom side is also desperately clinging to the Kyle
Kingdom right about now, but they will not move. As long as their own
national territory is not invaded, that is. Therefore, a declaration of
non-aggression. I do not mind even giving them the easternmost county among the
three northern counties.」
「Wh-, that is far too...」
It
is no wonder Castro was bewildered. Because it was too drastic. Even if
it's an undeveloped frontier, one whole county would be more than three times
the territory ceded to the Kyle Kingdom. Currently, it is designated as
a buffer zone where neither side deploys soldiers, but the governing rights
other than the ceded territory still belong to the Istoria side, after
all.
「If we can obtain a safe defensive
wall, it is not a waste. Because the greedy Imperial Kingdom wouldn't be able
to make such a concession. It will also cut off their escape route, and serve
as a stepping stone for future strategy.」
「Future? But won't the south be left
wide open, free for the taking?」
「First, regarding the south, the
interior is still unstable, and the old regime faction seems to be writhing. If
they hear the declaration of defenselessness, they will likely consider it
fortunate and direct their soldiers toward internal stability.」
「......」
Certainly,
he had heard that the three countries were still unstable, that subversive
elements inside were moving due to the unification, and that they were secretly
struggling against the merchants who had been devouring rights and interests.
「We will move during that opening,
completely suppress the remaining two northern counties by spring, and next, we
will head out to the sea.」
「What!」
「For that purpose as well, for the
time being, as a project for those who lost their jobs, could you request the
construction of a canal? For now, utilizing the river flowing near Isra,
I want a water transport route leading all the way to the northernmost county.」
Even
in the Empire, which boasted a vast domain, canals traversing north to
south and a distribution network of sailing ships coming and going were
maintained. However, while they were mainly used commercially in the Empire,
Harias envisioned utilizing the canal as a means of military transport,
similar to the Fearalt Principality.
「I see, if that happens, logistics to
the north can be secured, and it would also be possible to swiftly send
soldiers from Isra?」
「That is right. Our basic policy is
blitzkrieg. While using the borders with powerful nations as safe walls, we
will gouge the flanks of soft, weak nations. Because my past self was a fool
who didn't even understand that level of logic and mistook the opponents to
fight.」
To
the surprised Castro, Harias declared so indifferently. Castro
also knew that in the past, as a result of being hasty for revenge and
distinguished service, he himself had persisted in attacking the formidable Kyle
Kingdom. To call that past self a 『fool』
and laugh it off now... However, although Glorious had discarded his
obsession with imperial succession in the Empire, he had not discarded
his own upward ambition because of it. Before starting the major cleanup in Isra,
he had declared before his subordinates.
『I have discarded my attachment to
the imperial throne, but I have not discarded my attachment to the Empire.
In the past, the Empire too was nothing more than a small country named Griffith.
I will build a new Empire in this land, therefore, those with the spirit and
ambition of founding a nation may follow me. I promise to show you something
interesting.』
These
words were welcomed with a storm of cheers from the soldiers who had become
wanderers and lost sight of the future.
「Now, the constituent countries of
the Piette Merchant Federation have forgotten cooperation, are divided
into three factions, and are keeping each other in check. For the time being,
targeting within half a year, we will capture the Immortal Kingdom and
the Uros Kingdom, which have been divided and isolated by the Kyle
Kingdom.」
「You have thought that far ahead?」
It's
no wonder Castro was surprised. Because the tone of Harias, who
hailed from the Empire, seemed far more versed in the internal affairs
of the Trade Union than Castro, who was in the position of sharing a
border as a neighboring country.
「Because I also had an excellent
teacher (Harry). Those guys are sensitive to 『profit』, but sometimes that becomes their shackle. To begin with,
each country of the Trade Union holds few soldiers and are all weak soldiers.」
Saying
so, Harias thanked Harry's meticulous preparation anew. Even when
preparing for the Kingdom invasion three years ago, he had investigated the
situations of the Kyle Kingdom and neighboring countries in detail, and
made several proposals so that they could be utilized as strategy and tactics.
Of course, that included the internal affairs of the Piette Merchant
Federation and its constituent countries.
「Hahaha, I am amazed by your insight
and strategic eye. I never thought I would be able to dream a new dream either.」
「That is where the bait of the one
county given to the Kingdom also comes to life. It is the current move to cede
one whole county while looking ahead that far.」
Castro also nodded deeply at these words,
and he steadily executed the requested tasks on his part.
As
the severe winter set in, the Imperial Kingdom, whose territorial borders were
suppressed by cavalry, was gradually pushed into the northernmost county and
fell into a state of starvation. Not only territory residents who were forcibly
brought along, but also soldiers who repeatedly retreated huddled there, and
the reserves of one county alone were insufficient to overcome the winter. Even
so, the church forcefully requisitioned food, and the Holy Knights wielded
violence and turned into bandits, causing the territory residents to raise
voices of resentment and mount up their anger. And then... one day, it exploded
all at once.
The
territory residents and nearly half the soldiers rose up in revolt, and the
mob, swelling to tens of thousands, attacked the Holy King's residence, the
temporary administrative office, and the stationed grounds of the church and
the Holy Knights scattered in various places. As if coinciding with that, the
cavalry group that avalanched into the northernmost county unleashed merciless
attacks calling themselves 『reinforcements for the territory
residents,』 while the accompanying units went
around distributing food and the like. The panicked Holy King and upper echelon
members of the church were beheaded by the territory residents as they fled in
confusion, and the Holy Knights, who had sold off nearly half their horses
lured by large sums of money and food, were annihilated by the avalanching
enemy soldiers. With this day as the boundary, the Istoria Imperial Kingdom
perished, and the national territory was unified by the Ist-Harias Holy
State.
◇
And
several months later, Harias, who had absorbed new soldiers and militia
in the process of destroying the Imperial Kingdom, launched a surprise attack
on the Immortal Kingdom leading fifteen thousand soldiers exactly as
initially declared. Occupying the royal palace in the blink of an eye, he left
a portion behind to suppress the interior, and invaded the Uros Kingdom
just like that. Although the two initially cooperated out of calculation, once
they started moving mutually, they got along better than expected. It was as if
they were old allies... But they do not know the reason for that. Harias,
who draws the blood of the Clan of Darkness, and Castro, who inherits
the blood of the Clan of Holy, even if faded; because these two fundamentally
had extremely good compatibility due to their conflicting natures...
This was not the end; their leap had only just begun. To found the new Empire that Harias had pledged to his subordinates...
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