Most fantasy nations are like this, and this kingdom is no different from the usual.
The nobles reign over their fiefs like lords, and the king’s authority only extends within the palace and the royal lands.
It is taken for granted that the lords create their own laws and raise their own private armies.
Without the right to form independent foreign policies or declare war, and only paying taxes, it’s essentially a state within a state.
As far as I know, the only place that’s different is the Albione Republic across the sea in the southern part of the kingdom.
Even the Federated Empire, which we’ve been fighting with endlessly, started as a coalition of various feudal lords.
A monarchy where the king can cut off the heads of his vassals at will and collect all taxes centrally? An absolute monarchy like Joseon’s centralized rule?
Such a system is still far off. The most scholars have come up with so far are just abstract concepts.
Feudalism is the common sense and foundation of the world, while other systems are seen as strange anomalies or heresies.
This is the general belief most people have.
So, why am I suddenly talking about this?
Well, it’s to explain the legitimacy of fleecing those noble bastards.
“Until now, the soldiers deployed in the war against the Empire were mostly recruited and funded from the royal lands, weren’t they?”
“That’s right. The nobles usually fulfilled their duties by supporting military expenses.”
The war has been carried out by the royal army and by mercenaries sent by the king’s loyal nobles.
When we say that many of the soldiers are from the Great Plains, it really means they are from the royal lands of the Great Plains.
On the other hand, the other nobles who weren’t loyal to the king, instead of sending troops, mostly sent money.
They bought weapons, gathered supplies, or sent aid.
In short, they bought lives with money.
Of course, some noble families did send their private soldiers, but the scale was small.
Compared to the royal army’s mobilization, it was at most about one-tenth of the size.
“Now that I think about it, it’s strange. Why has the war been carried out like this for ten years?”
Honestly, it’s a bizarre method.
To fight against a great power like the Empire, it would be normal to conscript men from all regions of the kingdom and issue mobilization orders to all the lords.
No matter how much it is a feudal system, the kingdom is also a state with a long history and high administrative capabilities.
It would have its own total war system in place.
It would be natural to gather the nation’s full capacity and fight.
Yet, the reason they are scraping for manpower only from specific groups, I don’t understand at all.
I can’t believe they think this is efficient.
Maybe it’s because of the war’s justification or some political circumstances I don’t know about?
I’ll have to have Colonel Kys, or rather, the Colonel, look into it later.
If we search carefully, something might come up.
“If we keep fighting this way, the men in the royal lands will eventually be wiped out. After all, every adult male has been dragged into the army for the past ten years.”
“So, it’s time for the noble factions to make sacrifices, huh?”
“Exactly.”
In any case, to get to the point, this method had to change.
We could no longer demand unilateral sacrifices from specific regions.
And now, a good justification has come up, hasn’t it? The Liebert family is infamous for its poor relationship with the royal family.
In an attempt to reconcile, the crown prince married into the family, but they still remain politically opposed, I hear.
This makes it the perfect time to strike at them.
By seizing this opportunity, we can break the nobles’ capacity to plot against us and strengthen the stability of the regime.
“Won’t there be considerable resistance from the various territories?”
“Let them try. The heads of the major families are all trapped in the capital. Even if they value their lives, they won’t be able to act recklessly.”
In this kingdom, the lords often leave the management of their lands to employees or family members and spend most of their time socializing in the capital.
Thanks to that, if I control the noble residential area in Rahator, it could be quite useful as leverage for hostages.
Of course, if I make excessive demands, the local nobles might just abandon the hostages and install a new lord, so I need to keep things within reasonable limits.
“Lord Roitel, how much are you thinking of asking for?”
At General Vaden’s polite question, I paused for a moment before answering.
“Forty to fifty thousand. Asking for more than that right now would be the limit.”
In the long term, I think it could go up to a hundred thousand, maybe even two hundred thousand.
Given the size of the royal lands and the loyalist territories, that kind of capacity should be within reach.
However, if I try to demand everything at once, I can already see the second civil war brewing.
People from all over would swarm to try and kill us.
We’re barely holding onto the capital as it is. Would we really throw ourselves into that kind of suicidal tactic?
We’re not like Park X-hee or Jeon X-hwan, who control the military with an iron fist.
We’re still walking on thin ice…
If I want to hold onto power for a long time, I need to act wisely.
That’s why I settled on a scale of forty thousand.
That seems to be close to the limit, where they’ll still grumble but ultimately accept it.
“I’ll go and persuade them. The one who proposed this should be the one to see it through.”
I gathered a few documents and stood up from my seat. All to extort money from those high-ranking lords.
A few hours later, I presented the results of the meeting to the King and the nobles in the royal audience chamber.
The reaction was explosive.
“You’re going to take away the private soldiers we’ve raised with blood and sweat?! Are you out of your mind?!”
“We’ve already made enough sacrifices! We’ve provided all kinds of supplies and military funding—how can you also take our men?!”
“If you’re going to abduct my serfs, then just kill me and be done with it!!”
A bizarre and ridiculous barrage of nonsense continued, and when it finally quieted down a little, King Carl VII added his own comment.
“General Roitel. There’s a lot of opposition. Perhaps it would be wise to reconsider? It seems like trying to push this through might be difficult.”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
These bastards still haven’t come to their senses, and they’re throwing a tantrum. Do they think I’m giving them a choice by asking for their opinion?
“Alright, I understand. If you’re going to make such a fuss, then I suppose our Supreme Council for National Reconstruction can show some mercy and make a concession.”
I feigned humility and softened my tone. Seeing their faces brighten as they thought they had won, I continued.
“However, I will be making all the records of your defeats public to the citizens. Just so you know.”
“…What?”
“Do you not understand? Let me clarify. I’m going to make the mess you’ve created public for all the people to see.”
Their expressions hardened. With my guards flanking me, I moved between the nobles, heading toward a pale-faced young man who had been hidden among the extravagant robes.
“It’s been a while, Liebert.”
“….Carolus von Royten.”
“I’ve heard the news. You got so full of yourself trying to catch up to me that you ended up losing the entire Western Army, right? To think you single-handedly destroyed 150,000 soldiers, quite an impressive feat. If you defect to the Empire now, we’ll treat you as a legendary general.”
You lost more than a hundred thousand men. A scale of casualties that’s rare even in major battles.
And you, of all people, managed to screw it all up and lose them.
This guy’s talent might rival that of the Imperial Japanese Army’s greatest general, Won Gyun. At this point, it might be best to switch his nationality from the Kingdom to the Empire.
“Don’t insult me!”
“Insulting would only be for making up lies, idiot. You’re not even worth insulting.”
Sigmund von Liebert clenched his fist and trembled, clearly holding back from throwing a punch.
However, he couldn’t act on it. If he did, he’d be a pincushion in a second from the guards’ coordinated strikes.
I immediately turned my gaze elsewhere.
“Seems like there’s a celebrity here as well. Your name is… Friedrich, right?”
“Friedrich von Rittenheim.”
“Ah, that’s right. Former 27th Division Commander, General Rittenheim. During an operation on the Western Front, you defied orders and tried a reckless advance, losing 70% of your troops. What an idiot.”
“…”
“It was a grave offense, punishable by immediate execution. But not only were you not dishonorably discharged, you didn’t face any punishment at all. Instead, you were reassigned to a rear position and continued your service. Is that true?”
It didn’t end there. I continued to call out the crimes of those around me, listing each one aloud.
“Hermann von Eppenshtein. He was a rifle brigade commander, but deserted the army, claiming military life was too difficult.”
“Adolf von Schrock. Embezzled funds from the supply budget of the reinforcement troops and was demoted.”
“Gregor von Kanchov. Leaked military secrets at a tavern and was caught by the military police.”
The Kingdom has a Royal Military Academy to train officers, but officers aren’t necessarily recruited from there.
Noblemen easily gain positions through their family’s power and connections.
Without any qualifications, they simply use their influence to secure positions.
Among the people here, there are certainly those who cause trouble, but by proportion, the latter group overwhelmingly outnumbers them.
Even after such things happen, they don’t receive proper punishment due to their status.
What do you think would happen if the public found out about this? They’d be outraged to know that our sons were being commanded by these idiots, right?
“If I gather the damage caused to the kingdom’s military because of you lot, the list would be a long one. The common people would love it.”
“You little shit…”
“Stop with the bravado. What you really want to say is just one thing.”
I glared around and shouted.
“You’ve been causing this mess for over ten years, so you’ll have to handle the aftermath yourselves, you conscience-less bastards. Did I ever ask for your life? You should at least show some sincerity by sacrificing your troops to make up for the damage!”
I threw the document requesting military personnel from the non-royalist nobles onto the floor and declared:
“I’ll be back in an hour, so get it approved by then. I’ve already selected the families to be targeted, so I’d advise against any funny business.”
Then I left, and when I returned, the crumpled documents were waiting for me.