156 King Chania’s concubine
The temperature, which had been quite chilly in the morning and evening, gradually began to embrace the hot wind. Summer is just around the corner.
The Empire was in the midst of preparing for war.
Among the items used in the last war, those in poor condition were replaced with other products, and those that could be repaired were left to related contractors.
They range from repairing wagons and tents to checking and replacing horseshoes on horses.
The training of the soldiers also increased in intensity.
In particular, he focused on increasing the number of soldiers who could use magical weapons.
The future war will be completely different from the previous one. Instead of stabbing and slashing with swords and spears, laser guns and fire-based mortars like Earth will be the main focus.
Of course, that’s just the story of the empire.
In other countries, swords and spears are still used. Because of that, there will be no troops standing in the way of the Imperial Army for a while.
In the Empire, the way to determine majors is also different.
Starting from this war, it was planned that each unit would have a major and be rewarded accordingly, rather than how much individual contributions had been made.
The relevant department is preparing the standard.
Sorcery weapons were purchased in large quantities, and Rudy added spells.
Unlike the Corea families, who approach magic tools from an artistic point of view, the workshop run by the baroness’ husband deals with magic tools as simple tools.
Thanks to this, the speed of making things was fast.
If it weren’t for Baron Seren’s workshop, the Imperial Army wouldn’t have been able to obtain the sorcery weapon so quickly.
If you listen to Baron Seren’s story, it seems that the baroness is even paying attention to the health care of the workshop craftsmen. I can’t even raise my head to the baroness.
After looking around the soldiers training at the gymnasium, Rudy headed back to the office.
As soon as I sat down at the desk in the office, the chief chamberlain brought several letters on a rectangular silver tray. He smiles and puts the letter down.
“Another application for participation in the war has come up.
Rudy sighed after opening the letters that the chamberlain had given him.
“Aren’t these families in a faraway province? It would take a long time just to lead soldiers here.
Most of the nobles knew that they would go to war against Crete again in the summer.
The invasion of Crete had been decided even before the end of the Dicoquaria war.
However, Rudy did not issue a conscription order.
The future will be different from previous wars. The Empire, which possesses magical weapons, did not need as many soldiers as before.
There was a high probability that a family that wanted to participate in the war would not be helpful, but rather an annoyance.
So even though there were so many applications, I wasn’t happy at all. My butt hurts.
The chamberlain smiled brightly.
“It must have felt a sense of crisis belatedly. If you look at the families that applied to join the war late, they were all the ones that didn’t take hostages in the last war. That’s why the information about magic weapons was delayed.”
Most of the belated senders are small families, or families that have exempted their children who have been hostages from participating due to poor crop yields for several years.
Rudy put the letter in a box in the corner of the desk. A sigh escaped spontaneously.
“Put them in the follow-up unit. They can come together later when the supply unit departs. But write a letter asking them to bring their own food and supplies. to do.”
Most of the families willing to participate are those with plunder in mind.
If you travel with the main body of the Empire, you can acquire loot with little risk.
was aiming for it
In addition, there must be a calculation that if you make a contribution in this war, you will be able to receive the territory.
In one word, it means to put a spoon on the table, but in severe cases, there may be families who want to cover everything by plundering even at the corner of the road.
Rudy said no to that, and said to drive the nail in advance.
I do not intend to ban looting in this war.
However, the participants themselves have to bear something. I was forcibly accepting people I didn’t need, but I had no intention of forgiving Simbo that he would eat everything for free.
It would be easier if everyone refused, but politics is not that easy.
After all, if you rule a few more countries, you need someone to rule them.
Since the empire suffers from a chronic lack of management, it may be more comfortable to distribute land plots to various families and receive tax revenue.
The chamberlain held the box containing the letter.
“Okay, Your Majesty. I’ll make a draft right away.”
When the official drafts a letter to each family, Rudy just needs to check it and sign it.
There are a lot of letters and documents to be sent here and there these days, so I heard that the official in charge of the emperor’s paperwork is working all night.
I felt a bit sorry when I thought that the number of letters in the box would add more to write.
However, even the emperor is suffering from heavy workload that cannot be defeated by it. It can’t be helped.
Rudy closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. I was tired and my eyes were watery.
The chamberlain brought a warm wet towel and put it on his eyes. It smelled faintly of flowers.
“It is said that the empress made perfumed oil from dried petals. I added a drop of it.”
The chief chamberlain’s voice softly rang in my ears.
“Yes, Lilitha.”
“Your Majesty is worried that you are too tired. He said that he learned how to make balm from other wives at the salon. It is said to be effective in relieving fatigue.”
“You’ve been working hard on the salon lately, so you’ve been learning that.”
A smile crept across Rudy’s lips.
Rilisha is very busy meeting the wives at the salon these days.
The official duties of the empress, who was represented by Empress Sang Sang, also began.
The first thing I heard was that they do charity work that provides sewing tools and fabrics for the poor.
The work of the empress was a little different from that of the emperor, and most of it was done in cooperation with or together with the wives of the same salon.
It was most common to do charity work, sometimes praying together during times of war or chaos, or teaching young girls culture and needlework.
Sometimes they sponsor poor artists.
In this case, the salon was especially important.
Artists are mostly men. If done wrong, sponsorship may develop into an affair, or strange rumors may arise even though there is no relationship at all.
If you belong to the salon, the older wives prevent and monitor such unsavory things.
Under their wing, it was as if the empress and the young ladies were under someone’s protection.
So it is very important which salon attracts the most reputable wives.
The Duchess of Moroz had been negotiating such wives behind the scenes for the Empress. It took quite a long time because noble ladies are not the type to give in to a powerful person like men.
“Are Lilitha and the empress doing well?”
When Rudy asked, the chamberlain answered while changing the wet towel over his eyes with another one.
“Yes, Your Majesty. You’re doing very well. They say you have the best reputation among the ladies. The ladies of the Salon support you in many ways.”
“I’m glad. Now I can go out with peace of mind.”
This war will lead not only to Crete, but also to Cania and the two countries that invaded it.
going out for quite a while.
From nob le mt l dot com
During that time, thinking that Rilisha had a reliable ally made her feel at ease.
It’s because the world of women is something that Rudy can’t do anything about.
“The contract is said to have been properly amended.”
It is a memorandum in which the second prince renounces the right to inherit the throne.
Rudy smiled bitterly.
Hwang Sang-hoo asked where he got such a thing, and when the second prince signed the contract, he used ink that made some of the letters disappear.
Apparently, it was properly signed at first, but when I checked later, the latter part of the signature was gone.
“I don’t know if Empress Sang Sang knows that this is His Majesty’s warmth.”
The chamberlain said with a sigh.
“Well, maybe you don’t know now, but you will know later.
Possibly, Sang Hoo fabricated the contract in case Rudi died in the war or could not make an heir.
Maybe he was thinking of bringing in soldiers from his home country later.
If Hwang Sang-je hadn’t made a request right before his death, he probably would have ignored it. It is effective to leave it as it is and explode it after the work gets bigger.
Hwang Sang-je seemed to know his wife’s character very well. Seeing that he asked to find out and stop before going to such a situation, the situation system might have expected this to happen.
“Chief Chamberlain, tell Hwang Sang-hu later about it. That he was worried until the moment he died and asked for it. Then he won’t think about doing anything again.”
“…”
The chief chamberlain didn’t answer for a while, probably remembering Hwang Sang-je.
The voice of the chief chamberlain, who later answered in a low voice, was slightly locked.
Rudy got up and moved the topic pretending not to know.
“Did you find out about Kania’s circumstances?”
“Yes, I found something interesting while collecting reports from spies. It seems that there are witches in that country too.”
“I didn’t see it that way when I was looking for it, so where did it come pouring out like that?”
It’s not even cockroaches, which say that if a witch finds one, there are dozens or hundreds of them behind it, and I don’t know why they suddenly appear here and there.
“hahahaha. That’s right.”
The chamberlain smiles cheerfully.
“The witch in Chania seems to be the king’s concubine. The king didn’t seem to know it. We also discovered it by accident. After digging into the route where we got the western witch’s medicine in Crete, we unexpectedly found the king’s concubine. “
I still don’t know what kind of witch it is.
They said spies were investigating.
‘Is that witch able to block magic?’
It seems like he’s using drugs, so Rudy won’t be victimized without knowing it. A detox spell is written on his body. If it’s a kind of medicine, you can probably prevent it.
“Have you asked the Witch of the West?”
At Rudy’s question, the chamberlain lowered his head.
“Yes, but even witches rarely know each other. It is said that most of them know only through rumors. Witches tend to be very closed-minded.”
Besides, because the Witch of the West is so famous, other witches are relatively unknown.
This is a special case when two witches pop out at once.
‘But why is the witch the king’s concubine?’
I thought something was a little odd.
*
When spring came to an end, the imperial army set off for Chania.
Wheat before harvest is forming a golden wave.
A number of soldiers passed by him.
It was a spectacle to see a large army marching, with almost all of the major families of the empire participating.
Peasants working in the fields, peddlers and travelers moving from town to town waved at the troops, and sometimes children ran after the soldiers.
It is a peaceful sight even though war is right around the corner.
Looking at the people like that, Rudy vowed once again that the country should never be turned into a battlefield.
Even if you win or lose, the land that becomes a battlefield is stained with blood and impoverished.
Hwang Sang-jae’s words that the worst monarch is not an emperor who acts evil nor an emperor who is extravagant, but an emperor who turns his country into a battlefield, revived in his heart.
At night, countless tents were erected to overturn the ground, and torches and fire magic tools were lit everywhere.
When it was time for the soldiers to sit down after eating, someone started singing.
One sang along, and another joined their voices to the song.
The songs the peasants sang at harvest resonated among the soldiers.
The song that resonated from the main base of the empire was heard through the night air to the lord’s camp located in a distant place.
There are many soldiers from farmers in Yeongju-gun.
The song of the harvest season began to sound little by little in Yeongju-gun.
The song, which started with a few people at first, soon spread to the whole.
As the soldiers’ song resounded in the moonlit wheat field, the wheat with its bowed head swayed in the wind as if in chorus.
