The Royal Dilemma 3
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
The king looked at the silent crowd, knowing what his subjects were worried about.
"You are all people I can trust. Your families have always been loyal to the kingdom, so I have nothing to hide in front of you."
"In my opinion, power..."
Rodney paused for a moment, then emphasized his voice.
"Power itself is neither inherently just nor evil. Is it a crime to kill with magic but noble to kill with a sword?"
"The difference lies in the motivation behind the use of power; of course... it may also include the outcome of its use."
"Specifically, magic is not evil; using magic for evil is what is evil. Just as swords are not evil; using swords for evil is what is evil."
"If magic can be used to protect the people of Aldor, how can that not be a good deed?"
Rupert stroked his beard and glanced at the colleagues present, but no one spoke.
Well then, as the king's most trusted minister, he had to say a few words.
"Your Majesty is right!"
The Grand Chancellor raised his voice in agreement, "We cannot be bound by traditional perceptions."
The Foreign Minister asked with concern, "What about the church?"
Rupert replied, "Proceed with caution. If we get discovered, we will never admit to it, or we can find a few scapegoats to deal with it. As long as we do not publicly promote heresy, the church has no way to act, and given the current situation, they don't have the energy."
After a discussion, the ministers reached a consensus on this matter and vowed to keep it secret from the king.
The king pondered, "Since we may need a longer time to uncover the other side's cards, we must adjust our strategy against Giles. For now, we shouldn't aim to eliminate him quickly but rather focus on suppressing his continued growth. If secular force cannot counter magic, then no matter how much we accumulate, it will be in vain. Therefore, preparations for the southern campaign can be temporarily delayed, but we must still maintain necessary deterrence..."
Catherine was still unwilling to accept this. She interrupted her father, "Your Majesty, please give me one more chance...!"
The king looked at his daughter.
"Catherine, I understand your frustration. As an older king, I am even more frustrated than you. But the kingdom really needs time. That unknown power could be a treasure or a poison for us; whether it is a treasure or poison, we need to find it out, like adventurers seeking treasure. This takes time and energy; it cannot be accomplished overnight."
"Yes, I understand."
Catherine tried to calm her emotions, resolving to investigate Giles's hidden cards thoroughly and find ways to restrain them.
"If we are to suppress Giles's power, Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."
The Finance Minister, Earl Nayk Scarlet, said this.
The king nodded to him, "Speak."
Earl Scarlet: "We should first cut off Giles's financial resources, particularly targeting the trade of several economic crops from the south."
The king asked, "What are they?"
Earl Scarlet replied, "First, tea. The southern part of the kingdom is mountainous and unsuitable for grain cultivation, but many tea trees are planted. Each year, a large quantity of tea is sold to various parts of the kingdom and foreign countries. We should ban the tea produced in Giles's territory; even if we don't ban it, we should impose heavy taxes to limit its circulation. As long as merchants suffer losses due to taxes, the tea from the south will not be sold."
"Secondly, there are some precious woods unique to the south. The wood there is quite popular; nobles prefer to use southern wood for building palaces and crafting furniture."
The king nodded, "Good idea. I believe this will have an effect. To prevent Giles from taking desperate measures, let's use taxation."
He instructed the clerk to record the Finance Minister's words.
Grand Chancellor Rupert added, "Earl Nayk just mentioned that the grain output in the south is low, so I believe we should prohibit merchants from selling grain to the south. Moreover, regarding the measures for tea, wood, and grain, all loyal lords should be ordered to execute them together."
"Agreed."
"I agree as well."
Once Rupert made his suggestion, all the ministers expressed their support.
The royal capital, Crystal Glare City, sits on a land known as the Abundant Plain. As the name suggests, this vast plain has a dense network of rivers and rich water resources, making it very suitable for crop cultivation. It is the largest grain-producing area in the entire Aldor Kingdom. Some exaggerated rumors say that as long as the harvest on the Abundant Plain is good, the entire population of Aldor will not go hungry. Firmly controlling the Abundant Plain is one of the key reasons why the Rodney family can maintain the throne to this day.
Catherine frowned, "Prohibiting the flow of grain will affect the people's livelihood. The south is still nominally part of the kingdom, and the people there are also our people."
Rupert looked at the compassionate princess and regretfully advised, "Your Highness, no victory comes without a cost; this is the price of defeating Giles. Furthermore, if the people there go hungry, they should be the first to oppose Giles, which would instead benefit us in reclaiming the south."
Listening to the ministers' discussion, the king contemplated for a moment before saying, "Let's not proceed with a direct ban; that would harm the royal authority. Let's also restrict the trade through increased taxes, just like with tea."
The Foreign Minister asked, "Should we take the same measures against the Vibern family, who once helped Giles?"
The Duke of Vibern had repeatedly switched sides during the rebellion, ultimately aligning with Giles, and after the war ended, he shamelessly sent envoys to Crystal Glare to pledge loyalty.
The king pretended to be polite to him, but temporarily had no way to deal with the Vibern family. Their territory is located in the Paradise Basin in the eastern border of the kingdom, and access requires navigating extremely dangerous mountain roads. Controlling a few passes can block enemies several times the number of defenders.
However, they can forget about continuing to intermarry with the royal family.
Hearing the Foreign Minister's inquiry, the king shook his head.
He stated his considerations, "We need to concentrate our forces to strike one enemy. Only targeting Giles can create a rift between him and Vibern. If we engage both of them at once, it might facilitate the union of these two traitors."
"Moreover, the southeastern border of the kingdom—located south of the Paradise Basin in the Misty Mountains—has lords who still maintain loyalty to the royal family. If Vibern and Giles unite again, it will completely cut off our contact with the Misty Mountains. Let's temporarily spare Vibern."
Rupert said, "Now there's a problem. On land, we can blockade Giles, but on the sea, we are currently powerless since the royal navy stationed in West Port was destroyed during the rebellion."
The Intelligence Minister, Earl Merlin, said, "That's not a big problem. The trade between various territories of the kingdom and Giles's territory mainly goes through land routes, and the land merchants must pass through our territory. As for Horns Bay, those merchants are busy converting their trading ships into warships to cope with the tense situation, and a rebellion war is about to break out. The only concern is..."
Catherine looked at him, "The Northwest Bay?"
Earl Merlin nodded in confirmation, "Yes, the Northwest Bay. In recent years, maritime trade there has developed rapidly, and it is no longer the desolate place it once was. The bay's merchants are operating their paddle-less sailboats back and forth. During the suppression of the rebellion, because of royal considerations, the merchants of the Northwest stopped docking in Giles's territory, but with the end of the war, merchants have returned there."
(End of the Chapter)
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