B51

The Regentskapsråd, as it turned out, was more than just a chooser of the Prince. It also governed in the absence of a Prince. Not very well, as it turned out, but it still governed. As the day went on, the structure of a typical session of the Regentskapsråd revealed itself to me. The day-to-day business of state would be taken care of as a priority, and then there would be a round of voting for the prince to finish out the day's schedule. Hence Regentskapsråd, or Council of Regents in plain English. A regent was supposed to take care of the business of state while a King was a child until that King reached his majority, or in this case, was selected.

Today, there were a couple of issues on the docket before the voting could begin. Firstly, and most importantly, was what to do about the sluggish economy. It was fair to say that the Combine hadn't left the economy of Rasalhague in good shape. Many of Rasalhague's Companies had been forced into partnerships with Combine Zaibatsu, most of which had resulted in arrangements that were little better than vassalage. For instance, Swedenborg Heavy Industries had been forced to take loans from Osaka Heavy Metrics to fund anything large they wanted to do at extortionate interest rates, resulting in their debt which had largely disappeared since independence. Meanwhile, Pomme de Terre Foods had been forced to sell large swathes of stock to Surinami Processing, making that Zaibatsu a major shareholder.

Those were just two of many instances, and while some Rasalhaguian Companies had done well enough in throwing off the shackles of peonage thrust on them by the Combine, such as GKT Enterprises, others hadn't done as well. It had resulted in the economy of the Principality growing slowly and sluggishly. In fact, the economy was projected to miss its growth targets for thirty-thirty if it kept up going like this, which would be bad news for the defense of the Principality going forward, as well as for the average Rasalahgue Citizen.

It didn't help that some of the Traditional Manufacturers of Rasalhague remained in Combine hands, such as Grumium Creations, Alshain Weapons, or Odin Manufacturing, the first on Grumium while the latter two were on Alshain. Indeed, several satellite facilities of Amau Electronics as well as the main facilities of Metals of the Earth were still in Combine hands, on Benjamin and Nox respectively, and while the latter might be seized with military action, the former would always be out of reach. These lost manufacturing centers and plants in Combine Hands contributed to the problem as well, which needed a response.

The obvious solution would be to build facilities that could handle the slack of the lost facilities. Unfortunately, the new government was somewhat strapped for cash, which led to the proposal on the table now, whether to take out loans from other governments to make up for the lack of funds. There would need to be tens of billions of C-bills in loans taken out in order to make up the shortfall in facilities, not something to be done lightly. There was also the matter of who to take the loans out from. Hence the round of voting.

The Combine was offering loans, but those came with rather large interest rates and there was a risk that the Principality would not be able to pay them back. They were, however, offering more loans than either of the other two sources, at thirty billion C-bills. The Lyrans were offering loans as well, and at a more reasonable interest rate, however, they were offering less than the Combine, twenty-five billion C-bills, though it was still a viable amount to build some production facilities. ComStar was offering the least amount of C-Bills, at five billion, but they were offering them at the most reasonable interest rates. However, the amount would barely be sufficient to build a few manufacturing centers.

Voting was split, largely along factional lines, with the Comte De Rochefort, Haakon Magnusson, Voivoda Ilyana Sorenson, and their Ilk voting for the Combine, while others such as Hertig Fraga, Ksiaze Czartoryski of Kufstein, Valdherre Schneider of Liezen, and their group voted for the Lyrans, while yet others like Jarl Andrews, Jarl Shor, Hertig Von Lamberg of Kempten, and other like them wanted to go with the Comstar Offer. In the initial vote, things were split fairly evenly at forty votes apiece to the Combine, Lyrans, and ComStar.

"It seems we are at an impasse. That being so, I shall open the floor up for arguments. As Speaker of this Regentskapsråd, I reserve the right to speak as well, though I shall speak once others have had their say." Intoned Vévoda Kolowrat from the Speaker's Podium.

Up stood Haakon Magnusson, eager to be the first to make his thoughts on the issue known. Vévoda Kolowrat recognized him and Haakon Magnusson began to speak.

"My Lords, you all know me. I have no love lost for the Combine, however, it is imperative that we build up our industry and swiftly, before the Combine decides that it is time to reclaim their control of our Principality. The Combine's Offer of loans, will, Ironically, let us do that. If they're offering to fund their own downfall, I say we take them up on it! Some of you might think that the interest rates are too high, to that I simply say that we can pay them, but only if we get our economy back on track, something that neither the ComStar nor the Lyran offers will allow for. You don't have to like it, Gods above know I don't, but it really is the only choice we have currently that allows us a successful path forward. If you'd stop and think for a moment, you'd realize I'm right on that as well." Spoke up Haakon Magnusson.

As he sat back down, I realized that was how the Combine had gotten to Haakon Magnusson. It wasn't so much that they'd paid him off, though there had probably been some of that too, it was that they'd somehow managed to present their case to him as the only viable backers. This was way too subtle a play for the Coordinator. Takashi Kurita didn't have it in him to play conciliatory like this. It did reek of Theodore Kurita, however. The Coordinator's heir was a lot more willing to do something like this to get ahead than his father. That told me a lot in and of itself, mostly that I didn't just have to worry about Ninjas, but also that I was playing the game of Politics against a skilled adversary who could do things that the opponent I'd been expecting couldn't or wouldn't in order to win.

I would have to do something unexpected in order to get ahead here. Fortunately, the next speaker, Taoiseach O'Donnell of Dawn, gave me an opening. Erin O'Donnell was descended from Irish Royalty and her family had been rulers of Dawn for centuries, first as Independent High Chiefs or Taoiseach, then as vassals of the First Principality of Rasalhague, becoming Vassals of the Draconis Combine for a bit, before the Combine had done what they had in the First Principality of Rasalhague and took full control. Erin herself had joined the Tuatha, an underground resistance movement that had branches on Dawn, Susquehanna, and St. John. Her older brother, who had been the Combine Count, had been coupled by Erin and her Tuatha supporters during the war. She had just as much clout in some circles as Haakon Magnusson, possibly more.

"My Lords! How can we take the Combine offer? True, it provides us with enough funds to complete a viable expansion, but we would walk a tightrope made of extortionate interest rates! One that might be cut at any moment, sending us plummeting into inescapable debt! Would you mortgage our future when the Bank in question is one who just a year ago would have seen us all in chains? The Lyran offer is better! It is also not enough, however, the ComStar offer gives us what the Lyrans leave on the table! Why not take both offers?" She argued.

"We cannot afford to take more than one major loan!" Cried out a voice from one of the Upper Galleries, the deep baritone marking it as Valdherre Karppalaine of Vipaava.

Valdherre Karppalaine was a man known for two things, caution in decision-making that effectively cost him much influence in the Second Principality, as he didn't declare his support for independence until it was almost too late, and a deep Baritone Voice that would put professional Opera Singers to shame. His caution was certainly on display in his objection, and this time, it seemed to find more fertile ground than it had during the War, as a chorus of assent was beginning to build. This, however, gave me my chance to not only help chart a path forward but also to gain influence in the Regentskapsråd and hopefully sway a few votes my way for Prince by demonstrating my usefulness and willingness to take risks for the betterment of the Principality.

"My Lords! There is a way forward with Taoiseach O'Donnell's proposal at little risk to the Principality! As you may know, I am not just Ksiaze of Krakow and Predlitz, but Grand Duke of New Ålborg, a Periphery realm of some note! Allow me to take the ComStar Loans for the Principality in my capacity as Grand Duke of New Ålborg! I will assume all the risk for the Principality, while the Principality need only worry about the Lyran loans!" I offered.

"How do we know you will disburse the funds and not keep them for yourself?" Questioned Armand Rochefort.

The Comte De Rochefort likely would have done just that, kept the funds for himself, were he the one to make the offer. Of that, I had no doubt. The greedy Count of Pomme de Terre was just that, a greedy man. However, he also was one of my primary opponents in the Regentskapsråd, one of the Combine's Main proponents and their favored candidate for Prince over Haakon Magnusson. Furthermore, as several affirmative voices rang out, I realized that he too was finding members of like mind to his objections amongst the Regentskapsråd. Unless I did something the motion would fail. That meant it was time for something drastic.

"I would allow an observer from the Regentskapsråd to go over my books and ensure that the funds are disbursed if that is something that will quiet such doubts!" I retorted.

This was dangerous. If the wrong observer got sent, they could report to people I'd rather not tip my financial hand to that I was running a razor-thin margin when it came to budgets. Of course, the interest rates that the ComStar Loans would require were payable, thanks to my acquisitions of Krakow and Predlitz and their economies bolstering my pocketbook, but I'd be unable to take more loans for a few years until I either paid off my reparations to the Combine, finished a project I was currently working on, paid off an existing loan, grew my economy, or some combination of all of those. I'd prefer for example, that the Combine didn't know how close to the edge I was pushing my economy.

"You would do this? Assume the risk for us?" Queried Vévoda Kolowrat.

"I would, and gladly." I confirmed.

"In that case, I shall add my own support to the motion and appoint a trustee to oversee the disbursement of Loan Funds personally." Nodded Vévoda Kolowrat.

That seemed to quiet the chamber. I may be someone the Combine Faction could throw shade on, but Vévoda Kolowrat was beyond suspicion. Nobody could doubt that Marek Kolowrat had anything but the best interests of the Principality at heart. A few more people spoke up, either in favor of my modified form of Taoiseach O'Donnell's Proposal or against it, some seeming to argue in favor of just taking the Combine loans, but none seemed to argue for just the Lyran or ComStar loans alone anymore. Eventually, Vévoda Kolowrat called for a formal vote on the issue after a few hours of debate.

Voting in the Regentskapsråd was done electronically via Noteputer. Specialized Data Chips with the highest form of security that the Regentskapsråd could get carried the voting program and the votes were sent to a server in the fortified basement of the Regentskapsråd Building to be tabulated via the Governmental Intranet. The vote threshold needed for a motion in the regular course of daily affairs to pass was less than that needed to elect a prince. A Simple Sixty Percent Majority was required in order to bypass any formal veto process, rather than the three-fourths majority required to be elected Prince. The whole process of voting took about fifteen minutes and the tabulation took less than a third of that time. By the end, all the votes were counted and Vévoda Kolowrat announced the tally.

"Ksaize Poniatowski's Modified Proposal had received seventy-four votes. Forty votes have been tabulated against the proposal with six abstentions. The threshold for the Proposal to carry without any potential veto has been reached by two votes. Not that I would have raised such a veto to begin with, as I myself voted in favor." Intoned Vévoda Kolowrat, banging his gavel.

That caused a round of applause from several quarters, while jeers were had from the Combine Faction's seats, led prominently by the Comte de Rochefort. Notably, however, Haakon Magnusson did not join in with his fellows jeering. He didn't applaud either, but he didn't jeer. Hopefully, that meant there was something there I could use. A wedge between Haakon Magnusson and Armand Rochefort that I could pry open to get him to split from that Bloc. I wouldn't know for certain until I tried.

"Order in the chamber! Let us now turn to the next item on the docket, a Proposal from Jarl Andrews has been heard to lower tariffs on non-military goods from the other powers of the Inner Sphere. I will now hear arguments for and against!" Shouted Vévoda Kolowrat, banging his gavel once more.

What followed was an hour-long debate on the merits of free trade in non-critical sectors and the need for a thriving import and export sector. Apparently, tariffs had started out quite high in the Second Principality, as protectionism in the wake of the war versus the other Successor States had been seen as a viable way to grow the Rasalhaguian Economy. However, it had seemingly not helped much, if at all, given the sluggish economy the Second Principality was currently experiencing. I was in favor of lowering tariffs to stimulate trade and thus, stimulate the economy.

Of course, there were fears that this would result in a flood of cheap consumer goods from places like the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine, depending on which side of the aisle you stood on. However, I knew that the Combine needed the majority of its production for rearmament for the foreseeable future, and much of what it was producing in excess was going toward other allied efforts, such as the attempts to reverse-engineer technology. As for the Lyrans, I was willing to bet that I could convince Katrina Steiner to rein in Lyran Corporations in favor of having a strong ally between them and the Combine that wasn't dependent on Lyran Goods to function.

Regardless, the hour of debate passed swiftly and soon the votes were tabulated. Lowering Tariffs passed, barely. Just reaching the seventy-two vote threshold to avoid Veto. However, that kicked off a secondary debate that lasted forty minutes on just how much to lower the tariffs, one that wound up with a consensus for halving the tariffs when it came time to put that to a vote. That was something that I could see many people being happy with, and not just in the Combine or Lyran Commonwealth either. If I recall correctly, the Free Worlds League thrived on trade, though with their territory so far away, it was unlikely we'd see too much of that from them.

A few more things on the docket were put up for debate, none of which were as pressing as the economy. Some of these had to do with a pair of proposals put out by the Comte de Rochambeau of Feltre to reform the laws around the internal transport of marijuana. Apparently, the Comte was known to enjoy smoking hashish, a habit he'd picked up in University that had stayed with him even after his father had died of wounds sustained in a Combine Interrogation Chamber. I didn't much care about any prohibitions on Marijuana, though I suspected some of that was the influence of that other life on twenty-first-century Terra that I lived in my dreams. I voted in favor, though the ayes were in the minority this time. A few other debates were had about other things just as inconsequential, which I largely abstained from.

By the time the debates finished, a few more hours had passed and it was getting time for the session to end, which meant it was time for the daily vote for Prince. That vote took fifteen minutes, it seemed that I would need to spend time out of session convincing people, as the debates on the economy and tariffs had run long today, and the less consequential debates had filled the remainder of the time. I locked in my vote, in favor of myself, of course, and when the votes were tabulated, I was gratified to see that I had picked up a few votes owing to my proposal being passed. Only six or so, which gave me a total of forty-three votes. It wasn't even close to the ninety I needed to get the throne, but it was a start. Haakon Magnusson was the Runner-Up at thirty-eight votes while Armand De Rochefort was currently only at fifteen. The rest were scattered in groups of six to ten for various unserious candidates or otherwise abstaining, as no real other candidate had come forward.

I was going to need to pour on the charm and continue my currently successful voting record if I wanted to cinch the nomination. I'd have to do that while avoiding getting assassinated by Combine Ninjas. The first step toward doing so would happen this evening, once I was showered and changed. I did so, returning to the townhouse that Minister Kowalski had purchased for me on Rasalhague and sending an order back to New Ålborg via K-Class Transmitter with a report, as well as orders to take the ComStar Loan out on the Principality's behalf and to prepare for a Trustee selected by Vévoda Kolowrat to look over the books and ensure that the funds were being properly disbursed. Then I hopped in the shower.

An hour after that, I was in an aircar, heading for the Herring Club and my meeting with Jarl Andrews. . .

XXXX

AN: The next chapter is already up on my Patreon, so check the link in the threadmarked post if you guys feel like throwing me a couple bucks to get chapters in advance. Everyone who does is super appreciated and I can't thank my patrons enough.

All right, so here's the first session of the Regentskapsråd. He's put forth a successful proposition that has gained him enough votes to overtake Haakon Magnusson as the frontrunner for Prince, but altogether, the Combine's two candidates have more votes than he does. Given that it's likely Theodore Kurita running the show here, and not his dad, it's likely that the Combine has yet more tricks to play to slow him down as well, aside from just jumping straight to assassination by Ninjas. Meanwhile, he's now off to the Herring Club to try and sway some votes to his side and grow his lead more.

A note on the Rasalhaguian Economy. In canon, it struggled for a while after independence and remained small all the way up until the Clan Invasion even after stabilizing. That remains true here. The economy of the Principality isn't a match for that of the other successor states right now, though it is still overwhelming by Periphery Standards. It's why the debates on what to do about it took up so much of this session. If he can play a major part in fixing it, Jozef will go down as likely one of the best rulers in Rasalhaguian History. He has to get the throne first, though, for that to work.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the meeting with Jarl Andrews at the Herring Club.

Stay tuned. . .