章節 144: Yumina Switch
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"I want you to remember that, all things considered, Belfast and Mismede should BE AT WAR RIGHT NOW instead discussing an alliance."
Boom. Rudely stated, but it was a fact. Instantly we were all at full alert, and though we were at peace tension ratcheted between the two halves of the table.
Lady Monika continued:
/"Consider the following:
/"First, by this time Sushie Ernea Ortlinde should have been captive or dead. She was attacked by a [Dark] magic Summoner, who had *lizardfolk* warriors as his weapon. Duke Ortlinde by now would have been disgraced or forced into treason.
/"Second, the King of Belfast should have been poisoned, apparently by the Ambassador of Mismede. This in itself would have been a clear justification for war. The execution of the Mismede ambassador and marks of the revenge laid upon her body, and how other beastkin living in Belfast suddenly are made prey by the maddened populace give Mismede ample reason to fight to the utmost.
/"Third, anti-beastkin and anti-human sentiment intensifies for generations as both sides get proof that the other side are faithless and can't be trusted."/
"Like it or not, the plot was only possible because there's enough people on both sides to WANT something like that to happen," Sir Zah added.
Then he slammed his fists on the table. "But just because you say you want an alliance doesn't mean a thing like that can even happen in good order! How can you call yourselves allies… when both of your soldiery don't trust each other, both of your peoples only expect to use each other to bleed the enemy dry before fighting for real?! There is glory in war, and plenty who want to claim it! Against each other is just as good as with each other!"
/"Above tactics is strategy. Above strategy is logistics. Before logistics is politics. And the root of politics are societal factors."/
"More than the fact that there is no trust between your two nations – you fought together twenty years ago, but instead of bringing you closer, that left your nobles thinking that you were taken advantage of by the other. There is too much greed for glory in both your nations. Leene has told me this."
King Jamukha nodded. If the wise Matriarch of the Fairies says it, it must be so. The hearts of the people were often hidden from their leaders, who feel that their emotions can be whipped up into whatever they see fit.
"It is necessary here to have a cohesive war plan that does more than just happens to rely on your independent forces just happening to attack at mostly the same time on different portions of the enemy invasion corridor. Until it can be seen that your armies are fighting and getting bloodied together, comradeship will be hard to find between such vastly different mindsets."
"Sir Zah… it has happened before," my father interrupted. "A volunteer force from Mismede… broke the enemy's thrust towards the capital long enough to change the tempo of the war. It was there that the war began to turn against Regulus' superiority in numbers."
He looked up towards the King of Mismede and said "We shall never forget their sacrifice, and their honor shall ring forever."
King Jamukha only nodded somberly. "The woman I loved died for this, I won't let it go to waste."
Sir Zah smiled softly in sympathy. "Understood. But while the common people may find common ground, we still have an issue with combining force."
The map showed a red arrow plunging down the Zeno Gap and masses of red ships crowding the river Gao. "It would be extremely silly to think that the enemy wouldn't ever learn from their mistakes in the previous war."
Red arrows curved in from the east. /"Or that we are the only ones who are ever allowed to build alliances and make simultaneous offensives."/
King Jamukha rubbed his chin. "Hmm. That's right. Those holy knights in Rammish are goin' on and on about justice while taking gold from anything they see. If Tristwin died, they'd have jumped on the war right quick."
"A Holy War against beastkin using the King of Belfast's murder would be a good excuse as any," added Chancellor Glatz. "And they would pillage and despoil all the way to Berge with nary a twig to their conscience."
Then Sir Zah waved at the map, and the enemy attack shattered and dispersed into a shower of red flakes. "But whatever advantage the enemy have in manpower have become IRRELEVANT. As the saying goes: If you know yourself and not your enemy, you will face defeat as much as victory. There is something we have that Regulus doesn't know about and THAT will make all the difference.
"Care to guess what that is?"
"Isn't it… you?" my father dryly replied. "If you didn't randomly come across Sue on the road, we WOULD be at war with Mismede right now. Please ruin the enemy's plans by accident even more."
At the same time, Chancellor Glatz said "Is it the Chapa-ai?! You have more Gates?!" Then he realized what the King of Belfast was saying. "CAN YOU *BUILD* GATES?!"
"It's mobility," I said with a sigh and rubbed my forehead. "You're always going on about how speed is always the first virtue in battle."
Lady Monika chuckled. /"The answer is yes. And yes. And yes."/
"The reason you guys let me get away with so much shite is because you know just how much I change the board. I am disrespectful little twit, I am aware."
/"Indeed, Player needs someone brave enough to tell him when he is being too gormless. I find myself too amused sometimes with how he will have to work to get himself out of the trouble his stupid mouth has put himself into."/
Of course you do. I sighed softly. An immortal finds amusement wherever she must. I considered how painful it must have been, to spend so long without a body – unable to touch, unable to feel, unable to taste, unable to kiss – how could love survive with nothing more than whispers? How long before one is tempted by the touch of others, how long before someone feels like just an object?
The love between Sir Zah and Lady Monika, I did not know for how long they have done this… already it is a tale for the ages.
"But it is because I know you are not puffed up in your egoes and need to feel secure by putting down others in their place that I feel comfortable enough in your presence to do this. Those who are too concerned with putting people in their proper places can never break away from their cages of circumstance. Your souls are not weighed down by gravity, and I am amazed at my luck.
"I'm happy to help, you know that. I am not loyal to ideas of nationhood and obligations of fealty – I am loyal to PEOPLE. Specific people, and it so happens that you are both kings bothered with the malingering within your realms, so YOUR problems are MY problems now. I care about your kingdoms because the people I care about live in them.
Wow this is almost disgustingly open of you, Sir Zah! This I dared not say. But I found myself smiling.
Admitting to this sort of things could be seen as a weakness, or arrogance in that there is no one that is above being offended, but we could see straight to the heart of it. If Sir Zah didn't like you, then he would just *leave*. He likes to act up to provoke reactions – it's fun, like teasing friends, and the closest of friends are the ones you would never fear to offend.
And in fact, it can be said that the best of friends can be cruelest to each other and just laugh it off as pranks. You can say the most hurtful things to each other, insults that would be duel-worthy from others, and take it as an invitation to one-up each other.
Ah, sometimes I wished for such a best friend. Of course no one would dare to be impolite in the face of the Crown Princess.
No one but Sir Zah.
I was beginning to understand why Lady Monika would let him get away with things… it is frustrating to me, because I have to deal with the after-effects of his shenanigans, but watching *someone else* be forced to deal with it? Their faces? Hilarious.
Sir Zah was a p̷a̷i̷n̷ gift that was best shared with as many people as possible.
"I ask for no great rewards, no authority, nor honors – it is honor enough to know there are still good kings that care about their people. I understand that the feudal contract is the basis for how politics works, and good works and loyalty should be rewarded or a King fails to uphold his duty to his vassals. I know it makes you uncomfortable. Power that does not have levers to control it is too dangerous to have around."
/"But when you get to the levels of power that we operate in, such things… are not important to us at all. We either deal with individuals, or bestir with nations and societies as a whole.
/"Trust is a far scarcer thing. For too long we have been looked upon with fear. Fear and hidden disgust. Or perverse lusts at a broken thing. At first, people are grateful, and easy to give praise… at first they pity us. Then they start to find it normal to ask. They start to ask for more, and more… and they demand… and then… They kill. Many a man would rather die than be humiliated."/
"So now I just make no more false politeness unless I were too lazy to be bothered to react even to insults. If this was a transactional affair, I would quickly get bored and perform only the minimum required. The triggers to keep me content in the service of another are easy, do not overthink it. As long as we keep ideas of remuneration vague and you forgive my less onerous caprices – then let none find us wanting.
"I am Zah Playa von Chara."
/"I am Monika."/
They intoned at the same time */"None shall find us wanting."/*
"This Alliance WILL happen. The least I can do in gratitude for the friendship you have shown me is to secure the peace between your two nations. I sing about it because that's how far I consider it a non-problem. Even SEAGULLS are a bigger danger. I will CRUSH those who dare to hinder its establishment. I am fully prepared to go full xianxia over this."
/"Player is totally a yandere. Do not underestimate how many people he is willing to kill to see your smiles. As long as you do not betray his confidence in you, he will never leave your side."/
King Jamukha curled into himself and looked away like a shy young maiden. I did not need to see that. Stop.
"And that is why, for now, I am offering to fix this issue between your kingdoms and contribute to the war effort through less violent means."
King Jamukha gave a rakish "Heh heh heh" and raised his hand. "But what if I want the violent solution?"
"Then I'm gonna tell your wife on you."
The Beast King grimaced. "That's dirty fighting, boyo. I withdraw the question."
My father put his elbows on the table and steepled his finger together. "What do you propose, Sir Zah Playa?"
"I give you - Doctrine: Mobility. It has three levels – logistic, strategic, and tactic."
Lady Monika nodded and declared with a careful academic tone of voice:
/"- Once a man has changed the relationship between himself and his
/"- environment, he cannot return to the blissful ignorance he left.
/"- Motion, of necessity, involves a change in perspective.
/"- Commissioner Pravin Lal,
/"-- A Social History of Planet."/
Who?
"The Chapa-Ai Ring Gate System is a functional, modern equivalent, to those Ancient Gates that even now no one understands how they work. They are much less robust, but possible to make in sections, making them somewhat portable. But the sheer complexity of their construction means that only someone capable of unimaginable precision and gargantuan magic reserves can manufacture them. This will have tremendous impact on your economy and your relationships with your tradesmen.
"Ease of travel between Mismede and Belfast requires an immense amount of trust. But having easy transport is crucial towards a more unified defense and better utilization of resources. I am going to provide Gates, but not to the point that it will obsolete your road system and cause economic shock."
/"Your roads are little more than cleared dirt. To ease movement outside of the Gate System, we offer to cut through forests and lay down new, stronger highway systems. Here. Here."/ Lady Monika traced new more direct routes between Belfast and Mismede. /"To meet… here. We will build here a bridge."/
"Wait, when you said you meddle with nations as a whole, I didn't expect that to mean you reshape the face of kingdoms as a whole!" my father burst out. He looked fierce, but his bared teeth was open in mirth.
Sir Zah made a sheepish little laugh. "I guess you could say that… city-building… is a hobby of mine, yes. Building bridges, making tunnels… there is an artistry in them too that many fail to appreciate."
/"There is nothing like war as the surest way to destroy wealth,"/ Lady Monika added. /"While claiming territories and profiting off the people there sounds like a good way to reclaim the expenses of war, lives are not so easily returned. A world-spanning Empire might dominate the world for a hundred years, and then crumble after as it grows complacent and throws away its wealth in futile wars to appease dreams of former glory. For an Empire to dominate for a thousand years like Regulus, its foundation must be strong – in well-connected inner regions, in a wide population base. In infrastructure, in systems of training and equipment, in an *ethos* that demands constant outwards expansion, that it can always become greater instead of merely being the greatest.
/"There comes a point wherein war itself ceases to become profitable, when a nation becomes too big. It needs the biggest armies simply because it has grown so large that so much must be spent at all times for its own defense."/
"And for all of these things to happen, the first you need are good roads and strong bridges," Sir Zah finished.
"Aren't you just giving those things to the enemy if you don't have a strong army?" King Jamuhka asked with furrowed brows. "Isn't strength the first thing a nation must have?"
"An army marches on its stomach. More food, more men. More trade, more weapons. Attract great talent by offering riches and honors. The wealthiest nations are not always the strongest, but to have a strong army you need more people. You *get* more people by being able to feed them more and make it easier for them to meet each other."
Lady Monika smiled impishly, and raised a finger. She poked it into a hole made from the index and thumb of her other hand, in and out, and said /"Where do you think more people come from anyway?"/
I blushed and looked away. H-how crude! When someone usually so elegant speaks things so brusquely, they have much greater impact than from someone already expected to be a boor. King Jamukha only laughed.
Sir Zah huffed. "Of course, this needs at least a generation. It doesn't help for the war that's a month from now. Long-term plans rely upon short-term survival."
I blinked and perked up. "T-that's right! Sir Zah, I have to ask, what is the point of this then? Just to make it easier for armies to march?"
A thought suddenly sprang to mind. The map showed a long and strangely willowy bridge spanning the Gao. The bridge sections seemed to be held up by… ropes? That looked a bit weak.
"Bridges are also… weak points, aren't they? They're kind of… obvious?"
"That is a feature, not a bug," Sir Zah replied. "If Regulus was serious about war, then of course they would send saboteurs and strong magicians. What a great way to find them and kill them outside of the protection of the great mass of their army."
I blinked. "Huh. But it's going to take a long time to build anyway, won't the war happen before it's finished?"
"Phftt. A month, tops." Sir Zah waved dismissively. "Roads are easy, I just have to zoom all over the place slashing through forests with controlled burns and raising and solidifying the ground into rock with [Earth] magic. The suspension bridge relies upon massive iron-strand wires, but the pillars and decking can be made of anything."
My father leaned back and raised his palm. "Wait. Closing off the River Gao permanently is something that all nations will take as a hostile act. We've long been capable of building bridges over the Gao's shallower sections." Then he hummed again and began rubbing his beard too. "Though I suppose a bascule-drawbridge has also long been considered also… quite a bit complex though."
"It is a tall-ass bridge, ships will have no problems getting through."
My father stared narrowly at him. "How do you plan on doing this within a month? This is the sort of endeavor that will take years. Not that I doubt you -" he was totally doubting it "but that sounds unfeasible. Magic can only do so much, this is a structure that requires precision."
"Because we can build most of it on land, and then we can just [Boom Tube] it to place. If Belfast does one half and Mismede does the other half, it can get done much faster. It's much easier to assemble and test load-bearing structures on dry land."
My father blinked. "Yesss. That is a thing you are capable of doing, I had not considered that."
/"There is another, better reason why we are so focused on the showy nature of landscape arrangement between Belfast and Mismede."/
Sir Zah nodded. "The enemy outside is never as dangerous as the enemy inside. You can't seriously expect me to believe that your internal foundations are so secure. Elements in Belfast just tried to assassinate their king, fer crissakes. And I'm told Mismede's factionalism between different tribes is held largely at bay by Jamukha's willingness to punch anyone into compliance."
The Beast King shrugged. "Eh. It works."
I sighed. Of course it does. Violence was the foundation of all political process.
It is only going to last until King Jamukha dies unless his successor is powerful enough or charismatic enough to keep other factions suppressed. A government that lacks a monopoly on violence is unstable, as we have just shown.
"We all know that this alliance is an ad hoc thing. We have no time to feel it out and work out a doctrine about how two different armies might fight towards a common goal. Confusion greatly inhibits the efficient application of force." Sir Zah jabbed his finger towards the Rammish Theocracy border. "But what if we make use of that confusion for our benefit instead?"
I stared at him dryly. Benefiting from making others confused. Well of course you would say that.
"It's one thing to say that two countries are now allied… but what if, in an almost instant for political time scales, road networks between two nations were suddenly connected? Trade networks unified? Forced march drills are done? A trade of special groups to be attached to the other nation's armies – Mismede has unlike other armies an air force… but lacks good heavy shock cavalry, for example. What would those looking at it from the outside think?"
My father suddenly sat up, grinning fiercely, and he slammed his palms down on the table. "They would think that this alliance HAD LONG BEEN IN THE PLANNING!" Wham. "That we have already done much more preparation in secret!"
King Jamukha frowned, and did not speak. Chancellor Glatz spoke up after a few moments: "That… sounds plausible. Any deficiencies might appear to foreign spies as obvious misinformation. Fascinating."
"If you are moving too fast, this is called taking control of the situation!" Sir Zah raised his chin.
/"What most important is how the people will think of this. If everything moves too astonishingly quickly, this means the kingdoms were already unofficially allied all this time, and it's now only made public. There should be less reason to feel suspicious or that someone is being taken advantage of, as the speed of improvements themselves prove that deals had already been worked out. One can trust that their leaders have a plan. The commonfolk can rest at ease."/
"It also neatly sidesteps the traditional rationale for securing an alliance… you know," Sir Zah shrugged. "Political marriages."
I tried not to wince. King Jamuka raised an eyebrow, and then looked to me. Then to Sir Zah. And then he smirked towards my father. My father crossed his arms and silently stared back. He snorted, looking all too smug for some reason.
"There's no reason to make big shows and ceremony to strengthen the alliance when people would most likely just invent reasons behind the face of it about how it was already a settled and done thing."
/"If the alliance is known to be prepared to receive battle, that ironically might give Regulus pause to start the war in the place."/
"If Regulus does make war, both your populations don't feel as wary about each other, and you win. But if Regulus doesn't make war, you get good trade routes anyway and win again."
I recalled: Behind tactics is strategy. Behind strategy is logistics. Behind logistics is politics. Behind politics are cultural factors.
Sir Zah and Lady Monika chose a solution that cuts through and resolves *all of them* at *all levels*. I looked at them with wide-eyed awe.
It all makes sense now – even their seemingly random silliness. As long as you are moving too quickly, everyone else is too busy trying to catch up that they can't *think*.
Lady Monika noticed my expression, and how that same comprehension was dawning on the others, and raised a hand to hide her mouth. She giggled softly for a moment and then lowered her hand back to the table. /"But don't worry. Even if things happen too fast even for this less destructive solution, it's not like we would hesitate at a more violent solution as well."/
"I don't WANT to murder feckloads of people, but if I have no choice then I will." Sir Zah sagged slightly.
Lady Monika continued to stare at me, with that slight and completely humorless smile of hers. I squirmed in my seat, feeling as if all hot and sticky, pressured by such a burning gaze.
/"We are totally yandere for you,"/ she said. /"Live with it."/
I don't even know what that means!
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