Chapter 109 – The Shaking Balkan Empire (2)
The Balkan Empire Shaky (2)
While Yuno’s territory developed rapidly through the activities of the three women, the empire gradually became chaotic.
While the imperial army faced the Tesseito army on the Zeno Plain, the Kentish rebels in the southwest gradually gained momentum, and Prinz in the east also gradually expanded its power, overcoming the aftereffects of the previous defeat.
Food supply was not working properly and the number of refugees was increasing, so tax revenue was decreasing and the situation in the Balkan countries was getting worse.
Adria’s Imperial Palace. Eojeon.
As soon as the royal council was held, the nobles had to bear the brunt of Emperor Henry’s wrath.
“What on earth are you guys doing?! What on earth are these so-called nobles doing right?”
“Fix it, Your Majesty. Since Count Radan’s defeat was so decisive, I think it will take some time for the army to show results.”
“Don’t even mention that idiot’s name!! He’s the one who should be thankful just for cutting off his head cleanly!”
Count Radan, former Minister of Defense and commander-in-chief of the army to recapture the Zenon Plain, had his head blown off for responsibility for the defeat. Originally, it was not a defeat that would have resulted in execution, but Henry’s current situation was so bad that even that could not be tolerated.
“Are you saying there is no one? Is there really not a single person among these many nobles who can come up with a solution to this situation!! You bastards!! I will cut off the heads of all of you!!”
No noble was brave enough to make a proposal to the emperor, who was screaming loudly and saying he would cut off his head, and Henry’s anger continued.
“Your Majesty. How about a slightly different approach?”
“Oh! Prime Minister. It seems like you are the only one I have. But what do you mean, a change in thinking?”
After calming down the rampaging Henry, Marquis Dietrich moved forward on the large map placed in the middle of the royal palace and pointed to the Plain of Zenon with his finger.
“As you know, the current situation of the Imperial Army is not very good. The elite 1st and 2nd Corps have suffered small losses, but the problem is that the losses of the 6th and 7th Corps were cut in the last battle, so the number of Imperial Army currently on the Western Front is low. Since there are only 30,000 people, an active offensive is judged to be impossible.”
“Not everyone knows that. That’s why my head hurts. Not only has the harvest not been done properly in the Zenon Plain, but the nobles who are attached to that damn Prinz faction are not sending taxes, so it is difficult to recruit additional soldiers and supplies are not being carried out properly. Isn’t that the situation?”
As soon as Heinrich finished speaking, Marquis Dietrich’s finger pointed to the eastern part of the map.
“That’s right. In that case, I would just recognize the territory of the Zenon Plain currently occupied by Tesseito! I propose to turn the army around and attack Prinz first!”
Since Tesseito was occupying an enormous territory, one-third of the Plain of Zenon, Marquis Dietrich’s proposal to give it up as is shocked all the nobles.
“Well… That’s not enough!! How can you give away the territory you gained with so much bloodshed by your ancestors so vainly?”
“It is absolutely impossible, Your Majesty! You must not fall for such nonsense!!”
“Marquis Dietrich, who proposed such a ridiculous proposal, must be dismissed from his position as Prime Minister!!”
“You are making such a ridiculous proposal because the Prime Minister’s territory was recently occupied by the Prinz forces! Your Majesty! You must never give up on the Zenon Plain!!”
Resistance erupted here and there, but Henry began to carefully consider the pros and cons of the chancellor’s proposal.
‘Except for the emotional aspect… It’s not a bad idea. In any case, realistically, it seems impossible to recapture the Zenon Plain in a short period of time. If this long-term standoff continues, the management of the empire will become more and more difficult, and it will become even more difficult to subdue the forces of the older brother, who is backed by the forces of Duke Windrage… In that case, the right decision here is to give what is given and only take advantage. ‘
Henry, who was sensitive to the gains and losses of his interests and received overwhelming support from merchants during his time as prince, quickly completed his judgment on the chancellor’s proposal.
While Heinrich was closing his eyes, the nobles’ opposition was becoming more intense, and Secretary Marquis García stepped forward to comfort Heinrich’s mood.
“Aye!! What kind of commotion is there now in the palace!! Everyone, be quiet!! Your Majesty is about to speak!!”
In return for betraying Charles III and the crown prince, the Marquis García, who maintained his previous position despite the change of emperor, silenced the nobles who were screaming and making a fuss next to Henry.
“First… In my judgment… I think the Prime Minister’s proposal is reasonable. Our main enemy is Tesseito, but sometimes flexible thinking is necessary.”
“Your Majesty!! Absolutely not! That would shake the roots of this empire!!”
“The Zenon Plain is the foundation of the Balkans!! Don’t forget that one-third of the empire’s tax revenue comes from there!!”
The backlash from the nobles was enormous, and in particular, when the nobles who had fiefs in the Zenon Plain shouted out their opposition to the death with the spirit of not being able to see the emperor, Henry came down from the royal palace and approached the nobles as if to appease them.
But…
Suddenly.
Heinrich took out a sword from his belt and cut off the head of an old nobleman who was standing at the front of the group of nobles and shouting opposition.
“Your Majesty… What…”
Although the decapitated noble was a small to mid-sized nobleman running a small barony, he was a noble who had fought honorably for the empire on the front lines of the Zenon Plain and had taken refuge in the capital after the Zenon Plain was occupied by the Tesseito army, so the faces of the nobles gathered in front were shocked. Fear settled in.
“Now! Is there anyone who has any further objections? If so, please come forward. I will personally listen and listen to your opinions.”
The nobles were unable to say anything to the emperor, who was speaking in a stern manner, with blood dripping from his sword, and so the Marquis Dietrich’s proposal was passed unanimously.
And the next day. An envoy carrying a letter requesting a truce ended up heading to the occupied area of Tesseito in the Zenon Plain.
Teseito-kun. Command.
The Duke of Tiruen, the commander-in-chief of Te Seito’s army, rolled his eyes in disbelief as he looked at the armistice in his hand.
“Now… Wait a minute, is this what I see? Am I seeing it wrong? My eyes have been a little blurry lately…”
“We don’t believe it either, but it seems like the armistice agreement is correct.”
Tiruen’s staff also looked at the agreement with shaking eyes and lowered their voices.
“Isn’t this a scam to get behind us? The Balkans are giving up the Zenon Plains? Even though I said I encouraged a rebellion by giving military funds and mercenaries to the Kent guy I captured… With that, I don’t think you will give up the Zenon Plain easily?”
“Well… It can’t help but be true, right? This agreement has the Balkan seal stamped on it. If you commit fraud with this, the emperor’s authority will fall to the ground.”
“It’s probably because they couldn’t catch the Emperor during the recent civil war. According to the spy’s report, the eastern region says it does not recognize the Emperor and has even declared that it will follow the Emperor.”
“… Then, how about taking this opportunity to push further and eat the entire Zeno?”
The staff exploded with anger at Tiruen’s suggestion.
“Your Excellency!! Don’t you know that this is a ridiculous idea? Our army is overwhelmed with maintaining the area it has currently occupied. Someone who knows better than anyone that we are in a situation where we will have to retreat if the Balkans come in says that… “
“Ah. Okay!! I just tried it too. Please don’t react so harshly.”
In fact, it was the Tesseito army that defeated the imperial army with great vigor from the beginning, but their situation was not easy.
The remnants of the 5th Corps, who were unable to retreat, hid in various parts of Zeno and incited the residents of the territory to launch guerrillas, and their attacks were preventing the supply of supplies from proceeding smoothly.
If it were a simple war, they would have forcibly conscripted the food accumulated by the territory residents, but since they were trying to completely make the occupied area their own territory, the Tesseito army was unable to do so, so they were as ostentatious as possible and hoped that the imperial army would not just push in.
In such a situation, the armistice agreement sent by Henry was a ray of light from the sky, and while they made a cool-headed judgment that the empire might be suspicious of them if they immediately responded to the armistice, they said they needed to discuss some provisions and requested that the foreign ministries of both sides meet. Suggested.
And a few days later, diplomats from both sides signed a three-year armistice agreement, temporarily ending the battle on the Zenon Plain. The prisoners were immediately liberated and returned to their home country, and the imperial army retreated to the east with only one corps left. Preparations to move to the front line have begun.
