By accepting the surrender of the local gentry and Arkal's territorial forces, Kaon increased the size of his army.
Twenty thousand from the Northern Army, ten thousand from Arkal's territorial forces, and Kaon's own five thousand troops.
That gave him a total of thirty-five thousand, a respectable starting force for a regional power.
‘It is still not enough.’
Considering the events of the original novel, a civil war was certain to break out.
Even if the Crown Prince ascended the throne as Emperor, the Second Prince would gather the nobles who followed him and launch a rebellion.
The Crown Prince had absurdly overpowered abilities and such a powerful faction that he crushed them completely, but that had only been possible in the original story.
For Kaon to grow strong enough to endure a civil war, he needed to be capable of wielding at least one hundred thousand troops.
‘Lampas Territory in the north alone will not be enough.’
Looking only at its strengths, he could unite the various foreign tribes beyond the wall and use them as soldiers.
There were no Mana Stones, but there were iron mines essential for producing arms and equipment. If he could just abduct(?) some artisans and bring them back, he could operate large-scale smithies as well.
The problem was that no matter how much money he had, it would never be enough to reach that point.
The territory's own population was also far too small, so he needed to swallow the rebellious Arkal Territory first.
After briefly convening a commanders' meeting and asking for opinions, the problem, as expected, was justification.
“No matter how serious the rebellion was, there is a considerable difference between acting under orders and moving without them.”
Sir Chester, who had once been expected to rise into the ranks of the high nobility, was also well versed in politics.
He believed there would be more than enough people in that filthy political arena willing to slander Kaon over this.
As long as the Second Prince's power remained intact, the odds were practically one hundred percent.
“I believe attacking Arkal Territory without resolving this issue would be reckless.”
“We share the same view.”
The imperial knights might not have been nobles, but they had seen and heard plenty.
The Imperial Palace was where political disputes erupted more fiercely than anywhere else in the empire.
Anyone who had served there for more than ten years could easily predict how Kaon's enemies would respond.
“Even so, it is still right to settle this. Arkal Territory has already crossed the point of no return. Even if they stay quiet, they will still be implicated in treason. If they drag the neighboring lords into it as well, things will become troublesome.”
“That cannot be denied, but whether the political world will accept it is another matter.”
“We have now entered an open conflict with that Second Prince bastard, so of course his side will raise hell. But he is currently away as Commander of the Suppression Force. He will struggle considerably, so he will not be able to cling to this issue forever. If the Second Prince fails to suppress the rebels, there is no telling what kind of backlash he will face.”
“That is certainly true.”
Political dynamics were never simple.
Kaon had something he was relying on as well.
Judging from both the original novel and the Second Prince's abilities, there was no way the suppression campaign would end easily.
Even if he got lucky and succeeded, Kaon expected it to take at least two years.
If the Second Prince lacked troops, he would need further support from the Central Army. If he tried to pressure Kaon at that point, Marquis Weiss, Kaon's great-uncle and the commander of Supply Command, could cut off that support.
“We already have enough justification to shut the Second Prince's faction up. The real problem is finding grounds that will persuade His Majesty, and we already found the answer to that earlier.”
The knights nodded.
With rebellion already spreading through the central-southern region of the empire, allowing the north to destabilize as well could place the entire empire in danger. Therefore, Kaon would punish Arkal Territory first and report afterward.
That would count as a preemptive measure, and as long as he occupied the territory quickly, even the Emperor would be satisfied.
It was not merely an excuse.
If Arkal Territory descended into chaos, the empire really could begin heading toward ruin.
With the Second Prince's own expedition already underway, opposition to such reasoning was unlikely.
Different powers might be fighting one another throughout the empire, but even those fighting did not want the country itself to collapse.
“Now gather the people. I will leave roughly twenty thousand troops here, but they are still uneasy. We need to calm public sentiment at least somewhat.”
“Calming public sentiment means spending a considerable amount of money.”
Sir Chester spoke from experience.
Kaon knew that too.
The public liked it when money was handed out.
Was there anything more powerful than free goods?
“Do not worry. I will use a method that combines it with territorial development.”
A cliché was a cliché for a reason.
It became one because it worked.
Territory square.
A large number of people living in the northern region had gathered.
The total population of Lampas Territory was around one hundred fifty thousand.
They would need an accurate census to know for certain, but that figure represented the diligent taxpayers on record, and by sheer numbers alone, it was not small.
Kaon also had to consider the possibility of a popular uprising.
The people of Lampas Territory had always borne an excessive burden.
They had continued living impoverished lives without rising up because the Central Army and each commander assigned here personally brought territorial troops with them and wielded overwhelming military power.
One hundred fifty thousand civilians had been forced to support nearly thirty thousand soldiers.
It was enough to break their backs.
Even considering that the territory was exempt from imperial taxation, the burden was insane, so the central government had continually sent subsidies and supplies in an effort to keep the region functioning.
On top of that, the Northern Army was made up entirely of former criminals.
It would not have been strange for them to develop a rebellious streak.
Kaon planned to take a substantial portion of the troops with him. If he left things alone, someone inside might do something insane, so he needed to use the wealth he expected to acquire to implement strong policies.
“Listen carefully. Until now, there was no reason for the people of Lampas Territory to be poor. The vicious cycle arose because commanders who came and went like migratory birds colluded with the local gentry and exploited you. The Imperial Family imposed no taxes on you. On the contrary, it sent subsidies and supplies every year. A tax rate of fifty percent is already excessive, and once various miscellaneous levies were added on top of that, impoverishment was inevitable.”
“……!”
Murmur murmur.
The people stirred.
They were being drawn into Kaon's carefully crafted rhetoric.
According to his logic, the Imperial Family had done nothing wrong.
The problem had been the temporary commanders.
And because the local gentry had created the root cause, their bellies had grown fat while the common people suffered in poverty.
The argument worked well.
When public opinion was poor, someone needed to be made into the target of blame.
There was no reason a tactic that worked even in the modern world would fail here.
“Therefore, I have cut down the commander who caused this exploitation. I have also purged the local gentry cleanly. There will be no more exploitation from now on.”
“Oooh!”
“Could that really be true?”
“Did you not see earlier? The heads of the local gentry were all taken.”
The people's words were half true.
Among the local gentry who had joined the rebellion, every high-ranking figure had been dealt with.
“The local gentry have fallen, and His Majesty the Emperor granted this land to me permanently. That means you no longer need to worry about some bastard coming in later to exploit you. I will abolish the miscellaneous taxes and fix the tax rate at forty percent. You have suffered until now, so as compensation, every household will receive one month's worth of food or an equivalent amount of money. Once internal stability is secured, I will launch various construction projects and create places for you to work. From now on, you will not need to worry about making a living.”
“Waaaaah!”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Long live His Highness the Prince!”
The people erupted in three cheers.
Kaon had applied a complete public-stability package.
How many alternate-history and territory-management novels had he read before?
Each story used slightly different measures to stabilize public sentiment, but overall, they followed similar patterns.
The original novel of this world had been no different.
The author had written that using policies like these prevented rebellion.
In other words, this world had its own tailor-made package that worked.
The people's response was tremendous.
‘At this point, the chances of a rebellion are almost nonexistent.’
He lowered taxes and even handed out roughly one month's worth of free food.
At the very least, this would prevent anyone from starving to death.
He had also promised future construction projects that would create jobs, so anyone willing to work hard would be able to save money.
Even Kaon thought a rebellion now seemed unlikely.
He decided to march immediately with a total force of fifteen thousand.
Before that, he needed someone to manage the territory.
“Sir Chester!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Because this was a public occasion, Sir Chester immediately knelt and bowed his head.
“Strip the local gentry of their assets. As I said earlier, distribute food to the people and prepare a ledger.”
“A ledger, my lord?”
“I mean that you should conduct a population census while you are at it.”
“As expected! I will do so!”
They were giving away an entire month's worth of food for free.
People might refuse to cooperate with an ordinary census, but refusing when food was being handed out would be stupidity itself.
“I should return after finishing the suppression campaign within roughly a week. Stabilize the territory until then.”
“I obey.”
Kaon did not have any truly reliable subordinates beneath him.
More precisely, he had people he could trust, but none with experience managing a territory.
Sir Chester had once possessed a large territory himself and had also administered military government while conducting wars.
Chester was truly an all-purpose talent.
Kaon organized his troops in suitable proportions.
Ten thousand from the Northern Army, two thousand five hundred from Arkal's territorial forces, and two thousand five hundred from his own troops.
That gave him a force of fifteen thousand, and he did not believe Arkal Territory could withstand an army of that size.
Arkal had withdrawn nearly ten thousand troops from his territory.
Since a viscount was legally limited to maintaining fifteen thousand soldiers, that meant there could be at most roughly five thousand remaining there.
On top of that, both the lord and the young lord were dead, while Kaon possessed overwhelming justification.
The rebellion had already failed.
They would know there was no point resisting, so the idea that the occupation could fail made no sense.
The real question came afterward.
‘How thoroughly can I strip the territory?’
That was the key.
Arkal Territory was not especially wealthy, but relatively few of its people starved to death.
Considering how extravagantly the family lived, there had to be some source of income somewhere. Otherwise, maintaining the territory in that manner would have been impossible.
‘I know they have an iron mine, but nothing beyond that was ever mentioned. The original novel treated Arkal Territory as little more than an extra.’
Even if Kaon had read the original novel, there was no way a reader could know details the author had simply omitted.
After racking his brain for a while, Kaon decided the wisest approach was to ask a local.
Around sunset, on the Lampas Plain.
Because this was a cold region, the harvest had ended long ago, leaving the farmland stark and desolate.
They set up camp there.
Then Kaon immediately summoned an administrator from Arkal Territory.
The man was not a senior retainer and had never shown any deep loyalty to Viscount Arkal, so Kaon had spared him.
From now on, though, Kaon planned to work him to the bone.
“You called for me!”
A middle-aged man entered the tent rubbing his palms together.
His instinct for survival was impressive.
“Sir Videlos?”
“The title ‘Sir’ is far too much for me, Your Highness. I am merely an administrative official, and I was never deeply involved in politics.”
Kaon gave a faint snort.
A deputy administrator who was not involved in politics?
Bullshit.
“Is that so? I was thinking of giving you an important position if you could explain in detail what Arkal Territory has that might make money. What a pity.”
“Ha ha! That happens to be exactly my area of expertise. Matters involving money are my specialty.”
Videlos changed his story as easily as flipping his hand over, but Kaon decided to let it slide generously.
“Tell me. What exactly did House Arkal have that allowed them to live in such luxury?”