Reincarnated as an Emperor ~ Will the Emperor at Birth Survive?

Chapter 26: There are Snakes in the Bushes Even if You Don’t Poke Them

The punitive force sent to the Theanabe Union has been destroyed. 

This news filled the palace with confusion. Rumour had it that they had sent nearly three times as many troops but they were destroyed. 

And most of the lords had returned to their own fiefs to strengthen their defences. My surveillance has become more relaxed thanks to this. 

However, that didnt mean that the factional strife has lessened, rather, it intensified. 

A lot of blame was being placed on each faction for this defeat. 

The Regent and George V have become annoying. I dont care who was to blame.

To sum up the arguments from both sides: 

Rauls army was farther back than planned when Aquicurls army arrived at the frontlines. 

Then, the Aquicurl Army was attacked by the rapidly advancing enemy and retreated, but they didnt inform the Raul army about this. 

Therefore, the advancing Raul army was attacked and defeated. The Aquicurls supplies were also plundered. 

After that, the reorganised Aquicurl army was attacked again and destroyed. The Raul Army, which was slowed down because of their plundering, caught up to the Aquicurl army and was destroyed. This seemed to be the general flow of the expedition. 

Are they idiots?

Both Lord Raul and Lord Aquicurl left their main forces to defend their fiefs and only dispatched mercenaries. 

Theyre stupid. If they had won like that then all was well, but losing while preserving your main force Well, only heroes can lose like that with pride. 

The Theanabe Union showed no sign of wanting to invade the Empire, so there was no use fighting about this. 

The problem is the counterintelligence situation in the palace. 

Ive been instructed by Count Palatine to report to you.

Normally, Count Palatine would give me his report directly, but Timona will be giving me his report today. 

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Count Palatine has decided that Timona can be trusted. 

Hm, thanks.

Hah. First of all, Count Palatine has been aware of the foreign spies in the palace for a long time. And as it turns out its impossible to eradicate them.

Hmm, so theres a lot of them. 

But I learnt two shocking facts from Timona. 

Lord Raul is connected to the Aplada Kingdom and Lord Aquicurl is connected to the Republic of Ghafur.

The Aplada Kingdom was a nation bordering the southwest of the Empire, and they had acquired a vast amount of land from the Empire just before I was born (from the Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies political rival), and the Republic of Ghafur Oh, come on, youre a fucking traitor.

Is there not much time till their ruin? Its really strenuous to restore an Empire after you escape from the imperial capital.

Hmm? Wait. Those who are connected to other nations went together on a joint punitive? 

So, those two nations arent involved in this campaign?

Yes. Tomis Ashinaqui is the only nation that is helping the Theanabe Union.

So, Lord Raul, Lord Aquicurl and the surrounding nations lost a battle that they thought the Imperial Army would win?

I have another report from Count Palatine. The people connected to the maid are the Golden Fleece. Count Palatine commented, Their reach extends further than I expected.

The Golden Fleece Association was the late Emperors go-to association during his reign, and they simply vanished after the late Emperor died Their representative, Ireel Fechner, is believed to be the ringleader behind the Theanabe Unions rebellion. 

That association is connected to Nadines maid? Nadine Or rather, Lord Warungs family are aristocrats from the southern part of the Empire, but the Theanabe Union is in the northwest part of the Empire. 

I see why Count Palatine ignored them. Normally, one would assume that they are connected to the southern nations since theyre a southern aristocratic family. Speed is important when it comes to information. The possibility of a connection between a southern aristocratic house and the Theanabe Union would be pushed aside.

But Nadine is in the capital right now. Its not surprising that the Theanabe Union would reach out to her

No, it is surprising. If someone is twisting information about me and passing it onto Lord Warung, then it would happen in his fief in the south. 

So, that maid is a member of the Golden Fleece or shes helping them?

No. According to the investigation, shes innocent, but the Warung House messenger who shes reporting to is a member of the Golden Fleece.

Hmm, and that persons background check?

The background check on them isnt completed but they were apparently born, raised and still live in Lord Warungs fief.

So, thats why he didnt think that they are connected to the Golden Fleece which means that the Golden Fleeces intelligence network extends throughout the Empire. 

The Golden Fleece is an association that not only outwitted the Empire, but also foreign nations where are they getting their funds? 

The important question was why the association helped the Theanabe Union gain independence. It must have cost them a lot of money to help the Theanabe Union become independent and defend them against the Imperial Army. 

But merchants take action to make money. Thus, it was safe to assume that the merchants are convinced that the profits generated from the independence of the Theanabe Union will exceed the funds they invested. 

Did Count Palatine say anything about the Golden Fleeces motive?

No, I think hes still investigating that.

Well, this isnt good. If traps are being set all over the Empire, then I would like to at least understand why they were set. 

Even so, in a world where capitalism hasnt spread, a large business association is on par with a nation The association is doing quite well even though they werent completely self-reliant. Theyre like an East Indian Company. 

Oh yeah. Thats it.

Say, is the Golden Fleece a shipping company?

Im not sure. But Im sure they have a department like that as well since theyre a large association. Transport is faster by sea than by land.

Oh, I see. The sea is the fastest way to travel until railroads and automobiles are invented. Thats the common sense of this world. I have to adapt properly. 

Did you realise something?

Timona asked emotionlessly. Well, he has gained Count Palatines trust, so I guess thats fine. 

The Golden Fleece is probably funded by the Intercontinental Trade. Everything would make a lot of sense if they are.

Why was the Golden Fleece the go-to merchants during the previous Emperors reign? There must have been a reason for this. If the Golden Fleece is trading with another continent, then they must have goods that arent found on this continent. That would have been more than enough reason for the late Emperor to use them exclusively. 

It would make sense that they have spies in Lord Warungs fief if they use ships. The dukedom itself doesnt face the sea, but the river that runs through the dukedom connects to the sea Incidentally, the capital also has a river that flows out to the sea. They definitely have spies here. 

It also answers the question of why they helped the Theanabe Union go independent. This continent. Which was also the birthplace of the Holy One Church, is located west of the Eastern Continent. 

The Theanabe Union is in the north-western part of the Empire. It has an ocean to the west. But until now, the seas of the Empire have been controlled by Lord Aquicurl.

He could intervene with the seas since he was in control of them. But they wouldnt stand a chance against the Empire if they wanted to take over a single port town, so they made a new nation that would do what they wanted.

That is the true reason for the independence of the Theanabe Union. That wasnt just a rebellion. It is the base of a global merchant organisation. Even if we succeed in defeating and reannexing the Theanabe Union, there will still be a second or third Theanabe Union as long as the Golden Fleece Association survives. 

Timona spoke while I was pondering

Are the profits really that enormous?

Is that what people of this world think? I see. So, Ireel Fechner, the representative of the Golden Fleece Association is someone who is thinking outside of the box. Brilliant enemies are annoying

Yeah. They could build a nation with those profits or even destroy it.

The Age of Discovery on Earth began with the quest for the unknown, thats why nations supported it. As a result, the immense wealth that came from it became property of the nation. 

In this world, however, it was the rediscovery of the known. Thats why the Golden Fleece Association has been able to amass enormous wealth on its own without the support of a nation. 

It would be even worse if they have a monopoly of this. Even Spain, the country where the sun never sets ^[1]el imperio donde nunca se pone el sol competed with Portugal, England, France and the Netherlands. If all that is monopolised by a single company then

Theyre monsters. If we dont do something about them now, then well never recover

Id like to get some information on the situation of the sea and the different continents to the west. 

Id like to get some information from the Belbe Kingdom but

Im not sure if I can ask Rosalia. Is it still too risky to trust her that much? 

Timona. I want to know more about the western continent and the current state of intercontinental trade. Tell Count Palatine that this is top priority. You can use Rosalia or Fabio if youre short on manpower. But be very careful if you rely on Rosalia.

I hope that we still have options