345: 276. Talks between Endo and Lionheart.

276. Talks between Endo and Lionheart.

Quill nodded and spoke, "Ok, I will use the special powers act so that the discussion is behind closed doors so that Private media don't get the wind of the news and create a ruckus before we sign anything. If Parliament is in agreement then even the media can't change the winds as decisions are already made."2

Taylor nodded and spoke, "Ok, I will make sure that the cabinet and ministers from other departments are prepared and understand the pros and cons of accepting this deal."

Taylor and Quill left John's office after discussing the minute details of the deal which was proposed by Plato.

****

General Endo was in the king's chambers sharing his experiences in Sky with Lionheart and Cecelia who looked with complicated looks.

Lionheart deeply looked at Endo and spoke, "Okay, tell me what are the differences that you noticed between Sky and Aelius? I want to understand the major differences which can create a bigger gap in the long run."

Endo had a complicated mood as he recalled his experiences. He sighed a bit and spoke, "To be honest, I don't know how to describe it. But I feel that Sky freeing the slaves is the first biggest difference currently and this can both be a boon and a con for them."

He continued, "The second difference is education which can revolutionize the country. John freeing the slaves and emphasizing the importance of education to the masses is connected. I can see that he had made a long-term plan to secede from Aelius because our values and his values didn't match and hence a conflict was inevitable if not now. He got that chance to seize power when Evan Fjord targeted his men and seized the support of everyone i.e. commoners and slaves alike. Businesses were conflicted but felt that tax concessions and retaliation from the State outweighed giving up on slaves. Ones with keen minds seized the opportunity and gave up their slaves gaining favorable conditions from Sky. So as a country, they are quite united. Plus the new bourgeoise class emerging greatly supports the state as it is quite liberal when it comes to capitalists. Supports in a sense that everyone can compete equally without fearing the class of competitor. They do have a lot of regulations when it comes to media."

"As far as the cons are concerned, without slaving they have increased costs of manufacturing, unlike Aelius where costs are reduced due to slave labor. But they have an advantage due to Technological prowess."

Lionheart thought of what Plato spoke earlier and nodded to Endo, "It seems both you and Plato have the same views when it comes to Sky. But he feels that Sky will be the biggest threat in the future and hence we should milk as much as we can currently and reduce conflicts so as to avoid mistakes and not give a handle to John for invasion. When it comes to Sally's marriage proposal I have the same thinking. It is just that I feel that the demonic Fire Abyss and the barbarian beast tribes will be the biggest threat. Especially the barbaric beast tribes if they are united."

"Currently the beast tribes are divided into multiple factions and we create conflict among them via various mechanisms such as favorable trade to weak, ambushes in the guise of the beasts and other things, and most importantly internal sabotage. Every beast tribe leader whether small or big is strong enough to be a top 5 general of Aelius and this is what worries me the most. And hence I want to understand how you will distribute military resources when combating the ones bordering us."

Cecelia thought as both Lionheart and Endo conversed, 'No wonder the family gave up on Hector. It looks like he made one heck of an enemy this around. I guess the family as well is benefitting a lot from resource trade in the north and hence the change in position lest they suffer losses in trade. The only thing I can do is support Hector subtly and force Sky to stop all investigations when it comes to the massacre of Greenwoods village. But from the looks, it seems that the geopolitical situation is serious for Aelius.'

Endo sighed and spoke, "Our current situation is passive because we opened up another front in the North against the newly established Sky. I would also go with Plato's policy when it comes to seeking peace with Sky as we truly don't know the full capabilities of the Sky. Knowing John, I reckon they don't have the power to fully compete against its adversaries and hence the show of peace. Plus they might not want to alert other countries. Plus watching the economic and human development of Sky, I think they will become the hegemon of this continent so his majesty's decision to marry off Sally and seek peace is right, or else the situation wouldn't have moved forward stretching our defenses. With the peace deal, we won't have to pour as many resources at the border and would be able to focus on Fire abyss and Beast tribes in the West and Bryndyll in the eastern seas. In fact, I have a proposal that may solve this particular situation but costs are high as well. Plus it may offend you as well, so I wonder if I should speak or not."

Lionheart nodded as he listened to Endo and pondered for a moment as he looked at Cecelia and spoke, "Go on, I won't mind."

"How about making Dolores an Autonomous region in the long term when Mendez gains power, here we will reduce military resources in the north but there is a risk of annexation by Sky when we are unaware plus we will have to give up on taxes if they become autonomous. It's a risky but worthy bet if we can gain a buffer in the long run."

Lionheart was stunned at first but controlled his expressions as he pondered and spoke, "Nah, not worthy bet, I talked with Plato previously on the same and it was concluded that risks are high plus geographically Dolores is important as a base in North against Sky and Fireabyss. So we are going to make Dolores a medium of trade and we expect a lot of taxes from that area. Plato has already started working on Dolores's political future. We will be making merchants our spies just like Sky just the thing is they are not trustworthy. Well, we can only imitate for now and do the games behind the scenes."

Lionheart sighed in his heart and thought, 'Anyone inheriting this throne will have a lot of trouble in his hands. This time Sky has bought something unknown that we haven't seen previously. I wonder if we will even remain a single entity after my departure. Wait, it is possible. It looks like John will still want moral superiority over us when invading and wait for my departure. So it looks like they will tone down on hector and bait him again to invade. It looks like, his plan is to fish in muddy waters.'

Lionheart had a look of realization as he thought, 'Maybe a buffer is possible or a fake buffer where we don't provide military resources to Dolores against Sky's side and still collect taxes. And from now on we will have to stabilize the internal situation between Princes but even I can't control them even if I want a status quo. Rather than keeping the status quo, I should rather let them fight it out within the rules of the game, or else they would anyway lose Aelius in the long run.'

Lionheart looked at Endo and spoke, "Your Plan might be feasible. but it will be a fake buffer and we can still collect taxes. The main army stationed there is to control the overall political situation in Dolores. While our army stationed there will be mobilized at the Fire-abyss border in parts i.e. they will be shifted over a period of 5 years. The only thing important to monitor is the overall political situation and Import-export trade conducted between Aelius and Sky via Dolores so that we can control smuggling."

Endo had a look of realization as he understood Lionheart's intent and spoke, "I will make sure to fulfill your order, your majesty. I guess I still can't retire after the shameful performance in the last war."

Cecelia laughed as she spoke, "What about your plans for Sky? I heard from Rona that you didn't want to leave Sky as the life there was great as compared to Aelius."

Endo scratched his back as he spoke, "Sister, I mean your majesty, I did have that thought as the life there was great and hence my evaluation that Sky will be one of the hegemons in the coming years if they play their cards correctly. I intended to spy there occasionally with the aim to enjoy Sky as much as possible and invest in profitable industries. Since they can invest here I hope to invest there as well and gain some profits."

Lionheart thought for a moment and spoke, "I think you spying there and investing in promising industries would be a better decision plus if I remove you from your post of General then I don't think anyone in Aelius will try to challenge my decisions and this includes both the Noble faction and Military faction. As for Dolores's situation, I can send General Leo's deputy to handle the political and internal matters. Unlike Leo, he is quite tuned when it comes to conspiracies and political matters so you shouldn't be worried. With you around, I hope that they would have their guard down if not it doesn't matter as you would anyway be enjoying your time there. So it would be hitting 2 birds with a single stone."

"With regards to investment in Sky, I will talk to Plato and according to our deal, I think our companies and individuals can invest in their country regardless of origin. So I don't think there should be any legal problems. This game of intrigue with Sky will be much more fun compared to the ones when we deal with others."

Endo was quite surprised when he heard Lionheart's decision, he spoke with a sigh of relief, "I guess I can make quite some gains this time around."

Cecelia meanwhile looked at Endo with a confused face and spoke, "Are you really ok with being disgraced for the sake of the overall picture? I guess not everyone in the military seeks face. Now I understand why even his Majesty agreed to let you be a lieutenant general of the forces when I asked you to be promoted. You have your uses unlike others and hence the promotion. No wonder his majesty was happy to oblige by my request. I guess Plato was involved in this plan for your promotion when he made the ruckus just so he can fool me and other nobles. Right?"

Lionheart looked the other way when he heard Cecelia's accusations neither agreeing nor denying the charges.

Lionheart smiled bitterly and thought, 'That's why I hate having meetings when Cecelia is involved but when it comes to her family I can't deny her rights. She even rightly guessed the person whom I consulted when she proposed to promote Endo a few years back.'

Knowing that the situation wasn't right, Endo greeted his farewell to his majesty and the Queen. Endo spoke as a quarrel was about to break out, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave now that we have finalized the future course of action. I will be joining Concubine Anna's entourage along with Plato when they finally leave. You should announce my resignation as the Naval General as soon as possible so that a capable one takes the position and also so that the discussions about me stop at the imperial court."

Endo took out his resignation letter which was already prepared and left.

Cecelia was quite surprised when she saw the resignation letter and thought, 'Looking at this resignation letter, this bloody bastard never had the intention to go back to the military after losing so miserably against Sky and also so that he can again live like a prodigal just like when he was in the teens. And now that I look at it he never liked it when it came to sword training or anything when it concerned military and just faked it in front of dad.'

Lionheart meanwhile thought, 'Why did this bastard have to leave now in front of this wild cat? And it seems that he never had the intention of coming back to the navy. Just like his old self where he never likes to take on hectic work. Initially, we promoted him due to his usability and survivability. Plus his cunningness in avoiding dangers but this time in this war he couldn't have done much due to the overall prowess of Sky's navy.'

Cecelia had an irritated face she heard of Concubine Anna when Endo left but controlled her anger as she understood the importance of Sally's marriage to John.

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