Herrmun-Madale River Crossing Incident

Content

* Herrmun-Madale
River Crossing Incident Vol. 1
{np} Fifty one days had passed since the death of King Zachariel.
He had died at the age of 51 and it was his son, Jeromel, who received the title of Lord. He now sat on the throne with his head in his hands.
Over twenty lords and the royal family congregated together at the palace to commiserate the passing. They were well aware of the dilemma the king was facing, but since no one wanted to be the first to bring up the topic, they waited in silence.
{np} It was Licsion, brother to the King, who finally spoke.
[There is nothing more to say. We will command them to cease on the King's orders. If they do not listen, we may then use military force. Whoever you send, shall not be defeated. On your command, any one of us will go.]
{np} [But if this suggestion is followed, the peace we have had for 40 years will be broken. And in history, our king would be recorded as the one who was inaugurated and then went to war. He would be known as the king who was unable to keep the peace his ancestors had restored.]
{np} These words came from the next in line to the throne, the crown prince. Another member of the royal family spoke next.
[Let us use a royal order to evict them. If needed we can extend their territories. Rather than punishing them for insubordination, pursuing disciplinary action would be more justifiable.]
{np} Another member spoke.
[If we command them to cease their fighting and they do not listen, will they then listen to us as we command them to change their dominion? There is a high possibility that they will ignore us and we will have no choice but to mobilize the troops.
{np} The King will have no choice but to see this as a mutiny. This will also destroy the peace our previous kings have fought for since the founding of this Kingdom. This too will result in a revolt.]
{np} The first member to speak, spoke again.
[Who here does not know this? In any case, is there no better reason than this to use the army? And if a war begins, their lack of military strategy will be their downfall.
{np} Their troops may be greater, but they will not have the help of the wizards and the goddesses' priests. Those families may have confidence in their fighting abilities but they will ultimately be at a disadvantage.]
Although he spoke as such, his confidence did not match the tone of his words.
{np} The issue facing the nobles and the royal families was as follows.
The Herrmun Family and the Madale family were currently the two strongest nobilities in the Kingdom.
And as luck would have it, they shared neighboring territories.{np} Just like typical neighbors, they could not coexist in peace and, although during the 40-year reign of King Zachariel the two families did not publicly show their displeasure, it was inevitable that their hostility would erupt into conflict.
{np} As the ruling power of the Kingdom was passing hands for the second time, the pressure placed upon the noble families was lessened, thus giving the two ambitious families an opportunity they could not overlook.
{np} It was not in defiance of the Kingdom, but thinking that there would be no other opportunity before them, they took action. Thus believing that if a result could be determined, then the royal family would have no choice to but accept.
{np} And as both families were headed by those who felt confident in their military prowess, they believed that this was the only way forward.
{np} On one hand, in the early days ascension disputes were settled with the Kingdom's military, but if the new King's ascension to power was indeed disputed the moment the previous King had passed away, this displeasure would have been known.
There was not one person who wanted to go against the royal family nor who sided with the feuding nobles.
{np} As such, they would not receive help from the priests and the wizards thus, objectively, it would result in a win for the throne. However, the two families' boasting of military prowess is not an overstatement.
{np} In any case, one side would win and one would lose. If the king's army was to appear, the two noble families would deal with these soldiers first. If this was the case and they advanced even one step the situation could become uncontrollable.
{np} The royal family's authority to rule would be questioned as the army would be criticized for its weakness. If news spread to the nobles who swear allegiance to the throne the foundation of the Kingdom would be shaken.
{np} However, thanks to the goddesses the unified Kingdom would remain and the priests, through the goddesses, would keep the Kingdom safe. But the royal presence would be but a memory as nobles from all regions chose to do as they like. And the royal name would be ignored as the country falls into chaos.
{np} There were no instances in history that could be referenced, but King Jeromel and those who were gathered here knew that the foundation of the Kingdom was not on the monarch but on a change lead forth by the second monarch.
Again, a silence lingered until finally, Duke Greeo, the eldest of the nobles who gathered here, spoke.
{np} [From what I know, currently the Royal Army has 24,000 troops. And when the previous King had checked, the total number of troops that could be mobilized in the case of an emergency was estimated at 170,000. If you choose to limit the number of guards in each city, you will be able to mobilize more.
{np} If the Duke of Herrmun mobilizes his troops, they will be about 12,000 strong. Duke Madale would be 8,000. Therefore, together about 20,000 troops. If both sides slander their fortunes and hire the maximum amount of mercenaries while also mobilizing another nobles' of whom they are close with, the total could be doubled to 40,000.]
[Why are you suddenly doing such calculations?]
{np} [If we use 24,000 troops from the king's army against these 40,000 troops we will be using military force, but if we only send 4,000 it would not appear as such. This will not be enough to stop a war or to take disciplinary action. But, it is more than enough to be used as escorts for a representative of the royal family.]
{np} A silence followed after Greeo's words and King Jeromel was the first to break it.
[If the rank of this representative is high enough that would be an acceptable amount of troops. For example, if it was a king, correct?] His brother, Licsion, shared a thought.
{np} [But we are not saying that Your Majesty should be the one to go. But if these troops did not escort a king, then it would be excessive.]
The first to speak of such an idea, Duke Greeo, spoke again.
{np} [This is why the crown prince must be the one to go. With this we can properly assess the situation while also showing that we take such issues seriously and present a dignified appearance.]
Licsion heard this and was quick to reply.
{np} [This would be a good chance to bestow onto the crown prince His Majesty's title. He would then be Jeromel II.
Like this, we can take care of things under the king's title.
{np} By the authority of the king, he will receive this title and complete the work set before him.
This will also secure the next line of succession.]
{np} Another member of the family spoke.
[Sending the crown prince with an imperial authority will carry more weight. Like this, he can address the situation directly and deal with whatever problems that may occur. I see no problem with this.
{np} However, I'm curious as to how Duke Greeo came to the conclusion of 4,000 troops. if your decision is not to appear strong, then why not 3,000 or why not more, such as 5,000? My intention is not to shine doubt on this, but rather for us to collectively discern the correct number of troops that we need to send.]
{np} And this, Duke Greeo replied.
[Because if necessary, we may need to use military force. 4,000 may not be able to repress the opposition, but they will easily be able to join together with other forces if necessary.
{np} I previously calculated that there would be 40,000 troops. But in truth, they may be less than that. If we take into account that our opponent cannot use priests or wizards, then in truth the number of troops could be two times less.]
{np} Now the question of where to get such troops could not be avoided.
But before it was raised, the Duke answered.
{np} [We will request troops from the Kingdom's noble families. I, of course, will be the first to gather my troops. Although we cannot predict how many will answer the call, I believe we can gather 40,000.
{np} 4,000 is one-tenth of 40,000, which is a decent number to go with the crown prince. And 40,000 will match the number of both sides' men. We will be able to defeat them with this amount and we can use the priests and wizards if the situation calls for it.
{np} The crown prince will try to persuade both sides and if that fails we can use military force. If it comes to this, it will not only be the royal family in attendance but all of the Kingdom's noble families as well. It will become a situation that justifies dispatching the soldiers.]
{np} King Jeromel opened his mouth to speak again.
[Not much time has passed since my ascension to the throne and already my title has been changed from Jeromel to Jeromel I. This is good. If none oppose this decision, it will be accepted.
{np} Operational plans and military decisions will be headed by the crown prince, while reports will be made to me.]
There was no one in the palace who opposed the decision and for the time being this was their response to the situation.