Published at 1st of June 2020 8:30 pm

Chronicles 126: The Anti-Gallia Alliance

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“Tsk…if only those savages hadn’t moved…”

Curiu threw his goblet of wine down to the ground.

The reason that the retreat had resulted in great losses, was because King Rozel had rushed them.

King Rozel had clearly overreacted to the unusual movement of the Germanis people and the Gallia tribes from the north and east.

Curiu had no time to prepare and was forced to march right away.

Furthermore, these Gallians were always confident when they were winning, but became cowards the moment that the tide turned.

That was another reason that their losses were so high.

“Well, it is done. Of course, they would have made a move…that defeat was especially painful.”

A defeat of this magnitude had not occurred since the beginning.

And Rozel had many enemies.

“For now, not the Equus tribe, but the Alva people to the south… I’ve contacted the sorcerers that I had infiltrate the Aries and Lupus tribes. If they act, then Equus will have no choice but to draw back.”

If the Equus cavalry left, the allied forces would be weakened considerably.

That would definitely force them to retreat.

“Still, an Anti-Gallia Alliance, huh… How careless of them. Don’t they know that while they are preoccupied with us, the country of Rosyth will swallow them up?”

A short while earlier.

“So, we finally made it here…”

I was standing on top of a hill and looking down at the field.

A river was running from the west to the easy as if to cut the field in half.

This was the line that separated South and West Adernia.

It was the original border between the Rozel Kingdom and King DeMorgal’s country.

And by original, I meant that through a hundred years of fighting, the Rozel Kingdom had pushed down south, and so the borderline was moving down as well.

In other words, the allies were able to take back King DeMorgal’s old lands.

And it wasn’t only King DeMorgal’s lands.

Gillbed’s kingdom and Fardam’s kingdom had also succeeded in taking back their lands from the Rozel Kingdom.

So you could say that it was a great success.

Of course, it had all gone so well because of good luck.

It would not do to get overconfident.

“I didn’t expect things to go so well. But going even farther north will be…”

“I know. Letting things continue for much longer is impossible.”

I said, interrupting Raymond’s words.

Of course, there were some powerful families and officers who were insisting on continuing to go up north…

I could not let them sway me.

In fact, there were also soldiers who were starting to wish to return home. The Equus, including Muzio, was among them.

If we lose, everything will be for nothing.

And so the peace treaty should be made now.

…After all, I was starting to feel that we had won too much.

If the Rozel Kingdom said, ‘We won’t stop fighting until King Almis cries!!’ then I would cry.

That being said, compromising too much would cause people within and outside of the country to raise their voices in objection. The would say, ‘King Almis is worthless.’

Diplomacy was so troublesome.

“By the way, how many did we capture? Did you finish counting?”

“There are sixteen thousand. A great result. They can be sold or taken back. Well, I suppose many will be released after negotiations have been made.”

Sixteen thousand, huh…

Slaves were important to the labor force.

I wanted them for cultivating farmland.

However, taking too many could raise the probability of a revolt.

They were Gallians, after all…

What slave to population ratio would keep me out of trouble?

I heard that a third of the population in ancient Rome were slaves…

Now that I think about it, how large was the slave population in my own country?

Only free people were recorded in the family register.

It would take too much effort to record the number of slaves as well.

After all, slaves couldn’t pay taxes, so there was no point in counting them.

Perhaps I would have to do a large scale population census later on and find out.

It was necessary to have an accurate idea of your country’s power.

“I see that we were able to seize many weapons and provisions.”

“The provisions are plunder, so they should be returned to the country of King DeMorgal. But we can keep the weapons.”

What could be used were thrown into the weapon storage, and anything that couldn’t be used was crushed and remade into new weapons or farm equipment.

Iron was still very valuable.

Iron production would go up if there were blacksmiths and professionals among the slaves…

“Well, it’s almost time now. I’m the one that invited them. And so I cannot be late.”

And so I turned my back on the lands of the Rozel Kingdom.

I had to go and greet King Gillbed and King Fardam.

“I never would have thought that a middle power country in the north of South Adernia like ours would one day stand side by side with the three northern countries in a conference.”

The conference of Adernia kings was about to begin…

The conference started on a night with a full moon.

The giant moon glowed warmly over the great land.

Those who gathered underneath the moon were the four kings, each having ulterior motives.

This was to be the first international conference in history.

“Everyone, thank you for gathering here. Tonight…”

“Enough with the pleasantries, King Almis. We should get straight to the point.”

King Gillbed interrupted Almis’s words.

Among the four countries, it was King Gillbed’s country that was seen as the most powerful.

It seemed that he was not amused at the fact that a young king from an inferior country was managing the meeting.

“Hehe. The young are so impatient. If you rush so much, people might think that something is worrying you, King Gillbed.”

“You think too much, King Fardam.”

“Hehehe… It’s just my advice, as the oldest one here.”

King Fardam and King Gillbed glared at each other.

It was clear that these two countries did not get along.

While both were at war with the Rozel Kingdom, they also had petty fights with each other.

As neither were very advanced when it came to the centralization of power, they needed war in order to make the noble families within the country obey them.

Carlo watched with a troubled expression.

Officially, Carlo wasn’t the king of DeMorgal, but as he had all the power of one, he was participating in this conference.

King Gillbed is right. Now, let’s get straight to business.”

Almis continued the conference without getting angry.

“First is the reconciliation with the kingdom of Rozel. All four countries will do this at the same time. As for the terms, that depends on every countries contribution… Are we in agreement?”

“No objections.”

They all said, and so it was decided.

Currently, the reason that they had the advantage over the Rozel Kingdom was because all four countries were cooperating.

If just one of the four countries pulled out, then they wouldn’t be able to handle the Rozel Kingdom anymore.

And so none of them wanted a country to leave.

And among the alliance, the one that was most likely to leave was King Rosyth’s country.

After all, they were the only country whose borders were not connected to the Rozel Kingdom.

“Also, I suggest that we create an Anti-Gallia Alliance while confronting the Rozel Kingdom.”

“Very good, King Almis!! My country is in agreement!!”

The person who immediately agreed was Carlo.

For a country like DeMorgal, whose power had been reduced greatly, an alliance where they were all equal was too good to be true.

“…”

“…”

It was King Gillbed and King Fardam who looked less enthusiastic.

The reason was simple.

They did not like each other.

They understood the necessity of an alliance.

They knew it would be an advantage to them.

However, they did not like the other person.

There was a deep-rooted problem regarding their country’s borders.

If they formed an alliance, there was no chance that they could take back their lands through fighting.

In order to face a strong enemy, they had to forget the past.

Of course, that was not something they could accept.

Furthermore, they did not like that King Rosyth would be taking leadership.

King Rosyth’s country was the only one whose borders weren’t connected to the Rozel Kingdom.

And yet he would be leading the alliance.

After thinking about it for a while, they magnanimously said, ‘we’ll help you’…

As they were proud of the size of their countries, neither was very happy about the decision.

That being said, history had already proven that if each country acted on their own, they would not be able to resist the Rozel Kingdom.

Furthermore, it was also true that the power of King Rosyth’s country was also necessary.

And so both King Gillbed and King Fardam would work to create the alliance.

Ultimately, it was decided that in the areas where there was trouble regarding borders, they would set up military blank areas and agree to not invade them.

In other words, the matter was postponed.

What was dangerous about this, was that both sides felt that they had ‘compromised on the issue.’

It was clear that it would start again in the near future.

The alliance would last for three years.

And once every year, they would open a conference and listen to each other’s opinions.

As for the specific contents…

All four countries would sign a nonaggression pact.

If one of the four countries was invaded, the others would send reinforcements.

Every country would support King DeMorgal in the rebuilding of his country.

Those were the terms.

As for the scale of the reinforcements that were to be sent, it depended on the scale of the enemy army…etcetera. There were parts of the pact that were worded vaguely.

But if it was too clear, it would result in instances where you had to prioritize other countries over your own.

Everyone just cared about themselves.

And so every country would go at their own pace.

It was at least a lot better than before when everyone was dragging the other down.

After that, there was a more light-hearted conversation, and the conference ended successfully.

And now, we return to the present.

“The Anti-Gallia Alliance, huh? It must have been suggested by King Almis. After all, he will benefit the most from it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s simple. That is the one country that doesn’t share a border with us. They aren’t all helping each other. They are helping him. The other three countries. The alliance has no benefit for King Rosyth. That’s why the other three countries will try harder to keep him in.”

In other words, that increases the power of King Rosyth’s country.

So he was essentially the leader of the Anti-Gallia Alliance.

“Huh… That young man clearly put a lot of thought into this.”

Curiu sounded impressed.

Curiu had seen Almis as a young king of action.

But now, schemer was added to that evaluation.

“Really? It’s quite obvious to me. Well, even if it is obvious, the other countries had no choice but to join. I will commend him for insuring that. But that’s how much they fear the Rozel Kingdom.”

Mari shrugged her shoulders.

King Rosyth’s country was the first among those of Adernia to push the Rozel Kingdom this far.

Without King Rosyth’s country, they could not have stood up against such a strong foe as Rozel.

This war had proven this to every other country.

“What is even more advantageous to the Rosyth country, is the nonaggression pact. As long as they have that, the three countries will not be able to apply sanctions to their military activity.”

“I see… Gillbed and Fardam will be so busy dealing with us, that they won’t be able to expand to the south. DeMorgal’s country is also connected to our border, and there are no other countries they can invade in the area. On the other hand, King Rosyth’s country is…”

There were many small countries in the south.

They could invade them as much as they wanted.

And since their borders weren’t connected to the Rozel Kingdom, they could dedicate their entire force to these invasions.

Of course, the Belvedere, Eville, and Zoldias Kingdoms also existed…

Belvedere and Eville were partly dependant on the Rosyth Kingdom, and the Zoldias Kingdom did not have enough power to go against them.

King Rosyth was going to use this alliance to expand their territory.

“That being said…haa…the reason for this recent defeat… At least sixty percent is because of me. And I would say the other forty percent is because of you?”

“Personally, I would put eighty percent of the blame on you, but it was me who led the armies…”

Mari and Curiu had dark expressions.

What kind of insults would be waiting for them when they returned…?

It made them sick to think about it.

“The problem is this peace. If we are forceful and say that we will continue this war until we take back our lands, we might be able to push through…”

“It’s King Rozel… He’s adamant that we hurry with this reconciliation. Considering how little time we have, we can’t really grumble too much. We have to compromise…”

They both sighed deeply.

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