CHAPTER 132: CONTINUATION OF ARDUOUS WORK AND THE ISSUE ZADKIEL

Finishing the first debacle that needed handling, Darius flipped to another lump of papers in his hand, and said, with traces of his previous poisonous grin still present on his lips "Additionally my liege, word has reached us that the southern Murathicus Tribes have begun warring against each other since a few months ago, completely ignoring the northern lands we occupied, at least for the time being."

Many of the ministers gasped, having heard of this for the first time, as Abellio, the minister of Agriculture, suddenly questioned in disbelief for this Gods given opportunity "Are you serious?"

"Do you think I would jest of such matters?" Darius replied light heartedly.

The ministers exploded into cheer, but I was still stuck in the throws of incredulity, knowing full well that the Murathicus Tribes were meant to be still in a state of slow simmering hostility, until finally they erupt in a devastating civil war decades from now, where in a single power would emerge from among them, uniting them all under a single banner. A banner that would later come to be hailed as the fifth great empire, a mighty nation that would be able stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of us.

And this worried me greatly.

I was obviously aware and prepared for my actions to change the course of history as I knew it, but such a drastic diversion was troubling, as I now feared the early birth of that troublesome foe.

"Did you have a hand in this?" I asked, turning to my Grand Vizier as a sneaking suspicion whispered in the back of my mind.

"Hardly at all, my liege. I just pulled a few meaningless strings, and the rest was done entirely by their own hands." He insipidly smiled.

Hearing his answer I lightly scoffed, knowingly saying in return, with a slightly humorous tone "Of course, you merely lit the spark while they were foolish enough to be drenched in oil."

He just chuckled in reply, saying no more. But the fleeting mirage of insidious hands tugging at invisible strings in his eyes, was more enlightening than a thousand spoken words, as we silently shared a knowing smile.

If there was one thing Darius and I appreciated most about each other, it was our mutual willingness to defeat our enemies before they are even our enemies. We trusted barely a few, and readied countermeasures for all; no matter how immoral and devious the strategy was in others eyes, we both were more than willing to shoulder the weight of the world’s hatred and aversion a hundred times over, if it meant the safeguarding of what is precious to us.

Both of our ideals were aligned, and we had no qualms how we secured it.

And it wasn’t as if I didn’t understand his reasons, as they were fairly justified, since with the southern tribes now locked in a possibly decades long war, neither did they reinforce their brethren in the north at the final, climactic confrontation at the Thiar River, which undoubtedly aided in Hamilcar’s stunning victory, even if slightly; nor will they think of retaliating against us any time soon, and we can take this time to slowly digest our winnings in this first invasion, before we begin the next.

So in all actuality it was not merely reasonable, but ingenious. He simply wasn’t aware of all the possible ramifications this could entail, like I was.

’Perhaps it’s time I share my secrets with him as well.’ I thought, hoping to avoid a similar situation in the future, where it might result in future problems, when suddenly the minister of commerce, Rhett, then rose from his seat and enthusiastically advised "I propose we send a letter to the Grand Marshal right away to lead the army further south, and claim more land for the empire while the enemies are still distracted."

"Aye!"

"I concur."

"Agreed!"

Many ministers quickly voiced their endorsement of the Commerce minister’s words, but Darius, my uncle and I shook our heads.

"That would not be wise." Darius sagely said.

His words reignited the old rivalry between him and Rhett, as he asked "How is it unwise? We can capitalize on this moment to further the interests of our empire while the enemy is preoccupied with themselves. If this is not the moment to strike, the when is?!"

Again many ministers agreed with his words, so I explained "Tell me, my lord Rhett. What would happen when two quarrelling brothers fight in their own home and then a third, unrelated man, suddenly barges in and strikes at them as well?"

Rhett grew quiet for a moment, imagining such a scenario among himself and his own siblings, before grimly answering "They would cease their pointless bickering, at least for the moment, and deal with the intruder first and foremost."

"Exactly." I nodded, before my uncle continued "Besides our hold over our new territories is not yet stable, as evident by the fact that in lord Hamilcar’s last report, he mentions how he’s fragmented most of his armies into small detachments to quickly weed out the remnants of resistance. Starting a war when our back is undefended is a decision as foolish as it is short sighted."

The ministers grew quiet at his harsh, yet honest words; ashamed they let their greed blind their reason.

"Anything else to report Grand Vizier?" I then asked, seeing that the earlier commotion had been handled.

"Yes, sire... But I believe it would be best to wait until the end of the council meeting to address it. And preferably alone." He spoke with his usual confidence, but there was a trace of hesitation tinged in his voice, as if he couldn’t quite find the words he wanted to speak.

His uncharacteristic hesitancy marred my face with a frown, but I accepted his words none the less, as I looked at the other ministers to begin their own reports.

Rhett, the minister of commerce was the next to speak, and he mostly described the damage the war had caused our supply and trade routes, as well as the preventative measures he employed this time to deal with the influx of opportunistic merchants, who doubled and tripled the price of their wares the instant the war began. He also submitted an outline for helpful laws and possible protocols that could be implemented in the inevitable future we are faced with such a situation again.

He then also regretfully, but completely understandably, announced that this year’s trade revenue would be lower than the last, an outcome that couldn’t be helped. Though he did finish his words in an optimistic tone, as he assured us that by next year we will not only return to previous profits, but will easily eclipse them.

The next to then stand was Ashtad, the minister of justice, who mostly complained about the rapidly growing territory and the subsequent shortage of competent judges and trained lawyers to preside over it all, as he then stressed the need for next year’s judge quota to be at least doubled, as well as his wish for the construction of new law schools in the newly conquered Murathicus lands.

Both of which I readily agreed upon, even though they were slightly expensive, since the salary of such men and women was not low, nor was the cost of building the schools that were specialized for them.

After Ashtad stood Abellio, the minister of agriculture, and his report was the most amusing, as the man practically begged for the empire to cease it’s staggering rate of new wars, as they could not afford it anymore, especially with last year’s Agricultural Reforms still needing time to show their merit, so he again and again stressed the need for a moment’s respite, so that they could at least refill the cities granaries, in case an emergency were to occur.

He also hoped for a large increase in his ministry’s budget, sitting the need for far more agricultural officers to properly manage the new lands.

I again agreed with his proposals, after he assured me that the empire would still be able to supply the southern forces with ease, especially after the addition of the new fertile Murathicus lands.

On and on the meeting continued, with more and more proposals and issues seemingly arising with each uttered sentence, and even with the empire’s brightest minds gathered in the same room, it still took us from sunrise till well past sunset to finalize all we must today.

The ministers, finally relieved to be done for today, all rose from their seats, stretching their limbs lazily, as they began to make their way out after a slight bow. But all of them took a second inquisitive glance behind them, as they all still remembered Darius’ odd actions earlier, wondering what sort of clandestine words would these hallowed halls be privy to.

Once they were all gone, with the exception of my uncle, I looked at Darius and yawningly asked "Alright then Grand Vizier... what sort of trouble demands such a reaction from you."

Yet instead of answering me, he only kept starring quietly at my uncle, the meaning of his gaze obvious and chilling at the same time.

’What sort of crisis calls upon such a need for secrecy and discretion from him, that he would even mistrust my uncle with such knowledge.’ I thought in alarm, as my uncle calmly understood the unspoken intention of Darius’ eyes, before calmly taking his leave as well, a good natured smile on his face, showing that he took none of it to heart, when Darius bowed to him in apology.

Yet the instant he closed the door behind him, I assertively demanded, my earlier fatigue and boredom now evicted from being "Speak."

Darius sighed "My liege, it’s about the traitor Zadkiel."