"Respected His Highness Grand Duke
"No need for such formalities, Young Master Saelingham. We are old acquaintances, so there's no need for pleasantries between us. I have always admired your talents. It is a pity that the Battle of Romani Cape caused me a great deal of trouble, and after that you simply left without a word. I deeply regretted not having the chance to meet you. I believe that if I could keep you by my side, you would surely be able to help me shore up my blind spots, and incidents like that escape would never happen again. What do you think, Young Master?" Lorist said with a smile.
"Your Highness flatters me," Young Master Saelingham replied without batting an eye. "During the Battle of Romani Cape, Saelingham exhausted every possible measure, but it was all to no avail. In the end, I had no choice but to flee in haste. The truth is that after years of war, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce has been bled dry of both wealth and strength, and we simply could not raise the ransom for Saelingham's release. To avoid such an embarrassing situation, I had no choice but to slip away. And it was Grand Duke Norton's magnanimity in not dispatching his elite troops to pursue that gave Saelingham a way out. For that, I owe Your Highness my thanks."
"Heh heh, you really do have a way with words, Saelingham," Lorist chuckled with an amused smile. "Alright, let's get down to business. Saelingham, what I want to know is whether the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce has any interest in breaking free from the Commerce League's control and establishing itself as an independent kingdom."
"Your Highness, to speak frankly, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce has indeed considered independence before. But the problem is that although we are counted among the Commerce League's Seven Giants, the lifeblood of our economy has always been controlled by the League. Your family should know that the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce is primarily engaged in maritime shipping and overseas trade. Yet at present, your family's Northern Sea Fleet has forced us to the point where we cannot launch a single sail onto the sea. Overland trade routes are largely in the Commerce League's hands as well. As for goods and merchandise, all of it is procured and assembled through the various chambers of commerce within the League. Without our fleet, we have no way to purchase goods or assemble shipments. We can only sit and eat through our reserves, trapped in impoverished territory. So regarding Your Highness's proposal, though the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce is willing in heart, we are powerless to act." Young Master Saelingham began to lay on the complaints.
Lorist turned toward
Young Master Saelingham's face darkened. "Your Highness, what are you two doing?"
Lorist replied with nonchalant ease. "Nothing, Young Master Saelingham. Baron Shrade and I made a wager over you. The Baron was certain you would agree to my suggestion that the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce break free from the Commerce League and declare independence as a kingdom, but that you would also pile on a great many conditions. I, on the other hand, was confident that you would decline my proposal in the most roundabout way possible. You see—I won."
"Uh..." Young Master Saelingham was rendered speechless. In any other circumstance, such behavior from someone else would have been an outright insult. But before Lorist, he had no grounds to lose his temper. The Qigeda Chamber of Commerce and he were in the weaker position—he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Lorist tossed the gold coin in his hand a few times and caught it, before finally tossing it back to Fatty. "Young Master Saelingham, let's stop playing games and lay everything out on the table. In truth, the bet between Baron Shrade and myself should go to him. The moment you appeared in
You're a smart man. You should be able to see that the Commerce League's situation has been going from bad to worse. Otherwise, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce's armed forces wouldn't have ambushed the newly established Vizia Chamber of Commerce's territory and seized large quantities of craftsmen and production materials on their way back from the front. You should understand what such actions mean for the Commerce League — it's outright betrayal. That is why your Chamber responded positively to my proposal.
To us of the Norton Family, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce has been a claw extended by the Commerce League, an enemy. We still remember how your Chamber once contacted pirates active along the Golden Coastline, causing devastating losses to our family. We were forced to impose a naval blockade on your Chamber's territory, not a single sail allowed to put to sea. But now, we are willing to give your Chamber a chance to correct its mistakes. It's simple — break away from the Commerce League and establish yourselves as an independent kingdom. That should hold great appeal for you.
I'm not trying to make things difficult for you, Young Master Saelingham. I'm simply not interested in haggling. If the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce doesn't want to break away from the Commerce League, then I'm sorry, but the Norton Family will continue to regard your Chamber as an enemy. After all, between us and the Commerce League, someone has to win and someone has to lose, don't you think? We have repeatedly proposed peace negotiations and signing an armistice to restore peace. But the Commerce League has been trampling on our goodwill at every turn. It's like a greedy stray dog, staring and drooling over meat that doesn't belong to it.
So until we thoroughly crush the Commerce League's ambitious appetite, I've abandoned any notion of negotiating peace with them. We will be taking further military action against them. Young Master Saelingham, you are a clever man. If you'd like to get ashore before the sinking ship of the Commerce League goes under, I think it would be best for us to be straightforward with each other. Your Chamber can list whatever demands you have — as long as they're not excessive, we'd be more than happy to see the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce become an independent kingdom in the south-central part of the continent."
The young man bowed deeply. "Your Highness the Grand Duke, as you've said, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce does indeed very much wish to break away from the Commerce League and become independent. In truth, the wars against your family and the Andinak Kingdom have already exhausted the reserve resources of every chamber within the Commerce League. But under pressure from several of the larger chambers, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce had no choice but to continue participating in this war.
We've long wanted to cease hostilities and negotiate an end to this pointless and costly war, but our voices are small and nobody is willing to take our opinions seriously. They even blamed the total annihilation of the Invincible Fleet squarely on our Chamber, ignoring the fact that our own armed fleet suffered equally devastating losses. They forced us to rally pirates to attack your family's merchant convoys and compelled us to conscript troops and collect grain for the Commerce League across several southern provinces.
We've had enough of the Commerce League's oppression and pressure. Particularly after we lost our armed naval fleet and our maritime trade was cut off, our Chamber's standing within the Commerce League plummeted. We've been ordered about like slaves. When we received Your Highness's proposal, it was like rain after a long drought — our hearts were filled with elation. However, since we once stood against your family and caused considerable losses, many among us harbor reservations.
My coming to Morant City to seek an audience with Your Highness represents the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce's desire to reach a mutual understanding with your family, as well as to formally respond to Your Highness's proposal. We, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce, are very willing to break away from the Commerce League and become independent. But because our Chamber's strength is modest, we fear it will be very difficult to withstand the Commerce League's counterattack on our territory after we declare independence. That is why we hope to receive your family's assistance, to ensure that we will not be attacked from all sides once we are independent..."
Lorist nodded with satisfaction. "Now that's more like it, Young Master Saelingham. Since your Chamber has the will to become independent, our family is willing to help you achieve your goal. Rest assured, the conditions I promised in my letter were not empty words. Here's what we'll do — discuss the specific terms and requirements with Baron Shrade. As long as they're not excessive, the Norton Family would be more than willing to reach a reconciliation with your Chamber and help you gain your independence."
Two days later, Fatty brought a document to meet Lorist: "Your Highness, this is the agreement we reached with Young Master Saelingham."
After placing the document in front of Lorist, Fatty sighed deeply. "Your Highness, in truth, the Qigeda Chamber of Commerce not only had long harbored desires for independence, but their ambitions were quite considerable as well."
"What's that?" Lorist asked.
Fatty walked over to the map hanging on the wall and pointed to the regions surrounding the Qigeda Chamber's territory. "Look here, Your Highness. The Qigeda Chamber doesn't just want independence for its original territory; on the contrary, it also wants to seize these two surrounding regions. These were originally territories of the Lord Loud Duchy and the Inkshelon Kingdom, now five provinces of the Commerce League. The Qigeda Chamber plans to take these two regions, so after becoming the Qigeda Kingdom, it would possess territory spanning seven provinces, making it a considerable nation in the central-southern part of the continent."
"I asked Young Master Saelingham why the Qigeda Chamber was so determined to take these two regions. He self-righteously argued that the Qigeda Chamber's territory was the former Ulubaha Grand Duchy, always known for its high mountains, dense forests, and barren fields. If they could seize these five provinces from the Commerce League, the Qigeda Kingdom wouldn't have to worry about famine problems after gaining independence. I could only agree he had a point and tacitly accept that the independent Qigeda Kingdom would control these two regions and five provinces..."
Lorist burst into hearty laughter. "Having ambition is a good thing! If the Qigeda Chamber only sought independence within its own territory, I would despise it. The surrounding lands are all Commerce League territory. What business is it of our family how many provinces it wants to occupy? The more provinces it takes, the greater the blow to the Commerce League. As long as it has the ability to seize and hold them, those become its kingdom's lands. But from what I can see now, the Qigeda Chamber still has a sense of proportion—it only asked for these two regions and five provinces."
Fatty complained resentfully, "Your Highness, I still can't understand why you are helping the Qigeda Chamber break away from the Commerce League to achieve independent kingdom status. In truth, the Qigeda Chamber is our family's enemy; it caused us great losses. Now not only can we not retaliate, but we also have to reach an understanding with it and even help it become a kingdom. To be honest, this feels terrible."
"I understand how you feel, Shrade," Lorist sighed as well. "But I have no choice, even being a Sword Saint. Look at the map and you'll understand—the Qigeda Chamber and Morant City are separated by thousands of miles, on the other side of the Iron Taini Mountains. Its territory, just as Young Master Saelingham claimed, has high mountains, dense forests, and barren fields. We cannot dispatch our family's armed legions to conquer it; that is not a price our family can afford."
"And the words Young Master Saelingham didn't say aloud—we should be well aware of them. You've seen the intelligence Tager submitted regarding the Qigeda Chamber's territory. It was originally the Ulubaha Grand Duchy, where most of the residents were impoverished and of a fierce, untamed character. In the past, besides serving as soldiers rented out by the Ulubaha Grand Duke to fight for money, their only other option was to go to sea as pirates and freebooters. A saying among the private ship owners—that seventy percent of the pirates along the Golden Coast hailed from the Ulubaha Grand Duchy—illustrates this point perfectly."
"And now, because of the increase in private ship owners, the Golden Sea Route has become lively again, giving those pirates even more opportunities. Just in the second half of last year, seventeen private ship owners were raided by pirates, and six of them died at the pirates' hands.
Our family's fleet now controls the Golden Coast of the Sunlight Sea, but if we want to become the dominant power in the southern seas, we must crack down on the increasingly rampant pirate activity and protect the merchant ships and maritime trade along the Golden Sea Route. Although our family has imposed a naval blockade on the Qigeda Chamber's territory, forbidding any sail from touching the water, do you think that blockade is truly effective? Our fleet cannot remain stationed in the Qigeda Chamber's waters forever.
So we need the Qigeda Chamber's cooperation to effectively eliminate the pirates — that's one aspect. The other is that, relative to the Commerce Alliance, the Qigeda Chamber is a card we can play. Helping them break away from the Commerce Alliance and become independent would deliver a fatal blow to the Alliance. Just like a row of neatly arranged dominoes, the Qigeda Chamber is the first one to be pushed over — it will bring earth-shaking change to the Commerce Alliance."
Fatty nodded helplessly. "Your Highness, so this is what you once called choosing the lesser of two evils — the enemy of my enemy is my ally. Fine, don't worry about my hesitation anymore. Look at the documents; I've ticked off everything I can agree to. It's just that I can't commit to guaranteeing their independence from the Storm Sword Saint's threats..."
"That's fine. I'll write a letter for them to deliver to the Storm Sword Saint. I believe the old man will do me a favor and guarantee he won't threaten their chamber on behalf of the Commerce Alliance," Lorist said.
Fatty continued his report. "As for the remaining conditions — allowing them to reorganize their merchant fleet for maritime trade, and coming to Morant City to set up trading houses for procurement — I've required that they must comply with our family's regulations and the Free Alliance's laws. Young Master Saelingham has agreed to all of it. Furthermore, regarding the sale of goods produced in our family's territory, I followed the same terms we established with the Mermaid Commerce of the Qigeda Kingdom and only granted them exclusive sales rights within their own kingdom's territory.
There is one more thing. Young Master Saelingham has requested that our family's forces must deliver another devastating blow to the Commerce Alliance before they will declare their independence. His concern is that our family might go back on our word — he fears that once they announce their independence, they'll become a target drawing the Commerce Alliance's forces, while our family's armies sit still and watch the Alliance amass a great army to launch an assault on them. So Young Master Saelingham is willing to stay and personally witness our family's forces launch a new campaign against the Commerce Alliance."
"Fine, no problem. It's only natural for them to worry about us screwing them over — after all, we haven't reached a stage of mutual trust yet. Let Saelingham stay then. In two days, the commanders of each legion will arrive. Once the military conference is held, we'll launch our operation against the Commerce Alliance," Lorist said.
...