The Wise King’s Scheme

View of Harukurea-El-Moris-Lumoria, 17th King of the Lumoria Kingdom — self-proclaimed Wise King

At present, our Lumoria Kingdom had come under attack from an unidentified force.

When had the first report arrived…? If I recalled correctly, an express courier had been sent by the viscount of Yōntsu Territory.

At first, it had been a baffling report—that a few hundred men, scarcely even worth calling an army, had suddenly appeared inside the territory… but in my view, it had simply been a band of thieves or brigands that had grown in scale.

Still, Viscount Karmos-Fivro-Yōntsu and Viscount Assen were beyond pathetic. The next message reported that the armies led by both viscounts had been annihilated.

To lose to nothing more than a rabble of bandits… this was exactly why those old nobles who only had names were not to be trusted.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

The door to the royal office opened, and the Count of Harekukku entered.

“Oh, Sarnare. You were already here.”

I called the Count of Harekukku by name with warmth. Such small accumulations were what elevated vassals into loyal retainers.

“Yes! I am Sarnare-Rubaras-Harekukku. I heard that Your Majesty yourself would muster the army, and I could not sit still. I left the defense of my lands to my son and hurried here at once.”

“Haha, most reassuring. Still, perhaps we have gathered too many troops for nothing more than a rabble of bandits.”

“A rabble of bandits…?”

“Yes. The report sent from Yōntsu Territory stated they were an army of some so-called nation, but that was likely a deception to hide their own blunder, was it not?”

“I see—exactly the sort of trick those old nobles, possessed by vanity, would resort to. As expected of Your Majesty; I am in awe of your keen insight that makes nothing of their vile tactics.”

The Count of Harekukku lowered his head as he said so.

“Mm. However, even if the army was led by incompetent old nobles, we cannot leave bandits who slaughtered fifteen hundred soldiers roaming free within the kingdom.”

“Indeed… and for them to appear in Yōntsu Territory, that must be because the lord there was incompetent.”

“Regarding that, I am seized by shame that perhaps it was because my response was too slow. If I had decided sooner to entrust Yōntsu Territory’s administration to you, Sarnare, we could have prevented this situation.”

I propped my elbow on the desk and covered my eyes with my right hand. Seeing my apparent anguish, the Count of Harekukku twisted his face in frustration.

Naturally, I observed him closely through the gaps between my fingers.

Even if he was a comrade who shared my cause, I was the king. I had to keep a firm grasp on my subordinates’ state.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. If I had noticed Yōntsu Territory’s situation sooner, I would not have burdened you with such worries…”

“No, it is not your fault… after all, we should purge those incompetent old nobles. The two viscounts of Yōntsu and Assen have likely already died in battle, yes? I intended to entrust Yōntsu Territory to you before long, but shall you oversee Assen Territory as well?”

“Assen Territory as well? For a county, it may become somewhat too vast…”

“Hmm, true—it would become the largest holding among the existing counts’ houses… then let us grant it under the pretext of a reward for this battle.”

“Is that acceptable? For something like subjugating mere bandits, to receive such a…”

Hmph… true. Calling it a war merit sounded fine, but if the opponent was no more than bandits…

“No, they are not bandits. According to the last information sent by the late Viscount Karmos-Fivro-Yōntsu, the enemy force claims to be a national army of some kind. And it was strong enough to crush the allied armies of two territories. Is it not natural to prepare an appropriate reward?”

When I said that and gave a sly smile, the Count of Harekukku nodded with a solemn expression.

“Indeed, as Your Majesty says. The enemy force is not to be underestimated… an opponent that caused the heads of two houses to fall in battle. To avenge them… and then have those who joined the war inherit their will and govern the territories—one could say that is the natural course.”

“Precisely, yes?”

Only then did the Count of Harekukku relax his expression.

“This will further strip power from the old nobles and bring Your Majesty’s reign closer to unshakable stability.”

“A lamentable affair. Those incompetent old nobles throw their weight around simply because their houses are old, and they criticize everything I do. Just the other day, when I tried to apply a new tax rate to my direct domains, they pulled strings in various ways and blocked it. Why must I need their approval to decide the tax rate of the king’s own lands? Where do they get the right to meddle!”

When I displayed my indignation, the Count of Harekukku’s face twisted in deep frustration.

“How impious…!? Forgive us, Your Majesty! If we new nobles had been at the royal castle, we would never have permitted such arrogance!”

“How pathetic… I am. A king, and yet I cannot even restrain my own vassals.”

“That is not true, Your Majesty! …Those old nobles may have nothing but history, but that history is formidable. Their long-held privileges have granted them wealth. To oppose them, we too must obtain power of our own.”

“And that power… means wealth, does it not? I tried to raise tax rates to obtain it, but… hmm. Then it is only natural that they refused.”

Indeed, those crafty wretches would never overlook power gathering in my hands…

Though I bore the title of Wise King… I was not, like the common masses, skilled in the art of making money.

Hmm… I see. Then let the common masses earn it.

I could order the purveyors to make money and bring it to me.

I was about to command the Count of Harekukku to do so, but a fraction of a moment earlier, he offered a proposal.

“I have one excellent plan. If it goes well, we can obtain wealth and expand our faction at the same time.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

“Yes! The strengths of the old nobles are the wealth accumulated over many years, the connections that put it to use, and a cunning that protects only their own interests. Our strengths, by contrast, are our concern for the people suffering under the old nobles’ tyranny—and the rare, acclaimed wise ruler of this era: Your Majesty, Harukurea-El-Moris-Lumoria.”

“Indeed, our strengths are as you say, Sarnare. But that alone is insufficient to overwhelm them. What scheme could surpass their advantages…?”

No, wait…?

Should I not deduce Sarnare’s strategy myself—no, even surpass it? That was what a king should do, was it not?

But how many long years had Sarnare spent to craft this scheme…? If I surpassed it here and now, it would leave my loyal vassal with no dignity.

Very well. I would spare him and quietly hear his plan.

“Yes. We will sell noble ranks to the common townsfolk.”

“Sell noble ranks? What do you mean?”

“I will explain. In the Lumoria Kingdom, noble ranks are duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, and regular knight. Among these, only barons and above have hereditary succession rights. What I have targeted is the rank of regular knight—nobles who, despite being nobles, have no right of inheritance: a non-hereditary, single-generation nobility. We will use that system.”

“You will sell the rank of regular knight for money?”

“No. Regular knight is indeed the only way for a commoner to become a noble, but in wartime, a regular knight is obligated to go to the front. Few would want to pay money for that.”

“They do not understand the honor of fighting for the kingdom… lamentable.”

“What matters to a knight is loyalty and martial strength. For townsfolk who do not know war, it would be too heavy a burden.”

Indeed. A knight soaked in money could not protect the kingdom or the king…

“However, we can use the single-generation nobility system. We will grant nobles of count rank and above the authority to appoint two types of single-generation nobles: honorary barons and honorary viscounts.”

“Hmm… single-generation nobility. But increasing nobles arbitrarily…”

Would that not diminish the quality of the truly noble?

“Yes. That is why we limit the numbers—for example, each count will have authority to appoint two honorary barons and one honorary viscount. And we will not grant these honorary nobles any political rights. The kingdom will merely recognize their status as nobles—nothing more.”

“I see… if so, there is no problem?”

Our kingdom had one ducal house, two marquis houses, and four count houses… If each house made three to five appointments, would that be acceptable? And if they had no political rights, they would not even count as numbers in governance.

“So you will sell those honorary ranks to townsfolk. But within our faction—including you—we have only two count houses. Everyone with higher rank is an old noble… in sheer numbers, the other side has an overwhelming advantage.”

By my calculation, the old nobles would unquestionably gain more profit.

“Yes. In numbers, we are at a disadvantage. But Your Majesty… with Your Majesty’s power, it is possible to overturn that disadvantage.”

If I was involved, numbers did not matter… meaning, those appointed by old nobles would be drawn into my faction by the splendor of my authority.

I see… we would seize what the old nobles recruited to strengthen their own side.

One concern was whether those recruited by incompetent old nobles would actually be useful… but no, if I led them, it would be fine. Even incompetence had its uses.

“…Well done, Sarnare. Indeed, my existence would overturn our disadvantage.”

“Your Majesty’s keen insight is as expected—you understood without my saying everything.”

The Count of Harekukku bowed with a smile and continued.

“As Your Majesty understands, these honorary ranks are no more than provisional titles. Yet provisional or not, a title is still a title. By elevating them, Your Majesty can guide them into becoming true nobles.”

…What did he mean? For now, I would nod and urge him onward.

“…Mm.”

“We will elevate commoners—mostly merchants in this case—as nobles in name only, and thus obtain their wealth. Merchants are greedy; they will not be satisfied with a provisional title, and they will certainly aim for true noble status. Among them are those with wealth that would make even nobles swallow hard. Using that wealth, they will insolently petition Your Majesty to make them real nobles. Our faction has only two counts, so the number of honorary appointments we can make is small… but it requires no imagination to foresee that even the honorary nobles appointed by the old-noble faction will flock to Your Majesty, bringing their wealth with them.”

I see… so that was the scheme. As expected of Sarnare—an excellent plan.

It would give the old nobles some power as well, but ultimately it created a flow in which wealth gathered at my feet.

“And we take it one step further. For those appointed by the old nobles, we will do nothing but squeeze their wealth—and we will not elevate them.”

“Oh…?”

Huh? I had thought we could elevate anyone who offered wealth… but there was more?

“We will elevate only the honorary nobles who belong to our camp. If, for example, Your Majesty elevates an honorary baron I appointed and grants them a baron’s rank, then one of my honorary-baron slots becomes vacant. In this plan, the appointment authority is limited by number of persons, not by number of times. Naturally, if an appointed honorary baron is elevated, an opening appears among the honorary barons I can appoint.”

“So that’s it… If I elevate them, the count can appoint a new honorary noble… and that person will again come before me and petition to be elevated into a true noble. It creates a system where we can obtain wealth endlessly, and at the same time, increase the number of people in our faction who possess political rights.”

“Precisely as Your Majesty sees. Even if they are lower nobles beneath the viscount level, numbers and wealth are power. It will take time, but we can surely gain enough strength to overwhelm the old nobles.”

“A splendid scheme, Sarnare. You have truly produced something from nothing.”

“You are too kind.”

“The day I elevate Sarnare may not be far off.”

When I murmured those words, the Count of Harekukku’s eyes moistened as if moved.

Rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing was a king’s duty. If I did not reward a count who achieved so much with such talent, I would deserve to be branded a foolish ruler.

“We cannot spend time on a fight against bandits… no, against some unknown nation. We must quickly assemble our troops and end this war.”

“Just so.”

“…Very well. In this battle, I myself will lead the army.”

“W-what!? Please wait, Your Majesty! Your person is sacred! For Your Majesty himself to direct operations against such lowly soldiers—”

“It is fine, Sarnare… no, Count of Harekukku. With the king’s authority, we will bring this war to an end. Considering what comes next, it will also help elevate my prestige.”

From the day I took the throne until now, I had never led an army. It would not be a bad idea to display my strength in war here.

Though only as a pastime, I had also dabbled in books on military strategy.

It was unfortunate that, against a mere rabble of bandits, there might be no chance to show it off.

“B-but…”

“Hmph… think of it as sightseeing. Besides, Sarnare—you will stand on the battlefield as well, will you not? With you and me standing side by side, what cause for concern could there be?”

“Th-that is… understood. I would like to learn at Your Majesty’s side in this holy war that will make your authority known.”

“Mm. Learn well.”

Then it was decided. We had to finish organizing the army quickly… War had its thrills, but more than that, we were busy for the kingdom’s future.

“…This may be my last indulgence.”

I murmured softly as I turned my eyes toward the window outside.