208 – War is Diplomacy (3)
I am now the plenipotentiary ambassador who came to Sweden on behalf of the Emperor of the Reich Empire.
The person in front of me is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs, representing the King of Sweden.
In this case, since the Minister of Foreign Affairs has a higher rank and is dozens of years older than me, it would not be diplomatic disrespect for me to speak in a slightly more casual tone.
So, in this case, you use a tone like ‘Do it’ in a casual way without being rude.
Just looking at him, he looks like he’s about 30 to 40 years older than me, and his rank is Minister of Foreign Affairs, so in military terms, he’s treated like a captain or higher.
To be honest, I feel burdened by people using honorifics toward me as if I were a subordinate.
In fact, rather than feeling burdened, I felt strongly that he was declaring war that he would do his best even though he was dealing with ‘a brat like me’.
“It is an honor to meet His Excellency Brahe, a renowned diplomat from Sweden. “This is Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger, who has come to represent His Majesty the Reich Emperor.”
“I have heard through rumors that she is not yet 30 years old, but judging by her looks alone, I would believe her if she said she would graduate from the Academy next year. “He’s handsome, and he’s a sword master, so he must have good physical strength. Plus, he’s young, so I’m really jealous of him.”
“I am ashamed, Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
Foreign Minister Brahe started spewing out all kinds of flattering stories to try to make me feel as good as possible, and I accepted them half-heartedly.
“hahahaha, sorry. I happen to have a grandson who is exactly the age of a lieutenant general, so… Saddam has gone on for too long. “Then let’s start talking in earnest.”
After hearing that, I presented the negotiation draft I had written down in front of him and said,
“I ask you to agree to this pledge containing the contents of the end of the alliance with the Kingdom of Stockholm and the plan to occupy the northern part of the Imperial Territory. If so, we will pay you 200,000 gold in return. How is it?”
Although the first thing I asked for was 200,000 gold, His Majesty gave me the authority to pay up to 1.2 Million gold at my discretion, which is equivalent to 30% of the empire’s budget.
But the reason I asked for 200,000 gold was because I thought it would be good if I succeeded in forming an alliance at a low price because I would get the maximum effect with the minimum cost.
So, I gave it a try with the intention of just doing it randomly…
“200,000 Gold is definitely not a small amount of money. However, we cannot break our promise to the Kingdom of Stockholm just to that extent. No, even if you give me 1 million gold, I cannot accept that offer. “Do you intend to insult the honor of His Majesty the King?”
“I have no intention of doing so, Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, I will give a short explanation to help you understand my suggestion. Could you please listen to the end? “Just listen and then judge.”
“Please speak, but our kingdom will abide by its alliance with the Kingdom of Stockholm to the end.”
According to what I heard from Deputy Foreign Minister Wolfgang on my way here, everything diplomats say with confidence is either a lie or bullsh*t.
So don’t be nervous, explain calmly and you will be able to persuade me.
“As you know, Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this alliance is of no help to the Kingdom of Sweden.”
“The Kingdom of Stockholm said it would give us half of the northern region of the Reich Empire. Moreover, if you form an alliance with the Kingdom of Stockholm, there will be no need for wars between neighboring countries, so you can invest time in rebuilding the interior. “Isn’t this an alliance that is sufficiently beneficial to us?”
“That would be so if Stockholm keeps its promise, but you know very well that won’t happen, sir. “I would sooner convert a pagan sultan to Deusism than expect them to keep their word.”
If you make a promise and do not keep it, there is a country that will sanction you in the name of the law, so people try to keep their promises even if it means some harm to themselves.
However, on the Europa continent, there is no organization at all to mediate disputes and determine right and wrong between countries, so it is common sense that if they think it is more advantageous to not keep a promise than to keep it, they immediately betray and betray their allies.
As proof, when the François Republic was excommunicated in the past, we burned all of the weapons worth 50,000 gold and other debts owed to the merchants headquartered in François.
This is because they thought it would be beneficial to break their promises to the top companies and not repay their debts if the legal grounds for making a claim disappeared.
Brahe was still calm after hearing my words, but spoke with anger in his voice.
“So are you saying that His Majesty the King of Sweden is a puppet being tricked and used by the evil Stockholm guys? “If you make such an insult, it will be difficult for you to leave alive, no matter how much you came as a representative of His Majesty the Reich Empire.”
At the same time as he said those words, Brahe gave a signal, and the two knights guarding the door suddenly approached me and pointed their swords at my throat, wondering if they were trying to threaten me or really kill me.
Although I have the title of Sword Master, I am bare handed now, and the situation of two well-trained knights holding swords to my neck, aimed at only me, was frankly terrifying.
However, if he showed signs of fear here, he would be disqualified as an officer, so he acted as calm as possible.
“Are you trying to show me the high level of military power of the knights, sir? “Please put down the knife.”
“If you apologize for that ridiculous bullsh*t, I’ll take it down.”
“Could you please listen to my story a little more? “I have come to tell you a story that will be helpful to both Sweden and the Reich Empire.”
Brahe must have thought it was worth listening to me a little more, so he sent a signal with his hand and had the knights withdraw their swords.
“Let me ask you something first. If you had decided to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Stockholm and attack the North, you would have been sharing detailed information about the situation in the North. Have you heard the story that about two months ago, a man named Ishtaven, who had been in secret with Stockholm, defected to Stockholm with 40 tribes that followed him?”
At those words, Brahe’s expression was not one of anger, nor was he positive, but he had not heard anything and had no idea, so only now did he look surprised.
If you were a diplomat, you would be able to make facial expressions like this even after waking up and not washing your face, but when I saw him, I could see some agitation in his eyes.
I guess I really didn’t know.
“It’s an obvious story that doesn’t even need to be told, but Ishtaven led 40 tribes into exile without a full-scale battle between the Reich Empire and the Kingdom of Stockholm taking place. “Because I have perfectly organized the chaotic state of the North.”
If another minister or general of the Reich Empire had said this, the old foreign minister in front of me would have doubted the truth of what I said until he confirmed it with his subordinates.
If you think about common sense, if as many as 40 tribes out of the 170 or so tribes in the North were to leave in an instant, then about 1/4 of the population and livestock of the entire North would have disappeared, creating all sorts of vacuums.
The remaining guys have no choice but to fight day and night over this.
However, I am a Khan Slayer with a position second only to the Emperor in the North.
So, I used my reputation as Khan Slayer to personally warn them that I would kill them if they fought for the place they left, and they all got along well.
It is a bit problematic that among the chieftains, there is often a guy who says his daughter is pretty and offers to give her as a concubine, and tries to secure her.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell our ally Sweden this important information. Then you probably don’t know this information. After killing Khan, I took over as commander of the Northern Army and began serving normally in the Northern Indian Imperial Army. In other words, the people living in the North now are completely different from the opportunists that His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs knew. “If you entered the North without knowing that information, you would have been seriously injured.”
Brahe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, listened to my story and nodded his head in response.
“All the circumstantial evidence is perfect. Now, we will actively listen to your story.”
“I will tell you honestly. There won’t be much to be gained by trying our northern territory in Sweden now. Because the evil Stockholm bastards will try to take away half of the northern territory that Sweden took over according to the alliance treaty, out of the northern territory that was obtained by joining forces with the Kingdom of Sweden. Then, later on, the two countries will go to war to gain hegemony in the north, and wouldn’t the Kingdom of Sweden be at a disadvantage as it has a smaller population and has fewer soldiers? So, the Stockholm bastards who planned this scheme must be punished even now.”
“What if it’s punishment? “What are you going to do?”
I smiled brightly at those words.
“There is a saying I learned back when I was a commoner, and it was that a person who tries to hit someone in the back of the head should be prepared to be decapitated by the other person’s sword. “The King of Stockholm insulted His Majesty the King of Sweden, so wouldn’t it be the duty of a subject to serve the King to make him pay 100 or 1,000 times the price?”