277 – Non-gong Merchant
Reich Imperial Palace, conference room.
According to custom, ministers such as the Minister of Military Affairs of the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Minister of Justice of the Ministry of Justice should come first and wait for the emperor long before the emperor comes.
It was a bit inefficient to invite busy ministers and make them wait for a long time until the emperor came, but it was not without reason.
It is of course not acceptable for a minister to appear at the conference hall later than the emperor, and it shows that the imperial ministers are ready to respond to the emperor’s call at any time. It is a kind of show of loyalty.
However, the newly crowned Emperor Michael von Reich broke that tradition and chose to enter the conference room at the same time as his ministers.
When seeing this, the ministers showed signs of surprise at the fact that they had broken the custom, but no one disliked it.
Rather than waiting in vain for reasons of custom, it was much better to finish official duties as quickly as possible and drink and have fun at a banquet hosted by the emperor.
“I, Michael von Reich, the 23rd Emperor of the Reich Empire, hereby solemnly swear to Deus that I will fairly deal with the merits and punishment of those who played a major role in the conquest of Warsaw. “Do you, my ministers, swear to Deus that you will not harbor any personal feelings or unclean thoughts?”
All the ministers answered in unison.
“Yes, Your Majesty. “I pledge to put aside personal thoughts and evaluate only the obvious facts.”
After the exchange of formal greetings, the servants of the imperial palace handed over documents summarizing the achievements of the generals who participated in this battle.
Once the pile of documents was placed in each person’s seat, everyone, including the emperor, began to quietly review the contents inside.
The Emperor and his ministers began reading today with the ambition to maintain their composure and deal with it with a resolute attitude, without being startled or embarrassed, in preparation for Peter Jaeger being ‘Peter Jaeger’ again.
That resolve was broken in just three minutes.
“Captain Jaeger has done something again. He fought against an enemy army that had 50,000 more troops than his own, and he slaughtered 60,000 enemy soldiers? “It’s unlikely that someone wrote 2 or 3 wrong.”
“Well, the naval battle in the Gryffino Sea is at a level where the imperial naval doctrine needs to be rewritten. Surrounding an island, surrounding an enemy fleet three times larger than their own, and recruiting local fishermen to attack them. “Is this a plan that a person could come up with?”
“97 Out of 120 enemy ships sunk? “What on earth did I do to get a criminal record like this?”
The emperor of the empire, Michael, looked down at them from a position slightly higher than that of his ministers, and continued to laugh quietly with the corners of his mouth touching his ears.
In his mind, he wanted to brag openly, saying, ‘Peter Yeager is a talent that I personally selected during my time as crown prince.’ However, if he took Count Jaeger’s side too much, there would be a backlash against him among the ministers. I had to endure it.
‘The Minister of Military Affairs said that even our Captain Jaeger could be defeated in this Battle of Gryfino, so he suggested that we should prepare to prevent him from being discharged from the army due to a single defeat. It was all in vain.’
More than 20,000 gold has already been spent on efforts to protect Peter Yeager’s position. He said it was all in vain.
However, for Michael, this victory strengthened his power base, and he felt so good that he did not even notice the 20,000 gold he lost as insurance money.
After the Emperor completed the process of roughly confirming the military merits of the 80 people eligible for general-level awards over the course of approximately two hours, the Prime Minister stood up and spoke.
“The strategic benefits the empire gained through this victory are as follows. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw lost the sea entirely, and the Reich Empire gained complete control of the southern Baltic Sea. “This southern region is a key point for trade with the northern continent of Europa and a place where huge amounts of herring can be caught, so the empire has gained economic benefits that are difficult to put into monetary terms.”
The monopoly on maritime trade with the countries of the Rus Federation, including the Kingdom of Stockholm located on the northern continent, did not actually amount to a lot of money compared to the size of the empire’s economy.
This is because the weather in the Kingdom of Stockholm and the Commonwealth of Rus was so cold that there were not many specialty products except furs and they were poor.
However, the Empire, which has now secured the entire Warsaw coastal area, has a complete monopoly on herring fishing, which is called the wheat of the sea, on the Europa continent. If distributed well, there will be enough food to support all the people living in the Reich Empire through herring fishing alone. It was like securing it.
In addition, the Prime Minister continued to mention the economic, military, and diplomatic significance of the victory in this war, and during the talk, the ministers applauded the tremendous achievement, but looked helpless.
‘f*ck, why can’t my son even keep up with that Jaeger?’
‘Before, I felt jealous of Jaeger, but now it’s okay.’
‘That bastard is the kind of guy who will eat one enemy for 40 years. In other words, even if my son and grandson die, I won’t have any enemies.’
After the explanation was over, the emperor, who was greatly impressed by Jaeger’s performance, clapped and said.
“As expected, it’s Captain Jaeger! He has never let me down once! Yes, Minister of Military Affairs. What does the Minister of Military Affairs think?”
“This is a great victory that will forever be remembered in history. I think it is right to reward generously. However, since he will no longer be promoted from the position of captain, how about giving him land and a reward?”
After hearing those words, the emperor was lost in thought.
‘Looking at the magnitude of Captain Jaeger’s achievements, if I were to overdo it even a little, I might be able to push him into becoming an enemy. However, since Captain Jaeger’s father-in-law, the Marquis Benner, is now in the position of Marshal, there is no need for him to be defeated. So this time, it’s time to slowly raise your status…’
“Although Count Peter Jaeger was an orphan and a commoner, he was not loyal to the empire for generations, but each and every one of his achievements was very great. So what would it be like to raise the title from count to marquess? “I think we need to adjust the reward accordingly.”
General Kaitel, who became the Minister of Military Affairs, did not express either agreement or opposition to the statement, and the other ministers began to discuss it while murmuring.
“Let’s be honest that you can reach the rank of earl with just one hit. But isn’t marquis the highest title that a nobleman who is nominally unrelated to the imperial family can attain?”
“Don’t you know that one of Count Jaeger’s wives told Princess Louise? Minister of Finance.”
“If you look at the magnitude of your achievements, it would be unfair not to raise him to the rank of marquis, Minister of Justice. Please think about the morale of other soldiers and that this will become a precedent.”
Michael continued to watch the discussion progress, and as time went by, a generally positive opinion was gathered about Captain Jaeger’s elevation to marquis.
In fact, raising a title is entirely within the emperor’s authority, and considering that Warsaw’s entire navy and army were destroyed and even a duchy was received, there was a high probability that those who opposed it would be labeled as just jealous malcontents. Am.
As opinions gathered, the Prime Minister collected their opinions and submitted them.
“There is a precedent for General Peter Jaeger being inaugurated as a brigadier general at the age of 25. I don’t think it’s necessary to bring up past examples given his accomplishments. “The ministers support Captain Peter Jaeger’s elevation to the marquisate.”
“I understand. Then, let me suggest the reward plan I came up with.”
After saying that, Michael took a moment to breathe and then exhaled.
“Count Peter von Jaeger’s title is elevated to marquis, and the county of Aarhus and the marquisates of Esbjerg and Odense are granted. In addition, he grants 200,000 gold in territory development funds and 120,000 gold in rewards.”
When Captain Peter Yeager had just acquired the North five years ago, it was almost like an unexplored wasteland, so he needed funds to develop the territory.
However, considering that the northern part of the country has now become a territory where people can make a living, there is no need to grant development funds separately, so it was like giving a huge reward in the name of territory development.
There were likely to be voices of opposition, but no one dared argue in front of a major who massacred over 100,000 enemy soldiers.
“In addition, I will bestow the title of baron on Laura von Vener, who commanded the fishing boats that served as bombers in the Battle of Gryfino and contributed greatly to the victory by leading the knights on the Plain of Glopino, and the Barony of Danzig and Barony of Jena. I will bestow. In addition, a promotion to brigadier general is ordered. “I grant the Viscounty of Leipzig and Viscounty of Flanders to Viscount Anastasia von Kergit.”
Then the emperor cleared his throat a few times and continued speaking.
“All the fishermen and their wives and children who played a major role in the Battle of Griffino are officially freed from serfdom. Only those who wish to do so are granted the right to be commissioned immediately after completing the minimum training as a naval petty officer or 20 gold. “Each person’s achievements are thoroughly reviewed, and appropriate ranks and awards are given separately according to the position held and performance.”
After that, the rice cake trade continued, and an order was given to all of the expeditionary force of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw to return home.