Ch 6; Gamble (3)
Reorganization; reshuffle; restructure; all that word points to one single meaning, a bloody purge.
And by no means such radical cards should be used hastily or without sufficient plans. However, time waits for no one. I have no choice but to move rapidly without finishing the compulsory preparation precisely because I have no time.
"Your Majesty, the canaries are chirping."
"...so fast?"
Two weeks after the first assembly, three days after Ministry of Interior agents monitor the subversive element talking about breaking out and forming their own nation, the agents already ring the bell about suspicious activity.
Coincidentally, it was the time when the reply finally came from the Empire and the scheduled second assembly happened at the same time.
Thus, I've had no choice but to re-arrange my initial plan.
I really don't like how the second button had to be haphazardly buttoned, but it can't be helped.
Originally, after solving the grain issue I would brew the propaganda for a while. Spreading my achievement far and wide, consolidating a good image to further solidify my base. After my image has been imprinted to citizens, only then I drew my sword from its scabbard and restructuring.
But like I said, this sudden escalation left me with no time to spare.
This is just my hunch, but there must be a reason why those separatist could move so fast. It is either they had already planned this long ago, or there's a third party involved. Who? The Empire? Nope. They're too busy quenching the fire on two fronts.
And even if they do support the separatist movement, there's no purpose. At least, not that I think of. It won't be in line with their intention of crowning me. However, if it's really the Empire, the only logical assumption is that there's two different operatives headed by different commands.
If that's the case, then I would extend the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to their bones even if they had to stretch thin. But like I said, such a giant like the Empire won't make that amateur mistake.
The only remaining candidate is the neighboring country. Whether surface information suggests they had the capability or not, I believe the probability of them colluding with those separatist reaches as high as 99%. I merely lack definitive proof.
Only, there's too many candidates to highlight. After all, the alliance back then housed over 10 nations; in which half of them had the same size and capability as back-then Vedora Kingdom.
Thus, I've had to improvise, and the method I choose is 'shock'.
Moving so fast and sudden so they would be paralyzed and won't be able to properly respond.
It is also the perfect chance to see who's truly genuine offering their leash and who's just pretending.
"Y-Your Majesty!!"
"Please reconsider!"
"Restructuring at this point in time, is too hasty. We haven't been able to quell chaos from economic and grain devastation, thus restructuring the state in this time is not wise. It will only cause more chaos and the state could be paralyzed."
That being said, I understand the opposition's reasoning. I know it well.
Even after getting grain injection from the Empire, the government workload would not decrease but increase instead. There is much to do, and in essence, rushing to purge dissent like this could bring negative effects. The most obvious one would be the loss of personnel.
Well, what can I say? If I leave the separatist alone and they steal a chunk of our land with them in this precarious situation, we'll be as good as dead. I have to avoid that scenario at all costs.
In this critical standpoint, it would be a natural move to accept the six mobs that are willingly bowing their heads. But,
"Wise, Your Majesty. Great leaders always prioritize their own internal before caring about the external."
"As expected of the true royal lineage, your wisdom has no equal."
It is not easy.
There are those that use excessive flattery as their survival tactic. Separating those guys entirely is not a choice. Half of those ass-kissers are the six individuals dying to save their own lives by aligning themself with me. Had I cut them all the same length, other potential allies would re-think their choice, and the schemer I cut would be negligible in comparison.
But who am I? An expert in human resources. With years of experience managing people from top to bottom, distinguishing between true and false in a human's face has been my specialty.
Besides, I've never intended to catch all the rats in this short time. There's a plan.
"Now, now. I'm not calling you all here to make a fuss—for once, I inform you all of a good news. Gentleman, rejoice. In two days, I will set the table for a negotiation with the Empire's side, as they have positively answered my request for grains enough to cover our lacking numbers."
I'm not as foolish as to forget the primary duty, burning the whole house just to catch a mice. So, first and foremost, I need to quickly quell this damn grain problem.
"And for this, I'll create a special bureau to oversee the grain distribution for each region. I already picked the key personnel, so rather than wasting our time for the remaining personnel distribution, wrote a letter of recommendation later and sent it to me. Next agenda."
By now, they must've realized. Arbitrarily dropping a plan to reorganize, sowing desperation among my potential supporters, and a lightning fast response to normalize the economy.
I'm consolidating my power too quickly. And not just merely the minority of traditional loyalists from Ministry of Interior, but also the Empire's sympathizers are gradually coming to my embrace. Not to mention the other six nobles betting their lives on me.
Two out of two dukes, two out of three marquises, one out of four counties, and a baron. And I've already gained much popularity amongst the citizens thanks to the Empire stirring the pot and handing it to me rent-free.
The separatist, and other dissent elements were cornered, and they knew that.
But, as long as I play my cards right, they won't know I'm slowly choking them from all sides. Can't let them go too desperate, after all. Or they'll bite. Until all the preparation is in place, it's best for them to be wary but harbor hope. That way, they became easy-to-read.
Betting their chance to one single move to break through. What I need to do is simple. Just crush them with overwhelming force from all sides.
Until then, I won't provoke them too hard.
"To quickly normalize the economy from recession, aside from injecting a massive amount of grain from the Empire, we need to cut our internal losses too, don't we? Then, there's only one answer; reorganization."
In corporate terms, this would be an M&A. Quite literally. And why do corporations do M&A? To cut losses, and to maximize profit.
My reorganization had the same intentions. After all, there are a total of 10 ministries in this small country. Too many.
Some, like the Ministry of War, are even straight up useless when there's no war. And you would think they would contribute to anything that doesn't involve war. Ah, no, instead of contributing, they're the biggest money pit. Does it even make sense for them to open up another sub-division each year?
And the monarchs before me just granted it!
Anyway, as with every M&A session, a heated debate about how useful they're immediately erupted within the meeting hall.
"To be honest, our ministry could do what that ministry does without having separate entities. They're just relics from the old regime."
"W-Wha—how dare you?! Your ministry can't even be self-sufficient without supplementing with another ministry!! And what, talking about taking care of our specialized duty?? Huh?!"
"That is that and this is this! In the first place, it was because we had to take care of your portion that the bureaucracy became completely messed up!! You donkeys are so incompetent even a child of five could tell!!"
"What!!! You dare!!"
Of course, not all arguments are about logical reasoning and gentlemanly persuading your opponents to yield. Most of it is just blunt, harsh rhetoric intended to bait the opponent into verbal blunders. But when everyone was burning in emotion, no one cared about blunders.
Totally understandable, really. After all, no one wants to have their position cut. And clever ones know that I'm painting a devious picture, while in the total dark of its details. But they knew their lifeline is directly tied with their ministerial seat. Of course, no matter how much they wailed, I've already had my own hit list. There may be a little change about its structure, but in the end, those I've targeted will still be in the gutter.
But they didn't know that, right? Right. So.
Shall we begin?
