When Claude said that the royal family would no longer exist after this war, the atmosphere in the tent turned silent.
Blancarte smiled at Claude without saying a word. Eiblont looked back and forth between Claude and Blancarte. He wanted to say something but didn't know what to say.
Claude, on the other hand, stared at Blancarte's face and watched for any changes in his expression.
After some time, which seemed long and short at the same time, Eiblont felt like yelling at the top of his lungs. Blancarte finally put his empty cup on the table. "One more …"
It was like a balloon being pricked by a needle and all the air was leaking out. After Prime Minister Blancarte's words, there was no longer the tension and depression in the tent.
Claude silently opened the remaining bottle of fruit wine and slowly poured the clear, orange-yellow liquid into Blancarte's empty cup.
Blancarte raised his glass again and tasted it slowly. Claude didn't say a word and filled his own glass with fruit wine as well. Then, he placed the half-empty bottle in front of Eiblont and gestured for him to help himself.
General Eiblont did not pour the fruit wine into his empty glass. Instead, he grabbed the bottle and gulped it down in big mouthfuls.
This time, Blancarte didn't finish the wine. He only took a few sips before looking at Claude. "What do you think will happen to Aueras without the royal family?"
Claude shook his head. "I don't care about the consequences. Even if the kingdom becomes worse, it's none of my business.
By then, we'll all be back in the region and won't be able to care about what happens to the kingdom. "
"Actually, these things can be predicted."
Blancarte smiled. "First, the region's army will become invaders because you took over the royal capital and destroyed the royal family.
Then, all the noble factions of the kingdom will give up on their disputes and unite as one. They will rally the people to defend against the invaders from the autonomous region and the murder of the king and his wife, as well as the royal family.
From the heroes who defeated the Alliance Army and helped the kingdom unify the eastern region, you will become the traitors in the hearts of the people of the kingdom. You will be the culprits who will once again drag the kingdom into war and bloodshed.
Even if you can use your powerful forces to suppress the riots of the people of the Kingdom, you won't be able to stay in the eastern region for long.
Because you only have the military strength of two legions, there is no way you can control such a large area of the kingdom.
I can't imagine what kind of name or excuse you'll use to rule such a large kingdom after you've occupied the Royal Capital.
With just the Thundercrash and Monolith Corps, the only territory you can control is the kingdom itself, and you still have to deal with local rebellions.
Are you going to give up the Plains of Canas, Askilin, Rimodra, and Siddings?
If that was the case, what was the point of winning the second Eastern Regional War?
"Ever since the end of the first Eastern Regional War, Aueras hasn't had the time to recover.
"From the colonial war instigated by Shiks to the civil war between the two kings to the Debt War and the second Eastern Regional War, the people of the kingdom have had enough of war. They yearn for peace and tranquility and no one wants to continue fighting.
Therefore, His Majesty the King has maintained the greatest goodwill and tolerance towards your invasion of the Kingdom. He believes that the Autonomous Region will not destroy this hard-won peace. This is also why I, as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, am here to welcome your army.
"If you use a small misunderstanding as an excuse to start a war and destroy the peace of the kingdom, I believe the people of the kingdom will be disappointed and angry with the region and will rise up to resist.
Right now, the Royal Capital is a defenseless city to you.
"You can charge in and kill, rob, burn, rape, and rape.
Just like the crimes committed by the Alliance Army, you can do it again and let the people of the entire Royal City fall into a miserable world of water and fire again.
If this is your wish, then I congratulate you. You will soon be able to fulfill your wish. His Majesty, the ministers of the royal court, myself, and the citizens of the capital will all be at your disposal … "
"Ugh …" General Eiblont jumped out of his chair: "Prime Minister, the Thundercrash Corps is not the kingdom's enemy. Please do not say that we are the Alliance's army. The soldiers of the Thundercrash Corps would never do anything against the kingdom's citizens.
We are soldiers of the region, not criminals. "
Claude could only shake his head with a bitter smile and mourn for Eiblont's pitiful political intellect.
Couldn't he tell that Blancarte was trying to intimidate him? He was responding to Claude's threat that the royal family would cease to exist after the war.
"Since the royal capital is an undefended city, I believe we won't face any resistance when we enter the city tomorrow.
That's a good thing. I'm sure we'll be able to complete our mission quickly and escort the councilmen and the 30 million crowns back home. "Claude looked at Blancarte and raised his cup.
Claude raised his cup and said, "If our councilors and officers aren't harmed and the thirty million crowns are returned, I believe that the misunderstanding His Majesty mentioned in his letter is true.
Her Majesty is also thinking about the safety of the councilors and officers. That's why she moved them and the funds to the palace.
It's understandable if we make a small mistake, don't you think so, Mister Prime Minister? "
It was Blancarte's smile that turned bitter. He avoided Claude's gaze and gulped down the fruit wine in his cup. He forced a smile and said, "Actually, we were in a rush that night. The palace guards were in a rush to carry out Her Majesty's orders and didn't explain things to your people. As a result, there was a small conflict with your councilors and officers. A few of them were injured, but I can assure you that their lives aren't in danger."
Claude humphed coldly and placed his cup on the table. "Let's be honest about what happened that night. We know all the excuses you're using, so there's no need to bring it up.
All I want to know is how many of us are injured, how many of us are unharmed, and how many of us are still in your prison.
You can keep it to yourself, but we'll be able to find out the truth when we enter the city tomorrow. When that happens, don't blame us for taking revenge without warning.
You lied to us and hid the truth from us. "
"Lord Marshal, there's a saying in Freia that a subject shouldn't speak of the king's mistakes. I'm sure you've heard of it before," Blancarte said sincerely.
"It doesn't mean that a subject shouldn't speak of the king's mistakes to his face.
Instead, when the king made a mistake, as a subject, he shouldn't blame the king for making such a mistake. Instead, he should actively deal with the situation and try his best to reduce and eliminate the serious consequences caused by the king's mistake. This was the responsibility of a subject.
"You and I both know the cause of this. His Majesty's letter was indeed an excuse, but he had no other choice.
After all, the one at fault was the queen, his wife and the prince's mother. She was pregnant and couldn't afford to be agitated.
So, even though she made such a huge mistake, the king could only swallow his anger and clean up the mess for her.
It's just like any other family. Sometimes, a husband and wife will have conflicts and quarrels, but this time it's a little bigger than usual.
I know your region is dissatisfied with His Majesty's refusal to give you discounts and privileges, but what you don't understand is that it's not that His Majesty and I don't want to give you discounts and privileges. It's that we don't have a choice.
Do you know how many nobles from other kingdoms are adamantly against having your region enjoy the same treatment after they've obtained their hereditary lands?
For His Majesty and me, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, the pressure is really great. It wasn't easy for us to give you a discount and give you the same qualifications as the Overseas Autonomous Territories.
"From a certain point of view, the benefits that His Majesty and the national treasury have brought are great, to the point that many nobles are green with envy.
"Even after we've paid off all the military expenses and loans from the various noble families, there isn't much money left in the national treasury.
"My kingdom, which is in the midst of being abandoned, is unable to support the implementation of my kingdom's economic revitalization plan. So, we can only turn our attention to the wealthy overseas autonomous regions. I hope that the promotion fees and land selection fees from you will be able to solve this financial problem.
"Frankly speaking, this is the best time for the kingdom's revival. His Majesty used the bestowment to remove the restrictions that the old noble families had on the kingdom's economy, politics and military.
He removed a large number of the old noble families from the army and truly controlled the Red Dragon, Griffin and Praetorian Legions. There's no need to worry about a mutiny or any other chaos.
"The only thing we're lacking is a large sum of money to implement the kingdom's economic revitalization plan.
"But we didn't expect that the representatives and military representatives of the region felt that this was very unfair and refused to accept the hereditary lands. They displayed the huge sum of 30 million crowns in the plaza in front of the palace, causing a stir in the capital.
"While His Majesty and I, as the prime minister, are envious of that sum of money, we have no intention of using it.
It's just that Her Majesty the Queen was angry at your four representatives' rudeness towards her during the court meeting, and she also wanted to solve Her Majesty's problems and lack of funds, so she took the initiative to send the palace guards to your office in the capital and made a mistake … "
"Shut up!" Claude raised his hand to stop Eiblont from speaking. He was almost swayed by the prime minister's sincere words again. Claude was afraid that he would slap his chest and promise something in the heat of the moment.
Seeing Eiblont shut his mouth with an aggrieved expression, Claude turned to Blancarte. His gaze sharpened. "Prime Minister, as a soldier of the region, I would like to know how big of a mistake Her Majesty made that night. How much damage did the palace guards she sent cause to our councilors and officers?
"I don't want to know how much effort His Majesty spent on reviving the kingdom's economy, nor do I want to know how much the 30 million crowns we brought over will help the kingdom.
"The way I see it, it's very simple. Just as Henderman said during the royal court session, it's just a deal.
"Now that the price can't be agreed upon, the deal is off.
If it was a normal business transaction, if one party offered too high a price and the other party offered too low a price, both parties would have to part ways if they could not reach an agreement. This was a very normal situation. Both parties were willing, and neither party could blame the other.
"However, the one we're dealing with is His Majesty. Since we can't haggle, we feel that the price is too high and we can only give up on the deal.
"To show our sincerity, we even showed you the money we brought.
What we didn't expect was that you'd be so greedy as to capture our councilors and officers and rob us of the 30 million crowns we brought over. You even sealed off our office in the royal capital.
"Is that something a king and queen would do?
"If we didn't have a strong military, I believe our people would die in jail and you would be able to enjoy our money without any qualms.
"Mister Prime Minister, you spoke from the bottom of your heart and it sounded like we should forgive your mistakes, understand your difficulties and understand your helplessness.
"But after all that, you still haven't answered the question we care about the most.
Let's get straight to the point and talk about how to deal with this incident. How do you want to solve this problem?
"First, we want to know the current situation of our people. Whether they're dead or alive, Mister Prime Minister, you have to give us an explanation.
"Secondly, the money that belongs to us must be returned without a penny less. That's because it belongs to us.
"Thirdly, we want to know if Her Majesty will be punished for her wrongdoings and what kind of punishment she will receive.
"Lastly, does His Majesty have a compensation plan for us?"
Prime Minister Blancarte's smile could no longer be maintained. Claude didn't care about his words at all and only focused on the core issues. It made him feel uncomfortable.
But he had no choice. Since he was already prepared to welcome them, he couldn't avoid the most important questions.
"I'm sorry …" Blancarte lowered his head with his thick brown hair: "That day, the palace guards were ordered to go to your office in the capital. Their attitude was a bit rude and unreasonable, and they had a small conflict with your councilors and military officers.
Both sides used their weapons. Fortunately, it was stopped quickly and there were no major casualties.
Fortunately, only 47 of your councilors and nobility representatives were injured, and they have received the best treatment. Their lives are not in danger.
"As for the office staff and the guards, they weren't involved in the conflict because Marshal Bolonik stopped them. They were only disarmed and placed under house arrest in the barracks."
The corners of Claude's mouth slowly curled up into a mocking smile. "I don't understand, Prime Minister. Were our councilors and military officers injured in the conflict or were they injured after being captured and tortured?
We sent nearly a hundred representatives and half of them were injured. That doesn't fit with the small conflict you claimed, does it?
If they were injured in the conflict, even Marshal Bolonik wouldn't be able to stop the guards from retaliating. They would be considered derelict in their duties and be punished by military law.
It's only after they've been captured that so many councilors and high-ranking military officers' representatives would be injured, and the guards would be powerless to do anything about it … "
"Well, it's mainly because after your councilors and military representatives were arrested, they offended His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, so the palace guards angrily gave them some physical punishment, which resulted in so many injuries …" Prime Minister Blancarte explained awkwardly …
"Hehe …" Claude laughed coldly. "If we didn't send an eagle messenger to inform you that no one had the right to use the thirty million crowns without my, Bick's and my signature, I'm sure there would've been more than sixty hereditary nobles in the region by now. That money would've been used for their promotions and land selection fees, right?"
"That won't happen …" Blancarte tried his best to defend himself. "We do need that huge sum of money from you to implement the plan to revive the kingdom's economy, but His Majesty and I, as the prime minister, will not use your dominion's money without authorization.
Her Majesty the Queen has made a mistake, and His Majesty is doing his best to reduce its impact.
We don't want a war to break out because of this small mistake and ruin the kingdom's chance of reviving.
Even if we need money, we can borrow from you or take a loan. We won't use deceptive means to get the money. "
"Then how will you punish the Queen for her mistake?" Claude asked.
Blancarte opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he lowered his head in the end. "You know, Marshal Claude, the Queen is pregnant. This is her second child with His Majesty, so we can't blame or punish her."