Enlightened Empire

Chapter 121 Power Struggle

Only a short while after Corco had left the familiar comfort of his own sales pitches, he had shifted gears. Gone was the merchant prince, arisen had the King of the South. From his elevated seat, the king looked down to the man who had requested this private audience. Normally, any interruption in the banquet’s formalities would be impossible. However, Corco would make an exception this time. After all, the man who sat before him was his cousin, and someone whose support would be invaluable.

"Thank you for meeting me here, King Corco," Mayu started. All the while, he sat in front of his cousin, unasked. Even though he was already seated, Corco still pointed towards the seat out of habit, before he began to observe the new Governor of the South from across his desk.

Rather than the noisy banquet hall, they had met in this private room meant for discussions. Around them, the windowless walls were decorated with nothing but a few loose-hanging drapes, as well as a privacy screen in the corner. The short partition made of carved cherry wood divided the room into a more casual seating area with low tables and lounges, as well as two chairs with a desk between them. For today’s meeting with his cousin, Corco had chosen to sit on the latter. This wouldn’t be a casual chat between family members.

"I hope I did not disturb your day, King Corco." Mayu smiled an unreadable smile. "I am sure you have had enough disturbances for today."

"So what is it you want here, Mayu?" Corco asked in a terse voice. Rather than sit here and exchange pleasantries, he would love to be out in the hall and make some more trade deals with the southern lords.

"Aah, I simply wished to meet in private," Mayu replied, somewhat too fast and too eager. "House Saqartu wishes to apologize for the rudeness towards King Corco back in Puscanacra, some two seasons ago. Back then, my father had only just passed on, which explains this lord’s inadequacies. I hope it will not change the relationship between Puscanacra and the imperial family."

Instead of a straight-up answer, Corco sat there and tapped his lip. The gears in his head turned hard and fast, while he tried his best to understand his cousin’s motives for his detached attempts at reconciliation.

"I don’t represent the imperial family, only myself. It’s not houses, or cities, that have relationships. It’s people. You understand that, right?"

"Of course, King Corco," Mayu answered, still unclear about his cousin’s meaning, as far as Corco could tell. "That is why I am here, to make sure that there is no deeper discomfort between the houses. Thus, this lord wishes to apologize."

"Yeah, so you said." With a sigh, the king picked up the bronze crown before him and began to roll it around on his desk. "You said it a few seconds ago, you said it when I visited your table earlier tonight and you said the exact same thing when you arrived in Saniya this morning. You’ve apologized enough. It’s not like anyone’s forcing you."

"My uncle would disagree, King Corco." At last, Mayu’s expression showed more than complete indifference as his lips curled downward in annoyance.

"Lord Ogulno won’t care if you keep apologizing, not to this extent. I’m sure the only reason he’s even acted like a stern teacher during your first apology was because he’s been asked to do so by your mother or our grandfather."

Again Mayu had returned to his calm expression. Without anything to work with, Corco continued on his own.

"I mean, the guy has already done his duty and he’d be damned if he ever does anything more than the required minimum to coast through life."

"Careful, King Corco. This lord will not accept any slander of his family members." Again, Mayu showed emotion, though Corco was sure that it was nothing more than fabricated.

"Urgh." Since Mayu seemed not interested in any serious discussion, Corco’s real feelings managed to slip from his mouth.

*Might as well,* he thought, and put his crown back on his head.

"You know, Governor Mayu, before I went into this room, I actually had some fun for the first time today. I could enjoy myself, meet some interesting people, have a drink together, have a laugh together. If you don’t tell me what you’re doing here right now, then you might want to excuse me if I’d rather go back to that instead of listening to your passive-aggressive attempts at stalling."

"King Corco intends to do more than simply drink with the lords, is that not the case?"

Intrigued, the king, already half out of his chair, sat back down.

"And what makes you think that?" he asked. In response, Mayu raised a finger.

"First of all, even back in Arguna, King Corco would not spend much time on other lords. Why would king do so now?"

"But back then, I had to worry about succession and about my father’s killers. So of course I wouldn’t have time to fool around," Corco held against.

"There is no reason to keep secrets, King Corco. We are allies after all. We will have to get along if we wish to keep the south peaceful. I have heard about King’s plans for the north-east of Medala: A large trade-network, centered on Porcero, to connect the estates and bring about peace. What an ambitious goal."

Despite the brat’s cocky smile, Corco wasn’t in the least bit impressed with his cousin’s deduction. At this point, he and his people were well into the implementation of their plans. Rather, Corco would have been surprised if the Governor of the South hadn’t known about their plans. So, without an attempt at denial, Corco looked back at Mayu and waited for the young lord to continue.

"Thus, I believe King Corco attempts to do the very same thing here, in the south. Only on a much grander scale."

"And what makes you believe that, Governor Mayu?" the king asked back, as a calm smile crept onto his face.

"To any careful observer, King Corco’s goals are obvious. All evening King Corco has spent with the southern lords, to praise the new goods produced or traded in Saniya. Clear glass, mechanical clocks, porcelain, brandy, soap, perfume... not to mention the fertilizer which has produced such an unnatural amount of food, as well as those new cannons every lord received an impressive demonstration of earlier today."

"An unfortunate misfire," Corco corrected, to minimal effect.

"No wonder King Corco has allowed the commoners onto the river islands. This way, secrets are far easier to protect." Mayu allowed himself another fake smile. "Since the duel between the Villcas, King Corco has gone around, quite the diligent host. Every lord that King has met with has been asked for goods from his estate. Lumber from the upstream Mayura, amber and whales from the southern coastal regions, livestock of all kinds from the rural lowlands, copper from Kapra. All kinds of raw materials, to move through the river streams, back to Saniya, to be turned into products, which will then once again be sold to the other lords. In this way, all paths will lead here, to Saniya, to make it the center of political power in the south. Is this the grand plan the king has created, to hold the south under his thumb?"

"You were listening in on my talks?" Still nonplussed and his voice still flat, Corco raised a single eyebrow together with his question.

"We are at a noble banquet. Any lord who fails to spy on the host failed to do his duty," Mayu replied, just as calm. "Since King Corco intends to connect the southern estates, would King not also need to find support from the east? The lords around Cashan hold many valuable products as well, not least of which is iron ore. Not to mention, the path through Cashan and Port Ulta is the only way to connect King Corco’s operations in Porcero with the plans here."

Once Mayu’s speech was finished, he sank back into his seat, though his back was still straight as a rod. Meanwhile, Corco was still slumped back, his cheek now in his hand.

"Okay, so where are you going with all of this, Lord Saqartu? Are you just here to impress me with how clever you are?" Annoyed by his cousin’s inaction, Corco tried to cut to the chase.

"Oh no, this lord’s concern is simple. Although all of Sachay’s south-west has been incorporated in this plan, one spot is conspicuously absent." He looked back behind Corco, to the rough map of Medala which had been stitched into the drapes. "Somehow, in all of tonight’s plans, my table was the only one king did not attempt to strike an agreement with. This lord wonders what he has done wrong. After all, Puscanacra has spared no effort to support Saniya with food and lumber over the past season. Not to mention, a cooperation between Puscanacra and Saniya would greatly increase the cohesion within Sachay, something of great value in trying times such as these. With the erratic actions of the Villca heirs in full view, King will need any help he can get."

His arms folded, Lord Saqartu allowed himself another smile, while he waited for the king to beg for his further support.

"So that’s it, huh? You’re just worried about your power, and your share."

For the slightest bit, Mayu’s lip trembled, but he still held his confident expression.

"Ahaha, not at all. This lord simply wonders if Puscanacra has slighted Saniya in any way. After all, we should be considered good allies, should we not?" Even now, Mayu still held onto his unreasonably formal choice of words. To match his opposite, Corco’s words had gotten drier and drier, as he could feel the muscles harden around his mouth.

"We are allies. Saniya and Puscanacra, that is. After all, when we received help from Puscanacra, we didn’t deal with you. You aren’t even aware that we didn’t only negotiate short-term help. In the process of our plea, we also established an exchange of letters with my grandfather, Elder Cauac Saqartu. Over the past seasons, we have made a good number of these agreements you want so much. These include preferential treatment on food, fertilizer and tariffs, among other things. Since both of our people have been so close for so long, I didn’t think it was necessary to inform Lord Saqartu of these trivialities."

Stunned, Mayu stared back into Corco’s unreadable smile. For a good while the two cousins held their positions, but their roles seemed clearly defined. While the king was still immovable like a statue, Mayu’s grin began to melt away. Although his cousin did his best to hide his emotions, the young lord fidgeted around on that chair of his, just enough to make his nervous state clear. Corco hadn’t worked as a ’great seer’ for nothing. Reading people was a strength he had acquired through long training. Only seconds later, the king’s cousin finally cracked, and saved his land and status in the process.

"King Corco," he said, his voice much deeper than before, "there is one more issue which needs to be cleared. In fact, it is a problem only I alone can help with."

"Oh, and what would that be, Lord Saqartu?" Corco smiled. He knew what would come next. Truly, he hadn’t left Mayu with much of a choice. Now that the governor knew his own grandfather could take away all of the power he so desired, his only choice would be cooperation, rather than opposition.

"In fact," his fingers pressed together into one solid fist, the young Lord Mayu stared down onto the floor, away from his responsibilities, until he found his heart and looked back up, his eyes firm and lips pressed together, without waver. "The town of Harkay in King Corco’s territory was created by House Saqartu. It was my idea."

"Yeah, I know," Corco answered, still calm, while he checked the immaculate manicure of his hands. When he heard his cousin swallow from across the desk, he had a hard time suppressing his grin.

"...how?" Mayu’s strained voice came at last.

For the first time since Mayu had entered, Corco righted his body, though he still spoke with the same calm indifference as before.

"We just had my warriors follow the paths which lead away from the town, out of my own estate. Such a large town, in the middle of nowhere? It has to get supplies from somewhere. So I wasn’t surprised to hear that the supplies came from the surrounding estates. Plus, when I made my rounds earlier, our other neighbors confirmed my suspicions as well. All the surrounding lords agree that Lord Saqartu planted Harkay as a way to steal land from Saniya." At last, Corco allowed himself a smile again as he saw Mayu pale. "No matter who you sent to follow me during tonight’s events, he didn’t do a very good job."

Part of Mayu’s confusion must have been the apparent betrayal from his allies, and part of it how hard it would be for him to grasp Corco’s own knowledge, but the even bigger problem might have been the consequences of his own actions. After he had been shown Corco’s new army of Yaku locals and the convenient ’misfire’, he should understand that Saniya was anything but helpless. Add to that Corco’s trade deals with just about all of Mayu’s allies and his weakness at home and the young lord’s excuses became almost predictable.

"King Corco, this lord never had the intention to harm House Pluritac. At first, the town was founded as a method to limit and counteract the power of the then-administrator Sawo d’Ichilia, a way to halt the Ichilia clan’s influence within the region. In fact, the plan was implemented with father’s express permission. However, now that King Corco has come to take control of his own lands, House Saqartu will be more than willing to help get the town and its surrounding region back under Pluritac control."

His lips twisted into the least convincing smile, Mayu tried an excuse that was just as unlikely. Maybe he realized his own state, but the lord ended his little speech with a bow, one which hid his grimace.

"Aah, I thought it was something like that," Corco answered, with the same smile he had held the entire time. "Not to worry, Governor Mayu, I will not hold your actions against you, since they were made with best intentions in mind. I accept both, your help and your apology. If you want to get involved in the dealings between our estates, you should talk to our grandfather once you get back to Puscanacra. Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, please return to the hall and enjoy the rest of the banquet."

Another unpleasant part of the evening had been concluded, so Corco gestured towards the door, to get his tasteless cousin out of his hair.

"Yes, of course. House Saqartu thanks King Corco for his understanding."

A flustered bow right after he had stood showed Mayu’s deference as much as his confusion, before he turned to leave.

"Goodbye, Cousin." One last time Corco’s words managed to surprise Mayu and halt his steps, but only for a moment. Without a word and without turning his head, the lord of Puscanacra left the room.

"King Corco, you would not believe Governor Saqartu’s lies, would you?" Tama, who had stood in the corner of the room like a statue all this time, stepped forward to make herself heard. "Even if Lord Mayu’s original intentions for the town were to oppose the overzealous Sawo, he had two full seasons to come confess and help restore order in the marshes. There was no reason to wait until today."

With a sigh, Corco stood up and stretched out his back.

"Of course he’s lying," he said with a glance over to the spy. "When I came over and looked weak, he probably still thought about bringing some of his old family land back into the fold. It doesn’t matter though. For now, we have achieved our goal. Soon, the Chawir marshes will be under our full control. Plus, now Mayu knows his place, and he owes us one for overlooking his greed. Should make it much easier to get his support when we need it. At least my grandfather has more sense than my cousin and knows that we need to stick together. If we want to survive whatever the north will throw our way, we’ll need all the unity we can get."

With sparkling eyes, Tama stared back at Corco all throughout his simple explanation, as if he had presented her with the meaning of life.

"Of course, King Corco!"

Followed by another sigh, the king turned towards the door, ready to leave.

"If there’s nothing else then I’ll get back to the banquet hall now. There’s still a lot of stuff we can sell. I don’t really want another debate with the finance bureau, so let’s shore up our treasury."

"There is one more issue."

Already half across the room, Corco turned to his attendant once again. With narrowed eyes, he stared at the calm girl.

"What is it?"

"The matter concerns the commoner I have mentioned before. After he has worked hard to support unity between the classes, he has specifically requested an audience, to thank the king for his gracious invitation."

At last, Corco’s interest was restored. This sort of reaction from the commoners was something he had been waiting for all this time. With a smile, he bounced back towards his desk and jumped into his seat.

"In that case, you can lead him up now. But first, we’ll need to prepare. Let’s guarantee a grand entrance."