Road to the Crown

Chapter 279: Pushing the limits

16th August 1574

Just like the primate mentioned, this topic was soo deep and connected with the others that it simply couldn't be separated. After all, sharing the spoils would only be possible once the enemy faction would be defeated! But as if there weren't enough problems, this kind of betrayal, most likely prompted by another country according to the current information we had on it, would be a first in Commonwealth history. And it just so happened to take place when there was no King to give a proper judgment!

As if this was a strategy game, I could tell that the way in which I would respond to the questions would set the flags that would influence the smoothness of the transition of the current, faulty government into something that would be the system of the commonwealth in the future.

Just like in World Universalis four, once Commonwealth would reach its breaking point, a set of events about the royal struggle would appear. While taking the easier route would save the stability and power of the country to some degree, it would inevitably lead to the creation of oligarchic government. And just like in that game, I was in front of something alike to a decision window right now!

"Sir Mike, if I may ask, how do you think we should deal with the rebels?"

And there came the bomb. For some reason, rather than proposing the options himself or leaving this burden to the senator that was in charge of the military affairs, his excellency actually went out of his way to put me in a spot with this question!

Maybe it was his way of getting back at me for colluding with Rafael? Or maybe he really believed I could provide some valuable feedback, capable of completely reorganising their strategical and tactical assumptions? No matter which of the two options the reality was created by, I could still use this situation to my advantage!

"Dear sir. Ever since my military was mentioned, I heard a lot of voices of dissatisfaction with how I want to have a strong standing army, both for myself and for the country. If we had a force that we could move at any given moment, uprooting the rebellion would be a walk in the park. But with how most of the capable warriors already departed this area to fight in the war, who will we send to quell the fires of the uprising?"

Rather than giving out a straightforward answer, I knew that preparing the ground for a moment would yield a far better result in the long term. If I were to outright come out and say I can defeat the Ostros myself, I would never have any chances to put forth my demands for the sake of doing so! Only by pointing out how the country itself was incapable of currently dealing with this problem, could I retain the position of power in this discussion.

"This is undeniably the truth, but I asked whether you have any ideas as to how to settle this problem, not who is at fault for our current relative lack of means to deal with it."

While this remark was most likely intended to be harsh, the primate actually slipped! He had openly admitted in front of this entire crowd of the highly influential people that as it stood now, they had no way of dealing with the rebels!

Obviously, if the push came to shove, by awakening the wrath of the entire country, not only would the rebels be instantly thwarted away but also the war with Muscovites would end up in just a few weeks, but I didn't expect them to be willing to bear the consequences of doing do. And this was most likely the reason why primate was so desperate for pushing me into solving this problem for them, that he actually made that mistake!

"Since commonwealth can't handle the rebels in the current situation, I reckon I don't have any choice but to do it myself, am I right?"

Sitting in my simple chair and resting my hands on top of my cane, the corners of my lips inevitably raised high on my face. As troublesome as my sentence appeared to be on the outside, as long as the Senate would agree that it was actually the case, I would be free to demand them to accept any requests I would ever want to push!

"That might be indeed the case. If you could solve that problem by yourself, the commonwealth would be eternally thankful for you. And you could be sure that your name wouldn't be missed when more peaceful times would come."

Nodding his head, the primate finally sprung the trap on himself. With those words reaching the ears of everyone in the chamber, the road to my greatness was finally open!

"There are two things that need to happen before I will take this burden on my shoulders. First, rather than pushing the matter of rewarding me or punishing the Ostros, I think we should discuss it right here and right now. After all, I want to know what kind of reward I'm signing in for, as my resources are limited and I need to make sure that investing them will yield as many profits as it will be possible. As for the other aspect, I will require quite a lot of assistance in terms of pushing certain decision that would allow to speed up the process of forming my armies."

It was commonly known information that most of my troops along with nearly every single better-trained officers of mine already went to the war. Rushing towards the gathering spot only to pull them back to my lands would be akin to slowing down the entire offensive. Something, that everyone wanted to prevent from happening in the first place!

After all, there would be no difference for the country whether I would pull my troops or if one of the senators did it with his own retinue. That's why I could at least expect the senatorial body of the commonwealth to realise that even with all my exploits, I would still need time and resources to actually create a proper army capable of dealing with all the power that Ostros could ammas in their wealthy lands!

"What is the price that you are looking for, then? Keep in mind that if the costs of quelling the rebellion will be higher than if we were to do it ourselves, you won't be even given the chance to do so!"

As if realising how potentially deep the hole he stepped inside was, the Primate instantly added some restrictions to how much I could actually demand. Thankfully, I already knew how to play against this kind of approach.

"I do not wish for much. The title of the Wolynian Governor along with all the lands that Ostros currently hold in that region would suffice. Additionally, there is something I would like to use in order to quell the rebellion, that will actually require a new set of laws in order to be established. Have any of you, respectable sirs, heard about the way in which logistic tasks are solved in the town of New Tarnow?"

The problem with fighting Ostros lied in the fact that while their power base in a single place, their forces would most likely spread out around the entire area. With how they had to already know that the country considered them to be the traitors, they would be free to raid nearly in all directions, with the exception of the borders they shared with two other great clans who could easily thwart their entire uprising by themselves if given the chance. 

That's why, rather than wasting the time to form long supply lines, secure the perimeter or bother with any other task that normal army of the current day and age had to waste its time on. Rather than following this long and perilous route of winning a proper war, I could just do it in early American way!

"One of my servants happened to visit your lands in the recent past. From him, I heard that your people laid out a set of strange tracks on which wagon with products are pushed by some strange machines. Is that what you meant, sir Mike?"

Standing up, Rafael suddenly backed me up, nearly instantly splurting another five of the senators to stand up in the sign of support.

"That's exactly what I have in mind. While my own lands, previously separated by the vast distance and connected only by the river, already established the foundation for the investment I have in mind, I need you sirs to agree to extend this new kind of road all the way from Krakow or at least, Lwow, to the lands of the rebelling family. Later on, expanding it to the city of Kijow would be highly advisable, but that's something that could be discussed on a more opportune moment. And to finally shed some light on this secret invention of mine, allow me to introduce you to the idea of a train!"