A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

5 – Betrayal by Nickvalt

“It’s open!!!!!!!”

When the soldiers of the Iron Blood Legion burst into the tent and shouted, everyone inside jumped to their feet.

“It’s, it’s open? Really?”

“Yes! It’s open!! Look at this!!!”

The soldier handed out a handful of lush green grass from the Western Continent to everyone. Everyone stared at the grass dumbfoundedly, and then someone shouted without hesitation. Karis hugged me and screamed, and I too hugged her and laughed for a while.

“Now what do we do, Lord Randor?”

“Call Karl Hanson!! Spread the news that the trade route has been opened!!”

“Understood!!!”

Karl appeared in front of me the day after receiving the message, appearing faster than a bullet. It was the result of using a teleportation station that cost more than 100 gold to use. The words that the land trade route connecting the Western and Eastern Continents had been completed were such an attractive statement that it would be difficult for anyone to pass up, especially for a merchant like him.

“Really, truly. Did we really open it?”

There was no trace of the madness that had treated me as a crazy person in his eyes. He only had a face that wanted to find out as soon as possible. I laughed at his words and personally took him in a carriage to let him see the trade route we had worked so hard to open for three months. Even as we passed through the valley where the chilly wind from the north and the screams of monsters echoed, Karl Hanson did not wipe the smile of mad greed off his face.

And when he finally saw the lush meadow of the green Western Continent, Karl jumped out of the carriage, shouting and dancing like a maniac. The sight of a bald-headed middle-aged man with dripping sweat dancing was not a sight for sore eyes, but no one blamed Karl Hanson.

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“This is insane!! It’s insane!! To actually accomplish this!! How is this possible?!”

I didn’t say it was possible because I already knew where to break through. I simply tapped Carl Hanson’s shoulder.

“Is that important?”

“No!! What’s important is that it’s been breached!! hahahahaha!! An overland trade route!!”

I returned with the jubilant Carl Hanson to the Duchy of Elond.

“We need interpreters, as well as merchants familiar with the affairs of the Western Continent. To obtain trading permission in the Western Continent, we must meet with Sultan Saladin, who governs the area.”

“I know many merchants who frequently navigate the Western Continent through maritime trade. I will contact them immediately.”

“And we must connect the roads from the Elond Territory to various parts of the continent. It would be ideal if they can be connected to trade cities with good logistics…”

“Connecting it to the commercial city of Porto would be perfect. Our Merchant Guild has a tight grip on that place. Geographically, most of the empire’s logistics pass through there. If the Elond Territory is connected to that place…”

With an ecstatic expression that seemed to tremble just by imagining, Carl Hanson starts laughing. I entrusted him with the mission.

“I will take charge of connecting the road between the commercial city of Porto and the Elond Territory, negotiating the trade agreement with the Western Continent, and obtaining a monopoly on trade through that route, with the Emperor’s approval. Even if you can’t match the scale of the Porto Commercial District, inflate it tenfold. The floating population that will travel there in the future will increase by about ten times.”

“hahahahaha!! I will do as you command!!!! I will purchase the surrounding land near the Porto Commercial District and build buildings!!”

As I watched him laugh heartily, I asked a few questions.

“The Porto Commercial District is located in the middle of a plain, right?”

“Yes. So, transportation should be convenient, right?”

“What about the weather?”

“It’s mild all year round. It’s only a bit chilly in winter, and it doesn’t snow like in other regions of the empire. They say it has a dull weather.”

“Is that so?”

At those words, my head started spinning.

And then, I came up with one idea.

“How about gathering all the circuses, theater troupes, and singers from across the country?”

“What? Why those people?”

“Trust me. Gather only the very best and bring them to the Porto Commercial District.”

“Aren’t circuses, theater troupes, and singers for commoners?”

In a clearly hierarchical medieval society, they were certainly commoners. But I didn’t see them merely as commoners.

Because I was a modern person who knew very well the power of the cultural industry.

“Stop making excuses and gather them. I’ll make sure they make a fortune.”

“Then we should gather them. Yes.”

Perhaps it was because Carl Hanson had already witnessed the transformation of the impossible into the possible once. He followed my orders without hesitation.

And just like Carl Hanson, the very next day,

10 specialized traders, brimming with excitement and enthusiasm, visited the Elond Territory from the Western Continent.

“The current western continent is being monopolized by the Karamba Empire alone. The eternal sovereign, Sultan Saladin, unified and transformed the majority of the fragmented countries into a single empire. Therefore, if you want to engage in trade, you must obtain his permission.”

After the merchants spoke, they sighed with melancholy.

“But, Lord Lando, I must tell you in advance that obtaining trading rights from the Sultan will be extremely difficult. He is a person overflowing with greed and ambition.”

“Perhaps…he may recognize the value of the trading route and try to forcibly seize it.”

“I am aware.”

I calmly say to the merchants. I know it better than anyone else. There have been several detailed descriptions of Sultan Saladin’s ambitions and greed in the novel.

To give you an idea, it was to the extent that he spent an enormous amount of money, three years, and sacrificed the lives of 200,000 people to penetrate the Laco Mountains in order to occupy the eastern continent. However, I am not very concerned.

Because I know exactly how to deal with him.

“We can provide interpretation services or explain the unfamiliar culture of the western continent, but that’s all we can do. We cannot do anything more than that.”

“Do you have any means to convince the Sultan?”

“Convince?”

I laugh at their words.

“Do you think there is anyone who can convince the Sultan? The eternal sovereign, Sultan Saladin, the conqueror king?”

The merchants, who knew the situation in the western continent well, all fell silent. They knew that I was right.

A man who embodies ambition and greed. That was the eternal sovereign, Sultan Saladin.

“Then what should we do?”

When the merchant cautiously asked, I shook my head.

“Yes.”

When a sudden sense of positivity returned, the merchants looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“If I were to say that the Laco Mountains trade route has been established, the person who comes up with it would not think of engaging in trade, but rather, would first consider waging war. Most likely, they would come to occupy the trade route.”

I calmly affirmed the merchant’s words. The merchants’ eyes widened.

“Then, what should we do?”

Seeing the fearful expressions of the merchants, I burst into laughter.

“This seems to be the answer to your question. The question is whether the Steel Blood Legion has the coercive power to wage war against Sultan Saladin.”

“That’s right. While it is said that the Steel Blood Legion is strong, can they really be strong enough to stop Sultan Saladin’s ambitions?”

“No. Of course not. On the contrary, they would think it is worth trying to wage war.”

Once again, the merchants were filled with fear.

“So, we need to add some spice.”

“Spice?”

“I will bring the Imperial Dragon Knights and the Guardian Dragons of Karia to the command of Count Elond. By doing so, Sultan Saladin will not easily consider waging war.”

The merchants’ eyes widened at my words.

“Is, is that possible?!”

The Dragon Knights, who protect the capital, were originally special forces that only protected the Emperor and the capital itself. However, in the original work, they had remained neutral until the end of the despicable war, enduring the aggression of the Vandor and the Blood Corps. Eventually, in their final moments, they recognized Adran of the Golden as the Emperor and provided assistance to him.

Displaying a jaw-dropping impact that could incinerate thousands with a single breath, the Dragon Knights carried the team and Karina, who had lost all her troops, called forth her guardian dragon from the underground of the capital to protect Vandor and engaged in their last battle.

In this chaos, where all the Dragon Knights and Karina, who rode the guardian dragon, were annihilated, Adran of the Golden succeeded in capturing Vandor, and in the plaza, she…

“Anyway!! Even if they are a part of the Blood Corps, they would never dare to wage war, no matter how powerful Sultan Saladin is. Even if a legion that can spew fire from the sky and incinerate thousands is standing there, and they can even fly to their own cities and set them on fire, they wouldn’t dare to start a war, would they?”

“Will Your Majesty allow that?”

The Dragon Knights and the guardian dragon were the ones who existed to protect the capital and the imperial family. They were practically the strongest asymmetric forces that the Emperor could command. Giving away those forces meant handing over the fate of the capital to me.

If it were a normal emperor, they would never hand over the Dragon Knights.

“You may have them.”

But I was confident.

The current Emperor was an ignorant, destructive fool who had fallen deeply for me, the insidious enemy of the empire.

And as expected…

“Oh!! King!! You say you opened up the trade route? Then! If Sultan Saladin attacks, it will be troublesome. I will hand over the Dragon Knights. And the guardian dragon too.”

The Emperor immediately said YES with a single word to my request, just as Cal Hansa had done before.

“Your Majesty, please reconsider!!!!”

Duke Pellings shouted loudly enough for the imperial palace to tremble. When I, who had come up to the capital in a day by riding on a teleportation station and a carriage, requested to hand over the Dragon Knights on the spot without even considering it, seeing the Emperor who immediately agreed without even reviewing it, I couldn’t help but say.

“Hah!! Please reconsider!!!!”

Duke Pellings must have said it because he thought that the Dragon Knights could fly to his territory and incinerate his territory if they wanted to. But the main character of the original novel was armed with justice and wisdom. Prince Adran of the Golden, who worried about the empire so much, must have said that out of concern for the empire.

“The Dragon Knights are the last force that protects the capital!! It is very unfair to give them to a specific faction!”

“Is Count Vandor a specific faction? He is a loyalist. Adran.”

“He may have improper intentions and can freely use the Dragon Knights! Hah!!!”

“Adran! Vandor is not that kind of person!! He is not that kind of person!!”

The Emperor shouted loudly, his face showing no signs of intelligence. It was a scene that showed how deeply the Emperor had fallen for Vandor.

“You opened up the trade route connecting the west and east, did you not? It is necessary to maintain that, but why is it called improper use? It is a decision for the entire empire.”

“Father!!!!”

Prince Adran even used the word “father” in the end.

“How could you not know that Vandor can use the dragons to control the capital?!”

Despite the loyalist’s strong advice, the foolish and ignorant enemy did not listen to it.

“Enough!!! I will not tolerate any more rudeness!! The Dragon Knights will be handed over to Count Vandor as he requested!! The same goes for the guardian dragon! Only the divine being Karina could handle the guardian dragon. She will be Vandor’s strong support. This matter has already been decided!!! Do not speak of it again!!”

Adran of Gold kneels proudly as if the words signal the end of everything. And then, he begins to laugh and cry.

“It’s over. The end of the empire. The Dragon Knights have fallen into that traitor’s hands!! Do you know what he will do with the dragons!! Father!!!!!”

The cry of Prince Adran was desperate.

Because it was a desperate cry, I could only silently swallow my words.

I had thought about using dragons for delivery.