The Martial Unity

Once the decision was made, Rui needed to devise a strategy for winning over Guildmaster Bradt.

Even if they had a good relationship, it wasn’t something that could single-handedly win over the guildmaster to their side. At most, the man would be more pleasant to Rui than to the alliance. That was all Rui had going for him. He needed to figure out the rest for himself.

“His greatest predicament must be the fact that he loses everything to the alliance if he picks a fight with them,” Rui quickly discerned the man’s circumstances. “In which case, it will be very difficult to convince him otherwise.”

“That is indeed what has been holding up our talks,” Emperor Rael calmly replied. “I do not necessarily blame him. He would be a fool to throw away the foundation of his business that easily.”

“But it is that sense of self-preservation that is holding him back from allying with us.”

“Correct, I wasn’t able to make too much progress. He is indeed a tough nut to crack,” Emperor Rael remarked. “I haven’t hit the limit on the offers that I am able and willing to make, but I decided that I shall entrust them to you. It is best that you personally make the offer to Guildmaster Bradt as a sign of our sincerity.”

“I thought you already sent a diplomatic team to negotiate with him, like with all other nations.” Rui raised an eyebrow. “I suppose that for Sage-level nations, you communicate with them more directly?”

“You get what you give,” his father calmly uttered. “Diplomatic teams are met with diplomatic teams; they do not directly negotiate with the leaders of the Sage-level nations themselves, and instead, most of their time goes into corresponding with the head official of foreign affairs of the state.”

Rui nodded knowingly. “And the official, in turn, communicates with the head of state. It’s an indirect, cumbersome, and slow process that is much less efficient or effective than directly communicating with the head of state himself.”

“Correct. However, only an equally important dignitary from our nation can earn that right. I would never speak directly to a random ambassador from any Sage-level powerhouse, for they do not have authority or a mandate for authority that is worth my time.”

“So, the goal is to increase the likelihood of the success of the negotiations with the Shionel Confederation by sending me, a royal prince, so that I can negotiate extensively with Guildmaster Bradt directly and leverage my good relationship with him,” Rui mused. “Well, it’s a good plan, but ultimately, Bradt is not a fool. We will need to make offers that he cannot refuse or else me going there is going to be meaningless.”

“I am aware of that.” Emperor Rael pulled out a thick folder from his table. “These are the concessions that I am willing to make in order to secure the cooperation of the Shionel Confederation.”

Rui raised an eyebrow with interest as he opened the folder and skimmed through the first few pages.

What he read shook him where he sat.

“You’re willing to sell him one of our port towns?!” Rui’s eyes lit up with surprise. “That’s extreme.”

His gaze shifted to his father. “Our maritime and seafaring sector is extraordinarily successful and lucrative. The sheer amount of bandwidth of connection that we get with the rest of the continent is extreme, not to mention the revenue and the importance of the harbor to local businesses and trade.”

Emperor Rael shook his head. “Towns can be built. Once we win the war, our power and prestige will reach unprecedented heights. With the treasures that we have thanks to you, we will be the most powerful military and Martial force in the entire continent by far. We will be able to break past the Great Limit and achieve unparalleled prosperity. In comparison to that…”

He firmly met Rui’s gaze. “One or even two port towns are nothing. The Kandrian Empire shares an absolutely enormous border with the Great Nam Ocean. After we win the war and complete our rise, we will easily be able to build many more port towns along our eastern coast and proceed with no problem whatsoever.”

Rui mulled over that.

This is not new information, of course. In theory, even Rui knew that there wasn’t any limit to what could be sacrificed to win the war as long as they still had their treasures. Even then, selling off a hefty piece of one’s territory was a taboo that one did not do too easily. However, it appeared that his father was entirely willing to make the sacrifice.

“I mean, you could have just offered him a lot of breakthroughs instead,” Rui muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction. “It’s more valuable than land, and it doesn’t take anything away from us except for a bit of my time.”

Emperor Rael shook his head. “You don’t understand Bradt entirely if you think that. Do you think I haven’t offered him breakthroughs? It was the first thing that I offered him. Yet, he refused, as I had predicted. The foundation of his business is something that he has spent more than forty years creating. He is deeply unwilling to let it go, not even for breakthroughs and not even for longevity potions. In a sense, his company is his only offspring. His desire to preserve the oligarchic dominance of his company exceeds his desire for power and even self-preservation.”

Rui stirred at his father’s words as he understood the reasoning behind his choices. “…So that is why you are willing to offer him a port town. A port town will directly benefit the foundation of his business, right? Thus, even if he loses the connections or his distribution and transport routes and chains, he will still be able to preserve the enormous market share that his nation has.”

“Correct.” His father nodded. “That is why all the things that I’m willing to offer are in some way or another related to empowering and enriching the core of his business.”

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