The Martial Unity

“Wait, you’re telling me the first Emperor was a former general of the Imperial Army of Britannia?!” Rui’s ethereal eyes widened.

In an isolated conference room, an old man stood in front of a screen featuring slides with images and bullet points, while Rui sat at a prepared table, alone, absorbing all the shocking information that had been thrust at him.

“That’s right, Your Majesty.” The old man bowed to him.

He was the director of the royal initiation division, a division created to bring emperors up to speed.

“During the Squire Martial Revolution, the first emperor, then the serving general of the Imperial Army of the Britannian Kingdom, attempted a coup detat against the Imperial Family, making use of the chaos of the Revolution,” the old man explained. “The Revolution succeeded, giving birth to the current Martial Supremacist regime in Britannia. But your ancestor failed in his rebellion and was forced to run away from Britannia after he was defeated. He went further east until he eventually reached this land, modern Kandria, where he found warring feudal lords and other minor powers. He attempted another bid for power, this time using a more politically sophisticated strategy of carrot and stick to successfully become the first Emperor of the Kandrian Empire.”

“…so the founding emperor of our nation is just a defeated general from Britannia?” Rui’s hand pressed against his head as he frowned. “If the people were to find out, it would taint the honor of the Kandrian Royal Family.”

“That is why the first emperor buried history, creating a compelling urban myth of a wandering emperor and army searching for a people to rule over.” The old man nodded. “Your father saw no need to let the truth come to light, either.”

Rui felt his head ache with the number of shocking secrets that he had been thrust with. The Kandrian Empire had its fair share of skeletons, and he learned that his father was a ruthless, gruesome man in his younger days, having even earned the epithet of ’Blood-Stained Prince’ before he ascended the throne.

“Does Prime Minister Edward know about the origin of the Kandrian Empire?” Rui frowned.

“Of course, Your Majesty, but he never allowed the truth to come to light, either,” the old man continued with a sly smile. “The current Britannian regime is a Martialistic regime, and they pride themselves on their successful revolution as proof of the superiority of Martial Artists. It is an embarrassing truth that they needed the help of a rebellious general to force the then-ruling Britannian Imperial Family to relinquish power. So he has an incentive to keep quiet about the truth.”

“So Edward knows… Still, a former general? Is that why the first emperor was so obsessed with conquest?” Rui’s eyes lit up with realization. “If he were a former general of the Imperial Army of the Britannian Kingdom, then that must have been where he got his obsession for conquest.”

The reason that the Kandrian Empire was an ’empire’ and not a ’kingdom’ was due to the actions of the first emperor after he ascended the throne. He waged war on all surrounding people outside of his nascent kingdom and rapidly expanded Kandria in all directions, eventually reaching even the sea. The Kandrian Empire was literally an empire built from conquered people who had their former identities and cultures largely wiped out.

“Indeed, Your Majesty,” the old man nodded with a grim expression. “Once your father ascended the throne after assassinating your grandfather, he spent a lot of time integrating these broken peoples into one national identity of Kandria. He adopted harmony as an ideology because without it, it would not have been possible to get so many different people under one nation. And he succeeded. None of the people in the Kandrian Empire remembers their old identities before they became Kandrians. We used to have Elloin Tribes, Sanarcan villages, native Mirakhun clans, and many other small groups, but only cultural imprints of their old identities remain after five hundred years. Thus giving us diversity and unity in harmony.”

Rui heaved a deep breath, shaking his head lightly.

It was not a pleasant past, but it was hardly surprising.

The Kandrian Empire had three hundred million people, or 299 million after the recent war. There was no doubt that countless native cultures were wiped out to get so many people to identify as Kandrian over such vast territories.

“It makes me more determined to live up to my promise of doing good by these people,” Rui remarked with a determined tone of voice. “Continue, I wish to hear everything.”

The intelligence briefing lasted three hours, which was still not enough to truly go deep into any one topic, but it was enough to explore all the royal and national secrets at a superficial level. After that, it was up to Rui to take the effort to familiarize himself with everything. He quickly arranged all the information and knowledge in his Mind Palace, memorizing it neatly and perfectly.

CLACK

The door opened as Rui walked out of the isolated conference room, heaving a sigh.

“Your Majesty, the first governmental meeting is about to begin, and the ministers and officials await your arrival,” Secretary Claris informed him with a serious expression. “There’s no time to waste, let’s go.”

He didn’t even get the slightest bit of a breather, nodding seriously as he followed Secretary Claris to the meeting in the royal palace where everybody had gathered.

Princess Ru, Raul, and Ranea, along with Danes and the Shepherd, who was there in an advisor capacity, were seated closest to him while the others, who weren’t in his faction, were seated further away.

They stood up when he entered the room.

“Greetings to Your Majesty.”

“Enough with that,” Rui gestured with his hand. “Let’s get to work immediately. I want all the proposal reconstruction and restoration bills out, once I sign them, we’re getting to work immediately.”

And thus, his first day as Emperor began in a rush as he went about handling his duties diligently.