A/N:
I have changed a few parts in the 2nd chapter, please do go check it out.
"Alright, how many printing machines have been built to date?" Luke asked.
"The blacksmiths have built 32 in total," Arnold answered.
"Good, now, I need the printing of as many books as possible. The books that should be given importance are the basics of arithmetic and basic literature. The literate population is too expensive to hire as accountants and clerics," Luke said, going through a few reports.
"But, my lord, printing is expensive! The amount of papers we produce barely covers the demand!" Arnold replied.
"Then we expand our paper production. This is an investment for our future, don't forget that we will get skilled labour within just a few years. We can even lease them out to nobles and get extra revenue from them. Not to mention, we already have a sizable sum of 6000 pounds of gold and 80000 pounds of silver stashed, we won't have to worry about expenses for a long time," Luke replied.
"Also, the amount we earn from exports to Tonaria is high, we can use that to fund these expenditures." Luke continued.
"But we will have to cut back on spending for the military," Arnold replied.
"Hmm, I think I might have a solution to that. You know that most mercenaries who used to do various tasks such as escorting merchants and eradicating bandits, right? We will get the slaves who are training to be knights to do some of those missions to make extra income for both us and them, as well as getting them valuable experience in combat," Luke replied.
"But such missions are too lowly for knights, even the ones who are slaves," Arnold said.
"So? We need to get as much money as we can into our pockets. Don't forget that we lack experienced knights; the ones sent to us are all inexperienced. They might be strong, but in a real battle, hesitation to kill and inexperience can get them killed," Luke said in a harsh tone.
"Fine, my lord," Arnold relented.
"Alright, I will be going to train," Luke said, leaving his office.
'Luke must know of something if he is preparing this vigorously. I can't take his words lightly since he must be smart and have a lot of potential to be given the entire state to run this young, so he must know something which might affect the empire as a whole,' Arnold thought seriously.
In the Training Grounds,
"Alright, assemble!" Luke ordered.
"Let's run 10 rounds around the training ground. Everyone should stay in their lines and not stop under any circumstances! If anyone is injured or unwell, come out now," Luke shouted.
The group he was ordering was kids ranging from the ages of 6 to 13. They will train for a minimum of 5 hours, and 6 hours will be spent studying. They were taught how to read and write, and do maths, but only the kids managed to learn since they didn't have enough resources to teach the adults and teens.
"Alright, now that warm-ups are over, let's have light spars," Luke shouted.
"Separate yourselves into twos and spar," Luke ordered.
Luke himself started to spar with his instructor, Snow Planck.
"Alright, get into your stance, Lord Luke," Snow instructed.
"Good, now, I want you to defend my strikes. I will be going fast, so your reaction time improves," Snow said, lunging at Luke at high speeds. Luke found it hard to block and dodge Snow's attacks. Snow is one of the best magic swordsmen from Archasia. Daniele had assigned him to Luke to instruct him in swordsmanship and serve as a bodyguard.
4 pm,
At the Governor's office,
"Alright, did you manage to gather as many barrels of it as you could?" Luke asked.
"Yes, my lord," A man kneeling down on his knees replied. He was Count Fredrik, who is the current count of Quintonia, a region which has very few resources, so not only were the people there poor, but so were the nobles. So in terms of corruptness, they were quite low.
"Good, I want them to be stored in the underground basements," Luke ordered.
"That will be done, my lord," Fredrik replied.
Barrels of something he was talking about, barrels of coal. He managed to find a huge coal deposit while going on a trip around the Genova Province. He also managed to find "Black Water," which happened to be crude oil, leaking out of the Peruvian County Genova province. But refining crude oil is impossible with the technology of this world. So he wouldn't be able to use any of it right now. His main priority is to gather enough money and resources so he can seize the opportunity he has been waiting for the past 3 years.
"Arnold, I want the blacksmiths to start making these designs. They must have it completed it as soon as possible," Luke ordered, giving a few blueprints of a steam engine. He wanted the blacksmiths to start building them as quickly as possible, so when he puts his plans into motion, he can do it quickly and effectively.
"Whoa, this seems quite complicated, Lord Luke, may I ask where you got it from?" Arnold asked with surprise.
"It doesn't matter. Just tell them this needs to be done with the utmost care. I will be sending them a lot of iron and copper. Tell them to be prepared to make a lot of steel since they will need more of it in the coming days," Luke replied.
"Will do, Lord Luke!" Arnold saluted and left.
At the Blacksmith workshop,
"Huh? You want me to make what!?" The head blacksmith said with confusion.
"Yeah, Lord Luke told you to make 3 of these within 6 months," Arnold replied.
"But! This is impossible to do! It's simply too complex a task!" The head blacksmith shouted.
"Don't worry, I will get more blacksmiths from the central province to help with this task. In the meantime, you should try making a lot of steel since this requires a lot of it, it seems," Arnold replied.
"Grrr, such impossible tasks…" The head blacksmith was grumbling, going inside the workshop to set out to make more steel.
10th of December, 1525
At The Grand Throne Room,
8:34 AM,
"My last act as the Emperor of Archasia, I will split the Empire into 5 kingdoms. This, I believe, was the will of the common folks to have the empire of Archasia separated. My oldest son, Otto Harold Chestia, will be the king of Armon, Adrienne Von Chestia will be the queen of Almonasia, George Elmon Chestia will be the king of Klovaria, Luke Hordon Chestia will the the King of Aqlasia, and William Vla Chestia will be the king of Hindiria." The Prime Minister, Eschel, announced in a grave tone.
It had been just 3 days since the death of the Emperor Daniele. He had succumbed to the poisons' nasty aftermath effects on his body.
"What! No one can just break apart the empire!" Otto shouted in rage.
"Father had his reasons. If the empire hadn't been broken apart, we would not only have had to quell the rebels, but also protect ourselves from Vla Coria." Adrienne said with her brows furrowed.
'Father did live longer than expected, but the quality of his life is questionable,' Luke thought. He knew that Daniele was in pain every breathing moment since the poisoning. Even after the poison was neutralised, its nasty effects still affected his body a lot. The healing magic in this world wasn't that advanced since most magicians were more focused on killing than healing.
"It's quite unlikely that Vla Coria will attack us since they are already having issues with their northern and eastern borders. If they start a war with us, they would probably get invaded by their other enemies." George replied.
Luke had turned his back and started walking away from the hall, he had no business with them in the first place.
12:19 PM,
"Lord Eschel, I have been searching for you," Luke said, stopping Eschel, who was making his way to his office.
"How may I be of help to you, Lord Luke?" Eschel asked in a kind voice.
"We shall speak in your office from prying eyes and ears," Luke said in a serious tone.
Eschel was taken aback at Luke's tone.
"Yes, now no one can hear us," Eschel said, locking his office.
"I need your help," Luke said, with a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Oh! What may be the reason you need my help?" Eschel asked.
"Oh, all I need are the unaltered documents you received from the provinces making up the kingdom Aqlasia, and of course, in return, I won't leak out the various ways you managed to launder money from Archasia to the Empire of Armoniv," Luke said in a flat tone.
"Don't try pulling my leg, I have sufficient proof to imprison you. Don't forget, your name won't even be uttered after I complete what I plan on doing in my kingdom. You and your family can live in leisure wherever you want to for all I care." Luke butted in before Eschel could even open his mouth.
'Getting official proof from the central govt. will only solidify my standing against them, whilst I get to show Eschel his place,' Luke thought.
"Alright, I've got some of the documents you wanted," Eschel said, hurriedly moving to a section of the office, then carrying a heavy box labelled Aqlasia 1523
"This chest has the previous year's real tax collection numbers; you can cross-check it with the ones in the official documents," Eschel said.
"Hmm, there is quite a difference. How much did you pocket from this?" Luke asked.
"About 30% of the uncounted amount," Eschel replied with a bit of nervousness.
"Ah, these nobles probably didn't give you the actual amount, I don't think most ever did, did they?" Luke asked with a small smirk.
"No, but it was just enough to satisfy the needs from my end. They know if I received a low amount, I might rat them out," Eschel replied in a serious tone.
"Alright, I recommend you stay away from Aqlasia for a while, I will be primarily using them and you as scapegoats. So get as far away from this place as you can and hide," Luke advised.
"Alright, my Lord, is there anything else you need?" Aschel asked.
"Not at the moment, though transferring all the paperwork here would be quite good since I might need it, oh, also, send some of your men to help me with moving the library, I still have a lot of books left unread, I'd like to continue with my hobby there," Luke replied.
"Yes, that will be done," Aschel said, bowing down. He opened the door to let Luke leave the office.
'He is a mere child, and yet he already has created plans to overthrow the power residing in Aqlasia.' Aschel thought with sweat rolling down his forehead.
At The Chamber of Kings,
"I apologise for my lateness," Luke said, sitting down on his assigned seat.
"Since everyone is here, I shall announce that this meeting has started. Our first and last agenda items would be about territorial disputes. Under no circumstances, unless the other party starts the issue, invading the sister kingdoms is completely prohibited. Also, Military aid must be provided to Armon, Almonasia, and Klovaria in case of war. This treaty's integrity will last for a minimum of 50 years. Annexation of one of the 5 kingdoms would be allowed if both sides are in agreement. These terms are proposed so that our kingdoms, despite being separated, will stay together during hard times and ward off foes from the enemy nations that seek to dominate us during our time of weakness." Otto announced, passing out the papers that were to be signed.
'It's highly unlikely that a war will start, I won't have to worry about this issue for a while.' Luke thought, signing the paper after reading through the clauses.
"Alright, I formally announce this meeting is over," Otto announced after everyone signed their copies.
Otto got to keep the capital since he was not only the oldest, but also quite smart. He was able to show off his skills both in combat and politics, so he managed to get a sizable portion of the empire.
Everyone left the meeting hall and went to pack up their belongings, except Luke, who had some questions to ask.
"Otto, where would our mother stay? Will she be staying in the capital or will she be coming with me?" Luke asked.
"Mother is leaving for Rumeria, she wishes to stay there in secret. She will be leaving today," Otto answered.
"Hmm, what of George's mother, then?" Luke asked.
"She will be staying with William and helping him run Hindiria," Otto answered.
"You know, I can help you run Aqlasia if you want," Otto said.
"As of now, I don't need much help. If you want to trade with me, just send a mail to me, I will meet up with you near the border," Luke replied.
Otto nodded at that.
Luke walked out of the room.
"Hey, Luke, why are you looking so serious?" A high-pitched voice of a child was heard. Luke recognised it to be of his younger brother, William, who was the second son of Queen Marriene, Danielle's second wife.
"Oh, it's nothing," Luke replied, walking away.
"Tch, don't act so nonchalantly! We were both dealt the same cards, both of our kingdoms are the poorest of the 5!" William spat out.
Luke ignored William and left for his chambers.
"Arnold, send word for the Aqlasia nobles. I need them and their family to reach Larna before I do. Tell them that my coronation will take place on the 19th of December," Luke ordered.
"Yes, my king," Arnold replied.
17th of December, 1524,
"Hello, King Luke," The City lord of Larna greeted with a smile.
"Hello, Saren," Luke greeted with a small smirk.
"Are all the nobles here?" Luke asked.
"Yes, of course! We are preparing for your coronation, Lord Luke." Saren replied.
"Good, make sure no one leaves here, no matter the problem, I want everyone attending my coronation," Luke ordered, riding his horse to his castle.
"I will ensure no one leaves, my lord," Saren replied.
19th of December, 1524,
At the Throne Room,
"Welcome, everyone! Today, we will coronate the first king of Aqlasia!" Arnold shouted, earning a huge round of applause from the crowd of nobles.
Arnold placed a golden crown made of Diamonds, Sapphires, and Rubies on top of Luke's head, officially naming Luke as the king of Aqlasia.
"Now! My first action as king of Aqlasia is to purge out the corruption in this kingdom!" He shouted.
The huge door to the Throne Room opened up, and in came the many knights, who dragged out all the corrupt nobles from the room. The nobles whom Luke favoured were all atop, on the balcony, viewing the throne room, safe from the mess happening downstairs.
"Don't worry, I have given some land to your families near the harbour cities so they can live their lives in peace. This is merely honoring your ancestors who fought for these lands," Luke announced.
Everyone who was viewing the scene from the balcony was surprised at the turn of the events, and some of them got scared because they thought they would also get arrested.
"From now on, corruption won't be overlooked. I will be sending people who work directly under me to work in jobs done by the nobles. I will let all the nobles keep their titles, but it will not come with any real power, I will be the one deciding how much tax will be put on people, I will be the person deciding on any matters regarding education, finance and military," Luke announced, looking at all the nobles who were left after the mass arresting.
"I will be confiscating all the knights and slaves, but I will be giving some knights for personal protection. You will be keeping all of your lands, but the nobles under you will be losing theirs. I will make sure that there will be complete transparency when it comes to taxes," Luke continued.
All the nobles kept their mouths wisely shut. They just saw what Luke was capable of. Luke had been training thousands of knights in secret, so he would have enough to stop any rebellions caused by the families of the arrested nobles and the nobles who didn't like it.
"I will be elevating most of your positions into governors and dukes since we have a lot of positions left unfilled. I want all of your blacksmiths to come to Larna and put up their workshops here so that they can work together to make better goods," Luke announced.
"You will all leave tomorrow morning. I will be sending mail to all of you regarding the changes I will be making," Luke said.