Jone was a fisherman, and as a civilian of the Poplar Kingdom, the 45-year-old had never imagined he would one day sit aboard a warship.
He had always lived in Southwater, sailing out to fish, barely supporting his family of three. But lately, this peaceful life had been shattered.
First, a huge warship billowing black smoke arrived, then he watched with his own eyes as more than a dozen merchant ships attempting to return to the port were blasted into the depths by roaring cannon fire.
Then, war erupted suddenly, with many warships appearing at sea, and ultimately, the victory belonged to that unknown enemy warship...
Going out to sea to fish had become a dangerous affair, as fishing boats were sunk on sight by passing enemy vessels.
Thus, Jone could only give up his work and wait on the shore, praying for the war to end soon.
It seemed a miracle had occurred, after Southwater Port had been blockaded for a month, the two smoke-billowing warships brazenly sailed away.
The enemy had not been seen near the waters for a day, so officials at Southwater Port began forcing fishing boats to go out to sea, to check the open waters and see if the enemy had truly retreated.
Soon, almost all the fishing boats returned to the shore—these small boats did not need to dock, making them relatively agile and hard to eradicate.
The returning fishermen brought good news; they had not found the smoke-bilching warship, and calm temporarily returned to Southwater Port.
Then, reconstruction efforts commenced in full force, with Marquis Reibert personally overseeing the rapid progress of Southwater Port's repairs.
Some slightly larger merchant ships salvaged cannons from the warships sunk nearby, whose locations had been roughly identified, as these were the most valuable parts of the sunken ships.
Those vessels whose whereabouts were unknown or whether they were truly sunk, were temporarily left unattended.
In short, the loss at Southwater Port this time, or rather the loss to the Poplar Kingdom, was so grand it could be described as horrifying.
Factories could maintain only a third of their operating capacity, and the roads were jammed with hastily summoned carts, laden with miscellaneous goods.
Sewage ran across the streets, and workers, tormented by soaring prices, were listless, with production nearing collapse and the possibility of unrest looming at any moment.
A modern city is fragile, even a temporary water outage can cause problems for the citizens, let alone the outbreak of a war.
Despite Marquis Reibert's personal efforts, Southwater remained desolate, and only in the past two days had there been a faint glimmer of recovery.
Sadly, this glimpse of recovery had nothing to do with Jone, who had been conscripted into the Navy.
With heavy losses to their warships and many sailor casualties, the Navy found it difficult to replenish their ranks, and so they sought out fishermen to fill the numbers.
The ships they were tasked to man were not true warships, but rather armed merchant ships hidden within the harbor, along with a few that had recently returned to port.
Just as everyone thought the disaster had passed, in the past few days, two enemy warships belching black smoke fiercely returned.
They sank the armed merchant ships responsible for guarding the port's perimeter, and then they captured Jone, the lucky or perhaps unlucky man.
Afterward, he was thrown into the sea near the coast and left to swim back. Once he anxiously delivered the bottle he carried to an officer of the City Defense Forces, he was detained.
It was then he finally had time to sit quietly and carefully recall the various details of that powerful ironclad.
On that warship, there were clean wooden decks, black cannons, high smokestacks, and sailors dressed in fine clothing.
Those sailors appeared even more dignified than nobility, dressed in white shirts, with hats askew like little boats, hands behind their back, standing as straight as poplar trees.
He also remembered the massive Dragon Banner, a flag he had never seen before, but one that was quite beautiful.
Furthermore, an Elf was among the ship's crew, seemingly having authority, as many obeyed the Elf's commands.
Could it be, the neighboring Songmu Kingdom had launched an attack? Was this their warship? Overwhelmed with shock and exhaustion, Jone soon fell into a deep sleep amidst these speculations. Continue your adventure at m|v-l'e-NovelHub
But at the same time, someone else couldn't sleep at all.
Augustine Reibert smashed the seemingly fine drift bottle, extracting the letter inside.
His eyes then widened as he saw the secret message left by a trusted agent. A cipher meant for a single use had appeared here...
As he continued to read, he was so shocked by the content of the letter that he sprang up from his chair.
Fourteen million Gold Coins!
The Great Tang Group was actually demanding from him a total of fourteen million Gold Coins!
He gripped the letter, his face a picture of dark fury, like a beast ready to devour its prey.
"Damn it! Have they lost their minds? How dare they ask for so much? How could I possibly give them fourteen million Gold Coins?" Leibart raged in his office, throwing everything he could find to the floor.
However, once he calmed down, he clarified several things: First, his confidant had indeed arrived in Brunas, albeit a few days earlier than expected. Second, the other party had some method of sending messages to Southwater Port on the same day!
Third, the Great Tang Group to which he owed a debt of a hundred thousand Gold Coins truly had the capacity to collect debts—the ironclad warships were sent by them. Fourth, the current situation could not be delayed, it had to be addressed promptly.
The matter at hand was truly thorny, for as the Prime Minister of the Poplar Kingdom and a Marquis, Leibart had to consider the impact an unwinnable naval battle would have on the Poplar Kingdom.
If there really was an entity stronger than the Shireck Consortium backing the Songmu Kingdom and other kingdoms, then the Poplar Kingdom's wars of expansion could only come to an end.
They might not even have the power to defend their own borders, and a prolonged naval blockade would utterly collapse the Poplar Kingdom's economy.
Clearly, if these things truly happened, then his role as Prime Minister would also be at an end. The immense reputation he had built upon defeating the Gales Kingdom would also vanish into smoke.
The King would not possibly trust him, the bringer of disaster, ever again—he might even be removed in exchange for the Great Tang Group's clemency to end the war…
But how should he deal with the current situation? According to the letter, should he send someone onto the enemy's warship to use that miraculous machine to write a letter to remotely direct negotiations?
What a joke! Show all his cards to the opponent? Tell the opponent his bottom line? Isn't that idiotic?
And more so, he only had one chance to confirm his confidant's true thoughts, as there was only one password available at the time. How would he confirm the identity of the person replying to the next letter?
Moreover… whatever he said, when transmitted to his confidant, would it be altered? Whatever his confidant said, when reaching him, would it still be the original message?
This state, with the enemy having unilateral transparency while he faced issues at every turn and was hamstrung, immediately frustrated Leibart.
When he was about to throw things once again, he forced himself to calm down—no matter what, no matter the cost, he must explain to the King and put an end to this farce, the sooner the better!
His eyes roamed within their sockets as he seriously calculated whether he should actually settle the Great Tang Group's debt.
For someone like him, interests were always the top priority. He had to make a decision to ensure his own interests. Obviously, as the situation stood, it would better serve his fundamental interests to find a way to settle this debt.
Soon, he had made some rough estimates. First and foremost, he could not actually prepare fourteen million Gold Coins to settle the debts; otherwise, King Poplar XI was sure to send him home to retire.
Therefore, replacing the debt with other assets became the only option—such as the most valuable ones: land or mineral resources!
Previously, the Poplar Kingdom had reclaimed most of its mines from Shireck by selling Great Tang's technology, including iron and copper mines within his territory.
He could not touch the kingdom's assets, but he could leverage those within his own domain. Although this would reduce his income, it would preserve everything he had with the King.
Keep the position of Prime Minister, retain his title, maintain power, and the potential to expand his influence through external conquest.
As for his income… worst comes to worst, he could return to life as it was before Shireck's control. After all, it's not like he couldn't make do if he had to.
But the current debt was simply too massive; relying solely on mines was clearly not feasible to repay it.
Accordingly, at least some part of the land, an entire and potentially valuable tract of land, would also have to be added. After much deliberation, he decided to ask the King's opinion.
Because the most valuable land he held was Southwater Port, his stronghold. But Southwater Port housed the kingdom's largest industrial base, and he dared not decide on his own to cede it.
He planned to ask His Majesty whether he would consider a trade, ceding Osa Port, then handing Southwater Port back to the King, and seeking another domain elsewhere.
After all, Southwater Port held far greater value than Osa Port. If King Poplar XI could reclaim Southwater, he would be most willing to find some impoverished place to bestow upon Leibart.
The remaining issue was, after repairing relations with the Great Tang Group, how to introduce the latest and most useful technology into the Poplar Kingdom.