The Titan Empire: The Game of Power

Volume 2, Chapter 4

The king made no sign of Ephraim's deference, he preferred practical matters, and he had a strong aversion to such unproductive talk, having never uttered a word of nonsense in his deliberations with the great men of old.

"My honored gentlemen, I'm sure you won't know how busy I am, I'm only here for an hour. I don't suppose the honored gentlemen invited me here to sample one of those diet packages, did they?" Oscar let his tone seem a little impatient.

There seemed to be a lack of consideration for the situation on the part of the fat adults, and it was clear that they had no intention of getting to the point. They exchanged glances with each other, and although Oscar didn't know those specifics, he understood that they were weighing in.

Sure enough, the one who spoke was the most modest and prudent Reeves. Count Sacaera.

"Your Highness, our prudence may be incomprehensible to you, for what has befallen us may seem to you to be something trivial, but please believe that the lives of many are at stake."

"Oh la! Count Sacaera, life is most precious, and no one would consider it a trifle. But for us, appetite is also important, so let's talk while we eat, shall we? Seriously, my stomach has been empty for a long time." Oscar was trying his best to take the initiative, he had already grasped the direction and rhythm of the conversation.

Soon a waiter brought the food up, the delicate and huge dinner plate was covered with an oval silver cover. Upon removing the cover one saw the main course inside. It was a roasted, fluffy, golden pig, and Oscar knew that the pig's stomach must be stuffed with all kinds of ingredients, so the Prince wondered if this was the rumored "diet package".

The waiters set down a small table in front of the adults' sofas and placed a cut of roast meat and a few side dishes on each of their plates.

One of the waiters showed His Royal Highness a beautiful glass bottle of wine, as was the rule at the Titan table, only the most honored could decide which wine to use.

The young Prince placed the wine in his mouth on the back wall of his voice and slowly savored it, it was aged Whiskey Seltzer, the alcohol content of this wine was not very high, which meant that although it was precious, the taste of the wine was not outstanding, but this wine was able to serve as a fatigue reliever and improve digestion. It is certainly a good choice for adults who are eating greasy food.

Livius. Count Sacaela could only describe this moment as tasteless, and he believed that his friends were the same. He had already received a warning from the three lords with a look thrown at him when he spoke earlier. It was true that he was a bit impatient, and although he didn't know everything about Prince Ossigne, if what he had learned from the mouth of that mobster friend was true, then this teenager might be the only one who could do them a favor right now. Count Sacaela was confident in his judgment, from the young Prince's performance just now, this teenager who was not yet a teenager had already gained insight into their intentions, which showed that his mind worked very well, and dealing with smart people had always been a time saver.

The earl couldn't help but put down the knife and fork in his hand when he thought of this, he really didn't have the heart to eat. He had truly seen the strength of those in the darkness, this risk must be taken.

Livius. Count Levi Sacaela gently coughed, the people in the room all focused on him, the waiter who was standing by the door to listen to the call has already knowingly retreated out.

"Your Royal Highness, I have heard that you possess a special coat of arms, one that is unlike any known famous symbol. May I ask, does this side of your coat of arms actually exist?"

Oscar had his suspicions about the motives of these ministers, they must have some involvement with the dark world.

"Yes, I do possess such a coat of arms, but for some reason I cannot show it to you, but I can tell you that the most prominent mark on this coat of arms of mine is a scale."

"Your Highness, I offer you my sincerest apologies for my presumption. Obviously, the pride you hold in that world of yours is beyond our comprehension. But would you be interested in hearing about a great business that I and several other ministers have done in the economic field?"

"Go ahead, I am very interested in this business that can labor your lords at the same time." Oscar was sure it was definitely a very big business.

Count Sacaela continued, "I believe that your highness will not believe it, the financial situation of the empire is completely different from two hundred years ago, and now it is even worsening, one of the most important points is the general stiffness of economic activities, the subjects of the empire have already lived a life of self-sufficiency, the nobles are supported by the revenues from their territories, and the territorials are provided with food and clothing by their lords that they lack nothing at all."

Oscar didn't know much about the economy, but he had learned a lot from the Dark World that others couldn't see. He added something to Reeves, "I think one very important aspect that Your Excellency may not have mentioned is the shift in the center of the economy. I know that this shift is what happened after the Bohemians blocked the Far Eastern trade routes, and those cherished goods from the East have become less and less available."

Everyone nodded when they heard the Prince's words, indeed, Titan Turin's position as the economic and trade center of the Western Continent had long since ceased to exist. Although the knowledgeable people were aware of this, the adults were surprised that the youngsters also had such insights like them.

"You are right." Count Sacaela spoke with a sigh. "The center of the economy has shifted to those countries that depend on the sea, like Ilya, France, and that lone Angst in the west that hangs over the sea, all of these countries have gained huge profits through sea trade. And we Titans are even separated from the sea by a kingdom. So, just a short while ago, Titan also invested in a sea trade route, we can't watch others get rich while we sit on our hands."

Oscar smiled a little, hell believe that Titan would invest in any trade route, mostly on it was a private route erected by these fat lords in the name of the empire.

Although the teenager laughed in his heart at the hypocrisy of these adults, but he had to admire the boldness of the big fat people, Titan does not have an outlet to the sea, in such a landlocked country to operate on the sea business that requires how much manpower, material and financial resources ah?

Reeves was able to hear the mockery in the teenager's light laugh, and he cautioned himself to be careful, this teenager is very sensitive.

"I, along with several other lords, have found suitable agents in both Ilia and France, their ports, customs, and transportation of goods inland can be said to be foolproof, but that's how we still encountered major difficulties."

Oscar already knew what kind of difficulties these lords encountered, it was obvious that Elijah and Farrand were qualified to cooperate with such a few lords must also be some extraordinary characters, as long as their merchant ships entered the ports, then everything was just as Reeves said - absolutely foolproof, then the problem could only be in the sea, where no one could control.

"You guys ran into pirates right?"

The big fat men were once again startled by the little fat man's analysis, but this time it made all these adults jump a little, since the Prince knew about the existence of pirates, he was bound to have some connection with them in that world of his.

Yes, our merchant ships encountered pirates. That cost us a lot of money." Reeves. Count Sacaela said heavily.

"Oh la! Why don't you go on, your Excellency? Tell us what exactly you have lost? I'm dying of curiosity about losses that would make a few of your excellencies describe them as heavy! The gold coins you guys handle on a regular basis can be in the millions." Oscar believed there was definitely something wrong with the goods they were transporting.

Vis was really a bit difficult about it, "This ...... honorable Prince, you already know that we are seeking help from you. As for those goods, that is not seen in the Titan Code, please forgive me, that is all I can say. As I also said, there are many lives at stake, those of my allies to be exact."

Oscar mobilized all of his thoughts in full force, the teenager liked to be taught his wisdom.

"Oh, that's a bit of a misnomer Your Excellency, the Titan Code doesn't govern what goes on in the high seas. You are smuggling right? Wouldn't it be easier to understand if you put it that way."

Reeves. Earl Sakaela nodded with difficulty after hearing the teenager's words, it was not pleasant to have a noble gentleman admit that he had done something illegal.

"Well then, you nodded, which means everything revolves around smuggling. Let me guess, I'm sure that a few of your lordships wouldn't be interested in tea, silk, porcelain, or whatever. That's all very profitable, but it's legal to transport these goods. Since it's smuggling while bringing in riches that would make the lords move,......" Oscar paused for a moment as he looked at Reeves with a dazzling light in his gaze. "Livius. Count Sacaela, if I remember correctly, the Minister of Finance just mentioned that your family controls several gold mines."

Reeves. Count Sacaela's voice had trembled a little, "Yes ...... yes."

"Oh la! The answer is there! I remember that both the Kingdom of France and its southwestern Kingdom of West Portugal lack this rare mineral deposit, and the price of gold there is the highest in the Western Continent. You guys are smuggling gold right?"

No one dared to answer the Prince's question this time; Titan had banned gold loss for centuries, and smuggling gold would result in a citation!

"Oh la! I'll take that as a yes since the adults aren't talking! Relax, I'm not going to rat you out... Oh, let me guess again, will you? You've only just started your routes, haven't you? But I'm sure you've already had a taste of it, haven't you? Sea merchants have encountered pirates, I think you will not be unprepared, a time to invest all the family is definitely not a wise choice, so that is to say that several ministers should be the amount of smuggling gold control within the possible losses. Since the Earl mentioned that the loss was a matter of life and death, I have reason to suspect that something must have gone wrong at some exceptionally important point, isn't that right? Barboa. Marquis Descartes?"

The Marquis de Barboa Descartes, the head of the State Department's financial department, was fully aware of the situation. The Marquis of Descartes had completely put away his contempt, in fact he was just making a show of it, he now fully believed the rumors, the position of the teenage prince and his pride in the dark world were all gained by his own strength.

"What makes you think it's me?" This Lord Marquis finally spoke.

"Why couldn't it be you? You have been silent, and with as cynical a look on your face as I can muster, I have every reason to suspect that you are the one who has had the most bad luck." Oscar laughed out loud as he spoke.

"Hahaha! I want to apologize to you! Truly, please accept my sincerest apologies, Your Highness. Yes, I am the one who had the most bad luck. This gold had disappeared completely from the records of the Minister of Finance, but God knows why it appeared in the books of my Treasury Department; I cannot complain about the responsibility of those under me, but I have brought disaster upon myself and my friends."

Oscar was fully aware of everything that had happened behind the transaction. The Sakaera family didn't have the guts to privately mine gold, but the Minister of Finance and the head of the State Council's Department of Finance had the ability to make a sum of gold taylors disappear, but it was clear that the two ministers in charge of the empire's financial affairs didn't work well together, and there was probably not much they could do about it, as long as their respective agencies kept functioning normally, then things like this kind of tugging at each other's throats would happen again and again, and the late Titan Emperor's purpose of establishing the State Council's Department of Finance was to use it to hold the State Council in check. The purpose of the previous Titan Emperor's establishment of the State Council's Financial Department was to use it to hold the Minister of Finance in check.

Facts have proved that this practice does have certain benefits, just like now, the minister of finance has lost the gold but appeared in the state council financial department records, this is entirely the result of the two parties to monitor each other. The amount of gold in the State Treasury was reported monthly to the Emperor, and the Marquis of Barboa. The Marquis of Barboa Descartes was not in a position to modify the books of the State Treasury. Now it's good! This gold was really lost, they became the booty of the pirates. If this vacancy in the treasury is not filled, the Prince believes that the activities of the "Fat Lords" club will come to an end.

Oscar almost instantly figured out how to deal with this matter, the pirates in Italy and off the coast of France are almost always sheltered by the Sierran mafia, so the head of the mafia Lord Ammanuelle Béa can easily let the mafia. Lord Bea can easily let those pirates spit out 70% of this batch of gold. Of course, of this 70% to leave 10% for Lord Béa, then the fat adults can only take back 60%, Oscar believes that this is perfectly in line with the rules, and he has already not received a penny.

The little fat man's proposal was unanimously endorsed by the big fat men, who had doubted the Prince's influence, but Oscar swore that he guaranteed they would see the looted gold in a month's time. This time had been precisely calculated by Oscar.

It was now mid-April, so His Majesty the Emperor would find out about it when he audited the treasury again in early May. Oskar had an idea for the adults, the Governor of the Eastern Frontier of the Empire, Dortmund. Duke Dortmund Anru. Duke Netagabo, the Governor of the Eastern Frontier of the Empire, would ask His Majesty the Emperor and the Ministry of War, in the name of the Field Marshal, for an urgent increase in the amount of money allocated to the army. The Prince hasn't thought of an excuse for the additional military expenditure, but he believes that his father will arrange it in a seamless manner, and at this time the Emperor shouldn't give the Duke a hard time, so this military expenditure will soon be on its way, and as long as this amount of military expenditure, which is equal to the amount of gold lost by the fat people, is smuggled back to the national treasury, then the matter will be settled once and for all.

The big fat man and the little fat man were both a bit jubilant, the big fat man had already foreseen that they would get through this sudden crisis peacefully, while the little fat man was celebrating the fact that a huge piece of pizza had fallen from the sky. The military money had been shipped back to the treasury, but the Big Fat Boys vowed to make sure the Anru family saw the gold in the future. Little Fatty is no gentleman, and any mouse that passes by him leaves a mustache behind.

Big fat people do not care to share 30% of the profits to the little fat and that Lord Bea, they value the stability of income, in the sea, sometimes the protection of the pirates to be more useful than a fleet, they do not have a nationality, their power all over the sea.

The fat men talked animatedly, but an uninteresting squire broke in at that moment. The adults were evidently very much displeased with this presumptuous attendant, but the squire took it upon himself to whisper something into the ear of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the lord listened while he looked at Prince Ossigne.

"Good! Gentlemen, it seems that this is all we can talk about to-day. I believe we are all very pleased with the outcome, so your Highness, the Prince, allow me to show you the way. Forgive me, Your Highness, it's not that I'm giving you an eviction order, but an exceptionally honorable young lady wants to date you. Believe me Your Highness, you will definitely make the trip worthwhile, that young lady is one of Turin's most famous flowers."

The Minister of Finance, Almodóvar . The Marquis de Godzilla returned to his parlor, where none of his friends had left, and where they evidently had business to discuss.

"There! At last we can stop putting on airs!" Almodóvar lay down on a large sofa, which then made a crunching sound.

"Does everyone think that thug's offer is reasonable? I don't see why we should share 10% of the profits with him, everyone should be aware of that figure, can't we settle those deficits ourselves? There's no need to put on such a show." The State Department's Director of Finance questioned the whole scheme.

The remaining three lords simultaneously rolled their eyes, ashamed of having such foolish allies.

The Minister of Revenue was the first to step forward and explain, "Dear Barboa, haven't you understood the significance of our cooperation with His Royal Highness the Prince? Heavens! Pirate's protection, this means that apart from natural disasters, nothing can threaten our gold, we can indeed rely on ourselves to survive this time, but what about the next time? What about next time? I think the 30% profit is absolutely worth it, this Prince is indeed more fair, you may have noticed that he proposed the line price, did not add a penny for us."

"Good heavens! Are you asking me to trust those pirates who robbed us? That Prince is all the way with those criminals, and who knows if they will cause us more trouble." Barboa. Marquis Descartes didn't give up his position.

This time even Almodóvar couldn't stand it a little bit, Barboa wanted to go on and on but was stopped by him with a wave of his hand.

"Barboa, have you been at that Minister of State's side for too long? Did you not hear all that His Majesty the Emperor said at court yesterday? Well then! I will remind you one more time, please, and it will be the last time. I ask you never to use the word criminal again to describe Osgene. Anru. His Royal Highness Prince Mauricette, who is a Prince of the Empire, His Majesty the Third's own nephew, the youngest son of Field Marshal Anru, and, at the same time, an ally of ours. I expect you to honor him as you would honor any of your friends. If you fail to do so, then it will jeopardize the Prince's good relations with us, and this will cause us to reconsider our position towards you."

Barboa had not expected the Chancellor of the Exchequer to accuse him in such a nonchalant manner, and he was dumbfounded to hear it.

Livius. Count Sacaela hastily rounded up the conversation, he also felt that the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer were a bit heavy.

"Mr. Marquis! Some concepts really need to change accordingly with the situation, the words of the finance minister are very reasonable, but since you don't like to listen to it, then we might as well change the words, let's talk about our interests, the only ones who can protect the fleet on the sea besides those pirates are the regular fleet, but then the military department will get the news immediately, think about it, if his majesty learns that there is a fleet of other countries protecting the Titan's merchant fleet what will he think? What would the Emperor think if he knew that a fleet from another country was protecting the Titan fleet? Believe me, the Emperor would immediately charge the owners of the fleet with treason. Our Prince, on the other hand, is offering us a most secure service, and we have a much larger sale that requires this route. Have you forgotten that our arms are much more popular than that gold. And isn't it a good deal that we only have to offer the Prince and his friends thirty percent of the gold in the deal? You will see the gold coins overwhelm you like a wave when the time comes."

Although Barboa was disgusted with the Prince, he was still very good with money and numbers, and he knew that it was indeed a huge amount.

He easily accepted Count Sacaela's point of view that no one would cross the gold coins, and Barboa was already even thinking that it would be quicker to sell the arms to those pirates, so that he could save all those costs of overland transportation.

"There's another thing that deserves our attention as well." Almodóvar. Marquis Godzilla sat up straight, and his allies all wore shuffling expressions, indeed, something that could make a sea monster sit up and state something was definitely a big deal.

"His Majesty the Emperor has sent an official letter in the morning in which he invites His Holiness the Pope, on behalf of the Titan Royal Family, to preside over Osgene . Anru. Prince Morissette's official ordination ceremony. It is thought that Radriel VI, who is close to the Anru family, has no reason to refuse the Emperor's invitation."

"What does this have to do with us? That little fatso is already a Prince, that's just a ceremony." Barboa raised the question in his mind again.

"No, Barboa, what I'm about to say happens to be relevant to you, it's time for you to think about your relationship with that head of your State Council. With the Emperor and the Pope backing him, Robustil doesn't stand a chance anymore, I know he's still investigating things, but trust me, that won't help, it'll just end his political career prematurely, in which case we should be prepared to give him a brick or something at the right time as well, I've been looking at the old man for a long time now."

"But that wouldn't do us any real good, would it?" The Minister of Revenue was a bit puzzled.

"Oh, Ephraim, this is what we should really do at the moment, I believe that Robustil won't give up easily, he will definitely have a hard time with the young Prince, this is the time to let the Prince know that we are sincere in cooperating with him, a true ally is one that spares no effort in providing help to their friends when they are in trouble, moreover, this time, we are trying to bash a fallen dog that has lost its power. As for the benefits, geez! How can we not receive benefits, think about how many people within the current court are qualified to take over the position of Minister of State?"

"Could it be ......," the eyes of the Minister of Revenue brightened.

"Don't say it, will you? It's still something unfounded, but the old man will certainly take advantage of this opportunity, and it's about time he turned over a new leaf, isn't it?" Almodóvar. Marquis Godzilla couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of that old friend.

"Yes! If that's the case then there will be great changes in both the military and political circles of the empire. We will indeed have the opportunity to gain greater benefits." Reeves. Count Sacaela deeply agreed with the words of the finance minister.

"Then, shouldn't we talk about something else?" Barboa. Marquis Descartes was clearly interested in something else, "I'm curious as to which young lady is qualified to labor you like this when you personally led the young Prince to that appointment?"

"Haha! You won't believe it, in fact, I don't believe it either, I am now even more determined to cooperate with Prince Osné. Oh I'm sorry, that young lady strictly forbade me to mention to anyone about her invitation to the Prince today, I can't disobey the order! Do you understand if I say so?"

A few fat men had understood, they all revealed deep thinking expressions, they simultaneously thought of those recent boiling rumors in Turin, things couldn't be that coincidental, it seemed like they really should consolidate their partnership with the Prince.

The people of Turin knew that they had a respectable Princess, they still remembered that this Princess had once dressed in plain clothes on the street to collect donations for the victims in a certain area, they still remembered that this Princess had once impassionedly denounced a certain corrupt official on the lecture platform of Turin University, but compared to these, what people talked about the most was the Princess's future.

His Majesty the Emperor was in the presence of Alenis Alpha. Alpha. At the 18th birthday reception of Princess Alenis Alpha Morissette, the Emperor asked the Princess about her future plans in a very subtle way, and to everyone's surprise, the Princess didn't hide as she did in the past, but this time she answered very simply, saying that she would marry a man whom she had known for many years.

No one knows yet who this lucky man is. The fact that the Princess has made it clear that she does not wish to reveal the identity of the lucky man has further encouraged curiosity, and all kinds of speculations and rumors have become the main theme of this spring, from the Emperor to the common people.

The Emperor was surprised by his youngest daughter's decision, having never heard anyone say that the princess intended to marry. Alpha III did not know his daughter well, but he knew better than anyone that she was the perfect candidate to succeed him. The princess had an unimaginable appeal among the nobles and the people, and they wouldn't mind if it was an empress who ruled over them.

His Majesty the Third had never considered himself a qualified father; a qualified father would first be respected and recognized by his children, and his daughter clearly despised him. Though on the surface the princess had never been disrespectful or acted in any particularly obvious way towards him, the emperor was able to learn a great deal from the icy look in his daughter's eyes.