36 Defense Plan

"I am going to have to part ways with you here, Ethan. I have a meeting in a little bit with the King, the Minister of War, the Captain of the Moon Knights, and the Captain of the Constellation Knights. After that meeting, my father is coming to the capital so I will need to meet with him. Plus, I assume you have other things that you need to do?" Said Mia.

"Yes. I'm planning to go to the casino." Said Ethan.

[Please don't tell me that he's turning into a younger version of Von Weizen, but with less common sense. I know that he was winning a lot last night, and, knowing Ethan, he probably has a winning strategy at that game, but he doesn't know how to regulate himself. 'Oh cool a delayed spark. I can predict wars. No harm could possibly come of that.' That is the kind of mindset that Ethan has, the worst kind of ignorance, ignorance of common sense combined with a genius intellect, so that he can come up with groundbreaking ideas, but not know how dangerous they are. Even someone like Von Weizen can at least know when he's in over his head, but Ethan can't even do that. Well, as much as it pains me, I shouldn't stop him. if anything goes wrong, it's not like Ethan will die or anything. At worst, he will just be kicked out of the casino and called a cheater. It will be a good learning experience for him anyway. Please just don't do anything too lacking in common sense. Anyway, I have to go to this meeting now, so I don't have time to worry about Ethan.] thought Mia.

Mia then went back to the Royal Palace throne room where the King Karl X, the Minister of War Gerhard Von Heer, the Captain of the Moon Knights Emma Von Grausam, the Captain of the Constellation Knights, Andreas Von Gestirn, as well as the Minister of Intelligence, Harold Von Geheimnis, who was in charge of the spy network of the Kingdom of Vorbei, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfred Botschaft, who was in charge of the Vorbei Kingdom's diplomats, were all about to start the meeting.

"Now that we're all here, let's start." Said Karl.

"What's this about? Why was I called here?" Asked Emma Von Grausam, the Captain of the Moon Knights.

"We have reason to believe that the Western Empire will invade in two months. We need to form a defensive strategy." Said Karl.

"Your majesty. May I ask what these sources are?" Asked the Captain of the Moon Knights Emma Von Grausam.

"I can not identify my sources, but the information is accurate. What we need to do now is form a comprehensive defense strategy." Said the King.

"Gerhard, do you think that if the Mountain Tribal Federation to the north were to go to war against the Western Empire at the same time as we did, that could turn the tides of war in our favor?" Asked the King.

"It might. If they were to also go to war with the Western Empire, then the Western Empire would have to fight on two different fronts, a northern front against the Mountain Tribal Federation, and an eastern front against us, greatly spreading out their forces and leaving them more vulnerable." Said Gerhard Von Heer.

"I agree with Gerhard, but how do you plan on getting the Mountain Tribal Federation to help us? When is the last time all of those tribes unanimously agreed on anything?" Said the Captain of the Constellation Knights, Andreas Von Gestirn.

The Mountain Tribal Federation was a loose federation consisting of most of the tribes in the mountainous region to the north. It consists of a council of all of the leaders of the tribes that are members of it. The Mountain Tribal Federation Council can only make decisions by unanimous consent of all of the member tribes. While the individual tribal governments for the most part have autonomy, the federation council sometimes looks for solutions to major catastrophic problems.

"Harold, what do your sources report on the famine in the Mountain Tribal Federation?" Said the King.

"The famine is not getting better. They barely produce enough crops to sustain themselves on the best of harvest years in that rocky soil of theirs, but with this new blight affecting their crops, they really don't have enough food. Some of the poorer people there are beginning to starve to death. They are all growing more and more desperate." Said the Minister of Intelligence, Harold Von Geheimnis.

"We do have a major surplus of grain right now, and likely will for many years to come. Alfred, do you think that our diplomats to the Mountain Tribal Federation could convince them to enter into a mutual defense pact with us against the Western Empire, so that if the Western Empire attacks either one of us the other would also declare war against the Western Empire, in exchange for providing all of their tribes with regular shipments of grain? Do you think that your diplomats could get them to unanimously agree to that?" Said the King.

"If what Harold just said is accurate, I think that there is a solid possibility of that. It is true that the Mountain Tribal Federation Council rarely agrees on anything unanimously, but a desperate need for food would go a long way in convincing them. Additionally, the tribes of that region take great pride in their martial abilities, and they are surely very upset about the Western Empire encroaching on their territory."

"Excellent. I want you to tell your diplomats to make that offer immediately. Now, let's talk about gunpowder..." Said the King.