Hidden Secret (2)

I looked at the gold for a while, then I received the pendant from the chamberlain, and I became the master of the gold, or rather Former Imperial Treasury.

The excellent thing about this secret place is that even if the territory is taken by another country, only I, with the pendant, can enter this space.

Even if I let the attendants move the gold and the location becomes public, only I, with the pendant, will be able to enter the place where the gold is hidden.

I shouted with pleasure and had a tenth of the gold transported through the night.

The amount is about one billion Lunans.

When combined with the funds from the territory, it would amount to,

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[1,025,000,000 Lunans]

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If I grow my territory with this, the population will increase and I will be able to conscript more soldiers, which will eventually become my military strength.

Originally, the Aquitania family was the royal family, though back then we were known by the imperial name Ceasar falling to using the provincial name after being ousted from power.

As such, they had military funds that had been prepared by their descendants for the reconstruction.

So the day after I got the gold, I announced a policy to win the hearts and minds of the people!

"My people have suffered at the hands of Baron Bord. I pretended to agree with him in order to get proof of his evil deeds and that evil has been caught. As an apology for everything I've done, I'm removing all taxes from the territory for three years! As my apology for the suffering you have had to go through to capture this Visigoth spy hiding in our midst!" <Julius >

I put all the blame on Baron Bord and started to work on my reputation.

This is the kind of thing an evil lord would do, but it's okay.

As long as I can use what I have to raise public sentiment.

I had enough money so I didn't have to be blinded by taxes.

For a while, the people didn't understand what I was saying, as they were terrified that I was going to enact another ridiculous policy.

It wasn't long, however, before they started cheering.

A year of tax exemption was a great boon that resonated with the people the most.

It meant that they could own 100% of everything they farmed, whereas before, they had been deprived of at least 95% of their crops.

That should have been enough to change their impression of the villainous lords in an instant.

[People's Spirit has risen to 70]

And it was actually showing up in the numbers right before my eyes.

And all around the crowd was hastily chatting with their neighbours to discover if they'd misheard or even understand what not paying taxes really meant to them.

* * *

King Tutanka of the Lunan Kingdom scratched his head in disbelief.

He looked completely frightened as all the nobles looked at him.

"Your Majesty, the Delan region and even the Luon territory is...." <Duke Ronen>

Duke Ronen, the supreme commander of the army, opened his mouth.

"The enemy army is almost here! How long are you going to keep getting beaten up?" <King Tutanka"< p>

The Lunan Kingdom, which was hit by the invasion of the Visigoth Kingdom from the north without any preparation, has been losing battle after battle.

Of course, the territory on the northern border has fallen in vain, and now the army of the Visigoth Kingdom is marching right next to the capital.

The incompetent King Tutanka, whose top priority was his own safety, blamed the nobles for the situation.

Even with their forces being more prepared than in the games history since reinforcements were not dispatched to recapture the fallen Aquitania territory opening up the path to the capital.

"Oh, did you hear about the invasion of Aintorian territory?" <King Tutanka>

Tutanka remembered the report he had received the other day.

This was very surprising to him, as he usually forgot even the reports he received an hour ago.

"Yes, sir. There has been no second attack and the enemy's forces are concentrated in the north." <Duke Ronen>

"So you're saying that the Lord of Aquitania has won the battle against the Visigoth Kingdom?" <King Tutanka>

"Yes...." <Duke Ronen>

Ronen wrinkled his brow.

He had heard rumors about Julius, the lord of Aquitania, who had inherited the title two years ago, and his reputation as an incompetent lord who did nothing but misrule and harass his own province into poverty.

"According to the reports coming up in the territory, 5,000 territorial troops held off 20,000 troops from the Visigoth Kingdom...To be honest, I don't believe it. As the report also states the Lord Julius also slayed on of the 10 Warlords in single combat, I can only assume that they increased their merit through exaggeration!." <Duke Ronen>

"But he stopped them, didn't he?" <King Tutanka< p>

"I think he got lucky, and the enemy forces equalled his own not outnumbered him." <Duke Ronen>

Tutanka shook his head at Ronen's words.

The capital was about to be invaded at any moment, and any lord who won against Visigoth no matter how great or small should be on the front lines.

If there is even the slightest possibility, it is time to implement it immediately.

Tutanka immediately shouted to Ronen.

"Winning experience is important on the battlefield. Send him to the front lines immediately to defend the country! If nothing else it'll raise the morale of our soldiers!" <King Tutanka>

"But Your Majesty, aside from Julius's abilities, the lords of the frontier are tasked with protecting the...borders." <Duke Ronen>

"If the capital is in danger, who cares about the border? That's an order!" <King Tutanka>

Tutanka raised his voice.

As a vassal, Ronen could only shake his head and nod.

If you disobey an order, it is treason.

"In that case, keep the soldiers at the border and bring only the lord here." <Duke Ronen>

"Yes, that's right. Leave the border to the soldiers and let the lord prove his abilities on the front lines!" <King Tutanka>

Tutanka stood up and left the main hall.

* * *