The Kingdom of Nathia’s Internal Situation.

"Why are so many players determined to become kings in one character's lifetime."

"They push their influence to its limits, forgetting that as players they can inhabit their character's sons, their grandsons."

"So why rush to gain power?"

"Is it not better to wait and slowly gain your power and legitimacy naturally."

"And why must your first character take over a kingdom, not the second or third?"

"This absence of patience is why so many fail."

"For they forget the saying haste makes waste."

Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online.

….

Just as Amulius explained to Leon, Railius confirmed from his travels throughout Nathia that, once again, the genius Chavarian war minister was right on the ball with his assessment of the ancient kingdom's situation, as he was with most things related to political or military affairs.

It was a kingdom that, while appearing powerful on the outside with its strong generals and military because of its many hostile neighbours and the rise of a new superpower to the north, had many internal issues that could not be dealt with. The forces loyal to the kingdom more than themselves had to focus on defending Nathia from outside foes; otherwise, one disastrous civil war could bring the entire kingdom down!

Every single time a country enters a civil war, talented people end up dying, whether in the fighting or executed in the aftermath. No matter the outcome, there is usually a loss initially, even if eradicating parasites in the long term will help the nation to prosper. The elite soldiers of the kingdom would kill each other, reducing their number considerably, and the many villages burnt and looted during the war would cripple many territories' economies and would take years for them to recover.

Replacing these soldiers with conscripted peasants could help with the issue of numbers, but these peasants would be not only poorly equipped but also have low morale, making their practical value on the battlefield low except to be potentially cannon fodder.

Peasants were also vital to medieval agrarian society. They tilled the land, paid taxes, and grew food. The deaths of thousands of peasants could have a disastrous effect on a country's economy. With fewer people, money, and resources at their disposal, the military strength of that country or territory would also be lowered considerably.

In this weakened state, if they were attacked by the elite Chavarian armies commanded by a talented general without one of their own to contend with him and with the noble's and kingdoms' military strength at an all-time low, then the ancient kingdoms' survival would be at stake.

It also did not help that to secure the border, the most virtuous nobles and ministers were sent or given land there to sure up the defence against foreign invasions.

This means that the troops of the loyal border nobles couldn't be used for internal disputes, as having them move could lead to another nation attacking while they were away.

After all, there was a reason the loyal grand dukes had territories near the kingdom's border instead of in its centre, where it would be safer from attack. It was so these border nobles could defend themselves from attack without the need for the king to dispatch any troops, as most of the royal forces were at the three fortresses in the kingdom, adding up to nearly 120,000 soldiers in total, with the majority of them located in Nartook Fortress to defend against Chavaria the best of the best in Nathia with only Nathia's royal guard being able to beat them.

Apart from the 80,000 in Nartook Fortress, the other two fortresses of Kadarm and Scardum, which guard the great bridge that spans the long river, each had 20,000 men. With Chavaria so strong, the most they could mobilise from Nartook Fortress was 30,000, and even then, The Great General and grandmaster strategist Ranier Lantier would need to stay there, being the only one able to hold on for a few months against a potential Chavarian attack.

This did not include the 50,000 soldiers guarding the royal capital which consisted of 30,000 royal guards, and 20,000 garrison troops, meaning that the royal family's actual military strength stood at 170,000 without needing support from the nobility.

But that only gave the royal family 50,000 men to suppress rebels even after scrounging for every elite soldier they could find without moving the royal guard or soldiers defending the capital, as they could only take 10,000 from each of the other two fortresses without compromising the protection of the two fortresses that protect the vital bridge across the river. This was only around the amount that a powerful duke could raise if they could gather all their vassals together. The only difference was that the soldiers in the royal army were of a much higher quality.

In addition to this, these soldiers could only be used for a few months unless reinforcements were somehow sent to Nartook Fortress. This meant the royal forces would have to take the offensive and quickly defeat their enemies so they could return to defend the borders from attack, having at worst to siege down castles and cities within a few months, something hard to do without raising an overwhelming number of men like Chavaria could and sending them relentlessly against the walls of the castle or fortress ignoring casualties and focusing only on taking it down.

But there was another crucial problem in addition to all these problems.

Who could be trusted to lead such a force?

A noble with high prestige and talent in the military?

Could the king really feel at ease giving such power to a landed noble?

What if the noble in charge of the army rebelled and these 50,000 soldiers, alongside his own territories troops and the other rebels, marched on the royal capital?

Could the king muster a defence against them?

This could not be guaranteed. While he had 30,000 royal guards and 20,000 garrison troops that also acted as the outer security stationed in the royal capital, it would still be an uphill battle to defend against the 100,000 or so enemies that would want to take his head.

After all, in Nathia, there are far more nobles who are only out for their own interests than those who actually care about the country or the people, and they would not be the first ones to force a king or emperor to give them the power to use him to control the various feudal lords for his own benefits.

In history, one of the most famous examples of this was done by Emperor Wu of Wei, a title posthumously given to Cao Cao by his son Cao Pi after he usurped the throne from Emperor Xian Liu Xie, the last emperor of the Han Dynasty.

 After taking possession of the emperor, Cao Cao used him to command the other feudal lords, giving one warlord lands and titles owned by another to incite conflict. He also used him to slowly increase the legitimacy of his government and use Emperor Xian as a figurehead while he held the true power.

Of course, Cao Cao was a capable administrator and was seen as a relatively wise lord who judged people on their talents more than anything else; becoming very famous for his insatiable desire for competent and talented people, so to call him a traditionally corrupt noble would be wrong as he worked hard to stamp out corruption but his actions in using the Han Emperor as a puppet more than applied to the current Nathia.

So, what is to stop an ambitious noble from doing something similar?

It was lucky that Ranier Lantier was loyal to the crown and king. He served as the main deterrent to this event, as the grandmaster strategist would lead his 80,000 elite soldiers to save the king even if he risked an invasion from Chavaria.

All the nobles feared him as he was the only grandmaster strategist in the kingdom while also possessing the most talented military officers in the kingdom under him, having at least one master strategist under his command to help him direct a battle and was able to defeat armies many times the size of his.

Even if the nobles could gather 200,000 soldiers together, there was no guarantee that they could defeat Ranier's elite troops, who had constantly been fighting at the border for years against the best that Chavaria had to offer.

The only issue with this was that it would take 2 weeks to march from Nartook Fortress to the royal capital of Narthonia, not to mention how long it would take to travel to the rebellious nobles' territory and back to Nartook Fortress again, and if these troops were moved, it presented an opportunity for the Chavarians to take it, and if they did, then the mountains that they had relied on to help defend against the elite Chavarian legions would be lost.

After that, it would only be a matter of time before the Chavarian war machine devoured Nathia, as only the mountain fortress could help hold against the superpower that Chavaria had become. Even if all the nobles stayed loyal, which it was almost guaranteed that they would not, the fall of the kingdom would be set in stone.

Dying to a usurper or dying to a foreign country, what was the difference in the eyes of the supreme ruler of Nathia?

Either way, he would die even if it would take a few years for Chavaria to take Nathia. That was all the king would gain for a few years.

While Nathia had better generals than Chavaria for the past few years, thanks to the altercation between the Chavarain Emperor and Lucius Aurellion, Chavaria still had numbers on their side. The empire's population was over three times that of Nathia, which stood at a respectable 20 million, so without the mountain fortress to help mitigate the Chavarian's overwhelming numbers, it would only be a matter of time until Nathia fell as after 8 years the Chavarain army had mostly recovered and was receiving many talented people due to their larger population not to mention the efforts of the minister of war to train up the next generation of the empires commanders.

After all, if Nathia fell, many of these nobles could serve under a new king or emperor, while the royal family would be lucky if even one of their descendants survived the fall of their country for more than a few years.

One only had to look at the now-extinct Kingdom of Nadron to see how these fallen royal families were treated by their conquerors. After all, they were the only ones with a legitimate claim to restore their nation unless the new rulers were excessively tyrannical, leading to the entire royal line being wiped out. Even a 6-month-old child had its head smashed by the Chavarians so that there was no one for the Nadron nobles and people to rally around in the future to rebel against the newly established empire.

But the many nobles in Nadron or Plureus were spared. This served two purposes.

The first was that it stopped the Chavarain Emperor from suddenly having to appoint a bunch of new nobles to oversee his new territory, but it also set a precedent that as long as the nobles stayed loyal and quiet, then they would be left alone to continue on as they always had.

What did most nobles fear losing most when being attacked by a foreign country?

Of course, it was their land, titles and power!

When one country conquered another, it was not abnormal for many nobles of the old regime to lose their lands, wealth, and power. But why would many of these self-serving nobles resist if their lands and titles could be persevered?

Wouldn't it be better to surrender, keep your lands and titles, and live as they had done in the past, retaining their wealth and power under a new regime?

Yes, there may be new laws you have to abide by, but it was better than being dead and losing your dynasty's prosperity and property.

If there was one thing that Cassius Crestier, the founding emperor of Chavaria, did well, it was to ensure that his empire was stable by ruthlessly exterminating all opposition and future problems. This policy almost led to House Aurellion's destruction, as they were far too powerful to allow them to live with a grudge against the crown prince and mutual suspicion between them.

It was just unfortunate for him that Lucius Aurellion had long planned an escape route for his family, which allowed the noble house to barely survive extinction, but no one else had escaped, showing just how hard such a feat was. 

But he also set a precedent that those who were defeated but surrendered and were willing to serve him would be able to keep their titles. After all, many of the Kingdom of Nadron's nobles, including the renowned Duke of Plantaria, managed to retain their territories despite fighting so desperately against the Chavarian Emperor. 

If they could retain their territories even after resisting so hard, how could they not if they just surrendered without a fight?

'Mixing benevolence with pragmatic ruthlessness establishing a reputation of mercy and virtue, even willing to forgive those who fought so hard against you, the Chavarain emperor is truly a great ruler who knows how to manipulate people's hearts!'

Railius thought, sighing as with this reputation, except for those people or nobles who are loyal to their nation and take pride in it will resist with all their might. The others are likely to surrender once the situation in Nathia deteriorates too much or even betray the king and capture him to gain more power and the favour of their new ruler, the Chavarian Emperor.

It was not that the emperor believed that Lucius or even his son would rebel quickly—after all, the first was dead, and the other was a child—but because they could in the future. Just the chance that House Aurellion could rebel and throw the entire empire into chaos was enough for the Chavarian Emperor to be so ruthless, which is why he ordered the implementation of Article 66.

Ordering the extermination of House Aurellion.

Just as he ordered the deaths of everyone in the royal families of the Kingdoms of Plurus and Nadron, with only one Plurian prince able to escape, thanks to General Bardornus, he would exterminate anyone who threatened the new fledgeling empire.

Even heroes who had helped forge it.

After touring the country disguised as a caravan guard, Railius had seen and heard all he needed to know: Not only were many of the Nathian nobles corrupt, and their rule was borderline tyrannical, but many of those who ruled well held their own ambitions more in their hearts than the well-being of the country. The only reason their territories were even the slightest bit prosperous was because it increased their power, not that he blamed as the main reason why Railius was such a virtuous and benevolent lord or acted as one and that it increased and formed the base of his power and gained people's hearts.

Unfortunately, the corruption he found in the Duchy of Detarnor was not an isolated case. Many were like the duke, using their positions to increase their own wealth. Despite support from the grand dukes and the best general in the kingdom, a large number of the other nobles had joined the faction of the second prince, with only the vassals or the nobles with territories near the grand dukes supporting the crown prince or staying neutral.

At least five dukes, three marquises, and two counts were confirmed to already be part of the second prince's faction. These nobles alone had the power to contend with the two grand dukes. Not to mention that almost all of these nobles were not at the border and so could dispatch far more troops than those more loyal nobles at the border, which had to always be on guard from foreign attacks.

This presented a serious threat to Nathia's internal security, as these nobles, including the Duke of Detarnor, now had a route directly to the capital that they could use to start a coup if they so desired, and that could potentially cause a civil war if they chose to put the second prince on the throne and overthrow Nathia's genius crown prince who was the only one capable of keeping Nathia stable and prosperity.

A civil war.

An opportunity the other countries around them were waiting for to pounce on Nathia like wolves, using the kingdom's internal strife to their advantage to take bits of the kingdom for themselves as the nobles fought for power and influence.

And something that, if not dealt with quickly, could destroy the entire kingdom.

'But here in lies opportunity.'

'The perfect place to start.'

'The perfect target.'

'For my rise to power.'

Railius thought as he lay down on his bed to sleep, his decision, one that would change the fates of millions and even the game world itself.

But first, he must wait.

Must investigate the other countries.

The other cultures.

Which of these countries will be useful to him?

And which will not.

Who was worthy to form alliances with?

And who would he turn into a mountain of corpses in his bid for greater power and influence?