Chapter 846 (1/2)
Chapter 846: Factional Conflicts
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
“Otto Luoxi is our ally and he deserves better. They’ve harassed the Eastern Region this time, next time they may dare to cross the boundary and invade the kingdom!” Brian said loudly. “Your Majesty, please give the order! No matter how far the enemy is, the First Army will crush them for you!”
“Invading us?” Barov raised his eyebrow. “If the army of the Kingdom of Dawn could enter Graycastle so brazenly, why on earth would you be here?”
“My lord, it’s just an example—”
“A baseless example won’t convince anybody,” Barov interrupted. “More importantly, why do we need to involve the army in a problem that could be solved by diplomacy? Do you remember His Majesty’s primary goal for this year? Do you think the eldest son of a noble family from the City of Glow would be more significant than our king’s enthronement?”
For a moment, Brian was speechless.
“Alright… let’s take a break.” Roland clapped his hands. “Eat something before we continue.”
As the clapping sounded, a servant waiting at the doorway entered wheeling a trolley. Some officials in the hall started to help themselves to snacks while others went to the bathroom. Thus, the tension within the room subsided.
This scene had come up repeatedly in their discussions during the three-day meeting. After Roland had received the intelligence reports from the spy, Hill Fawkes, and the garrison in the Northern Region, he had summoned all of the relevant officials to the castle to plan out a solution to the current situation.
Roland could clearly see two different factions forming among his men. The City Hall faction, headed by Barov, was more conservative. They preferred to concentrate on the development of the kingdom and were more focused on the Western Region, and they planned to gradually expand the population and increase the strength of Graycastle until the unification of the kingdom. To make the King of Dawn, Appen Moya, pay the price for his action was in their plan, but it was not considered urgent.
The other faction consisting of the First Army under the leadership of Brian, favored by the Adviser Department, was more aggressive. But they were not as united and as close as the City Hall faction. The men of the First Army were influenced by Brian, who boasted of new concepts like “defending against the enemy abroad”, “acting before the enemy even notices,” and “striking the enemy unprepared”, so they insisted on taking immediate action, delivering retribution upon the Kingdom of Dawn and saving the detained Otto Luoxi. As for the members of the Adviser Department, they probably chose to stand with the First Army for their own benefit as they had no way to earn themselves rewards unless there was a war to fight.
Additionally, some members of the Adviser Department were from Longsong Stronghold, so they were not as familiar with Neverwinter as the men of City Hall. More often than not, their ideas were refuted and unappreciated, making their voice seem even less important.
Hence, there were several times that Brian’s speech was countered by Barov easily. Honestly, in terms of eloquence, Brian was far behind Barov, so he had already done a great job of expressing his ideas in front of the ministers in the meeting so far. After all, Brian, the leader of the Gun Battalion, was young. He grew up as an ordinary villager of Border Town, less tested and inexperienced, which was something that could be seen from his report of the defensive battle in the snow mountain.
Roland had kept silent during the discussions. For the moment, the aggressive side was at a disadvantage and was losing control of the debate. To Roland’s surprise, Barov’s ability had grown greatly in the past three years. He might have been well trained while serving the previous Treasurer and all he needed was a chance to take off.
The only thing that surprised Roland was that Edith had made no speech and kept silent over the three days of the meeting.