Mysterious Job Called Oda Nobunaga - 148

The administration of the controlled areas had already been proposed by Kerala, Jahnhahn, and others, under a number of different scenarios.

We then decided to leave the local governance to Kerala. Although I have the authority to direct the local government, there is a limit to how much I can judge all civil administration. Besides, I am out there to drive away the enemy, so it would be bad to act as if I were a lord.

I have called Kerala to confirm this “premise”.

“-So, I’m leaving you in charge of the three prefectures that I’ve brought under my control this time. Well, if anything goes wrong, you can talk to me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

It was agreed that I would take control of the three coastal provinces, while the inland provinces invaded by Solstice would be nominally controlled by Solstice. This way, there would be an atmosphere that we were doing what we had to do. Of course, behind the scenes, I and Soltis are connected. In the first place, it was Soltis who asked me for advice.

He said, “I will do as you wish. I will proceed with my plan quietly. If there is any cause for concern, it is that it was enemy land and it is impossible to predict where a rebellion may occur.

It is true that there may be enemy generals among the peasants and city dwellers. The hiding places were endless.

The decision to rebel was left to you. The enemy is a rebel against His Majesty. You can judge them as you wish.

“Yes. Yes, sir. I will see to it.

There is no longer any confusion or doubt in Kerala’s eyes that I am building a new nation. She has become my loyal subordinate.

–You’ve managed to tame Mitsuhide Akechi! You did well.

Oda Nobunaga is saying a mixture of disgust and appreciation.

–Well, that’s because he learned a lesson from my time. If I had known from the start that he would betray me, I could have done things differently. It may have been a mistake in hindsight, but any lord would have let his guard down like that. Ah!　I am so angry to think that there will always be people who will make it sound like it was all my fault!

Don’t lose your temper on your own. You brought the country from chaos to the verge of unification, so you are definitely the High King. And don’t worry about what the little people of the future will say about you.

–That’s true. …… After all, only those who are alive at the moment can evaluate people of the past. It’s disgusting to be called a fool for one mistake. There’s a word “finishing touch”, and it’s a bitter thing to fail in the last point.

I understand what you mean. Well, I’ll keep that in mind.

“Kerala, while you are in control of the occupied territories, I will take another province before the straits – Nargust. Then I will establish a stronghold in the eastern part of Nargst Province, on the side of King’s Landing.”

I put my hand on the map. The inland city of Yagmouri.

“It seems too far east to fight the former royalists and too far from the sea – but it is also a preparation from the east.”

Kerala has already been informed of our intentions.

“That’s what I meant. It’s just a matter of time. If we are attacked from the Royal City side, the place must be able to hold up well enough. Besides, from here, the Nistonians and the frontier count Tarsha can send us supplies via the northbound route.”

I was already moving toward independence.

The southern sea is in danger not only from the former royalists but also from the military ships from King’s Landing. Therefore, I decided to build a base deeper into the sea.

Of course, this is to attack the former royalists, but also to be able to deal with Hasse appropriately in case he gets scared of me.

“Indeed, there is already no one in the kingdom who has more power than you. It is difficult to say …… that there is no danger that Your Highness will consider me your greatest enemy.”

I nodded slowly. At this point, if I were to defeat the former royalists and take over the country militarily, the majority of the country would be mine. The forces to the east of King’s Landing may not yet be directly aligned with me, but they would still have enough military power to bring the city down.

Therefore, Hasse is not urging the former royalists to cross the straits and attack me.

More and more letters are coming in these days with half-hearted compliments such as “take care of yourself.

And those letters also said that they wanted to send a viceroy from the capital to the occupied territories for the time being.

I refuse to accept that part of the letter because the confusion is still not over.

My words are not all lies. A viceroy who is new to war and has done nothing but paperwork would be overwhelmed by a single uprising of the old forces. I cannot trust him.

But the first problem is that such a man from the outside is a hindrance to my effective control.

I will take full control of the occupied territories. I will keep it in my hands until Hasse is satisfied.

“The invasion of Nargst Province was carried out by Kosivik and Meissel Uge from two directions. I told them to do it while yawning.”

There are not enough lords in Nargst to drive back my legions anyway. And I’m sure that the lords of the Talmud and Samyut, the rulers of the so-called Giant Islands beyond the Straits of Sanad, will not go to such lengths to protect Nargst Province either. It is too inefficient for the effort.

“It’s a province that can be taken soon anyway, but let’s take our time. Frankly, I don’t care as long as it doesn’t hurt the soldiers. I’d rather it be over before I can set up my base in Yagmouri. Of all the battles, there should be at least one battle where you don’t kill the enemy.

“It’s as if they’re moving their base to Yagmouri.”

Kerala is not a joking kind of person, so some of them must really think so.

“I don’t intend to go that far, as you can imagine. Maust is my beloved castle. I wouldn’t move to Yagmouri, a place I have no connection to, even if the king ordered me to.”

I immediately dismissed Kerala’s words.

But then I looked at her with a distant look in my eyes.

“But there may be times in the future when you’ll be stuck in Yagmouri,” she said.

“In the past, there have been cases where a lord surrendered while struggling in a castle he was ordered to defend, and other lords appointed him lord of that castle.”

If this had been said by anyone other than Kerala, I might have thought it was sarcastic, but Kerala had no intention of making fun of me at all.

“Well then, I look forward to Kerala’s administrative skills. I’m going to go to Kosivik for a pep talk. I’ll need her to get us as far as Yagmouri, otherwise our plans will be delayed.”

Then Kerala suddenly said something unusually close to the joking side.

“Isn’t it about time you had some female skin on your expedition?”

“Yes. Then I’ll ask you for a little night care.”

I held Kerala before she left. I thought that we had come to know each other better than in the past.