Chapter 0 “The Earl’s Son”

As we look back upon history, one would often discover that under the surging currents of time, even the wisest leaders would find it difficult to keep their heads over the water.

 ——Imperial Chronicle, chapter 35, note 7 —— Pertaining to the reflections on the Roland Era 12

On this summertime afternoon, the scorching sun hanging overhead was mercilessly radiating its heat upon these lands. Even so, countless scarlet armored soldiers standing in full gear remains on standby around the first pier of the harbour. Their formation so tight that not even a trickle of water could get through their ranks.

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However, these soldiers weren’t having the most trouble here today, nay, it’s the thousand or so public security officers further up ahead of these men who are suffering. Hard pressed by the overly excited civilians of the city, these poor souls were being torn apart with their shiny epaulets ripped from their body and helmets flung off into the air like celebratory hats at a party.

So what sort of number could make such an oppressive force numb to their knees and feel helpless? Of course it would be another force far greater than their own in numbers. At a staggering total of fifty thousand strong, these were the level of cheering civilian participants they had to contend with.

Thankfully the weapons these enthusiastic individuals are donning were nothing threatening, merely flowers, cheers and applause – of course, there’s also a large number of virgin maidens willing and ready to offer up their chastity to those hearty souls that’s about to return home. Against this kind of an uproar, one thousand public security forces were outmatched and outnumbered.

In fact, these poor brave men who drew the shorter end of the stick were brimming with envy at their counterparts behind themselves at the dock. Both units were tasked with similar objectives, yet one party got to flash around with their brightly polished weapons and armor while the other had to deal with these overly zealous citizens who would make a grab at their bodies whenever the opportunities arises.

So what’s the reason for the huge commotion here today one may ask? That would be the flagship of the sixth imperial navy – the “Dandong” – finally returning from its expedition in the Southeastern Sea.

In order to create the most grandiose event to welcome those aboard the vessel, His Majesty Augustine VI has ordered the Lancang Grand Canal – the river here – to be widened to twice its former size, all for the sake of allowing the ginormous ship to sail unhindered. Naturally that feat was no easy task to complete. Requiring over half a year of labor and spanning tens of thousands of gold in investment from the empire, it was a true waste of a nation’s resource.

But nobody cared whether or not this flaunting was worth it or not of course, especially not after the previous finance minister being fired upon protest. The poor soul infuriated the emperor with his pestering.

For this reason alone, the succeeding ministers could only shut their mouths while scratching their hairs out in order to come up with the necessary funds. Squeeze a little bit here, squeeze a little bit there, eventually the last bit of maneuverable wealth was spent, all for the sake of satisfying a single ‘extravagant old man’.

Of course, the head finance minister didn’t have the courage to say that appellation aloud, thus forcing him to bury that thought deep, very deep, within his heart…..

But enough of this, that’s another story for another time. What matters most right now was the people and the expected vessel that’s about to arrive through the waters.

As the afternoon sun wore on for the day, warming the river surface with its brilliant heat, so did the cheers of the people grow in kind after catching the first glimpse of the sail in the far-off distance.

Initially the size of that vessel was but a blimp in the horizon, but with each passing minute came the ever increasingly detailed outline of its size and glory. This was an enormous vessel, stretching over two hundred paces in length and giving an awe-inspiring grander that sent shock waves of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ across the crowd.

That’s right, this was the Dandong, the pride of the imperial navy, repainted after its long journey across the open sea into a black behemoth just for this day.

As it docked and dropped anchor, waves of cheers could instantly be heard across the landscape. Hats were thrown, foots were stomped on and countless legs were bruised from the constant jostling; nevertheless, this chaotic movement did not break the security forces and their iron will for they are the main line of defense today.

Pity them though, as willingly and courageous as these men were, that solid line could do nothing against the wave after wave of excited cheers. Before long, the circling line around the harbor had once again shrunk in kind to meet that fevering push.

While the crowds were going crazy down below, things were a tad different aboard the ship instead. Earl Raymond, the imperial commander of the entire fleet, was currently standing on the prow, watching the people expressionlessly.

There’s no doubt in this admiral’s mind that his return this time would surely reward him with another set of medals. That’s why he’s all dressed up in the grandest attire he could find, mainly a full body armor and a scarlet red cape to showcase his majestic image. Of course, this was all done at the behest of the military and not of his own accord.

Damn it, this armor is too heavy and too ridiculous! A seemingly intangible flicker of impatience could be seen in the admiral’s eye.

As a navy officer, the Earl didn’t believe such heavy attires were suitable for a proper sailor. The key to surviving at sea lies in one’s agile swiftness, meaning what he has on was the polar opposite of that belief. Furthermore, the fact that he had to flaunt his achievements in front of the public was even more outlandish – true nobility need not deign such wealth and prowers before others, it’s shallow and beneath himself.

Besides, his patience was starting to wear thin as the loud clamoring grew bigger and bigger with each passing second that he stood at the prow.

Curse those bootlicking bastards, not only did they replace the ram with a useless figurehead in His Majesty’s likeness, they also hired a master sculptor to specially craft it.  The admiral eyes the magnificent object below his feet and felt disgusted by the enormous waste of resource.

There were good reasons for his negative outlook about the expenditure. It really was what one would call excessive and flaunting of wealth.

Don’t those idiots know the ship’s bow is the first part to be destroyed during naval combat? It would’ve been better if they just stuck a giant ramming spear onto the head, it would’ve been more practical!

He’s the admiral of the navy, he understands how political figures think, but that doesn’t excuse his military side from crying out in protest. In fact, this great hero of the navy actually thought the entirety of the Sixth Imperial Navy to be a preposterous error in of itself from a strategic standpoint.

He couldn’t deny that there’s wealth to be found in the countless islands scattered across that body of water in the southeast. Like pearls in the ocean, there are many treasures to be harvested and reaped from the local natives. Gold, gems, spices, and even slaves, these are all valuable resources the Empire desperately needs. But to use such massive warships and at such a grand scale, the expenses have long surpassed its worth.

What’s more, those primitive natives are no better than barbarians. Stone axes, wooden arrows, and canoe boats as their main instruments of travel, there’s no glory in murdering such weak foes. In fact, what they are doing now were no different from simple acts of plundering and robbery, massacring for the simple fact of looting!

Of course, the Earl himself didn’t find anything wrong in this though. The weak will always be eaten by the strong, that’s the truth of this world. That’s why the weak must always maintain a servile attitude to the strong less they want to be destroyed.

So why did Earl Raymond here think so poorly of the current situation? It’s far too frequent, these operations, or ‘expeditions’, or whatever they wanted to call it, its being conducted far too frequently.

It’s true the first couple of times the Empire managed to reap huge spoils from its trip back in the days, but with each voyage came less and less. Nowadays, the Navy would find it hard pressed to plunder enough just to break even from all its expenses.

Also, the ocean doesn’t just contain savages and barbarians to threaten a sailor at sea. There are also natural dangers from the sky and the ground. For one, the terrifying waves in a storm would crush any ship regardless of their size, then there’s the countless reefs surrounding the various islands, and the maelstroms and whirlpools….

This truly was an ironic situation. From what was originally supposed to be a fertile granary for the Empire, has now become a desolate and overgrown field constantly sucking up the resources of the farmer.

For Earl Raymond, he could see all of this and determine the only ending that awaits the situation. Yet he’s done nothing to stop this or bring it up to the emperor. Sadly, in the end he too was a politician in light of being a military man. He’s not going to destroy an easy path to glory and fame just for the sake of the unrelated.

Robber, Butcher, Executioner, these were the nicknames others have given this navy commander over the years after overseeing three expeditions in the time he’s served. Truly a man covered in blood of the enslaved.

Of course, the Earl himself could care less about what his enemy thought. Right now, there’s only one thing of concern to him though, and that was the so-called coalition created by the natives living on the islands. This was the direct result of the excessive plundering they’ve caused, which might truly be a threat to the Empire itself in the not so far off future.

Fortunately this particular vexation wasn’t anything he had to worry about anymore. He knew full well that this was his last voyage as the navy commander. From now on he would stay in the imperial capital, and if everything went well, take up an illustrious position at the imperial high command before using his family influence to become the next military minister after the old one retires in another decade or so. And if he’s even more lucky, or by sheer will, he could even aim to become the next chancellor, a position second only to the emperor himself!

As for the expeditions, fuck it, that’s a headache for the next fleet commander. Even if those natives do develop to a point where they are capable of building magic cannons and navel warships, it’s still not his problem.

With his mind made up, the Earl finally moves from his spot. Descending from the deck under a wave of fervent cheering, he’s now back on land after so long out at sea, the very soil that raised him. Yet, that wave he made to the crowd was no different from swatting a fly. He’s still sick of this charade. Even so, he endures and listened through the entire commendation from the courtly attendant that’s been waiting on him until now.

The message wasn’t anything fancy from the emperor, merely a series of commendations and an order for him to enter the palace the following morning. It truly was a wonderful day with his prospects looking bright. However, the following next message to reach his ear from a servant of his own household had caused him to sink into the very abyss of hell itself.

It was news about his family.

Due to being away for many years, Raymond here didn’t have the pleasure of knowing the situation at home, or the circumstances at large for that matter. But most importantly, it was his wife and child that he’s most concerned with.

Three years ago, when he left his wife was already close to going in labor, as a result of this, he didn’t even know if his child was a boy or girl. Of course, the news from home that he just learned was that of a boy. But the newborn, sadly to say, it’s apparently a mentally crippled one….

One minute he was at his highest point in life, a place of glory and power, the next he’s thrust into the welcome bowel of depression.

For all the bigwigs that came to welcome this hero, they could see the gloomy expression in the man right now. And sure enough, they could also guess why!

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