Shadow King Chronicles: Building a Kingdom From Behind the Scenes
Meeting Plan
*This is the point of view of Maria Petersburg*
Kiev is as crowded as ever. At least, Kiev is the same size as the capital of the Grand Aria Empire, the Reichstaag. But once civil war broke out there, all the streams of wealth, the merchants, businessmen, wealthy investors from several noble houses, flocked to Kiev.
It was the Duchess of Petersburg, Maria Petersburg who arranged all of this. She is a young woman and she is 25 years old. But his abilities and influence had been recognized by even the emperor himself.
He convinced the owners of the capital to invest in the Moskov empire and gave them the opportunity to explore resources in areas conquered by the Moskov empire.
In addition, he granted the sailors the right to create their own fleet and send them to search for a "new world". An island or continent that was previously untouched.
So far, progress has been very slow. But progress is progress. Although slow, some sailors reported that they had seen a large plain from a distance. However due to the ferocious sea monsters, they could not set foot there.
But lately there are some things that make him worried. The holders of the capital he collects are more interested in investing their money in a more promising place. At least according to them.
It was a kingdom that had just risen from a slump in less than three years. Heinz Kingdom. The Moskov Empire. They thought that the Heinz kingdom would need at least ten years at the earliest if it were to return to its current state.
They are against the laws of nature. Maybe it's like that. In just less than a year, internal stability had been established.
The kingdom had cleared out factions deemed traitors, confiscating all property and assets paying off their heavily borrowed debts from the Moskov empire.
Not only that, they managed to build up considerable economic and military power. He has no specific information about the military. All he knew was that the total number of active soldiers was approximately 150,000.
Indeed, fewer than the Moskov Empire that has an active army of 500,000, not to mention if added with the private army of the imperial nobles.
Horse production and mineral processing centers in the North and East, food management centers in the west, south, and east, and public financial management centers in the capital. Not to mention they had acquired a portion of the territory of the Garlin kingdom that had a lot of natural resources.
They have enough money to fund the military in peacetime and wartime thanks to it all. And that's what makes at least Duchess Petersburg not want to make them enemies. If he could, he wanted to work with them to enrich his territory.
According to the information he gathered from the traders, the queen and the now-ruling prime minister are indeed smart and innovative. It is natural for them to be able to do such a great thing.
But there is one person who makes sure that the policies made by the two of them run smoothly. Without him, it might take a long time for the kingdom to rise.
And that person is Issac Starfall. A palace chief of staff and a Duke in the eastern region. He formed a national police unit tasked with cracking down on crime while keeping an eye on the royals.
He also formed an anti-corruption body that worked independently to ensure that state money was not stolen and corrupted. That is what makes the owners of capital happy to invest their money there when compared to the corrupt Moskov empire.
"The interesting guy. I want to meet him."
As he muttered that, one of his subordinates walked into his office. He carried a letter with the stamp of Duke Starfall that made Mary's eyes sparkle.
It contained, Issac Starfall intends to visit him and talk about cooperation between the two sides. Of course it was with the consent of the Queen through the foreign ministry. He'll be there in a month.
Mary was happy to prepare for this meeting. His meeting with Duke Starfall would probably make his mood improve.