I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 14: Bagnia's Strategic Location is Important
It was late at night, but somewhere deep inside the imperial palace in the center of Neama, it was still as bright as day. Hundreds of magic lamps were hung high on the walls and lampposts. The soft light cast a myriad of colors on the flowers in a small garden here.

Although it is winter now, the temperature here is as hot as spring. Dozens of noble gentlemen and ladies are strolling here, enjoying the exquisite pastries and charming red wine served by the servants.

A professional band played the violin slowly on the small platform, accompanied by a singer singing slowly and long, creating beautiful background music for this small dance party.

This was a small ball held by the Emperor of Bohemia to welcome the arrival of Prince Bagnaia. Although the ball was small in scale, the cost was extravagant.

Not to mention anything else, the money needed to maintain a pleasant temperature in such a garden for a day would be enough to recruit and equip a light infantry company of 200 people.

Once this small garden is maintained, it will burn throughout the winter, at least for three months, or 90 days.

In other words, this small garden is the military expenditure for recruiting and maintaining a fully armed corps.

And in the huge palace of the Bohemian Empire, there are countless places where money needs to be burned to maintain a suitable temperature.

As the steward of the Bohemian Royal Palace, Meredith, who wore a dark blue military uniform with three badges on his chest and looked as serious as a soldier, was not clear about the details.

Because this was the emperor's wish, Meredith only allocated funds. Until spring came, he didn't know how much money would be needed to maintain the normal operation of the palace this winter.

The only thing Meredith knew was that every time the Imperial Finance Minister entered the palace, he would cover half of his face with his hand, not daring to let others see his expression.

At this moment, when the ball was running normally, the palace director was standing far away in the shadows at the edge of the small garden. This place allowed him to see most of the ball at all times, but the participants of the ball could not see him.

A fat man with a mustache came to Meredith under the guidance of a servant, with his hands clasped tightly in front of his chest.

"Lord Meredith...I..."

Meredith glanced at the fat man's expression out of the corner of her eye and guessed that the task she had given him had not been completed.

"Chris, no consent?"

"Yes, sir, he refused."

"It's a shame we don't have a leash to keep our dog on."

Meredith felt extremely regretful.

This was a small task assigned to him by the emperor. He might not receive a reward if he completed it, but if he failed, the former would remember his incompetence.

If Chris Lin is interested, Meredith is willing to sponsor him with some money and weapons and equipment so that he can form an infantry regiment and return to Bagnia.

If Chris felt that Bagnia was too poor and wanted to stay in Neama, the capital of Bohemia, he could continue to enjoy the prosperity of the big city.

This is not a problem. The Emperor of Bohemia doesn't really need Chris to do anything anyway. The empire just needs him and the second Bagnian Restoration Army to control the Grand Prince Flower.

As long as Flower doesn't obey, the Bohemian Empire can play the card of Little Prince Chris to threaten him or increase its bargaining chips in negotiations.

Until the Bagnian royal family became puppets in the hands of the Bohemian Emperor.

"It's a pity."

Meredith said again, and the fat man tactfully stepped forward to get in front of the former.

"Sir, do you need me to persuade him again? This time, I will bring more people to persuade him..."

The fat man emphasized the word "persuasion", hinting at something.

"No, no need... Not for now. As long as Chris is alive and still within the Bohemian Empire, he is a bargaining chip."

Meredith paused, a thought dawning on him. He turned and looked the fat man in the eye. His expression wasn't fierce, but the man's legs began to tremble uncontrollably. "Keep an eye on the prince. If he makes any unnecessary moves, tries to take Chris away, or even tries to kill him, you must report to me immediately. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

The fat man bent down and nodded in fear.

Meredith smiled with satisfaction.

At this time, the background music of the dance changed, becoming more lyrical and gentle. When Meredith heard it, she knew that the dance had entered the next stage.

"You should go back quickly. Your master will need your services soon."

"Understood. I'll leave now."

Meredith watched the fat man go away, then he looked at the center of the ball again and glanced at the eldest prince of the Bagniya Kingdom.

The Bohemian Empire needs the existence of the Kingdom of Bagnia. Although this country is small and poor, and its military strength is not worthy of attention, its existence is beneficial to the Bohemian Empire.

It would be even better if the Bagnian royal family was still a puppet of the Bosnian Empire.

The territory of the Kingdom of Bagniya is not large. It is located between three countries, and the overall shape of the country is similar to a triangle.

These three countries are the Bohemian Empire, the Rethelian Empire, and the Miniesian Kingdom.

(The map is for reference only and is not particularly specific.)
Among them, the Bohemian Empire and the Retella Empire are of the same origin and were one family two hundred years ago. Not only do they have similar languages, but their cultures are also very similar. The borders of the two countries also largely overlap, making travel very convenient.

Therefore, the two empires are constantly trying to annex each other and recreate the great empires of two hundred years ago.

Basically, conflicts occurred on the border between the two great empires every year, and a major battle would break out every ten years or so. The territories between them were also advanced back and forth, with both sides winning and losing.

The Kingdom of Minisia also borders the Bohemian Empire on the map, but they are separated by a mountain range that even birds cannot fly over... the Kasso Mountains.

Because of the existence of this mountain range, when it snows in the Bohemian Empire in winter, the Kingdom of Minisia on the other side of the mountain range has a warm and pleasant climate like spring.

The Kingdom of Bagnia is located at the tail end of the Kashro Mountains, so it connects the two countries and becomes a buffer zone.

So if Bohemia wanted to march towards the Kingdom of Minisia, it would have to pass through the territory of the Kingdom of Bagnia.

Either they could attack the Reteria Empire, break through its national defenses, seize a large area of ​​border territory, bypass the barren and difficult-to-travel Bagnia Kingdom, and attack the Minisia Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Minisia realized this very early on, so it took active action long ago to arrange a marriage with the Bagnian royal family.

For example, the wife of the previous king, Chris's mother, was a princess of the Kingdom of Minisia.

In addition to the marriage, the Kingdom of Minisia is also the best brother of the Kingdom of Bagnia, providing conditional assistance to the latter in terms of food and weapons every year.

The Ministian royal family did not have high demands on the Bagnian royal family. They only asked it to resist the influence of the Bohemian Empire on its own people, and not to engage in any land-borrowing marches that would give the Bohemian Empire the opportunity to invade.

Now that the Kingdom of Bagnia has been overthrown by the revolutionaries, this is a great opportunity for the Bohemian Empire.

As long as the Bohemian Empire can gain control of this kingdom, whether it declares war on Minisia or opens a new front with the Reteria Empire, it will be a huge strategic benefit to the Bohemian Empire.

　PS: My cold has relapsed and I feel a little uncomfortable.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)