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Chapter 24

Brother Julius, half persuaded and half threatened, joined my plan. Although he didn’t wish for such a relationship, he still did his job properly. The number of people joining under the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction began to increase rapidly.

“Brother, are you really sure I can spend the budget freely? You won’t scold me for wasting it, right?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Do you have some kind of trust issue?”

“I’ve been so tormented by those idiots in the Finance Ministry changing their words…”

“Even so, I wouldn’t betray my own brother, bro.”

The funds are covered by the national budget drawn into the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction. Information? Just ask the intelligence bureau under the Headquarters, and most things will come out.

With the two keys needed to tame people in hand, Brother Julius gathered talents wherever he could.

Starting from the Finance Ministry he belonged to, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Prime Minister’s Office (the department assisting the Prime Minister), and so on.

Literally, wherever connections reached, he tried to scout anyone.

“Quality isn’t important. Right now, quantity comes first. We need to secure a sizeable force to withstand the power games that will happen later.”

“But accepting even low-quality people might reduce efficiency.”

“It doesn’t matter. They’re not the ones we’re gathering to use as close aides, right? As long as they can work and follow our orders, that’s enough.”

Age, rank, reputation—none of it mattered. If someone had the intention to join, they were accepted without question.

With such groundbreaking conditions, participants quickly gathered. Most were third-rate nobodies who smelled power, though.

Brother Julius asked if it might be better to weed them out, but I firmly refused. For now, securing sheer numbers was more important than qualitative improvement.

For my faction and potential future allied factions to have the capability to govern the nation independently, size was an absolute necessity.

Of course, we couldn’t keep all the riff-raff forever. Once the foundation stabilizes, we’ll have to start weeding them out.

“I’ll keep sending money. If you need more, contact me through my adjutant.”

“Understood.”

However, despite Brother Julius’s efforts, passion, and my financial power, things didn’t always go smoothly.

The higher-ups in the administration didn’t take kindly to us flaunting our activities openly.

* * * * *

“That damn Karolus is acting like the kingdom is his own.”

During a secret meeting between the king and major nobles, a duke exploded in anger.

“We tolerated it when he took our carefully nurtured soldiers. There was some fault on our part for what happened on the front lines, so we understood it as an act of mercy.”

“….. But once we gave in, he became even more arrogant.”

“Exactly! What does he think the kingdom’s sacred laws and order are?!”

Taking soldiers to form a support force for the front lines was bearable. From the perspective of responsibility for past mistakes, it was within the realm of tolerance.

But arbitrarily using the national budget and renaming the Revolutionary Army as the Central Army to station them in the royal capital was unacceptable.

Does he think he’s the king just because he staged a coup? The authority to form a defense force and royal guards to protect Rahator lies solely with the monarch.

Why is he making decisions and processing documents as he pleases?

“Is he insecure because he seized power by force? To the point of forcibly bringing his own army into the capital?”

“He’s a man of no origin, so that must be it. Surrounded by enemies, he relies on force.”

If only he had tried persuasion. Karolus always stuck to unilateral notifications.

He made decisions through that so-called Supreme Council for National Reconstruction and only notified the royal family of the results. As if saying, “I’ll decide, you just stamp it.”

“We can’t hesitate anymore. We must take action somehow.”

They could no longer tolerate such behavior. Though they had been cowering in fear of guns and swords, if this continued, the kingdom would no longer be a kingdom.

“Let’s teach that lowly noble his place.”

“How? His influence is sky-high right now.”

In response to Marquis Opfert’s words, Duke Barellmont, who had been leading the conversation, replied. He was the old man who had pointed at Karolus during a banquet and had a gun pointed at his chin.

With a face full of personal resentment, he pleaded with the king.

“Your Majesty, we must ask for your help.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Could you perhaps contact the clergy and move them?”

The clergy. As faithful followers of the kingdom’s state religion, they manage cathedrals, monasteries, and temples nationwide.

Some looked puzzled at the sudden suggestion to call in the religious figures. Others, realizing something, exclaimed in admiration.

“Indeed! Are you trying to incite the commoners?”

“Exactly. Karolus is sensitive to public opinion. Religion is an extremely useful tool for guiding the ignorant lower classes.”

All the kingdom’s commoners attend Sunday mass every week.

In cities, they go to the city’s cathedral; in rural areas, to nearby small temples. Even in impoverished remote villages, they rely on visiting priests.

Unless one is on the brink of death, attending mass is a must.

And during mass, besides reading scriptures and group prayers, there’s a time for priests to give sermons. In other words, it’s possible to incite nationwide agitation through them.

If opposition spreads and support wanes, the Supreme Council, a military dictatorship, will surely be in danger.

“It’s a plausible plan, but… will they really act as we ask? Those who serve God are notoriously greedy.”

“….We’ll have to offer a price. A price they can’t resist.”

Of course, the possibility of the greedy bishops and cardinals moving as desired was low.

Even as the kingdom’s power structure was overturned, they remained indifferent as long as they weren’t directly affected.

We’d have to make a significant concession to satisfy them enough to cooperate.

“Specifically, how?”

“Well. The decision is ultimately Your Majesty’s to make, but…..”

Glancing at Karl VII, the duke cautiously spoke.

“We might have to return the right to appoint bishops to the Papacy or create ecclesiastical principalities.”

“What?!”

“That would set the religious order back hundreds of years!”

Fierce opposition. A natural reaction.

Anyone who understood what that meant would know it’s not something to be suggested lightly.

The right to appoint bishops means the authority to appoint and ordain clergy. Essentially, it’s the personnel authority over all clergy in the kingdom.

Taken from the Papacy 150 years ago, it has been a royal prerogative ever since. To return it now? It would mean the royal family losing control over the kingdom’s clergy.

On the other hand, ecclesiastical principalities involve the monarch granting fiefs to clergy and receiving oaths of loyalty.

In this case, the royal power would be maintained, but at the cost of giving up territory. To create new fiefs, land would have to be carved out from existing territories.

Either choice would mean significant losses for the royal family and the kingdom.

“Is there no other way? Offering a huge sum of money—”

“With bishops owning large estates and mines, how much bribe do you think would work? To achieve our goals, how much would it cost?”

“How are we supposed to bribe them one by one? We’re in a hurry right now.”

But other methods of persuasion had too many drawbacks. They took too long, and the success rate was uncertain.

If things dragged on, Karolus and the Supreme Council might catch on, so a quick resolution was necessary.

“….I will handle it.”

Finally, Karl VII stepped in, unable to bear the nobles’ bickering.

“Your Majesty?”

“What they want can only be known by meeting them directly. I will negotiate. I’ll give what I must, but I’ll get a clear answer.”

“Wise decision, Your Majesty!”

“A painful decision, but surely a day will come when it will be repaid!”

No matter the cost, securing the clergy’s cooperation was the conclusion they reached.

* * * * *

And.

Having secured all this information through Colonel Kais, I quietly sighed.

“It seems a cultural revolution in the religious sector is necessary.”

Ah, Chairman Mao, the father of egg fried rice, the euthanizer of sparrows, the great teacher.

I shall carry on your will in this world!


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This Kingdom Needs a Coup

This Kingdom Needs a Coup

Status: Ongoing

I didn’t want to do it either.

But if I didn’t, the country was on the brink of collapse.

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