-
New Yogo
Part 5 - New Spring Leaves
Chapter 2 - Hugo's Persuasion
Hugo’s limp body was brought to Prince Raul’s study, where it remained for a night and a day. Nothing the physicians or magic weavers had tried managed to wake him.
Raul stalked into his study the first night after Hugo was brought up from the dungeons. He folded his arms. He understood what Kurz had meant by applying pressure without endangering Hugo’s life now. All of Hugo’s fingers were broken and the fingernails were gone. His face and shoulders were mottled with bruising. His pupils were huge and dilated even when his eyes were forced open.
But Hugo still had a pulse. One of the magic weavers, Sodok, was experimenting to see if Hugo’s eyes would react to light. Sodok bowed his head to Prince Raul when he entered.
“I’ve performed a Soul Call, but it could take as much as half a day for his spirit to return. I can only hope that the call doesn’t come too late,” Sodok said. He didn’t look at Raul when he spoke. He kept his eyes fixed on Hugo.
“Why did he want to put himself so far out of reach? Did he suspect I’d want to question him?” Raul muttered.
Hugo’s lips twitched. “If I had...named names, Hamil would have had you killed.” His voice was weak and hoarse. “Hamil has a plot to make Hazar the Emperor over you, by manipulating the Prime Minister.”
Raul’s eyes widened. “You knew that Aoil had been put in charge of the decision over who would be the next Emperor?”
Hugo nodded shallowly. “The last time I met with Aoil, I knew it. It was obvious just by looking at him who he would choose.”
“Why?” Raul asked.
“He saw something in you,” Hugo said. “Something that I see, too, and that Kurz doesn’t.”
“What is it? Don’t be cryptic.”
“It’s simple,” Hugo said. “Conquest is not rule.”
Raul snorted. “Are you joking? Don’t you think Kurz and I know that very well already?”
“You haven’t demonstrated that you know it,” Hugo said. “Oiram was a test. You weren’t supposed to lock him up.”
Sodok glanced apprehensively between Raul and Hugo.
Raul’s eyes flashed with anger. “So what is it, then? This thing you see that Kurz and I don’t?”
“Twenty-three million men. Four million men. Four hundred and eighty thousand men. Sixty thousand men. What do these numbers mean to you?”
Raul didn’t understand, but then he caught Hugo’s meaning. Twenty-three million was the number of people he’d conquered, roughly. The Talsh population was close to four million. There were almost five hundred thousand conscripts from subjugated nations in the Talsh army. Only sixty thousand Talsh men were voluntary conscripts.
“Foreign conscripts outnumber native-born Talsh soldiers six to one, but they’re from subjugated nations. We can treat them as our own troops--in fact, we always do. The Sangalese, Ormese and Horamese suffer unrest because they remember how things were before the war, but in a decade or two, they’ll be like Koranam, where all the people are treated as Talsh citizens. Aoil comes from Koranam, and he’s been selected to decide who will be the next Emperor of Talsh. Unrest is part of the growing pains nations suffer before they are fully integrated into our empire.”
“Do you really think things will go that well? How have matters here been lately? I’ve been out of commission.” He grinned. “I know what was in the letters Kurz received from New Yogo. I also know that Oiram is a spy for Hamil, who works directly for Prince Hazar. Unlike Kurz, who is Talsh, he comes from a subjugated nation--and is known to lend his ear toward others who have experienced the same fate.”
Hugo’s eyes seemed to brighten with some inner animating force. “Talsh’s subjugated people are what make it run. Their soldiers and tax revenue keep the economy from collapsing, but this situation is not sustainable. All Hamil’s co-conspirators that I know of are your military generals and governors. If I told you who they were, would you kill them? You would encourage revolt. A revolt in the army would not end well for Talsh. Will you execute everyone who stands up to you, at six-to-one odds?”
Raul opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
“What you call unrest is rebellion,” Hugo said. “Talsh is already at war from within. You just haven’t realized it yet. Oiram was speaking with many disgruntled officials before he was locked up. He probably delivered a complete report to Hamil. Prince Hazar knows more than you do at the moment.”
Raul clenched and unclenched his fists. His hands felt strangely cold. He unbuckled his sword belt and rested it on the table, then took a seat near Hugo.
“Why tell me all this?” he asked quietly. “Why not sell out to Hamil and Hazar, if they’re so sympathetic to the people of Talsh’s conquered nations? Hazar would reward you generously if he became the next Emperor based on your reports. You could become a Prime Minister. You would be placed on the Noble Path and become part of the Talsh court.”
"I could never do that.” Hugo’s voice was cold. “My parents and little sister were murdered by members of the Talsh court. I will never become one of them.”
Raul blinked in surprise.
Hugo spoke in a tone of barely suppressed rage. “Prince Hazar and I don’t think the same way at all. All he ever thinks about are ways to undermine you. People who think like that are consumed by their own petty preoccupations and never accomplish anything.” He smiled. “You’ve fallen into a similar trap. Conquerors often become the conquered. You’ve stretched out your hand to the northern continent, and now the northern continent’s actions are reflecting back on you. I have no idea how Hazar would rule Talsh, but I have a better idea of your outlook and capabilities.”
Hugo tilted his head a little. “Hazar is unreliable in more ways than one. Oiram was in service with Hamil for over twenty years, and he was willing to sacrifice him to trap you. He can’t be trusted in anything unless the end result harms you. If I defected to his side, I would expect to suffer the same fate as Oiram eventually.
“People trusted Oiram, especially the people of Talsh’s conquered nations. Hamil and Hazar have lost more than they realize by tossing him aside.”
Hugo faced Raul squarely. “You are Talsh, which makes you short-tempered and proud. You chase after whatever you want and fail to consider the consequences. But you also care more about the flourishing of the empire as a whole than your brother does. I believe you actually could reform Talsh into a nation with policies that are more beneficial to everyone. You might be the only one that can do it. I’ve staked everything on you. If you don’t win against your brother, my life has no meaning.”
Raul’s lips twitched upward in a cynical smile. “It was a stupid bet, then. You know how things are going on the northern continent. I’m about to lose whatever tenuous authority I had.” Raul updated Hugo on everything that had occurred since his imprisonment. After he was done speaking, Hugo closed his eyes.
When Hugo opened his eyes again, it was with great effort. He seemed tired. “We know that General Shubal can take New Yogo’s capital. That’s a foregone conclusion. It’s holding onto the country that’s the trouble, since the nations of the northern continent have all allied against us. I say we let Shubal conquer the capital, then withdraw the army to the island of Rasu below the Sangal peninsula.”
“Why?” Raul asked.
“That way, we can maintain our foothold,” Hugo said. “If we charge in and try to take everything now, there’s a significant risk of failure. Not only that, countless soldiers will die for no reason on both sides. Let the northern continent’s soldiers return home, and relinquish control of Sangal.”
He looked up at Raul, voice quiet. “Let all the men of the army who have fought for so long so far from home return to their families. Give the veterans and their families citizenship, as you promised. Without wars, there is no need for high war taxes. That will resolve most people’s main complaint, and lead to more contentment and less unrest. Army men can become merchants and farmers again. Talsh has been at war for as long as I can remember. It is my advice to let Talsh be at peace.”
Raul stared at Hugo and didn’t speak.
“The Emperor dreamed of finding the Gate of the Sun on the northern continent. Let that be a dream that dies with him. There is no Gate of the Sun, no promised land, no paradise. If paradise is what we want, we will have to create it with our own hands.
“If you can get Prime Minister Aoil to believe that you intend to govern a world at peace, he will give you the crown.”
No comments:
Post a Comment