Enlightened Empire

Chapter 467: Strength Through Weakness

As he looked up at the Wonders of the World shop in Challwala's outer city, Amautu once more realized how poor his initial negotiating position was. After the events from last night, the southern minister Brymstock insisted on advancing the time of the meeting to today, and he insisted on changing the meeting place as well.

In the southern kingdom's own property out here in the outer city — far away from the Sky Ziggurat — Amautu's home advantage was minimized as much as possible. No doubt they had also prepared an elaborate escape plan had Amautu come with soldiers to apprehend them. Not only had the king lost the trust of the other party prior to the start of negotiations, he had also lost much of his home advantage.

Another advantage lost. Not that it matters. This should make it easier to act weak, and acting weak should prove beneficial for once.This material is rooted in n0velbin★

Amautu had long planned out his strategy, so his apparent weakness wouldn't be a problem this time. Thus unconcerned with the deliberate signs of distrust the southern minister and the northern lords had shown him, he entered the shop.

Shortly thereafter, Amautu sat at a table together with Brymstock di Pluritac, who represented the southern kingdom as its finance minister, and Tacao Calvu Betucio, Governor of the North, who represented the northern lords.

The seating arrangement clearly drew the lines right from the start. While Amautu sat alone on one end of the table, Brymstock and Betucio sat together to his opposite. Apart from the transcribers to record the meeting, there was no one else left in the room, not even their personal attendants. In such a private meeting, the participants had no reason to strictly adhere to the usual code of conduct.

As a result, the first question from Brymstock after their introductions was: "Where are your scholar friends, King Amautu?"

Of course, Amautu would never make the mistake of bringing any scholars to the meeting, not after what had happened the previous night. Thus, the first, probing attack didn't bother him too much, despite the rude tone.

"They are not here, of course," Amautu calmly replied. "This meeting's purpose is to reconsider northern medalan politics. No outsiders should be present on such an occasion."

As he spoke, Amautu stared squarely at the fair-skinned merchant who was representing the southern kingdom. Yet just how the king had done before, the fat man acted as if he hadn't heard the slight.

"That's good." He sneered instead. "Your Chutwa friends have already done enough damage. They are not welcome here."

Welcome where!? This is the king's city, foreigner!

Clearly, this foreign merchant had set out to provoke him today. Yet rather than angry, Amautu got nervous. If this foreigner did nothing but throw out accusations, then his entire negotiation strategy would be useless. If the other side was unwilling to even talk, they would never reach an agreement. Luckily, the third party at the table was more reliable, and more invested in the peace process.

"King Amautu, you have crossed a line last night," Betucio added, though in a much more diplomatic tone. "Although this governor has always stood behind his king, this time, the actions of the Scholarly Court have been inexcusable. After the events of last night, we cannot in good conscience believe that King Amautu has come here with good intentions."

Not long ago, Betucio had still been considered part of Master Ichtaka's line of disciples. However, the brazen actions of the scholars had forced Betucio to side with his family and his fellow lords, and against Amautu. As he spoke, the governor of the north barely looked at his king's face. Rather than angry or afraid, he appeared to be more disappointed. It was a disheartening reaction, and Amautu himself was uncomfortable to have lost such a loyal ally, all because of the incessant meddling from his fellow disciples.

"Last night was a mistake. However, this king was not involved in the matter, please believe as much," he tried to explain himself to his old friend. Even though he knew that he had to perform today if he wanted to succeed in negotiations, he couldn't shake the bad feeling when he faced Betucio. "This king has always had good intentions in all of his actions, yet he cannot control what some of his subjects do on their own."

Unsurprisingly, neither of the two reacted to Amautu's frank confession. Who would believe that a king would have no power in his own capital? In truth, it wasn't like Amautu had no power at all. Rather, he had deliberately given up control completely to trap his senior brother. As a result, his excuses sounded rather hollow, even to himself. Yet how could he possibly explain that without looking like the villain?

As Amautu was still confused over his past actions and his future strategy, Betucio had taken out a bamboo scroll, and pushed it to the king across the table.

"This here is a paper signed by all lords of northern Medala," he explained. "Within, we state our condemnation of King Amautu's past actions, as well as our desire for change. Within, we further commit ourselves to a return to past traditions, past civility, and past respect for the status of the medalan lords. We demand that the rights and private property of all medalan lords be guaranteed, and that their losses be compensated. The levied warriors of the Scholarly Guards are also to be returned to their respective estates, and no further levies should be demanded by the king in the future. Finally, all Chutwa scholars should be barred from entry into the northern kingdom from now henceforth."

Although Amautu took the piece of paper, he didn't bother with reading it. Betucio had done a very good job of explaining the contents, after all. Instead, the king shook his head, while trying to look as embarrassed as possible.

"If you cannot fulfill the demands in the paper, then the lords have already decided to go to war," he insisted in a low voice which would have sounded intimidating, had they come from a ,more imposing man.

"Minister, this king simply does not have the power to fulfill anything." Amautu smiled weakly. "No matter how much you threaten, this simple truth will not change. I can only do the things I can do, and the scholars prevent me from doing most."

Thus, Amautu had painted himself as just another victim, an unwilling ally of the scholars, who had been forced into passivity. Most importantly, this weak position he had established guaranteed that he couldn't be forced to agree to any harsh demands from the lords. How could he commit to reparations when he had no power in the first place? In the end, it was his former disciple Betucio who asked the final question, which completed Amautu's plans.

"In that case, what can King Amautu offer?"

"At the very least, I can guarantee property rights for the lords and the territorial integrity of their estates," Amautu said readily. Trying to take either had proven impossible anyways. "After the recent attempts of the scholars to infiltrate further inland failed, they became frustrated with their progress. If I offer to take over the mission of enlightening the local lords, I can surely stall their brazen attempts in the future."

"Is that all you will give? An armistice and an empty promise?" the spoilsport foreigner asked, but Amautu was now undeterred by his bad attitude.

"I can also guarantee that the lords will no longer be targeted by Terminus," the king added another empty promise. For a while, Terminus would be incapable of such attacks in the first place. "However, in return, the lords will have to continue sending men for the Scholarly Guards."

"That's impossible. This runs counter to one of our core demands." This time, it was Betucio's turn to deny Amautu's request. After all, the lords had lost a lot of population by sending them to the capital. Yet this was a point Amautu had to insist on. How else would he strengthen his forces, to one day take over the north, just how Corco had taken over the south?

"Without any visible benefits from these negotiations, the scholars will consider my mission a failure. Should I prove unreliable, they will continue to interfere in Medala's internal affairs," the king argued. "I have to offer the scholars something if I wish to gain their trust."

"And that something are the warriors of Medala?" Betucio complained in a critical tone.

"Yes, I can tell them that the lords have stopped resisting, and prove it through your surrender of warriors." Amautu acted excited, and then added a sly grin. "In fact, you do not need to send any core warriors at all. You could send old men, or even commoners. Anything really, just to deceive the scholars."

While, in response to the improved offer, Brymstock looked like he had swallowed a frog — and in fairness, he probably had, based on his belly — Betucio stroked his chin for a few seconds, before he finally gave the reply Amautu wanted to hear.

"That would be doable, I believe most brothers would agree to such an arrangement," he finally said, and showed a smile of relief. Clearly, he had never wanted a war in the first place.

Although the foreigner wanted to say something again, eager to disrupt the peace, Amautu spoke up first. After some research, he had learned how to win him over as well.

"Of course, the northern kingdom will not only guarantee the property rights of any medalan noble — even from other kingdoms — we will also allow Minister Brymstock to officially sell his bonds in the north, without any interference," Amautu said, pretending to be magnanimous. Though maybe he really was this time, since this was the only true concession he had made today.

Anything to get this insufferable instigator out of my country.

Ever since he had entered the northern kingdom, this foreigner had done nothing but disrupt his plans. At this point, Amautu would be happy to help him sell his papers, just to get rid of him. Luckily, Brymstock di Pluritac didn't even think for a second, and directly agreed, as if he had just been waiting for Amautu's words.

"In that case, I believe we have a deal." He suddenly smiled, and jumped up to shake the king's hands before he could rethink his decision. Although Amautu couldn't shake the thought that he had somehow been played, he had finally achieved his goals.

Thus, the imminent civil war in the north ended with a handshake and a signature. In the process, the least powerful actor in the city — King Amautu — ended up with the largest advantage. After leveraging his weak position to negotiate strong terms, he managed to restore the status quo in the kingdom, while also intimidating the lords and weakening his senior brother's authority in the process.

Surely, his master wouldn't like that he had simply thrown his head disciple under the bus, and many other scholars with him. However, now that he had somewhat reconciled with the lords, Amautu's status in the kingdom had grown in importance again. Thus, ambitious people like Ohtli could no longer get rid of him quite so easily, no matter how they tried to fool their master.

Not to mention, he would soon travel to Tequitlali. Amautu hoped that after following his master's advice to get married to the right woman, he would remain in Master Ichtaka's good graces. By then, he would be able to work with the lords, the scholars and the people of Tequitlali, depending on his needs. While Amautu was still balancing on a knife's edge, the King of the North could finally see the end of the blade, and the wide open space on the other side.