Road to the Crown

8th October 1574

"I'm sorry, sir brother, for all the ruckus. I hope it didn't cause any major problems…"

Looking at the genuinely troubled expression of the Cheerio's household patriarch, I wasn't sure whether I was feeling tired or if my head was about to explode in pain. 

All the alarms, all the rush and potentially even some wounded that would be met with an unfortunate accident during the hurry… Because of this?

"You see, when we were departing, all we knew that you moved with the force of two thousand against a family with an estimated strength of eight thousand people on their side. How could we know that our information was wrong? We only learned that on our way here."

Listening to the man's words, I couldn't help but notice one thing. Defeating the rebels was my own mission, bestowed upon me by the senate. How could Cheerio's dare to interfere with it? Even though I could tell there was no ill-intent behind their arrival, by appearing here they were directly involving themselves in a problem that I had to solve in order to obtain the slot at the royal election! 

Or was it an attempt to prevent me from growing too much? If they were to either guess or even learn the content of my mission, by attempting to help me out, they could claim that I did not finish my mission properly!

"And if I may ask, what is the very reason behind your visit?"

It was obvious that at some point, we would haggle over the Ostros' wealth. This household was simply way too big for a single force like me to consume. Even if I were to attempt doing so, not only I would have to direct most of my resources into incorporating those new lands into some kind of administrative system of the new era, doing so would mean putting my back wide open for all of the major nobles to stab at.

"Well, I think I am safe to assume that since you are here, to greet us, then the problem with the rebels is now finished. Am I right?"

Hearing the words of Cheerio's patriarch I realised that there could still be one more option. With how negative opinion I had about the current workings of the senate, I never took this under my consideration, but that didn't mean it was impossible!

"Yes, as of today, Ostros bloodline no longer exist."

Putting my stare directly at Cheerio's eyes, I could tell how his wrinkled face tensed a bit as he ingested this huge bomb that I served him. Normally, a huge family wouldn't fall down. It could lose its meaning over time and thin out to the point where their name wouldn't matter anymore… But for the entire bloodline to die out? That was something definitely uncommon in the world of Commonwealth. Just like I realised before the attack on the city, by breaking the natural flow of history, some blood had to be split. 

"That's definitely… not what I expected… but I can't say that I'm surprised."

Raising his head a bit, the Cheerio's patriarch looked over my shoulder, as if trying to see how bad the damage to the city was. This alone was enough to betray the real reasons behind his worries.

"Anyway, let's not keep you waiting. I can see how tense you are. We are here because of a letter we received from the senate. Don't tell me you really thought that those old foxes would let the fate of the country into the hands of some inexperienced nobles? While there were great hopes that all of you will manage to fulfil your mission, the entire country is mobilising for the war either way. Making sure that the problem is resolved is their responsibility afterwards."

Spreading his arms in the gesture of innocence, this old man smiled at me with joy somehow making him look a little bit younger than he was.

"So that's the case…"

In the end, it made sense. While some of the senators could believe in my prowess, leaving everything in my hands would be simply foolish. Without the second force ready to strike at the moment's notice, how could those governours of the country just hope that I or the other candidates would manage to succeed? 

There was no way they forgot about the ongoing war. It was a threat that loomed over everyone. My act of eradicating a single bloodline implied that this history would no longer follow its original course. And if that was the case with the internal affairs, why anything should be different when dealing with other nations?

While I never managed to confirm it, it's almost certain that Ostros possessed some kind of system of sorts. As someone who had his fair time dealing with stupid customers, I could understand certain behaviours to some point. And nowhere in hell would the loyalty of Ostros' people make any sense!

Given that possessing a system wasn't something that was exclusive to me, maybe something that wasn't even that rare, then I couldn't just naively expect that the rules persisting in different areas of the life would remain the same. Just like I didn't hesitate to destroy the entire household, who would promise me that Muscovites would follow the rules of old medieval warfare? Who would say that they would be satisfied with just a bit of borderland, instead of throwing everything they had at the commonwealth in order to destroy the only rival Muscovy realistically had before becoming a super-power!

"Anyway, I think we stood here for too long already. How about we move somewhere… more comfortable, in order to discuss the details of… dividing the spoils?"

Given how much I expected this moment to come, the only thing that managed to surprise me was how openly this shrewd patriarch could speak about basically stealing a part of my spoils. Yet, that was just how politic worked. Only by making my friends happy with our relationship, I could count that once I would require their help, they would evaluate it as yet another worthy investment. 

On this game table, there was no place for sentiments. Unless I could convince this patriarch in front of me that being my loyal friend would bring stable and huge benefits to him, then I would have to start preparing for yet another war. But this time, I would never be given a chance to fight in the first place.

"I think that's a good idea, but there is no point to go anywhere. My offer is already prepared and it's at the same time the lowest that we could go."

Standing firmly in front of this older noble, I could feel the shiver traveling down my spine. Right now, I was basically using great swaths of lands, as nothing more but chips on the negotiating table! Something that in future people would spend their entire careers to have a little bit of power over by becoming governors or deputies, I was now selling just for a good intent of the other side!

"Hmm? If you say so, then go on. I'm quite interested in what you will propose."

Starting the topic, there were three problems. 

Firstly, I had to make sure that my interests would be covered. No matter what would happen in the future, it was me who won the war, so it would all boil down to my own decision what to do with my spoils. But instead of holding everything close to myself, distributing it to the potential allies made far more sense.

Secondly, I had to make the patriarch in front of me, feel like he made a killing. Only in this way could I push the responsibility for the next task on his shoulders.

And connecting to the previous point, thirdly, I had to find a way to establish a power-balance by giving out parts of the spoils to the respective families. By doing so, I could turn the worthless lands into trading chips and buffer zones that would protect my vital interests from anyone else!

"To start things off, I want every single mine and resource node that we will ever find on those lands. Once it's discovered, it belongs to me, although all the newly discovered sources will pay ten out of a hundred of its income to the owner of the land. Outside of that, I want Ostrog and the right to build the special road through any lands I pick to be suitable. Outside of that, there is only one more aspect left."

So far, my requests were insanely small when compared to what I was giving away. For the current-age people, mines could be profitable to a point, but never were something that they would lose their heads over. A chance of getting more farmable land was far more interesting to them. As for the matter of the road, Cheerio's patriarch actually perfectly understand the meaning of this word.

"All the food produced in the lands adjacent to the terrain that we will hold, will be sold in my local markets by the standardised price. Once the are gets more population, the size of the monopolised trade will grow accordingly. In other words, I will always pay you the stable price for the food, as long as I get the priority to buy as much of it as I want. And to put it simply, the lands that I'm willing to cede to others, are bound to feed anyone who will live in the parts that I will retain."

Finishing my request, I looked around, making sure that no unnecessary pair of ears were close enough to hear my next statement.

"And let's not forget the fact, that if my plans go smoothly, then this area will see the greatest economical boom ever since the creation of our country. I wish to connect every important place in the country through this land. You can trust me, just the profits of the train and the station on your lands will bring more benefits to you than anything that will ever grow off those lands!"