Post by Sophie on Dec 24, 2020 6:41:58 GMT -5
It was only noon, and the Empress was already exhausted. She had been working since four in the morning, and had only gotten to bed three hours prior. However this was nothing new. In fact it was only slightly worse than normal. However it was noon. The one hour everyday she got to herself. Her home chefs had prepared her a rather extravagant bento. Before she could even open the box there was a knock at her private office door. "Come in Ninomae." The Empress answered confident that the only person in the entire country who would dare to knock on her door during her lunch hour. The emissary to the Empress opened the door. "Thank you Reitō. You know I hate to interrupt you during your lunch, but I'm afraid I'll have to cut it short. The Minister of Homeland Security is pressing for an emergency meeting with you and the only time to fit it in before your meeting with the Imperator from Eleria is right now."
The Empress sighed and set aside her chopsticks. "Takanashi-kas? Fine. If she thinks it's important then I trust her. But I'm going to finish my meal while she talks to me. Is that all?"
Emissary Kyou smiled and bowed slightly. "Yes your highness. Please enjoy your lunch."
Kyou began to leave before the Empress interrupted her again. "Wait, Takanashi-kas is human. Would you grab a nice chair out of the main briefing room and bring it in for her?"
Only ten minutes after Kyou had brought in a chair suitable for a human, Rikka Takanashi from the Ministry of Order knocked on the door and entered when prompted. "Thank you Doku-kama. I appreciate you making time for me on your lunch break." Without realizing it Takanashi had just achieved a significant milestone. The first human ever allowed to enter the Empress's private office. "I have news that I believe is of immediate interest to you."
Reitō nodded, and motioned for the minister to continue while putting another dumpling in her mouth. "The provincial government in Elenria tapped a communication coming in from Rombarda to Franerre. It would seem Franerre has been accepted as a partial signatory to the COG." Takanashi passed a beige folder over to the Empress containing the communique as well as a full write up from the Elenrian government.
Reitō looked though the information she passed over and almost spat out her food as she read. "Wait, this came from Elenria Elenria. I thought you meant from our governor. I never would have imagined that they would intercept information like this, nor that they would give it to us so readily." She looked through the documents more, and to her knowledge it looked legit. A country on Touli had joined the COG. To make matters worse, they were on her border. "This is troubling. The COG has always been a distant threat. They could never hope to compete with our naval might, even if all of them banded their ships together. But now. They're right next to our territory. Elenria has always been an issue, the greatferns, the royalists, and the reformists and now we have the COG breathing down our necks."
Takanashi waited for the Empress to take a beat before even thinking of speaking up again. "I figured that would be your concern your highness. I have a four point plan of action. All of which is further outlined in the documents, but I'll keep it brief. Point one, we need to double our land presence in Elenria. Most of which will be dedicated to rooting out the greatferns. The second point, we need to close the border between Elenria and Franerre. To enforce this we'd dedicate at least seventy-five-thousand light infantry to patrolling the border as well as fifty thousand standard infantry to reinforce the border and construct infrastructure. Point three, we should dedicate our flag fleet to patrolling Elenrian waters to ensure no shipments from the COG can reach Elenrian shores once they realize that they can't send in shipments from Franerre. I would also recommend dedicating the Kaede patrol group to this task. Finally, the fourth point. We need to build up more loyalty within Elenria. The people there have earned a break from us with this intel. I don't know if we would've gotten it any other way. If we can build confidence and trust within Kumosenkan. The more the people trust us, the less of them that will become terrorists and the more of them will willingly feed us information against our enemies. I'd recommend lowering taxes against Elenria and artificially deflating food prices. If possible I'd also recommend a festival and a federal holiday celebrating Elenrian Culture."
"That is a comprehensive, and expensive plan you've put together Takanashi-kas. Is that level of a reaction warranted for Franerre simply becoming a partial signatory of the COG? More importantly, is the expense worthwhile?" Reitō asked rather critically. As much as she trusted Takanashi, her racial biases ran deep and on some level would always doubt the plans of a human over a Kumo.
Takanashi adjusted a bit awkwardly in her chair before responding. "Yes. To both questions. Like you said the COG has always been a distant threat, but now they border us directly. There is no greater threat to Kumosenkan on Ouhiri than the COG and we need to be prepared for them."
"And what of our home island? I'm not comfortable dedicating our flag fleet to Elenria and leaving our home without it." The Empress fired back with genuine concern.
"Even with three fleets dedicated to Elenria our navy would dominate any force that attempted to attack us. At the bare minimum they would hold off any assault long enough for us to recall the flag fleet. Our fleet is indominable. Even if we didn't outnumber the entire COG navy 2 to 1 our ships and sailors are far superior to theirs. Less than seventy of our ships are in deterrence while I'd be willing to bet more than that is mothballed on the COG end of things. We'll have time to prepare for a threat against our home island. This however, may be the only time we get to prepare for threats against Elenria. I think my plan is our best bet." The minister looked the Empress dead in the eye, with complete unwavering faith in her words.
The Empress met her gaze, and sought for a single hint of wavering in Takanashi's words. "Very well Takanashi-kas. Coordinate with Ryōshi Sentoko, and
Takeshita Hisoka to get this done properly. You have my full and complete trust."
"Thank you Doku-kama. I promise I won't let you down. I've actually already been working with Sentoko-kan. I never would have had this confidence in troop movements without her guidance. I'll get in contact with Hisoka-kan immediately to help plan the festival as well as the holiday.
To relieve some of the tension in the air, Reitō smiled. "I will speak with my other ministers about reducing taxes on Elenria as well as deflating food prices. Actually, if possible I would like to participate in the festival. I would like to address Elenria personally."
"I'm certain that can be arranged Empress."
The Empress sighed and set aside her chopsticks. "Takanashi-kas? Fine. If she thinks it's important then I trust her. But I'm going to finish my meal while she talks to me. Is that all?"
Emissary Kyou smiled and bowed slightly. "Yes your highness. Please enjoy your lunch."
Kyou began to leave before the Empress interrupted her again. "Wait, Takanashi-kas is human. Would you grab a nice chair out of the main briefing room and bring it in for her?"
Only ten minutes after Kyou had brought in a chair suitable for a human, Rikka Takanashi from the Ministry of Order knocked on the door and entered when prompted. "Thank you Doku-kama. I appreciate you making time for me on your lunch break." Without realizing it Takanashi had just achieved a significant milestone. The first human ever allowed to enter the Empress's private office. "I have news that I believe is of immediate interest to you."
Reitō nodded, and motioned for the minister to continue while putting another dumpling in her mouth. "The provincial government in Elenria tapped a communication coming in from Rombarda to Franerre. It would seem Franerre has been accepted as a partial signatory to the COG." Takanashi passed a beige folder over to the Empress containing the communique as well as a full write up from the Elenrian government.
Reitō looked though the information she passed over and almost spat out her food as she read. "Wait, this came from Elenria Elenria. I thought you meant from our governor. I never would have imagined that they would intercept information like this, nor that they would give it to us so readily." She looked through the documents more, and to her knowledge it looked legit. A country on Touli had joined the COG. To make matters worse, they were on her border. "This is troubling. The COG has always been a distant threat. They could never hope to compete with our naval might, even if all of them banded their ships together. But now. They're right next to our territory. Elenria has always been an issue, the greatferns, the royalists, and the reformists and now we have the COG breathing down our necks."
Takanashi waited for the Empress to take a beat before even thinking of speaking up again. "I figured that would be your concern your highness. I have a four point plan of action. All of which is further outlined in the documents, but I'll keep it brief. Point one, we need to double our land presence in Elenria. Most of which will be dedicated to rooting out the greatferns. The second point, we need to close the border between Elenria and Franerre. To enforce this we'd dedicate at least seventy-five-thousand light infantry to patrolling the border as well as fifty thousand standard infantry to reinforce the border and construct infrastructure. Point three, we should dedicate our flag fleet to patrolling Elenrian waters to ensure no shipments from the COG can reach Elenrian shores once they realize that they can't send in shipments from Franerre. I would also recommend dedicating the Kaede patrol group to this task. Finally, the fourth point. We need to build up more loyalty within Elenria. The people there have earned a break from us with this intel. I don't know if we would've gotten it any other way. If we can build confidence and trust within Kumosenkan. The more the people trust us, the less of them that will become terrorists and the more of them will willingly feed us information against our enemies. I'd recommend lowering taxes against Elenria and artificially deflating food prices. If possible I'd also recommend a festival and a federal holiday celebrating Elenrian Culture."
"That is a comprehensive, and expensive plan you've put together Takanashi-kas. Is that level of a reaction warranted for Franerre simply becoming a partial signatory of the COG? More importantly, is the expense worthwhile?" Reitō asked rather critically. As much as she trusted Takanashi, her racial biases ran deep and on some level would always doubt the plans of a human over a Kumo.
Takanashi adjusted a bit awkwardly in her chair before responding. "Yes. To both questions. Like you said the COG has always been a distant threat, but now they border us directly. There is no greater threat to Kumosenkan on Ouhiri than the COG and we need to be prepared for them."
"And what of our home island? I'm not comfortable dedicating our flag fleet to Elenria and leaving our home without it." The Empress fired back with genuine concern.
"Even with three fleets dedicated to Elenria our navy would dominate any force that attempted to attack us. At the bare minimum they would hold off any assault long enough for us to recall the flag fleet. Our fleet is indominable. Even if we didn't outnumber the entire COG navy 2 to 1 our ships and sailors are far superior to theirs. Less than seventy of our ships are in deterrence while I'd be willing to bet more than that is mothballed on the COG end of things. We'll have time to prepare for a threat against our home island. This however, may be the only time we get to prepare for threats against Elenria. I think my plan is our best bet." The minister looked the Empress dead in the eye, with complete unwavering faith in her words.
The Empress met her gaze, and sought for a single hint of wavering in Takanashi's words. "Very well Takanashi-kas. Coordinate with Ryōshi Sentoko, and
Takeshita Hisoka to get this done properly. You have my full and complete trust."
"Thank you Doku-kama. I promise I won't let you down. I've actually already been working with Sentoko-kan. I never would have had this confidence in troop movements without her guidance. I'll get in contact with Hisoka-kan immediately to help plan the festival as well as the holiday.
To relieve some of the tension in the air, Reitō smiled. "I will speak with my other ministers about reducing taxes on Elenria as well as deflating food prices. Actually, if possible I would like to participate in the festival. I would like to address Elenria personally."
"I'm certain that can be arranged Empress."