Summer Court Petitions

[unleashthefuhrer]

Who: Bradley, Nobunaga and any petitioners to the throne
What: Begging boons and favors from the Imperial Rulers
When: During summer court
Where: The throne room of the Imperial Palace

Bradley was NOT pleased to see Nobunaga, not Mitsunari taking up the position beside him. Mitsunari was a weak fool, but he was no threat. Nobunaga was dangerous, Bradley had little doubt Nobunaga had already left the brush-headed fool in a ditch somewhere, and seeing the man so dangerously close to the throne was displeasing. He would have to be dealt with.

Straightening in his seat, he exhaled and looked forward. Today, he would need to focus on the petitions before him, plenty of time to deal with Nobunaga later.

Comments

[thirdtimesthechar]

"So...that would make you King of Sawa, then?" Char asks, rather than opening with an actual request. "You are Oda Nobunaga, right? I don't know if I should ask you what I came here for or just ask you to autograph my academy textbooks."

[dairokutenmaou]

Nobunaga examines Char a little. His expression doesn't change at all as his gaze meets the man's form. He recognizes the man as Zeon's leader. A flat smile stretches across his lips.

"Depending on your request, I'd be happy to give you my autograph on an imperial decree. Does that sound fair?"

[thirdtimesthechar]

Char meets Nobunaga's stare with his own, watching the man like a wolf who'd just found another alpha male wandering into his territory, appraising relative size, meanness, and probable level of hunger. Nobunaga even struck Char as looking like a bit of a wolf with that out-of-fashion beard of his.

He relaxes into his usual fake smile soon enough, though. "A fair deal, Regent Nobunaga," he says, picking the safest - albeit definitely lowest - title he could apply to the situation.

"You might not be aware, but your kingdom and mine signed some extensive trade agreements during the spring. A part of that was to be a request for an Imperial highway to be constructed through Kedyrien and Jergeth, connecting our holdings in Chaodan to Sawa's cities around Lake Ibenna. It's an ambitious project, but I'm sure the benefits are immediately obvious."

Aside from connecting Zeon to their - at present - ally and giving an open road from Chaodan almost straight to the Imperial City, after all, such a highway would be independent of Bradley's infernal rail system.

[dairokutenmaou]

"Did we now? Yeah, I think I was filled in on that. Sure, it always has been a pain in the ass to trade with Zeon. The tariffs for shipping overseas are always a pain to pay off. Besides, the whole journey makes you wish you were dealing with a bunch of highwaymen instead."

Char had more to gain with this project than Nobunaga did. Well, really, Nobunaga had more to lose. Should the balance of power between the two Emperors tip over to him, then that highway may prove to be more than just a nuisance. However, as long as Bradley held all the cards, it would strengthen an ally's power against an enemy. And the two could agree that Bradley was more of an immediate threat.

Nobunaga glances over at the man sitting next to him and then back at Char.

"So what are some of those 'obvious benefits' you're talking about? Would they outweigh all the foreseen costs and manpower, King of Zeon?"

[thirdtimesthechar]

"Well, I can briefly spell them out. Geography and technology might have changed a little since you last ruled up in the northwest," Char says, taking out his formal written petition details to glance over them as notes.

"A permanent and secure connection for Sawa to reach a friendly trading port, first of all," he begins. "We'll be building through neutral territory, so there's no appreciable local taxes or considerations if we start now, Sawa gains fast access to foods from the southeast that might perish on the journey otherwise, presence of Zeon caravan guards will decrease crime in the neutral territories, roads can take all conveyances rather than being limited to businesses who can afford rail transport, increased flow of trade revenue for both kingdoms..."

Char rolls up the parchment again. "It's a pretty lengthy list."