My proposal to trade land was met with great shock from the Last Breath and the Cherokee people.
Boom boom!
"How can you trade the earth, the mother of all life?"
"I can't understand it with my common sense."
The waiting room was noisy because of the Cherokee people. I kind of expected this reaction, so I waited for them to quiet down.
Finally, 'Last Breath' silenced the Cherokee people and offered me a polite apology.
"I'm sorry for making noise."
"That could be the case. It's okay."
'Last Breath' asked for my understanding again yesterday, as if it still hadn't been sorted out with my suggestion.
"I would like to have time to discuss this with my group."
"Yeah."
When I got up from my seat, my companions seemed surprised by my suggestion.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
'Splendid Sunset' came closer and whispered quietly in my ear.
"Everyone knew, but I never thought they would actually talk about trading land."
* * *
When only the Cherokees were left in the guest room, a heated argument broke out among them, their voices rising.
In particular, the 'Great Fist' and the warriors who had been positive about the trade in buffalo and weapons expressed strong opposition.
"You cannot trade the sacred land that our ancestors have cultivated since ancient times."
"I agree with the Giant Fist. Do you think it makes sense to trade the earth, the mother of life?"
'Last Breath' also secretly agreed with their opinion, but was blinded by greed and tried to convince them somehow.
"Our lands will not disappear just because we cede them to the 'Sun in the Sky.' And the lands our people inhabit are more than enough to fill the void."
As he said that, 'Last Breath' naturally asked the elders for help.
"I agree with the opinion of the great chief. If we have the weapons of the gods and the buffalo, we can easily conquer other tribes. Maybe we can even take more land."
"The Emperor of the Sun in the Sky has a very fickle personality and may change his mind at any moment. That's why I hope I don't miss this opportunity."
After a while, after quite a long discussion, the Cherokee tribal council came to a close. 'Last Breath' gave instructions to the Cherokee warriors who were escorting him.
"I've kept you waiting too long. Bring the people of 'Sun of the Sky'."
"Yes, Chief!"
* * *
There has been no word yet from the Cherokee delegation, who have been consulting for quite some time. As the boring time continued to pass, 'Splendid Sunset', who had been watching me from earlier, asked cautiously.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! I have a serious question."
"What are you curious about?"
"As with all tribes, we have learned that the Creator God tells us to live in harmony with all things."
The people from 'Wide Land' and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were listening to her story from the side, nodded silently.
Phew!
It seemed as if she was carrying the gun representing the 'vast land' and the people of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 'The brilliant sunset' continued speaking.
"But we simply cannot understand the idea of trading the earth, the mother of all life. Moreover, Your Majesty the Emperor is the son of God."
"...."
The time has finally come. As with all tribes, the idea of trading land must have been a huge shock to those who sought to live in harmony with nature.
Perhaps the naturalistic ideas of Native Americans are more appropriate for the modern times in which I live. Rather than having nature destroyed and the environment polluted by the indiscriminate development of Europeans, I thought it would be better to adopt the naturalism of Native Americans as a national ideology and develop in a more forward-looking and environmentally friendly direction.
When his thoughts had somewhat gathered, he spoke calmly as if to make everyone listen.
"It is true that the Creator God told us to live in harmony with nature."
And for a moment, I hesitated whether or not to bring this up. However, since everyone thinks of me as the son of God, I decided to take advantage of this situation as much as possible.
"And the Creator God said one more thing to me, his son."
'The splendid sunset' and 'the vast land' and everyone in the room perked up their ears to what I said.
"It is also our duty to nurture nature in harmony."
That was the end of my story. If you go too deep, you'll end up having a lot of trouble and gossip later. And I didn't go into it any further for fear that I might make a mistake in what I said.
As expected, the room was enveloped in a long silence for a moment.
"...."
'Splendid Sunset' was deep in thought, her lips quivering.
"Cultivate nature in harmony!? That is our duty!?"
The 'vast land' and the people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs kept mulling over what I had said as if they had gained a great enlightenment.
I waited quietly until they gathered their thoughts. At that time, 'Splendid Sunset' spoke with sparkling eyes.
"I see. Now I understand the teachings of the Creator God. In a way, cultivating corn, beans, and pumpkins is also a way to harmonize with nature. And salt from the sea, and iron and bronze dug from the ground? Your Majesty! Am I understanding correctly?"
"that's right."
As expected, it is a 'splendid sunset'. Then, the 'vast land' and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs people spoke one by one.
"Thank you for teaching me."
"I realized for the first time that it is our duty to cultivate nature in harmony."
"Thank you so much for conveying the words of the Creator God."
I was worried that people would take my words negatively, but I was really glad that everyone responded positively. At that moment, a noise was heard from outside.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! The meeting of the Cherokee people has concluded."
He nodded and got up from his seat.
"Come on! Let's go and hear what decision the Cherokee tribe made."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
* * *
I was sitting on a chair in a relaxed posture, listening to the story of 'The Last Breath'.
"Can't we trade for food and leather?"
Even though I knew it wouldn't work, 'Last Breath' was stabbing me once again. I refused mercilessly.
"It's hard to answer more than twice. I can't."
At first glance, it seemed like a very polite remark. But, if you look inside, it contains a strong warning that if you bring up the subject again, there will be no negotiations.
'Last Breath' also seemed to have noticed the meaning and coughed in vain with an embarrassed expression.
'It looks like he won't back down like this.'
I was convinced after seeing the 'last breath' action of taking a breath. After a brief silence, 'Last Breath' slowly opened its mouth.
"Can we trade as much as we want?"
"No. The quantity is limited, as both the divine weapons and tamed buffalo are not easily obtainable."
"Then I would like to know how much our tribe can trade for divine weapons and buffalo."
"I think it would be better for the chief of staff to talk about that rather than me."
This time, 'Splendid Sunset' came forward and began to speak in detail about the amount the Cherokee tribe could trade.
"… Each year, you can trade up to twenty bronze weapons, which are weapons of the gods, regardless of their type. And you can trade up to five buffalo, which are only male buffalos."
Iron weapons were excluded unconditionally as they were strategic weapons. And female buffalo were also excluded for breeding, mating, and improvement.
Of course, there were also some things that prevented the Cherokee from breeding our domesticated buffalo. Meanwhile, 'Splendid Sunset' repeatedly explained to the Cherokee people the difficulties of obtaining materials and the difficult process of taming buffalo.
After a while, 'Last Breath' and the Cherokee people wanted to trade us the bronze weapons and the male buffalo we had offered.
However, in the process of negotiating the Cherokee tribal territory, it was inevitable that we would have differences of opinion.
"It seems too expensive. Isn't this land enough?"
'Last Breath' struggled to somehow reduce the territory it was handing over to us. However, the 'vast land' that bargained with 'Last Breath' on my behalf never gave in to the fight.
"Why do warriors call it the weapon of the gods? There is a reason for that. If you cannot give it to this land, you can reduce the number of weapons of the gods accordingly."
"…hmm!"
Also, 'Last Breath' was lost in thought while looking at the map that pointed to the 'vast land', as if he didn't like it.
'It doesn't look like the negotiations will end easily.'
There was no need for me to wait here until the negotiations were over. And after watching from the side, I felt like I could trust and leave it to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 'vast earth'.
I stood up and apologized to the Cherokee people.
"I have some more work to do, so I'll come back when the negotiations are over."
* * *
The long negotiations are finally over. The Cherokee delegation was unable to purchase all the bronze weapons and buffalo I had expected.
Fifteen bronze weapons, three buffalo. Of course, the territory we were to receive was also reduced accordingly. However, since we traded at a high value, we made a lot more profit.
Roughly one-seventh of the Cherokee tribe's territory. The contract was signed on the spot. On behalf of the Cherokee Nation, 'Last Breath' happily signed the contract.
We also had the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 'Wide Earth', sign the memorandum, representing the 'Sun of the Sky'.
"What is this?"
"This is a text that displays my name."
The 'vast land' gave a simple answer to the question of 'last breath'. Finally, the contract was concluded with the exchange of necklaces symbolizing the Cherokee tribe and the 'sun in the sky'.
"It was a good deal."
"It's too expensive. I would appreciate it if you could make it a little cheaper next time."
'Last Breath' spoke to me in a loud voice, as if throwing a tantrum. But no matter how much he begged, they couldn't lower the price.
So I just responded with a smile without saying anything. A moment later, 'Wide Land' and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs people left the reception room to escort 'Last Breath' and the Cherokee delegation to their accommodations.
Did you want to check my plans yourself? 'Splendid Sunset', who had been staying with me in the reception room, suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty! Did you intentionally sell our strategic weapons to the Cherokee tribe to isolate them from the surrounding tribes?"
"I can't say no."
You guessed it exactly. With the weapons and buffalo we sold, the Cherokee would invade neighboring tribes to hunt slaves or expand their territory.
And as a result, the surrounding tribes that have become outright enemies of the Cherokee tribe will come to us for help.
Next, we can move towards naturally absorbing the surrounding tribes by joining the alliance.
"Then, from now on, I should become friendly with the tribes surrounding the Cherokee tribe."
'Splendid Sunset', who had noticed my plan, smiled sinisterly for the first time. Of course, it could be my mistake.
"Yes. From now on, it would be good to send the upper class to improve friendly relations."
* * *
'Sun of the Sky' training center. Several days had passed since the Cherokee delegation left. Even though each administrative organization was extremely busy preparing for the fall regular meeting of the delegates, I attended the graduation ceremony for the junior warriors who had completed all the courses at the training center.
He personally awarded awards to soldiers who were leaving the unit with excellent performance, boosting their morale.
"Thank you for your hard work. Congratulations."
"With all due respect to His Majesty the Emperor! Loyalty!"
And the 'Wounded Arrow', who had graduated with the highest score in the history of the training camp, stood in front of me with a very nervous look on his face.
When he was given the rank of Intermediate Warrior and the bow that would be his main weapon, 'Wounded Arrow' knelt down with a deeply moved expression.
"Please forgive my past rudeness. From now on, I will serve Your Majesty the Emperor with all my heart."
His eyes were definitely different from before, as if his words were sincere.