Kenji had no idea about anything going on at Prince Liam's side, or put more bluntly, even if he knew, he wouldn't go looking for trouble with the prince.
After all, the man was royalty, the Emperor's own brother. Messing with the Imperial family was something he had to think twice about.
Right now, Kenji was busy dealing with military issues.
"The northern savages are harassing the border again..." Kenji stared at the military report, feeling his head spin. "When was this sent over?"
"My Lord, it arrived just the day before yesterday," the official responsible for delivering the intelligence said. To streamline the administrative efficiency at Luminara City, each department had its own set of internal officers, who were not quite officials but more like messengers. Their role was to link the departments together, keeping the flow of information going where it needed to be, and sometimes, they were tasked with delivering the imperial orders.
"Two days ago?" Kenji furrowed his brow, his tone turning sharp. "Why did it only reach me today?"
"Uh...My Lord, according to protocol, military reports are first sent to the Emperor as part of the official documentation. If Her Majesty does not have the time to deal with them, they are then passed on to the relevant officials..."
"Her Majesty has too many things on his plate as it is. Important documents just sit there untouched for days on end. Delaying decisions on policy might not be a big deal, but military intelligence needs immediate action!"
Kenji was actually getting annoyed by all the bureaucratic red tape introduced since Pluvia took over. It was all part of the centralization of power.
Any matter of national importance first had to be reported to the Emperor. If she couldn't deal with it in three days, it would be handed over to the relevant official... Kenji understood her intention, she wanted to keep control over everything.
But was this kind of control even remotely helpful? There was no point in being this centralized.
If it was about national projects or financial allocations, sure, delaying for a few days wouldn't matter much. But military intelligence was a different beast.
Battlefield reports needed the urgency of putting out a fire. You can't afford to delay a fire. Kenji sighed at the thought. In the end, he had to deal with it himself. So why not just cut out the bureaucratic nonsense and let the responsible parties handle their own affairs?
"Next time military intelligence comes in, send it to me first. I'll decide whether to trouble Her Majesty with it, got it?"
Kenji stared at the map of the northern strategy while gesturing to the officials to understand.
"But, uh..."
The internal officer hesitated.
"What's there to hesitate about? Is my command so hard to understand?"
Kenji waved a hand dismissively.
The northern savages consisted mainly of cavalry, making them highly mobile. Their strength lay in speed, outstripping the well-organized and more capable Camelot soldiers in quick maneuvers. To deal with them, Kenji believed military reactions needed to be as swift as possible. If you could be faster than the savages, you could have the upper hand.
"Understood. Do I need to inform Her Majesty about this decision?"
The internal officer cautiously inquired.
Kenji thought it over carefully.
Say something, of course, he should. Regardless of whether Pluvia's system was flawed, these big decisions still warranted a heads-up to Her Majesty. Otherwise, if you intercepted sensitive information on your own, it would reflect poorly on him.
"Yes, I'll inform Her Majesty when I have the chance. Just do as I say for now."
Kenji was genuinely concerned that all this red tape could lead to them being caught unprepared. In times of crisis, one needed to act decisively. Emperor's military skills were amateur at best; she was better at grand strategy than on-the-ground tactics. Leave the detailed command to the experts.
The official withdrew, and Kenji turned his attention back to the military reports, locating the positions on the map.
In the north, at Hanyin City, the northern savages had occupied it. This city was a strategic chokepoint for the empire, boasting formidable walls, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. Plus, Hanyin had multiple underground grain and armory depots. Even if surrounded, a few thousand soldiers could hold out for weeks or even months.
But how could a city with defenses personally crafted by his father fall to the enemy in just a few days, especially during minor skirmishes?
Moreover, the northern savages, while brave, had been crushed by the previous Emperor, who led a campaign with ten thousand soldiers to obliterate their royal court. Only women and children were spared, leaving the savages too terrified to invade again. And now, with Camelot's military strength virtually unchanged, how could they dare to attack?
Just then, a voice came from behind him:
"This map, it's pretty odd."
Kenji nearly jumped out of his skin, swinging around to see Siyue standing there, her delicate feet bare, eyes riveted to the map in front of him.
"When did you sneak in? You scared the shit out of me!" Kenji clutched his chest. No wonder she made no sound; the floor was carpeted for comfort, and her feet, devoid of shoes, moved silently.
"Just came to bring you something to eat."
Siyue gestured to a plate of deliciously clear shrimp dumplings on the nearby table.
"Oh, I'll get to it later," Kenji said, suddenly remembering what Siyue had just said.
"You mentioned that the map seems odd?"
"Based on where you marked the enemy's positions, it does seem odd," Siyue elaborated. "Look, Hanyin City juts out like a wedge into the Yin Gorge. That fortification is hard to take, yet the enemy chose to attack it... Plus, there are several other cities near Hanyin, if I recall correctly, built for emergency support and as secondary defense lines."
"So, what's the problem?" Kenji replied.
"If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't attack Hanyin but would use the melted river channels to bypass it, initiating an assault from the east shore."
Siyue tapped the map with her finger.