The Eternal Empire (23 page)

The following morning Cornelius went
directly to the building where Gregory worked. A junior official was waiting
for him at the reception desk and he was taken straight up to Gregory's office.
As soon as he entered Gregory got up and came round to greet his old friend.

"Cornelius! It's good to see you
again - even under these circumstances," he said, shaking Cornelius with
both hands.

Gregory directed Cornelius to a chair
and instructed his aide to organise some refreshments. He then took his own
seat across the desk from Cornelius.

"How was your trip?" asked
Gregory.

"Awful," replied Cornelius,
"I would have preferred to walk the entire distance, but as you are aware,
time is of the essence. I'm glad to see that you're expecting me, the guards at
the airfield weren't."

"That's not surprising," said
Gregory, a knowing smile on his face, "I heard directly from Isaac on the
telegraph but your travel plans would have had to go through the bureaucrats in
military transport and they're rather slow."

The smile faded away as Gregory got to
the reason for Cornelius's visit. "I got the report from ambassador
Taronites about the situation in Saxony. I agree that it looks bleak, but to be
honest I'm not sure what can be done about it."

"We must get the chief minister to
review these new policies! They're a disaster for the Empire!"

Gregory looked at Cornelius. His face
betrayed no emotion but Cornelius could sense a sadness and frustration that
only a friend could detect.

"Privately I agree with you,"
said Gregory, "but unfortunately chief minister Exanzenus believes that
these new policies - his new policies - will be the salvation of the
Empire."

Gregory turned away from Cornelius to
look at the portrait of the Emperor, Alexander IX on his office wall, "and
it appears that his Majesty is in agreement with him. He is prepared to
implement these policies by imperial decree under the state of emergency
laws."

Cornelius was appalled, and said so.
The Empire might not be the kind of democracy practised by the United
Provinces, but it was not a 'rule by divine right' monarchy anymore either.
Gregory nodded sadly in agreement. "I saw Marcus yesterday. The entire
assembly is livid with both the chief minister and the Emperor, but legally
they are unable to do anything."

"I must see the chief minister as
soon as possible," said Cornelius with determination. "Ambassador
Taronites instructed me to explain the situation to him in person."

"Yes, Isaac included the request
in the report he sent. I spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to get you an
appointment but have not had any success yet. I'll keep trying."

Cornelius felt his anger rising. He had
spent the best part of a day travelling from the Saxon capital on an urgent
mission to avert a potential crisis between two countries and the chief
minister would not even give him an appointment!

Gregory saw that his friend was
struggling to contain his feelings. "We'll keep trying Cornelius," he
repeated. "I'll call in favours that I'm owed and will pull as many
strings as I can get my hands on. However," warned Gregory, "don't
expect too much.  Exanzenus is not one to change his mind - regardless of the
facts."

8th
April 1920

Saxony

There were over one hundred members of
the full Royal Council and they all stood as Otto VIII, King of the Saxons was
announced. He was preceded into the great hall by two bearded members of the
Royal Guard with ceremonial battle-axe and shield. As he strode between the
rows of tiered, church style pews that lined either side of the hall, Otto kept
his eyes on the Royal Coat of Arms mounted above the throne at the opposite
end.

Otto had been in his early thirties
when he became King following the death of his father, twenty years before.
Then he had been in his prime, but two decades of state banquets and presiding
over innumerable meetings and councils had seen his firm, well exercised
muscles turn to fat. His hair line had receded and he had grown a beard and
moustache, partly to hide a face that had become distinctly puffy. He now bore
only a passing resemblance to the profile that had been embossed on Saxon coins
when he ascended the throne and never changed.

His reign had coincided with a period
of peace and economic growth for the Kingdom and this sense of well being and
prosperity had become associated with him. As a result he was well loved by the
people and this gave him a lot of moral authority when dealing with his nobles.
This was just as well since Otto was not very strong willed by nature.

Those who knew Otto well had likened
him to a gentleman farmer. Amiable, friendly, and always interested in what the
people around him were doing. However, he was too eager to please and if he had
to decide between doing what he perceived to be popular and what he felt was
best - well, the monarchy was no longer a despotic dictatorship and he bowed to
the 'will of the people'. Most of the time the 'will of the people' was the
will of the nobles with the loudest voice and greatest influence.

Otto sat down and Duke Haradok, the
most senior Count present announced that a full meeting of the Royal Council
was now in session. The nobles present took their seats whilst Haradok picked
up a sheaf of papers from the small table beside him and began to speak.

"This council has been convened to
discuss the trade polices recently announced by the Roman Empire. These
policies have been deemed by the inner council to be detrimental to Saxon
interests, in violation of existing agreements and against accepted
practise." He paused briefly to clear his throat and to give the final
sentence of his opening speech a bit more weight. "His Majesty the King calls
upon those assembled here to provide guidance in determining the action that
the Kingdom of the Saxons should take in response to this threat."

One by one those who had something to
say stood up, bowed to the King and gave their opinions. The first speakers, by
precedent members of the inner council were indignant at the action of the
Empire but confined their recommendations to protests and retaliatory trade
measures. They advised caution, adding that rash action at this time could
bring unforeseen consequences.

However, as the debate continued, the
tone became increasingly belligerent, with past grievances and humiliations at
the hands of the Empire being painfully recalled. Although war was never
mentioned, the mood, especially amongst the younger nobles was clearly in
favour of, as one speaker put it, 'taking any action in defence of our national
interest'.

During the speeches, Count Godisger sat
quietly, his granite like expression never changing. Godisger had no intention
of saying anything himself, at least not here. It was too public a forum and he
had no intention of allowing the Empire even a hint of what he had in mind for
them. He had primed some junior Counts to adopt an aggressive response, but
given the mood of the council as a whole it had probably not been necessary.

Count Godisger, as head of the Saxon
army, had managed to obtain a private audience with the King a few days before.
He had briefed Otto on the threat of Saxony being 'dragged into a war' because
of the imperial trade laws, emphasising that if Constantinople could do such a
sudden about-face over trade, anything was possible. Consequently, 'as a
precaution' he had ordered his staff to prepare plans so that, 'God forbid',
should it come to war, the Saxon army would be ready to defend the Kingdom. It
had taken a bit of persuading. Although Godisger was not known for his debating
skills, he could present a very convincing argument to get what he wanted.
Reluctantly the King had agreed with Godisger and had signed a Royal Warrant
giving the Count the authority to requisition anything he needed and to obtain
co-operation from other parts of the government. After all, the King had said
as Godisger was leaving, there was no harm in being prepared.

By the time the last person had spoken,
Otto was clear in his mind that the people, as represented by the council, were
not prepared to meekly accept the new trade policies. Some kind of response
would be required. Luckily, Count Godisger had suggested some actions at their
meeting that would prove popular without resorting to military action.

Duke Haradok formally asked the council
if there were any other members who wished to present their views. When no one
rose to speak, he turned to the King and bowed.

"The Royal council has spoken your
Majesty," he said and sat down. Every eye in the hall looked expectantly
at Otto. The King rose.

"My Lords, I thank you for your
advice," he said slowly, his face solemn as he looked from one side of the
hall to the other. "It's clear that these new policies of the Empire are
intolerable. Decades of mutually beneficial trade and the livelihoods of
thousands of hardworking Saxons are threatened by their high handed
actions."

Murmurs of approval could be heard.
"But," Otto continued, his voice louder and more assertive, "we
must not forget that it is the right of every nation to impose taxes on goods
entering its borders."

The murmurs of approval changed to
mutterings of discontent, but not loud enough to signify outright disapproval.
"All we can do to retaliate is to impose reciprocal duties on goods
produced by the Empire."

There was a spontaneous outbreak of
cheers and cries of encouragement. The look of sad resignation amongst many of
the older members of the council was either ignored or went unnoticed. Otto
waited until the applause had died down before resuming.

"Whereas the Empire may have been
within its rights to impose taxes on our goods, even though they may be
extortionate, the tariff they have announced for ships using the waterways is a
different matter."

There was silence in the hall. The
nobles looked at the King expectantly, their faces betraying a mixture of
emotions - excitement, apprehension and fear.

"It is the opinion of our most
learned lawyers and scholars," said the King grimly "that the Empire
does not have a legal basis for the imposition of a tariff for use of a common
waterway. No Saxon vessel will pay it!"

The beginning of another round of
cheering and applause was swiftly cut short by the King raising both his hands
in the air to demand silence.

"The masters of all Saxon
ships," continued the King, "will be instructed to avoid putting into
imperial ports. Any demands for payment of the tariff by imperial officials
will be refused."

There was a nodding of heads and a hum
of agreement that rose in volume as the nobles, believing that the King had
finished his speech, began to cheer and shout patriotic slogans. However Otto
had one more sentence to add which some of the more vociferous members of the
council missed.

"Any attempt by the Empire to
seize Saxon vessels or goods will be regarded as a hostile act towards the
Kingdom."

Count Godisger did not join in the
cheering, restricting himself to applauding. He did not miss the last sentence,
which was not really surprising since he had quietly suggested it to the King
himself. Inwardly, he smiled.

8th
April 1920

Constantinople

It was another two days before
Cornelius was shown into the chief minister's office in the building next to
the imperial palace.

Exanzenus was seated behind a large
desk in an enormous office, the walls of which contained dozens of recesses
displaying the busts of past Emperors. Exanzenus did not look up when Cornelius
entered nor did he acknowledge his presence when Cornelius formally announced
himself. He just sat reading through a report as though Cornelius did not
exist.

Eventually Exanzenus slowly looked up
at Cornelius, who was still standing. There was no chair on the other side of
the desk. Despite what he had heard about Exanzenus, Cornelius had decided to
keep an open mind. However, the look of disdain that the chief minister gave
him when he looked up and the air of total arrogance that surrounded him
quickly shaped Cornelius's view of him.

"The influence that you have with
certain senior officials has obtained this audience for you Petronius,"
said Exanzenus in a tone that already indicated he was bored, "now what is
it you have to say?"

"Surely you have read the report
from ambassador Taronites?" said Cornelius, who was already feeling a knot
in his stomach. This was not going well.

"Yes I have," he said curtly,
"what of it?"

"Ambassador Taronites sent me to
emphasise the gravity of the situation in Saxony. The new trade policies will
cause a deep rift between Saxony and the Empire, there are elements of the
Saxon nobility that......"

"Would like to see a war with the
empire," interrupted Exanzenus. "I told you I've read the report
Petronius. If that's all you have come to tell me then you have wasted your
journey here," his voice began to rise in volume, "and more
importantly you are now wasting my time which is immeasurably more valuable
than yours!"