The Martial Unity

Now that he had secured the support of a Martial Sage to aid with ensuring that Master Reina didn't get exposed to other Martial Sages or extremely powerful Martial Masters, he could be a lot more assured about the security of his plan to have her take over in his stead once he essentially won the Kandrian Throne War.

'Now that I've secured the Martial Union's full cooperation, it's time to bulldoze through the competition and win seventy-five percent of high-ranking government officials,' Rui said, narrowing his eyes.

With the Martial Union's support, it was going to be smooth for the most part. No government official could resist the power that the Martial Union had. Any favor, any request, any necessity or indulgence, he could have it fulfilled. If they wanted a powerful potion brewed from rare substances, then he could simply instruct several Martial Masters of the union to head down the Beast Domain and procure the required substances in exchange for that high-ranking government official's support.

In the worst-case scenario, he could employ the Martial Sages to a minor extent. And the number of things that were too difficult for a Martial Sage was quite limited and usually involved other Martial Sages.

Once Rui returned, he immediately got to work. His chief of staff had already scheduled a hundred appointments within a single month with a hundred important and distinguished individuals whom Rui personally needed to spend time with to reel over.

His life very quickly shifted as the faction-building took off in full force. In the past three months, he had merely been setting up the foundations of his faction staff and administration.

Now, he was starting the real deal.

"Who's the first appointment fixed with?" Rui asked.

"Guildmaster Bradt and Chairman Decker of the Bradt-Decker Political Venture Capital Guild, Your Highness," she quickly replied, providing him with a scheduling docket.

"Was that on purpose?"

"…Yes, Your Highness. I suspected that it would be best to begin with prospective patrons with whom you already have a history of cooperation and partnership before moving on to those you don't have any prior relationship with."

"Good thinking," Rui admitted. "It is indeed easier for me to deal with Bradt and Decker since I know them, especially the former."

He immediately headed to his office, where the two had been waiting already.

CLACK

"Apologies for the slight delay," Rui remarked as he walked into his office, immediately spotting the two of them and their bodyguards. "I've been incredibly busy with untimely matters that I could not put aside."

"Don't worry about it," Chairman Decker smiled.

"You do not need to apologize," Guildmaster Bradt calmly remarked. "It is a perennial part of leadership."

Rui smiled wryly at the two of them as he took a seat. "I did expect to be approached by the two of you the moment I decided to go for the throne, but this…"

He glanced at the documents titled with the newfound guild that the two had founded. "This was unexpected, even if clever."

"It was my idea, by the way," Chairman Decker remarked with a hint of smug pride.

Guildmaster Bradt stared at Rui impassively. "Collectivism, no matter what form it takes, is an age-old solution to overcoming hurdles that cannot be overcome alone."

Rui smiled, amused. "And what hurdle is it that the two of you seek to overcome?"

"The hurdle of making the best out of our patronage of you, of course," Chairman Decker remarked. "We seek to squeeze you for the best deal we can get."

"Alright, I'll let you begin," Rui remarked. "What are your demands, and what do you offer in return?"

Guildmaster Bradt pushed a file forward to Rui. "We have two broad demands; the first is a lowered ease of doing business in the Kandrian Empire. While not nearly as restrictive as the Britannian Empire or the Sekigahara Confederate, it is nowhere as libertarian as our own Shionel Confederation or the Republic of Gorteau."

Rui considered their demand while he went through the file, which expounded the precise details of their demands.

"Lowered permit and authorization requirements…lowered difficulty of credit acquisition…lowered difficulty of land acquisition…" Rui murmured. "All standard stuff. I'll consider it. I am more amenable to long-term adjustments to the Kandrian Empire's economic model, but if you're expecting anything swift and instantaneous, then I'm afraid not. The Kandrian Empire has integrated many stakeholders and power blocs into it seamlessly, thanks to my father, but the only disadvantage of that is that change comes slowly because too many people have vested interests, increasing the probability that at least one of them would find change to be detrimental."

There were some sectors that benefited from the government regulation, because it favored domestic supplier markets over foreign markets. Many international and foreign manufacturers and suppliers were reluctant to expand too heavily into the Kandrian Empire due to the ease of doing business, which, while not too bad, was not too inviting either.

"I do not wish to suddenly thrust our domestic supplier market into a world where they have to compete with seasoned veteran business tycoons like those of the Shionel Confederation," Rui replied calmly.

"You're giving us too much credit," Decker waved his hand dismissively. "You're a Kandrian, and you utterly dominated all of Shionel during the dungeon arc, didn't you?"

Rui gave him a dubious look. He didn't say it out loud, but everybody in the room knew that he was far too extraordinary to extrapolate his successes to anybody else.

"I don't mind liberalizing the economy further over a span of ten years to give local and domestic Kandrian supplier markets time to adapt and change," Rui remarked. "Anything lower, and they'll be crushed by international monsters that have mastered libertarian economies."

He glanced at the two of them. "That's my bottom line. Take it or leave it."

The two glanced at each other, turning back to Rui.

"Deal."

"Good. We'll iron out all the nitty-gritty details later," Rui steepled his fingers. What is your second demand?"