Chapter 21: Negotiations
Komer could tell from the Home Minister’s words that he seemed dissatisfied with the behavior of certain lords in the kingdom—lords who undoubtedly held considerable power, far from being obscure minor lords like himself from the remote regions. It was clear, however, that the Home Minister wanted to use his decision to accept refugees as a demonstration to other lords. If he truly agreed to the Home Minister’s terms, it might provoke resentment among them. But since he indeed needed laborers, and none of these lords were acquaintances of his, he doubted anyone would take an interest in him. It was better to take this chance and also use it to ingratiate himself with this important court official, or even the king himself.
At this thought, Komer’s spirits lifted, and he quickly weighed the pros and cons. Yet he wasn’t planning to accept the Home Minister’s suggestions wholesale. Accepting refugees was fine, but not without conditions.
“Duke, Komer is willing to accept refugees to the greatest extent possible according to your advice. It is my duty and honor as a subject to help ease the king’s burden. However, the number of refugees far exceeds Caucasus’s capacity. Moreover, I have already explained that my purpose here is to recruit strong laborers, not many elderly, weak, women, or children. Even if I did accept them, given Caucasus’s current financial situation, it would be difficult to help them survive next year’s famine,” Komer said sincerely, explaining his difficulties to Duke Teyz.
Nodding, Teyz was pleased with his honesty. He didn’t hide his thoughts—being able to openly express his desires showed that this man was at least honest in that regard. This contradicted what Philip had said; in Philip’s words, this man seemed like a mix of a scoundrel and a rascal. But so far, his behavior suited Teyz’s taste—he was confident yet shrewd, with a necessary degree of honesty. As a lord, such qualities were essential. With Philip growing more arrogant by the day, perhaps he and the king should plant a thorn in Philip’s side. This remote Caucasus might be a good choice—failure wouldn’t result in much loss.
Komer naturally had no idea that the other party was already considering including him as a pawn in the kingdom to counter Duke Philip. He also never thought he would have the power to hold Duke Philip in check. What he needed to focus on now was how to persuade the seemingly hesitant Minister of Internal Affairs to agree to his plan. However, the Minister of Internal Affairs implied his hope that Komer would take on more responsibilities for the king and accept more refugees for the kingdom, but Komer really couldn’t do that. He didn’t dare make such a claim lightly, as it involved many subsequent matters.
“Duke, if you have any better ideas, please share them with Komer. I’m all ears,” Komer said, unable to hold back any longer seeing that Duke Teyz was still deep in thought.
“See, Baron, the number of refugees from the city-states of Main and Sussor has already exceeded 100,000, while the number in the Duchy of Mellen exceeds 150,000. Medea, Naples, and the Netherlands have consistently refused to accept these refugees, essentially watching the kingdom’s actions. As you said, this number of over 200,000 refugees is indeed too large. The kingdom originally wanted some lords to take in some of them, but these lords have shirked their responsibilities by claiming opposition from their own people, putting the king in a difficult position. Now that you’re willing to share the burden, I was wondering if you could take in around 80,000 to 100,000 refugees, with the rest shared among the other three countries. I’m not sure if this request is too much?” After hesitating for a while, Duke Teyz finally dropped this heavy bombshell.
“What? 80,000 to 100,000? Duke, are you joking?” Even though Komer was prepared, he still wasn’t expecting such a huge shock from the Minister of Internal Affairs. His mouth was wide open in shock as he stared at Duke Teyz.
“Baron, do you think I would joke with you on such an occasion?” The duke, with a rosy complexion, always had a faint smile on his lips as he replied calmly.
“But Duke, I’ve already explained the specific difficulties in the Caucasus to you. That region simply cannot accommodate such a large population right now,” Komer said, swallowing hard and trying to calm himself down. He knew that since the other party brought this up, there must be reasons to persuade him.
“Well, I can understand your difficulties, but I ask you to also consider the kingdom’s predicament. Looking at the future development of the Caucasus, more labor force is definitely needed. This is a great and rare opportunity. To be honest, there are those who don’t want you to accept these refugees. If Lord Baron can seize this opportunity, it might be a significant turning point for the Caucasus’s development,” said the Minister of Internal Affairs, staring intently into Komer’s eyes and speaking word by word.
“My Lord Duke, I am aware of the people you mention. I believe they belong to the same group as those who, as you said, ignore the bigger picture. They only care about their own interests and have long since forgotten the kingdom’s interests. There’s no need to bring up these people and ruin the atmosphere of our conversation. I’m sure your views won’t change because of the slander from such trivial people,” Komer replied, a dark glint in his eyes.
“Hehe, talking to a smart person is indeed easy. I won’t say much else. Regarding these refugees, I hope Lord Baron will accept them all on behalf of the kingdom. Of course, I won’t make things difficult for you. The current situation in the Caucasus certainly can’t handle such a large number. I’ll have my officials negotiate with the other three kingdoms to secure some financial support for the Caucasus—though not much. It will be used to cover any shortages in food for these refugees during the winter. Do you have the confidence to handle this issue?” The Minister nodded in satisfaction. The experienced minister had accurately caught the dark shadow in the young lord’s eyes. Good—this was exactly what he wanted to see. Just for this reason, he would make sure to “train” this young man well for Philip the old fool.
Although Duke Tez spoke casually, Komer knew there were huge risks involved. Such a large number of refugees—comparable to just a few thousand in his own territory—was practically negligible. If anything went wrong in the Caucasus, he might not be able to control the situation, and he would be the one to suffer. But since the Duke clearly didn’t want anyone else involved, his words were a mix of threats and inducements. It seemed he couldn’t refuse. But once he agreed, he might never be able to back out.
Seeing the fine sweat slowly appearing on the young lord’s face, Taze found it quite amusing. There was always a cost for gain, and risk for reward—there was never such thing as a free lunch in this world. Since they wanted to exploit cheap labor, they had better be prepared to accept the accompanying drawbacks.
Only after leaving the Interior Minister’s reception room did Komer realize the cold sweat beading on his back. As a cool breeze blew, he noticed his thoughts suddenly becoming extremely clear. That cunning old fox, Taze, had actually planned everything long before meeting him, pretending to act as if he were hearing about it for the first time. He even used Philip to pressure Komer. Yet Komer couldn’t figure out Taze’s motives for suddenly asking him to take in as many as 80,000 refugees. If it were truly to relieve pressure on the kingdom, that wouldn’t be a problem. But it seemed more like a bargain for the Caucasus. Especially after the Duke declared he would urge the three kingdoms of Naples to provide substantial compensation for the Caucasus to accept tens of thousands of refugees, Komer became even more puzzled. What was the Interior Minister’s real intention?
Shaking his head, Komer didn’t want to think about it any further. The immediate issue was how to successfully accommodate at least 80,000 refugees. Although winter in the Caucasus was already quite warm compared to the north, that didn’t mean they could relax. Without food or enough housing and tents, such a lifestyle couldn’t last long. Once those 80,000 people felt they weren’t getting enough, it might quickly turn into chaos in the Caucasus. At the thought of this, Komer felt annoyed.