Way of Overlord
Chapter 41: Division and Union

Chapter 41: Division and Union

There is a lot of thoughts in his mind right now but the most important thought that is swirling right now is that he fears Aeryon would fear him and not trust him because he had calculated him into the strategy.

All of this thought plays in his mind. And because of that he did not dare to raise his head right now.

He knows Aeryon knew now his intention of proposing such plans.

He calculated the possible action of Aeryon in his plans and then proposed a plan that Aeryon would readily and happily accept.

But such act could also make the ruler, the superior feel angry. No one likes the feeling of being calculated by others

If not he would not say those words

It is precisely because he understand Aeryon words, Mayeux did not dare accept that compliment

Aeryon is satisfied with Mayeux tactics.

This young man even put him into the calculation.

Why does he say that? It is because the stable way is for him not to attack and instead cultivate an image of peaceful or steady.

But Mayeux suggested this kind of alliance, where he would befriend a slightly further away tribe instead of the close ones because Mayeux sems to know his desire to unite the smaller tribes all around here.

It is the best of both worlds.

Aeryon was silent and Mayeux did not speak.

For a moment, only the sound of the wind that keeps blowing from outside could be heard and then Aeryon asked

"If I follow this method, I could not help but be thought of as a warmonger"

"As long as there is justification, as long as there is interest, the impact of such reputation could be dulled"

Mayeux immediately answered

Aeryon hearing this laughed loudly.

Even the guards outside heard it and was startled. Aeryon look at Mayeux and spoke

"you seem to be prepared for almost everything. It seems you already think about what will happen"

"I serve the Chief" he said simply Aeryon nodded.

"With you here, what is there to worry about?" Aeryon said happily. What he said is not some words to buy Mayeux heart.

He really meant it.

With all of this advantages if he still could not rise in this world, then he could blame no one.

He had the system.

He had a sworn brother who were born with innate strength, talented enough to become a general.

And he even has this kind of person under him that could make strategies for him. Aeryon himself is not that smart.

But he does have the advantage of knowing the trend of history and he knows how basic methods of building nations. But what he considered basic is considered a treasure for the people of this era

Because there is not many people that could read and even fewer people who could learn with teachers as there is no formal school especially even more so for people of the Great Steppe.

" As for the daughter of Garron, I will decide later" Aeryon is quite hesitant of trying to seal alliance with Garron through marriage.

It is because he doesn’t believe Garron at all. He doesn’t have a basis for this. It is simply his feeling

"No, I do have a basis" he thought to himself

How could he trust someone who bears the title of Viper?

"Continue" Aeryon gesture for Mayeux to continue.

"Build up our defence and our attack capabilities. With our recent victories we are feared. And fear is a good thing. Most of the time" he paused for a second before continuing

"But it could also bring a lot of trouble. Some would not attack us because they fear us. And some...."

"Hahaha!’ Aeryon laughed

"And some would attack us because they fear us" Aeryon finished Mayeux words and Mayeux nodded

Aeryon nodded

"I agree" Mayeux once again thanks Aeryon. This declaration means that Aeryon would support him if he were to build things

This requires Aeryon permission and more importantly the access to the resources. Aeryon once again gestures Mayeux to speak and Mayeux continue

’Most importantly, we must train and equip our army. There is many metals and steel we got from the Xewa and Ghar tribe. We could repurpose it for our new army. We might not be able to equip all of our army. But even if we could arm only one third of them with high quality weapons, we could strengthen our army. Then when we attack those small tribes, we would have no defeat’

Aeryon nodded.

He had his ideas on how to reform the army.

In a way, he simply copy the answer of a certain conqueror.

It is not like he could not think of other methods like standardization of training, professionalization of the army, reforming the weapons and equipment of his soldiers, and reforming the communication methods, the reforms of logistic and supply and creating specialized units

There is also the Intelligence and Reconnaissance unit that could be established

These are all of his thoughts. And if he could do all of this, then he could sweep all over the world. At least according to his understanding, there is no immortal creatures in this world.

And this is not the world of magic anymore since magic has long since disappeared from this world

But why does he instead choose to copy other people method

Simply because every method and every reform has its time and place.

Reforms seems good on paper but when it is time to apply it, Aeryon knows that it is a battle between ideals and reality

If he wanted to reform his army the way he wanted it to be done, several problems can arise

People generally tend to be resistant to change, especially if it is happening too rapidly. If reforms are introduced too quickly, there may be opposition and pushback from within the army or the tribal community.

This resistance can undermine the effectiveness of the reforms and create internal conflicts. And that is not something he wanted to do

Not to mention, he would also need them to learn from scratch

They need to learn new tactic and that would also take times.

instead of making his army stronger , he would give other tribes time and then before he could even finish doing his reform, his tribe might get attacked first and he and his tribe buried six feet under

Taking the time would only work when he have enough stable base. But now, there is still many tribes all over the great Steppe. Some are peaceful and some are very warlike.

Aeryon once played a game. In that game as long as you quickly develop first and then gobble up your neighbours then the game is decided

Because war is many things. And if you have a lot of resources to burn, the higher your chance of winning

Of course, military tactics and the ability to fight is also very important.

Aeryon believes that this world is not entirely the same as his world as evidenced by the existence of Belarion.

In his world, you might see a person defeating one hundred men only in movies or stories.

In real life, before the advent of cold weapons, such stories of one men defeating one hundred person by their lonesome is either a folktale or an exaggeration.

There are times when one person defeated an army but that is a result of tricks, schemes and plots and not literally one person riding a horse and fighting one hundred men and win.

But in this world, that is a very real thing.

So, the plans he have still needs more information about this world.

And he also recognise the problem

any reform need a proper preparation and planning. Infrastructure of the reforms needed to be thee and if the necessary infrastructure, resources, or training programs are not adequately developed, the reforms may fail to achieve the desired outcomes.

Insufficient preparation can lead to confusion, inefficiency, and even endanger the overall effectiveness of the army.

But the most important factor on why he decided to give up reforming the military to drastically is that if he introduced all of these new connects all at once, there would be disruption of cohesion

Tribal armies often rely on a strong sense of cohesion and unity among their members. Rapid reforms can disrupt this cohesion by introducing new hierarchies, changing roles, or altering established traditions.

If the reforms are not managed carefully, it can lead to divisions and conflicts within the army, which can hinder its effectiveness.

This is the main factor why he shelved a more modern changes to the army and instead adopted away that he knows had worked in history before

Aeryon ask and Mayeux answer. Each of the answer that Mayeux give him satisfied him greatly.

When asked for more suggestion, Mayeux did not shy away.

He also suggested to develop the trade networks, either trading with neighbouring tribes, as well as establishing trade routes with other regions.

And Mayeux has another suggestion. That is to consider expanding the tribe horde by recruiting skilled horsemen and warriors from neighbouring tribes.

After the victory, any aspiring warriors would without a doubt tempted to join Aeryon tribe. Aeryon would not mind them joining with their entire clan. Aeryon himself has his clan to back him up

It is just that every tribe rarely brings outsider into the tribe.

The tribe itself is the gathering of clans. Belarion is from the same clan and that is why they are so close. Both Belarion and him treated each other like brothers long before they become Andawan with each other.

However, Aeryon was quite surprised that Mayeux would suggested such plans.

Mayeux suggested it because he could see that Aeryon do not see the other tribes as different

Roma was strong because everyone is considered Roma. Yan is strong because of the same thing. Mayeux knows that cultural similarities binds them together.

And when they became an empire, they found other things to bind them together.

And Aeryon methods....to him is the method that is suitable for this period of unification.

Mayeux did not share his thoughts about the division and unification of the Steppe. Even Aeryon who is talking with him now did not know that the moment Mayeux decided to offer his service to Aeryon, that Mayeux had already been thinking far to the future.

Whatever the future holds, if Aeryon is bent on chasing power, the first step must be to unify the small tribes around the south of the Steppe. And then with this as a base, the unification of the Steppe could be done.

Mayeux learns from the books of history and he knows that there is rise and fall of Empires, and there is the division and unification.

Whether Aeryon is really someone who could unite the entire Steppe is questionable, but at least Mayeux could see the ambition in this young chief.

Mayeux and Aeryon has a fruitful conversation.

Mayeux reminded Aeryon that while, he could consider launching further military campaigns to expand his territory and consolidate his power it’s important for him to balance expansion with consolidation and not overextend the tribe’s resources or risk alienating the conquered subjects.

Aeryon felt like he had met a friend of the minds.

The thinking of the people around him is too simple and the Elders views are too small. Now, that such a person met with Aeryon, Aeryon felt like he is meeting a bosom friend from afar.

They talk for hours, exchange ideas. Aeryon was so excited that he forgotten to even speak of his own ideas, relishing Mayeux intelligence

He is young but he has deep thoughts, this is Aeryon opinion of Mayeux.

Some thought and thinking of his is limited by the time and the experience, but Aeryon could tell, give this young man ten years and he would have the talent to be a prime minister

This is a talent that should not be allowed to fall into other people hands.

They talked for so long, that it became afternoon. Aeryon in an unusual manner of generosity, commanded the servants to bring food and water and urge Mayeux to eat with him.

This is a great honour and come as a shock to some. Mayeux has always been very low profiled.

Of course, in the battle with the Xewa and the Ghar tribe he distinguishes himself as an exemplary warrior, helping and aiding the Chief winning the war

But the limelight of that battle falls onto the lap of the Chief and Belarion. Other people could not see why the Chief vales Mayeux so much.

But what they couldn’t see is what Aeryon could see

And what he could see is a capable advisor that have the knowledge of many people contained in him.

To him this is a resource more valuable to him than a thousand warriors. It is because of the lack of such people that Aeryon treated Mayeux very generously.

The matter spreads to the ears of the Elders and the ears of others and they wonder what those two are talking about

But it is clear that the Chief favoured Mayeux. And just a day later, Mayeux joins all the meetings that the Chief had.

The days passes like this

....

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