"Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, step forward, please," Victor said in a warm, yet loud tone. The Austrian Field Marshal was slightly confused as to why he was called to step forward. Hesitantly, he stepped forward towards Victor. Once he was in front of Victor, the King began to deal out his final appointment.
"Karl, my old friend, you have served me faithfully for almost a decade now. Your service has been nothing short of fantastic. You first joined my service back when we were finishing our war with the Maldenbergs, and have followed me through the war with the Fontaines and the Kingdom of Gu."
"Without you, the Luxenberg Military would not be the magnificent beast it is today. Your constant support and advice have helped me navigate through many situations, and I rank you amongst my closest friends. With that being said, there is no man I trust more than you, so it is my honour to appoint you as the Chancellor of Simbar."
Everyone was shocked at Victor's announcement. They all thought the four Animal Generals would rule their own section of the continent. In theory, it would make sense, but the division of these lands could cause rifts throughout the continent. As such, having a centralised figure that they all reported to was Victor's idea.
"You shall look after and rule this land in my name. You will have General Bun Gen as your aide-de-camp, and I will help you form a council of worthy individuals to assist you. I will miss our usual conversations, but I believe you will do great things here. These people are now yours. Protect them, and see that they prosper," Victor added when the crowd quieted down.
Field Marshal Schwarzenberg was frozen in place; he was still processing the weight of a new title. Chancellor of Simbar was no small title; the weight that came with it was immense. It was not just soldiers that the Field Marshal needed to worry about now, but the general public.
In truth, Field Marshal Schwarzenberg doubted his ability to undertake this task, but for Victor to place so much trust in him, he could not afford to be tied down with negative thoughts. He had to steel his resolve and see that he put his best foot forward.
"I shall not fail you, Your Majesty. I will not besmirch your great name," The Field Marshal swore, his eyes gleaming with resolve. Victor could only smile and congratulate his friend. Many of the other commanders rushed to congratulate their superior.
With everything concluded, people began to disperse from the throne room. Only a few of the Luxenberg commanders stayed behind to drink and celebrate. It was weird for Field Marshal Gai Mou since he was one of the few who could not speak Bulgartic, but thanks to his new aide-de-camp, Brigade Commander So Sui, he was able to have the conversation translated.
Victor was one of the people who retired early to their rooms and sought out rest. His time in Simbar was coming to a close. Soon, he could return home and hold his family once again. His eldest son, Anton, was soon to be 12 and would begin his teachings in the military academy. His young twin boys, Vincent and Clovis, were now 4 years old. Victor did not get to enjoy their years as cute toddlers, which he lamented.
With the thought of home, Victor was determined to make sure everything here was dealt with quickly and properly.
The first thing that he needed to do was help the newly appointed Chancellor of Simbar form a council that could help him govern the continent. To give Field Marshal Schwarzenberg the best start to his new position, Victor used 50,000 out of his total 300,000 Store Points and bought 2 10x Medium-Level Foreign Follower Summons. Thankfully for Victor, these were foreign follower summons and not normal ones.
Out of the 20 summoned followers, only 5 of them were above 3 stars. The 15 followers that had 3 stars held the following roles: 5 maids, 2 servants, 2 spies, 3 lower-level financial administrators, 2 lower-level industrial administrators and 1 lower-level civil administrator.
These additions may have been a bit underwhelming, but it was certainly better than nothing. The spies would be used to monitor any rebel activity that would be potentially brewing on the continent. The administrators would at least be helpful to share the workload of running the continent.
The remaining 5 followers were all 4 stars except for 1. Out of the 4 followers, 1 of them was a medium-level Financial administrator, 2 of them were engineers, and the last was a medium-level civil administrator.
The engineers were unique. Victor had never guessed that he could get such talented individuals from these summons, but his expectations were shattered when he saw who he had received as a 5-star follower.
The man wore robes of dark jade and muted gold, the silk folding and flowing like water over his frame—each thread a whisper of wealth, each pattern a nod to his ancestral ways. A tall headdress crowned his grey-haired head; it was black and stiff, marking him as more than a mere administrator.
His face was long and composed, brows slightly furrowed as though in eternal contemplation. A neatly trimmed beard framed his mouth, which was neither smiling nor stern—simply still, unreadable, the way only those shaped by both loyalty and isolation can be.
The elderly man was named Shi Xhi, and he was a high-level administrator. There was no specification as to which field he was proficient in, yet Victor could infer that this man may be adept in all sectors. With the addition of Shi Xhi, Field Marshal Schwarzenberg would have a talented right-hand man.
Once Victor had sorted out Field Marshal Schwarzenberg's council, he then moved on to the deployment of soldiers for the four armies. New volunteers to join the military were flooding in every week. Victor's total Simbarnese army was now 440,000 men strong. Most of the 200,000 soldiers that Victor spared re-enlisted as a way to honour the man who showed them such compassion.
Each army boasted around 90,000 infantrymen, 20,000 cavalrymen and 350 guns. As for the fleet, it was practically non-existent, all that remained of the Gu navy was 100 transport ships and 10 warships that were all that remained. The war with the Kingdom of Luxenberg and the constant defence against the raiders had left the fleet in an abysmal state.
This was Victor's biggest concern, but there was not a lot he could do at the moment to remedy it.
All that was left to do was organise multiple trade routes so that food and other essential goods could go to the people on the Simbar continent who were affected by war. Bulgar had an extravagant food surplus since the farming techniques of the Cassell family were shared around the territories.
When all of that was finally sorted, Victor and his army would return home. Field Marshal Schwarzenberg's 10th Corps would be the only corps from Victor's original army to stay on Simbar. The men were devoted to Schwarzenberg and were determined to start a new life on the continent.
All the corps would take different times to arrive back at Bulgar. General Rapp, Marshal Lefebvre would take longer to arrive since they were still needed in the south for a little while longer to defend it.
Before Victor knew it, the sight of Hannover was on the horizon.