Alex paused dramatically before continuing with a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
"The divine powers above have granted visions of these troubles across all the lands. They showed the suffering that awaits if the empire acts rashly during these dire tis.
I have descended to this mortal realm today to save the common people from needless suffering.
To help this empire achieve greatness through wisdom rather than foolish wars."
He chuckled while continuing his dramatic claims with growing confidence.
"I have calculated many things through divine insight granted by the heavens.
The gods are revealing patterns to constantly, so matters like the Northern Canal drying up or the Greater Khan’s lands being plagued by drought are things I can simply perceive through heavenly guidance."
He leaned back with exaggerated confidence. "And even now, I can know the ti of the Emperor going to his harem in the capital and his usual bathroom schedule."
When Mr. Shah first heard Alex’s opening remarks, he appeared sowhat stunned and taken aback.
Completely bewildered actually, but when he heard the second half about bathroom schedules he almost choked on his wine.
The Emperor thought this was genuinely the first ti soone had made such outrageous and disrespectful claims to his face about his personal habits.
He felt both annoyed and highly amused at the audacity.
Mr. Shah could not help but pat Alex firmly on the shoulder with barely suppressed laughter.
"Alex, we are both drinking companions sharing wine as equals here.
Stop trying to deceive with such ridiculous tales. If you are genuinely an apostle of the gods with divine knowledge, then you should tell what kind of business I conduct, should you not?"
Alex was speechless for a long mont and felt embarrassed.
He genuinely did not know that information at all.
Mr. Shah had never ntioned his business dealings before in any detail.
Alex smiled awkwardly and admitted defeat. "Very well. I will tell you the honest truth without further embellishnt. In this world there is no such thing as divine apostles descending to earth in such obvious ways.
I do not possess supernatural fortune telling abilities like so charlatan. I was rely exaggerating due to the wine loosening my tongue."
"Then how exactly do you know what happened thousands of miles away, based only on your observations here in Ironhold? I do not believe such things are possible through normal ans!"
Mr. Shah’s curiosity was intensely piqued now. He continued pressing for real answers without accepting vague explanations.
He desperately wanted to know how Alex truly obtained this knowledge with such accuracy.
Alex cleared his throat and straightened himself. "Speaking of this matter, actually I deduced all of this through careful observation and logical reasoning over many months. There is no divine intervention required."
"Please explain your thods in detail then."
Alex smiled patiently. "The sa thods I explained before during our last eting, Mr. Shah. Market observations of rchant behavior. Supply chain analysis of goods moving through the region. Logical deduction from patterns that erge over ti."
The Emperor nodded slowly, rembering their previous detailed conversation about livestock prices and grain supplies from barbarian rchants.
He remained speechless for a long mont. He thought he might learn sothing entirely new, but these were the sa principles as before.
However one thing remained clear: it was quite remarkable indeed to find such a man with such a strategic mind and analytical abilities.
His right hand trembled slightly as he picked up the wine glass to steady himself. He drank it all in one desperate gulp to mask his reaction.
He had never expected that by frequently leaving the palace over the past month he would discover such trendous talent for the nation.
From trivial daily market observations, Alex could deduce major events that could influence the imperial court’s strategic policies and prevent catastrophic mistakes.
This ability was absolutely amazing and perhaps unprecedented!
After setting down his wine glass carefully, the Emperor scrutinized Alex for a long while before finally speaking with genuine respect.
"You claid you were a divine apostle before. I thought you were rely boasting while drunk and making a fool of yourself.
But when one thinks carefully about your analytical thods, I realize you truly are extraordinarily capable in this regard.
With your talent, you should serve the nation properly. It wastes your abilities not to serve the imperial court as an official.
How about this: I do have so connections since I know several people in positions of influence in the imperial court. If you would be willing, I can recomnd you to them for a position."
Alex accepted the Emperor’s praise calmly without excessive modesty.
However, he dismissed Mr. Shah’s recomndation with a wave. "Mr. Shah, how many people do you actually know in governnt with real power?
Those officials you ntion, do they dare to make such claims about recomndations? They want to recomnd to the imperial court? Ha ha!
Without a court official rank of at least third grade, it is impossible to arrange such introductions properly. I suspect you only know a few minor officials in charge of rchant affairs and trade regulations.
You should stick to your business dealings where you have real influence."
When the Emperor heard Alex dismiss his recomndation with such casual disdain, he felt both annoyed and imnsely amused at the irony.
He was the dignified ruler of an entire nation! Standing before Alex yet being treated as soone who talks nonsense and exaggerates his connections!
However, this only made the Emperor even more interested in continuing this charade.
It was extraordinarily rare to have this opportunity to set aside his imperial dignity completely.
He could interact with such talent as equals without the burden of his position.
He decided to continue maintaining Mr. Shah’s rchant persona convincingly. He would keep conversing with Alex as equals for as long as possible.
Let us see when this perceptive man would discover his true identity.
The two continued drinking and chatting freely. After several more rounds of strong wine, the Emperor rembered another purpose for his visit that day.
He spoke carefully while choosing his words. "Alex, there is severe drought in the north affecting the barbarian steppes and disaster in the Eastern Elven Kingdoms across the great forest.
His Majesty’s desire to challenge the barbarians will likely have to be postponed for now. But our empire has deep seated hatred for those northern invaders who have raided our borders for generations.
We finally have the Lesser Khan sending envoys to the capital for military assistance. Is there truly no thod to both provide disaster relief to our own people and take advantage of the drought to deliver a severe blow to the barbarians?"
Upon hearing this question, Alex did not laugh dismissively like before.
After all, the people of this empire were well aware of the deep seated hatred between themselves and the barbarian tribes who had caused countless deaths.
The desire for revenge was only natural and completely understandable given the history.
Laughing at it would seem as disrespect to those who had suffered.
He shook his head slowly with a serious expression. "I think His Majesty should not send troops this year under these conditions regardless of political pressure."
Mr. Shah looked completely disappointed by this answer. He pressed further with desperation. "Oh, so it seems there really is no viable thod at all that could work?"
Alex grabbed a handful of spoons from the table where they lay. He started arranging them on the table systematically. Soon he had sketched out a simple but effective strategic diagram of the world.
He pointed to the improvised map with careful gestures. "This area here belongs to our Human Empire, the largest unified realm in the known world.
To the north across the great steppes lies the Barbarian Khan’s territory where the nomadic tribes roam freely.
Further north beyond them are the Dwarven Mountain Holds built into the northern peaks. To the east and northwest of our empire are the Elven Forest Kingdoms with their ancient trees and the Orcish Desert Tribes respectively who control the harsh wastelands.
We will not ntion the Western Demon territories further away for now as they rarely interfere in our affairs. This represents the current situation between our empire and the surrounding nations and races."
Looking at the simple situation diagram drawn with only spoons, the Emperor could not help but nod repeatedly with growing amazent.
He marveled internally, clearly not expecting such a flawless and comprehensive map.
This diagram depicted everything absolutely accurately including the relative positions of all major powers. To have such thorough and accurate understanding of neighboring countries’ locations, relative strength, and racial territories!
He feared that only generals who had fought in wars for many years across multiple fronts could accomplish this level of strategic awareness.
It was astonishing that this Alex could actually do this without any formal military training!
Alex continued his strategic analysis with the confidence of soone who had studied these matters extensively.
"In a normal year, if the empire does not suffer any major disasters and the northern territories can support military campaigns, our human army would be absolutely capable of defeating the barbarians decisively.
Our advantages are undeniable and well docunted.
Our national strength and military capabilities cannot be questioned.
Therefore, in a normal year, by leveraging the opportunity presented by the Lesser Khan’s cooperation and dispatching brilliant generals with adequate supplies, we could overwhelm the Greater Khan within months.
In this manner, neighboring states and races would not even have ti to react or form alliances before we could complete a war of total conquest."
The Emperor nodded in agreent with this assessnt. "That makes perfect sense and matches our military assessnts. However, you are discussing normal years. What about years like this current one? What about this specific situation we face?"
Alex slightly adjusted the spoons on the table to reflect new positions. He spoke calmly but with authority. "If this year we were to send troops to attack the barbarians, the situation would be completely different and far more dangerous than normal campaigns."
After adjusting the strategic map to show new scenarios, he began explaining the complex situation to the Emperor.
"Given the current drought conditions affecting multiple regions, if our empire were to send large numbers of troops north to attack the barbarians, we might very well find ourselves trapped in a terrible predicant with no easy escape.
The barbarian territory is vast and covers enormous stretches of grassland.
Although there must be areas less affected by drought where water still flows.
If our troops could find reliable guides familiar with those regions, they could advance along remote paths toward the barbarian heartland avoiding the worst areas."
He paused to let that sink in before continuing with the problems.
"However, due to various problems caused by severe drought such as water scarcity, difficult roads, and lack of forage for horses, our army certainly cannot fight for extended periods far from supply lines.
Transporting supplies from the rear will beco extrely difficult as the distance increases. The supply wagons themselves will consu much of what they carry.
Therefore, it will be impossible to achieve a war of complete conquest in a short decisive campaign.
The difficulties would be harder than climbing to heaven itself."
The Emperor listened intently with complete focus. His admiration for Alex grew even stronger with each carefully reasoned word.
This man Alex must have studied military strategy extensively from birth!
For an average person, even speaking about such matters fluently would be challenging enough.
Not to ntion analyzing these complex strategic situations with such clarity and precise logic that accounted for multiple factors.
Mr. Shah thought to himself with growing respect and wonder.
Alex remained oblivious to Mr. Shah’s approving gaze and continued. He continued speaking while adjusting the spoon positions again.
"Moreover, if this battle drags on for too long beyond a few months, other surrounding powers will definitely take action to protect their interests. Do those Dwarven holds north of the barbarians not understand that a prolonged war will disrupt trade routes and affect them as well? They will absolutely interfere to maintain stability.
The Elven Kingdoms to our East will grow concerned about our expanded military presence near their borders. They may form defensive pacts.
Even the Orcish tribes who normally fight among themselves may unite if they see an opportunity to raid our weakened southern borders while our armies are committed north."
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