[B]At the Winter Palace of the city of Mel-Izar in Kumbag[/B]

The times had changed and the merchants on the streets knew it very well. Their supplies of gunpowder and iron being sold to the army rather than to hunters and blacksmiths. They knew far better what this meant than many others, for war was coming to the empire of Khazaria and every time there was an increase in the demand of gunpowder there was a chance of war coming. The army may not be big compared to the rest of the other countries but it could certainly be made bigger at any time if necessary and the empire showed its capabilities to do so, as entire caravans and ships began to load up on materials and supplies to increase the size of the army.

Meanwhile, while the economic gears of the city of Mel-Izar went to full throttle, the Emperor, the regent, and Yitzhak ha-Sangari discussed in the map's room. The new developments of the issue between Stevata and Dorist. The complications of war and much more regarding the position of the Empire of Khazaria and how to best expand its influence over its immediate neighbors, while also reviewing the army's capabilities to endure such a conflict with the kingdom of Dorist.

The Regent and the Emperor, Sevil and Sahin were next to each other in one of the sides of a big detailed map of the continent. One of the newest acquisitions and finished works of a famous cartographer in the city of Mel-Izar, the map itself had taken him years to finish and it showed. It was adorned and it had an almost carpet-like feeling due to the quality of the paper used and the length of the map. It showed the world from Hispalis to the lands further east of Khazaria and it also served to plan and visualize better the possible enemies of the empire.

Meanwhile, Yitzhak ha-Sangari was on another side of the map. Looking it at with a hand on his chin, clearly thinking about how to best maximize the use of his soldiers for unlike Alp Tarkhan he crunched the numbers every time it was time to fight. That was the way he had been able to solve the issues between the two clans last time and how he managed to rise so rapidly through the ranks of the imperial military to the point that he was now speaking face to face with the Emperor and Regent, a privilege that few had the honour of ever receiving in their lives.

From the perspective of Yitzhak, the emperor was but a boy and while he was only two decades older than him. Somehow he reminded him of himself, back when his younger self showed a passion and fire on his eyes that few could have matched, but that fire on his eyes was quite different from Alp Tarkhan, who had bloodlust. Instead, it was a curiosity and a desire to learn more than the great general saw in the eyes of the Emperor, but he could never look at the emperor in the eye for too long for soon the frozen gaze of the regent would haunt him, for this reason, he kept his eyes on the map. Thinking and thinking, until the regent spoke to him again in that soft yet frightening tone she learned to use so well to control the court and the house of notables with words alone.

"Marshall Yitzhak, I think you have had enough time to think. Can we resume what we were discussing earlier?" She said, her gaze clearly aiming at the eyes of the Marshall. He could try to avert her gaze but that couldn't be done, it would only make her angry at him perhaps further than she already was due to their previous encounter. "Of course, imperial regent. I am done with thinking, you must forgive me for taking so long but the situation is not very favorable to us at the moment." He replied, no fear in his voice of telling the things as they were and without any single touch to make it lesser, perhaps that was one of the reasons the imperial regent hadn't gotten rid of him?

The young emperor spoke, his voice still on the way to become that of a man but his voice's pitch still sounded like that of a boy. It didn't bother Yitzhak but it didn't comfort him either. "Not favorable? How can that be so! The Kingdom of Teclav is even willing to help us and our armies are marshaling properly. Is there something, we must be afraid of?" There was no sight of fear but the Emperor didn't speak of experience even his confidence was clear as water. 

"Indeed, but my initial proposition was to scare off the kingdom of Dorist from further sending troops to the border. It doesn't to work and I doubt it will work with their ambitious king. I have no doubt that for the time being, they seek even more allies than before. We must guard our southern border as well as we look to the west, one never knows what's to come from the Kingdom of Kommentiolos either. Dividing up our forces will do us no good and not guarding our seas will do us no good either. Emperor, I don't think we are fairly prepared for any war at the moment and preparing for one will take some time, if you indeed wish to help our brothers in Stevata and Teclav. Then we must waste no further time." Yitzhak spoke directly and confidently. There was no way for the empire to be engaged in a war on the west without its southern border secured, the northern one was well enough but should the coastal cities fall. The whole economy of the Empire of Khazaria would fall with them too, Yitzhak didn't believe himself charismatic enough to deter the Emperor from war either and it seemed that the Regent had other plans in mind for supporting the Emperor's advances on the west. All he had to do was present the things as they were and present solutions to the Empire and the regent. That's all he could do for the moment.

"We don't have enough soldiers? How can that be, I have seen hundreds of thousands in our cities. The shipping lines as busy as ever, yet you say we don't have enough soldiers, how come our people aren't doing their duty to their emperor?" The Emperor asked, but this time the regent spoke first without allowing the Marshall to let his opinion be heard. "Well, it is quite simple your highness. The peace in our borders has kept us, let's say content with the current status quo and the wealth of our nation has attracted many indeed, but those who come often do so not to fight but to find a home and a good quality of life. Instead of fighting they find themselves with better opportunities, in the cities and sometimes even the countryside, because of that and our current laws it is harder for our recruiters to compete for recruits. As such, the numbers of our regiments have decreased and while the financials of that have helped our treasury. However, we can easily...change this all and even turn it around for our own benefit. It is very well that you did I as told you and invited the chiefs of the tribes from the east, the nomads may be a bit harsh at first and but they can be dealt with."

Suddenly Yitzhak had the urge to speak and advise the Emperor to do otherwise, allowing the nomads to join the military was a  valid idea but it would simply take too long for them to be fully integrated into the military that Yitzhak had been building for years. He would much rather have a professional army like those in Europe than allow a ragtag of horse-riding nomads to become the vanguard of his new army. Yet, he also knew that it was far better not to interrupt the regent while she spoke with the Emperor. Sahin indeed, the boy that controlled a massive empire yet was still controlled by his aunt. The emperor needed advisors not simply puppeteers, that is what Yitzhak thought about the whispers to the regent to the emperor.

"I invited, yes. But I did so to keep them content and to avoid further conflict with them within our lands. It is better for them to come all here and speak to me, recognize me as their authority rather than have them wandering around shepherded by our garrisons so that they don't cause any trouble. If we can use their men though, would that help tip off the balance on our favor?" The Emperor asked Yitzhak and he sighed in relief. Finally, he was able to give his advice to the Emperor and perhaps lead him away from ruining the structured army that he had built with so much effort over the years.

"Your imperial highness, the nomad problem is indeed an important issue to tackle. But I doubt that a bunch of ragtag soldiers will do us any help. Their cavalry may be good but they will be disorganized, they will just cannon fodder for the forces of Dorist if they were to fight them. I propose instead that we begin to pour funds into our recruitment efforts, let recruiting sergeants get bigger bonuses and larger purses so that they can attract more into the army. The clans we used to recruit from are no longer at their full strength, it is time to begin a recruitment effort to begin to increase the strength of our forces." Yitzhak looked at the Emperor in the eye but once again the gaze of the regent made him avert his gaze, the emperor clearly didn't show any signs of refuting his proposal but neither did he approve of it just yet. But unlike other times, he just asked Yitzhak to be sure.

"Indeed, marshall but it is about time that we put to use all the nomads. We can't forget them, letting them go wild or integrating them into the civil populace will take a long time, let them earn their stay here in the Empire through the force of their arms. If we integrate them into our cavalry forces, we can surely increase the size of our army considerably while also earning ourselves fewer troubles. In the long term, they will have to be a part of our country if we wish to pacify the eastern steppes. So taking this step is now considerably better than waiting for the steppes to continue to wander around our lands. We have once forged ties by iron and blood with our neighbors, we can do so again with our eastern brothers and sisters." Answered the emperor, the regent and Yitzhak look at each other for the moment, it seemed that the Emperor had indeed listened to both rather to only the regent alone. Perhaps, he wasn't as controlled by Sevil as he thought he was?

The tension was quickly brought to an end by the speak of Yitzhak towards the emperor. "Then it shall be so, I only require for the authorization to begin the recruitment efforts. Muskets, uniforms, the logistics of it all will cost money, which I believe the empire has plenty." Sevil looked at Yitzhak with a smile on her face, of course, a sly smile. "Of course, the empire's coffers are filled but don't forget that the money is to be used for the good of the empire and there should be no over expenses." She replied.

"Indeed, Marshall Yatzhik you may begin the marshaling efforts. I would rather be prepared than be caught with our pants down, let it be so. I will seal the orders later on." No more words were needed and Yatzhik's presence soon faded away as he left for the imperial barracks. Meanwhile, Emperor Sahin and Regent Sevil continued to look at the map on the floor. Their sights set on the kingdoms surrounding Stevata and then to Paranas. "Our Paranan friends will have some trouble coming to our aid, won't they?" The Emperor asked the regent, in his voice, it was clear that the news of the conflict within Paranas had reached his ears. 

"It is true, the kingdom of Paranas has friends in both Altenten and in our country. The ties of blood are strong but let's not forget that our ancestral ties are stronger. Paranas won't forget a friend so easily.." The regent replied, knowing full well that Paranas would rather choose neutrality than ever picking a fight with their northern neighbors. Not because they couldn't but because they would lose decades of a working relationship that was beneficial to both countries. "Indeed, but I cannot force their king to make a decision. It wouldn't be fair of me as an ally, I will send a messenger with a latter of mine to the King of Paranas. Make him know that he is free to choose neutrality. Besides, this will calm their minds and well, it is better not to open another front if we are to fight against the Dorist. If the conflict gets larger, then we may require their aid. But until then, we will soon be prepared and further escalation is not needed." The Emperor said. The regent would nod and their discussion would be put to an end by the sudden arrival of the tea time, an ancient tradition in Khazaria. Too much political discussion had been had and it was time to rest for the ruler and unspoken ruler of Khazaria.