Malaysia Shoukan

Chapter 4: Cutting a Deal

Central Calendar January 9, 1639

Imperial Council Room, Paradis Palace, Empire of Parpaldia

After the whole short trip to Malaysia, the imperial council was reconvened, with all the reports having been handed out beforehand so the rest of the council had an idea what was going on. The report detailed everything they have seen in Malaysia, from technology to society to politics.

"9 Kings, are you sure you heard that right?" Emperor Ludius asked. He couldn't believe that such a small country could have 9 kings. It just sounds ridiculous.

"'I can confirm what Rius said, your Imperial Majesty," Remille said. "They do indeed have 9 kings, but because they are a constitutional monarchy, that wasn't causing too much problems.'"

"A constitutional monarchy, of course it's another one of those," Ludius said. "Also, in the report, you mentioned that Malaysia is a purely human country, and that the previous world they were from only has one sapient race: humans. Surely their country would be far more united than us, with less social issues."

"'That also appears to not be the case, instead, they divided themselves based on ethnicities and whatnot, which creates an artificial semblance of 'race'. I can't fully understand it, since it is a bit absurd for me. While the nation's big three 'races' can mostly live side-by-side in harmony, it has caused them issues in the past.'"

To Emperor Ludius, a man born in a nation with more than one sapient species, this sounded ludicrous, but since it is human nature to seek out conflicts, perhaps it isn't as illogical as it seems. Perhaps it is a weak spot they can use to cripple the Malaysians, should there ever arise a need to do so.

"Very well, what about military tech? What do we know about that?" Emperor Ludius asked, just to be sure he was absolutely correct about what the other side has.

""Unfortunately, your Imperial Majesty, I must say that the Malaysians are far more advanced than us in every regard. Earlier we realized that they had gyrocraft which can hover. They even have armored fighting vehicles. Such vehicles will easily mop up our land dragon forces,"" Arde said. ""Exactly as we predicted.""

"But in the report, it is said that the Malaysians are not doing too well, with curfews, rationing and martial law, that is a sign of weakness, no?" Emperor Ludius asked.

""This Imperial Servant would strongly advise against this act,"" Arde stated his viewpoint. ""A war with Malaysia would be the death blow of our Empire. While we definitely have the manpower advantage, by fighting the Malaysians, we would suffer horrendous casualties.""

"How many?" Emperor Ludius asked.

""Hundreds of thousands likely. It will be so costly, that at best, we could lose our position as a great power. At worst, our prestige and manpower will be so eroded, that uprisings will spring up everywhere, resulting in the collapse of our empire as we know it. We would be prey for every other nation around us,"" Arde said.

"Very well, I see your point," Ludius said, burying any thoughts about war deep into the recesses of his mind. "What about trade? Would that be possible?"

"'Yes, your imperial majesty, that would indeed be possible,'" Remille said. "They want to buy food from us. In exchange, they will be bringing in civilian goods.'"

"Such as?" Ludius asked.

"'Vehicles, watches, and other consumer goods,""  Remille said.

The Malaysians might starve to death if we wait, then we can swoop in to take their tech anyway, Ludius thought. However, our imperial prestige is already in the gutter. Starve the Malaysians and we might start losing our sphere of influence, he thought further, realizing that he really can't just let the Malaysians die unless he wants a collapse of the Parpaldian sphere and a foreign power to encroach on Parpaldian territory. Then, he had an idea