Victor and his advisors convened in the meeting room of the palace. Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, Marshal Bessières and a few senior officers of the Royal Guard and garrison were called to the meeting room. "My Liege, we were briefed on the way here, what are your thoughts?" Marshal Bessières said assertively. Victor scanned the room full of his advisors and began to address them.
"Gentlemen after talking to the sailor, I have reasonable suspicion that our ships were sunk by the Kingdom of Gu's navy. Although we do not have concrete evidence, it likely is they are retaliating against us due to the loss of their ally, the Grand Duchy of Fontaine. I will admit that we are in a tough spot here gentlemen."
The advisors all looked perplexed, not only were they not certain of who attacked them, it was hard for them to do anything about it. Theoretically, even if the attacker was the Kingdom of Gu, they could not prove it, nor could they justify attacking them with no evidence. They were stuck and had no way to immediately avenge the sunken ships and crew.
"My Liege, have our spies in the Simbar continent and the Gu court not found anything useful? Could they have not figured out about this attack?" Field Marshal Schwarzenberg asked. Victor shook his head and admitted that his spies had not provided any useful information since news of King Gu's triumph.
"I must admit my Liege, we are in an uncomfortable position. We can not take military action even if we were certain that it was truly the Kingdom of Gu. It hurts to say, but we must not act violently and take other measures to ensure we get retribution." Marshal Bessières stated in a dismayed tone.
Everyone was silently brainstorming ideas on how to handle this situation, even the soldiers of the Royal Guard were stumped. As the silence grew, Victor became increasingly frustrated with the situation. Slowly, he began to think dangerously and thrust himself and the kingdom into a cross-continental war.
Field Marshal Schwarzenberg finally broke the silence by suggesting a less honourable method. "My Liege, there are other ways to strike back at an enemy. Although it may be distasteful, we could send assassins or use agents to sabotage buildings in the capital city of Xiangyang. However, this is merely an idea, not something I would seriously advocate for. "
Many of the advisors nodded and shared similar sentiments. It may be a horrific way to deal with this situation, but it was the only idea they had come up with. Victor was absolutely opposed to such underhanded methods. Both himself and his sister were targets for assassination, and he would never wish to put someone else through that trauma.
One of the officers from the garrison decided to speak up and offer a new perspective on their current problem. "My Liege, although I do not possess a high level of skill and knowledge as some of the others present, I would like to think that my ideas are as worthy as theirs."
"Perhaps it would be better to confirm your suspicions before acting. If we were able to send men to the Simbar continent as an envoy and meet with the King of Gu, could we not ascertain the king and his court's feelings towards us."
Many of the officers spoke up in support of this idea and Victor was completely on board with it. The only issue to discuss now was the finer details of this mission and selecting the personnel for the envoys.
"My Liege, you and the immediate Royal Family can not be a part of this envoy. We can not risk thrusting you or your family into danger, especially while on foreign soil. In my opinion, I think your uncle, Larys Cassell, would be the perfect choice to lead the envoy. We could send a detachment of the Royal Guard under Captain Matthias." Marshal Bessières suggested.
Victor was reluctant to agree, but the support for Bessières's candidate was overwhelming, and no one else offered a better candidate. With the personnel selected for the envoy, much preparation was needed.
Grand Admiral Nelson and a small detachment of his fleet would need to be summoned back to Hannover for this mission. Larys Cassell and Captain Matthias would need to be briefed on their task. Most importantly, a missive would need to be sent in advance, letting the King of Gu know about the arriving envoy.
Victor and his aides calculated that by the time everything was ready, including the journey itself, it would take 4 months for the envoy to reach Xiangyang. This issue would not be resolved quickly, but this mission would make sure of Victor's strong suspicion.
Everything began to happen in full swing Larys and Captain Matthias were brought before Victor and were briefed about their mission to Xiangyang and the importance of it. Grand Admiral Nelson returned to Hannover with his flagship and 4 ships of the line. His flagship, The Holy Trinity, was already formidable enough, but the extra ships were necessary.
Time swiftly passed and the pieces were falling together. Grand Admiral Nelson and his fleet arrived in Hannover and began preparing for their journey to the Simbar continent. From Hannover, it would take a month and a half to reach the port city of Guangdong, and then an additional two weeks to reach the capital city of Xiangyang. Guangdong was a port city located on the western side of the continent.
Captain Matthias formed a Royal Guard unit of 100 infantrymen, all being experienced veterans of the French Imperial Guard, who had fought in many battles. The safety of Larys Cassell was paramount for this mission. His importance could not be understated, as an emissary representing the Royal Family, it was crucial for him to remain unharmed.
King Victor, Queen Clarisse and a handful of advisors were present at the Hannover docks to watch the departure of the envoy led by Larys. The skies were clear and the winds gently filled the sails of Grand Admiral Nelson's ships.
"Good luck uncle, may your journey be safe and successful," Victor muttered as he watched the ships sail out of the port.