Imperial Council of 834

The Imperial Council of 834 f.p., was an emergency imperial council celebrated by Emperor Zalfu III, it started the 32th of Parzuhimpu 834 and finished the 1st of Opuhimpu of the next year.

## Background

This council preceded the Imperial Security Council in 832, which was celebrated for the same reasons that were crippling the Empire, mainly the economic crisis in the Northern Provinces of the Empire and the loss of Control in the Imperial Colonies, but also new problems in securing the southern borders of the Empire, previously to the celebration of the council, the Befrian Warlord Jaegen the Great, unified all of the Befrian clans and conquered Pleigum, the Befrians had already caused trouble in the Imperial Borders, having raided in various occasions imperial border cities and trade ports, and now that they were unified an inminent invasion of the Hazux Politux region was already expected, or even worse, an invasion of the Zedion core homeland just after.

## Issues

The Imperial Council knew that the Zedion army was in no state to defeat the modern tactics and weapons of the Befrians, the Zedion army was undersupplied, many using old weapons, many soldiers didn't have formation in new weapons and tactics and the tactics used by the Zedion War Academy were very outdated and still relied to Tortoise Shell Tactics, which would be ineffective against Befrian artillery and Front Push Tactics, the loyalty of many soldiers was also heavily questioned as they came from various parts of the Empire, some with active separatist movements or otherwise strong cultural identity, Zedion General Arfulef Csalfàu declared in the opening of the Council that "Most soldiers don't even identify themselves as Zedion or even hold any sort of loyalty to the Empire, fights between different groups from different cultural backgrounds is common", Csalfàu proposed the division of the army into divisions formed from soldiers from the same cultural backgrounds but his petition was refused. There was also the problem of the low-defensibility of the Hazux Politux area, which, in contrast with the Zedion homeland, was dominated by plains and wetlands, a similar geography to that of Befria to which the Befrians were well-used.

Other of the main issues discussed were the increasing autonomy of the Cities in the Hazux Politux and Hadion regions, regions with an especially strong regional identity and an urban-dominated society, and of the Colonial Administration, the loyalty of the colonies was especially questioned after the Vergos Incident, in the which the colonial administration of Neu Nafrion acted against the native Ilsothians without the approval of the Imperial Council. Less discussed was the ongoing Anglonian Migration that was plundering the already poor South-West regions.

## Consequences

The Imperial Council decided to abandon those areas deemed too hard to defend from the invaders, specifically Vortinon, the Hazux Politux and the South of Zòllu Gation, which all, except Hazux Politux, would fall to the invaders, it was also decided to grant an special self-governing administration to the Hadion City-states subject to the Empire, this would prove to be disastrous, as the cities used the administration to gain even more autonomy and eventually secede from the Empire just some years later.

In respect to the Galtian and Colonial crisis it was decided to use a firm hand to quell the separatist movement, decision that would also prove to be disastrous as Galtia would rebel various times, making it a cost to the Empire, and the Colonies would declare total independence some years later.

In respect to the economic crisis devastating the Empire, neither parties could agree on any definitive solution, having a too different economic policy that the other group would always reject.

In conclusion, this Council did not save the Empire, and many say it accelerated its collapse, no attention was put in other important issues such as the rise of extremist ideologies in the populace or the backwater state of the army, which was not addressed at all.