A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

31 – The Industrial Revolution Strikes

Prince Adran was competent.

Extremely competent to the point of being quite scary.

After arresting the six nobles and their families that Karia had apprehended and brought, as well as the nearly 10,000 territory troops who had arrested them, he handed out punishments suitable for each of them.

The six nobles, of course, were immediately executed as there was concrete evidence.

“Commander, we won’t be punished, right?”

“Of course not. Didn’t we personally arrest the rebels and bring them here? Won’t they give us a pardon?”

The territory soldiers had thought until then that they would not be punished, but that was a fool’s thought.

“Death is declared.”

“W-What! Why!!!!!!”

“I thoroughly reviewed Duke Pellings’ documents. It is said that you were assigned the role of threatening those who do not pay taxes. Due to the severity of the crime, it is death.”

Those who had looted the people and performed heinous acts were sentenced to death without mercy, and others were sent to the San Tokki Prison depending on the extent of their wicked deeds.

This news immediately spread throughout the country and became a satisfying news for all the peasants of the empire.

“They deserve it, those bastards! It had to be like this or not!!”

“Prince Adran did a proper job!!”

“My soul feels refreshed!”

The commoners cheered with excitement and burst into laughter. And naturally, the execution of the six nobles at the Banquet Yard became an unprecedented spectacle, crowded with people who had gathered to witness the outcome of their crimes.

“Wait! This is not right! This can’t be happening!”

The noble families of the Banquet Yard, their faces turning pale, desperately protested as the nooses were placed around their necks, but the executioner showed no mercy.

“Execute!”

The platform below them dropped, and they all hung from their nooses.

The majority of the citizens, mostly peasants, shouted in triumph and threw whatever they held in their hands at the corpses.

It was a futile and empty ending, if you ask me.

I see it as karma in action.

“Why on earth did they trust the justice of that righteous Seric from among so many people? Imbeciles.”

After witnessing the scene outside the window, with the lifeless bodies of those cold-hearted individuals hanging, I turned my gaze towards the underground chamber of the palace.

There, the interrogation was currently underway.

I waited outside, unable to hear the agonizing screams coming from within, as a certain Karamba Empire’s sorcerer and the family of Countess Lenea underwent their torturous questioning.

“Landor, it’s done.”

Soon after, Seric, who was leading the interrogation, approached me.

“We’ll discuss it upstairs. If what we’ve found out is true, it’s a serious matter.”

“Alright.”

Upstairs.

Adran, Selene, Caria, and Karl Hansen were waiting for us there. They were the ones practically running the empire in place of the old, sickly Emperor. Seric cautiously began revealing what he had discovered through the interrogation.

“It seems that a sorcerer from the Western Continent had contact with Countess Lenea. It seems they were trying to assist her escape to the Karamba Empire.”

“Why would the Karamba Empire help Countess Lenea escape?”

Adran’s question prompted Seric to silently retrieve a thick book from within his robe and hand it to Adran.

“He offered this as payment.”

Adran’s expression hardened. He raised the book for everyone to see.

“It’s a Dragon Taming Manual.”

“That damn Lenea!”

Caria looked down angrily. Adran sighed.

“Lenea’s ancestors were known for their skill in dragon taming. She must have been the one who wrote this. Normally, it’s an item that cannot have copies, but knowing her character, she must have somehow managed to obtain one. As an insurance, I assume.”

Listening to the story, Selene immediately asked Seric a question.

“Who ordered the sorcerer to bring this?”

“I tried to examine that part with dark magic, but it was erased. I couldn’t remember either. It seemed as if the magic of the Western Continent had completely erased the memories. I didn’t even know such magic existed.”

“It’s thorough preparation.”

“I don’t know who it is, but it’s true that they have done it meticulously. Although I don’t know who cast the spell, I know one thing. There are spies disguised as merchants who have entered the Eastern Continent.”

I felt a headache coming on and massaged the back of my neck. Seo-rik continued speaking.

“They cleverly hid using a magic that changes their appearance. That’s what I found out when I read the memories of Kambara’s spies interrogated in the lower floor. They probably gathered information to accurately assess the situation of Count Linnéa and secretly attempted to contact him.”

“Who on earth? Who cast the spell?”

I answered Adlan’s question.

Someone who needs imperial top secret military information known as Dragon Taming Techniques.

Someone who infiltrates several very precious sorcerers as spies to gather information.

To my knowledge, there was only one person in the Kambara Empire who could make it possible and needed it.

“It must be Sultan Saldin.”

Ambitious Eternal Lord, Sultan Saldin.

He was still determined to conquer the Western Continent.

Well, that’s his personality. He’ll never give up.

“Sultan?”

I nodded at Karl Hanson’s words.

“There is no evidence, but it’s certain. Karl. The reason he hasn’t invaded the Western Continent yet is threefold. First, the lack of power to deal with the Dragon Knights. Secondly, the absence of a way to cross the Raco Mountains. And thirdly, the food problem. He must have attempted to solve one of them this time.”

Celeine added to that statement.

“He was an evil man.”

“Because he was ambitious. If only these three things are resolved, Sultan will immediately invade the Western Continent.”

In response to that, Karl Hanson expressed his opinion.

“Shouldn’t we go to war at this opportunity? We can block the trade routes, send dragons, and burn the enemies’ cities. As Lord Randor said, we will suffer almost no losses, and the enemies will unilaterally suffer.”

Karia shook her head at those words.

“The climate of the Kambara Empire is not a favorable environment for dragons to fly. Think about why dragons don’t inhabit the Western Continent and only inhabit the Eastern Continent. In the Eastern Continent, the dragons’ stamina decreases much faster due to the scorching sunlight.”

“Ah…”

“Of course, in the early stages of the war, we could beat the Kambara Empire’s Eastern region, but if we want to conquer the entire Kambara Empire, we have to fight with many more dragon bases than the Eastern Continent has. It would take more time, and the supply lines would become excessively long.”

Karia sighed.

“If you really want to, there’s nothing you can’t do, but there are too many uncertainties in war. We don’t know how much time and manpower will be consumed. If possible, we should leave it as the last resort.”

Karl Hanson sighed at my words.

“Then what should we do?”

If we just stay still like this, that stubborn sultan will eventually solve the three problems and attempt to invade the western continent, but it was uncertain to engage in a war.

Moreover, from my standpoint, I couldn’t support a war either. If the recently recovered Ayllam Empire decides to go to war again, even if they were to win the war, there was a possibility of it being a victory for Phiros.

Due to the devastated economic environment after the war, the country could tilt, and if that happened… the devastated development was likely. Something clever was needed.

“I’m also thinking.”

The brainstorming session began. I was trying to recall the content of the original novel, and Karl Hansen suggested a commercial method. Adran suggested a diplomatic solution. Selene discussed a technical solution. However, no one came up with a brilliant idea.

“Karl Hansen, what if we just completely cut off grain exports? Wouldn’t the enemies starve to death without grain?”

“That’s true, but even when they didn’t have trade routes and couldn’t import grain, many people starved, but extinction is impossible. Furthermore, if that happens, we’ll have to say goodbye and farewell to spice and textiles trade forever. The golden prairie development project will also have to be abandoned. The Empire’s economy will be greatly affected.”

Karia’s opinion was dismissed by Karl Hansen.

“What if you go and negotiate a diplomatic solution, Yura?”

“Selene. Do you think that ambitious person will keep the diplomatic treaty that is just a piece of paper?”

“I suppose not. I already knew, but it was too frustrating, so I said it.”

Selene’s opinion was dismissed by Adran. I had nothing to say either. Based on the content from the original novel, there was no appropriate information to resolve the current situation.

Everyone was grumbling, and suddenly, when I stood up and clapped, everyone looked at me.

“If we make it so that the moment a war breaks out, trade is cut off, creating a tremendous political burden?”

“How is that possible?”

“The moment trade is cut off, we produce and sell essential goods that are necessary in the western continent to the point where they can’t survive! If we do just that, even if the sultan manages to solve all three problems and attack us, he won’t be able to defeat us!”

Upon hearing that, Karl Hansen burst into laughter.

“No. How is that possible? Right now, the only thing those guys can’t buy because we don’t have it is the grain we produce. We have no chance to compete with our products and prices. Their population is much larger than ours.”

The Karamba Empire was a giant territory that was five times the size of the Ayllam Empire. Naturally, with a larger territory, there were more people, and with the enormous population, they were producing textiles and spices through cottage industries at very low prices.

If the population declines, the goods of the Ayllam Empire cannot compete in price with the goods of the Karamba Empire through traditional means.

But what if we can mass-produce much higher-quality goods at much lower prices?

“What if we make them using large machines instead of hand-making?”

If we can produce goods at an incredible speed that humans cannot keep up with, using machines for weaving fabrics? If we flood the market with mass-produced goods from factories, selling them at incredibly low prices,

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And what if we sell goods that are so cheap that people in the Karamba Empire cannot afford them, to the point where they cannot survive without them, even if the sultan finds a way to cross the Laquo Mountains and confront the Dragon Knights and solve the food problem, wouldn’t the people rise up when he declares war?

“If we mass-produce with machines?… If we definitely do that, there might be a possibility!”

Karl Hansen looked at Selene with joyful eyes, but Selene lowered her head, as if regretful.

“Machines for weaving fabrics. Mass transportation vehicles carrying multiple carts. Silent carriages moving without horses. Factory systems powered by conveyor belts, and more. Matop already has blueprints for machines made with experimental techniques.”

“Oh, oh, oh!! Then there’s no problem, right?”

“The power source is the problem.”

Celene let out a deep sigh.

“To make a steam engine using steam, it’s impossible with the current coal production of the Ailam Empire. The location of the super-sized coal vein is known, but it requires large machines that demand powerful energy sources to dig through it. It’s a contradiction.”

“Ah!…”

“So, the suggestion was made to use magnotite as the power source. But to run large machines with magnotite, the purity of the magnotite needs to be high. We are continuing research on magnotite processing, but when the technology will be developed… who knows.”

Everyone’s expression became gloomy again. I felt the same way.

Right at that moment, when I was pondering what to do next.

“Pardon me. Princess Celene? An urgent message has arrived from Matop.”

“From Matop? Bring it here.”

One message was delivered to Princess Celene through a maid.

Princess Celene took out the message and began to read it, suddenly bursting into laughter.

“What perfect timing…what a stroke of luck! It’s amazing!!”

“What? What happened…”

“The research team just announced the development of the high-purity magnotite processing technique and mass production method!”

Upon hearing those words, we looked at each other and without anyone saying it first, we all jumped up and shouted like children.

Indeed, as the princess said, the timing was truly remarkable.