In this era, knowledge was basically monopolized by the nobles. Therefore, other than the higher education rate of the citizens in the cities, the people in the ordinary towns were basically illiterate. If the lord wanted to send out a notice, he would have to specially send someone to read it a few times. Although Ke Xi was now in dire straits, he was still educated under his father's guidance. He glanced at the contents of the newspaper, confirmed that he knew everything, and happily accepted the task.
After asking the waiter at the entrance to lead the horse away, Ke Xi entered the room and found a seat near the middle. He ordered a cup of the cheapest ale and opened the newspaper in the dim light. He planned to see what was written on it, but he was a little fascinated by it. The small piece of parchment was filled with words on both sides. For an era where communication was scarce, such a large amount of information was very shocking. As Ke Xi read on, he forgot his original task. His behavior of drinking ale while reading the newspaper suddenly became the focus of the crowd …
There was no other reason. Reading a piece of parchment in a place where there were many illiterate people, wasn't this deliberately showing off that he was cultured?
"Hey, buddy, if you want to read, go outside. The lighting here is so bad!"
"Yeah, do you drink ale like wine?"
"Come on, read it to us. Look at how engrossed you are!"
Ke Xi reluctantly moved his gaze away and said to the bald man who asked him the question, "Excuse me … This is the recent news in our Kingdom of Karen …"
"News? What news can there be? Isn't it just the matter of Earl Moore being defeated by the Orcs and scurrying back to the Kingdom? What's there to talk about? "
"No, no, no, not only that." Ke Xi pointed to the big headline on the front page and said, "Efta won the battle! Do you know? "
This sentence immediately caused a wave of exclamations, and the other voices in the room immediately quieted down. Some people were skeptical, and some said that it must be nonsense, but when Ke Xi read the content word by word, almost everyone in the room was dumbfounded!
"More than 20,000 Orcs ran away just like that!?"
"Captured 4,300 Orcs? And pursued them all the way to Nehemia Grassland? "
"Where did you get this thing?"
"It was brought over by the trading company of Paer. This thing will be updated every week to let people know what's happening in the country at any time. Look, it even wrote about Count Moore being attacked. Even the damaged towns are marked …"
Everyone was from the Bergen Territory, so they naturally knew what had happened here. When Ke Xi read the content, everyone immediately believed that the content of the newspaper was absolutely true!
This time, even if Ke Xi didn't want to read it, someone would force him to. Other than the war situation in various regions, there was also a part of the prophecy of the 'famine' in the winter of the Bergen Territory … After the reasonable words were read out, the originally lively tavern quietened down.
People from all walks of life hang out in bars. Mercenaries, merchants, neighbors, and travelers were all here. Although they were not the ruling class of this society, those who would come over for a drink were people who had more experience and were clear-headed. The farmland was destroyed, the food was stolen, the farmers were killed, and the territory was empty. Charles II actually wanted to recruit soldiers to attack Efta …
"Has His Majesty gone mad?"
"Count Moore gave up his right to command and replaced by Count Milnor? Since when did Milnor become good at war? What else can he do other than earn money? "
There might be people who didn't believe the news of Efta's victory, but the news of Charles II mobilizing his troops had been spreading in many places these few days. People didn't think much of it at first, but now they immediately realized that they would all suffer varying degrees of losses.
Where would they find food? Where would they find soldiers? Who would they find to transport the supplies?
Although the newspaper didn't explicitly state who would suffer, once the news spread, it would naturally brew and ferment, eventually forming an invisible storm …
Ke Xi didn't understand what he could change by reading a newspaper. He also didn't know that while he was reading the newspaper, the Bergen Territory and even the Kingdom of Karen, all the merchants in Paer Territory were distributing the same newspaper, spreading the same information!
The power of the information was like a huge spider web, slowly spreading to the whole kingdom.
Count Milnor's desk was soon filled with the same newspaper. Not surprisingly, no similar news appeared on Charles II's desk, whether it was today or in the future.
"This is all nonsense … a lie!"
Count Milnor slammed the newspaper on the table. His head was filled with anger, and his ears seemed to be ringing. He wanted to curse out loud, but he knew that it was useless.
He had confirmed what had happened to Efta through various channels, but Mirno would rather believe that it was all a hoax. What happened to Efta's imminent danger? How did the situation suddenly change?
Charles II had given him the task, and Mirno had never thought of retreating. However, he was only a powerful minister, not a general. Mirno had no idea how to fight a war, and the adjutant he found was not talented. Therefore, it was difficult for anyone to predict the real effect that the newspaper could bring.
After all, such a thing had never appeared before. More than 90% of the people in the Kingdom of Karen were illiterate, which made the newspaper seem like it had no place to survive.
"Find out who spread the newspaper and lock them all up!"
Milnor had no choice but to give such an order. However, his adjutant looked troubled. "Count Milnor … these things seem to be available in most villages and towns in the kingdom. We …"
It was obvious that no matter how powerful Count Milnor was, he was just a count. He could show off his power in the Bergen Territory, but outside of the Bergen Territory, even Charles II's "imperial sword" would not work. Who are you? Who are you to command me?
"Catch all the people that can be caught. Catch those that can't be caught!"
Milnor was so angry that he crumpled the parchment into a ball and threw it at the adjutant's face. "Do you need me to teach you this?!"
The adjutant, who did not even dare to breathe heavily, hurriedly responded. He then bowed and retreated, leaving the ashen-faced Mirno sitting in the armchair, deep in thought.
*****
The order in Hollier was quickly restored after the war.
During the days of the Orcs' attack, Hollier was at the rear of the battle line and did not face the danger of being besieged. Therefore, the city looked no different from before the war. In fact, it was even livelier than before.
The prices of goods had risen a lot because of the war. Now, they were in the process of falling, including the price of food. The nobles had the idea of making a fortune by hoarding food. Therefore, in the past, when there was a war, the price of food could increase by eight or even ten times, and no one could stop it. However, under the emergency mechanism of the cabinet, Hollier, which had hoarded more food in advance, easily stabilized the price of food. At least, there were no cases of civilians starving to death because they could not afford food.
The dozens of decrees issued by the cabinet before the war were not in vain. Whether it was the unification of the military or the details of the implementation, they all proved the superiority of the cabinet over the traditional feudal lords. Of course, this was under the premise that a large number of feudal lords of Eiferta had died.
The "Rose Cross" had also contributed a lot in the war, but the war ended even faster than it started. While the governors were rejoicing, they couldn't help but have a deeper understanding of the Duke and the "cabinet". Most importantly, they recognized their own position in the government.
If Sally was a weak Duke with no capable ministers and was timid, the Rose Cross Church would be more than happy to take control of the Ducal Palace and expand the church's development in the Rose Cross Church. However, it was obvious that the cabinet led by Rody did not give them the opportunity to do so. During the first cabinet meeting on June 8th, the Abbot of the Rosary Cross Sect in Hollier City was not informed from the beginning to the end.
Obviously, Roddy did not intend to let the religious forces have any chance to affect his base.
In the conference hall of the Ducal Palace, the six cabinet members sat on both sides of the long table. As the prime minister, Roddy, Duke, and Sally sat on both sides. At this time, there was no dispute that often occurred in the "parliament". On the contrary, the entire meeting was basically led by Roddy.
In other words, it was basically Roddy's "word" that ruled here.
"Everyone, in my opinion, Eiferta is now facing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We now have the highest administrative efficiency and the most suitable development environment. However, there is a concept that I need you to understand. Perhaps you will need some time to slowly accept it."
Roddy's words echoed in the conference hall. The other six suzerains in the cabinet had long submitted to Sally's rule. Although they still had the title of count and marquis in name, they now knew that they had no power to object. The military power in Roddy and Sally's hands could flatten all of them at any time. Under such circumstances, sucking up to them was the only choice.
So, all of them expressed their stance: they would listen to Duke.
And Sally and Duke were even more straightforward. "The cabinet's decisions are decided by the prime minister. I support all of Prime Minister Roddy's decisions."
Roddy was not surprised. He only nodded and explained, "What we need is not a country governed by countless suzerains. The decentralization of power means a decline in execution. I don't need to say this for all of you to understand. So, in the future, Eiferta's political structure will always maintain the current model. The cabinet is the center. We will gradually take back most of the suzerains' power and build a country with unified laws! "
These words made the six suzerains look at each other. After all, they were vested interests. How could they allow their things to be taken away?
But Roddy was not that stupid. "Of course, we will not take back the suzerains' power to govern their territories. But we have to make one thing clear. The suzerains must obey the cabinet's decisions. Only then can Eiferta be unified in the future!"
"Unified …"
This word made everyone's imagination run wild. Not just the suzerains, even Sally's eyes glowed with a strange light. "Charles II has already sent people to attack. When are we going to fight back?"
"Prime Minister, can we still fight now?"
Earl Parker had a troubled look on his face. In this war, his territory was the one that had suffered the most from the orcs and had suffered heavy casualties.
Roddy waved his hand. "Do you really think that we can fight Charles II just because we want to? Sending Milnor to Bergen to recruit soldiers isn't a viable option. Otherwise, Moore wouldn't have given up so easily. "
He tapped his finger on the table and said solemnly, "The only thing we need to do now is to complete the post-war reconstruction and recovery as soon as possible. Elsen City will provide floating space towers for 'artificial rain' in the future to increase the production of all crops. As for the attack on Milnor's side … Leave that to me. "
At the moment, the cabinet was not divided into departments. The suzerains could only take care of matters within their own territories. Roddy temporarily treated them as the 'leaders' of the six most powerful provinces and cities. As for external matters, he, who held the military power, would naturally take care of them.
The suzerains chose to believe Roddy's reply, which sounded like he was boasting. Previously, they were still filled with fear of the orcs' attack, but the result had proven the strength of this iron-fisted prime minister.
But that was not all. Roddy's subsequent decision left them dumbfounded. "In the next three months, we must expand our territory into the Nehemian Plains. We must build enough pasture areas and sentry towers to make up for the shortage of warhorses and cattle."
Expanding the borders sounded good, but in reality, it was something that the suzerains were not willing to do. There was nothing on the barren plains, and they could only build it by throwing money at it. Who knew when they would be able to recoup their losses? The plains were a forbidden zone in the eyes of the suzerains. Even though the orcs had just been defeated, most civilians still held an irresistible fear of the green-skinned barbarians.
"I know that you think this kind of development is not worth investing in, but what we really need to invest in is not the plains. Every three months, we need to transport a batch of supplies into Tasman to support the stability of these 'good allies'."
As soon as he said that, the suzerains felt their hearts beat faster. So the construction of the plains was just a springboard. So the real goal was Tasman behind the Gondola Mountains!
The other side of the Gondola Mountains was much more fertile and had all kinds of minerals and supplies. While they were fighting internally, they would add fuel to the fire and reap huge benefits from it … Tasman needed equipment if it wanted to fight, right? It needed food, right? Countries at war could not produce, so they could only exchange all kinds of supplies. Roddy was like a firewood picker squatting by the stove. Wherever the fire was small, he would throw a piece of firewood into it. Not only did it make the fire burn more fiercely, but it also made sense to exchange for resources …
As long as they were not unified, this exchange would go on forever. Efferta gave out finished goods in exchange for rich resources that were several times more abundant — what was war wealth? This was war wealth!
*****
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
