Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste -
Chapter 165 - 163: Harmony Between Sovereign and Ministers, Balance Between Civil and Military Affairs
Chapter 165: Chapter 163: Harmony Between Sovereign and Ministers, Balance Between Civil and Military Affairs
Faced with the indifferent attitude of Perfikot, Eldest Princess Annie attempted persuasion.
But even as the carriage arrived at the royal palace, Eldest Princess Annie couldn’t cause Perfikot to waver in the slightest.
With no other option, she led Perfikot into the royal palace, heading towards the chamber where the audience meeting was to be held.
Inside the meeting room, numerous key figures of the empire had already arrived, grouped in threes and fours, smiling and discussing their own topics, with the most mentioned being the war that lasted less than a month.
From France, Ruth, and Saint Romulus declaring war on Victor Victory, to Perfikot urgently returning to the empire, mobilizing all alchemists from Langton to manufacture thermobaric bombs for air raids, and then burning four cities overnight, the three countries unconditionally surrendered within seventy-two hours, this war, which should have been as fierce as a world war, lasted only seventeen days.
For the empire’s generals, this was a way of waging war they had never imagined, nor could they comprehend.
With just a flying airship and a few bombs, one could destroy a nation’s capital or elite assembled troops, which was a bit too stimulating for veteran generals who had spent the first half of their lives on horseback.
It was like the generals were charging as knights one moment, and then suddenly fireworks lit up like a thousand trees turned to blossoms overnight.
Even so, the military did not resist the emergence of super weapons like thermobaric bombs and flying airships; instead, they were delighted to have such cards up their sleeve.
After all, they had originally calculated that, in a conventional conflict, even with Victor Victory’s empire winning, it would result in over six hundred thousand soldier casualties, and the war would last for at least three years.
As for resource consumption and military spending, it was a colossal astronomical figure, enough to drain the empire’s entire fiscal budget for the next ten years.
Before Perfikot’s return to the empire, the military and Noble Council were even considering borrowing a sum from the bank to sustain the war expenses.
Their current battle plan was to form an entire Steam Knight Order and use these orders as spearheads to cross the strait and fight the French, finally driving straight into the French capital to force them into a city-bound treaty.
If this plan were followed, Victor Victory’s empire would need to form at least ten Steam Knight Orders, which would be an immense cost for the empire, comparable to building two new battleships.
And battlefield casualties could drop to sixty thousand, only one-tenth of the original estimate.
No choice, the Steam Knight’s front-line combat capability is astounding, but it relies more heavily on logistics than a whole corps ever did, so many ordinary soldiers are needed to hold lines and occupy positions, making casualties unavoidable.
But this plan was slapped down by Perfikot.
She spent a week preparing, then ended the war in one night.
Now, the military has become her staunch supporter, although there are complaints about this among the young officers within the military.
In the last great war, they were just children, merely watching as their fathers and brothers went to the battlefield and brought back those glistening medals and glory.
Now it was finally their turn. They had eagerly awaited a grand war where they could earn glory and accomplishments, only to not win any of those dazzling medals, just witnessing the legendary overnight destruction of three national capitals ending the war. How could these young officers accept this?
But obviously, these young officers eager for achievements are not qualified to appear at the audience meeting.
Thus, the atmosphere in the meeting room was quite harmonious.
Even the Civil Servant Group, represented by the Noble Council, stood by Perfikot this time; after all, her swift end to the war saved the empire a large amount of military expenditure, which was great news for the Civil Servant Group.
Although they could profit immensely from the war, having reached their position, they already pursue more than just money, seeking gains in power and other interests.
War stimulates the development of related industries but also brings a series of problems to the country.
The subsequent impact of a war estimating a million casualties is terrifying; one wrong move and Victor could face a revolution like France did over a decade ago, with the royal family and nobles overthrown, establishing a so-called bourgeois republic.
Even if a revolution is suppressed, ensuing social chaos is still difficult to manage.
These ultimately fall on the Civil Servant Group, needing them to handle it.
Now these can be avoided, how could the Civil Servant Group be dissatisfied with Perfikot? As for interests, as long as Northern Guardian is willing to share the benefits of expanding the Northern Territory, who would turn away from money?
In addition, no matter what, victory in war was achieved, and civilians were celebrating, with drinks selling out in Langton City these days.
So at the audience meeting, the atmosphere was full of joy, everyone greeted the Empress’s arrival in a reconciled state, which was not surprising.
However, after the Empress and Eldest Princess Annie were seated, the Empress did not announce the start of the meeting, but instead beckoned Perfikot, indicating for her to come forward.
Looking at the girl, even now still not an adult, the Empress couldn’t help but hold her hand, gently stroking the back of her hand, saying in a very kind tone, "Can I call you Little Perfikot like Annie does? Annie treats you like her own daughter, even specially approached me to say she wanted to adopt you and include your name in the royal family! So you can consider me your elder, don’t be too restrained.
Lord Brandelis contributed greatly to the empire back then, now that you’re alone as his surviving child yet still contributing your strength to the empire, what’s a little preferential treatment?
If the title of princess could reward your accomplishments for the empire, I would have long conferred you as the empire’s princess."
The Empress’s attitude truly surprised everyone, but immediately they felt it was reasonable.
After all, Perfikot’s talent and ability are evident to all, such a genius girl the empire must make good use of, especially for the royal family, talents naturally feeling close to the royal family are so precious.
Besides fame and fortune, what the royal family can offer is playing the emotion card.
After all, although Victor Victory’s empire is still an empire, to a large extent, it is transitioning toward constitutional monarchy, the royal family’s status being somewhat delicate.
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