Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 629 Invading the Rhine

Although Blood Harbor is theoretically the prince's territory, the Secret Order has a very strong infiltration capability here, and many of its members are from the lower classes.

Where the prince's decrees could not reach, Hughes's casual words were law. It could be said that nothing the prince did in Blood Harbor could escape Hughes's notice.

The prince was naturally aware of this matter, but he didn't mind it. It was just a city, and he wouldn't care even if it meant the entire Duchy of Tiss, if it could bring him Castel's support.

He's not stupid. The continent is so vast, the benefits of cooperating with Castells far outweigh those of other options.

The prince did not answer immediately, but stood up, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains.

Night had already fallen over Blood Harbor, but the area outside the window was brightly lit.

Streetlights line both sides of the road, illuminating the entire city. In the distance, factory workshops are brightly lit, with night shift workers feeding fuel into steam engines and black smoke billowing from chimneys. Production lines operate day and night, producing their full capacity to supply this city that never sleeps.

The entire urban area is at least three times larger, with newly built factory areas taking up most of the old Blood Harbor. The high walls that previously separated the Upper Town from the Lower Town have long been torn down and turned into streets, where residents are strolling under the streetlights.

Beyond that, there are even more temporary dwellings, with shantytowns growing densely and increasingly on the outskirts of the city. Blood Harbor has become the center of Tiss, siphoning off the entire duchy's population.

A few scattered lights, roaring machines, chimneys belching thick smoke, and workers constantly coming and going.
Blood Harbor has become a true industrial city.

"It's so beautiful."

“In just six months, we have built such a miracle. Sometimes I wonder what people were doing for the past few hundred years. Why does everything seem to be going in circles?”

The prince looked at the night view outside and couldn't help but smile.

He has the right to say that. Castells did provide a lot of technical support for the construction of Blood Harbor, but the prince also truly solved many problems.

For example, the banshees could openly appear in Bloodharbor, recruit students to attend school, and go to Castells for further studies, all because he had suppressed many dissenting voices, both overtly and covertly.

Not to mention managing the influx of refugees. The North was overwhelmed by the refugees from the White Ravens, forcing several lords to personally lead the battle. Yet, in Bloodharbor, not a ripple was made. The newly built shantytowns on the outskirts, though simple, still ensured the most basic needs.

The prince ensured the opening of Blood Harbor and protected Castells' legitimate interests there, removing all obstacles to Hughes's construction.

He also managed to train the new army amidst his busy schedule, and maintained low-intensity warfare with the Empire.

To be honest, Hughes felt that the prince was much better at handling domestic affairs than he was.

The prince reluctantly turned his gaze away from the window and turned around.

“But Castel is just an island, and the Duchy of Tis is only this small. Now that the obstacles in the north have been cleared, the empire lies ahead.”

"The Candlelight Society, oh, and the Mechanical Sanctuary, have now seized the Holy Mir Empire, handing over this great land to an unworthy master."

"It's infuriating."

Hughes looked at Grand Duke Tiss with great interest; his face was filled with genuine anger.

"Are you really angry about this? Forgive my bluntness, but in your current position, it seems you don't have a legitimate claim to the Empire."

The Duchy of Tis was originally conquered by the Empire, so its war against the Empire was legitimate, but its occupation of Imperial territory was not necessarily legally justifiable. Unfortunately, neither of the two people in this office cared about "legal principles."

“I am angered by anything that is unworthy of its position. These churches occupy high positions, and look at what they have done? They have been on the continent for a thousand years, are they better now than they were a thousand years ago?”

“I don’t care about faith or doctrine. If they can really lead the empire forward, then converting to the church is fine. But they only want to be the mountains pressing down on the empire, leaving no way out for mortals.”

Hughes remained silent. He knew little about the previous empire; his only contact with it was the time he was killed.

If he hadn't been born in Castel, Hughes might have already joined the Moths of Fire and rebelled as part of the Candlelight Society, hiding and running away.

The prince, having lived in this world for many years, must have had a much deeper understanding of it than I have.

The anger in the prince's eyes subsided, replaced by a hint of savagery.

"Therefore, I must conquer Narne and show those conservative churches the power of change."

"They better be strong enough. I was born to crush the weak."

Hughes glanced at the prince, who was always so arrogant and conceited, spouting boastful words.

But he always manages to do it.

"So what do you want? The expeditionary force's assistance?"

"No need, I can handle them myself, and your expeditionary force has just finished fighting in the north, so you might as well rest."

Hughes wanted to say that the expeditionary force didn't actually need rest; they were having a pretty easy time fighting.
But the entire North is indeed enough for Castel to digest for a while. Hughes is not uninterested in conquering cities and territories, but things are not calculated that way.

The main reason why Bloodharbor is doing so well is that Castells is powerful enough.

If Hughes hadn't used his airship to silence all dissent, Castell wouldn't have had such a large weapons gap, and the banshees would have barely managed to take over Blood Harbor with their longswords. What a sight that would have been!
He had to deploy a large number of troops to maintain stability, but the prince was not necessarily convinced. In order to deal with external threats, he had to build an even more bloated standing army.

And these people are all valuable industrial workers.

Therefore, Hughes's choice was to focus on development. As long as his technology was far ahead and Castel was powerful enough, he would have no enemies, only friends.

The expeditionary force conquered most of the northern territory almost without bloodshed. Grand Duke Alvarez not only surrendered but also actively came to learn and integrate into the local community.

Therefore, Hughes chose to focus his energy on development rather than war.

Once the prince conquers the empire—if he succeeds—he will turn around to see a steel behemoth centered on Bloodharbor, radiating across most of Tith and the entire North. At that point, Castel could easily produce some technology that the prince's army might not be able to withstand.

The scale effect of industry is extremely obvious. If you are fast at one step, you will be fast at every step. Castell can develop towards Gem Bay in the east, but the prince cannot. If he wants to focus on development, he has to see if the empire next door will agree.

He had no choice.

“Yes, I support your decision to go to war with the Empire.” Houston paused, “but it would be best to wait a moment. I’m going to talk to the Mechanicus first.”

(End of this chapter)