Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 120 Melicia
Here, I would like to first explain the situation regarding the Melesia region.

Melesia is located in the northwest of the empire, separated from the empire's mainland by an ocean, as mentioned before. Even within the original empire's territory, Melesia was considered a border region, because further north lay the extremely cold and harsh lands.

For this reason, the Merisia region was initially used primarily to guard the empire's borders, and then as a place of exile for prisoners—somewhat similar to the idea of ​​"exiling people to Ningguta and enslaving armored men" in the TV series.

Therefore, many criminals were sentenced to exile and then came to this barren land to work as slaves.

After all, the environment here is harsh. Any normal imperial citizen with a mouth to eat would not want to come to this godforsaken place, so let the prisoners come and reclaim the land.

However, as time went on, more and more people came. Most of them were people who couldn't make it in the empire for various reasons. Some had offended some power and wanted to escape, while others had committed crimes and were afraid of being caught, so they fled there directly. After all, exile to Melesia was a punishment in itself. Therefore, the checks on travelers going to Melesia were very relaxed, giving many criminals the opportunity to escape legal punishment.

Also included were the nobles who had failed for various reasons during the empire's numerous political upheavals and were forced to flee.

Because of this composition of people, Melisia had virtually no sense of belonging to the Empire. Furthermore, due to inconvenient transportation—as Irene mentioned, it used to take half a month or even longer to travel to Melisia by boat—the Empire itself adopted a semi-indulgent approach towards Melisia, essentially tacitly acquiescing to its autonomy.

After all, you just want to send someone to manage it, and spending so much time on the journey isn't even enough to cover the back-and-forth trips.

But now, with the development of the steam revolution, everything is different.

Large steamships like the Arctic Star reduced the original two-week voyage to a week, while airships could reach the destination in just two days. Under these circumstances, it was only natural for the Empire to want to strengthen its control over Melisia.

Melesia, naturally, also sought to break free from the empire's control.

The Empire's attitude toward Melisia was naturally extremely oppressive and aggressive, but they had their reasons. Just look at the composition of the Melisian population: a region made up of exiles, fugitives, and political prisoners. It would be a miracle if the Empire treated them well.

Melicia also had no good attitude towards the Empire. It was because of your persecution and oppression that we were forced to come to this remote and impoverished place, yet you still want to exterminate us.
This is basically how the two sides started arguing.

Melicians: You were the ones who drove us here in the first place!

Imperials: Nonsense, you're exiled prisoners!
Melesians: We came here to escape the oppression of the empire!
Imperials: You're just trying to escape Imperial law! A bunch of damned fugitives!

Within the empire, Melesia was perceived as a barbaric, desolate place, a nightmare haunted by criminals, and the people of Melesia were synonymous with crime. Furthermore, it was extremely unpopular within the empire.

There are many reasons, such as the fact that when the Empire and the Kingdom of Francis were at war, the soldiers recruited from the Melesia region rioted or even mutinized more than once.

Of course, some say it was because the imperial officers didn't treat the Melesians as human beings, but rather used them as cannon fodder, which led to their eventual rebellion.

Moreover, during that war, the Empire believed that the Melesians were not very enthusiastic about the war, and that they were always the last to arrive at the battlefield. Furthermore, during the war, Melesia traded with the Franciscan Republic, which they considered a right they should enjoy as an autonomous territory.

One can imagine that, in the eyes of the imperialists, they were a bunch of traitorous lackeys.

In any case, this is the nature of the relationship between the Empire and Melicia. The Empire is powerful and naturally will not bow down to Melicia. And Melicia, for historical and other reasons, also harbors a strong sense of resistance towards the Empire.

Regarding the current situation, Li Wei had also read the newspapers and conducted some research and investigation, and concluded that a war in Melicia was almost inevitable.

The rift between Melesia and the Empire has been building up for centuries, and both sides believe they are doing the right thing. In other words, neither the Empire nor Melesia will back down.

On the other hand, the main purpose of the steam revolution led by Her Majesty the Queen is to restore the Empire to its former status, making it the powerful nation that dominates the continent. As mentioned before, facing a resurgent Empire, the surrounding other countries and forces are unwilling to give up.

The fact that the Franciscan Republic and the Holy Lord Church joined forces to cause trouble in the Fog City is evidence of this, but ultimately, it is because the forces surrounding the Empire are not at peace.

In this situation, if Her Majesty the Queen were to make even the slightest concession or back down on the issue of Melicia, other countries would certainly seize the opportunity.

Therefore, even if it's just to make an example of someone, Her Majesty the Queen will absolutely not allow Melicia to get what she wants.

For the empire, Melisia, this disobedient chicken, had to be killed; the only difference was whether to steam or braise her.

From Li Wei's personal perspective, as someone born into a unified civilization, he naturally had no fondness for words like "division," "rebellion," and "independence."

Moreover, the situation in the Melesia region reminded Levi of a certain country in his own world... well, coincidentally, he didn't have a good impression of that country either.

To prevent such a bastard from appearing in this world, Li Wei felt it was only natural to help the Queen.

It's much better than watching Melicia become another rogue state.

In fact, the Queen's plan to attack Melicia had already begun long ago.

The tea tax incident mentioned in the newspaper earlier is one of them.

Under the Tea Tax Act, the government stipulates that tea can only be sold through designated agents, and they will eliminate the taxes payable by these agents on tea transported to other regions for sale. In short, this constitutes tea dumping, which will naturally have a significant impact on tea-producing areas.

For the Melesia region, the impact is naturally enormous.

As the newspapers reported, the influx of cheap imperial tea into the Melesia region severely impacted local tea merchants, causing unsold tea, the closure of many shops and factories, and widespread unemployment. This, naturally, led to massive unemployment and poverty.

This was the Queen's first step—disrupting the flow of funds in the Mericia region.

The saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach," and the importance of funds in a war is self-evident. If you can reduce the enemy's funds before the war even begins, or even force them to give up fighting the empire, that would be ideal.

If they still don't listen—I've already raised the tax rate to 120 percent, and these unruly people can't even afford to eat, yet they still have money to wage an armed rebellion?
Did this money grow out of the ground?

In Li Wei's view, the Melicia region had no choice but to accept the Queen's move.

If they bow their heads and admit defeat, then they can be molded by the other party, whether they are round or flat, it's up to the Queen.

If they choose to resist, that's fine. Melisia is still imperial territory, and suppressing the rebellion is an internal matter for the empire; no other country can say anything about it. As long as the empire demonstrates its strength in suppressing Melisia, it will be enough to deter other restless and foolish neighboring countries.

However, there is a problem: this war must be won swiftly and decisively with overwhelming force.

It's unbelievable that we won in three days, but it ended up taking three years.

Even if you win, everyone will have seen through your true colors.

Technologically, the Empire wasn't afraid of Melisia, a remote, harsh, and underdeveloped place that still used the kind of firearms the Empire had used in its early days of troop-firing. And while the Imperial army was currently benefiting from the steam-powered Industrial Revolution, much of its equipment, in Li Wei's view, was practically science fiction.

The Imperial army's attack on Melesia was, to put it bluntly, like modern people fighting primitive people—the outcome was practically a foregone conclusion.

But it's different on a mystical level.

This is why the royal family sent Li Wei. The imperial army was responsible for suppressing the enemy from a technological standpoint, while Li Wei was responsible for suppressing them from a mystical standpoint, determined to completely crush Melesia's arrogance. During the ten-odd days that Li Wei traveled to the Melesia region aboard the North Star, the tense situation between the Empire and Melesia escalated further.

First, due to the previous tea dumping incident, the Imperial Diet passed a law prohibiting any overseas trade in the ports of Melesia until it made full compensation for the damaged tea.

Secondly, the parliament used this incident to conclude that the current governor was no longer capable of governing the Mericia region, and therefore dismissed him from office, and passed three other bills: the Mericia Regional Government Act, the Judicial Administration Act, and the Garrison Act.

These laws not only significantly strengthened the power of the local governors, but also made it easier for them to use force at any time.

Moreover, the choice of the new governor appointed by the parliament is also quite intriguing—General Thomas Geller, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army in Melesia.

By appointing a military commander as a local governor, the council's intentions were crystal clear; it was obvious what they wanted to do, and there was no need to guess.

The Melesians did not sit idly by. After the parliament passed the bill, the Melesians immediately convened a continental conference and approved the establishment of the "Continental Union," declaring a suspension of trade with the empire unless the parliament repealed those laws that "harmed Melesia's right to independence and autonomy."

Well, Li Wei could only laugh at that.

Do you think the parliament is aware that those laws "undermine Melicia's right to independence and autonomy"?
So, did they do it on purpose? Or accidentally? Or was it intentionally accidental?
Li Wei felt the answer was already quite obvious; after all, his presence here already represented the royal family's stance.

Otherwise, Her Majesty the Queen would not have needed to send him at all.

Upon arriving at the governor's mansion, Li Wei soon met the governor.

"Welcome to Melicia, Mr. Levi. I must say, you've really chosen a terrible time."

General Geller was nearly sixty years old, but he was in good health, had a ruddy complexion, and looked as robust as a rock.

"Perhaps this is why I came here."

"makes sense."

General Geller has already read the letter from the royal family that Livy delivered.

“We do need manpower to help us solve this headache. The council knows nothing at all. They give orders readily, but they don’t know what to do when things go wrong.”

Could you please explain the situation?

"of course."

General Geller lit a cigarette and then pondered for a moment.

"You've already read the newspapers. After the parliament passed the bill, its implementation in the Melisia region encountered tremendous resistance. Among them, the Phantom Killer is the biggest problem."

"Phantom Assassin?"

"Yes."

General Geller nodded.

"Legend has it that he is an assassin who only appears at night and will silently kill anyone he wants to kill. Some even claim that he is the spokesperson for death."

"I suspect this is more than just a rumor."

"Indeed not."

General Geller frowned as he said this.

"In fact, several of my advisors to the governor have been murdered. Some were killed in their homes, and some were even killed in broad daylight at a meeting. They went to the bathroom and never came out. When the soldiers went to look for them, they found that their throats had been cut and they were dead. Some were even killed in their own homes, in their own bedrooms or bathrooms, without leaving any trace at the scene."

"Um……………"

"Later, your colleagues came and took some measures, which can be summarized as close protection for me and my consultant. Unfortunately, these measures were not entirely effective."

"So, it's partially effective?"

"Yes."

General Geller nodded.

“I was also attacked by the Phantom Assassin. I was shaving when I saw myself in the mirror suddenly look up, smile at me, and then shave my neck with the razor. I couldn’t help but scream. Hearing my scream, your colleagues rushed in and quickly fired at the mirror. Then I heard an angry scream. Hmm… I doubt whether it was just my imagination, but I don’t think it was a dream.”

"So you're in this room without mirrors now?"

Li Wei looked around. The windows were covered by curtains, the mirrors had been removed, and there wasn't even a basin of water.

"Yes, we believe that the Phantom Assassin may have used a mirror or something similar to launch the attack..."

"I heard that some of my colleagues were injured?"

"I'm not really clear on the specifics of this."

General Geller shook his head.

"After that, your colleagues seemed to have uncovered some clues, but they didn't tell me. A few days later, three of them, seriously injured, rushed back to the Governor's mansion. When I asked them what had happened, they only told me they were investigating the Phantom Assassin, but they had been discovered..."

"Where are they?"

"They all died, it seems there was poison in their wounds. The doctors did their best, but they couldn't save them."

"I see..."

Upon hearing General Geller's reply, Li Wei pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly.

"May I check out the surrounding area first?"

"Of course, please be careful, Mr. Li Wei, our enemy... is truly ruthless and terrifying."

(End of this chapter)