They don't want me to try anymore.

Richard actually had many urgent questions he wanted to ask.

But as the girl's tears soaked his clothes, he couldn't utter a single question.

The feeling of being loved and cared for is both blissful and profound.

You cast a soundproof spell, then hugged Katyusha and whispered words of comfort for a long time.

The girl finally calmed down, and you wiped away her tears, asking her about her situation over the years.

"Since you disappeared..."

As the girl recounted her story, Richard's blood pressure gradually rose.

...After Richard and the others disappeared, both Connaught and Vanderbilt immediately sent many people to search for them, which took three or four months, but naturally they found nothing.

Then the situation spiraled out of control and deteriorated rapidly.

On Vanderbilt's side, Alice's newly emerging power vanished in the blink of an eye, leaderless. In the end, the prince's faction successfully staged a coup, causing the world's second-largest power to fall into the hands of despicable people.

With the loss of his only heir, Henry II's prestige plummeted, and he himself fell seriously ill. Although he barely survived, his health deteriorated day by day.

The Dulles family in the north would certainly not let such an opportunity pass them by.

Because of Richard, they paid more attention to Connaught than in the first simulation, thus accelerating their takeover.

Without Richard, Catherine and the Imperial conservatives behind her lost interest in stopping Dulles, leaving Luvia alone to fend for herself—especially since she later spent most of her energy searching the world for Richard.

And so, Connaught's political situation deteriorated day by day.

Until two years ago, Henry II fell into a coma due to "illness," the court muse Megan died in a "car accident," and officials who were on good terms with Richard either left or disappeared.

Finally, former Justice Secretary Gello Wolfe, who held a stake in Standard Fruits, seized power with a group of his cronies.

Richard's sister, Zoe, also from the Wolf family, never appeared again, reportedly under house arrest for suffering from hysteria. Katyusha was also expelled from the palace a few days after this upheaval.

Over the next six months, Connaught became a complete plaything of the Empire and Standard Fruit. All the interests that could be sold were sold, and even those that couldn't be sold were sold, and they might even be sold at a reduced price.

Gerald and his cronies made a fortune, while the rest of Connaught were plunged into hell.

At its worst, hundreds of thousands of people starved to death, and the rest could only work hard in banana plantations from morning till night to barely survive... But Jero and others claimed that everything was fine, and that the poverty and suffering of the Connaught people were only due to their own ignorance and laziness.

Faced with this situation, some in Connaught naturally resisted.

Katyusha, a former combat maid, took the lead and, along with Langley who had undergone years of training, joined the resistance, eventually becoming a leader of one side.

This is also the cause of everything Richard is seeing now.

After hearing this, Richard sneered, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, we tried our best, but..."

Katyusha, who was on the other side, became somewhat downcast at the end of her speech.

Richard suddenly realized that she wasn't even twenty years old yet.

Really... thank you for your hard work, Katyusha.

There's nothing to worry about anymore.

Because I'm back!

Chapter 136 Don't be impulsive, let's play it safe for now.

Henry II is terminally ill? Megan Teacher is in a car accident? Zoe has developed hysteria? Are the Connaughts foolish and lazy?

fart!

Well, in just four years you've ruined my home like this...

You will pay the price.

Justice will await everyone at the end.

Richard calmed Katyusha's blood pressure, which was urging her to climb Mount Everest, then helped her up, and the two sat down behind the desk.

He had already figured out what the first thing to do in this simulation was.

Reclaim your homeland and drive the imperial forces out of Connaught!

This is good for the cardiovascular system, and there are many ways to create legendary moments.

But first, he needed to find out about the current situation of the resistance organization.

Katyusha introduces their achievements over the past two years.

The resistance is divided into two parts: one, led by Katyusha, calls itself the National Protection Army and currently has 300 members; the other, led by former naval officer White, calls itself the Redemption Alliance and is estimated to have 500 members...

Wait a minute, White?

Good heavens, isn't that a spy?

Well, that's not surprising. Apart from himself and Veronica, no one else really knew anything about that person.

He was likely the spy that Standard Fruit had planted within the resistance organization...

Katyusha also detailed the two organizations' past operations, primarily focused on assassinating Jero's henchmen, sometimes robbing the rich to help the poor. However, each operation resulted in heavy losses, and the enemy, with overt and covert support from the Empire, was growing stronger, putting them in a difficult situation...

This is hardly surprising.

Is it a good thing if a large portion of the workforce is controlled by spies?

Moreover, Connaught itself is really too small, while the Empire is too powerful. It is normal to lose if you rush into battle. Only if you win can you get White Dew with a single pull and Seele with two pulls - that's wishful thinking.

Therefore, Richard had no intention of blaming Katyusha.

The girl did a good enough job; at least she left some foundation.

Without Katyusha, he would probably have to start from scratch again in this round of simulations.

You highly praised Katyusha's achievement and expressed your intention to help her in the future.

Katyusha wanted to hand over the leadership to you now to help you launch a counterattack on the palace, but you politely declined and insisted on remaining behind the scenes.

Richard believed that times had changed.

Having wasted four years of farming, his own team is almost gone, and Alice and Veronica's forces are still incomplete and unable to provide assistance.

Meanwhile, on the Empire's side, calculating the time, the Second Prince was about to take the stage, just in time to go around the world with a hammer, looking for nails.

Now that he's exposed, even if it boosts the morale of the Connaughts and even allows him to reclaim the throne in the short term, it's hard to say whether he can stabilize the situation. On the contrary, he'll most likely face a full-scale attack from the Empire and collapse quickly.

Not to mention that half of the resistance forces are being led by an internal traitor...

So let's take it slow and play it safe for now.

Make a fortune quietly!

Katyusha unconditionally agreed to your proposal, and you thus became the true leader of the National Protection Army.

On the surface, however, you disguised yourself as a newly joined mage, acting as Katyusha's advisor.

Next, you participated in the operation to rescue Harry that night.

[You didn't show your full strength, but cleverly used your special abilities a few times, which led to the operation's complete success. The National Protection Army suffered no casualties and even managed to steal five guns and countless bullets.]

That night, the National Protection Army celebrated underground, and the little girl Langley was very happy.

Meanwhile, you and Katyusha went to the office early to discuss future plans...

Richard rubbed his hands together like an Indian bee.

It's time to show the real technology!

After discussing it all night, you and Katyusha came up with twelve words.

Establish a guiding principle, strengthen organization, slow down actions, and seek external support.

[Establishing a program means setting clear action goals. Specifically, it means uniting everyone to defend the monarchy, drive out the imperialists and their lackeys who oppress Connaught, and restore the nation's independence and autonomy.]

Richard learned that the National Guard came from diverse backgrounds, and while they all appeared dissatisfied with the status quo, they each had their own motives and expectations. Some genuinely wanted to rebel against the Empire, while others might simply want to reclaim their wages from Standard Fruit, and still others were simply driven by personal grudges against Geralt's faction.

These people can still be used, Richard doesn't intend to kick them out, but he feels it's necessary to give everyone a clear direction and vision for the future.

However, merely proposing a program is not enough; organizational development must follow, which is what we mean by the last three words...

[The so-called strengthening of the organization means reorganizing the existing National Protection Army, subdividing it into different functional departments, especially building an intelligence system and a propaganda system targeting ordinary people. On this basis, it also requires re-education of existing members in terms of ideology and skills… You've decided to personally oversee this aspect.]

Richard knew that this would throw the National Protection Army into chaos in the short term, but it would be worthwhile in the long run.

Otherwise, the chaotic organization would not only fail to resist the Empire, but might also be betrayed by White next month and wiped out in one fell swoop.

Since building a strong organization takes time, changes in action are also necessary.

The so-called "slow action" refers to abandoning the past violent actions of relentlessly assassinating high-ranking officials of the Gero Party and the Standard Fruit's top brass, and instead focusing on eliminating lower-level henchmen, such as plantation overseers. Simultaneously, this involves threatening or bribing those among them who are cowardly, and winning over those with a conscience.

In Richard's view, while Jero's cronies and Walter's standard Fruit Directors held high positions, they weren't particularly important. Ultimately, they were merely puppets of the Empire's bigwigs; killing a few would replace them, making these sporadic assassinations ineffective.

Moreover, the key point is that their security is also very strong, and assassinating them would inevitably result in sacrifices, which is not worth it at all.

On the contrary, the lower-level lackeys are weak and easier to kill, and they directly prey on the people, making them the most hated. The people will feel relieved when they are killed... so it's better to kill them.

The principle of picking the softest persimmons is really useful.

Furthermore, based on the principle of making as many friends as possible, Richard felt there was no need to completely eliminate those under Geralt's command who could be won over.

The lower-level officials are just trying to make a living, and they may not be without resentment towards the empire. Severely cracking down on the die-hards among them and giving the rest a little leeway, or even cooperating with them, can bring benefits.