Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

……

At this moment, Sandonne, the puppet sitting atop the towering, autonomous machine's palm, pulled her back and lamented:

"Columbia, all the serfs who were sitting with His Highness the Prince in the fields yesterday are dead, not one of them survived. Hundreds of living lives, less than animals. I've lived in Winterhold for too long and never knew that the serfs were in such a miserable state. Those hypocritical, well-dressed landowners, riding horses and carrying bows and arrows, hunted down those serfs in the fields, sparing not even women and children as young as a few years old."

Although all eleven executive officers had experienced killing and had countless enemies die at their hands, that was war, fighting for the national interest; the more enemies killed, the safer the country. But the landlords were shooting serfs like prey; that was extreme disregard for life. She roared:

"Was it because the serfs sat with the prince in the fields yesterday, which the landlords considered a great disrespect, and they killed them to curry favor with His Highness?"

[Puppet] Sandonie replied: "The landowners said that after the prince left yesterday, the serfs actually demanded to be released from their slave contracts with the landowners and hoped to obtain a piece of land."

"They said this because the prince promised them during a conversation that the reforms in the Winter Kingdom would begin with agriculture, and the abolition of serfdom would be the first step. The billion serfs of the Winter Kingdom would one day become masters of their own destiny."

"The landowners believed that the serfs had misinterpreted His Highness's words and intended to rebel, so they hunted down and killed all the serfs who had spoken with His Highness the day before."

Instead of verifying information with His Highness the Prince, the landlords indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people, which aroused her extreme disgust. Her shoulders trembled with anger as she asked:

"Where is the prince? Those serfs died because of him, he must do something. Even if he dares not offend the landowning class, and dares not sentence them to death, he must at least give them some punishment as a warning."

[The Puppet] Sandonne, immersed in memories, said emotionally:

"Today we went to another large farm. When His Highness learned of this, he immediately ordered the convoy to return to the village we visited yesterday. He sat alone on the edge of the field, holding a dead serf child, without saying a word, and grieved for a long time. Sigh, at that moment I suddenly felt that our prince is actually quite good; at least he really cares about the lives of those serfs."

"From princes and ministers to local officials, which official would disregard his status and sit down to chat with the lowest-ranking serfs? He would probably be laughed at by his colleagues. Even among us eleven executive officers, which one of us has ever had contact with serfs? Not a single one."

"His Highness the Prince finally stood up and told us, 'Reform always involves bloodshed. But I promise that the blood of the serfs will not be shed in vain.' He then ordered the guards to bury the serfs' bodies. He then had me move the barbecue tables and chairs off the carriage and work on the spot, where I signed two decrees: one abolishing slavery and the other prohibiting the buying and selling of people."

"Neither you nor I have ever been interested in politics, but I have heard Piero mention that these are the two most fundamental systems in our nation since its founding. Her Majesty the Queen once wanted to abolish them, but was forced to stop due to opposition from the large landowners throughout the country. The landowners and many ministers said that shaking the serf system would cause rebellions in various places, and even if Her Majesty the Queen was able to quell the rebellions in the end, the nation would be greatly weakened and unable to defy the will of Heaven. Those landowners threatened Her Majesty the Queen with the most precious provisions for military campaigns, which angered Her Majesty greatly but she was helpless."

"But guess what His Highness said?"

She was naturally very interested in what insights the "Descendant" had on this problem that troubled the Queen, and asked, "What did he say?"

[The puppet] Sandonne replied:

"Our Prince said very confidently that even if he were the only one in the Kingdom of Zhidong, he could still overturn the laws of heaven if these scoundrels were gone."

"When you went to the palace today, did you not see any of the generals in charge of military affairs? They were urgently summoned to the countryside by His Highness the Prince. Each general returned to his respective territory with orders to supervise and enforce these two decrees."

A huge wave of emotion had already surged within her, and she said:

"Many generals have close ties with large landowners in various regions, and there are complex transfers of benefits between them. Will they really carry out His Highness's orders seriously? Abolishing serfdom is tantamount to cutting off the landowners' source of wealth. Those large landowners have their own armed forces, and they will not surrender without a fight."

[Puppet] Sandoni replied, "His Highness the Prince said that those who resist will be killed without exception. As for the generals in various regions, any who outwardly comply but inwardly defy military orders will be subject to military trial."

"The landowning class has infiltrated every aspect of the Winter Empire, forming a complex network of interests with officials and generals. It can be said that a single move can have far-reaching consequences. Once the generals in various regions are in place, the two decrees will be publicly announced and implemented immediately. Just watch, Columbia, our newly appointed prince, may bring a completely new atmosphere to the Winter Empire."

"His Highness also said that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. He used cooking as a metaphor for governing a country, isn't that interesting? Anyway, I feel like he will have other moves later. Her Majesty the Empress is really good at judging people and trusts the Prince unconditionally. I am now full of expectations for how he will further reform until winter."

"Alas, it's such a pity for those serfs. On the way back, I kept thinking about the scene of them kneeling before His Highness yesterday. His Highness treated them equally and promised to abolish slavery and realize the goal of land ownership for the tiller. Last night, sitting in the carriage, I thought that the serfs were excited to the point of madness because it was the first time they had seen such an important person as the prince. In fact, His Highness expressed the desires in the hearts of the serfs."

"They work diligently their whole lives, all they want is to own a piece of land and a cow, that's all. But in the Kingdom of Winter, it's still an unattainable dream. On the way, I suddenly felt very sad. We, the executives, are gathered in the Kingdom of Winter for our own purposes, but we've done so little for this country. There are still many people living in dire straits. Aren't we being very selfish? Sigh."

"In short, the new prince seems to have a good start. His first act upon taking office was to crack down on serfdom. Serfdom and the human trade have always been a scourge of the Winter Kingdom. Apart from Dotole, that experimental fanatic, whose attitude towards slavery is ambiguous because of his human experimentation, the rest of us executive officers are actually against it. Take the two of us for example, those serfs assigned to my manor were freed on their very first day. As for you, let alone serfs, you don't even have a servant at home. If I didn't come to keep you company often, you wouldn't even have anyone to talk to."

She stepped forward, took Sandoni's arm, and smiled, "Then how about you come keep me company tonight? I'll treat you to lobster."

Sándor, whose stomach was rumbling with hunger, refused. "Not tonight. I'm back to get my clothes and luggage. I have to go back soon. His Highness will be working next to the serfs' graveyard until he decides to abolish slavery. The coachman and I will be staying there for a while."

She asked in surprise, "What if those ministers want to see him?"

[Puppet] Sandonne replied:

"His Highness said that anyone who wants to see him must go to his grave, and even Her Majesty the Empress is no exception. This is precisely to intimidate the court officials and at the same time to express his determination to reform. Alright, I can't keep you company any longer, I have to go back to work. I want to see how our Prince will subdue those despicable landowners."

Sandonne, usually so willful and mischievous that he wouldn't leave the lab even if the sky were falling, had never shown such a keen interest in politics before. He had only served as the newly appointed prince's personal bodyguard for two days, yet such a drastic change had occurred. Had he underestimated the prince? He then took the initiative to suggest:

“I’ll go with you. I’ll hide in your carriage and see for myself if he’s as powerful as you say.”

[Puppet] Sandonie gave her a meaningful look and said:

"Hehe, actually you're worried about his safety, aren't you? The reform of abolishing serfdom will inevitably touch upon huge interest groups. Even Her Majesty the Queen encountered great resistance and swallowed the bitter pill, let alone a prince who has only been in office for two days."

She hurriedly explained:

"I'm not worried about his safety. After hearing so much from you, I want to go and see if he's just bragging. Besides, abolishing serfdom is everyone's wish, and I want to do my part."

[Puppet] Sandoni and she were very close, and upon hearing this, he teased her, "You don't care that he came to me for two days in a row to ask about the situation? By the way, His Highness the Prince mentioned you today."

She asked with considerable curiosity, "He mentioned me? What did he say?"

"His Highness said that it would be nice if [the girl] Columbia were by his side."

"really?"

"Hehe, I was just teasing you. Look how nervous you are. Hey, did something happen between you and our prince? Otherwise, I really don't understand why you refused when the Empress ordered you to protect him closely."

She feigned anger and said, "Stop arguing and hurry up and leave. Aren't you afraid that someone will plot against His Highness while you're gone?"

[Puppet] Sandonne retorted, "He is a prince appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, ruling the country in her stead. Who would dare to lay a hand on him? You're too nervous, Columbia. I think you're just worried about him."

She pinched Sandoni's arm and said, "No, not at all."

That night, she slept in Sandone's tent. In the middle of the night, she got up and looked out the window. His Highness the Prince's tent was still brightly lit, with ministers and messengers constantly coming and going.

She then looked at the graves of the hundreds of serfs not far away, now covered by heavy snow, but the tombstones bore the names of the princes, each written by hand. This was a great respect and a great honor.

The new prince is truly extraordinary; his remarkable personal charisma is evident solely in his attitude toward the dead serfs.

The idea suddenly popped into her head, which she found unbelievable, but she eventually smiled with relief.

Her decision to come with Sandone to see the Prince truly brought about a huge change in her attitude towards him.

On the third day, His Highness the Prince issued two decrees abolishing serfdom and abolishing the buying and selling of people. These decrees appeared in the form of official documents on bulletin boards throughout the country until winter, causing a great stir and uproar throughout the court.

The first group of people rushed here from Winterfell without stopping. The people who came to advise them were none other than ten dukes of great renown and high position.

There are twenty dukes by winter, but only ten of them truly hold power. They came with cavalry, each with a sword at their waist, clearly indicating that they had no good intentions.

Chapter 183 The Ten Dukes

The sky was overcast, and heavy snowflakes began to fall.

The ten dukes, accompanied by heavily armored cavalrymen clad in dark armor, appeared to be protecting the dukes' personal safety, but in reality, they surrounded His Highness the Prince's makeshift "office" in a tent. Pairs of cold and sharp eyes peeked out from between their bronze helmets, making it impossible to look directly at them; they were just waiting for the order to charge.

Many of the attendants and servants responsible for taking care of the prince's daily needs, as well as the young civil officials selected by the prince from among the reformists to assist him, had never seen such a scene before and were all terrified.

The carriage she was riding in with the puppet Sandoni was filled with the sight of the enemy cavalry's horses breathing hot air from their nostrils. The strong old horse was so frightened that it pulled its head back and nervously tugged at the reins. The coachman kept stroking the horse's mane and finally managed to calm the horse down. However, he himself was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead despite the snowy weather.

The horse breeder naturally understood the horse's emotions; it was fear of the opposing cavalry.

In fact, this cavalry unit was the Duke's private guard. Although not as imposing as the Empire's regular army, they were often more ruthless and unscrupulous in their actions, making them even more dangerous. The knights exuded a strong killing intent; they were all retired veterans recruited from various countries, a group of desperate men. If the Dukes gave the signal to attack, they would not hesitate to strike, even if Her Majesty the Empress were sitting in the tent that day, for the reward.

Sandone, who had been observing from the window, believed that His Highness the Prince was in danger and told her to stay in the tent and not show herself for the time being. Then, she looked at the group of cavalry outside, snorted coldly, jumped onto the large hand of the autonomous mechanism, and immediately left the tent.

[Sandonie] stretched lazily, and the autonomous mechanism stood like a city wall in front of the cavalry.

She placed her slender index finger to her lips, a sinister smile playing on her lips. "Shh, I have a bad temper. Anyone who disturbs His Highness's meeting, hehe." Before she finished speaking, an ancient rune flew out from the autonomous mechanism, floating above her palm and shimmering with a faint elemental glow.

Upon seeing this, the Duke's cavalry retreated thirty paces.

The runic technology from the ancient kingdom of Kanria intimidated the cavalry formation of over a hundred men.

This seventh seat executor of the Fools usually claims to be engrossed in research. Outsiders generally believe that the autonomous machine under her command is the most powerful weapon in combat. However, in that instant, the cavalrymen sensed a terrifying power contained within that petite body that far exceeded that of the autonomous machine.

The eleven executive officers of the Fools were all battle-hardened and each had an eccentric personality. Compared to the executive officers who were even more capricious and without any bottom line, they were as docile as obedient children.

After doing all this, [Puppet] Sandone turned his head to look at [Girl] Columbia in the tent, then turned his gaze back to the tent behind him, implying that the cavalry outside were not worth mentioning, and that how to deal with the collective pressure from the ten dukes would truly test His Highness's abilities.

She nodded, sharing Sandoni's view that if the Prince could not persuade the Ten Dukes today, even if he could stop the cavalry outside from threatening the Dukes with force, the reforms to abolish serfdom and the buying and selling of people would fail on the first day.

Reform meant upheaval and cut off many people's livelihoods. Just as she was imagining how the prince in the tent next to her would reason with and appeal to the emotions of the crowd, she suddenly heard the prince shout "Get out!" from outside.

Immediately afterwards, the ten dukes, their faces ashen, emerged from the tent one by one, their expressions unusually grim.

The ten dukes who held great power until winter were kicked out by the prince before they could even settle in.

A faint smile appeared on her lips as she turned and sat back down by the fireplace. Earlier that morning, having nothing to do, Sandonne had taken a few washed sweet potatoes from the cook and tossed them into the embers.

Just then, the aroma of roasted food wafted through the air. She used a stick to hook out a sweet potato that was slightly charred on the outside, peeled it while blowing on it, and after eating it, she peeled another one for [Puppet] Sandone and put it on a plate to wait for her to return.

A moment later, Sandoni entered, beaming, and said:

“Our prince is truly meticulous in his actions. Just now, in the name of Prince Zhidong, he made the cavalrymen outside kneel down and apologize to their frightened subordinates. Those young reformist officials are now completely devoted to His Highness and vow to follow him to the death.”

She handed the sweet potato to Sandonna and said:

"His Highness is making his stance clear: anyone who dares to harm his men will not be let off lightly. Those cavalrymen are not to be trifled with; if they suffer in silence, they might come back to cause trouble. They may not dare to directly attack the Prince, but they might assassinate the servants, cooks, and grooms. We remind them to be very careful."

[Puppet] Sandonne, munching on a sweet potato, said smugly, "Do you need to remind me? Our Prince has already made all the arrangements. His Highness said that if anyone continues to come from Winterfell to exert pressure this afternoon, then only the Duke's cavalry will retaliate tonight. If no one comes this afternoon, then there will be other dangers besides the cavalry. No one can sleep; everyone must be on high alert."

She asked, "Why?"

[The Puppet] Sandoni sat up straight and said:

"I heard from several civil officials that the ten dukes represent the interests of many people. If His Highness agrees to abandon the abolition of serfdom, they will lead the court to fully support His Highness's reforms. His Highness will also receive a share of the profits from the serf business every year, and one of the dukes has promised to marry his daughter to His Highness to consolidate his position."

"His Highness did not agree. So the dukes took turns speaking, implying their refusal to cooperate in implementing the reforms. His Highness, however, was unconcerned and recounted the dark histories of the ten dukes one by one. For example, Duke Kyle's son abducted women, Duke Mort seized land cleared by farmers to build a luxurious manor, and Duke Saul, as the Queen's uncle, used Her Majesty's name to amass wealth and create a corrupt atmosphere."

"His Highness told them that abolishing serfdom was the first step in the reform, and the second step was to target the royal relatives and reform the privileged class. The dukes were furious and threatened His Highness's life. As you heard, His Highness simply told them to 'get out.' Hehe, the more I look at our His Highness, the better."

She knew that those old dukes were all relatives of Her Majesty the Queen, each connected by blood or marriage. The prince had been thoroughly offended, and they were now sworn enemies. If they dared to come with their cavalry to swagger around during the day, they would certainly dare to openly commit assassination.

This has happened many times in the history of the winter solstice.

Several reformist officials who were entrusted with important responsibilities by the Empress were eventually assassinated by nobles of the Winter Kingdom. Because these people were almost all members of the royal family and had the privilege of being exempt from death granted by Her Majesty the Empress, the cases were eventually left unsolved.

She could understand why His Highness the Prince said that if no one came in the afternoon, then tonight they would have to deal with more than just the cavalry. His Highness didn't even give face to the ten dukes, so seeing this, other stakeholders naturally had no need to come either. Thus, in order to sabotage the Prince's reforms, these interest groups, even if they usually fought to the death, would eventually join forces when it came to a matter of life and death.

Behind serfdom and the human trafficking, she knew that besides the ten dukes, many civil and military officials of the court also came from families involved in the serf trade. The civil officials weren't afraid; they could criticize them in court, and at least His Highness wouldn't be in mortal danger. What worried her most were several generals commanding millions of troops who openly engaged in the serf trade to raise funds for their armies, greatly improving the lives of their soldiers.

Once serfdom is abolished, it will at least affect the morale of the army, and at worst cause mutiny or even rebellion. In that case, Her Majesty the Empress might kill the prince to appease the people in order to quell the chaos.

In the countryside, there were also large tycoons who traded serfs and numerous large landowners, all of whom made their living from the serf trade. The Fools' Clan, through its several battalions, needed to send men to dangerous secret realms on missions each year, and would also purchase large numbers of serfs to replenish its ranks.

It is no exaggeration to say that almost every industry in the Kingdom of Zhidong is related to the serf system. Abolishing the serf system is tantamount to making an enemy of half of the Kingdom of Zhidong. The situation His Highness will face is extremely dangerous.

All afternoon, she had been hoping that someone from another faction would come to persuade His Highness, at least to show that they had not yet reached a cooperative agreement with the ten dukes; divide and rule was always better than enemies uniting. However, the worst outcome occurred; only the lady-in-waiting in charge of the etiquette of the officials in the palace came.

His Highness has just taken office. According to normal procedure, the first thing he should do is not to deal with state affairs, but to receive etiquette training from the Kingdom of Zhidong. The female official waited in the palace for a day and a night, and finally became impatient and came to the countryside to see His Highness in person.

Upon arrival, the lady-in-waiting discovered that the prince's guards were constructing defensive fortifications, ready for battle as if a major war was about to break out.

Upon seeing His Highness the Prince, he smiled and said that they would talk about it after she survived the night, so she found a tent to stay in.

Her Majesty the Queen may announce a coronation ceremony for the Prince at any time. Since the Prince's position is second only to the Queen, there are thousands of procedures involved, and the ceremony will last for nine days. Training must be conducted in advance, as there will definitely not be enough time if training is only started close to the ceremony.