I'm in Terra

"Things are getting worse and worse. If this continues, we might not be able to control the scale of those unruly people." A week later, Kashena approached Victoria. Under Victoria's instructions, she continued to provide assistance to the "rebels" in various places, and the number of rebels was increasing at an alarming rate.

If this continues, I'm afraid the entire empire will be completely overthrown.

"Why do we need to control their size?" Victoria put down his coffee cup and asked with a smile.

Wine Pond and Meat Forest: 164 People and Country

"If we don't curb the pace of those rebellious mobs, they will eventually bring things to a standstill. They will either become a new generation of warlords, or be ruthlessly suppressed by other armies."

Kasheina adjusted her glasses, her eyes sincere and serious. She sincerely hoped that Victoria would consider the fate of these mobs to avoid irreparable losses.

However, Kashena's worries were a little too ridiculous for Victoria.

"What will happen to those mobs? You're not worried about something so superficial, are you?" Gazing at Kashena's graceful figure, Victoria unceremoniously reached in. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that those mobs will completely overthrow the entire empire? Or are you afraid that your authority and status will eventually be suppressed by them?"

"Both~" Kasheina threw a coquettish glance and fell softly into Victoria's arms: "I admit that the speed of those mobs is developing too fast. I am worried that things will get out of our control."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Rather, these mobs will become our trump card to overthrow the empire." Victoria gently soothed the restless little bird in his arms, enjoying the warmth and softness that belonged only to her.

"You know what? Leading a country is the art of interacting with its people. So-called divinity and divine choice are bullshit, excuses used by rulers to justify their own incompetence. In the eyes of the vast majority of Ursus nobles, the army and the nobility are the very fabric of this nation. And the common people? To them, they are merely an indispensable burden that must be appeased."

"Then what should we do?" After listening to Victoria's analysis, Kashena already understood something in her heart, but she still cooperated and asked.

Victoria rubbed Kasheina's earlobe and put his head close to her ear. "Listen to their demands, respond to their expectations, and then use their power to completely overthrow the entrenched aristocratic system. The new Ursus does not need so many incompetent nobles."

"Since there's no way to deny the legitimacy of the nobility, should we just overthrow them completely? What a terrifying and willful idea."

Kasheina smiled charmingly, a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes. Indeed, only a clever, rational, and ambitious monster like Victory was the best choice for the Emperor of Ursus. He only needed to provide some insignificant help behind the scenes, and then he could fully enjoy the fruits of power and success.

This kind of investment is what she has always dreamed of.

"I...want it."

Under the boy's teasing, Kashena's breathing became more and more rapid. She collapsed in Victoria's arms, and her vision became more and more blurred.

But Victoria wouldn't stoop so low. Or rather, he wasn't about to let his daydreaming little bird off so easily. "It's daytime now, huh? You're neglecting your work and tempting the Lord to slack off. What's Ms. Kasheina's crime?"

Kashena rolled her eyes slightly and used actions instead of words. Her graceful figure slid down the boy's strong muscles, easily arousing the young man's anger.

A fierce battle is inevitable.

"What a mess." Niyan, who was sitting on the sofa, sighed softly and took off the blindfold on his head, pretending not to see.

Since becoming Victoria's bodyguard, life has indeed been easy and comfortable. Except for working hours and Victoria's outings, when she needs her personal protection, she can arrange the rest of her time freely.

She could work out, go shopping, go to the bar with the Mudrock Team for team building, and even borrow Victoria's library if she wanted.

This kind of work and life is a dream life that Niyan could not even imagine. Victoria even specially assigned medical staff to them.

Of course, if you want to say there are any disadvantages to this job...

Actually there are.

Ever since she'd been with Victoria, the office had been a scene of sluttish seduce. Conservatives like Dorothy were fine; they'd just cuddle and kiss. But the wild ones, like Yevina and Kashiena, would constantly be courting Victoria, kissing and making love, as if they weren't sleeping with him.

Niyan could only blush and pretend not to see such an unruly colleague. She even bought herself an eye mask to avoid embarrassment when necessary.

But...

Listening to the faint humming in his ears, Mudstone subconsciously placed his hands on his own mountains and kneaded them gently.

Is it really so comfortable to do this kind of thing?

The innocent and lovely Sarkaz girl still didn't realize that these scenes were deliberately shown to her by Victoria. As for the purpose...

He believed it would be achieved soon.

Back to the point, the news of the widespread riots and uprisings within Ursus wasn't just of concern to the upper nobility. The common people and the infected everywhere were also watching their actions closely. For the infected in most regions, this might be their only chance to turn things around. If they could truly overthrow the local nobility, the status of the infected would undergo a drastic change.

But for civilians in Luxembourg, the rebellions in other regions were more like after-dinner jokes.

For example, at Luxembourg First Middle School, news of rebellions in various places was completely open, and students were allowed to discuss them freely. Even the Chinese language and imperial history teachers deliberately assigned homework on this subject.

This was, of course, Victor's work, not just at the First High School, but at every school in Luxembourg. Rather than focusing on those fools who were trying to cover up their mistakes, he hoped the school would cultivate elites capable of supporting a functioning society. After all, Ursus might face a period of talent shortage.

School cultivation is of vital importance.

"You know what? I heard from my dad that people in the next town have also organized a march. Do you think they will use violence to protest like other areas?"

The idle chat at the next table aroused Natalia's interest. As a former aristocrat, she had always been paying attention to the uprisings in various places.

Initially, she believed that such an uprising was a blasphemy against the empire and that these unruly people would soon be suppressed by the nobles. However, as the situation gradually developed, Natalia's views gradually changed.

"The next town? Which next town are you talking about? It's not Woden Town, is it?"

After a quick haircut, Natalia naturally took the empty seat next to the other girls and joined in the discussion. Tonight's homework assignment included an essay on her views on the recent uprising, and she wanted to hear what her classmates thought.

"What nonsense! It's a small town in the neighboring territory. I think it's called Shakabuleta."

Wine and Meat: 165 Natalia's Growth (I'm Not Always Naive)

The girls' cheerful voices echoed in the classroom. They were not afraid of the "uprising" in the neighboring town at all, but were instead filled with curiosity and confusion.

Luxembourg First High School is the best school in the entire Northeast Region. Long before Victor took control of Luxembourg, it was the preferred choice for the education of the children of the nobility and wealthy businessmen. Although Victor purged a large number of greedy "idiots" after taking power, these actions did not affect the tranquility and authority of this school.

On the contrary, after eliminating a group of second-generation rich people who relied on their parents' power to do whatever they wanted, the environment in the school became more harmonious than before the purge.

In this world, those who can afford to attend aristocratic colleges are mostly greenhouse flowers. Even if there are a few poor students who are admitted to the No. 1 Middle School through hard work and sweat, few of them have truly experienced war.

Those who don't know about war don't understand the cruelty and helplessness of an uprising. Most students assumed that uprisings in other places were caused by mismanagement by local lords. Therefore, their discussions and speculations were more or less naive.

Except Natalia.

As a daughter of nobility, she will never forget the day when Chernobog was surrounded by flames and black smoke. The overwhelming shouts of killing became the main theme of the world. Even though she had escaped from Chernobog in advance, the terrible scene in the city still deeply affected this self-respecting and self-reliant girl.

She had resented it, first her luck, then the thugs, and even secretly resented Victoria, who had taken her and her daughter away. She had thought that Victoria had pretended to take them away because he coveted his family's wealth and his mother's beauty.

But when she came to Luxembourg and lived and studied here for a while, Natalia felt relieved.

Everything here was in perfect order. Luxembourg had far more infected people than Che, yet there was no sign of rebellion. Hopeful smiles graced the faces of the people, and sweat dripped from the foreheads of every passerby.

Here she saw the breath of life that she would never see in Chernobog, and her vision also broke away from the narrow aristocratic vision.

Why did the infected riot? It was simple: they couldn't survive. Harsh policies, punishments, hunting, heavy taxes—even as a former student, she had heard of some of the extreme methods used to treat the infected.

Every winter, Ursus experiences a population decline. This is not the fault of the northern snow, but because too many of the lower-class people simply do not have enough supplies to survive the cold winter.

The nobles are the biggest murderers of the infected and the lower-class civilians.

Since the nobles can kill these lower classes with impunity, why can't they unite to resist and kill the nobles in return?

If someone had to be found responsible for the Chechen incident, Natalia believed it would be Boris, even if he was her father's best friend and even if this uncle had always been kind to her.

But mistakes are mistakes, and they cannot be distorted just because of personal preferences.

Boris was an accomplice of the Empire's persecution of the infected. He allowed the patrols and the army to slaughter the infected at will, while turning a blind eye to their unrest. Until the Checheng Incident, a conspiracy he had planned was exposed, and his father was forced to face the surging public opinion.

And then......

"I think the reason for the uprising is ultimately due to the lack of ability of the local nobles." Natalia took a deep breath, and there was no longer any weakness in her eyes.

"The laws the Empire has enacted for the infected have some reference value, but in most areas they are too harsh. However, the local lords have not adapted to local conditions and flexibly adjusted the regulatory systems of various local laws. Instead, they have exploited the Empire's laws to make money. This behavior fundamentally harms the rights of the infected and the lower classes, and is the root cause of the uprising."

There was silence. The students who were discussing in low voices stopped whispering and looked at Natalia, who was confident and dignified on the podium.

"That's very well said. Could you give some examples?" The teacher standing nearby clapped softly and gestured to the students in the back row, "I see some students haven't quite grasped what you're saying. Leah, could you try giving some simple examples to help everyone understand more clearly?"

Natalia nodded and said in a sonorous voice, "If we talk about examples, the simplest one is Luxembourg. I have investigated and before Lord Victoria took over, the lords who succeeded Luxembourg strictly adhered to the laws of the empire. They neither persecuted the infected nor spared those who were captured.

This decision has brought Luxembourg's overall environment into a relatively stable state. However, since Lord Victoria took office, our Lord has noticed that the territory's development has been extremely sluggish after the civil war. Therefore, he proactively lifted the ban on those infected and called on all citizens to participate in the city's reconstruction and development. The results are obvious to all. Therefore, I can say that Lord Victoria is the greatest contrast to those less capable lords.

"Wait, I have a question." After Natalia finished her narration, a student raised her hand in disbelief. "Are you saying that the imperial law is wrong? Don't forget, Natalia, you are a candidate for the nobility of the Ursus Empire. How can you question the correctness of the imperial decree?"

Natalia smiled slightly and made no excuses.

If it were her in the past, she might have taken the initiative to defend herself in order to attract attention, but now it is different, she has grown up.

Whether it was her father's bitterness, her mother's helplessness and hard work, or even Victoria's cleverness and wisdom, she was able to deduce an answer of her own from the side.

She decided not to go to Saint Castle to study at university after graduating from high school. Compared to those schools that impart knowledge, she had a school she longed for more - Victoria's side.

Yes, she wanted to take the initiative to sign up to be Victoria's assistant after graduation and learn how to become an excellent noble.

This was both her growth plan and a way to reduce her mother's burden. She had heard that her mother, who didn't like sports, ran around all day after becoming Victoria's personal assistant, and her face was always tired and flushed every night when she came home.

Sometimes I even stay out all night and work all night long.

She decided to help her mother share some of the pressure.

Although the young and innocent Natalia did not know the truth behind this pressure.

Wine Pond and Meat Forest: 166 Wherever the heart desires, sand gathers to form a tower

"When a nation's people rebel against the nation itself, that's when it's most vulnerable. Ursus has suffered a devastating defeat, its society is in turmoil, and its military has suffered heavy losses. If another nation were to attack us at this moment... the consequences would be unimaginable."

Victoria stood alone in front of the huge French window, gazing at the distant clouds stirred by the strong wind. Another month passed, and the chaos in the country intensified. This was not only the result of the uprisings, but also the nobles' unscrupulous massacre.

Yes, massacres—massacres of their own people. Many nobles who held military power, upon discovering signs of rebellion within their territories, chose to eliminate them once and for all. Even though Congress had already punished many nobles, similar incidents continued to occur.

Why did these events always end in massacre? All the nobles knew it.

Because of energy.

Because the nobles no longer had the energy to deal with the common people and the infected, the demonstrations, rebellions, and even uprisings became rampant without anyone to suppress them. In the minds of the nobles, compared to the lives of these untouchables, the army and their power were their main concerns.

Fourth Army.

After over a month of persuasion and even the division of benefits, Nekalov and his nobles still refused to accept the Diet's ruling. This unyielding attitude thoroughly infuriated those who had profited from the Diet. A large number of troops lingered on the Fourth Army's borders, completely blockading it and occasionally sending small incursions to test its strength.

Congress has also changed from opposing violence at the beginning to condoning the actual military operations of other troops on the Fourth Army border.

But even in the face of such a difficult situation, Nikalov remained unwavering. He killed the invaders and released the merchants, as if determined to fight the other armies to the bitter end.

In reality, Nikalov did have the confidence to fight those nobles in a war of attrition. His confidence came not only from the territory he had built into an ironclad foundation, nor from the aristocratic group whose fate was tied to his own, but also from a gift that had fallen from the sky.

That's right.

'A gift from heaven.'

Sometimes a caravan loaded with supplies that the territory urgently needed passed through his territory, sometimes homeless people armed with a large number of weapons came to his territory to surrender, and occasionally he would learn about the small actions of certain legions without any warning.

All in all, with the help of some people who wish to remain anonymous, the Fourth Army did not have a hard time. Instead, it returned to the right track of recruiting and training soldiers.

As for who the person who did not want to reveal his name is... Cherven and Victoria both said that they had no idea, and the losses in their army and territory were normal losses during training exercises.

As a rookie, it's not surprising that he occasionally overturns a few armored vehicles loaded with supplies, right?

Apart from Nekalov, who was the focus, the nobles in other regions had also more or less entered a state of war readiness. After the emperor's long illness and the complete break between the Fourth Army and the nobles, the parliament no longer had any prestige. The members of parliament became the mouthpiece of each army and continued to be malicious towards members of other factions.

Today I use the Congress to judge that your subordinates are not managing the territory properly, and tomorrow you retaliate by confiscating the property under my command with righteous words.

Gradually, the nobles seemed to realize what the empire wanted to happen and quietly aligned themselves according to their own preferences. Several legion leaders used the parliament to continuously eliminate dissidents and continuously strengthen their own political systems.

As the Speaker of the House, Witte has always wanted to stop the development of this abnormal trend, but without the support of the army, his influence is no longer as great as before. The members of the House of Representatives are secretly disobeying him and gradually begin to ignore the existence of the emperor and the Speaker.

If Fyodor had not sent the sharp blade to follow Witt, the empire might have lost the Speaker when the chaos began.

What about Victoria?

At a time when almost all the nobles were busy fighting for power and profit, what was Victoria doing?

The answer is simple, he is training his troops.

Besides the warlocks still training in Visheheim, Victor also had a large number of troops to train, including new armored battlefields, the development and modification of landships, and the upgrading of soldiers' armaments. During this period when no one had time to pay attention to him, Victor simply lifted all taboos and freely researched various weapons.

Having a strong army during civil unrest is an important asset for holding on to the end. Meanwhile, another plan is also progressing steadily.

There was a slight ripple in the air, and Dorothy, dressed in tight clothes, put her arm around his with a smile on her face.

"We've already contacted those 'leaders'. Over 80% of the rebel forces around Luxembourg are willing to accept our assistance and guidance."

Victoria nodded. "What are the conditions? Don't forget, we're not just doing charity."

"Of course it's agreed." Dorothy giggled, a bright smile on her face. "After learning that Luxembourg was willing to provide them with limited support, many groups immediately expressed their desire to become Luxembourg citizens. However, I held off on agreeing to their terms for now. Instead, I provided them with a management plan and contact information, as you requested."

"For a team, the most important thing is the determination to succeed." Victoria held Dorothy's slender little hand, and his eyes returned to calmness.

Now that Dorothy has taken care of things, all that’s left is to wait for the seeds to grow.

"Peasants who revolted because they couldn't make a living were just a loose group. A promise from the government, a tax reduction decree, or even a bag of money and grain could cause the entire group to collapse. But if this group of peasants had ideas, ambitions, and was willing to go further, how could a mere nobleman stop the will of the people?"

Victoria held Dorothy in his arms, confident of victory.