Witch Troupe and the Undead

Alright then, if you can watch your whole family be defeated and killed along with me, that's fine too. Everyone in this world has feelings, and I'm no exception. And when you have feelings, you have a weakness.

"If you became queen, how would you deal with those who haven't spoken up?"

"Can't their families persuade them either?" Princess Freya frowned her beautiful eyebrows. This is too difficult. And is it some kind of family test today?

Why would she ask these questions? The cheat sheets prepared in advance by her tutors and advisors are completely useless. They rehearsed various scenes, but things are different from the moment she walks in. Is she supposed to improvise on her own? But she doesn't like to use her brain!

"What if I can't?"

"If I've already convinced their families, then let their families take their place."

"that is it?"

"Uh..." Seeing the embarrassment on his daughter's face, the emperor sighed. Oh well, he wouldn't force her to be a queen who ascended the throne with a strong hand. However, her answer was neither the best nor the worst. If she hadn't come to power through a coup but through a normal succession, then she would indeed be a barely acceptable ruler who could maintain the status quo.

While it cannot eliminate potential opponents, it at least maintains political and systemic stability to the greatest extent possible, and eliminates the concerns and fears of opponents, thus at least winning over some new supporters.

"So how do you plan to deal with your two older brothers, and those young officers of the Royal Guard?"

"I hadn't thought of that" was way beyond her scope and not something she could improvise, so she had to be honest.

"...Honesty, a very good virtue, but for a king..." Honesty is the biggest flaw of all. If a king tells the truth about everything, he can forget about surviving. Lying all the time and turning his back on people are their common characteristics.

"Then I will treat them well."

"..." This stumped the old emperor. If what you said is true, you just said that honesty is not a virtue; if what you said is a lie after learning a lesson... what kind of kindness do you mean by kindness?

“My elder brother likes fighting, so let him go to the border. Isn’t there always conflict over the plateau? I’ve heard from many ladies that their husbands haven’t been back for years. I think my elder brother will like it very much.”

"Waaah!" The eldest prince struggled with difficulty. His clear-headed yet foolish sister didn't understand, but he did. His father was thinking of changing the heir.

He needs to fight and enjoys killing for fun, but that's only when he's absolutely safe, and he finds pleasure in slaughtering the weak—just like someone who likes shooting games wouldn't want to go to America to play a real-life street shootout—because you'd really die, brother!

"..." The emperor turned his head to look at his eldest son, then at his daughter. He was thinking, was she serious, or was she serious about killing without bloodshed, or... did she not think that much about it at all?

"Hmm, eat something and go back to sleep early." The emperor felt that he shouldn't make a decision too soon. However, although this girl was probably a three-egg saint, she had at least some basic qualities that were quite good. At the very least, she was not afraid of killing or the dead. From the moment she entered the door until now, she had not shown any fear.

Nighttime, Freya's bedroom.

"Phew, that was terrifying! Luckily, I'm quick-witted and improvised the whole time."

"..." The female tutor who was combing her hair already had a bad feeling. Whether this girl was smart or mentally challenged, others might not know, but didn't she, the person responsible for teaching her, know? Her daily social interactions and life situations required a group of people to prepare contingency plans for her, but this girl's improvisation...

"What did His Majesty tell you?"

"Father said..." Freya dutifully repeated the conversation from earlier that day, causing everyone in the palace to turn pale—no, how dare you interrupt about a prince's coup?! Did you really eat your fill before coming back?! They all had to admire this girl; she might not have the Emperor's brains, but she definitely had the Emperor's guts.

In this situation, almost anyone else would be so terrified that they wouldn't be able to hold their spoon properly. Only someone with a strong mentality could manage to eat a couple of bites. She actually managed to carefully select her favorite dishes and eat her fill before leaving, even with the possibility of her brother's head, the head of his failed rebellion, sitting on the table.

Unfortunately, these otherworldly beings don't understand Chinese, otherwise they might already be thinking of the idiom "great foolishness appearing as wisdom" right now. When you're just the right amount of stupid, even a shrewd old emperor would have a hard time telling whether you're genuinely stupid or just pretending.

Chapter 107 The True Master of Explosions

The next day, at the palace. Freya sat uncomfortably in her chair, feeling that she shouldn't be there; she should be outside. Before her stood all the nobles arrested the previous night, a few priests implicated, and a considerable number of merchant representatives—both in number and scope far exceeding the emperor's expectations.

He couldn't understand why these merchants were involved. He could understand nobles participating in the power game, but these merchants, theoretically speaking, needed more wealth and profits, not to participate in this game.

Of course, it's understandable that the merchants were involved. The first condition for rebellion is money and supplies, so the emperor could understand why the merchants were being courted, and some of them were even acting as front men for the nobles.

However, what he couldn't understand was that no matter who came to power, the first thing they did was to squeeze money and grain out of these merchants, using it to appease the border earls and to consolidate their power, providing welfare to the capital's residents who were illiterate but knew exactly what copper coins looked like, thus gradually stabilizing their imperial throne.

As for bribing officers and maintaining an army, that's perfectly reasonable. So, whether it's the useless youngest son or the wealthy eldest son, the choice is the same. So, why are these merchant guilds actively involved? To plot against the country? As I just said, no matter who sits on the throne, they will find a way to squeeze money out of these fat pigs, even if it's just one of them.

"..." The emperor put down the documents in his hand and looked at the merchant at the back. He seemed to be the president of a business guild in the capital. Compared with the other fat guys, this man looked more like a nobleman's son, with a tall and handsome figure.

"Little Simmons, given what you've done, I'd like to know which of my foolish sons or which of the dukes here offered you what price, or where you got the confidence to overthrow the royal family?"

This was the emperor's biggest dilemma. As an emperor who seized power through a coup, he simply couldn't understand where or from what angle a group of people without any capable private armies got the confidence to actively participate in and plan such a thing. He could only attribute it to some of his favorite sons or some ambitious nobleman who was supporting or promising something behind the scenes.

After all, to be honest, even if the coup succeeds, none of you will be able to take power. At most, you can exchange your merits for something like a special trading license.

"Your Majesty, it seems you are not clear about what we want."

“Indeed, I don’t know,” the emperor nodded seriously, “but I can probably guess.” These words made the other person’s expression stiffen, and the words he was about to say stuck in his throat.

"I don't know you very well, but I believe that all power seekers are essentially the same." The emperor tapped the armrest. "They all want to obtain more special privileges than others and extract benefits from more people. That's all. If your ultimate goal is not the position I sit on, then it must be something that can bring you these special privileges. As for what that is, I don't need to know."

"All I know is that you have almost succeeded, and have successfully created a whole host of troubles and problems. I am not a smart person, as my father has said long ago, but I am good at learning from past mistakes." The emperor tilted his head.

"If I or the Empire have given you any confidence or signal for any reason, then there is a very simple solution."

In reality, the emperor wasn't that reckless. Under other circumstances, he might have indeed tried to understand the underlying reasons. However, the problem was that Princess Freya, who was sitting next to him, was most likely incapable of doing such a thing. Therefore, he had to demonstrate to her a simplified procedure.

"That means you keep killing. You are different from those poor people who are not afraid of death. You are very rich, which means you are very afraid of death."

“If I were afraid of death, I wouldn’t be here, Your Majesty. In fact, merchants are braver than anyone else. From the moment we stepped out of the village, from the moment we sailed our ships across the Ophiuchus Sea, we have never been afraid of death, Your Majesty.”

"No, you don't understand what I mean. I'm not talking about your individual lives or deaths. What I mean is..." The emperor revealed a ferocious smile, "to destroy everything you depend on for your livelihood and everything that has grown to the point of threatening the power of the empire, including your families, so that anyone who thinks about it in the future will tremble with fear. I don't need to solve the problem; I only need to deal with the people who caused the problem."

"The empire can do without us chamber of commerce owners, but it cannot do without commerce. Your Majesty, you are well aware of this."

"So what? An empire that has broken free from my control, I would rather let it burn. But before that, I guarantee you will turn to ashes even faster than the empire." Instantly, the members of the merchant guild in front of him turned pale, each of them looking at the emperor's old and terrifying face with fear and trembling.

It's like watching a madman. Yes, if the empire, the nation, and even the Stoll people and civilization are sacrificed, it's possible to reduce merchants and their very foundation of commerce to ashes. After all, commerce is the result of civilization and the development of production, not its foundation. In fact, this was the situation even before the empire was unified.

A bunch of small kingdoms and city-states were fighting each other. There were more checkpoints and defeated soldiers than monsters. Ordinary people had no money at all, and warlords preferred to rob. In the end, apart from a very few caravans and merchant guilds backed by nobles and warlords, no merchant dared to do business in this region.

Of course, that was hundreds of years ago. Now, after the empire was unified, the power of nobles in various regions was significantly constrained, which led to the current prosperity of commerce.

The problem is, if this madman really intends to wipe out the entire business system, it's unclear whether the empire will perish, but most businessmen will succumb—they may be willing to die for profit and business, but that doesn't mean they're willing to die for someone else's business. On the contrary, in that situation, betraying their competitors would be a very quick process.

These representatives understood this as well, so their threats to the emperor were initially empty words. Yes, for them, the benefits of plotting against the country were a thousand times greater, and it would be worth risking their entire families—but the problem was that "merchants" or "the bourgeoisie" were not a united group.

Behind them, the various chambers of commerce, large and small, were more interested in the profits that belonged to these big businessmen than to the emperor.

Therefore, when the risk exceeds a certain threshold, they will stop following, and they may even decisively jump to the other side, because at that time, harming the wealth and industry status of their peers or the leaders becomes a low-risk, high-return endeavor with the possibility of additional benefits.

"However, compared to you, I am currently unable to spare any resources. Freya, these people are in your hands." No matter how impressive these merchants were, the emperor calculated that none of them had many soldiers.

Compared to the noble scions who require careful handling, the military leaders, her two sons' factions, and the intricate interpersonal relationships within the empire, these merchants are perfectly suited to be Freya's beginner fodder.

"Me?" The princess, lost in thought, looked bewildered, pointing at herself with her slender finger, like a little monster ordered to kill Tang Sanzang and his disciples, her fear and helplessness filling her.

"Ah..." Freya glanced at the merchants with a troubled expression. She didn't understand the coded language between them, so she could only interpret it literally. "If these merchant guilds are destroyed, what will happen to my little dress and cake? The old man can just eat whatever he wants every day; he's too old to appreciate anything anyway. But what about me..."

So the princess tried her best to use her dull and dormant brain, but perhaps because it had been idle for too long, she was like a novice driver, constantly turning the key, almost standing up and pressing the accelerator, but the logic engine just wouldn't start.

"How about... we make them hand over their business and assets?"

"Is that all?" the emperor asked calmly but with disappointment, considering that this was a complete novice.

"But their merchant guilds also provide a lot of goods to the royal family. Oh, right, if we kill them all, what will happen to the common people in the city? Didn't you say that if those common people aren't fed for a day, they'll rebel?"

Freya racked her brains and finally felt she had found a good reason, while the guild leaders kneeling on the ground showed relieved smiles. The emperor was a madman, but the princess was not. How many more years could this old man live? She didn't have that kind of courage and drive.

"You mean to pardon these people? Just make them hand over their property in exchange for stability among the people?" The emperor nodded slightly. It was already commendable that she could think that if all these people were killed, the common people would rebel because they would lose their jobs and supplies. At least she was more reliable than her eldest son, who at least knew that people below would rebel if they were not fed.

"This..." Freya also felt that she might have given a very wrong answer, and, thinking about it carefully, if these guys succeeded in their rebellion, wouldn't she still not have a little dress and a cake?

A difficult choice lay before her. The emperor patiently awaited her final verdict and decision. Finally, after persistent attempts to start the engine, it briefly ignited before stalling.

"How about we take back their properties and send officials to manage them?"

"..." The emperor glanced at her speechlessly, then pointed to the kneeling officials on the ground. It was obvious that these guys were no more reliable than those merchants. Giving them to them? Putting aside the threat they posed, just based on their usual behavior, it would really lead to uprisings.

Moreover, others had thought of this idea long ago, but they all found that they were not as good at managing it as these merchants. They could not beat them in fair competition, and if they engaged in unfair competition, the prices of monopolized commodities such as salt would skyrocket. These are all lessons learned.

"Then, then I'll do it myself?" Freya regretted saying that as soon as it left her mouth. What the hell do I have to do it myself? She thought she should go back and see if she had any time magic to go back in time and strangle the self that came up with this terrible idea.

"Are you sure?" the emperor asked with a half-smile.

"I'm not sure, I can't manage it all," Freya readily admitted defeat. What if she really was assigned a ton of work?

Her life plan was to lie in her palace before marriage, eating snacks and reading various storybooks and novels, and after marriage, to lie in her husband's castle, eating snacks and reading novels. Of course, the latter might involve some troublesome matters such as family property management and children's education, but there were tons of nannies and maids to help with those, and she only needed to pretend.

"Very good," the emperor thought with satisfaction. Damn it, finally one of his three children had a brain. Even if he was sometimes sharp and sometimes not, he still had a brain. It was not easy for him. As a ruler, he had already passed half the test by knowing that he was not capable of managing so many things on his own.

If one can find suitable and trustworthy talent to help manage those things that are beyond one's control, then the other half is already acceptable. As long as no major incidents occur, one can basically pass on the regime steadily, and with good luck, one might even become a wise ruler.

Seemingly sensing that her father was indeed planning to hand over the business to her, Freya quickly added, "I only need to manage the key parts, I mean, the key parts that make them rebel."

"Then how do we ensure their reliability?"

"Um, um..." After Freya frantically tried to restart her logic engine to no avail, she could only resort to the "wisdom" she had read about in novels, "Have someone specifically investigate their accounts?"

"Who will come? Who is reliable?" the emperor pressed.

“From, from…” The princess’s eyes darted around the hall, seemingly searching for her savior. Finally, she spotted the royal guards standing watch outside the door, and her eyes lit up! “Find someone from among the children in the workshop area to investigate!”

"..." The emperor didn't know whether to call it a brilliant idea or a seemingly good but terrible one. "I think that the seller may not know the price, but the buyer certainly does."

The emperor fell silent. This was indeed an unexpected angle. It's true that you need a lot of charts and data to explain whether prices have affected ordinary people, but the aunties at the vegetable market don't need to understand any of that. They just know whether prices have affected people's daily lives.

"However, they don't understand these things, nor do they realize that these things are caused by multiple factors, Your Highness." The merchant representative, who hadn't spoken until now, was almost amused by her unprofessional remarks and understanding. However, if this guy really did it, it would indeed be disgusting.

"Learning mathematics, keeping accounts, and finding clues in complex ledgers—it would take you at least twenty years to cultivate the first generation of talent..."

"Ah!? Is it necessary to learn so much?" The emperor nodded. Yes, it was necessary to learn so much. Otherwise, why would the Minister of Finance be his second most trusted minister after Lord Silver? It was simply because managing the purse strings required this kind of approach.

"But I don't need them to work perfectly. I just need everyone else to keep quiet. So why learn so much? Besides, why do we have to find out anything?"

“If prices keep rising, no matter what the reason, what does it matter whether the investigators actually investigate or not? If they feel something is wrong, they can just take care of the person in charge. If they can’t take care of them, then they didn’t investigate correctly and they can do it again.” Freya made a random eleven-draw announcement, which made the old emperor think that she was being a bit too extreme.

Suddenly, everyone present fell silent, including the nobles who had been watching the show and whispering among themselves—because, let alone the emperor, they all realized one thing: if you don't crave for your royal merchant guild to earn you a single penny, and only ask them to stabilize prices or act as price assassins, then it really doesn't matter whether they understand or not.

After all, besides the enormous resources such as the in-kind taxes paid by farmers, nobles can also mobilize armies and military force. Can't the Royal Merchant Guild get cheap goods? Haha, look at this giant sword of the Royal Guard Knights. Let me put it again, it can even reduce a lot of the hidden costs of normal factories and merchants.

For example, there are bureaucratic costs, tax checkpoints along the way, and the cost of organizing manpower. Moreover, if you only want to be a price assassin and just keep those lowly people from causing trouble, then product quality doesn't matter at all. Look at this salt, it costs 5 copper coins a pound. As long as it doesn't kill anyone on the spot, you don't care how many impurities are in it. It costs 5 copper coins a pound!

“But this will result in losses, Your Highness. Your advisors simply don’t know how to organize production or how to exploit those workers…”

"How about letting the workers manage themselves?" Freya's face scrunched up. Why does such a random suggestion cause so much trouble? Can't they just manage themselves?

"I just set a maximum ex-factory price for them and make sure they don't eat dead people; the rest is up to them to do whatever they want."

"What if you can't do it?"

"..." Freya was stumped by the question, but the emperor stroked his chin and said, "Then kill them all and replace them with a new batch. A good minister is hard to find, and the scum in the slums is everywhere."

The more the emperor thought about it, the more reliable the idea seemed. He didn't need to manage all the industries; he only needed to manage the basic livelihood and key national industries. Letting the workers manage themselves was perfectly fine. They had no wealth or status; giving them a little freedom to distribute the remaining products was enough.

Just as the emperor himself said, he was a man who only learned from the failures of his predecessors. Therefore, he had no idea what kind of ultimate nuclear bomb his great wisdom was stuffing with nuclear explosives, fearing that it wouldn't explode big or loud enough. Others filled the bombs with materials, like Master Roach using a balance scale, measuring cup, and test tubes, while Lady Freya filled them with a shovel.

"What about the extra production?" the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked with a distorted expression. If you produce more, where will the money for the costs come from? This idea doesn't seem like it can make money at all. Of course, not making money isn't the problem; the key is not to lose money!

"Just hand it out! Are there really that many beggars in the capital? Give away all this extra stuff!" Freya said with a "let them eat cake" attitude, but considering that she really intended to give everyone cake to eat... the Minister of Finance was already itching to complain.

"Then the other chambers of commerce can forget about making money!"

"What does it matter to me whether they make money or not?" Freya asked, looking bewildered. "They don't share their profits with me, do they?!"

"Do you get a share of the workers' profits?"

"Um...you didn't even share with me."

"That……"

"Isn't that the same thing? The merchants don't share their profits with me, and the workers don't share their profits with me either, so why should I help the chamber of commerce protect their profits?!"

"Merchants, pay your taxes! Your Highness, the empire needs money everywhere, and the meager income from land rent is not enough to support the empire's operation!" the finance minister argued vehemently.

"Workers and commoners don't pay taxes!?" Freya covered her mouth in surprise, causing the finance minister to keep glancing at the emperor's expression. He wondered if the emperor had taught him such a sarcastic way of speaking. The emperor, after carefully examining his daughter's expression and realizing that she wasn't being sarcastic, began to look strangely.

"Your Highness, the taxes for workers and commoners may not be collected..." the finance minister explained to her in a low voice. She was in the deep palace and did not know what percentage of the taxes those low-level officials and clerks were taking. It was very likely that they would only collect a single copper coin, and the common people might be driven into bankruptcy and forced to rebel.

"Can't we just let them hand it over on their own?" Freya's expression also began to twist. Don't ask her anymore, she felt like her brain was about to overload.

"..." He really wanted to say, "If you had that ability, you'd be the Empress of the Empire by now." "What if they don't pay?"

"What if the merchant refuses to pay?"

"Merchants can be arrested and hanged, but you can't hang so many civilians; they'll rebel against you!"

"Um, how about we have them come to the palace to pay taxes every year, and if I don't see the money, we can just tell them to stop taking care of themselves?"

Is it okay or not? How dare you ask if it's okay or not? Listen to this: they manage themselves, do their own work, and every year they have to collect their money and hand it over to you. Otherwise, you won't let them manage themselves or do their own work. Are you even speaking human language?

"What if they not only refuse to pay, but also refuse to relinquish management rights?"

"..." Freya wanted to go back to lie down. Let whoever wanted to sit here could have it. She just wanted some peace and quiet. So she looked towards the door. The emperor thought she was looking at the imperial guards at the door, and his expression immediately became cheerful. "Yeah, what are your troops for?"

"Let's settle on this then." The emperor thought it was worth a try. After all, she was still a princess. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be a serious problem. It wasn't a nationwide policy; it was just dealing with these profit-seeking merchant guilds. It was perfectly feasible.

Chapter 108 True, World-Awesome Wisdom