People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

At least Colombian capitalists have a four-hour workday, but here, if I didn't have a conscience, I wouldn't let you rest at night either!

Work overtime like crazy, 007! If I don't squeeze you dry, how can I justify the salary I pay you?

Once the idea was clear, Ernst immediately raised his head, and faced with Holhaya's complaints, he simply gave her a reason she couldn't refuse:

"No money!"

Holhaya was speechless.

She sniffed, beginning to regret her rash decision, but immediately shook her head.

"No, Horhaya, you don't want your plan to find the Feathered Serpent Chronicles to fall through like this, do you?"

"This is just a small difficulty, we can get through it by just bearing with it!"

She asked Ernst for the financial ledgers—which she would later send to Miss Joyce, asking this data-savvy genius to make a copy and reconcile the accounts.

"I didn't know until I saw it, and what I saw shocked me," Holhaya looked up at Ernst and asked.

"Aren't we quite wealthy? We have 6 million in cash on hand!"

Thanks to the three families, the address and all the equipment inside the government office were donated and gifted by them, and Lola and Ernst ate at Ernst's home on their own. This trip also received generous support from Kalan Trading, Black Steel International, and Magnus Bank, so Ernst didn't have to spend a single penny!

Despite operating under this begging-like business model, Ernst managed to achieve the remarkable feat of operating for several months with virtually no expenses!

The 600 million yuan loan funds are still safely stored in the account.

Seeing that Horhyah was eyeing the money, Ernst shook his head, somewhat helplessly:

“We can’t use this money. I’ve set a rule that government spending must be transparent. Even if someone wants to apply to buy a small stove, they have to go through the process until next spring. Otherwise, it would be misuse of public funds and set a bad precedent.”

That being said, Ernst's application would almost certainly be approved—he was the one who applied and signed the document. Even if he wanted to expedite the process, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, the people of Sherag didn't really understand the government yet, and few people would care what the great Holy Son had bought for them.

Even if they knew, they might still strongly support it.

But Ernst didn't want to break the rules he had set right away.

Holhaya smiled upon hearing this: "My dear boss, isn't this a very simple logic?"

“This is a government office, so buying a small stove for yourself is considered misuse of public funds. But if you buy it for the government, then there’s no problem, right?”

She shifted her position and sat down next to Ernst, holding up a finger and touching Ernst's face, saying:

"Look, we're about to welcome a big foreign dignitary. This dignitary comes from Victoria, the most luxurious central valley in this land. He's the representative and family of the pampered Duke. If someone like that comes to our freezing Sherag and sits in our office chair where the temperature is below zero, his buttocks will freeze in two!"

She pouted, made a sad expression, and shook her head with a sigh:

"It's his butt that's frozen crooked, but it's your face that's been slapped, boss! Just think, how will he evaluate you when he gets back? How will he evaluate the people of Sherag? How will he evaluate that great god Yeragand?"

A picture immediately flashed through Ernst's mind: the representative, dressed in thin aristocratic attire, and the Duke of Windermere's family, after freezing solid in Kjerag, returned to Victoria, and the Duke of Windermere asked him, "How was the trip? What did you think of Kjerag?"

Upon hearing this, the representative and his family rubbed their backsides and complained, feeling wronged:

"The local gangs are so rude! My butt is practically ruined after this whole ordeal!"

Ernst shivered, swallowed hard, and shook his head.

The scene was too beautiful to imagine.

Seeing this, Holhaya asked:

"My righteous, kind, and hospitable boss, would you be willing to exercise your glorious right to urgently provide our guests with a warm little stove to protect their bottoms?"

Ernst replied solemnly, "Of course, it's my duty!"

He stood up from the slightly frayed but very warm genuine fur sofa, walked gracefully behind his desk, picked up a pen, wrote a purchase order, and handed it to Holheimer with great enthusiasm:

"I'm leaving this matter to you!"

The pride in his tone made it sound as if he were casually signing a check for hundreds of millions.

Holhaya took the purchase order and nodded slightly: "Your order, my boss."

Having realized his long-held dream, Ernst was in much better spirits and even began to consider matters of national importance:

"Speaking of which, the Grand Duke of Victoria is coming. Shouldn't we be on guard?"

"Take precautions?" Holhaya pondered Ernst's meaning for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, we should take precautions. If you get lured away by the Victorians' sweet talk, I'll be in trouble."

Ernst coughed twice and rolled his eyes at Holhaya.

Although our Cheese Snow Leopard is indeed good-looking, and the powerful and arrogant ones drive in fifth gear on the Shelag Mountain Road, it's still a bit much to say that we were lured away!

We've seen Victorians before, haven't we? Vina is one, isn't she?

She's insightful, talented, knowledgeable, and perhaps even the runaway daughter of some noble family in Lontinim. What kind of duke's visitor is she? I feel she's not as good as Vina.

"I'm talking about intelligence, defense intelligence, military intelligence, and the like. Should we take precautions?"

Ernst Road.

Holhaya gave a knowing "Oh," and then waved her hand:

"It's alright, you don't need to worry about this boss at all."

"Why?" Ernst blinked. "Because the residents of Kjerag are very vigilant?"

“Well, it’s probably difficult to investigate one person,” Holhaya laughed. “But I think Victoria probably knows more about our defense and such in Shelag than we do ourselves.”

The biggest reason why Victoria did not annex Shelag was that, in addition to him, two other countries were watching Shelag, and given the internal chaos within the country, he could not defeat them on his own.

As for Shelag's defense, without considering the exception of Jelagand, its mountainous terrain makes it difficult to deploy large land-based warships and supply lines are difficult. The deterrent power of its guerrilla forces, which are difficult to suppress, is probably much greater than that of the Perroch family's peasant soldiers.

“And that’s basically unchangeable,” Horhyah said bluntly. “Unless the nature of the war changes, it’s impossible for Sherag, with its sheer size, to withstand Victoria’s all-out attack, no matter the cost.”

The so-called form of warfare refers to the traditional methods of amphibious warfare involving infantry, artillery, and land-based naval vessels.

As for how to change the nature of warfare, perhaps it would be the emergence of some kind of superweapon capable of causing devastating damage beyond visual range. For example, the Shard in Victoria in the original work, or the Horizon Arc that Columbia wanted to develop but was abandoned by the Commander-in-Chief.

"So, there's really nothing to hide about Shelag's defense, at least not to foreign countries that want to investigate."

Because there's no way to hide it, just like the miniskirts of girls involved in compensated dating—everyone knows what's underneath. I won't stop you if you want to lift it up, and I won't expose yourself if you don't want to; it's all about voluntariness!

"Our defense focus should be on the domestic situation," Horhyah suggested. "Specifically, it means making the Sherag people feel protected; that would be a success!"

Ernst thought for a moment, then chuckled, "That's true!"

"Then let them come. Let's discuss the little stove and the butt problem."

"Whose butt?" Holhaya tilted her head.

“Of course it’s for Miss Horhaya,” Ernst said. “You’re dressed rather lightly, you must be cold. Do you need to warm up?”

Noticing Ernst's concerned gaze, Holhaya paused slightly, shifting her position further into the sofa. Countless methods of warming the body, personally tested by her ancestors, flashed through her mind, and her pretty face flushed. Just as she was about to politely decline, she heard Ernst say earnestly:

"Why don't you go and get the small stove back now? Remember to bargain for it."

Chapter 48 I asked you, where are you? I don't know!

The fact that the Duke of Windermere sent a representative to the opening ceremony of the Kjerag Railway is hardly a major international news story.

First, it wasn't the Duke of Windermere himself who went, but only a representative. Second, this visit was not a formal state visit, but rather a private, secret meeting. Although, according to international practice, meetings that truly determine the future direction of a country are secret meetings, Kjerag's visit was still too low-level.

Of course, the most crucial point is that the Duke of Windermere's delegation was merely a small delegation of fewer than ten people. With such a small number of people, they couldn't accomplish anything.

Although Windermere's visit to Shelag didn't cause much of a stir even within Victoria, it was the first time such a visit had occurred in Shelag since the beginning of Jelagand.

Both the Kalan trade and Ernst's Sherag government were well prepared to welcome this extraordinary guest.

"Dad, why are we taking this road?"

Her short, light blue bangs obscured one eye. Despite being a pampered aristocratic young lady, she rarely wore elaborate, elegant gowns. Instead, she followed her mother's example, opting for more androgynous and tailored shirts and shorts to accentuate her already well-proportioned figure. Defiance Windermere was like a miniature, youthful version of the Duchess Amphilis Windermere, enough to make her mother proudly praise her as "a paragon of virtue."

The man whom little Daphne called father turned his gaze to the flatter, more repaired mountain path leading to Tukarim, paused for a moment, then gave a kind smile and explained:

“Because we encountered a blizzard last night, which triggered an avalanche that has now blocked the entire mountain road. If we take the original route, we will miss the scheduled opening ceremony, Daphne.”

This is of course a lie.

Kent was a cautious man, and even though he and Amphilis Windermere both believed that given the current turbulent state of Victoria, the other Grand Dukes wouldn't be interested in a small opening ceremony for the Sherag and their little schemes, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Try to avoid any places where accidents might occur. It would be best to completely conceal Defien's presence. This is why he specifically asked Ensioudis for a mountain path known only to local old merchants, and used it to enter the mountains.

He bent down, picked up his daughter who was already more than half his height, and placed her in the large leather bag hanging from the waist of the snow mountain beast in front of him. He lovingly ruffled her short hair, which was covered with snowflakes, and then, with the help of the guards, he climbed into the leather bag himself.

"lets go."

He nodded to Ensiodes's confidant, the Matterhorn, named after the highest peak in Kjerag.

As the snow-capped beast leaning against him let out a loud neigh and Daphne laughed with delight, Kent lowered the warm fur from the leather bag, which also kept out the falling snowflakes.

.........

Ernst glanced down at his watch, its hands now aligned perfectly. He looked for the third time at his elder brother beside him; the smile that had been etched on his face for so long was now somewhat stiff.

"Chairman Ensiodis, has our beloved Duke Windermere arrived?"

"Logically speaking, it should be soon."

"Half an hour ago you said it should be soon, and an hour ago you were still very confident and told me it would arrive soon."

Ernst's smile vanished, his lips twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but question him.

“I told you to send my people to pick them up, but you insisted on showing off. Look, now they’re missing. How are we going to explain this?”

Even Enchiodes's usually impassive poker face showed a hint of unease. Because Ernst was telling the truth.

Receiving foreign guests was originally the responsibility of the Sherag government. He seized this right from Ernst on the grounds that "the train was built and completed by Kalan Trade Investment, and Kalan Trade should also be the host of the opening ceremony."

Ernst did offer rebuttals, but considering that the Victorian forces represented by Duke Windermere were already considered by him and Horhaia to be supporters of the "Enciodes faction," even if he managed to retain the right to host them, he would most likely be met with a cold shoulder. Therefore, after a brief argument, he reached an agreement with Enciodes.

Ensioudis used the funds spent on building the Tukarim railway station and purchasing trains to offset the taxes owed to the Shelag government for his foreign trade conducted under the name "Kalan Trade," and promised to pay the Shelag government an annual "Kalan" trademark licensing fee of five million Lungmen dollars. The task of hosting the Windermere delegation was handled by Kalan Trade, authorized by the Shelag government.

This appears to be an unequal agreement where Ernst did nothing but open his mouth and let Enciodis get paid for nothing.

But in reality, this was indeed an agreement to get something for nothing.

Yes, that's true for Ernst. But it's not true for Ensiodis and the Kalan Trade.

Before the establishment of the Shelag government, Karan Trade operated under the guise of a Shelag "state-owned enterprise," mining and extracting resources and engaging in large-scale foreign trade within the Shivaish family's territory. However, it did not receive any authorization and did not pay a single penny of tax to the then Shelag Manjush government.

It can be said that the rapid development of the Kalan trade in just a few years was largely due to the fact that they were engaged in legitimate, unregulated trading, which is the kind of rampant expansion that capital development loves.

Manju Academy is full of fools. They pretend to be virtuous while pretending to be prostitutes. Religious funds account for 60% of the total budget of Sherag, yet they still spout nonsense like "I don't love money, money means nothing to me," hoping that Ensiodis will hand them the money himself, and they refuse it three times.

Who is Ensiodis? In all of Sherag, only he can rival Ernst in shamelessness. Could he really give money to the Manju Academy? The annual contribution to the Three Races Conference is already considered quite generous. But compared to the money he earns from the Karan Trade, this is a drop in the ocean!

Now that Ernst has taken office, Enciodis has realized that his younger brother has long coveted the lucrative trade tax revenue from the Kalan trade. However, both brothers are ruthless and know that in this era, money is indispensable for getting things done. Therefore, Enciodis and Ernst have been unable to reach an agreement on the issue of tax collection.

Today, Enshiodis felt very satisfied that he could use the investment in the train station to shut Ernst's mouth, which was always talking about taxes and a million small stoves.

As for the five million yuan "state-owned enterprise trademark fee" each year, it is utterly insignificant compared to the benefits he has gained.

As for what the benefits are...

Of course, it's the Duchy of Windermere.

This was a scheme that Ensiodes was very proud of. His letter successfully tricked Ernst, making him misjudge that Ensiodes really had the influence to invite the Duke of Windermere to send a representative to Shelag.

But in reality, he didn't have that kind of influence. He simply sent out invitations widely, sending them to every Duke in Victoria!

Ensioudis himself didn't know why the Duke of Windermere had agreed. But that didn't stop him from being shameless and directly telling Ernst, "You're too slow!", thus deceiving his good younger brother.

When it comes to shamelessness, the men of the Snow Leopard family are all of the same ilk!

He traded several million to Ernst for access to Windermere, which meant he could use this to open up a much larger market in Victoria, beyond Ascala County—a market spanning an entire duchy! This would further strengthen the power of the Carlan trade.

This was a very risky speculation, but for a businessman in a disadvantaged position, nothing is more adrenaline-pumping than a speculation that involves both risk and reward.

If he succeeds, the development of the Kalan trade will accelerate exponentially, and he will be able to accomplish even more! With Ernst's current strength, he simply cannot compete with him!

A risky move can lead to a checkmate!

Brother Jiankang likes this kind of strategy that uses the extreme method of "defense -70%" to exchange for "super large attack range and super strong attack power"!

"I'm asking you about the Windermere delegation!"

Ernst's question brought him back to reality. He opened his mouth, looking at the vast mountain path, completely bewildered.

"Yeah, where are the people?"

Ernst laughed in anger, snatched his brother's cane from his knee, placed it on his knee, and delivered a knee strike that broke it in two, shouting:

"Still playing with your cane here! I'm asking you where you are!"

Ensiodis was also completely bewildered, not even bothering to feel sorry for his cane that Ernst had broken, and shook his head: