People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

The people of Lentinium are the bosses. Although losing the Steam Knights meant losing an important security guarantee, they remained fearless because Lentinium's walls were high enough, its main defensive cannons were numerous enough, and its defensive legions were elite enough.

The grand dukes, however, dared not openly march on Londinium.

Nobles understand nobles best. With the throne vacant, any duke who attempts to be the first to march into Londinium and displays such ambition will become the target of everyone's ire.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Because none of the grand dukes had the ability to break through Londinium's outer defenses in a short time, once someone attempted to advance, the other grand dukes had ample time to react. At that time, the grand duke who first stepped forward would become a target, be defeated, eliminated, and then annexed.

To some extent, they weren't wrong to think that way. Because Lentinium's current situation was like that of the Zhou emperor in the Spring and Autumn period. His strength might only be half or even one-tenth of that of the feudal lords, but any feudal state that disobeyed the Zhou emperor would actually face far more than just one-tenth of that strength. It would be all of N except for him, plus this 0.1.

However, the Spring and Autumn Period did not last forever. As we all know, the Spring and Autumn Period was followed by the Warring States Period, which was unified by Qin.

Without a trigger, Lentinium, this powder keg, could indeed remain stable for at least several decades, or even a century.

But eventually, one Grand Duke will find an opportunity in this long tug-of-war and balance of power, through annexation, reform, or perhaps a technological explosion, to completely overwhelm the other Grand Dukes. At that time, Londinium's dream of sitting back and watching the tigers fight will inevitably come to an end.

This land has a rather wicked sense of humor. While the noble councilors of Lentinium City Council were gloating over finally eradicating the "stubborn problem" of steam knights, they didn't understand that this was merely fighting fire with fire.

The fuse has been lit.

1094 spring.

The Duke of Stafford was the first gambler to sit down at the gambling table.

While the other dukes remained silent and in a standoff, the Duke of Stafford quietly infiltrated Londinium.

Yes, infiltration. The Grand Duke abandoned the honorable means and chose infiltration.

He had three reasons for doing so. First, since King Aslan was executed in 1072, the Grand Dukes compromised and Londinium issued a ban on the dukes. The Grand Dukes were prohibited from entering Londinium openly. Even nobles like Kester, who occasionally managed to overstep the rules, were under close surveillance within Londinium.

But you can't do it openly; nobody says you can't do it secretly.

Few would have imagined that a Grand Duke would resort to such means. It is dishonorable, and even if he did seize the crown through such means, his position would be illegitimate and he would not be able to hold onto it!

But the Duke of Stafford went against this mentality, and he actually did it!

The second reason is that when the Steam Knights and the Sarkaz collide, there will inevitably be some degree of chaos in the entire city of Londinium.

The influx of Sarkaz into Londinium was not something that could be concealed, and the Victorian Steam Knights were a force to be reckoned with wherever they went. Their return to the city would inevitably draw the attention of everyone.

Combining the two, chaos is inevitable.

The Duke of Stafford seized this chaotic opportunity.

He used his connections to turn a portion of the city's garrison against him and planted his men throughout the city of Londinium, preparing to launch an uprising that very night, directly attack the Parliament Square, and seize power by force!

However, this also carries risks.

The city's garrison that was turned against them was only a portion. Once the council realized what was happening, it could mobilize the remaining garrison to resist. At daybreak, news of the coup in Londinium would inevitably reach the hands of the various ambitious dukes, whose armies would immediately assemble and march to Londinium to "suppress the rebellion."

At that time, the Duke of Stafford, who had already sneaked in without bringing his own troops, was doomed to defeat.

As you may have already seen, the Duke of Stafford's surprise attack had an extremely slim chance of success. It's fair to say that if the council's reaction had been even slightly normal, if the city's defenses had reacted even slightly, and if the other dukes had reacted even slightly faster, he would have had no chance of success, and might even have ended up benefiting the other dukes.

Theoretically speaking, given the Duke of Stafford's status and wealth as a military nobleman, he could easily have joined the other Grand Dukes in a silent war, simply staring at each other without any real effort. There was absolutely no need to be impatient.

So why did he still choose to take this risk?

This is reason number three.

The Duke of Stafford made a mistake that everyone makes—he fell ill, and was dying.

His illness came on rather strangely. Before the secret meeting with the Dukes, the Duke of Stafford was a vigorous and energetic Grand Duke, sustainably exploiting his territories to the point of exhaustion. His power was such that he could rival the Dukes of Castle and Wellington. But then, right after the secret meeting, he fell ill.

However, he wasn't the only one who suddenly fell seriously ill at the same time; there was another person whose name you should all be familiar with.

Kent Windermere.

A military nobleman, neither a vassal of the Duke of Caesar nor willing to accept her leadership, attended the Duke's secret meeting and immediately fell seriously ill afterward.

You taste, you taste carefully.

The Duke of Caesar, the Duke of Windermere, has really gone all out by appointing a beach mascot!

Unfortunately, the Duke of Stafford did not have Kent's good fortune, nor did he have Jeragund's protection. He stayed in Lentinium longer and was more severely poisoned, and it seemed he was doomed.

While the other grand dukes were still getting old, he, being an equally ambitious grand duke, had no choice but to take advantage of everyone's inattention and make a desperate gamble!

But did everyone really not notice at all?

The Duke of Stafford's rebellion was like a stripper; before he even began, everything was already exposed.

On the eve of his operation, another intelligence network in Londinium had already detected the Duke of Stafford's movements. This network was managed by another old acquaintance of ours.

Her name is Heidi.

Before the rebellion broke out, Heidi's intelligence network in Lentinium—an alliance of people from all walks of life, including workers, students, painters, florists, and others—had already noticed something amiss.

Not only had the Duke of Stafford infiltrated, but the Sarkaz forces led by the Duke of Cavendish had also been waiting outside the city of Londinium for a long time.

The Duke of Stafford knew that the Duke of Cavendish would enter the city tonight and use the power of the Sarkaz to annihilate the Steam Knights.

Because he was also involved in the Duke's secret meeting, and the chaos caused by this conspiracy was the stepping stone for his own plot.

But perhaps because of his serious illness, the CPU crashed, or perhaps he made a mistake in his haste, causing the CPU to overload, he forgot to calculate two points.

Duke Cavendish was also a Grand Duke, so what reason could he have given to enter Londinium? Did he sneak in like I did?

Of course not. If it were infiltration, how would he transport in a large number of Sarkaz troops, enough to annihilate the Steam Knights?

Do they think the city council is stupid? Since they agreed to let the Grand Duke eliminate the Steam Knights, they couldn't possibly be unprepared to drive them out after the Grand Duke's troops had eliminated the Steam Knights.

After all, the city's defense forces are still in their hands.

Therefore, for Duke Cavendish to bring the Sarkaz into the city, two conditions had to be met.

Firstly, something must happen within the city for him to have a legitimate reason to lead his troops into the city.

Secondly, any incidents within the city must be outside the control of the city council and ultimately directly affect its normal operation, in order to ensure that the Grand Duke can take control of the city council and Lontinim afterward.

Now it should be self-evident who the Duke Cavendish is on.

The Duke of Caesar was indeed a master of political maneuvering, skillfully manipulating the most sordid, yet also most efficient, aspects of Victorian politics. But even she, like the Duke of Stafford, overlooked the second point.

The Sarkaz, led by Theresis, have never been just simple swords!

Many, many things happened that night.

The city council and the dukes jointly issued a recall order for all steam knights to enter the city today. The Duke of Stafford, weakened by illness, was forced to launch a rebellion prematurely in an attempt to seize power. This seemingly accidental rebellion, actually orchestrated by the Duke of Castle, became the catalyst for the Duke of Cavendish, who had been waiting outside the city, to lead the Sarkaz into the city.

Late at night, as the Duke of Stafford bombarded Parliament Square and began his attack on the city council, paralyzing it, the Duke of Cavendish declared the Duke of Stafford's rebellion and personally led the Sarkaz army into Londinium to quell it. The city's defenses, already severely depleted due to their involvement in the Duke of Stafford's rebellion, were powerless to stop him and could only watch as Cavendish led his army into the city.

Threatening the Kings' Rest, the Sarkaz army gathered the Steam Knights at the Kings' Resting Place and used a war of attrition to wear down the already severely damaged Steam Knights who were not receiving any replenishment.

Following procedure, the Duke of Cavendish ordered the Sarkaz to suppress the Duke of Stafford's hasty rebellion. The Duke of Stafford put up a desperate resistance.

Amidst the booming sound of cannons, dawn broke.

The first major news the citizens of Lentinium, who had spent a sleepless night in fear, heard upon waking was the results of last night's battle.

The dukes fought each other and both died suddenly!

This meticulously planned drama by Castle, in which the Duke of Stafford was forced to sacrifice himself and the Duke of Cavendish celebrated with champagne in the middle of the game, ended with the lurking Therese winning with a final move.

And so, the play ends!

ohh~

Chapter 102 Rhodes Island...maybe I'll have a chance to go check it out.

With such a major upheaval in Victoria, are the countries of Terra concerned?

Logically speaking, the rebellion in Londinium, the sudden deaths of two grand dukes, and the Sarkaz's entry into the capital should have attracted the attention of the nations of Terra.

After all, Victoria has some power in Terra, barely enough to claim a dominant position in the core area. It's not like some small countries in Africa, South America, or the Pacific, where a rebellion can't even make the news.

But that's what makes this land so magical!

This was clearly a major event that could have triggered numerous chain reactions, causing a decline in Victoria's foreign exchanges, trade, and domestic manufacturing, and even a global financial crisis. Yet, there was absolutely no international reaction, a calm that struck Ernst, a mere bystander from Earth, as eerie.

What's wrong, guys? Is this melon not ripe or just not sweet? Why isn't anyone eating it?

Damn it, why aren't you eating? I was hoping everyone would chime in so I could take the opportunity to read people's expressions and curry favor with them!

It must be said that condemnation and concern are indeed very useful diplomatic phrases. Take this rebellion, for example. Although it was short-lived and ultimately did not result in Victoria having another emperor, it still presented an opportunity.

It would be good if a few people could step forward to express concern about the situation in Victoria or condemn the insurgents.

Ernst could observe the values ​​and stance of this person and the forces he represents, and then decide whether to follow suit.

He certainly didn't expect that Sherag's size would attract any attention or cause any waves on Terra International, but at least he could make his presence known.

For example, if the two queens of Letania were to speak out and express concern about the chaos in Victoria, Ernst could then chime in, echoing their sentiments and making an appearance before the queens.

In the future, if Serag needs to cooperate with Letania in any way, he can use this opportunity to curry favor during negotiations: "Back in the day, when Her Majesty the Queen made a certain statement, Serag was the first to stand up and support her!"

Such words are not very nutritious, but they come at no cost.

For a small country, being able to make its presence known on the international stage with little cost is already a rare and precious opportunity.

Most of the time, they only attract the attention of major powers when there is civil war, rebellion, or humanitarian crisis within their borders. And the price to pay for such attention is something that no local person can bear.

Vina, who had just returned to Shelag, was puzzled by Ernst's attitude:

"But Ernst, shouldn't Scherrag be playing it safe and developing his strength right now? Won't our international exposure cause trouble for Scherrag?"

Ernst could understand Vina's thinking.

But the truth is, this idea stems from Vina's arrogance, a kind of self-righteousness born in a large country like Victoria.

In international exchanges, the terms "developing in a cowardly manner" and "growing stronger" are antonyms.

Shelag isn't a village—although it does resemble one in its organizational structure.

He is well-known in the international community—although his influence is roughly equivalent to that of the AI ​​nations in the Star Council who stand against the Fourth Calamity.

Shelag is a small country.

If you want to grow and thrive, you must acquire the materials necessary to support your path to modernization—such as talent, resources, and technology.

If you want to acquire these things, you must engage in international exchanges and deal with major powers that possess them and are willing to sell them. Therefore, you can no longer hide and develop your resources secretly.

If you want to develop stealthily, you can't meet the above conditions, so you can't summon the dragon of development, let alone take off.

Vina's contradictory thoughts stem from her being a Victorian, born in a powerful nation akin to the British Empire during the British Empire's golden age in Ernst's world. Glorious isolation doesn't mean she's trying to develop in a cowardly manner, but rather that others are unworthy of her diplomatic relations.

Even so, Great Britain faithfully plays its role as a troublemaker in the world, dedicated to disrupting the whole of Europe and even the world.

We know that at that time, there was another country with a similar mentality to Great Britain, believing itself to be superior and the center of the world, and that other countries were no longer worthy of being compared with it. Therefore, it closed itself off from the world and was unwilling to even establish a foreign ministry.

Its fate has served as a warning to its people for over a century.

Some might ask, then why did China ultimately adopt the strategy of "keeping a low profile and developing its strength in a low-key manner," and succeed in doing so?

Well, because it was an extremely special international environment at the time. There was an even more powerful older brother supporting China. Although it aged and decayed quickly, during its existence, it did indeed hold up a sky and helped many small countries in the world gain a bit of breathing space.

Otherwise, the name "Xun Duoduo" (meaning "billions in subsidies") wouldn't have been passed down.

Moreover, Ernst must also say something else.

If Sherag can replicate China's achievements, taking on the Terran powerhouses like Victoria, Colombia, Casimir, Ursus, and Letania, and successfully defeating them all, then Sherag will indeed have the right to say that he wants to "develop stealthily."

Ultimately, only powerful countries can engage in diplomacy, while only small countries need diplomacy.

Vina nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Ernst didn't expect her to understand these experiences that he had spent a long time summarizing in his previous life in an instant. He just wanted her to understand his meaning and take advantage of similar opportunities in the future.

When you report progress to a high-ranking official, they value your attitude. If you successfully cultivate this goodwill, and if there's a future opportunity for Kjerag to compete for a project with another small country or city, like Siesta, that goodwill could very well be the key to them winning the contract!

"After saying all that, why don't you first report what you gained from this trip to Longmen?"

Ernst sat in his office chair, arms crossed over his chest, and looked at Vina, asking,

"Besides what you reported about Ers in your letter, has anything else happened?"

Vina nodded and said, "There are quite a few things worth mentioning. Wei Yanwu was very enthusiastic towards me. During my stay in Lungmen, he introduced me to many high-ranking figures in Lungmen. These included the director of the Guard Bureau, his niece—Inspector Chen Huijie, Miss Beatrice Swire, the heiress of the Swire family, Mr. Lin Gerui, the underground leader of Lungmen, and his daughter..."

Vina rattled off a long list of names, some of which were familiar, while others were completely unfamiliar, and Ernst memorized them one by one.