abnormal mutation

Chapter 172 The Royal Family Blinded by Greed

Today is March 28th, Black Valentine's Day in the Sid Empire.

Almosid was brightly decorated and filled with a festive atmosphere. The streets were crowded with people, showing no signs of being affected by the war.

Roland sat on the terrace drinking tea, gazing at the bustling North Bay, his expression not very pleasant.

The war has lasted for half a month, and the Hid Empire has not only failed to repel the invasion, but has also lost two important cities in succession: Mira and Noblehas.

Both cities were the seat of a prefecture and its economic and political center. Their loss essentially meant the complete loss of both prefectures.

Outrageous, disappointing, and incompetent!
This is the latest assessment of the Imperial Army by the people of the Empire, and it has been published in major newspapers, causing a negative impact.

No one expected that the once powerful and domineering empire would be so weak and ineffective, unable to even defeat two of its normally subservient allies.

What can be accomplished in half a month? The time spent on marching and setting up troops can be mostly wasted. To lose two counties in such a short time is practically an instant collapse.

The most ironic thing is that the steam cannons developed by the Imperial Armory hadn't even been put into service by the Imperial Army itself, but the enemy had already used them and was hit by their own weapons. It's incredibly frustrating to hear about.

But the culprit behind all this is the royal family itself, with the Thistle Merchant Guild playing a key role in it.

The Imperial judicial system announced the seizure of the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild's related industries just last week, only to discover that the guild had already quietly completed the transfer of assets, with most of its industries and personnel relocated to the two kingdoms and the continent of Sass.

In the end, only some real estate, properties, and machinery were seized, and a small number of unsuspecting low- to mid-level staff were arrested, barely managing to cover up the truth.

What may seem like a disgrace to the judicial system is actually a slap in the face for the royal family.

The North has been quite lively these past few days, with many wealthy merchants and businesses choosing to relocate there. Both kingdoms are located south of the South Bay, making it difficult for them to threaten the three counties of the North, no matter how much fighting they engage in.

Unless it's a naval battle, the Hittite Empire has an absolute advantage in the navy and is basically unlikely to lose.

Roland's troubles did not stem from the war, but from the seemingly foolish Crown Prince.

When the war was going badly, he issued an emergency mobilization order, conscripting soldiers on a large scale and unconditionally requisitioning goods stored in docks or warehouses across the country, such as sugar, salt, weapons, grain, copper and iron.

In addition, the operation and management rights of all mines, railways, and bridges were nationalized and returned to the state after the war, with national bonds and industry licenses issued according to contributions.

Government decrees are in accordance with the law, and that sounds good; many old noble families started out this way.

But times have changed. Nobody knows if the Hitler Empire can survive. National bonds could become worthless at any time, and nobody is willing to gamble with everything they have now.

Losing a bet means losing everything, but winning doesn't guarantee great success either.

Everyone was watching the largest noble families and merchant guilds to see their reactions, such as the Northern Union, which dominated the mining industry; the railway giant Cobb Transport; the military-supplyed Kroc Industries; and the sugar oligarch Kraft Group...

Roland sighed. The entire Chamber of Commerce was now having a headache over this, and no one knew why the royal family had acted so unwisely.

Issuing the highest-level mobilization order just half a month after the start of the war is no different from playing the rogue. Under the guise of war, they forcibly seized industries and resources to make up for the financial deficit.

This has never happened before in history. In the past, people still had some sense of shame, the scope and scale of requisition were smaller, and various compensations were given. Now they want to get something for nothing with just a pile of paper.

Can’t give!
This was a consensus within the Chamber of Commerce. Other chambers of commerce had some connection to the royal family, but the Northern Chamber of Commerce did not, and the two had always been at odds.

Even when the ancestors of the Aethel royal family were still growing potatoes, the descendants of the Sauron had produced more than one king.

Once the minerals are given away, it's difficult to get them back. But we can't directly confront them either; the Northern Merchant Guild doesn't have the power for that yet.

Hussein's current strategy can be summed up in one word: delay! As for warehousing, he sells what he can sell and tries to hide what he can't sell, releasing a few batches of goods to appease the authorities.

Mining operations have been halted, with excuses such as mining accidents, consolidation, and handover used to delay things. The attitude is positive, with every word answered, but nothing is actually settled!
When officials arrive, they are met with a cold shoulder; they are treated to good food and drink, but nothing is done.

This is the initial stage; the official mobilization mechanism has just been activated, so actions won't be quick. Dragging it out like this is fine. But the officials aren't stupid. A few days might be okay, but after a few weeks, everyone will know exactly who's playing games.

Roland entered the hive and clicked on the company group.

Mysterious figure - CEO: "Prepare for action."

"receive……"

The messages were refreshed rapidly, and soon there were more than 500.

"If you don't leave us a way out, then we'll have no choice but to take it on," Roland sneered.

Trying to take away the wealth accumulated by the Chamber of Commerce over thousands of years with just empty words is not so easy.

This mainly involves large-scale industries and has a wide impact. He's not the only one who knows how to delay; if mobilization and execution are not smooth, others will definitely follow suit.

His strategy consists of four steps: semi-public asset transfer, economic countermeasures, propaganda warfare, and military deterrence.

The transfer of assets is to emulate the Thistle Merchant Guild. The Northern Merchant Guild is not dependent on the Sid Empire. It also has businesses in the Sass Continent and the two major kingdoms. The semi-public transfer is to tell the royal family that if pushed too far, it will defect to the enemy.

I have a way out, but you don't.

Economic countermeasures are relatively complex, involving hoarding of key materials, paralyzing commodity supply chains, and instigating strikes simultaneously. While it's hard to say about other places, the three northern counties can be easily dealt with.

The south is an industrially developed region, and a one-month disruption to mineral supplies would cause major problems. Weapons, ammunition, automobiles, and steam engines all rely on steel.

If the industrial system is paralyzed, how can you fight a war? If the authorities are not afraid of violence and artificially create a "mining disaster," how long will it take to restore supply when there are no people, no equipment, and no technology?

Economic retaliation could trigger large-scale social unrest, which is unavoidable.

The propaganda war is about questioning the legitimacy of the forced conscription, pinning all the turmoil and chaos on the royal family, creating a crisis of trust and a media storm, and directly targeting the lifeblood of the empire: the Law Enforcement Spirit Realm.

Public opinion has enormous room for manipulation, pressing forward relentlessly until the royal family compromises.

Roland's strategy received strong support from the committee because he had a powerful tool: the Hive Network.

The network has covered most of the South China Sea, including the capital, with thousands of users, including nobles and extraordinary individuals. It covers the central and northern parts of the empire and has a huge influence.

The main force behind the trouble was a security consulting firm, with a total of over two thousand employees, a quarter of whom had joined Hive.

The first step is military deterrence.

The Chamber of Commerce has sealed off multiple docks, warehouses, and storage facilities, from the northernmost port of Eskopet to the southern port of Dos. Officials took the opportunity to extort money and bribes, which is utterly disgusting.

If the judicial system isn't completely rotten, then the bureaucratic system is utterly beyond saving. Killing everyone might result in innocence, but killing 90% will inevitably leave some swindlers behind.

Today happens to be Black Valentine's Day, and people are restless, so it's normal for some accidents to happen.

"They were fighting against those cults before, indirectly protecting the interests of the empire, but now they have to do the same thing as the Seventh Authority. Isn't that dark humor?"

(End of this chapter)