A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 406 After the Victory

Strictly speaking, there were no victors in the battle on the border of Valois, but the fact that "the Imperial Army did not achieve victory" and "Valois did not suffer another defeat" caused a great stir.

Rorschach opened Byrne's newspaper, and the first news he saw was not war reports, but the empire's financial market turmoil.

In the early stages, war bonds absorbed a large amount of liquidity. Subsequently, war bonds flowed into the market, releasing liquidity as collateral, and the market boomed as the Imperial Army gained an advantage on the battlefield.

When the Imperial Army suffered setbacks on the battlefield, this prosperity also suffered. According to newspaper reports, this was a "technical adjustment," so there was no need to panic.

As for the Imperial Army's battle situation, it only occupied a small section of the newspaper.

In Valois, while the National Guard's victories were exhilarating, with the people of the capital taking to the streets to celebrate, they also brought negative consequences:

The political and public opinion landscape shifted dramatically after Valuvana was secured. Royalists and their mouthpieces resurfaced, accusing the pre-war provisional trials of being "inhumane" and attacking the Mountain Faction, claiming they were supporting the lower classes and that the "provisional trials" had turned into a public feud stemming from public outrage.

Another unexpected factor was at play: representatives of local autonomous councils or committees came to Valuana with the rebels. These people were often local gentry and wealthy merchants who were naturally close to the "royalists".

Moreover, most of the "royalists" are prominent figures who can easily connect with local forces, while most of the "mountain faction" are small, unknown people outside their hometown and Valuwana. When representatives from other places meet them, they will only say: Who are you?

In the "arm wrestling" game between the two factions, after the "Mountain Faction"-led National Salvation Committee actually saved the kingdom once, the "Royalist Faction" regained power and took the upper hand.

boom!

Maxim could no longer contain his anger, and the more outspoken members of the club slammed their fists on the table. They were all furious at the new proposal from the "royalists": "To strip Charles XVI of the throne, but to have the National Assembly appoint a crown prince and allow him to form a government upon reaching adulthood—this is blatant restoration! We have won, and yet some want to reverse the tide!"

Without a doubt, once the "royalists'" script is followed, the new court will be controlled by their old, trusted ministers, and the National Assembly will be abolished. These "royalists" will then transform into the new aristocracy, ensuring the dynasty's eternal stability.

The club has been arguing fiercely, but everyone is focused on how to refute the proposal.

Maxim remained silent until he had finished thinking it over, then spoke with composure rather than anger: "If the enemy wants to take a step backward, then we should be bold and take two steps forward."

"Want to take a few steps?"

"The trial and execution of Charles XVI was the first step. The second step was to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic that would eliminate any possibility of restoration."

"This isn't some negotiation tactic of asking for exorbitant prices; it should be the goal that we, the 'Mountain Faction,' are firmly pursuing. If we can't take the first step, the second step is out of the question; and if we don't have the determination to reach the second step, then we shouldn't even think about taking the first step."

After unifying the faction's ideology, overnight, previously unpublished evidence of the king's collusion with foreign enemies was compiled into pamphlets and spread wildly through the streets of Valuana. The people's joyful discussions about the war suddenly turned into denunciations of the king, and another group of commoners began to storm the palace.

The National Guard soldiers even refused to disperse the agitated civilians, telling their commanders that they would only carry out orders that served the interests of the country and that the National Guard would not point their guns at any patriotic citizen.

Moreover, the "temporary trial" was reignited, and many people connected to the court were dragged out by the public after the evidence was made public, and they were "snaped".

Only then did no one dare to continue discussing the proposal for "restoration of the monarchy".

"What are you laughing at?" Caroline was thinking about the design of the mage tower hall, but was interrupted by Rorschach's seemingly tense but actually mocking laugh.

After finishing the newspaper, Rorschach began reading the intelligence from Valuwana. A certain archmage was full of complaints, and Rorschach explained to Caroline, "My previous judgment was wrong."

"Oh? That's strange." Caroline found that in Lanster and Kempson, young Rorschach was the undisputed "ruler" and it was rare to see him take the initiative to admit his mistakes.

"I said before that Charles XVI should pray for the National Guard to win, but now it seems that after Valois' first victory, the Mountain Faction is actually accelerating the process of sending him to his death."

"What's so funny about that?"

"I admire the royalists' brilliant opposition techniques," Rorschach revealed the secret: "They didn't directly oppose the trial of the king, but instead proposed to try all members of the royal family, and the people immediately agreed."

"It seems like there's nothing wrong?" Caroline was still puzzled.

"But the royal family that is jumping the highest right now is the venerable Mr. 'Equality,' and he is a flag bearer of the Mountain Faction." The former Duke of Merovic was originally a model of "progressive nobility," but he was unexpectedly tied to the "royalist" king protection plan again.

Cutting him off? No way. The "Royalist" representative declared righteously that unless Mr. "Equality" surrendered all his fiefdoms and returned all his annuities from his ducal years, they might as well just kill him outright.

While the public strongly supports the trial of all members of the royal family, they also have a good impression of Mr. Equality, who puts on a good show. If the Mountain Faction agrees to try all members of the royal family, they will have to give Mr. Equality the green light to grant him a pardon. With this precedent, the Royalists can then seize the opportunity to attack him again, greatly delaying the trial process and even disrupting it to the point of no return.

In short, if you're going to carry out the plan, I'll escalate it, muddy the waters as much as possible, and delay it as long as I can.

If the chief of the palace guards knew this in heaven, he would surely make him see that protecting the emperor is a skill, and he should learn something from it in his next life.

Luo Xia doesn't have the same worries as Maxim, but he still encounters problems. For example, the immediate task of spring planting must be done well. According to the agreement, the special zone must provide double the amount of grain this year, and considering the newly added food rations for displaced people, the output may even need to be higher.

Luo Xia was short-sighted and did not believe that "enthusiasm" comparable to Jin Ke La could bring much increase in production. Instead, he chose to adopt a three-pronged approach of land reclamation, mechanization, and chemical fertilizers.

To make farming faster, Rorschach had the steel mill and the fine workshop collaborate to produce more golems. Their cores were basically the same as those currently used in the factory, but they were changed from being humanoid to being four-legged.

When Rorschach first received Andrei's design, he thought they had made a mechanical version of an ox. But when he saw the prototype, he realized, "Wow, you guys built a giant four-legged spider!"

However, there's nothing wrong with that. Compared to imitating the movement of quadrupedal animals like cows and horses, the crawling motion of animals like spiders and crabs is easier to control in terms of balance and direction, and their mechanical structure is also simpler.

However, Luo Xia was still a little worried: would the old farmer accept this thing?

(End of this chapter)