Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

“Because no one had lifted this fig leaf before, now everyone realizes that they are irreconcilable adversaries.” Xi remained calm; she had seen this kind of thing so many times that she no longer felt there was anything wrong with it.

“The nobles want war. Without war and military merit, they can only obtain titles by chance, through favors, or by being related to the emperor. Such titles make it difficult to control the army. If relatives by marriage, the imperial family, and the nobles cannot control the army, it means that the emperor cannot control it.”

"The Grand Secretaries did everything in their power to prevent war, and they had many reasons for it. Would you like to hear them?"

"No, it's just that old, outdated stuff..."

All the talk of mobilizing troops, the endless wars, the suffering of the border people, the barren land of Kazdel not worth the money, and the national treasury running out of funds during war, proves once again that ordinary people are the "price" in the bargaining.

"However, the gentry did not quite understand the Grand Secretary's good intentions. They wanted more land, more freedom of trade, and more slaves."

"Oh, they want factories too, besides land, and the commander is jumping around trying to get more privileges and permits." Xi's expression remained unchanged, as if what was happening in the Great Yan Dynasty had nothing to do with her.

"Speaking of which, how long has it been since the Great Yan army fought a battle?"

"The most recent one was Longmen, but that was Wei Yanwu's private army. He's quite clever..."

The cleverness lay in the fact that whenever he achieved territorial expansion, the civil officials of the court had to criticize him. Otherwise, they would appear too incompetent, and the military officials would also criticize him for the same reason;

Second, with the private army completely depleted, the emperor has no leverage over the situation, and it even appears as a deliberate show of weakness—look, I've exhausted even this small amount of strength, you should at least offer some form of support.

Thus, he gained control of the Dragon Gate, and because both civil and military officials had to ignore this achievement in order to shamelessly stay there.

Therefore, he could not possibly befriend the civil and military officials in the court, which made the emperor even more at ease—the Emperor of Great Yan never wanted to find a reason to kill this old worm, but he could not.

"What happens further ahead?" Only deathly silence. "So, how many of the Divine Martial Guards of the Great Yan Dynasty, capable of slaying gods, are still able to move?"

"Uh..." That's a really good question. You can probably imagine what kind of people the military nobles and the army of a country that hasn't expanded or fought for nearly two hundred years are like.

"A person's name is like a tree's shadow, so it's impossible for the Great Yan to start a war."

As long as there is no war or a few small-scale conflicts with Ursus by concentrating elite forces, no one will know the true strength of the Great Yan Divine Martial Guard Army. And with its illustrious reputation for having crushed the surrounding areas in the past, no one will be so reckless as to want to challenge it.

"However, the military strength of the Great Yan remains..."

"Is it the bird it used to look like?"

“That’s not true,” Xi complained. “It’s actually worse than before, but outsiders never think so. They even think that the military equipment of the Great Yan is better than before.”

"Huh? That's strange, why?"

"When the Ursus mercenaries and the Kazimir bandits use the excellent armor-piercing crossbows that contain the 'inferior and rotten goods' from the Great Yan Armory, it's hard for them not to have some misunderstandings about the 'superior and excellent' equipment in the Armory..."

"Wait, they even dared to steal from the armory?"

"If General Ursus dares to do something, why wouldn't the generals of Great Yan dare to? Without fighting, without military merit, without rewards, and with bribes to keep up with, and food and drink to eat and drink, they can only resort to stealing and selling off the armory. However, Great Yan's armory is thriving..."

"They're all producing 'export weapons,' right? I understand, you don't need to say anything more." Most of those factories are controlled by the gentry, and since the military has no money, they naturally find another way to sell them, smuggling them to Lungmen. Otherwise, why would Lungmen be able to get even the strategic-level light cannons of the Great Yan?

"Moreover, some armories are actually quite well-equipped with weapons and armor. Unfortunately, none of them have been distributed to the army. Of course, even if someone were to actually invade the Great Yan, they might not necessarily gain any advantage."

After all, if those officials just open the floodgates, they can immediately arm a new Divine Martial Guard. Okay, at least in terms of equipment. But... launching an attack outwards is probably impossible.

"Once these armories are also looted and eroded, they may not even have the ability to resist invasion. We can only see how long their past prestige can intimidate others." That's why Xi is so pessimistic and thinks Terra is beyond saving.

"What about technically?"

“Yes, they haven’t been used. However, if you’re going to incite Kazdel to attack Da Yan now, they’ll suffer.” Xi said seriously. “These monsters and demons only exist because the country has been at peace for a long time. If there’s an invasion from outside, they can easily arm themselves with a Divine Martial Guard or even the Imperial Guard. Moreover, those technologies that aren’t popular will be put into use immediately. The people of Da Yan are very strong in defensive warfare.”

Only when there are no external threats, a high international standing, almost no foreign wars, and a long period of peace and prosperity can such factional strife and bizarre creatures emerge.

Although this country has been almost completely devoured by parasites, its skeleton is still intact. If a real war breaks out, it will definitely suffer a loss.

"So, Nian, are you really planning to come out of retirement?"

"I'm considering it, but I haven't decided yet."

"Can Kazdel carry your dreams?"

"No, but someone can..."

"Like us?"

"More special than us..."

"From where?"

“From above, I mean even above…” Nian said, pointing to the top of his head.

Are you sure it's not a misjudgment on your part?

“I’m certain that his technology system is completely different from ours. Unless Terra has a civilization we don’t know about, no matter how absurd and ridiculous it may seem, this is the only answer.”

"Bad neighbor?"

“I can’t tell, but at least they don’t seem to have any ill intentions towards us…” Nian thought for a moment, then added, “not too much ill intentions…”

"To what extent?"

"It won't perish, but we don't know how many people will die..."

"Are you sure?"

"Based on the current situation, it seems basically reliable..."

"Um……"

"How about it, Xiaoxi, will you help?"

"I will help you pass on the message, but I won't get involved. Whether you can convince the others is up to you."

"Tch!" After closing the communication at the end of the year, he frowned deeply. Has even the Great Yan Dynasty fallen to this point? It's time to stir up some trouble in this stagnant pool of Terra.

Chapter Sixty: The "True Fragrance" Theory Has Been Absorbed

Chapter 60

In the Great Yan Dynasty, about a hundred court officials stood under the corridor, looking down at their noses and contemplating their own thoughts. They stood there like a group of hypocritical zombies or paper figures used in folk rituals, without saying a word or glancing to the side.

The court meetings were not held every day, although according to etiquette, they should have been held daily.

In reality, within the administrative structure of the Great Yan Dynasty, only the court assembly held every five days would discuss serious matters; otherwise, it was basically just a formality.

"My dear ministers, weren't you all speaking so eloquently a while ago? Why are you so quiet today?"

The emperor rubbed his forehead; none of these fellows were easy to deal with. Ultimately, it was all the fault of his father and grandfather.

"Whether to fight or make peace, we must come up with a plan. These barbarians from beyond the Great Wall have insulted our angels of the superior nation. Although there is a reason for it, if our Great Yan does nothing, wouldn't it be a loss of sovereignty and national humiliation?"

The emperor smiled slightly, recalling how these guys had recently exonerated those fools who had been hanged in Kazdel.

But they shift all the blame onto Kazdel, as if those poor, pedantic bastards bear no responsibility whatsoever.

It must be said that the Imperial Uncle was indeed cunning, but as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. With a single sentence, "Why don't we investigate their industries, confiscate their property, and sever their diplomatic and trade relations?" he silenced them completely.

If they agree to this retaliatory measure, then upon returning home, their "hometown elders" and "clan elders" will immediately come to visit them.

If this cannot be stopped, it will be difficult to avoid being attacked by political enemies and forced to resign and return to one's hometown on the grounds of filial impiety.

Of course, Longmen cannot impose such sanctions. Not to mention that the Emperor spent half his life dealing with these southern gentry and finally opened up a foreign trade channel with the help of the Emperor's uncle, which is an important source of revenue for the Great Yan royal family.

The smuggling income of those gentry and factory owners in Longmen alone was enough for them to silence any court official with money, making them dare not do such a thing.

Not to mention, the people of Da Yan generally view foreigners as barbarians, barbarians, and more barbarians. What if the barbarians suffer a loss and then directly block the Dragon Gate Pass?

They could bribe the royal uncle and all the officials in Lungmen to smuggle goods, but the Kazdel barbarians wouldn't fall for it.

Not to mention, once the barbarians invade the border, the standing army like the Divine Martial Guard will have to be deployed, and this army has long been in a terrible state, and he has been looking for an excuse to clean it up.

The border troops, being relatively more elite, could also be transferred to the capital under a pretext, with the newly formed recruits being transferred there.

With elite border troops at their disposal and the imperial guards retrained, the power of the state would be back in their own hands, eliminating the need to rely on eunuchs and other household servants to check and balance the ministers.

"If we can't impose sanctions, then let's fight."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" The Minister of Revenue was sweating profusely. "If war breaks out, the land will be in turmoil. To wage war over a few mere scholars is absolutely unacceptable!"

War requires money. The treasury of the Great Yan Dynasty is so empty that mice can run around in it. The emperor's private treasury barely has any savings thanks to the eunuchs. War is absolutely out of the question.

The question of where the money in the Great Yan's treasury went is a very serious one. The taxes collected by the Jiangnan Textile Bureau were less than a million, less than 1/20 of those of the previous dynasty. Meanwhile, the Great Yan's expenditures on territory, infrastructure, and military equipment were more than ten times that of the previous dynasty. It would be strange if the treasury had any money left.

What about taxes? At the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were more than 20 million taxpayers. Nearly 1000 years later, there are more than 40 million taxpayers. Where did the extra people go?

Of course, it involves placing assets that should be taxed under the control of wealthy individuals with tax-exempt privileges through nominee ownership or brokerage firms.

The result was a strange cycle where the state could collect some money for necessary expenses by relying on the ruthless and vicious eunuchs in charge of the garrison, while the government could only starve by relying on the officials, unable to even pay their military salaries and wages.

It's not just a matter of money; there's also the more troublesome issue of military supplies. Everyone knows that war requires troop deployment. The border troops are unruly, and the imperial guards are incompetent, so the only options are to train new armies and rely on the generals' private troops. When these troops are on long-distance expeditions as guest troops, the local authorities responsible for logistics and laborers will be in for a huge headache.

When it comes to who pays the money, how much, who provides the personnel, and how much, well, the factions from all over the country within the government are bound to fight each other.

"So that's it? Which of you ministers is willing to make this trip?" Deathly silence. Everyone knew this was a deadly road. Kazdel and his ilk didn't care about the Great Yan's retaliation or reprimands. Going there would definitely mean certain death.

"They neither fight nor make peace, and they refuse to condemn or impose sanctions. Gentlemen, what is the logic behind this?"

"Your Majesty, whether it is war or peace, this is a matter of national importance. Please discuss it further. The most urgent matter concerns..."

Kazdel's expulsion of the envoys was a minor matter; the emperor was merely using it as a pretext. His real purpose was to seize upon these people's weaknesses to force them to compromise.

Many people think that the Great Yan Dynasty was a feudal state and that its system was feudal, but that is not actually the case. From the change of the emperor's title from "state" (Han Dynasty) to "sage" (Tang Dynasty), the establishment of the Six Ministries, and the introduction of the imperial examination system, it was actually a standard centralized civil service political system.

So, can this system support a modern industrial nation? Unfortunately, the fact is that modern industrial nations, such as Britain, only began to transition from aristocratic politics to civil service politics after industrialization, and only then did they begin to implement this cabinet system and centralized system.

Therefore, in reality, the Great Yan is different from other countries. For a long time, they actually used high-version software to support low-version hardware, and they even recognized the "labor theory of value" very early on.

The Ming Dynasty Confucian work, *The Supplement to the Great Learning*, explicitly proposes the relationship between commodity value and labor relations, as well as the theory that labor determines value. Its economics section is already close to the modern economics system—isn't that surprising?

Its political structure was actually quite modern. In the Great Yan Dynasty, the cabinet was responsible for making suggestions and drafting decisions, serving as the emperor's think tank.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs held the power to approve imperial edicts, and since the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was the emperor's personal servant, it had the power of veto.

The six ministries were responsible for implementation, dividing a complete set of power into three parts, with the emperor acting as the mediator, and the three parts checking and balancing each other.

In the outer court, the cabinet has no executive power and cannot interfere with personnel appointments or financial allocations;

The six ministers were only responsible for maintaining order and had no power to make decisions.

Finally, the intelligence agencies and the censors were responsible for a system of overt and covert surveillance, one civilian and one military.

It bears a striking resemblance to the modern separation of powers. Theoretically, as long as the emperor is not an idiot and strictly follows this system, and the officials do not overstep the bounds of propriety, a modern industrial nation can operate perfectly. This system could even evolve into a complete constitutional monarchy, where the emperor reigns but does not rule.

However, the imbalance of the entire system began with the father's generation. The princes' struggle for the throne led to the abolition of the supervisory institutions because they could not maintain absolute loyalty. Without supervision, the officials naturally colluded with the cabinet. When the decision-making and execution powers were aligned, the emperor was left with only his servants.

However, even household servants are not reliable, as they will soon collude with the outer court. Ultimately, a new intelligence agency must be established, but by then it is too late. The power dynamics between them will be unchecked and without any buffer, leading to direct conflict.

The prolonged peace led to the near-complete collapse of the military leadership, and with the last fuse burned out, it became a power struggle between the emperor and his ministers—naturally, the state of the entire country became a mess.