People in Terra, governing a weird little country

The master of Londinium is the master. Although Londinium has lost an important security guarantee by losing the Steam Knights, they are still fearless because the walls of Londinium are high enough, the main guns of the city defense are sufficient, and the city defense corps is elite enough.

As for the Grand Dukes, they did not dare to march openly into Londinium.

The nobles know the nobles best. With the throne vacant, any duke who attempts to lead the march into Londinium and reveals his ambitions in this regard will become the target of public criticism.

The first one to stick out gets shot. Because no Grand Duke has the ability to break through Londinium's external defenses in a short period of time, once someone tries to advance, the other Grand Dukes will have ample time to react. By then, the first Grand Duke to stick out will become a target, be defeated, eliminated, and then annexed.

In a way, they were right to think so. Because Londinium's current state was like the Zhou emperor in the Spring and Autumn Period. His strength might be only half of that of the princes, or even only one-tenth. However, any princes who were disloyal to the Zhou emperor would have to face not only one-tenth of the power, but all N except him, plus this 0.1.

But the Spring and Autumn Period would not last forever. As we all know, after the Spring and Autumn Period came the Warring States Period, which was unified under Qin.

Without a fuse, the powder keg of Londinium could indeed remain stable for at least several decades, or even hundreds of years.

But eventually there will be a Grand Duke who will find an opportunity in this long tug-of-war, and through annexation, reform, or technological explosion, his strength will be able to completely crush the other Grand Dukes. By then, Londinium's dream of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight will sooner or later end.

But this land is full of evil taste. When the noble members of the Londinium City Council were complacent about finally being able to eliminate the "stubborn disease" of Steam Knights, they did not understand that this was just fighting poison with poison.

The fuse has come.

1094 spring.

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

While the grand dukes remained silent and confronted each other, Duke Stafford quietly sneaked into Londinium.

Yes, infiltration. The Grand Duke abandoned the legitimate means and chose to infiltrate.

He did this for three reasons. First, since King Aslan was executed in 1072, the Grand Dukes compromised and Londinium issued the Duke's Ban. Since then, the Grand Dukes have been prohibited from entering Londinium openly. Even nobles like Castor can occasionally break the rules, but they are under strict surveillance in Londinium.

But you can't do it openly. No one says you can't do it secretly.

Not many people would have thought that a grand duke would resort to such means. This is not honorable. Even if he really used such means to seize the crown, his position would not be stable as it was not legitimate!

But the Duke of Stafford played the opposite psychological role and he really did it!

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

A large number of Sarkaz entered Londinium, which was not something that could be concealed, and the Steam Knights of Victoria were eye-catching wherever they went. When they all returned to the city, they would certainly attract everyone's attention.

When the two are combined, chaos is inevitable.

The Duke of Stafford took advantage of the chaos.

He used his connections to instigate a portion of the city defense forces to rebel, and placed personnel throughout the city of Londinium, preparing to launch an uprising that night, directly attack the Parliament Square, and violently seize power!

But this is also risky.

After all, only a part of the city defense force was instigated. Once the parliament reacted and mobilized the remaining city defense force to resist, at dawn, the news of the coup in Londinium would immediately reach the hands of the grand dukes who were eyeing the coup, and their armies would immediately assemble and come to Londinium to "suppress the rebellion."

By then, the Duke of Stafford, who had sneaked in secretly and did not bring his own troops, would have been defeated.

Perhaps you have already seen that the Duke of Stafford's surprise attack had a very slim chance of success. It can be said that if the parliament's reaction was normal, the city defense army's reaction was normal, and the other grand dukes' reaction was faster, he would not have succeeded, and he would even make things difficult for other grand dukes.

Theoretically, with the Duke of Stafford's military noble status and capital, he could have fought a sit-in war with the other grand dukes, staring at each other. There was no need to be impatient.

So why did he choose to take the risk?

That’s reason three.

The Duke of Stafford simply made the mistake that everyone makes - he was ill and dying.

It was strange that he got sick. Before the Duke's secret meeting, the Duke of Stafford was still an energetic Duke. He continued to exploit his subordinates' territories every day. He was so powerful that he could compete with the Duke of Caster and the Duke of Wellington. But just after the Duke's secret meeting, he fell ill.

However, he was not the only one who suddenly fell seriously ill at the same time. There was another one, and you should all be familiar with that person's name.

Kent Windermere.

The military noble, who was neither a vassal of the Duke of Castor nor willing to accept her leadership, attended the Duke's secret conference and fell seriously ill immediately after its conclusion.

You taste, you taste carefully.

The Duke of Caster, the Duke of Windermere's designated beach mascot, has a big plan!

Unfortunately, the Duke of Stafford did not have Kent's good luck, nor did he have Yelagund's protection. He stayed in Londinium longer, was more poisoned, and was no longer able to survive.

The other grand dukes are still waiting for their old age, but as an equally ambitious grand duke, he can only take advantage of no one's attention and give it a try!

But did everyone really not notice it at all?

The Duke of Stafford's rebellion plan was like a stripper. Before he even started, everything that needed to be exposed had already been exposed.

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

Her name is Heidi.

Before the rebellion broke out, Heidi's intelligence network in Londinium - an alliance of workers, students, painters, florists and other people from all walks of life - had already sensed something was wrong.

Not only has the Duke of Stafford sneaked in, but there is also the Sarkaz troops led by the Duke of Cavendish who have 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 annihilate the Steam Knights with the power of the Sarkaz.

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

But perhaps because of his serious illness, the CPU crashed, or perhaps he made mistakes in a hurry and the CPU was overloaded, he missed two points.

The Duke of Cavendish was also a Grand Duke, so what reason did he have to enter Londinium? Did he sneak in like himself?

Of course not. If he was sneaking in, how would he transport a large number of Sarkaz troops that could annihilate the Steam Knights?

Did the city council think they were fools? Since they had agreed to let the Grand Duke get rid of the Steam Knights, they could not have failed to prepare to drive them out after the Grand Duke's troops got rid of the Steam Knights.

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

Therefore, if the Duke of Cavendish wants to lead the Sarkaz into the city, two conditions must be met.

First – something must happen in the city before he can lead his troops into the city with a legitimate reason.

Second - the incident in the city must be out of the control of the city council and ultimately directly affect the normal operation of the city council, so as to ensure that the Grand Duke can take control of the city council and control Londinium afterwards.

At this point, it should be clear who the Duke of Cavendish belongs to.

The Duke of Caster was indeed a master of political intrigue, and she played with Victoria's most filthy and ugly, but also most effective side. But even she, like the Duke of Stafford, missed the second point.

The Sarkaz led by Tracys have never been just a simple sword!

A lot of things happened that night.

The City Council and the Grand Dukes jointly issued a letter to recall all the Steam Knights to enter the city today. The Duke of Stafford had to launch a rebellion in advance due to his serious illness, trying to seize power. This rebellion, which seemed to be "leaked", was actually planned by the Duke of Caster. It became the opportunity for the Duke of Cavendish, who had been waiting outside the city for a long time, to lead the Sarkaz into the city.

Late at night, when the Duke of Stafford bombarded Parliament Square and began to attack the City Council, paralyzing the Council, the Duke of Cavendish announced that the Duke of Stafford had rebelled, and personally led the Sarkaz army into Londinium to quell the rebellion. The city defense army, which had been seriously understaffed due to participating in the Duke of Stafford's rebellion, was unable to stop them and watched Cavendish lead his army into the city.

Threatening with the Breath of Kings, the Sarkaz army gathered the Steam Knights at the resting place of the kings, and used a war of attrition to kill the Steam Knights who were already suffering from severe damage and had no access to any replenishment.

Then, according to procedure, the Duke of Cavendish ordered the Sarkaz to suppress the hasty rebellion of the Duke of Stafford. The Duke of Stafford resisted desperately.

Day broke amid the rumble of artillery fire.

After waking up from a night of fear and sleeplessness, the first piece of news the citizens of Londinium heard was the outcome of last night's battle.

The Duke and the Duke had a fight and both died violently!

This game of Caster was planned for a long time. The Duke of Stafford was forced to sacrifice himself. The Londinium drama in which the Duke of Cavendish opened champagne at halftime ended with the dormant Tracys winning with the last move.

At this point, the whole drama ends!

ohh~

Chapter 102: Rhodes Island, maybe I'll have a chance to visit it.

Such a big change happened in Victoria. Do the countries of Terra care?

In fact, according to common sense, the rebellion in Londinium, the sudden death of two grand dukes, and the Sarkaz entering the capital should have attracted the attention of the Terran countries.

After all, Victoria has some power on the land of Terra, and can barely claim a dominant position in the core circle. It is not like some small countries in Africa, South America or the Pacific, which rebelled and could not even make the news.

But that’s the magic of this land!

It was clearly a major event that could have triggered numerous chain reactions, causing Victoria's foreign exchanges, trade, and domestic manufacturing to decline, and even triggering an international financial crisis. But there was no international reaction at all, and the calmness made Ernst, a spectator who traveled from Earth, feel weird.

What's up, guys? Is this melon not ripe or sweet? Why doesn't anyone eat it?

Oh my god, why don’t you eat? I hope everyone will speak up so that I can take the opportunity to observe your expressions and curry favor with you!

It has to be said that condemnation and concern are really very useful diplomatic rhetoric. For example, although this rebellion did not last long and the final result did not give Victoria an extra emperor, it was still an opportunity.

It would be nice if a few people came out and expressed concern about the situation in Victoria or condemned the rebels.

Ernst can observe the values ​​and positions of this person and the forces he represents, and then decide whether to follow up.

Of course, he didn't expect Kjerag's size to attract any attention or stir up any waves in Terra International, but he could at least make his presence felt.

For example, if the two queens of Leithnia spoke up and expressed their concern about Victoria's chaos, Ernst could follow suit and echo their words, showing his face in front of the queens.

In the future, if Kjelag needs to cooperate with Letania, he can also be more approachable during negotiations: "I think back then, when Her Majesty the Queen made such and such remarks, Kjelag was the first one Stand up and support!”

This kind of talk may not be very nutritious, but it costs nothing.

For a small country, being able to show its face and make its presence felt in the international arena at little cost is already a rare opportunity.

Most of the time, they only attract the attention of major powers when there is civil war, rebellion, or a humanitarian crisis in the country.And the price to pay for this kind of attention is unbearable for any local people.

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

"But Ernst, shouldn't Kjerag be developing slowly now? If we show up internationally like this, won't it cause trouble for Kjerag?"

Ernst could understand Vina's thoughts.

But the fact is that this idea is a kind of taken-for-granted arrogance in the heart of Vina, who was born in a big country like Victoria.

In the international community's interactions, the two terms "vulgar development" and "development and growth" are antonyms.

Kjerag is not a village—although its organizational structure is quite similar to one.

He is well-known in the international community - although his voice is roughly equal to that of the group of AI countries standing opposite the Fourth Scourge in the Star Council.

Kjerag as a small country.

If you want to grow and develop, you must obtain the materials necessary to support you in your modernization journey - such as talents, resources, and technology.

If you want to obtain these things, you must participate in international exchanges and deal with major countries that have these things and are willing to sell them. Then you will definitely not be able to hide and develop secretly.

If you want to develop in a sneaky way, then you cannot gather the above conditions, and you will not be able to summon the dragon of development, let alone take off.

The reason why Vina has such contradictory thoughts is that she is a Victorian and the country where she was born is strong enough, just like the British Empire during the era when the sun never sets in Ernst's world. Glorious isolation does not mean that I want to develop in a mean way, but that you are not worthy of having diplomacy with me.

But even so, Britain still faithfully plays its role as a world troublemaker, committed to messing up the whole of Europe and even the world.

And we know that at that time, there was also a country that had a similar mentality to Britain. It believed that it was superior and the center of the world, and that other countries were no longer worthy of being compared with itself. Therefore, it closed its doors to the outside world and was unwilling to even establish a foreign ministry.

Its fate has served as a warning to future generations for more than a hundred years.

Some people may ask, why did China finally pursue the strategy of "hiding its capabilities and biding its time", developing quietly and successfully?

Well, because it was an extremely special international environment at that time, and there was an even more powerful big brother above China. Although it aged and decayed quickly, during the years of its existence, it did hold up the sky and helped many small countries in the world gain a little breathing space.

Otherwise, the name of Xun Duoduo, who received 10 billion subsidies, would not have been passed down.

And, besides that, Ernst also had to say.

If Kjerag can also replicate China's record, and challenge Victoria, Columbia, Casimir, Ursus, Lethania and other Terran powers one by one, and successfully defeat them all, then Kjerag will indeed have the right to say that he wants to "develop in a sneaky way".

After all, only powerful countries can engage in diplomacy, and only small countries need diplomacy.

Vina nodded, not quite understanding.

Ernst did not expect her to understand in an instant the experiences he had summed up in his previous life after a long time. He just wanted her to understand what he meant, and if she encountered similar opportunities in the future, she would take advantage of them.

You report your progress to the boss, but the boss looks at your attitude. If you succeed in brushing your face like this, if there is an opportunity in the future where Kjerag and another small country or city, such as Xiosta, compete for a bidding project together, then this bit of favorability may become the key for them to win the order!

"Having said so much, you should first report on the gains from this trip to Longmen."

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

"Besides what you reported about Ers in your letter, is there anything else going on?"

Vina nodded and said, "There are still many things worth mentioning. Wei Yanwu was very enthusiastic towards me. During the time he stayed in Longmen, he introduced me to many high-level people in Longmen. Including the director of the Guard Bureau, her niece, Inspector Chen Huijie, the heir of the Shi Huaiya family, Miss Beatrix Shi Huaiya, the underground leader of Longmen, Mr. Rat King Lin Gerui and his daughter..."

Vina called out a long list of names in one breath. Some of these names sounded familiar, while some were unheard of, and Ernst memorized them one by one.