People in Terra, governing a weird little country

However, to some extent, Kal'tsit's ability to make decisions quickly is not a bad thing for Ernst.

The Rhodes Island Landship can be put into operation quickly, which means that the reconstruction of Tukarim will be greatly accelerated. Considering the plan No. 2 they chose - to be honest, Ernst didn't expect Kal'tsit to choose the second plan. It seems that Rhodes Island's recent business situation is indeed not very good - Ernst can also discuss with Ensiotis how they will divide the money after paying the remuneration for this transportation work.

By the way, because the channels provided by Rhine Life mainly come from Tremont, the destination of Rhodes Island's mission naturally fell on that technological city. Before Kal'tsit left, Ernst also said hello to the little rabbit Amiya. If she could see Holhaiya in Tremont, she should say hello to her on behalf of Ernst and express her condolences to her former boss.

A boss who can make a former employee travel thousands of miles back to Columbia just to attend his funeral must have his own strengths. As Holhaiya's current superior, it is only natural for Ernst to express his respect for such a boss.

As for attending the funeral in person to mourn, Ernst did not allow Amiya to do so. Hmm... how should I put it? The head was chopped off, and the way he died was somewhat detrimental to the mental health of an underage girl. When the real world can be updated with green blood and automatic human eye mosaics, then consider this matter.

After Kal'tsit's affairs were settled, the only thing left was the upcoming Miss Delphine Windermere.

Standing in front of the train platform, Ernst rubbed his cold hands. News had just come from the border pass that Daphne's train should arrive in a few minutes.

It had been a while since he had seen the little girl, and to be honest, Ernst missed her a lot.

After all, he is a big boss who is guaranteed to bring in millions of Victorian gold pounds.

It’s just a pity that Amiya left so quickly, otherwise the two children are about the same age, so they would probably have a common language or something?

When Ernst was lost in his memories, Vina behind him spoke:

"Ah, the train is coming into the station."

What caught people's attention before the shadow of the train was the sound of the train's whistle. The magical Originium energy, even in the simplest form of burning, could release amazing power. Along with the roar that echoed in the mountains, the lights of the train illuminated the tracks shrouded in snow and fog, and drove into the last section of Kjerag.

After the recent economic benefits have improved significantly, Kalan Trade has also greatly beautified the appearance of this Kjerag Snow Country Express. The appearance of the current Snow Country Express is mainly ochre red, with golden gilding and green fake plant accessories. At first glance, the color scheme looks like the legendary Santa Claus's sleigh.

Needless to say, this was Ernst's opinion.

Enthiotis, who had no taste, wanted to change the color scheme of the Snow Country Train to black and white at first. It's not that the black and white color scheme is not good-looking. The rocket-headed Harmony trains that Ernst made in his previous life were basically black and white. But the black and white color scheme mixed with the already icy and snowy Shelagi has somewhat lost its characteristics.

And to be honest, the Snow Country Special Train was not running fast, and we were covered in snow and wind along the way, plus the floating ancestors that could appear at any time on the surrounding mountains. How should I put it, it felt a bit like a hearse.

Ernst then suggested using the coat color of Kjerag's traditional snow mountain pack animals, adding some decorative green plants and gold edges to enhance the sense of class, to create the current image of the train.

This is the first time that the Snowpiercer has officially run after the renovation. Although it has only undergone some renovations and the core has not changed much, it must be said that the appearance has indeed improved a lot.

Of course, Enchiodis was still agitated by the fact that his proposal was rejected by most people, including Jiaofeng.

The train slowly pulled into the station and the door opened. Dai Finn showed no reserve at all as a special envoy. He ran out of the door impatiently and gave Vina and Ernst a big hug each.

"Ms. Daphne, please pay attention to your image."

Ernst reminded helplessly. But Daifen shook his head indifferently:

"No, mom said it can't be too formal. Otherwise it will get you in trouble, right?"

She curled her lips, as if she remembered something disgusting.

"By that old woman from the Caister family."

Ernst was stunned for a moment, then smiled with relief:

"Thank you very much, Duke Windermere."

"What about me?" Dai Finn raised his eyebrows. It must be said that compared to the last time he came to Shelag, when he was so alert and dormant, this time Dai Finn was obviously much more lively and a little more childish.

Maybe it’s because I had just experienced a life-threatening situation last time, and I don’t have any such concerns this time.

He reached out and rubbed Dai Finn's head to express his gratitude. Dai Finn rubbed Ernst's palm with great pleasure, and then asked curiously:

"Come to think of it, when I first came to Kjerag, your train hadn't been repaired yet. When my mother came to pick me up, you were already able to arrive on time. This time it's even better, even the train has been renovated. Who designed this style? It's much better than the big white iron sheet before. It's very nice."

Ernst glanced at Enchiodis, who was watching his heart from behind, and said with a smile, "I designed it."

"Great taste. Sherag has been doing very well lately."

"This is also thanks to the care of the Duke of Windermere."

This is the truth. Without the beloved 10 billion subsidy from Wen Duoduo, Ernst's development plan would have been stuck at the threshold of old city reconstruction if it wanted to get off the ground. Not to mention setting up night schools, recruiting talents everywhere, and even connecting with the Duke of Wellington and Columbia Rhine Life.

Moreover, the most commendable thing is that the Duke of Windermere has not interfered with Kjerag's ideas until today. Among the Grand Duke Victoria, who is famous for his anthropomorphism, this is already a miracle that one person has raised the moral level of the entire dukedom.

Praise the Duke of Windermere, you are now second only to Yelagund in my heart.

After a brief greeting, to Ernst's surprise, Dai Finn was the first to speak:

"Well, this isn't the place to talk. Ernst, I'm not here just for fun. Let's go to your office and talk first."

Ernst raised his eyebrows and nodded.

..........

Kjerag, Tukarim, Ernst Office.

"The Duke and his allies are marching into Londinium. This is a plan proposed by my mother, hoping to resolve the Londinium issue as quickly as possible."

Curled up on the sofa, Dafen curiously looked at the only stranger in the room, Lavshini, who was standing in the corner silently acting as a small stove, and explained,

"It is a shame for Victoria to let the Sarkaz occupy Londinium. The operation of evacuating the people of Londinium received a lot of positive feedback in the first few times, but after a few times, it began to be questioned as a show."

At this point, Dai Finn spread his hands, looking speechless:

"Honestly, does this need to be questioned? The evacuation was a show in the first place."

An empire that claims to be the hegemony of Terra, its capital was occupied, and no one was willing to retake it, but it kept marketing the action of rescuing the residents who originally lived in the capital, as if it was a very proud thing to let these people go from being the noble "Londinium's master is the master" to being "Londinim refugees" and handing over their homes to others.

In the past, this kind of behavior might have made people laugh just by talking about it. The reason why the Duke of Caister and other nobles' previous evacuation operations received wide acclaim from the international community was because of Ernst's speech.

The banner of humanitarianism weakened people's doubts about the question of "Why did the people of Londinium evacuate from Londinium?" But as Ernst said, everything has a limit, and this weakening may work once or twice, but once it happens too many times, people will come to their senses.

Why must I be driven away from my homeland? Why, as the Grand Duke of Victoria, do you not want to reclaim our homeland, but instead keep evacuating from a city that can never be evacuated?

To treat the symptoms and the root cause, are you only capable of treating the symptoms, or do you simply not want to treat the root cause?

Once such doubts are raised, public opinion will quickly slide in the opposite direction, conspiracy theories will become rampant, and even those correct things in the past may be brought out for reversal and liquidation.

"In fact, no matter what, whether it was Kaster or the other nobles, they still saved lives. Their actions did have ulterior motives, but the final result cannot be slandered."

Ernst sighed.

Helpless? From the moment he gave his speech, he had guessed that this day would come. He had seen this kind of situation quite often. In the most extreme cases, they would even come up with some disgusting conspiracy theories about truly selfless behavior. In his previous life, he had even seen some high-sounding spectators accusing firefighters of grabbing the breasts of a woman who had jumped from a building and was on the verge of death. They wondered if they wanted to take advantage of their position to molest her.

They are not the ones whose feelings are dying, so they can fart here.

"You're right. Saving people is not a bad thing." Dafen nodded, agreeing with Ernst's statement, but then he changed the subject, "But continuing to let Kaister put on a show is not a good thing either."

“That’s why my mother wanted to cure the root cause.”

Ernst nodded. Daifen shook his head in annoyance and continued:

“But the only problem is that there are relatively few people who respond to this plan.”

There are relatively few. To be precise, there are only Viscount Mist, Earl Morey, Earl Desmond, Earl Desbach, etc.

You may not know who they are, but they are subordinate nobles of the Duke of Windermere, basically vassals and die-hard supporters of the Duke of Windermere.

When Delphine said this, Ernst probably guessed that she, or rather, Duke Nerwindmir, wanted him to do something.

"So, His Excellency the Duke of Windermere wants me to help lobby the Duke of Wellington?"

Daphne nodded. "Yes. Mom thinks that if she and the Duke of Wellington, who are known as the [Twin Blades of the Empire], can publicly declare their participation in this operation, the other neutral nobles will definitely be inspired."

Moreover, if the [Twin Blades of the Empire] really stood aside, to be honest, what did it matter whether the other minor nobles came or not?

The Duke of Windermere felt that with her alliance with the Duke of Wellington, as long as Caster and Godottin did not cause trouble, they would be able to defeat the daring Sarkaz mercenaries in Londinium.

It's a pity that Kal'tsit passed away early, otherwise, if she heard this, she would have told Delphine the story of how two hundred years ago, she and the coalition of four nations were directly defeated by a Sarkaz youth with no special bloodline.

Ernst pondered for a moment and used his inherent skills.

"Let me think twice."

Chapter 155: Change of Household Registration

The Duke of Windermere's proposal was very convincing.

To be honest, if the grand dukes of Victoria could unite and put pressure on Londinium together, Ernst really didn't think some Sarkaz mercenaries would be able to withstand it.

"But to be honest, I can find at least five mistakes in this idea alone."

In the room, Ernst, who was talking privately with Vina, spread his hands, looking powerless to complain.

When she first heard Ernst's statement, Vina was a little shocked: "Is there so much? It sounds like there is no problem."

But Ernst shook his head: "First of all, it's funny that the Grand Dukes Victoria can unite."

It's like trying to unite the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Ernst really couldn't think of any other situation that could achieve this, except for the if world line in which San Dezi was really reborn on the moon.

Oh, aliens invade, and running into the Three-Body World Line is also possible.

The corner of Vina's mouth twitched. Unlike Ernst, she really wanted to refute and had the ability to refute.

Because the grand dukes did unite before, and it wasn’t too long ago, only about a dozen years ago.

Well, yes, the material was drawn from her personal experience, and it would be a bit of a hell joke if she told it. So after thinking about it, she decided to hold back the words about the loving father and filial daughter.

Ernst continued:

"On that basis, just to make that inference is to be in Black Victoria."

The saying "neither praising nor criticizing" is a bit outdated, and people who say they are just passers-by often have their own opinions. But Ernst really didn't mean to criticize Victoria.

There is no way. After all, what Victoria has done has reached the point where if she tells it once, she will be arrested by the Gray Hat for "slandering the country" and "leaking secrets".

"Then, putting pressure on Londinium is actually ridiculous."

To put it bluntly, the Sarkaz of Londinium were just a group of mercenaries. They were able to enter the city openly because they relied on a duke who had been killed as a guide. Could the Victorians really do nothing about the Sarkaz?

In Ernst's opinion, that's not necessarily the case. After all, from the perspective of modern warfare, the gap between the Sarkaz and Victoria is too big.

Whether it is weapons and equipment, recruitment of soldiers, supply routes, or war experience, strategic resources, and national strength reserves, the two sides are completely not on the same level.

The Sarkaz themselves should also know this, so they are also very smart. Until now, they are still stationed in the city of Londinium as "protectors", pushing out the Londinium City Council, which should have been reduced to a puppet long ago, and claiming that everything is in order.

This behavior is enough to show that they are not actually ready to directly occupy the capital of Victoria and start a full-scale war with the dukes.

The only strange thing was that Ernst couldn't understand why they were dragging it on like this?

To make an inappropriate analogy, the Sarkaz mercenaries are now like a nomadic raiding group. They took advantage of their employer's internal strife to rob their employer of a piece of land, and now they are not leaving?

Under normal circumstances, what the Sarkaz should have done was to take advantage of the internal strife among the dukes to enter Londinium, loot the craftsmen, equipment, and if they had a longer-term vision, scientists, intellectuals, teachers, books, etc., then plunder the gold and silver, and evacuate directly while the grand dukes were unable to react.

This will ensure maximum profit.

As for the damage to Londinium and the ruin of its reputation, do the Victorians care about that? Do the Sarkaz care about that?

If it is not you who is being robbed, people will not empathize. Otherwise, Londinium is now occupied, which brings greater humiliation to the Victorians and more and longer suffering to Londinium. No Grand Duke, except Windermere, is indignant. The Sarkaz are already bad enough, and it is infinite to add more. As long as the interests require, the Grand Dukes will not hire them.

Therefore, in Ernst's opinion, it was the most unwise choice for them to continue to stay in Londinium. This was equivalent to giving up the mobility of the Sarkaz mercenaries and going to fight a positional war with the experienced Victorians.

There are only two possibilities for them to do so.

First, the leader of that group of mercenaries had something wrong with his brain.

Second, they hid something. And the thing was quite large, which gave the Sarkaz a lot of confidence and even allowed them to turn the tables.

Ernst hoped it wasn't the second one, otherwise if the Sarkaz could really hold off Victoria, it would be a big problem.

Although the current international environment is not good, it is at least not completely rotten. If Victoria, the center of the conflict, is defeated by the Sarkaz...

There is no country on Terra that does not want to dominate. The sudden collapse of a hegemony, without another country strong enough to maintain international order, would lead to an era of chaos and war, which would definitely not be conducive to the development of a small country like Kjerag.

"Okay, okay, stop talking. Stop talking."

Vina waved her hands with a sad face, as if she couldn't bear any more severe blow.

Ernst was a little puzzled: "I'm talking about Victoria, why are you sad?"

Vina's expression flashed with panic for a moment, but fortunately, after so much experience, she was able to control her emotions quickly. She immediately said:

"I am Victorian."

Ernst didn't doubt it and waved his hand: "It's okay, you can be a Kjerag. I'm from the Shivaash family, I can help you add our family's household registration."

Of course, Kjerag didn't have that kind of advanced household registration system, but there were still basic population statistics books. In Vina's case, if she didn't want to return to Victoria, Ernst could help her join the Shivaash family's household registration.

Vina was stunned.

She thought a lot at that moment.

And Ernst is still explaining:

"Shelagh's household registration is quite relaxed, just like Nosis Edelweiss. If you don't want to give up your family, Victoria can also exist as a subsidiary family of the Shivaash family, and you can be the patriarch."

Vina looked at Ernst deeply and nodded: