People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"Ursus?"

Amiya seemed to realize something, and her eyes brightened.

"Yes, we are going."

"Yes, first to Saint-Germain Castle, then to Chernobog, and finally south to Lungmen."

"Mr. Ernst will be visiting Ursus and Yan during this period. And we..."

Kal'tsit took a deep breath, as if preparing herself mentally, and slowly said:

"We will go and awaken [the Doctor]."

Ursus, Fort Saint.

Emperor Feodor of Ursus has been living a pretty good life lately.

Just as Ernst had said, the Ursus could tolerate a tyrannical but powerful king, but they could not accept a weak but benevolent mediocre ruler. The desire for strength was deeply rooted in the hearts of the Ursus, allowing this empire, named after its race, to rise rapidly, but also to remain inherently unstable.

When Fyodor rose to prominence, using the World Summit and the Council of Human Rights' visit as an opportunity, he eliminated several disobedient minor nobles, and surprisingly, this did not trigger a rebellion. After that, his life improved!

At least, government orders can finally leave Saint-Germain!

So much so that now, when he greets everyone at court each morning, he doesn't ask, "Good morning, have you eaten?" but rather, "Witt, who are we killing today?"

It sounds crazy, but considering it's in Ursus, it makes sense.

"However, Your Majesty, you should reconsider Prime Minister Ernst's offer to visit Ursus."

Witt reminded him.

Fyodor waved his hand:

"Prime Minister Ernst is a very good man, how can you be so afraid of him?"

Witt clicked his tongue, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

There were some things he didn't know whether he should say or not.

Mr. Ernst is indeed a great man, but shouldn't you also think about why he deserves this reputation?

Without comparison, how can you highlight the key points?

Do you want to see what happened to the Duke of Caesar and the two Queens of Letania?

Or rather, Leopold, the Great Elector, was the most tragic of them all.

But Witt glanced at his emperor's expression and realized that he was unlikely to listen to what he was saying.

Witte hoped his worries were unnecessary, after all, his emperor wasn't really a bad person.

Every one of his reform measures was aimed at improving people's livelihoods. Whether it was cracking down on illegal mines, showing leniency to those infected by the war, or suppressing local separatist forces, all of them were of great benefit to the country.

Although Ursus is currently experiencing various minor issues, it's still much better than places like Letania and Victoria. There haven't been any unusual movements from the immortals, so... probably... nothing bad should happen, right?

Touching his heart, Speaker Witt felt inexplicably panicked.

Sigh, I feel like Ernst is in deep trouble!

Chapter 912 The Bizarre Great Nation of Ursus

Fyodor is living a good life, and this is no joke. ^Two【

This Ursus emperor cannot actually be considered incompetent. If we look at the specific situation of the Ursus country, we can clearly draw this conclusion—whether as a person or as an emperor, he was really quite capable.

Thanks to the late Emperor Vladimir Ivanovich, Ursus became a massive war machine. During his reign, he waged wars in the south and north, annexing countless surrounding countries and independent city-states. He single-handedly intimidated all the villains around him. In that era, there were almost no countries that Ursus had not conquered, only countries that Ursus had not yet conquered.

Such achievements made him the greatest, most powerful, and most prestigious emperor in Ursus's history, without exception! Even Ursus's founding emperor, the Bear Keeper, couldn't compare to him!

Moreover, although his achievements in civil administration were slightly inferior to his martial arts, that was only an impression formed by comparison. During his time, Ursus's literature and art also made great progress. Ursus's rugged and bold architectural art was officially recognized by the nations of the land during his time.

In the hearts of many Ursus people, he single-handedly ushered in the golden age of Ursus!

What is most commendable is that, in addition to his own civil and military achievements, this former emperor of Ursus accomplished something that many great emperors with great talent and ambition only had one chance to do in their lifetime, and even then, they might not be able to do it!

His passing was very timely!

Ernst, in his previous life, had many history enthusiasts who often made hypotheticals, such as, "If Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had died before the An Lushan Rebellion, would he have been considered an unparalleled emperor throughout history?" However, time is the greatest enemy of those in power. Once one possesses seemingly omnipotent power in the world, accepting death calmly becomes an incredibly difficult thing. This explains why many emperors who were initially considered exceptionally capable often found their wisdom waning and their reputations tarnished in their later years.

Why do many Ursus people consider the late Emperor Vladimir Ivanovich a perfect man throughout history? Because even with the mistake that everyone makes, he still provided the best answer.

He died at the perfect time!

The Great Rebellion occurred after his death, as did the regional warlordism. Even the Battle of Bloodpeak between Ursus and the Eastern Kingdom, which brought the Ursus conquest to an abrupt halt, broke out when he was seriously ill and the Crown Prince was in power on his behalf.

He was as slippery as an eel, perfectly avoiding the outbreak of all the problems that might have come with rapid expansion. His unfortunate son, the current emperor Fyodor, silently took the blame and bore the consequences.

In 1074, a major rebellion broke out in Ursus, initiated by a large number of infected individuals and sympathizers, with demonstrations and violence erupting frequently. Several army groups, led by the Sixth Army, began to target St. Arthur's Fortress. In 1075, the Second and Seventh Armies returned from the western front to reinforce St. Arthur's Fortress, and the flames of war spread throughout Ursus.

By this time, the late emperor had already died.

People can sigh and lament freely without worry. If the late emperor were still alive, how could those audacious army groups and local nobles dare to do such things? After all, the late emperor is dead.

The new emperor, Fyodor, could only silently bear the consequences of these landmines planted by his father.

If it were a slightly less mediocre emperor, even if he could quell the rebellion by leveraging the remaining prestige of the previous emperor, he would likely end up as a puppet emperor, or even be overthrown as a "wicked person".

But Fyodor succeeded. In this time of crisis, the newly enthroned emperor was able to stabilize the situation, mobilize the army, and suppress the rebels. He annihilated the rebel army groups in "organizational" units, and then retained his throne, controlled St. Petersburg, the national capital and a large mobile city, and established the State Duma. Through checks and balances, he stabilized the country's situation, and for more than 20 years, there has been no uprising. He can be called a wise ruler!

Don't believe me? You can ask Alistair next door; he couldn't even save his own capital, and he lost his head too.

That was a pretty good play!

If there's one problem with him, it's perhaps that his thinking leans towards conservatism, and radicals don't particularly like him.

Grand Duke Baikal, the behind-the-scenes controller of the Third Army of the Ursus Empire, was a typical figure among the radicals. In private, he often slandered the emperor with his acquaintance, Viscount Kerk.

On one occasion, he approached Viscount Kerck and said the following:

"Our new emperor is simply outrageous! I never imagined that someone could be so conservative!"

Viscount Kerck, puzzled, asked:

"Why does the Grand Duke say that?"

Grand Prince Baikal immediately listed the emperor's conservative policies:

"He actually wants to abolish the unjust status of the infected, raise the status of all races in the country except Ursus to the same level as Ursus, ban the existence of illegal mining operations, and even improve people's livelihoods!"

"Which of these things is beneficial to the army group or the Ursus Empire?"

"Without infected people to serve as consumables, how can we test weapons, develop drugs, and free up cheap labor? The other races in our country are all losers after we conquered them. Since they are losers and the descendants of losers, why should they enjoy the same treatment as the victors? And the black mines, Your Majesty is naive. The Ursus Empire is not located above the three main Originium mines. Our Originium reserves have always been insufficient, and a large amount of Originium has to be imported from Rembitox. If we don't utilize the black mines, how can we sustain the consumption of a long war?"

Viscount Kerck agreed wholeheartedly, nodding as he asked:

"These policies are indeed absurd. Ursus is a more enterprising and pioneering country than Colombia. These policies are exactly the same as those of the conservatives who always advise us to stop conquering!"

"Did the Grand Duke not offer any advice to His Majesty when he heard these slanderous words?"

Grand Prince Baikal immediately turned red with anger, and even his long beard seemed to stand on end;

"Of course I gave my advice, and guess what His Majesty said?"

He said, "Then we just won't fight!"

Grand Prince Baikal was almost laughing with anger, and he stopped speaking politely, bluntly cursing: "Umbrella!"

"What nonsense is this! Conquer, plunder, and then become strong! This is the national policy of Ursus established by the late emperor. The late emperor was so wise. During his reign, Ursus was in its golden age. We fought constantly, won constantly, and grew stronger and stronger. This is the path that belongs to Ursus!"

"But what about His Majesty now? Does he want to overturn the national policies established by the late Emperor? Does he consider himself greater and wiser than the late Emperor?"

"Is he planning a rebellion?!"

Viscount Kerck knew he had no way to respond to that.

Grand Prince Baikal was the mastermind behind the Third Army. Although this army had chosen the wrong side during the great rebellion and was thus exiled to the frontier region, where it suffered suppression for a long time, the newly emerging city of Chernobog and the opening of the Yan Kingdom's Longmen to the outside world opened another window for this army.

Now, the Third Army is no longer as weak as it was immediately after the great rebellion ended.

Therefore, Grand Prince Baikal dared to say those words. Even though what he said was quite outrageous, and in Yan Kingdom it would almost be considered convict evidence of tearing up a family genealogy, this was Ursus.

As long as he doesn't actually rebel, he remains firmly in power. There's nothing that can be done; that's the strength of local military leaders. The emperor simply doesn't have the capacity to launch a long-distance expedition against them.

Of course, Viscount Kerck still has to remind you of one thing:

"Your Majesty, it's best to avoid saying such things these days. His Majesty has established a Ministry of the Interior in addition to the State Duma, and those executioners are already out in the open."

This naturally refers to the good days of Emperor Feodor of Ursus—the new agency established by the emperor within the city of St. Arthur, officially named the "General Bureau for Internal Affairs Rectification and Purification," or simply the Ministry of the Interior or the Bureau of Internal Affairs.

Of course, a new organization is not enough to deter local warlords like them, but this organization is rather special.

What's special is that the emperor's inner guards, who originally operated only behind the scenes and were even regarded as "spirits," "ghosts," and "urban legends" in many remote areas, have stepped into the public eye within this organization.

At first, no one took the news seriously, thinking that His Majesty the Emperor was just amusing himself in Saint-Germain Castle.

He can't really send his guards to kill nobles and military leaders, can he?

Then many of them were killed.

However, the nobles were shocked. I swelled up and said: "You're just kidding! You're really going to chop me up!"

In the past six months, many nobles have been murdered, and warlords in various places have also considered rebellion to remind His Majesty the Emperor that Ursus belongs to the Ursus people, not just His Majesty the Emperor. If the Ursus people are oppressed and live in constant fear of His Majesty the Emperor, the outcome may not be good.

But His Majesty the Emperor was firm; he showed no mercy whatsoever!

Those who deserve to be killed will be killed without hesitation! The crimes listed are well-founded and justified! It's hard to find any fault with them for the time being.

The warlords thought, "Fine, then we'll have to teach you a lesson!"

So they began plotting a rebellion.

But just as they were plotting and planning to launch an uprising to deliver a major blow to His Majesty the Emperor at the end of 1095, the Londinium Incident broke out.

The war that took place in Londinium was by no means a local conflict; its far-reaching impact could not be ignored by the entire Terra.

At this point, these "feudal lords" finally realized something.

His Majesty the Emperor seems to have real confidence.

Behind him was the World Summit, which, although unlikely to directly send troops, had long ago provided the emperor with the method for manufacturing airships.

They were not prepared for that kind of weapon.

After all, they are one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, although they are only a part of it. Which foreign enemy would dare to attack them for no reason?

They didn't develop any new weapons to deal with airships. Developing new weapons costs money. Financial problems aren't just a problem for the emperor. The central government is corrupt, and so are the local governments. Commissioner Smith was so eager to reach out, so how could these local "little Smiths" not reach out as much?

Moreover, while it is unlikely that the World Summit will directly send troops, it does not seem entirely impossible that the World Summit will do so.

With the Iberian War as a cautionary tale, if military action were truly necessary, a grand summit of nations could have provided a pretext. The only problem was that the emperor lacked the necessary resolve.

But if the emperor dared to be so conservative as to utter such heinous and ancestral words as "abolishing the unjust treatment of infected people," it's hard to say whether he's insane or just stupid, or whether he actually has the guts.

There was no other way; since the emperor was so tough, they naturally had no choice but to back down for now.

It doesn't matter whose descendants I eat; I'll eat the people the emperor killed anyway. Since I'm related to them, I'll even eat them first! After I'm done, I'll shout "Long live the Emperor!"

This sounds abstract, but it's not unusual for such an abstract country as Ursus to happen.

Grand Prince Baikal understood this as well, and normally he would have stopped talking at this point.

But today, he narrowed his eyes, a rare sight, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in them.

"Viscount Kerck, you are my dear friend. I'll ask you bluntly, do you aspire to do great things?"

"His Majesty the Emperor is now relying on foreigners to arbitrarily suppress our loyal ministers, often resorting to massacres and exterminations. This is not the behavior of a qualified monarch. I have advised him many times, but he still refuses to listen. Now, there are even rumors that he intends to bring Ernst into the country!"

Grand Prince Baikal sneered:

"Who is Ernst? He's just a guy from some backwater town like Shelag. Back when the late emperor was alive, our troops swept through Shelag and didn't even bother to linger in that poor, remote place. What talent could someone from such a place have?"

"What he did was nothing more than deceiving the world and stealing fame, using the power of a great nation to protect himself. Such a person is not even a strongman. What right does he have to set foot on the land of Ursus, and what right does he have to receive His Majesty's courtesy?"

"He is a treacherous minister! It was he who bewitched His Majesty, causing him to have these treasonous thoughts!"

If this weren't the Yan Kingdom, Grand Prince Baikal could have directly called for "purging the court of corrupt officials"!

In fact, what Fyodor did was not entirely unrelated to Ernst, after all, the saying "Ursus can accept a tyrant but not a mediocre ruler" was indeed said by Ernst.

But what Fyodor did was entirely his own decision, and Ernst was wronged.

Upon hearing this, Viscount Kerck realized why Baikal had summoned him today.

He asked somewhat flusteredly: s

"Your Highness, you're not going to do something to Ernst, are you?"

"Do not."