novelraw #248 - Section 248
#248 - Section 248
The Empire has undergone several rounds of industrial upgrading and has established a sufficiently deep patent barrier in high-precision manufacturing. It is not at all afraid that the great powers can bypass the Empire's control and form a technological competition to rival it.
Without the opportunity to steal a complete industrial system from the literally "furry bear," referring to Russia, without a spontaneous, nationwide effort from top to bottom, the great powers can indeed use trade to obtain several times the profits they used to, but the Qing Teng Empire still earns the lion's share.
Those feudal nobles, even if they become capitalists, are only compradores or resource monopolists, not innovators.
In addition, with a crippled production and processing link, it needs to be combined to be a world factory, and there is no possibility of overtaking on a curve.
It's like the Middle East, do they have money? They really have money.
But having money doesn't buy you a complete manufacturing system.
Even with the highest level of weapons and equipment, there is no matching logistics and soldier combat effectiveness, and it is impossible to combine a world-class strong army.
You dare to believe that even a guerrilla team with military advisers can defeat the government army?
And this wave of trade opening by the great powers, opening the country to welcome the Empire's investment, can also be regarded as solving the bottleneck in the Empire's next development.
At this moment, after several years of continuous adjustment, and with unified thinking among officials at all levels, the proportion of the population in agriculture and industry in the Empire has finally reached a reasonable distribution, looking at the abundant granaries.
However, facing the huge resource consumption of various industries, the entire empire cannot squeeze out more industrial population, and the problem of insufficient labor will soon appear.
The Empire's military pressure is too great, and there are super projects launched by the whole country at the same time, and people are needed everywhere.
Whether it is a huge floating fortress like the "Eternal Night" or the storage, utilization, and weaponization of anti-magic elements, or even the further strengthening of machinery using divine power, these are all super projects comparable to Manhattan, Apollo, and Two Bombs and One Star (两弹一星: Two Bombs and One Star, referring to the atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, and artificial satellite programs of China).
This kind of super project, even with the help of magic, also requires the mobilization of the entire society for processing and manufacturing.
Moreover, it is regardless of cost, and requires countless productivity to be invested regardless of cost.
Take the Eternal Night, a strategic weapon that has already been designed, for example, its manufacturing also requires 100,000 enterprises and factories of various sizes, as well as top-notch project management talents to coordinate in the middle, and many core components that require alchemist masters to complete.
Even if the manufacturing precision of magic crystal machinery is constantly improving today, the hands of people, especially the hands of alchemist masters with hundreds of years of manufacturing experience and blessed by magic, are still the ultimate manufacturing machines beyond extremely strong.
At this time, transferring basic manufacturing to the great powers has become a good solution, which can liberate the Empire's outstanding talents.
The great powers also welcome this transfer. They dare not compare with the manufacturing capabilities of the Qing Teng Empire, but they also envy the industrial dividends that the Terra Kingdom's cottage industry has enjoyed!
Although the great powers' attempt to encircle and suppress the Terra Kingdom has completely failed, it does not mean that they do not want to teach Tasika a lesson!
They certainly don't want war.
Having experienced this big joke, they have understood that the fools who are willing to fight for themselves are all dead.
The remaining people see the so-called national honor and disgrace clearly, and belong to the kind of broken throw the pot away after it's broken, meaning not caring about the consequences who are completely disappointed and will not have any expectations for the future.
It is difficult to find a way to mobilize the enthusiasm of people who don't even care about living or dying, and make them work for themselves.
As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Although the people at the bottom are weak, if they are no longer afraid of death, there is really no way to threaten them into action.
Those populations of the great powers who are addicted to the Elysium Illusion are no longer lying flat, but lying dead.
Fortunately, they still have the lowest survival needs. It is hopeless to expect them to fight desperately, but it is still possible to manage them to work hard and produce seriously.
As long as we produce enough, hold on to Luo Gong's thigh, and continue to upgrade with his help, will we still be able to slap Tasika in the face one day?
These nobles of the great powers are not good at managing the country, but they still have the level of fighting spirit for jealousy and jealousy.
As long as Tasika publicly publishes some remarks like "I am not targeting anyone, you great powers are all trash" every day, the kings will inevitably lean more towards the Qing Teng Empire.
Gene-directed editing has already had small-scale pilots, and they are all voluntary applications from citizens who want to increase income and improve production efficiency.
The correct use of this technology can produce talents who are excellent in all aspects, like the Adjusters, and thus build a powerful country.
However, the cost of research and development is huge, and it will take a long time to implement, and not every upper class has this determination and patience.
The Qing Teng Empire has foreseen that the broadest bottom people of the great powers will most likely be transformed into professional workers specializing in production.
This will allow the productivity controlled by the nobles to expand, and also allow their rule to be maintained forever without external interference, and there will be no possibility of overthrowing tyranny from the bottom up.
Of course, once the Eternal Night World passes, doing this kind of thing is only one in ten thousand, and bloodline theory is the mainstream.
Rampant gene modification will probably create an upper class specializing in magic and combat, and a lower class specializing in production. The bloodline theory will be promoted more extremely, and the nobles will be as unreachable as Zerg mother emperors.
The people at the bottom will be greatly divided and unacknowledged because of their occupations. At the same time, they will only specialize in a single field and have to rely on each other, and must be managed and suppressed by superiors with sufficient force.
This social form will give birth to the ultimate inheritance of father's business, and it is gene-enhanced, so you are good at this job, and you can only get better and better on one road to the end.
It doesn't matter if a certain industry declines, the confirmed new industry will provide free transformation.
One can imagine how distorted the world will be when this gene is popularized.
But that is not the matter of the human race, nor is it forced by the Qing Teng Empire, but the road chosen by the rulers of your race.
If the rulers are diligent and love the people, they can still learn from the Terra Kingdom, strive to develop technology and govern diligently, establish an irreplaceable advantage in a certain environment, and the people will also spontaneously strive to learn and use creativity to catch up with the productivity of gene specialization.
Unfortunately, in this era, queens like Tasika are rare talents.
The Qing Teng Empire chose such a strategy because it really has no time.
To conquer the complex races of the Eternal Night World one by one, and then promote cultural strategies to make guys with completely different appearances recognize themselves as people of the Empire...
How many years would that take, how much blood would be shed, before production could be officially restored, instead of having guerrilla teams every day, bombing their own factories and mines?
Being the same human race, it took an unknown number of means and how much time to win over the hearts of the people and bring them back to the Empire, just to digest the remnants of the seventeen countries.
It will be more difficult and longer to forcibly integrate races with completely different skin colors, appearances, cultures, and lifespans into the Empire.
With the personality of the Eternal Night Empress, she would either kill them all and only want the land and the Xiyuan (西苑: West Garden), or turn them all into slaves. These are the only two choices after cross-racial conquest.
To expect the Sanhe大神(三和大神: Sanhe Great Gods, referring to unemployed people loitering in the Sanhe area of Shenzhen) who are addicted to the Elysium Illusion to spontaneously strive upwards and pursue the prosperity of the country is like expecting black uncles to raise their children by themselves after giving birth, which is a rather small probability event.
If the Eternal Night World did not have the external enemy of the Seven Gods, perhaps Roger would try to work hard.
But now they don't have time. The best option is to allow the existing ruling structures of the great powers to exist and manage the labor force relatively efficiently.
Of course, there are also factions and differences within the great powers, especially the existence of the Churches of the Gods, which is a tumor that the Empire must help to solve.
At the same time, in order to resist the counterattack from the Underdark, Roger quietly came to the Elven Empire, the royal capital on the World Tree, "Leaf of Asgard."
Chapter 224: The Other Side of the Perfect Princess
Leaf of Asgard, this is one of the most beautiful and elegant cities in the Eternal Night World, and it was presented in the game like a fleeting glimpse.
Elven beauties, a must-see subject for lsp (lsp: 老色批, perverts), game companies always know what people want.
Completely disregarding practicality, only considering the beautiful architectural style, tens of thousands of years of artistic accumulation and cultural precipitation, this is a paradise for old nobles, and the favorite destination for the rich to show off their wealth during the rise of the City of Freedom.
Even after the rise of the City of Freedom, countless old nobles still prefer Leaf of Asgard, believing that the cultural atmosphere here is worthy of everyone's old fox cunning.
The Elven Royal Capital that players see in the game is actually just the surrounding civilian and commercial districts.
As a race with a long history and unparalleled arrogance, the peak of the elves is no longer there, but their temper has not changed at all.
At that time, the player character was a human race, and the elves they knew were not great nobles, so they didn't see any white eyes in Leaf of Asgard.
But now Roger has arrived as a special envoy of the Empire, carrying hundreds of billions of Qing Teng coins worth of contracts, and may represent the official investment and construction of the Empire. The Elven Empress personally welcomes him.
Elven great nobles also accompany him in and out on weekdays. Except for the Queen's and Princesses' palaces, and the Church Temple that has always maintained an extremely hostile attitude towards the Qing Teng Empire, he is free to enter and exit Leaf of Asgard and tour around at will.
On the surface, Roger is here for a new round of trade negotiations. The construction projects of electricity and railway transportation lines within the Elven Empire will be jointly invested by the Qing Teng Empire and the Elven Empire, and a large number of joint ventures will be established.
The development of the Qing Teng Empire has already demonstrated the importance of infrastructure projects.
The Elven Empire understands that this is a national project and wants to keep it in its own hands, but they have been crazily squeezed for wealth by the Terra Kingdom in recent years, and they can't come up with the money even if they want to build it.
Roger has brought the Empire's investment intention, which can get the Elven Empire's infrastructure up and running and keep up with the pace of progress of the whole world, at least not to fall behind.
There is a hidden danger of having the lifeline in the hands of other countries, but they can only grit their teeth and swallow it.
Because once the surrounding countries have completed the upgrade of related infrastructure, the Elven Empire will be comprehensively behind in transportation and basic living security, and the losses will be even greater.
Of course, the Qing Teng Empire wants the Elven Empire to improve its productivity, and then the goods produced can be transported out, and the cost is controlled within a certain range. It does not have the intention of actually ruling the Elven Empire.
So, it only participates in investment to ensure its own profitability, and is not very interested in controlling shares.
However, because it participates in construction, it is inevitable to grasp many arrangements and secrets of the Elven Empire. This will cause the Elven Empire to turn against the Empire one day, and the inside may encounter very precise "destruction."
And secretly, Roger took advantage of this round of negotiations and quietly reached an agreement with some authoritative figures within the Elven Empire that the Empire would assist them in expelling the influence of theocracy.
People are extremely greedy. The pace of foreign wars has been held back, so when they want to expand their power internally, they can only let their peers out as much as possible.
In the past, theocracy was a supplement to kingship. It could play a role in assisting in educating the people and reducing the cost of rule.
But now, the function of theocracy has been infinitely weakened by the Elysium Illusion, and it has become a drag that must be maintained by the power of faith and consumes the country's vital forces. Many people have begun to dislike theocracy and the Churches of the Gods.
The gods regard the nobles and officials among mortals as sheepdogs, but in the eyes of the less devout nobles, the church and pastors are just small whips to help them make the horses run faster.
Now the Elysium Illusion is obviously the better small whip. The church not only can't help, but also sucks its own blood, consumes the population to fight useless battles, and causes itself to be unable to be tough against Tasika. Many nobles are already thinking about how to deal with the theocracy in their territory.
The only reason they haven't acted immediately is the lack of strength.
Especially in the Elven Empire, there are quite a few devout believers. First and foremost is the current Elven Empress, Gladys Moonwalker. She is an absolutely devout believer in the God of Nature and absolutely impossible to convert.
It is said that the Moonwalker family is flowing with the blood of the God of Nature, so they can become the royal family of the Elven Empire, and it is also relying on the power of the church that they have not been shaken for ten thousand years, and are one of the oldest families in this world.
Many people have opinions on the Church of Nature, but no one has ever taken action until Roger, on behalf of the Qing Teng Empire, quietly expressed that he could "contribute" to help them solve the troubles of the gods, and finally there was hope for action.
The highest decision-making of the Elven Empire is formulated and executed by the Governing Council, which is jointly negotiated by nineteen governors.
The Queen and the Cabinet are responsible for daily rule, but the governors who are close to the Moonwalker family occupy the vast majority of seats in the entire council, so the Elven Empire rarely has national policies that can violate the Queen's orders.
The Elven Empress does not agree with suppressing theocracy, and even if several governors unite, there is no way.
"Lord Luo, do you have any way to persuade our Majesty?"
At this moment, Roger is talking about these governors who are already dissatisfied with the God of Nature.
"There must be a way. You only need to support Princess Windsor's proposal at the next Governing Council meeting."
Roger showed a smile that the situation was under control.
"Ah, that perfect princess? She, like her mother, is the most devout believer!"
"I can't say more about the specific situation. You only need to remember to cooperate with what I said. The Empire must be the Empire of the Elves, not belonging to any gods."
Roger showed a playful smile and swept across the six governors present.
Although it is not enough for half of the nineteen governors, as long as it is arranged properly, the Elven Empire will inevitably change.
...
...
Windsor Moonwalker, the eldest daughter of the contemporary Elven Empress, the Crown Princess, and also known as the Perfect Princess.
Whether it is magical talent, or appearance, personal charm, or even words and deeds, she is a perfect model of the Elven race, and is a perfect heir who cannot be faulted in any way.
From the Empress to the upper and lower echelons of the Elven Empire, including the Church of Nature, all had high hopes for Princess Windsor, believing that she would lead the Elven Empire to continued glory after the current Empress's lifespan came to an end.
However, in a side quest in the game, Roger knew that this Princess Windsor was not as well-behaved as she appeared, and deep down, she was also tired of the image she presented in public.
From childhood to adulthood, she excelled in everything she did, showing no flaws and meeting all the requirements of her elders for an heir, but this was actually what her mother, the current Elven Empress, demanded.
Regarding Windsor's growth path, Gladys had formulated a detailed plan down to every hour since her birth, and fortunately, Windsor was also an extremely talented and intelligent child, always able to complete her mother's requirements very well.
This excellent display, coupled with the royal family's publicity, made the perfect princess well-known and loved by everyone.
The life expectancy of elves in this world is about four hundred years, and the Elven Empress, as a legendary powerhouse, can live for more than a thousand years without any problem.
She gave birth to Windsor when she was eight hundred years old. Now Princess Windsor is one hundred years old. In another hundred years or so, no one doubts that Princess Windsor will be the next Empress.
For humans, this may be like 'how can there be a crown prince for two hundred years?', but for an Elven Princess, it is actually very normal.
Moreover, from now on, Princess Windsor is already the Governor of the Elven Empire, serving as the Imperial Minister of Culture.
In the Elven Empire, which respects art and loves enjoyment, this is not a idle position, but a very important one.
Princess Windsor naturally performed very perfectly. During her tenure, she implemented many excellent policies, relaxed the management caliber, and made the Elven Empire's cultural industry unprecedentedly active, giving birth to many excellent artists.
In this way, her voice and popularity were even higher, and Gladys's reputation for teaching her daughter well also fell on Princess Windsor's head.
After secretly meeting with the six governors, Roger stayed in Yassil's Leaf under the guise of a vacation, doing what an elegant noble should do:
Listening to concerts, enjoying elven cuisine, reading the treasured collections of poetry here, admiring the museums, and not making any excessive demands to the accompanying elven court butler.
An old elf, so young a duke, still unmarried, who was superficially respectful but inwardly quite arrogant and looked down on the human race, was quite worried that Roger would make some rude request.
Until the third day, Roger came to the Elven Clan's Kendo Hall to participate in their anonymous challenge.
As long-lived species, elves study various skills to extremely high levels, naturally including kendo.
The Kendo Hall is a pure arena for comparing sword skills, without using any magic or auxiliary means. The pure and sharp sword skills of the elven sword saints are also quite famous in the Eternal Night World.
The anonymous challenge is a battle that anyone can participate in. A total of one thousand people sign up, with an elimination system. The winner will be decided in one night, and the final winner will receive quite generous rewards.
The competition is three minutes per round. If no winner is determined, both are eliminated. It is a very cruel rule and also tests the element of luck. Countless kendo masters will come to experience it and test their capacity.