The elves were very grateful for the Crown Prince's radical behavior, but they did not forget that on the surface, the Crown Prince's behavior seemed to be to increase the country's control over the territory, but in essence it was aimed at the consortium.
From the ground point of view, these two areas are bordered by the core base camp of the consortium - Argent Tolatong. In the case of "something happens", a surprise attack can be launched from the flanks. Even if the progress is not smooth, from these
It is also easier to collect and dispatch food in the grain-producing area. Finally, this is outside the sphere of influence of the v.e company. The crown prince will hardly be attacked here, and he can build this place to target the Arabs with less interference.
Make Tolaton's base.
It is difficult for ordinary people to understand that a consortium that has always been all-pervasive would actually give up the Crown of Ostoria and Saint Stephen, which are both within easy reach. In fact, the reasons are very complicated.
The direct reason is Charlemagne's economic policy. Due to the existence of the internal customs line, any attempt to establish industry in the territory will suffer a heavy blow. Even if there are ways to circumvent the restrictions, the nobles and residents of the territory themselves will not be interested in the consortium.
There was a lot of resistance, and considering the related costs, the consortium actually gave up its plan to operate the territory.
Another reason that cannot be said is that this is a bait carefully prepared by the consortium for the Crown Prince - a poisonous bait that looks delicious but will actually choke him to death.
For a modern army, it is impossible to continue fighting without the support of a complete industrial system. In order to maintain his army, the Crown Prince must industrialize the territory. But without technical and financial support, it is impossible to turn two agricultural towns into industries.
It is easier said than done. The only way is to sacrifice the development of agriculture and light industry.
It is only possible to achieve this by developing and lowering people's living standards - that is, the path that the Soviet Union once took. However, everyone knows that that path is difficult to implement through administrative orders and political means, and the subordinates and subordinates will definitely resist it with all their strength.
The consortium will also collaborate with relevant stakeholders to oppose it, and it will eventually end in vain.
The peaceful approach is doomed to fail, so there is only one option left for the crown prince - to rely on bayonets and cannons to implement his "modernization reforms."
"Having sent all avowed and potential opponents to prison, the Crown Prince quickly sent his most capable men to the territories, and now the Crown Prince operates on four pillars - the standing army. The seated army.
officials, kneeling priests and all-pervasive secret police.”
Brunhil shook his head as he read. The liberals in Alfheim always accused the consul of being too arbitrary and called him a "dictator". They should really go to the crown to see the "great deeds" the crown prince has done.
Let’s see what it means to be a “lonely man and a thief of the people”.
After General Hainau began to implement military control, the first thing he did was to issue a pardon to the Crown Prince. The first article of the pardon almost shocked the entire crown prince.
"...From now on, 'once you discover a suspicious person with evil intentions, you must report it to the military or police.' and 'report the actions of your relatives' have become the sacred legal obligations of all citizens of the Crown Territory. Everyone must fulfill this obligation, otherwise according to the law
Military legal proceedings..."
Brunhil raised her head and looked at the ceiling with a strange expression, as if she had seen some exotic animal. After a while, she finally uttered a word.
"Genius. If he doesn't work as a spy, it would be a waste of talent."
"It seems that His Highness is very aware of how unpopular he and his policies are, so he doesn't waste time beating around the bush."
Li Lin's smile did not change at all, and the Crown Prince's astonishing move did not surprise him at all.
As a young authoritarian, the Crown Prince would not refuse the temptation to strengthen the secret police's reign of terror. On the day the pardon was promulgated, there was an additional police officer in Buda named "Ministry of State Security (a)", or "Ministry of National Security (A)" for short.
of “avo”
Secret Service. This department is commanded by Peter Gabor, the crown prince general who surrendered to the Crown Prince, and is directly under the direct leadership of General Heinau. It has three forces under its jurisdiction: political detectives, security forces in blue uniforms and "borders" in green uniforms.
"troops", that is, the border guards.
Among the three forces, the most elite is the security force. Its recruitment standards are almost as strict as the Nazi SS's standards for selecting "pure Aryans". In addition to strict requirements on physical fitness, they also have to undergo complex training.
Due to political censorship, only those who were most loyal to Charlemagne and the Crown Prince could enter the security forces, receive rigorous military training, and be issued sophisticated weapons.
The duty of the Border Force is to guard the border, but their task is not to prevent foreigners from entering the Crown Territory, but to prevent people from the Crown Territory from leaving. Judging from the report, they have sealed the border and are trying to establish a 3-kilometer perimeter along the border.
Once the construction of a complete blockade system including foot-high walls, patrols, sentry turrets, and triggered semi-autonomous spells is completed, I am afraid that no one will be able to climb over the "defense wall of wrong ideas" to Charlemagne's homeland or other places.
nation.
As for the political detectives... Brynhildr, who had had a lot of dealings with the Stasi, also felt cold to this group of scum. Before these people entered the Crown Territory, they had already developed the skills to capture, interrogate and torture prisoners.
, they went around searching for those who were dissatisfied with the occupation policy and independentists, and every time they captured one
Winning the prize. The arrested persons were sent to the Afou headquarters in Chain Bridge Square, which was still under construction. In order not to disturb the staff working here, the torture was initially carried out in the basement. However, in only two days, the underground torture chamber was completed.
It was no longer sufficient, so it was moved to the fourth and fifth floors of the building, and new cells were built at the same time.
The use of cells by political detectives can only be described as "cannot wait". Once the cells are built, arrested persons will be detained in them immediately, while the cells next door may still be under construction! In this way, Buda City was turned into a human world.
hell.
"What a genius. I can't think of any other words to describe that His Highness."
"Dictator, arrogant, paranoid, many words can be used for him, but it has nothing to do with us."
Li Lin shrugged, took out the teacup from the dining cart next to his desk, picked up the teapot and poured tea into the cup, and said in a relaxed and cheerful tone:
"The second part of the pardon is about the grain monopoly. After reading that, you will have a deeper understanding of the crown prince's genius mind."
"This...I don't even know what to say..."
After reading a few lines of words, Brunhil smiled bitterly and shook her head. This time she really couldn't find any adjectives to describe the stupid behavior of the crown prince and his group of senior advisers.
Everyone knows that without the army, none of the crown prince's plans can be implemented; and without food, even with the army, there is not much the crown prince can do. In order to support industrialization, the crown prince decided to sacrifice the agriculture and light industry of the territory, but he
At the same time, we must maintain the front line
and local food supply, so as not to attract censure from other political forces in the country. However, the two are an irreconcilable contradiction. Choosing one side will inevitably give up the other. As a result, His Highness Louis once again used his extraordinary thinking and decisively decided to use extraordinary means to solve the problem.
This contradiction.
The second part of the amnesty order: Grain monopoly will be implemented from now on. The amnesty order will be promulgated in various places in the Crown Territory within one week. Each grain holder must submit for sale all surplus grain except seed grain and quota consumption before the next harvest.
.Anyone who hoards food will be punished mercilessly by the military control authorities; anyone who has surplus food and does not transport it to the grain collection station will be regarded as an enemy of Charlemagne and all mankind. He will be sentenced to death or more than 10 years of hard labor, and will be confiscated.
All property and family members were permanently expelled from the village.
As if this was not enough to stimulate the people of the crown, the pardon also added a paragraph - the government will use military stamps to pay for the purchase of grain, and those who refuse to accept military stamps are guilty of the same crime as those who resist food requisition...
"Besides rebellion, I can't think of any other choice for the people of the Crown."
Brynhildr shook her head and sighed. She was no longer interested in reading the remaining clauses such as prohibiting gatherings, prohibiting comments on national affairs, and prohibiting making fun of Charlemagne and Charlemagne's royal family.
The first and second items alone are enough to completely anger the people in the crown, and the rest of the stuff is just garnishing.
The people of the Crown Territory have always been relatively obedient territorial people. They do not have high demands on the rulers. They just ask them not to mess around and create poverty and hunger for everyone. As for independence, that is for the gentlemen.
Among other things, what everyone is most concerned about is the whereabouts of three meals a day.
However, Crown Prince Louis's policies not only hurt their self-esteem, but also intended to take away the little food they relied on for survival. Under such cruel and high-pressure control measures, they really had no choice but to rebel.
Li Lin's view is similar, but he has one reservation.
"They will definitely rebel. This is a matter of time, but the matter has not yet reached the point of irreversibility."
Swirling the teacup in his hand, Li Lin said meaningfully:
"The person who issued these instructions was the Crown Prince."
"Yes, it was indeed the Crown Prince who gave the order..."
Brunhil didn't understand what Li Lin wanted to express. Everyone knew that these were the masterpieces of His Highness Louis...
Then, she understood.
"You mean, Charlemagne will put all the responsibility on the crown prince?"
"If Richelieu had made the decision, he would definitely do this."
Due to the idea of royal power that has been spread throughout the world since ancient times, King Charlemagne is a kind of fatherly figure who "suppresses the strong and supports the weak" in the minds of his country and the people in the territories. Therefore, after being forced into a corner, they will naturally end up
A glimmer of hope was pinned on the "loving father". He hoped to stop the crown prince's violent rule by writing a letter to the king. It was precisely because of this situation that the crown prince quickly closed the border to prevent anyone from going to Lüdes to complain.
Since the people still have a glimmer of hope and the situation is indeed critical, let the cold-faced cardinal make a choice. He will definitely choose to sacrifice the crown prince to some extent in exchange for the territory's loyalty and obedience to Charlemagne.
"That's fine. Let's stand still for the time being and let Charlemagne kill this illusion himself."
"I see."
All along, the Stasi has been secretly searching for people in the territory who can cause trouble for Charlemagne, and has achieved certain results. But as long as the majority of the people still hold on to that illusion, they will have reservations about their support for the rebellion.
The unrest that Heim hoped to see would be difficult to achieve.
In this case, just ignore them.
Helping them is a waste of time and resources, and letting them harbor fantasies is more conducive to achieving the goals of the Elf camp.
Hope is the prelude to despair.
As long as the greater the expectation that the "loving father" will take action to end the tyranny, when that hope is shattered, it will bring endless discouragement and despair. The target of people's blame will shift from the crown prince and the tyrannical bureaucrats around him directly to Charlemagne and Charles IV.
In the world itself, endless hatred will turn into a violent revolution demanding national independence and the abolition of the monarchy. In order to extinguish the revolutionary plague, the royal families of various countries will inevitably join forces to suppress it with force, which will further tear apart the identity within the human camp.
Because of this, Li Lin chose to let go. Let those foolish people stuff their hopes and fantasies into the balloon, wait for the right time, and give a shot to the balloon that has inflated to the extreme.
Carefully cultivate today's despair and hatred for tomorrow's despair, for the next war, for the next war.
This is very reasonable, really, very reasonable, and it can be said that it is very consistent with Li Lin's style of thinking.
"Although I'm a little sorry... let us appreciate what the crown leaders can do."
Shaking the white porcelain tea cup, the Alfheim Archon smiled ruthlessly and cruelly. (To be continued...)