The land-clearing campaign had unfolded in an orderly fashion, driving the kingdom's wave of reform to its peak. Public opinion boiled over, and every government department introduced reform measures.
With it came pressure!
Of the ministers responsible for the reforms, Hudson continued eating and drinking as usual, while the others were nearly worried gray-haired.
Even merely rectifying official conduct had encountered unprecedented resistance. The local noble lords refused to cooperate, confining the reforms within the Royal City.
Even with so many difficulties, the Alpha Kingdom remained the envy of the many nations currently undergoing reform.
No matter how great the difficulties were, the reforms had ultimately continued moving forward. Unlike those poor wretches, whose nations had been full of supporters before reform began and full of opponents afterward.
After seeing off the foreign envoys who had come to learn from their experience, Caesar IV could not decide whether to laugh or cry. His own affairs were troubling enough, yet there were so many even more miserable unlucky bastards.
By this point in the kingdom's reforms, let alone winning the full support of the local powerholders, even the royal family itself had produced a great many opponents.
The nobles who supported reform were basically concentrated in the kingdom's newly added provinces, which were poor and barren. They were simply being generous with other people's money.
The only consolation was that, amid the chorus of opposition, the great cause of reform was still advancing slowly.
"Your Majesty, the situation is rather bad!
"In the pilot regions, tax collection this quarter fell far short of expectations. The taxes collected were not even two-thirds of what they had been before.
"The noble lords who handed over their tax-collection authority appeared to cooperate with us, but all their external transactions were labeled as gifts, causing