A Person in Terra, With No Books Left to Read

For Feodor, this was a time to fiercely compete with the old nobility. His failure to launch a war to expand territory largely went against the common understanding of Ursus citizens. Therefore, even as the domestic economy gradually improved, many still favored the war faction.

But now, things were different; Feodor had gained confidence. He loudly proclaimed:

"You all said I couldn't expand Ursus's strength without starting a war! Look now, through my mediation, we've acquired Kazimierz's territory without expending a single soldier!"

A large number of wavering nobles sided with Feodor, and his recognition and support among the Ursus populace also greatly increased. Moreover, the newly acquired lands belonged entirely to the Emperor and had no relation to the old nobility, so their distribution was entirely up to Feodor's discretion.

Kazdel's actions instantly tore a rift in the old Ursus nobility's suppression of Feodor, finally giving the nearly suffocating Feodor a chance to consolidate his forces.

Feodor: "Is this what Yan calls 'sending charcoal in the snow'?"

As soon as Theresica returned to Kazdel, Vitt, the Speaker of the Ursus Imperial Council, immediately initiated a visit.

"Mr. Vitt, it's been a long time."

"Ah, Your Majesty, please allow me to forgo pleasantries and express my gratitude first."

Currently, across all of Terra, no other nation could possess such a harmonious atmosphere during a visit to Ursus.

Vitt said, "His Majesty the Emperor is very concerned about Kazdel's current situation and specifically ordered me to visit."

"Thank you very much, Ursus's care touches me deeply."

Theresica offered a polite remark, then began to pour out his troubles.

"Kazimierz's Knight Errants are truly formidable! They charge forward on their mounts, their imposing figures and the commotion they cause are immense; our soldiers are often so terrified they flee the battlefield! Even the battle supervisors can't stop them!"

"Then how did you defeat them?"

"That was pure luck. They were overconfident and caught off guard, and because they didn't rest after a long march, we had a slim chance of victory. But even so, our losses were still heavy, and we can only barely maintain the coastal defense line."

Theresica's face was filled with grief. Vitt observed him carefully for a while, unable to discern the truth, and could only say:

"Your Majesty, Kazdel's situation is truly heartbreaking. If you are willing, I can find a way to gradually transfer the Wendigos within Ursus back to Kazdel. I believe they will be a great help in defending against the Seaborn."

Huh?

Theresica was astonished. Could there be such a good thing?

Wendigos were genuine war machines! They were extremely robust, possessed excellent physical condition, and could use Originium arts. But they had originally left Kazdel; why would Ursus not want them? They had always guarded the northern demon defense line for Ursus.

Theresica did not give an answer on the spot, delaying it until near dinner time. Following his previous experience, he prepared a banquet and brought in some Shapeshifters.

After several groups accompanied Vitt in heavy drinking, Theresica learned why Ursus had disbanded the Wendigo troops through his drunken ramblings and the analysis of several clan leaders, including Shapeshifters and Banshees.

It turned out that in addition to guarding the north, the Wendigo troops also participated in Terra's conventional wars under the old Emperor's orders. Ursus had always harbored discrimination against alien races. Although the old Emperor had suppressed it, the highest position attainable by alien races who had fought for Ursus for many years was only that of an Ursus captain.

He was not confident that his son could continue to suppress this trend, so his dying wish included orders to disband the Wendigo troops and have the Sixth Army Group take over the defenses.

Feodor immediately carried out the latter, which allowed the Sixth Army Group, who did not support him, to be pinned down on the Northern Plains. However, while the disbandment of the Wendigos was nominally carried out, Feodor had actually been trying to absorb these Sarkaz.

This led to the rejection of all of Feodor's current supporters, as it would inevitably elevate the Wendigos further and allow them entry into Ursus's core power circle, something they were unwilling to see, regardless of whether they supported the new Emperor.

Seeing this situation, Feodor dared not dismantle his power base and could only try to find a way to de-escalate the tense situation, the most direct method being to send them back to where they came from.

Thus, Vitt came under the guise of helping to defend against the Seaborn.

Theresica pondered for a moment, "Thank you for Ursus's help."

"It is only right to help sincere allies," Vitt said, blushing. "However, Your Majesty, there is also something I wish to trouble you with..."

Chapter 65: Grand Overhaul

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Ursus had sent such a great gift as the Wendigos, and naturally, they would also propose corresponding requests.

Yan was the true controller behind East, which was why East could hold out during the Russo-Eastern War.

The old Ursus Emperor's dying order was to negotiate peace with East. Now, Feodor wanted to go a step further and mend relations with Yan. The way to repair the relationship was for both countries to each provide a mobile territory and establish a brand-new commercial mobile city in the desert.

If successful, it would not only strongly boost the economy of Ursus's border regions but also allow them to reduce military strength along the southeastern border and enhance Saint Petersburg's influence.

However, Feodor currently had very few people he could trust. He could barely manage domestic affairs, let alone send anyone to the desert! Moreover, the people chosen might have ties to the old nobility, and if they caused trouble, it could potentially erupt into war.

In this situation, Kazdel, a small nation that did not belong to Ursus but could represent Ursus's stance, was very suitable for involvement.

Feodor decided to hire Kazdel to provide military protection against desert nomads and a certain degree of logistical support for Ursus and Yan's joint city-building initiative.

When large countries let even a little slip, small countries could eat their fill.

After carefully reviewing the documents provided by Vitt, Theresica found that this statement was indeed true; the prices offered were truly tempting, and it would also provide an opportunity to connect with Yan.

However, this would also bring Kazdel into a completely new environment, facing two formidable Terra overlords, Ursus and Yan, in close proximity. Kazdel would have to tread very carefully in everything, and any slight misstep could bring about immense disaster.

The document before him was both a danger and an opportunity. So, should he shrink back and develop slowly on his own, or hitch a ride on a thrilling express train?

"...This matter, Sarkaz is fully capable of handling it, please rest assured."

After some internal deliberation, Theresica accepted. All countries on Terra were developing, and if Kazdel's progress was slower than others, it would essentially be falling behind.

Upon hearing that Sarkaz had agreed to the request, Vitt rose and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I will return to my country to report. When everything is officially implemented, Ursus diplomatic personnel will come to discuss the specific details."

"Mm, alright."

Theresica smiled and saw Vitt off, but after he left, a look of melancholy instantly replaced all his smiles.

"Why do you look so worried?"

Yelena, who accompanied him, looked confused. Theresica could only sigh powerlessly.

"It's hard being a small country caught between larger ones."

On June 1, 1071, Terra time, Kazimierz began fulfilling the agreed-upon reparations. This day was also considered the true end of the war between the two nations.

Kazimierz paid a large sum of Rubles to Kazdel's National Bank. Simultaneously, transport ships arrived in Kazdel, unloading production materials and industrial machinery intended for the Sarkaz. Afterward, they loaded the prisoners who had paid the war ransom onto the transport ships.

Out of 120,000 prisoners, Kazimierz redeemed all the Beast-Riding Knights and a portion of the Foot Knights, totaling 60,000 people. The remaining prisoners held no interest for the Council.

Most of these were from ordinary, minor knightly families with little wealth. Russell also didn't have much funding left, so these individuals had to be reluctantly abandoned.

"Your Majesty, what shall we do with these people? Kill them all?"

The Absolver in charge of the prisoners didn't know what to do. Kazdel's food couldn't be used to support outsiders for free.

"Let them... go mining!"

After careful consideration, Theresica decided to send these abandoned prisoners to mine Originium.

This was purely manual labor, and it was a significant loss to have Sarkaz, who had an affinity for Originium, do the mining. He reassigned all the original miners to the Originium refining factories for purification. The mines were entirely handed over to the Kuranta.

Theresica decreed that the Kuranta would receive the same living conditions as the original Sarkaz miners, but their movement range during leisure time would be restricted, and they would not be issued protective gear.

This stuff couldn't be allowed to spread!

However, doing so made Theresica feel a slight pang of guilt. He knew protective measures existed but deliberately chose not to provide them to these individuals.

Yet, the Kuranta left behind in Kazdel showed no displeasure. They were ordinary people from Kazimierz themselves and often worked to supplement their families' income.

To their surprise, while mining here offered no wages, the food and lodging were better than what Kazimierz miners received. The wages of Kazimierz miners might not even be enough to afford such food and lodging! Furthermore, if you mined more here, you received extra beast meat as a reward. In Kazimierz, the foremen would practically wish you wouldn't eat at all!

Kazdel's high-purity Originium output surged. Coupled with Kazimierz's economic reparations, Theresica began a major overhaul of Kazdel.

First, Kazdel's first medical university and its affiliated hospital were established. Warfarin was appointed as the President and Dean, responsible for student training and hospital construction.

Next, the initial industrial skills school was integrated. Except for the shipbuilding training school, all other factory training schools were consolidated to form Kazdel Industrial Skills Vocational College. It was divided into military and civilian categories, further specialized by machine type, and recruited students nationwide. Currently, there were full-time accelerated programs for those transitioning from primary school, and part-time classes for everyone.

All current military and civilian production workers were enrolled in the part-time classes for assessment. Those who passed graduated directly and received slightly more monthly rations, while those who didn't continued to train while working. Zeppelin found this puzzling.

"Your Majesty, with your assembly-line production, the current state of the workers is perfectly adequate. Why waste time on further training?"

"It's enough for now, but what about the future? Technology will advance, and those workers might not be suitable then."

Theresica said, "If we don't constantly ensure these workers keep pace, will we just discard them all later?"

"I understand."

Zeppelin immediately grasped the meaning. His Majesty was right. Kazdel was currently producing simple products. What if they became more complex in the future? Then these workers would face the crisis of being phased out.

After establishing the two schools, Theresica created another for the military: Kazdel Military Academy.

It was divided into three categories: officers, non-commissioned officers, and technical soldiers. All squad leaders and above in the army were enrolled in officer professional development courses, while soldiers were all enrolled in non-commissioned officer courses and could optionally take a technical soldier specialization.

The instructors were retired veterans who had survived Sarkaz's constant warfare. The textbooks were compiled by Absolvers and Banshees, with materials sourced from the... corpses of countless enemy professional soldiers.

Chapter 66: The Trap

Military history was practically synonymous with Sarkaz history. The veterans who survived countless wars might lack physical strength or be outdated in their thinking, but they possessed an innate, soul-deep intuition for self-preservation and effective enemy elimination.

The Absolvers obtained the materials, provided them to these veterans, and selected them based on feedback from active-duty officers and soldiers. The materials were then personally reviewed by Theresica, and finally compiled into textbooks for various subjects by the Banshees and distributed to the Military Academy.

The previous literacy campaign for soldiers proved very effective. Although there were minor hiccups in military instruction, the overall progress was smooth.

Taking advantage of this educational construction, Theresica also revised the primary school curriculum. The existing physical education classes were completely transformed into military training, including physical fitness and drill training, basic disassembly and assembly of semi-automatic crossbows, and shooting.

A new subject was also added: Ideology Class. It didn't have the strong ideological undertones of Earth's at the moment, merely providing a general overview of the differences between Kazdel and foreign countries, the role of the Planning Committee, and some essential viewpoints. The course materials were personally written by Theresica, with Amaya serving as the instructor and reviewer.

Kazdel's funds had never been so abundant. Kazimierz had single-handedly revived Sarkaz with its reparations. After addressing the immediate pressing construction needs, there was still a substantial amount of money left in the accounts. Therefore, Theresica turned his attention to infants and young children – the future!

He announced throughout Kazdel that all pregnant women in the country would henceforth receive one month of prenatal leave and three months of postnatal leave. Pregnant women with multiple births would receive four months of postnatal leave. During this period, they would not be required to work and would receive free food. Furthermore, the daily necessities, health, and medical needs of infants and young children aged 0-6 would be provided by the Planning Committee.

While Kazdel was bustling with activity, the outside world was not idle.

With the permission of Ursus and Yan, the two major rogue nations of Terra, the newly formed Kazdel Cavalry Army immediately charged into the wilderness. Their mission was to clear out all bandit groups operating within the area where the two great powers were about to jointly establish a city.

The well-equipped cavalry against the wilderness bandits was a complete slaughter.

Theresica personally inspected a battle involving the Kazdel Cavalry Army. They charged at a group of bandits with no escape route. Semi-automatic riflemen and mages first scattered the bandits, and the pack animals charged into the crowd, sending some flying several meters. Those who narrowly avoided the pack animals were subsequently decapitated by the blades of the Sarkaz soldiers.

Manfred was satisfied with the battle, but Theresica's face showed little joy.

"Your Majesty, are there any issues?"

"The formations aren't as dense as Kazimierz's yet, but I understand; intensified training will resolve that. These are minor matters."

"Your Majesty, do you have any concerns?"

Manfred asked cautiously. Since the brother of Lady Theresis took the throne, he had led Kazdel to its current development without any missteps, so his concerns made Manfred a little nervous.

"Do you think we resemble Kazimierz from before?"

Theresica frowned deeply. "They at least had Kazdel as a target. But what about us? How can we ever completely eliminate the bandits in this wilderness? Today they are refugees, tomorrow they might be bandits, and we can't even untangle their connections."

"Is Your Majesty afraid that they might affect our transport missions in their pursuit of revenge?"

Manfred guessed. "These are genuine bandits. If we strengthen our defenses, they certainly won't be able to interfere with us."

"That is indeed possible, but it's not the main point."

Theresica's face was filled with worry. "Although Ursus and Yan are going to build mobile cities here, it's us Sarkaz who are currently slaughtering these bandits. Who do you think these bandits will target in the future?"

Manfred was speechless. The two great nations were building commercial cities here, which meant extremely frequent trade and transportation. But if that were the case, the bandits' attention would be entirely focused on the Sarkaz. At the very least, if the Sarkaz transport teams were placed alongside the transport teams of these two great nations, they would surely seek trouble with the Sarkaz first.

The food of the great nations was truly difficult to chew.

Theresica clicked his tongue. "We can't continue like this. Let's earn a little less and play it safe."

"Please instruct me, Your Majesty." Manfred saw that Theresica had an idea and immediately awaited his orders.

"Tally the nearby refugee settlements, then give them some scarce supplies. Have them stay put quietly and not cause trouble. If the mobile landmasses arrive, have them temporarily relocate. You must keep a close eye on this!"

After all, the big stick had already been wielded against the bandits. He believed these refugee settlements wouldn't dare to refuse the Sarkaz's carrot now.

However, the mess that had already been made was stuck here. There was no solution, so they could only find a way to complete the commission from Ursus and Yan. If this wasn't handled properly, it would be a huge problem!

Theresica returned to Kazdel and convened an emergency meeting, informing everyone of the situation.

"Does anyone have a good method to transport the supplies to their destination with absolute safety?"

The clan leaders of the Royal Court offered solutions based on their strengths. Since the bandits were troublesome, they should turn that entire area into a no-man's-land!

Theresica directly rejected this, as the transport escort mission would essentially become a war mission for them.

At this moment, Zeppelin stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I have something here that might be worth a try."

He arrived at the canyon next to the military camp once more. Compared to a year ago, it had changed significantly. The interior had been repaired, and sufficient artificial lighting and ventilation systems had been installed.

"Zeppelin, what are you going to show me?" Theresica asked curiously. Zeppelin had inexplicably brought him to a pitch-black place, and he couldn't see anything.

"Your Majesty, this is something I built according to Lord Theresis's design."