So lively!
Huang Cao's voice was exceptionally loud, clear and crisp without being grating, and completely fearless.
Even Nizere praised him. It had been a long time since he had seen such a spirited and energetic junior.
Still, being so lively during such a serious meeting was indeed somewhat inappropriate.
However, considering that this nominal colleague of theirs might not even be a fraction as old as any of them, everyone refrained from reprimanding him right away.
Even Theresia had not been very old at this point, since less than twenty years had passed since the end of the war.
Even Kal'tsit had only been cut offline by Teresis more than a decade ago, so it was no wonder that the brother and sister were so inexperienced at governing a country.
After all, they were still young, and the Lords of the Royal Court were willing to accompany the siblings as they continued to grow.
Unless...
Seeing that the serious meeting was about to be overrun by countless ridiculous reaction images, Theresia coughed heavily, pulling the increasingly derailed meeting back on track.
"What did everyone think of the proposal just read out? If you have any suggestions, feel free to speak."
Dukare: "No objections."
Nizere: "With you here, our country is thriving!"
Shapeshifter Collective: "Since you said it was good, could you give me back at least a little of my gold?"
Lamian: "You're absolutely right. That's exactly what we should do."
Huang Cao: "With such a beautiful Demon King leading us, Kazdel will surely rise to glory once more!"
Teresis and Theresia: Are you all just sitting here as spectators? Did you even hear what was said?
Theresia really wanted to play teacher, take up a pointer, and force every Lord of the Royal Court present to stand up and repeat what they had just said.
"By the way, Your Highness Theresia, shouldn't the meeting materials have been sent to us beforehand? How could we possibly remember all that after hearing so much?"
Huang Cao distributed the fruit that had grown on his head to everyone, while also complaining about his thoughts on the meeting.
First of all, Theresia definitely had not said anything particularly meaningful. Most of what she had said consisted of impractical ideas. Otherwise, everyone would not have been slacking off onstage.
Besides, you kept looking at the draft in your hand the whole time. Couldn't you have arranged for someone to distribute copies so we could read them ourselves?
You couldn't even remember it all yourself!
Did the Demon King's Palace not have a printing press?
If Theresia had said she intended to reclaim all the Lords of the Royal Court's administrative authority, everyone present might have taken it seriously. After all, that would at least have been one possible approach.
But what she had just said was all impractical empty talk. To put it simply, what was Kazdel supposed to do in the future, and what were the people of future Kazdel supposed to do?
Talking was one thing, doing was another. Couldn't you provide some methods?
Then again, perhaps everyone present truly did not know how to govern Kazdel, which was why all the Lords of the Royal Court remained silent.
Are you the Demon King, or am I?
The Demon King was the one who governed the country. I was the one governed by the Demon King!
The Royal Courts found a reason to console themselves, then continued pretending to be dead.
"Since no one has any objections, I've decided to tax every Royal Court in Kazdel next year."
As soon as Theresia finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.
Everyone: My Demon King, are you in your right mind?
"I object!" Nizere raised his hand.
Theresia immediately turned toward him, looking at him expectantly.
Finally, someone had raised a hand to speak! It seemed my teacher really was quite wise!
"I don't oppose taxation, but do we really have any taxes to collect?" Nizere asked.
Lamian and Huang Cao chimed in as well.
Taxes? What taxes?
Neither of us has any industries at all. We survive entirely by farming!
Banshee River Valley and Eden had already formed a strategic partnership.
Huang Cao provided employment and wages for Banshee River Valley, while the Banshees sewed clothes and manufactured various light-industry products for Eden.
Both sides were living quite comfortably.
It was not because they were afraid. Huang Cao had countless ways to falsify the accounts. The main issue was how troublesome the tax collectors sent by the Demon King would be.
But Huang Cao had plenty of strength and methods. He was not even afraid of the Demon King, so why would he fear these people?
The main problem was that Lamian's River Valley region might be difficult to fool. She probably found it troublesome as well.
Theresia felt somewhat awkward after hearing Nizere's answer.
As mentioned earlier, the siblings' plan had only explained what they wanted to do. As for how to do the most important part afterward, there was not a single word about it.
"The fruit tastes pretty good." Dukare bit into a grape Huang Cao had brought over and nodded in satisfaction.
Blood Demons did not need to drink heavily at every meal. They could eat ordinary food as well, though they preferred blood.
The King of the Scavengers was likewise very interested in the raw sweet potatoes Huang Cao had brought over and planned to roast one at home to see how it tasted.
Nizere was known as the God of War, but when no one provoked him and there was no war, he could also be a kindly old man.
"Taxes? What taxes do we have to collect? Am I supposed to go work in one of Victoria's exploitative factories, then hand the money over to you after I get paid?"
The Shapeshifter Collective suddenly adopted a pitiful tone, crouching in the corner and gnawing on an apple as it complained.
Which personality of the Shapeshifter Collective had taken over this time?
That wasn't what I meant! I never wanted you to work in an exploitative factory!
Theresia could not help rubbing her forehead, barely managing to maintain a smile.
"Of course that isn't what I meant."
Huang Cao could not stand watching anymore. Sure enough, one could not expect Nizere to teach anyone how to govern a country.
Nizere, who felt as though someone had criticized him, shifted his shoulders somewhat uncomfortably.
How could you blame me?
It was the same question again: are you the Demon King, or am I?!
But just as Huang Cao was about to say something, Lamian pulled him back.
"Don't say anything. Theresia wants to find someone to manage the country's affairs."
How could she possibly not understand what her best friend was thinking?
Put nicely, it was called selecting the worthy. Put less nicely, it meant transferring part of her own responsibilities to someone else.
Although it was perfectly reasonable for the head of a nation to want a proper system for governing the country, this transfer might end up transferring away the Demon King's responsibilities as well.
Even a hands-off ruler did not act this way.
Lamian: "I think that before collecting taxes, we need to know exactly where taxes can be collected. I'm sure you understand that as well, Theresia."
Theresia nodded. "Of course I do. So please tell me what you each have that can be offered as tax."
Huang Cao: "There's no industry. In my territory, staying alive is already difficult. There isn't even any profit to squeeze out, let alone anything else."
As a Lord of the Royal Court whose income came entirely from scavenging corpses, Nizere made a startling suggestion: "Hmm... Would the army's wages count? What if we collected part of them?"
Teresis wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Let's forget that. We haven't paid military wages in nearly half a year. Even if we wanted to collect them, there's nothing to collect."
Shapeshifter Collective: "So in the end, you were still after the money I earned from working off the books? Can I refuse to pay this tax?"
Please support me with your votes, everyone. Thank you! 2
Mr. Huang: "Teresis, you're exceptionally talented!"
You can't refuse to pay~
And besides, who told you to go work off the books? I'd never do that!
Theresia's expression finally collapsed completely, and she spread her hands helplessly.
"Everyone, I'll be frank. Our country needs an income. If we want to rebuild Kazdel, shutting ourselves away is impossible."
Huang Cao shook his head. "The key isn't what we have, but what we can do. The Sarkaz people only follow Your Highness's leadership. Whatever you say we should do, we'll do."
Throwing the problem to the leader was the essence of the workplace. One had to admit it.
Lamian: "How are we supposed to resolve the problem with Leithanian? I don't believe those goats will simply let this go."
Nizere: "Take the initiative. Once we beat them badly enough, they naturally won't invade Kazdel again."
But could they win? The Lords of the Royal Court present would probably all say they could, but that assumption was based on fighting on their own territory.
If they took the initiative and attacked on foreign soil, even if they counted every Lord of the Royal Court together, they probably still could not defeat the King of the High Tower.
Defense would always have the advantage over offense.
If the current King of Leithanian led his army straight into Kazdel, the final result would probably be total annihilation.
Unless they had definite intelligence and absolutely overwhelming combat power, taking the initiative would never give them an advantage—unless they had incredible luck.
Kazdel could not afford to gamble its national destiny right now.
"Perhaps we can seek help from the outside world and use the power of other countries to check Leithanian." Huang Cao offered a plan that few people found convincing.
As expected, most people rejected the proposal outright.
After all, they had only recently fought the other four nations. Their blood feud was irreconcilable, so how could they possibly cooperate with other countries?
Huang Cao knew that no one would accept his proposal, so he had only brought it up to slack off.
However, Huang Cao still could not understand it.
Why would the future Theresia try to improve all of Terra without first getting her own country in order?
Who gave you that courage? Kal'tsit?
Even idealism had to have its limits.
If ideals only involved empty talk, they were nothing but fantasies. There was not even the slightest process of gradual progress.
Kal'tsit really was guilty beyond redemption! For all these years, she had kept wreaking havoc on the Sarkaz people from behind the scenes.
At long last, a kind and sensible Demon King had been born, only to be ruined by Kaitian Cat before long.
Sometimes, having a vision that was too broad was not a good thing either. At least as far as the Sarkaz people were concerned, it would have been better if their Demon King were more down-to-earth.
"Forget it. Pretend I never said anything. I'm only an honorary member of the Royal Court. I don't have the immense power you do."
Theresia did not take the young man's words to heart. Teresis, however, had noticed Huang Cao.
Compared with his sister, Teresis was better at making use of everything available in the outside world.
Besides, what he was thinking now was: I'm not the Demon King anyway. There's no need for me to care too much about what the other Royal Courts think.
What Teresis needed was to make the country better.
Therefore, after the meeting ended, Teresis kept it from his sister and personally went to Huang Cao as soon as the meeting was over.
"Mr. Huang, please wait. I'm very interested in the method you mentioned during the meeting, about cooperating with other nations to check Leithanian. Do you have time to explain how it would work?"
Huang Cao had just been about to go out for a stroll. One foot was already almost out the door when a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Your Highness Teresis, this is a concept originating from Yan Country: between nations, there are only eternal interests, never eternal friends."
"How hatred and interest are weighed against each other depends on the two of you. I cannot speak for this country."
"But as things stand, my proposal is basically impossible to implement. For Kazdel, eliminating the estrangement between nations would ultimately require one side to be destroyed."
"Can hatred truly not be dispelled?" Teresis asked.
"Hatred cannot be forgotten, nor can it be made to disappear. This is especially true for the Sarkaz people, who have been destroyed countless times. Hatred has long since merged into the blood of the race."
"The wails of the countless souls drive this people ever deeper into the abyss. Unless we eliminate..."
In the story, the Sarkaz people began to care less about hatred and settled down to develop because Theresia took the countless souls within Originium away.
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