CH 335

Time flies so fast, it’s already been 3 weeks since I came to the Knights Nation. The days go by fast when I’m working.

Reforms and transitions of rulership have, to say the least, been slow and unsuccessful in places that remained free cities. Not only Koenigsvelg, but also Danzij, Memburg, Windou, etc., which were maintained as free cities misunderstood that their ruling class there could continue as they were even if they became part of the Caan Knights, and they all did unnecessary things.

It’s true that they didn’t lose the war, rather they were on the winning side, so they probably didn’t think that their control would be taken away… Even so, even though I properly recognized their rights to some extent and made it convenient for them, I can’t forgive them for trying to deceive me by going so far as to make false reports.

That’s why, I was allowed to push things forward a little more forcefully if they didn’t transition to the new control system. However, since I punished the Koenigsvelg violators quite severely at first, it seems that they began to quite meekly listen to what I said after that.

It may be perceived as threatening with power and complying by force, but this is being done in accordance with law and order, and there is sufficient time between promulgation and enforcement after that promulgation.

Officially, they said they would comply with it, but behind the scenes, it was the other party who abused their power while making false reports.

This paved the way for the system transition. Even without me, the laws and procedures have already been decided, so the rest will work out on their own. This job is now out of my hands.

During the 3 weeks since then, human resources and craftsmen have been coming one after another from the Knighthood and Barony. Of course, it’s not for moving here. They’re leaders to carry out the construction here.

Of course, there are craftsmen in the Knight Nation, but their methods and techniques are vastly different from those who have maintained the Knighthood and Barony. Complete technology leakage can be too dangerous, but if it’s a little ingenuity in road construction methods or something like that, it’s faster to spread it.

From now on, we must carry out the construction of highways and the completeness of water supply and sewage on a large scale. In order to do that, we have to teach our engineers and craftsmen about the techniques and methods of execution to some extent and increase the number of people who can do that kind of work.

In order to increase national strength, it is necessary to increase technological capabilities and productivity. Now that the population and labor force have been secured, all that remains now is to increase their loyalty and sense of unity with the country, as well as their technical capabilities and productivity. That alone would dramatically increase national power.

Well, as expected, it is not possible to develop highways, complete water supply, and sewerage, and expand a new city all at once. First of all, let’s gradually spread from Koenigsvelg, which became the capital, and its surroundings.

“What is the plan for the new Koenigsvelg town and the arrangement of craftsmen?” I asked.

“Right! The land readjustment and the… burying of underground infrastructure?” Kanbee said. “We are already in the process of enacting them.”

While looking over the documents, I listened to the report with my ears. If there are any points that bother me, I will verbally ask questions and make corrections.

As reported, the construction of the new city has already started, and as usual, the work that should be done first, such as the construction of a water treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant, the division of land, the laying of underground facilities and roads, all are underway.

In parallel with that, preparations are underway for the Caanza Trading Firm’s farms and ranches in the suburbs, with plans to grow rice and tea in addition to the standard crops. The Caanza Trading Firm’s farms and ranches have been in the planning stages for quite some time, so they should start operating in the not-too-distant future.

It takes years for tea trees to grow, so they won’t be harvested right away, but we’re gradually increasing the number of cows, pigs, chickens, and horses, and crops that can be harvested in one year will show results by next year.

“It’s all sorted out, isn’t it?”

“Yes… it’s so fast as to be abnormal…”

Somehow Kanbee is making a weird face, but I don’t care. You’ll never make it in our House if you’re upset about something like this, right?

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and a nobleman entered, intending to make an imperious showing.

“Lady Flora, what do you mean by this?!”

“Shouldn’t I be asking what you mean by not knocking and opening the door before I answered, Mikalojus?”

Mikalojus Lazicki ended up in my service. I don’t think he’s really following me. However, no matter how good the treatment was, it seems that he couldn’t stand being detained forever, so he responded to my offer if it meant he could get out of jail.

Even so, he agreed to work under me for the time being, so I’m letting him work, but he’s always annoying me when he comes over like now.

“The Kingdom of Polsky is in the midst of chaos right now! Why aren’t we plotting now!?” Mikalojus said. “We must prepare for the next round of divisions now, or we will fall behind the Principalities of Moscove and Aust!”

“…………”

Hey… didn’t this guy say something outrageous just now?

In the first place, you must be one of the magnates of Polsky… Even so, Polsky is currently confused and weakening, so he says it’s time to set things up so that it can be further divided…

“Mikalojus… you are a magnate of Polsky, aren’t you? Are you saying it’s alright to sell out your country?”

“What are you talking about? I’m ‘formerly’ a magnate of Polsky,” Mikalojus said. “Now, I’m a nobleman in charge of Foreign Relations with the Caan Knights Nation!”

No, I don’t remember making you one of our nobles. Certainly, people involved in politics are usually nobles. Therefore, those who are not landed lords were bureaucrats picked up to become nobles of the vestments. According to Mikalojus’ common sense, he may have thought that he was in charge of our public affairs, so he was a lawful nobleman of the Caan Knights Nation.

Come to think of it, I have to think about the system around that and the security of status. When negotiating with an external party, it would be difficult for the other party to understand the identity of the negotiator himself. He could even be mocked for his lack of status.

If you come to the negotiating table and introduce yourself as the Minister of Foreign Affairs with full authority, and then you say you are a regular employee of the Foreign Affairs Department with no decision-making authority, it is natural for the other party to react differently. If he’s in charge of Foreign Relations, I’ll have to think about that as well…

It doesn’t matter if you’re a domestic affairs official or a regular employee as long as you have a job, but in diplomacy with a partner, bluffing, decision-making, and status are all important. Negotiations begin before you meet face-to-face and speak.

“And yet you’re so willing to sell out your homeland, aren’t you…?” I said.

“What have I been saying since a while ago?” Mikalojus said. “My current affiliation is the Caan Knights Nation. And so we will make the most of this. And if we sit back and watch, we will be devoured by the Principalities of Moscove and Aust. If that happens, only our country is at a disadvantage. Hence, we must make the first move here!”

I see……. This is what I said myself before. Mikalojus has almost no concept of nationalism, ethnicity, or the state.

Certainly, he must have thought that he was once one of the influential nobles of Polsky. However, he is now a noble belonging to the Caan Knights Nation, and he thinks and acts so that he and his new affiliation can benefit as much as possible.

The Japanese way of thinking sees him as too eager to betray his motherland, change sides, and even try to exploit his homeland. But this is the norm in this region at this age.

It’s not just Mikalojus, but the former Polsky nobles who were divided into Moscove and Aust must be saying the same thing now in their respective countries.

If they lose and change their affiliation, they will do their best for that affiliation next time. Well, that’s just a pretext, and in reality, they’re thinking about making a profit, or they’re just a newcomer to their new affiliation, so they’re probably just trying to make achievements, but at first glance, they seem like an untrustworthy person who betrays their loyalties quickly, however, this is also a matter of course.

“Lady Flora! I’d like to borrow the training ground after recruit training, is that amenable?”

“Janzicka… remember to knock first…”

I was in the middle of talking to Mikalojus, but Janzicka entered the room without knocking. This guy should have had a decent position in Polsky, but he doesn’t know such natural manners, does he? Or are you saying that there is no custom of knocking on the door first in Polsky?

“Yes! I’ll be careful from now on!”

How many times have I said this? How many times has this resulted in a change? Why am I surrounded by people who either don’t knock or knock but then open the door before the one inside even answers…?

In the end, all the POWs requested to be recruited to our House. As I have said many times, they have almost no concept of nationalism, identity, race, or ethnicity. That’s why they don’t feel like they’ve betrayed their homeland.

It’s good that we won this time, but that also means that if we lose, they’ll easily defect to the enemy. Follow the winner, it’s really easy to understand and it’s true… but in terms of loyalty, it’s not good enough. It’s fine if we always keep winning, but it’s quite possible that we’ll lose even partially in the future. I have to take precautions.

“I authorize the use of the training ground,” I said.

“Thank you very much!”

After saying that, Janzicka immediately left. I’m glad he left on his own right away. If he had stayed this way, the place would have been chaotic.

“Then I will set up a plan for the Kingdom of Polsky. Is that amenable?” Mikalojus said.

“Ah~… no, wait a minute. In Polsky, the magnates may have moved independently, but we can’t tolerate such a method here,” I said. “We will make decisions and work together under a unified idea to achieve our goals.”

In Polsky, the members of the parliamentary nobility would have done their internal affairs and diplomacy by themselves. But that’s not the case at our House. Even if it is a Caan Knights Nation, the decision-making must be the consensus of the Knights. And once it is decided, everyone should cooperate and work towards that decision, even if they are in opposition.

I conduct diplomacy according to my ideas, Mikalojus conducts diplomacy according to Mikalojus’ ideas, and Kanbee conducts diplomacy according to Kanbee’s ideas. Doing so would confuse diplomatic relations. There are times when we dare to take that kind of approach… but we don’t do that now.

For example, such a thing was formerly done in Germany on Earth. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducts its diplomacy, the military conducts its diplomacy, and intelligence conducts its diplomacy. There is no unified diplomatic policy as a nation, and each department moves according to its expectations.

There will certainly be some success. Sometimes it’s better to have multiple approaches and directions. But as a result, there may be a lot of people who do misguided diplomacy and fail as a result of getting tangled up in everyone’s different approaches.

In our House, everyone works together under the unified policy of the Caan Knights. So Mikalojus must not move independently as before.

“It would only drag us down!” Mikalojus yelled. “It would be better for each of us to work independently to achieve maximum results!”

I see……. Certainly, there may be such thoughts. If it is decided as a national policy, everyone will move to achieve the result regardless of how much effort they must put into it. This makes it difficult for everyone to understand what they have done, and everyone’s work declines. Surely the same stupid mistakes that communism and socialism have fallen into will happen. 1

Each of them works separately, and if they move to achieve the results they have thought of, they will each strive to get more credit than if they just acted according to a set policy. There is certainly a side to that.

“There is some truth to what you are saying, Mikalojus,” I said, “but the point is that it depends on how you use it. This is the policy of the Caan Knights, so please follow it. First, let’s gather the people involved and discuss the future.”

Regardless of whether or not the Kingdom of Polsky will be divided and taken again, there is a high possibility that the Principalities of Moscove and Aust will use this opportunity to strengthen their influence over Polsky and aim for further division. If you know that, there’s no way you can stay silent.

I knew it was going to happen, but it never occurred to me to set up a conspiracy. But what Mikalojus says is also true. I can’t just hold my finger in my mouth and watch.

Mikalojus, who is deep in the nobleman’s dirty work, immediately came in handy. If it was just us, we might have been late in trying to deal with it cleanly. When I realized that, I immediately gathered the people concerned and discussed how to deal with it from now on.