[When you cast your gaze upon the northwestern corner of the map—the Ruperkan Grand Region—an unspeakably complex emotion surged within you.]
[That was your homeland, the place where you spent a carefree childhood, and the land where your parents were buried. It carried your initial rage and your blood-deep feud.]
[The Elector of Ruperkan, Erak Congreve, was a typical old-world aristocrat—corrupt, incompetent, and ruling over a fief where the people's livelihood had withered. Factories were closed, farmlands lay barren, and the populace, groaning with grievances, had long been plunged into misery.]
[Using Salem as a springboard, Gertrude's intelligence department had secretly established deep roots in Ruperkan for many years.]
[Through various underground channels, they had scattered 'My Struggle' and the ideals of the Workers' Party across this barren land like dandelion seeds.]
[Those rousing words ignited a prairie fire in the heart of every person in Ruperkan who yearned for change.]
[You, Lacey, were fashioned into the 'Avenger and Liberator from Ruperkan.']
[Your rise, every victory you claimed over the old nobility, was depicted as the most direct form of resistance against oppression.]
[This ignited the hope and passion of the people of your homeland.]
[Because of your origins and the promises of the Workers' Party, the workers and farmers of Ruperkan held an almost religious expectation and trust in you, viewing you as their one and only savior.]
[Their hatred for Erak Congreve grew by the day, reaching a boiling point. Countless people prayed in secret, longing for you to deliver them from their suffering, just as you had liberated Wasser Fief.]
[Taylor found you. Your former neighbor, the loyal blacksmith, now the Minister of the Combat Division, came with bloodshot eyes, requesting to personally lead the elite of the Workers' Party Guard in a thunderous assault back into Ruperkan.]
[To avenge your parents, and all the oppressed people of your homeland.]
[He knew the pain you once carried in your heart and hoped to share your burden by personally taking the head of your enemy.]
[Serafina, however, was filled with concern. She worried that a direct military action would become an excuse for the Twin Empresses and the other Electors to intervene openly, putting you in a passive position both politically and militarily.]
[She suggested adopting a more moderate political approach, using the influence of the Economic Community to gradually infiltrate and avoid unnecessary bloodshed and sacrifice.]
...
Inside the throne room of the tower.
Lacey's gaze remained fixed on the area named 'Ruperkan,' unmoving for a long time.
There lay the beginning of his memory, and the reason for his struggle.
Gertrude emerged from the shadows, a stack of documents in her hand, reporting in a relaxed tone:
'Our 'Economic Community' plan is even more popular than expected.'
'Those five Electors have already sent their respective delegations. They're currently arguing endlessly over the standards for unified tariffs and railway gauges.'
'Gabriel even suggested he hopes we can send people to guide them on how to establish labor unions. He thinks it would be a more efficient way to manage workers.'
She let out a soft laugh, tinged with her usual mockery: 'Look at them. They learn new things far faster than they learn how to straighten their spines.'
Without turning back, Lacey's calm voice sounded: 'Let them argue. Arguing means they care, it means that mutual interest has already bound them together.'
'As long as the tracks are laid and the freight cars are running, they can never go back.'
His gaze was still fixed on Ruperkan.
'Regarding Ruperkan, I am aware of both Taylor's and Serafina's opinions.'
Gertrude walked to his side, following his gaze to the map. 'One wants to use the sword, the other wants to use the pen.'
'And your view?' Lacey asked.
'Me?'
Gertrude said, 'My view is, why can't we use both the sword and the pen?'
'Moreover, we should make the enemy present his own neck to our blade.'
Lacey turned to face her, a smile on his face. 'Go on.'
'A direct military deployment is the worst option,' Gertrude analyzed.
'It would turn us from liberators into invaders, giving the other Electors a pretext, especially those two old fossils, Hoffmann Herbert and Abraham Rossetti. It might even push them to ally with The Empresses.'
'Our current alliance is one of interest; it hasn't reached the point where they'd pull our chestnuts out of the fire.'
'But relying solely on political and economic means is too slow,' she added, changing her tone.
'Erak Congreve is an idiot, but he's an idiot with a title.'
'As long as he remains an Elector, the law of imperial power is on his side.'
'What we need to do is completely strip him of his legitimacy, to transform him from a lord into an enemy of the people.'
Lacey's eyes lit up; this coincided perfectly with the plan forming in his own mind.
'We will launch a war, but not on a battlefield,' Lacey picked up the thread.
'The battlefield is in every factory, every mine, every field, and every heart in Ruperkan.'
He walked to the table and spread out a blank sheet of parchment.
'Gertrude, I need your intelligence department to compile all of Erak Congreve's misdeeds since he took office—his corrupt accounts, the evidence of his persecution of the people—into pamphlets, print them, and distribute them to every corner of Ruperkan.'
'The propaganda department must use all broadcast channels and propagandists to talk about two things, twenty-four hours a day. First, how dire the situation is in Ruperkan under Erak's rule.'
'Second, what a happy life the people of Wasser Fief lead. We must make every person in Ruperkan see a ray of light in their despair.'
'As for Taylor...' Lacey paused.
'Tell him I need him to select the most elite members of the guard. They are to break into small units, disguise themselves as merchants, travelers, and returning workers, and infiltrate Ruperkan.'
'They are to contact our underground organizations and teach them how to strike, how to protest, how to use non-violent non-cooperation to completely paralyze Erak's rule.'
Lacey then chuckled. 'One good trick wins the day.'
'This was the method we used to take Wasser Fief; there's no harm in using it again.'
Gertrude's breathing grew slightly faster. She fully understood the terrifying nature of this plan.
'We will make Erak Congreve be abandoned by his own people.'
'When the entire fief grinds to a halt, when his guards are facing not an enemy army but thousands upon thousands of civilians, his rule will be over.'
'Of course, we cannot completely replicate what we did before.'
'When the time comes, we can put forward a puppet who can represent the will of the people of Ruperkan, and have him request our assistance.'
'We will be responding to an invitation to maintain order, to help the people of Ruperkan rebuild their homes.'
'This is...'
For a moment, Gertrude couldn't find the words to describe it, finally uttering just a few:
'An excellent plan.'
________________________________________
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