Chapter 48
...That is the report from the investigating authorities. The hull of the RMS Stella Marine has no abnormalities, and it is said to have returned after completing its scheduled voyage.
Only Lucilla's voice echoed in the quiet conference room where the ministers had gathered.
The collision incident between an East 4th-rate ship of the line and a passenger ship.
Since it was an incident in which a warship had been sunk, the situation was that serious.
That was because the significance of an ordinary merchant ship and a warship was completely different.
Hmm...
If handled well, it was exactly the kind of pretext needed to start a conflict.
Now that things had come to this, the other side wouldn't sit still either. No one would stay quiet after having their own warship sunk.
So they'll probably protest fiercely. They might use that as a pretext to extend the naval blockade period under the guise of training.
It's awkward to declare war first, but if they come at us like that, what should we do?
The answer was simple.
We just need to induce them to declare war.
Let's be the first to lodge a protest.
Before they protest, we protest first.
Your ship collided with ours, so apologize and pay compensation.
And you're asking whether that's okay after sinking a warship?
If you've got a problem, you shouldn't have done it on the high seas.
Focus your protest on the East's blockade of the high seas and its training exercises. Also bill them for the repair costs of the RMS Stella Marine.
It was the kind of mean-spirited move I normally wouldn't have made, but since they started it first, we also had the pretext.
My goal was simple.
Somehow, make them declare war first.
Also warn them that if they carry out training exercises in international waters again, more such 'unfortunate accidents' may happen.
Yes, sir!
And adjust public opinion a bit. Emphasize the East's wrongdoing.
All the major media companies were on my side.
Ten years ago. I'd grown the small and medium-sized media outlets I bought when I launched my revolution against the business magnates.
That was the very first thing I did once I took power.
Wipe out all the stagnant existing media companies and bring in outlets that would serve as my mouthpieces.
The media outlets that had seen the established major newspapers collapse under my command with their own eyes knew exactly what power my words held in this South.
So they printed my demands in the papers without leaving out a single word.
[ The East's illegal occupation of the high seas. Is it legal under international law? ]
[ Small and medium-sized businesses on the brink of bankruptcy because of the East's illegal occupation of the high seas... What is the central government doing? ]
[ The RMS Stella Marine collision incident. Is the East at fault? ]
Soon, the newspapers written to my liking were distributed all over the South.
It had already been ten days since the training exercises on the high seas had begun.
Complaints were starting to spread among the citizens.
"Well, I heard our company might have to undergo restructuring this time. With exports blocked, what a mess..."
"What is the central government doing at a time like this? Aren't we all part of the same Empire? Why are they only favoring those East bastards when something like this happens?"
"Hah, is it anything new for those central bastards to look down on us in the South? It'll just be the same again this time..."
"I don't care who does it, just somebody please solve this problem. Our companies are going to die at this rate."
On top of that, resentment had been quietly building among the citizens.
The citizens who were being worked even harder under the excuse of 'total war' were looking for somewhere to vent that anger.
The Grand Duke of the South, Kyle Leopold, who had made them work so hard?
No.
You could curse the Empire's crown prince all you wanted, but no one could curse Kyle Leopold.
Because the generation that had been ground down in factories like slaves until just eleven years ago was now the mainstream of society.
"What? What was that about Lord Kyle?"
"Leave them be. These days, the newcomers don't even know what the South was like before Lord Kyle."
"To badmouth Lord Kyle, who made the Labor Standards Act for our sake... it's the end of the world, the end of the world..."
Those who knew the South from eleven years ago had, before they knew it, spent years working in factories and earned positions of their own.
The youngest were in their mid-twenties, having worked in factories since childhood, and the oldest were in their late forties.
For those who knew how harsh factory life had been before, this level of hardship didn't even count as hardship.
And so, their anger turned elsewhere.
"Then whose fault is it?"
"Obviously it's those corrupt nobles who forced Lord Kyle to make such a decision. Lord Kyle cares so much about us workers."
The seething public opinion turned toward the East.
"This is all because those East bastards were up to something."
"Seeing how the central government says nothing while they violate international law and keep conducting training exercises on the high seas, the two of them must be in cahoots."
"Idiots. They must not know what kind of fate befell the Sarsen territory that tried to pull that sort of thing on us."
If it had been before, they would have done nothing but complain about their lot.
Because the old South had been a divided region that couldn't even make a peep against such unreasonable measures.
But the South of Kyle Leopold was different.
A region where people could speak up in the face of injustice and live. A region of humans, by humans, and for humans. A land of opportunity where ordinary people could become great.
The citizens who knew how the South had changed were once again expecting Kyle Leopold's solution.
"The more we rest, the more those bastards will look down on us! Let's cut down on our meal time, smoking time, and even bathroom breaks, and keep working!"
"Now, now. Everyone, let's focus on our work! Our company is shaky right now, but Lord Kyle will have an answer soon!"
Thanks to the experience of victory in the last war, people worked diligently even in an anxious situation.
There were even people running their companies at a loss, saying that as long as Lord Kyle said he'd somehow solve it, it absolutely would be solved!
The polling results surprised even me.
"Public opinion is better than I expected?"
"Your Grace is the savior of the South's citizens. Some of them would probably die if you told them to die for the South."
"That much?"
When I looked at Lucilla with skeptical eyes, she wore an expression that seemed to say, Why are you asking something so obvious?
Honestly, I knew my approval wasn't bad.
A leader with an 85% approval rating is at the point where even in a democracy, a legally sanctioned dictatorship is possible.
But even that kind of popularity usually breaks when the economy gets rough or life becomes harder.
It had already been quite some time since we threw all of the South's manpower into so-called total war.
I had been worried it was about time for my popularity to start slipping, so this was a relief.
"Honestly, I'd even been wondering if I'd have to tamper with public opinion."
I always assume the worst.
It was a habit I developed after becoming Kyle Leopold, Grand Duke of the South.
Because a leader is someone who should prepare an umbrella before it starts raining.
If you look for an umbrella after you're already soaked, it's too late. A delayed response can't change anything.
Just like a massive ship, a massive industrial complex like the South can't easily change course either. Trying to steer after you're already in front of an iceberg only leads to a collision.
I'd been cautious until now because a single wrong judgment and a single wrong turn could lead to an irreversible disaster for the great ship called the South...
"This way, I can make judgments a little more calmly."
No matter how autocratic a monarchy is, it can't ignore public sentiment entirely.
Even those Kim father-and-son up north, who live like gods, at least make a show of crying in front of people and courting public favor.
The East Grand Duke probably wasn't in that relaxed a situation either.
"Your warship got sunk, and you're just going to sit there? But if you don't declare war, the citizens will rise up, won't they?"
I was fine because I'd shown what I could do over the past eleven years. But what about the East Grand Duke, who'd spent those same eleven years doing nothing but loafing around?
Well. I don't think so.
"Call the Director of the Intelligence Bureau."
It was exactly twenty minutes later that William, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, entered the office at the grand ducal residence.
Director William's expression was slightly tense. Whenever I personally called for the head of Intelligence, it was always for something out of the ordinary.
This time was no different.
"I'd like you to work on East public opinion a bit."
"Public opinion... you mean?"
"Yes. It's not that difficult. I want you to stir them up in a way that raises support for entering the war."
No one answered that it was difficult.
The role of the South's cutting-edge technology, its smartest staff, and its heavily funded Intelligence Bureau came down to one thing.
To do exactly as I told them.
***
The East had already taken enormous hits over the past eleven years.
The South, completely overhauled by Kyle Leopold, had begun selling goods everywhere, and the East's trade figures, once the ruler of the seas, kept declining day by day.
The East's industries, run by corrupt nobles in the form of merchant guilds, artisan guilds, and every other kind of guild, were being devastated day by day.
The machines that churned out goods boasted uniform quality, excellent performance, low prices, and massive output.
The merchant-family nobles who had reigned as the East's entrenched interests for the past thousand years didn't like this situation.
Goods from the South had begun flooding in to commoners who had once had to buy those same products at high prices whether they liked it or not.
So what, lower their prices now and compete on price?
For handicraft goods to compete on price against factory output was impossible.
That was why they hoped to put the South's companies in their place while they had the chance.
"If not now, when will we ever put those South bastards in their place?"
"We should use this opportunity to carry out the naval blockade. What the hell is that bastard Edward doing?"
"The Empire's seas are ours. We need to teach those South bastards trying to steal our sea a lesson."
Under that pressure, the South's operatives began manipulating public opinion against the guilds.
The guilds, already stagnating and only used to milking the commoners dry, fell easily for the operatives' schemes.
Edward's supporters clearly wanted a conflict beyond a simple naval blockade.
In the end, Edward couldn't hold out any longer and made the first move.
"We have been demanding an apology and compensation from the South for the sinking of the 4th-rate ship of the line Iliad for the past month."
"However, the South has offered no apology whatsoever, and has even made the outrageous demand that we reimburse the repair costs for their vessel, the RMS Stella Marine."
"Therefore, the East Grand Ducal House, the East Royal Navy, and the East Merchant Guild Alliance hereby declare war on the South as of Imperial Year 1026, May 30."
"All seas north of 17 degrees latitude shall be regarded as war zones, and ships that attempt to evade inspection by our vessels may be attacked by the undersea monster corps."