Ch.62Thorough Response

There is a saying that the will of the people is the will of heaven.

This was a statement made by Han Feizi, a representative Legalist philosopher of ancient China, to the sovereign.

Although it may not be particularly useful in this world where states were not formed by people gathering together, but rather people gathered after states were established, it still had some merit worth following.

Regardless of what intentions a ruler might harbor or what actions they might take, winning the hearts of those who carried out those actions was an essential principle.

Whether waging war or pioneering new territories, if the people did not follow the ruler’s endeavors, they would amount to nothing more than empty proclamations.

One needn’t delve into ancient history to find examples of nations that collapsed due to reckless construction projects; modern history is replete with such cases. No matter how good a ruler’s intentions might be, if they cannot garner the support of their people through those intentions, that ruler can be deemed incompetent.

Then, if the ruler and the people become one in body and spirit, stepping forward together for the nation’s endeavors, what would there be to fear?

The ideal structure—where the ruler plans and the people execute—was rare enough to be considered utopian, but it nevertheless existed, and its name was Amurtat.

I, who governed this land, was the ruler of Amurtat’s 600,000 citizens, and those 600,000 citizens regarded me as their sovereign.

Not through bloodline or privilege, but solely through my abilities, I had earned the trust of my people, and they in turn showed absolute support for me who had bestowed many blessings upon them.

Therefore, I discreetly informed the citizens of Amurtat about my previous “conversation” with the delegation—more precisely, the literate class who could read and write—and the results were as follows:

“What?! They dared to intimidate Your Majesty?! Even a Grand Duke of high standing should know there are limits to proper conduct! How could they commit such a disrespectful act? What fool in this world would send a Sword Master as an envoy?!”

“Their arrogance has gone too far! Have they forgotten how to conduct diplomacy after reigning as the hegemon of the North for the past 300 years? Even if Amurtat is a small nation, there are protocols and courtesies that must be observed!”

“This is all because our Amurtat is a small country! We need to become a great power quickly…!”

“As of today, I’ve decided to have sex 10 times daily to increase the birth rate!”

Although the ambassadors’ statements were quite contrived, public opinion is typically led by the educated.

There was one lustful comment at the end, but that would actually help increase the birth rate, so it was rather beneficial.

At the very least, I could confirm that I had the firm support of the people of Amurtat, so for me, it was a win-win situation.

What do they call this… “antagonistic symbiosis”? Anyway, this incident made it crystal clear that Fahrenheit posed an existing threat to Amurtat, so now it was time for a national “Fahrenheit exit.”

“Advisor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Investigate how many items and raw materials currently used in Amurtat come from Fahrenheit, and report back to me. Also, research and report on the economic impact if we were to sever trade relations with Fahrenheit.”

“Understood.”

“And Michaela!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Replace all items used within the palace with Amurtat-made products. Dispose of everything made in Fahrenheit.”

“Including what we’re currently using?”

“Yes! Get rid of it all!”

In this world where the ruler is the state, if my pride was hurt, then the nation’s pride was hurt.

And when personal pride combines with national prestige, one can commit acts without hesitation that would otherwise seem pointless.

I cannot forgive them for intimidating me by sending a Sword Master, a strategic weapon, as an envoy.

Who in their right mind would assign diplomatic duties to a human weapon capable of slicing through nuclear bombs?

They could have simply included one diplomat in that entourage, but instead, they handled it in such a crude and sloppy manner that I couldn’t comprehend it at all.

*

A week had passed.

The loud noises from a few days ago were no longer heard, but the atmosphere in the streets had become quite subdued. What stood out were the anti-Fahrenheit banners scattered about and signs reading “Amurtat Natives Only.”

The number of tourists had also decreased by half, making the streets generally quiet, which meant that until now, half of the tourism revenue had been coming from Fahrenheit.

Of course, soldiers weren’t pointing spears and forcing people to leave Amurtat. Rather, those with enough status to travel all the way to distant Amurtat typically had sufficient intelligence networks to understand the situation, so they had voluntarily stayed away.

“Mmm! Delicious! More eel pickles here!”

“Coming right up!”

“It was worth coming from Fahrenheit! I never knew fish testicles could be so tasty!”

…Of course, national positions and individual positions were separate matters, so there were brave souls like the one above who openly advertised their Fahrenheit origins while ordering extra eel pickles at the Pale Harbor. But conversely, this proved that Amurtat’s public sentiment toward Fahrenheit had deteriorated to the point where those not so brave wouldn’t dare to visit.

When a country has held a knife to the chin of a head of state, even with the generally low average education level of people in this world, anyone with a modicum of intelligence would show hostility.

Fahrenheit couldn’t make excuses either—what country would send a delegation consisting of numerous Sword Experts led by a Sword Master?

No matter how dangerous the road might be, they were guards, not envoys.

Trying my best to put myself in their shoes, I could vaguely understand the thinking of Grand Duke Marcus who had assembled such a team.

To transport something as precious as a fragment of the Earth’s Core, military protection was essential, and accounting for everything else would exponentially increase the budget.

The delegation, guards, food, carriages… Marcus and I were both national rulers, but it would take a budget equivalent to a year’s income for an ordinary merchant group to conduct the proper protocol for visiting another country’s ruler.

Simply put, he was just being cheap.

Even the Earth’s Core fragment given during the previous gift rush was just riding on its reputation. Considering that a single envoy simply came, tossed it, and left, Marcus probably doesn’t care much about protocol despite his position as Grand Duke.

For the past 300 years, Fahrenheit likely never had to bow its head to any nation.

“But just because he doesn’t care doesn’t mean others won’t care either.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about Marcus. He conducted the protocol terribly.”

“Ah… subjectively speaking, many Grand Dukes are generally good but each has some screw loose. Either their walls are peculiar, or their personalities are erratic…”

“Or they’re completely ignorant in one area.”

“…That’s correct.”

“There’s a saying about selection and concentration. There’s a limit to the wisdom one person can accumulate. That’s why human society operates on division of labor.”

“Do you think Fahrenheit’s advisor opposed sending a Sword Master as part of the delegation?”

“Common sense would suggest so. But you know as well as I do that advisors don’t always make the right judgments.”

Even my own advisor initially didn’t believe in my abilities and challenged me at every turn. We’re working well together now, but if I had been even slightly more narrow-minded, the advisor might have been executed by now for not following the ruler’s will.

“If that’s the case, this incident has shown Fahrenheit’s limitations.”

“Indeed. And whenever an existing hegemon falters, the weak rise up.”

With those words, I neatly arranged dozens of letters I had personally written.

These letters would be delivered to the rulers of Fahrenheit’s major trading partners, informing them in detail about how Fahrenheit had treated Amurtat.

They were all nations inferior to Fahrenheit, but as the “dozens” of letters suggest, when dogs gather, they can kill even a tiger.

What I was doing now was giving countries that had always resented Fahrenheit’s consistent trade surplus a legitimate opportunity to renegotiate trade dominance. Wise rulers would certainly not ignore the correspondence I had sent.