episode_0003

‘Propaganda, huh.’

Kallia, a veteran member of the anti-government/anti-social organization Carmen, thought to herself.

It’s not like she doesn’t know what that word means.

She just didn’t understand the words about a nation or country that followed.

Roughly, she could understand what Kang Chun-soo wanted.

But to attempt mass mobilization?

The Oregon branch manager wants results that can be confirmed in the near future. Would that really be easy?

“Who is the target audience?”

“The Helvetia Republic. And other countries that have close ties with them.”

“What do you mean by close ties?”

“I’m talking about the guys who speak the same language and have similar cultures. There are several of them on the Helvetia Peninsula.”

Whatever criticism Kallia had, Kang Chun-soo confidently explained his plan.

“I’m not an expert in history, but I heard that there used to be an empire in the Helvetia region. A huge empire that occupied most of the continent.”

“That’s right.”

It was a story from over a thousand years ago. Back when barbarians roamed this continent and the development of civilization was insufficient.

There was a world empire that conquered all directions based on its powerful military force and aggressive culture.

Its name was the Termun Empire.

At its peak, it is said to have had 80% of humanity as its citizens.

However, it could not withstand the decline of its national power due to the long-term war with the Demon King’s army, which was rampant at the time, and the unrest of the barbarians in the border areas, and eventually perished.

And the land that was the core territory and origin of the empire at that time was the Helvetia Peninsula.

Especially the area where the Helvetia Republic is currently located.

“But as the empire collapsed, Helvetia was divided into several pieces. All sorts of small and medium-sized countries were rampant on the peninsula, and they are still busy fighting each other.”

It used to be a place of brilliant glory, but now it has been reduced to a state of self-destruction.

Whether it’s because it was once the base of a superpower, it has a solid foundation compared to its economy or size, but a flea can only jump so far.

The territory is divided into pieces, so how strong can each individual force be?

“Internal strife would be one thing, but the outside is also a problem. There are so many powerful countries in the vicinity, including this country. Just looking at the map, there are more than one or two.”

No matter how much potential a country has as a small but strong nation or a regional power, there is ultimately a limit to the national size.

The small countries of Helvetia, which are rich in financial resources but lack the military power and capabilities to protect them, are easy prey for neighboring countries.

To cover military expenses, or to increase territory and population. Greedy monarchs tried to devour them whenever they saw an opportunity.

They even fought among themselves over their rice bowls, regardless of Helvetia’s intentions.

After hundreds of years of invasions, diplomatic encroachments, and threats, much of the peninsula is now ruled by foreign powers.

The only countries that still maintain sovereignty are the Helvetia Republic and two or three others.

“Looking at this structure, I am convinced. The people there must hate outsiders a lot.”

Kang Chun-soo said, pointing to the areas of the peninsula painted with the colors of the great powers.

“Who would like being exploited by guys who aren’t their own country or people? Especially when they used to enjoy brilliant glory in the past?”

Now, the gap in power is overwhelming and they have become accustomed to being ruled, so they don’t openly resist.

But deep down, there must be accumulated dissatisfaction and frustration.

Moreover, there are many compatriots in the same situation on the same peninsula, so it is an easy environment to unite and empathize with each other.

In other words, the conditions are in place for anger to explode if you just add a little spark.

“We just need to encourage their emotions a little. If we create an emotional foundation for them to rise up, the Helvetia Peninsula will become noisy on its own.”

“…That sounds plausible.”

Kallia sighed after listening to Kang Chun-soo’s confident lecture.

For someone who looks like a homeless person, he had a pretty plausible argument. Unfortunately, it lacked realism.

“I understand what you’re saying, but it won’t be very effective.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we’ve already tried it.”

From the perspective of someone with the goal of overturning the world, Helvetia was a very appetizing target.

It seemed like a little stimulation would cause wars of independence or large-scale demonstrations to erupt.

So they had already tried it several times.

Like Kang Chun-soo’s suggestion, they spread propaganda and dispatched several agitators and spies.

“We’ve invested dozens of people in that area so far. We’ve used funds equivalent to the amount for a small city. But so far, there have been no results.”

But they all failed.

Certainly, beyond any doubt.

The oppressors of the Helvetia Peninsula were committed to maintaining stable rule and the status quo of the system.

Petty tricks could not create even a crack in their iron fortress.

“Still, the idea is good. Aim for another region instead–”

“Just because you guys failed doesn’t mean I will too, does it?”

So she tried to dissuade him.

Unfortunately, Kang Chun-soo’s thoughts were different.

* * * * *

The history of crowd psychology is surprisingly short.

Even though it is an important technique for changing public opinion and social sentiment, it was not until the mid-19th century that the concept was established and received attention.

Before that, politicians usually regarded the masses as foolish and in need of enlightenment.

In reality, they were often not very interested in how they thought or what values they held.

In my opinion, these guys were the same.

No matter how grand your intentions are, what’s the point if you lack the techniques necessary to realize them?

“Ms. Kallia.”

“Yes.”

“What was the content of the propaganda you have created and distributed so far? No, I can guess without you telling me. You guys have been saying things like how much you’ve been exploited and that you can’t stay like this, unite and defeat the oppressors, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“And there must have been a lot of elaborate and difficult metaphors.”

No matter how much you list various information and make claims, very few people will listen seriously.

In an era where more than half of the people are illiterate, who would understand if you spew out complex terms and flowery language?

If you really want to persuade and mobilize the masses, you have to use a method that they are interested in.

“No one will listen no matter how much you shout like that. What the public wants are more stimulating, concise, and easy-to-understand slogans.”

Well, it’s hard to understand just by explaining it like this. It doesn’t seem like you’ve realized anything from what I’ve said so far.

Then there’s no choice but to show you a model example directly. After all, the most effective teaching method is practice and experience, right?

“If you don’t understand, just help me. There’s no need to think too hard. Anyway, I’m the one who takes responsibility if things go wrong, not Ms. Kallia, right?”

“…I understand. If that’s what you want.”

That’s how the cooperative relationship was established. Since there was no time to spare, we immediately started producing propaganda.

[The most important thing for Helvetia today is unity, second is unity, and third is unity. Only a nation united as one and a unified, capable leader can lead Helvetia to prosperity and independence.]

[The only wish of the Helvetian people is to pursue happiness in their own way. This is a sacred right and an inviolable area that should not be infringed upon by anyone.]

[The glorious culture and traditions with thousands of years of history are about to be forgotten. Because of foreign powers. Will you allow your honor and pride to be trampled upon?]

[The Helvetian people are great! They built a vast road network, strong fortresses, and spread civilization and technology around the world. But what about now? They are simply immersed in weakness and comfort, and have lost the spirit of their great ancestors?]

[Helvetia, wake up! Pursue a single future as the arid land yearns for rain and wind! That is unification! Nation, wake up! Storm, rage on!]

Something like that.

The main base is fascism, with Nazism and totalitarianism added appropriately.

I also mixed in some of the ideas and claims that came out during the unification of Italy. In the most passionate and violent tone possible.

I threw in everything I knew that would help for exclusive internal unity.

Oh, and as a bonus, I chose the simplest and easiest-to-understand expressions so that even ignorant people could understand.

“That’s quite, extreme content.”

“To provoke extreme actions, you need matching ideas and motivation.”

“The higher-ups will have a fit if they read this.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Then I’ll leave the printing and distribution to you.”

Thus, the manuscript completed over three days was immediately handed over to the printing house operated by the organization.

After appropriate typo corrections and paragraph adjustments, the printed edition was created in four days.

It took about a week for about 1,000 copies to be printed in booklet form and transported to their destination.

After a total of two weeks, the propaganda spread in Helvetia,

“Th, that’s right. This is it. This is the path our nation should take!”

“Long live great Helvetia! Let’s reclaim the glory of our ancestors!!”

As expected. It caused a response like madness.