episode_0068

“It’s about time. Let’s spread it to each country.”

“Shall we supply it to the higher-ups through merchants again this time?”

“That would be better, right? Don’t release it to the market, use it as a gift. Everyone will be interested in it with Ismael’s reputation.”

As planned by Kalia and Ismael.

The Doctrine of Military-First Politics, produced in small quantities at the printing house, was soon supplied to the entire continent.

Including a little waiting time, distribution time, and binding period, it took about a month and a week.

It was the time when the reverberation was expected to be maximized.

“Ismael wrote another book?”

“That guy who created those bizarre ideologies again?”

“Bring it to me immediately. It would be good if it contained helpful content in this kind of situation.”

And in reality, the prediction was correct.

Only a few days have passed since the large-scale rebellion of soldiers in the Kram Empire ended.

Kram had to suffer thousands of losses to defeat more than 10,000 rebels.

They burned down buildings and carried out scorched-earth tactics to catch those who were entrenched in trenches and villages.

Considering that those rebels were originally their own troops, it was like losing nearly two divisions worth of manpower.

The damage was enormous in terms of both lives and property.

‘We must stop it.’

‘Those guys endured because they had some leeway, but if our country becomes like that, the front line will collapse.’

So they were going crazy trying to prevent a similar situation.

In this situation, Ismael’s new book?

They couldn’t help but be interested.

It was only natural that the rulers devoured the contents as soon as they got their hands on the book.

“Hmm… so it’s better to focus on the military rather than caring about the people’s livelihood?”

“Then, is there no need to lower the intensity of conscription?”

“Well, if we firmly control the military, we don’t have to care about the people’s complaints.”

And as people who are nominally the leaders of the country.

They were soon able to grasp the essence of Military-First Politics.

[The military is the pillar of the nation, not just a national defense organization, but the main entity that protects the national society. A military that is loyal to the country and the monarch, and has strong organizational skills, is like a driving force for pioneering the future of the country in difficult times.]

[The military is absolutely loyal to the monarch, and the monarch maintains power and dignity through the military. In other words, if the military and the leader unite to rule the country, the system can never collapse.]

Military, military, and more military.

The group that should be prioritized in running the country is always the military.

If the military is properly controlled, any crisis can be suppressed stably.

[Secure a city to house the most loyal talents. Or select a specific area and cultivate the residents there as loyalists.

A space where the leader, the military, and the privileged class come together is essential for internal cohesion and maintaining the military’s obedience.]

[The core city where power is concentrated gives the residents a sense of psychological superiority. If the right to reside there becomes a privilege and a symbol of power and status. The people will start competing to obtain that privilege on their own.]

At the same time, if an environment is created and operated with material rewards and various benefits. If appropriate competition can be encouraged with rewards as bait.

No matter how much you exploit the lower ones, there will be no problems.

Because they suppress their dissatisfaction on their own and compete to climb up.

“It’s possible if we change the governance law a little.”

“Since we’ve been focusing support on the capital anyway, we should strengthen it even more this time.”

“This will also save the budget for relieving the poor and providing relief.”

It was an easy method for the rulers.

Giving all kinds of privileges to the capital or some important cities is already an ongoing policy.

Material conscription and conscription are also postponed as much as possible, and prices are being suppressed somehow.

If it is a plan to strengthen this bias, not to abolish it, it can be accepted as much as possible.

“But where should we get the money needed for the welfare of the military… The national treasury is running out.”

“How much should we increase military spending to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers?”

However, the problem is the budget.

How can we improve the treatment in a situation where it is already difficult to maintain a large-scale military for several years and fight against enemies?

They could afford the monthly consumption of clothing, ammunition, and food, but it was impossible to improve the standard of living. It is difficult to handle with taxes or issuing government bonds.

“Should we drain the imperial reserves?”

“Rather, it would be better to pick out a few nobles who we don’t like, accuse them of treason, and confiscate their property…”

“Shall we sell unused jewelry and accessories?”

While repeatedly pondering.

One clever idea came to their minds.

If money is the problem, shouldn’t we reduce the item with the most expenditure, excluding military spending?

“Come to think of it, there was a book imported from Hispania this time. Was it called Das Kapital?”

“If Ismael wrote it, we can trust the contents.”

“Hispania had some fun with it, right? We should share good things.”

Many participating countries, including Kram and Elaine, were relying on the Hispania Empire for the supply of goods.

To be exact, it was on the (relatively) cheap products produced by their factory-style handicraft industry and slaves from the New World.

As domestic production decreased due to the decrease in labor due to the war, it was replaced with imports.

Of course, since they rely on the demand of the entire country, the amount of imports was astronomical.

The cost paid monthly as payment was also enormous.

“Division of labor and intensive production? Let’s introduce it too. There’s no reason why we can’t use the technology those guys are using.”

“30%. Even if we replace only 30% with domestic products, we can save the cost of building 10 battleships every year.”

So let’s change the demand back to domestic products.

Fortunately, they also obtained technology and knowledge called The Wealth of Nations, which would greatly increase production efficiency.

Even if they reduce the amount of imports a little, they will have huge budgetary leeway to add to military spending.

“We will run two shifts, so please consider this and hire people.”

“A salary that slightly exceeds room and board will be enough, right?”

With this idea, the rulers began to build factories in major industrial areas.

They broke down the existing artisan-centered production system and built a system in which workers mass-produce goods through divided processes.

There were very few trials and errors. They could simply copy the success stories of neighboring countries.

“But who will work? All the men have been dragged to the battlefield.”

“Bring in women. Or even the elderly or disabled veterans. If it’s a simple process that requires less strength, those guys’ strength will be enough.”

“Yes? Then who will farm…”

“Why should we worry about that? If their livelihood becomes difficult, they will plow the fields and plant seeds on their own. If they don’t want to starve to death, the remaining people will grit their teeth and do it.”

The countryside and provinces would suffer from squeezing the manpower to be put into the factories, but that didn’t matter much.

Because people are creatures that will spit out results if squeezed.

Besides, although they say they have mobilized all the men, the actual mobilization rate will not be that high due to the lack of technology and administrative power.

If the remaining guys work their bones off, food production will not decrease.

The intensity of labor will increase explosively, but that is the natural duty of the subjects.

If you want to win the war, shouldn’t you work really hard and dedicate all the results to the country?

“If you understand, go and check the construction status of the factories. We must start production by this summer at the latest.”

“…I understand.”

Men in the muddy trenches of the front lines where bullets are flying.

Women and the sick in hastily built factories in the rear.

The remaining people in rural areas and mines.

A structure of exploitation and plundering forced on everyone except for a very small number of privileged people.

Thus, a world where everyone only gets hurt was completed.

* * * * *

“I think people are really smart only in a bad way.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“No, I just gave them a few pieces of knowledge and they’re abusing it on their own. In a way that exceeds my expectations as the original author.”

What can I say, I’m just appalled.

There’s a reason why the word “human” was created.

I never thought they would mix Military-First Politics with division of labor and production.

When combined, a terrible synergy was created, and it almost became a modern total war system.

It has become similar to the methods used by modern countries, going beyond primitive total war with many holes and limitations.

‘Being ahead of the times is not always a good thing.’

The word “advanced” does not always have a positive meaning.

Progress that is not supported by technology and socio-culture is more likely to backfire.

The same goes for this.

A system of exploitation that is hundreds of years ahead of its time in an era where there is no concept of mechanization and no industrial revolution.

It’s efficient, but it won’t last long.

It’s a system that will collapse as soon as the people reach their limit.

It would be great if it could last for about 10 years.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? You and I don’t care how much humans suffer.”

“That’s true.”

When I tried to sigh, Kalia advised me not to worry.

That’s right.

Kalia is a demon, and I’m a stranger.

Whether the people of the participating countries are unhappy or happy, it’s none of our business as long as we are happy.

“Still, I’m a little worried.”

“What do you mean? Our baby’s parenting plan? I wasn’t planning on getting pregnant yet… but if you want to, I’m happy to.”

“No, not that.”

This woman is becoming more and more natural at flirting.

I don’t hate it, but since this is the middle of the market, I gently refused. Family planning should be done in bed.

“If this continues, Hispania will be in danger.”

Anyway.

The Hispania Empire is a country that has been running its economy by making up for the damage caused by the large-scale flood through trade.

The war boom that they have been enjoying sweetly will disappear overnight, so can those guys adapt?

The United States just before the Great Depression was in this situation.

“International trade may collapse.”

If the sponsor of the participating countries explodes, the war will become difficult.

Everyone is expanding their own production capacity, so the damage will be less, but the sustainability will be limited.

“Kalia, could you contact the other branch managers–”

“I, I found it.”

I was about to give a warning out of concern, but someone grabbed my arm from behind.

When I turned around, there was a pair of huge breasts that rivaled Kalia’s.

…No, I shouldn’t say it like this.

‘Saintess?’

Why are you here?