episode_0172

“What do you mean?”

Cartel was surprised by Adrian’s words, but soon became serious and asked back.

Although it was pushed back by the Borus Empire, it was a historic country that served as the leader of the coalition of kingdoms opposing it.

The cartel had such pride in Sylvania that it was hard to ignore Adrian’s words that there was no future if things continued as they were.

“Do you know what I saw in the Empire?”

“I know the Empire is huge and has a lot of people, but our Sylvania too… .”

“It’s not something material.”

“Then what are you trying to say?”

“Culture.”

Adrian did not think that economic or military threats would threaten Sylvania.

The empire was as vast in territory as it was in danger.

First of all, there was no country that could be called friendly, and even within the empire, there were many forces that were eagerly waiting for the empire to split, so it was never able to fully use its enormous power.

“Your Highness! Our Sylvania also has many great cultures that boast history and tradition. Now, Your Highness, the Empire’s… .”

“That’s not it, Prime Minister.”

Adrian knew what the cartel was trying to say.

As far as history goes, Sylvania was ahead of the Empire in terms of history, and had many long-standing orchestras and theaters, and their level was so high that many nobles from other countries came to see them.

That is why the Kingdom of Sylvania was proud of never being inferior to the Empire in terms of culture.

“Do you know these?”

“This is….”

The cartel recognized the identity of the items Adrian took out at a glance.

“Fairy tales and comic books that are popular in the Empire.”

“Yes.”

“Are you saying that the kingdom has no future because of such trivial things?”

“It’s trivial… .”

Adrian shook his head in response to the cartel’s story.

“How many people in our kingdom, excluding the nobles, can read and write?”

“That’s….”

“In recent times, even in rural villages in the empire, more than half of the people can read.”

“Yes? How is that possible?”

“Because of this.”

Adrian said, holding up a pile of children’s books and comic books that the cartel had described as worthless.

“Can you believe that commoners taught themselves to read this?”

“Just because of this… .”

Cartel may have been a bit old-fashioned, but he was not incompetent.

He also knew well what it meant for commoners to learn to read and write.

‘If only 50% or even 30% of the common people of the empire could read and write, how many talented people would there be who would see the light of day?’

A large number of people meant that there was a higher chance of talented people emerging.

However, the commoners, who made up the majority of the country, often wasted their abilities because they could not read and write, despite their numbers.

Because of this, all countries were providing various educational opportunities and opportunities for commoners to demonstrate their talents in order to recruit the talent they lacked.

‘What good is learning to read and write? Just be good at farming.’

Commoners, who were desperate to make a living, did not feel the need to learn to read and write.

That is why, although it may not be obvious to the nobles, teaching commoners to read and write was a dream come true for those who ruled the country.

Of course, it was known that the rising consciousness of the common people could be a burden to the monarchy, but it was clear that the benefits would outweigh the losses as long as the monarchy was properly maintained.

“And that’s not all.”

Kartel’s expression changed as he finally realized that Adrian’s words were not in vain.

The cartel focuses on Adrian’s next words.

“Is this the prime minister’s work?”

“Did you know?”

What Adrian held in his hand was a copy of that he had made under the orders of the Cartel.

“If I had stayed in the kingdom, I would have thought the same as the prime minister.”

“This was a failure.”

“Do you know why it failed?”

In response to Adrian’s question, Kartel thought for a moment and then answered what he thought was the reason for the replica’s failure.

“First of all, the nobles were the problem. In their case, they didn’t like the idea of seeing copies of themselves like the commoners.”

The cartel felt that the nobles who were supposed to be setting an example were bragging about obtaining the original Imperial copy and that this was creating a bad atmosphere and causing their own replica plan to fail.

“That’s not all.”

“Are you saying there is another reason?”

“This is the original. This is a copy. Can you tell the difference?”

Cartel placed the original Adrian had taken out and the copy he had instructed to make side by side and compared them.

‘What’s the difference?’

On the surface, the difference was that the original’s colors looked a bit more vivid and clean.

But Kartel, who thought that Adrian would not have made such a comparison for nothing, picked up the book, opened it, and compared it again.

“What! I didn’t know there would be such a difference… .”

Only then did the cartel realize its mistake.

The paper quality of the replica was not very good, as they had to cut down a lot of costs in order to sell it at a low price.

‘I’ve only read it once and it’s already become tattered.’

‘No matter how cheap it is, isn’t it too much?’

‘I saw someone who bought a genuine copy of the Imperial Edition, and it still looked new even after reading it dozens of times.’

In fact, the commoners did not blindly follow the nobles’ pursuit of the original empire.

In the case of replicas, the price was cheaper than the original imperial copy, so if the quality difference was not that big, commoners would have bought replicas.

Unfortunately, no matter how cheap the replica was, its quality was so poor that it was undesirable even for the common people.

“Animation is a new genre that is popular in the empire now.”

“I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t actually seen it yet.”

“I plan to bring it directly to the kingdom soon.”

“Yes? Prince! Right now, these fairy tales and comic books alone are having a serious impact on the kingdom!”

“So you have to bring it in.”

Despite the cartel’s fuss, Adrian spoke calmly.

“Culture is not something that can be blocked by blocking it. In fact, the more we block it, the more we become frogs in a well.”

It was a confidence that was possible because Adrian had already personally witnessed the front lines at the side of Rupert, who was leading the imperial culture.

Adrian, who had witnessed the constant flow of new culture and its ripple effects during the past year he had been at the Academy, thought that if he did not ride this wave, he would be left behind.

“We cannot escape its influence, as we share a border with the Empire.”

-Then we must use it to survive!

The culture of the Empire has already spread throughout the entire continent of Sylvania.

Some countries tried to stop it, while others were already immersed in the new culture.

‘If you can’t be Yuren, be like Vera.’

It was like a saying that has been circulating in imperial circles recently.

The Yuren Sangdan joined hands with Rupert and conquered the Imperial Sangdan with the weapon of culture, rising from the Seven Grand Sects to the top tier.

However, the merchants were more surprised by the rise of the second-in-command of Vera.

‘Vera’s upper division, which was considered to be in decline, took second place among the seven major divisions through an early merger.’

At first, Vera Top tried to keep an eye on Yuren Top, but soon decided that they could not keep up, so they went under Yuren Top and announced the surprising news of a strategic merger.

At first,

‘Tsk tsk, even the Vera top has really gone downhill.’

‘That’s right. No matter how well Yuren is doing, he’s not only the tail but also the bottom.’

‘Now, the Empire will become the Six Great Squadron, not the Seven Great Squadron.’

Although he had disparaged the top Vera team for going under the top of the competition without any pride, his reaction was soon bound to change.

This is because everything they touched, from the Somerset Theater business that started after the Vera Group joined forces, to the Group membership business, and even to increasing exports, was successful, showing their tremendous power that dominated the imperial commerce.

At a time when the Yuren Top was growing rapidly and was still lacking the substance to handle its size, the huge support force called Vera Top was the perfect partner.

In this way, the Vera top succeeded in taking the second place position behind the rapidly growing Yuren top.

People saw this and created a new proverb: If you can’t be Yuren, be like Vera.

“Even if the private sector starts cultural projects, it will be very difficult to catch up with the empire.”

“Then we should support it at the kingdom level.”

“Huh? Is that really true?!”

“You can no longer bring down an empire with a sword.”

Adrian explained the direction the kingdom should take to Kartel, who expressed doubts about whether the cultural industry could be promoted belatedly and catch up with the empire.

“Even now, the kingdoms must unite to stand against the empire. What would happen if some of them joined the empire?”

Adrian’s words sent shivers down the cartel’s spine.

The kingdoms were also aware of the empire’s ambition to unify the continent, so they helped each other closely and were barely able to suppress the empire.

If there were any defectors from that alliance, then there would really be no way to stop the Empire.

“They know that if the alliance breaks down, their turn will come at any time, so there’s no way they’d do something like that!”

“The Empire is now trying to do that nonsense with culture.”

Adrian believed that he understood the power of culture better than anyone in the kingdom.

Therefore, the only way to stand up to the Empire is for the Kingdom of Sylvania to also have a strong culture that is not inferior to the Empire.

‘No matter how hard an individual tries, it is not enough to catch up with Professor Rupert’s work. In that case, we have no choice but to support him at the kingdom level.’

“His Majesty has just returned to the palace.”

The conversation with the cartel ended with the sound of a servant announcing the king’s return to the palace.

“First, I need to meet my father.”

Adrian walked forward, thinking that everyone would probably be surprised if they knew what he had prepared for the Kingdom’s cultural revival project.