Chapter 473: The Empire’s Dilemma
Time is precious.
Belicia took out his mechanical pocket watch and took a look at it.
This is a product of sophisticated and advanced goblin technology. Only top goblin engineers can polish every part and gear to ensure that the hands on the pocket watch move accurately and steadily.
People always say that goblin inventions are crude and simple, but it is precisely because these cheap and useful things are mastered by more people.
Expensive and exquisite things are the privilege of the imperial nobles.
The time is 17:31.
When the sun sets.
The imperial delegation arrived outside the capital of the Resurrection Kingdom.
Coming to greet them was an army led by skeleton knights. They said nothing and killed in silence.
Belitsa saw a huge vehicle driving across the field, with thick smoke coming from the front of the vehicle and rows of bone rollers plowing the ground evenly behind it.
He squinted his eyes.
The farm tool [Kenya] is also one of the targets this time.
The imperial delegation received a solemn reception from the Resurrection Kingdom. Although the two sides had minor frictions in the past, trade and exchanges between them had never been interrupted.
The only thing that has changed is the status between the two.
In the past, the Resurrection Kingdom was considered a barbaric and stupid land of the dead, a pasture and farm behind the empire. But when it was noticed by the God Yao, everything became completely different.
In just a hundred years, the Skeleton Kingdom, which once was submissive to the Empire, has become a powerful emerging civilization.
The Resurrection Kingdom has trained a fearless skeleton army, owns vast fields and grasslands, is self-sufficient internally, and exports large amounts of grain, leather, and meat.
Because skeleton mercenaries are inexpensive, well-organized, and have an excellent reputation, they have even begun to take on local standing military defense tasks for some vassal civilizations.
The Resurrected Kingdom bypasses the Empire and trades and communicates directly with other vassal civilizations.
The Empire protested and condemned many times, but the gods remained silent.
That is the place covered by the mighty power of God Yao, and the gods have no right to interfere.
After the [Anvil Federation] was integrated into the Resurrection Kingdom, the shortcomings in smelting and mining were made up. The rise of this young kingdom has become unstoppable.
The empire fell into great turmoil.
First, there was the mysterious explosion of [Iron Fort] and [Sweet City]. The sudden impact and arrival of the alien world caused the two cities to disappear into thin air.
This indirectly led to the death of the Iron Duke, the owner of the Iron Dock.
Later, the new duke was poisoned and the entire duchy was taken over by the empire. The only heir, Ferric Baron, went into exile in the Resurrection Kingdom, and the title of the Iron Duke was almost dead in name only.
On the other hand, the Earl of Spice, who controlled Sweet City, suffered a great loss of vitality. The loss of the sugar-making town caused the Earl of Spice to lose his monopoly on sugar products, and his heir also died in the Sweet City incident. Now, the Earl of Spice has become the last of the seven electors, and is in danger under the power of the emperor.
This incident was called the "burg explosion", which directly led to mutual distrust between the electors and the emperor, causing open and covert confrontations between them, and the separatist rule of the feudal lords became increasingly serious.
Belicia discussed with his friends at the time: "They are all bad people anyway, so it's a good death for anyone who dies."
My friend asked, “So what is considered a good situation?”
"Of course it's like this now. The more chaotic the better."
Belicia grinned: "I just want to have some fun. It would be such a wonderful thing to witness the collapse of an empire."
Not long after, Belica was found by the apostles.
"The Empire wants to hire you to work for them, so get ready."
“It’s my honor.”
Belitsa obeyed the order obediently.
Although he works for the Empire, he is not from the Empire, but comes from the [Wind Realm].
Fengxingjie is a good place for honing skills. Those who can mingle here are elites from all walks of life. However, no matter how good the skills are, they must be tested in actual combat.
Facing the Empire's Foreign Minister, Belica held his head high, put one hand on his shoulder, and said solemnly according to the Imperial etiquette: "For the Empire! Loyalty!"
He then became a technical officer in the Imperial Ministry of Inventions.
The technology of the Invention Department usually refers to goblin technology, construction engineering, smelting and casting, or mechanical design.
Belicia's specialty is stealing.
He is a rising star in the popular world of thievery.
Arriving in the Resurrection Kingdom, Belic's imperial mission is to steal two things.
The manufacturing technology of [Ken Ya] and the formula of the magic potion [Heart-saving Pills].
…
The defense of the Resurrection Kingdom was useless in his eyes. Belica collected the complete technology of [Kenya] through on-site investigation, consultation and visits, and even made a small model and handed it to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
As for the [Heart Pill], this was not something that the Resurrection Kingdom could produce. The magic potion developed by the Yao Clan was only delivered as a finished product. The pharmaceutical process was very complicated and the local area did not have the production conditions.
Belicia's work was completed so easily that he felt a little empty.
The rest of the time is just counting the days to return to the empire and collect the reward.
Belicia likes goblin technology, especially high-end props.
The mechanical pocket watch he holds, the silver hip flask that can hold three types of wine in layers, and the belt that can hold various small tools are all high-end products made by goblin inventors.
This time the reward was a clockwork motorcycle. As long as he wound up the spring, he could ride the handsome motorcycle and speed across the fields and roads.
A few days later, Belicia participated in a formal meeting between the two countries.
Nominally he was a technical officer of the Invention Department and attended as a staff officer.
King Raymond also participated in the meeting in person.
The Empire's Foreign Minister kept a low profile. With a smile on his face, he said, "...There are some bad voices and rumors now, saying that His Majesty the Emperor is ill. There are also rumors that the 'Fortress Explosion' was a man-made accident caused by the Empire. These are all nonsense. His Majesty the Emperor hopes that the Resurrection Kingdom will continue to support the Empire and continue normal trade between the two sides."
The skeleton emperor sitting at the top said, "Hmm."
"Then, His Majesty the King supports His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Of course."
"There was a rumor in the imperial capital before..."
The minister pinched the parchment scroll and tried to figure out his words: "It is said that there is a powerful external force that is interfering with and influencing the electors and even the final direction of the empire's internal affairs. Your Majesty, what do you think about this?"
“I haven’t heard of this.”
King Raymond shook his head.
The minister said cautiously, "You mean, the Resurrection Kingdom shouldn't have anything to do with this?"
Raymond's dark eyes turned to the ministers, and his voice became low: "You foreign ministers like to say that we are some kind of external force, interfering in the internal order of the empire, and all problems are attributed to the Resurrection Kingdom."
The king raised his bony fingers and said, "I could have said nothing. Then you would have thought it was tacit agreement and arrogance, and you would have been unhappy."
"The Yao people never interfere in the internal affairs of other worlds or civilizations. They never did in the past, they never do now, and they never will in the future."
The minister tried to say something several times but was interrupted every time. Finally, the king just left the table.
Seeing the empire's diplomatic predicament, Belitsa could not help but sigh.
This huge empire has indeed lost all its dignity.
Upon returning, the Twin Snakes Empire brought back a skeleton army of 5,000 people through diplomatic trade, which will be used to supplement the garrison of the imperial capital.
The Resurrection Kingdom also sent an embassy to visit the Empire, and Belica was given a new mission.
"You will serve as their guide and escort."
The Foreign Secretary pointed to the two people in the distance and said, "Keep an eye on them, remember everything they do, and tell me."
"No, this is different from what we agreed on."
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Belica protested.
"You have no right to refuse."
The Foreign Minister said coldly: "Either do it and then go to the Ministry of Invention to get a car, or go to the mines to dig coal."
“…”
The situation is stronger than people.
Belicia could only curse in his heart.
Shame on you!
When the Empire breaks the rules, it is much more brutal than the liars and thieves in the popular world.
…
The two people that Belitsa was following were the leader in yellow clothes, named Yazdan, and the other was a long-eared rabbit man named Bai Ding.
Both of them are from Shacheng, Yao State, and are reporters for the Dibaoguan.
The job of a journalist is to visit places and send the collected information of all sizes back to the newspaper office, which will then publish it in the form of a paper newspaper so that more people can see it.
Yazdan gives people the feeling of being cold and unapproachable, like some kind of stone in human form.
Rabbit people are friendly and talkative.
They have a special powder called "Mint" that can easily eliminate language barriers.
"Mr. Belica is a minority, but he can serve as a technical officer in the Imperial Invention Department. It's really amazing."
Bai Ding smiled and said, "What kind of inventions are you working on?"
"What I make is relatively unpopular, more like door locks."
Belitsa answered.
As a seasoned thief, dealing with all kinds of door locks is a necessary basic skill.
"Which lock is safer? I've heard of iron locks and wooden locks, but I don't quite understand the difference."
“It depends on the usage environment.”
Belicia gestured, "If it's a door lock, you can use wood, stone, or metal, as long as it's hard to open it. The key is to discourage people from opening it. If someone really wants to break in at all costs, unless it's a stone room with an iron door, it will be knocked open by external force."
"If it is a lock for storing containers, or a lock for locking people or things, it needs to be strong and sophisticated. At present, the reed lock is still the best."
"This is also a technology with a long history. Through several or dozens of reeds, a specific shape is formed inside the iron or copper lock, which can only be opened with a specific key."
"But locks are man-made after all. As long as they meet someone who understands the principle, they can always be opened. The key to this kind of tool is to trap the lock for a short period of time and the design idea."
"Great! Mr. Belica is really a very deep inventor!"
Bai Ding was full of admiration.
Belicia had a faint smile on his face.
In the fiercely competitive world of the industry, this is just basic course to stand out.
"In addition, I also have some experience in knife sharpening, small hook locks and iron and copper wire making. These tools are placed in a delicate ..."
"Really? I heard that the Yao clan's research on copper and iron wires is still at a bottleneck. Do you really have such technology?"
“Of course, although the copper-iron drawing technology is a bit complicated to operate, it is actually not difficult.”
…
The two sides had lively exchanges along the way.
The journalists had a wide range of knowledge, and Belicia benefited greatly from it, gaining a lot of information he had never had before.
After arriving at the capital of the Twin Snake Empire, Bai Ding suddenly said, "Mr. Belica, I can assert that you are the talented scholar that the Yao people have always dreamed of. Are you willing to go to the Yao Kingdom or the Resurrection Kingdom to be a scholar?"
“…”
This is really outrageous.
Belica refused sternly: "I am a technical officer of the Imperial Invention Department. I serve the Empire."
The main reason is that he is not a scholar and his background is not clean. He was doomed when he was discovered to have stolen the technology of the Yao clan in the past.
"Then would you like to be our special guest reporter?"
Bai Ding still refused to give up: "Become a reporter, you can open a column in the Sand City Gazette, specifically telling about the situation in the empire, and you can also explain your non-confidential techniques and experiences in lock picking or related fields."
"Each issue of the newspaper is read by 100,000 people. A top scholar like you really shouldn't be so unknown."
“Isn’t this a bit bad?”
"Of course, we will pay you the highest standard of remuneration for every issue of your article!"
Bai Ding approached Yazdan and offered him a price that was impossible to refuse.
Belicia immediately said: "Since you are so enthusiastic, I will write it with all my heart. If it is not good, please don't mind."
Write an article and the newspaper will give you a box of heart pills.
According to the market price of the Heart Pills in the Empire, just reselling one pill could exchange for a clockwork locomotive! There were three pills in a box! These were all hard currency.
The Yao clan is indeed wealthy and powerful, much better than the stingy Twin Snake Empire.
Belicia had mixed feelings.
only.
How did I, an elite in the stealing industry, become a columnist?
(End of this chapter)