Episode 160: Interlude (A Certain Duke)
Amazio Salmon, no, Duke Amazio Silverhead, was working tirelessly.
He was deeply concerned about the future of the Repitari Kingdom, his own domain.
Currently, the Repitari Kingdom was growing at an astonishing rate. This was largely due to the power of its expanded navy.
Compared to neighboring countries, the Repitari Kingdom’s naval power was exceptionally high, standing head and shoulders above the rest. The technological gap was estimated to be over 100 years.
This estimate came from that ultra-powerful entity, so its analysis was likely correct.
Consequently, the kingdom continued to grow through the one-sided plundering of wealth from its neighbors.
However, this momentum would eventually stall. Simply taking was not sustainable.
They would be fine for another 10 years.
For 20 years, they could manage with their accumulated wealth.
But what would happen after 30 years?
A nation that had grown fat by draining the wealth of its neighbors would only starve to death if its supply lines were cut off.
Therefore, Duke Amazio Silverhead decided to take action.
With his power, he could do anything with the navy alone. However, a country was not run solely by its navy. The army, which was the cornerstone of national defense, the various government agencies responsible for domestic control, and the police organization that maintained law and order. It was through the organic cooperation of these entities that a nation was soundly managed.
And above all, free trade protected by order was the most important thing. Without a functioning economy, sustainable growth was impossible.
The first thing needed was enough power to push through reforms forcefully.
Therefore, Duke Silverhead colluded with influential figures in the navy to control the noble families within the country. He restored centralized power, centered on the royal family, by reclaiming the dispersed authority.
Originally, the power of the nobles in the Repitari Kingdom, which had already begun down the path of modernization, was waning. The heads of the noble families, understanding this situation, readily submitted and were incorporated into an organization with the royal bloodline at its apex.
Those nobles who resisted were crushed by the power of the navy.
Or rather, to be precise, Amazio Salmon crushed them single-handedly. Mobilizing the navy would have been too conspicuous, and there was a possibility that the army, guards, or even the nobles’ private soldiers would show up, so the navy itself was only hinted at. In reality, Amazio Salmon went in almost alone, physically threatening the heads of the families and making them swear allegiance.
It was, so to speak, a raid.
Or was it not?
Well, in any case, he brought the major noble families to heel, and as a result, the royal family was able to regain the dispersed power. The fact that the power of the nobles themselves was declining within the Repitari Kingdom was one of the reasons why this series of events was successfully resolved.
After that, it was a matter of persuading the royal family.
Originally, the current king had been installed during the kingdom’s past turmoil by Amazio Salmon and his companions, mainly the current naval officers.
The prince, who was a boy at the time, had grown into a fine king with correct views, and above all, he felt grateful to Amazio Salmon.
As a reward for Amazio Salmon, he established the Dukedom of Silverhead.
He also granted permission to confine him to the frontier, listening to his wishes as he was tired of power struggles.
This time as well, he fully understood Duke Amazio Silverhead’s actions and supported him. Well, since his own power would be expanded, there was no need to openly oppose it.
The only concern was that the kingdom would be manipulated by Duke Silverhead, but it was considered more problematic to treat a great man who had played such a significant role in the founding of the nation with hostility.
In this way, the foundation for centralization was prepared.
For practical matters, measures would be taken by promoting the domestic railway construction project. Once the railway was open, the speed of information exchange between the regions and the center would be greatly improved.
In addition, the domestic distribution function would be dramatically improved, as it would become possible to collect and redistribute goods.
Amazio invested the power of super-science into this.
To be precise, he sought advice from Paraiso, and under their guidance, he succeeded in developing large construction machinery and machine tools.
Mass production of groundbreaking civil engineering heavy equipment that could complete in one hour what 100 people could do in a day.
Construction of factories to manufacture durable rails and metal parts such as various screws and nails.
The technological capabilities that would normally be built up through various trial and error processes were forcibly improved through external knowledge.
In this way, the reform of the domestic industrial base was also carried out, and the Repitari Kingdom was finally advancing along the path of modernization.
This industrial growth was led by the naval and noble-affiliated merchant guilds led by Duke Amazio Silverhead.
Naturally, their influence and financial power expanded at an accelerated rate.
The ones who suffered were the merchant guilds that had distanced themselves from them and were enjoying a honeymoon period with the army.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that the kingdom was moving to cut them off, so it was only natural.
Soldiers who interfered were crushed each time, and the assassination plan against Amazio Silverhead, which was carried out with a do-or-die attitude, was perfectly blocked, and many of the perpetrators and their associates were convicted.
It was rumored that the ＜Paraiso＞ were deeply involved in this large-scale roundup.
The old-fashioned group of geezers who had their hands and feet cut off, the Traditional (Legendary) Senate, persisted for a long time, but eventually, one by one, the members disappeared, and it vanished as if it had dissolved naturally.
Although they had enough power to interfere with the king’s will, they were no match for a duke who had the power to distort even the king’s will in the first place. That was the situation.
Incidentally, it seems that there was a merchant guild that sent its private soldiers to the village where Duke Amazio Silverhead had lived, in order to seize his Achilles’ heel, but nothing in particular happened, and only the private soldiers disappeared.
Amazio heard about this from the merchant guild he had crushed, but of course he had not received such a report.
He was sufficiently wary of the common tactic of attacking his weaknesses, or rather, his surroundings, so a guard unit had been dispatched from the navy, but there had been no disturbances there either.
There was only one thing he could think of, but when he asked them, they said that they didn’t know about the story, but they had crushed armed groups that were interfering with their activities, so he wisely kept silent.
Apparently, they had already infiltrated the country.
Moreover, something with the power to erase dozens of people without leaving any trace.
There was nothing he could do about this, so he had no choice but to give up. In the first place, it seemed that they were operating not only ships but also aircraft. He had not been able to confirm this directly, but he had heard rumors of moving objects shining in the high sky and mysterious distant rumbling.
It was easy for Amazio, who had knowledge, to connect this phenomenon with the appearance of them.
◇◇◇◇
“Good evening, Amazio-san.”
“Ah, good evening. Do you have any interesting stories for me today?”
“Hmm, let me see. I’m continuing to analyze magic, but to be honest, it looks like it will still take a while. What about you?”
“Well, let’s see. The pre-production model of the large steam engine that uses that entire coal stone that I bought from you has finally started operating.”
“Oh. Now that you mention it, you said something like that last time. Is it going well?”
“Well, yes. The purity of the coal stone is sufficient, and the rest is a matter of our manufacturing precision. That too, can be sufficiently secured with the steel and parts supplied by you. Really, I’m grateful to ＜Paraiso＞.”
“I see, that’s good. If you have any problems, please consult me. We’re comrades who were transferred together, so I’ll give you a discount, okay?”
“What, you’re going to charge me?”
“Of course. There’s nothing scarier than free aid, right? I’m giving you a big discount, so it’s fine, right?”
“…Hmph, well, that’s true. From my perspective, it feels like I’m just receiving. If you say so, I’ll leave it at that.”
“Hey, what’s wrong? At least, we’re not losing anything, so you don’t have to worry about it like that.”
“Is that so? No, I’m sorry. That’s right, thank you as always. If there’s anything I can do to help you, please tell me. I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”
“Really? Oh, in that case, I’ve decided to send my daughter to your place next time. Would you mind keeping her company?”
“…Daughter?”
“Yes. Well, to be precise, it’s an android equipped with artificial intelligence. It’s a good opportunity for her to accumulate experience. ＜Ringo＞ also gave her seal of approval that the security there is not a problem.”
“Security…? No, the royal capital is still noisy, but is it really okay?”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll send her with a guard, and I want to let her out soon. I can’t move yet, but at least those children can.”
“…I see. Well, if you say so, leave it to me. I can assign attendants, and if you want, I can even prepare a mansion for you.”
“Really? Then, I think I’ll take you up on that. Well, I’ll tell you the details next time. No, perhaps I should make a formal request through diplomatic channels.”
“Understood. It would be strange for me to bring it up, so please go through a diplomat. I’ll take care of the preparations on this end.”