Chapter 1486
Chapter 1486 - 1482: The Horn of Counterattack
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9 min read
"Thank you for coming—we welcome your investments, and your people will receive the best treatment in this world. Of course, regarding safety, we will need your forbearance..."
At the assembly of the New Kingdom Parliament, after the Speaker had finished his speech, the whole room applauded.
Meanwhile, on a table nearby, lay the newly signed contract.
"Eastern Country and Dawnlight Nation Progress Cooperation Package," which included a series of contents like "tourism," "investment," and "national treatment."
The core probably lay in the so-called open tourism content, or rather, the "comprador contract" by that name.
"If they open up the borders indefinitely, letting anyone in to obtain citizenship, freely exchange currency, and have unlimited investment freedom... isn’t that just neglecting everything, giving up most of their sovereignty, and still counting it under the ’tourism’ content?"
Lu Ping’an had truly had his eyes opened; these professional government officials indeed had their ways.
How would one handle a very sensitive yet very important matter that must be legislated, but as discreetly as possible?
"Start with a different title, use a hot topic to bewilder everyone, and then quickly pass the critical and sensitive content as additional provisions or supplementary clauses."
Most people, when they watch the news or read legislative texts, only look at the summary or, at most, delve a bit more into the main text. It’s impossible to access the full text online in this era; one could only apply to see it at professional departments.
Unless you have the ability and the leisure to directly request the original documents from the parliament, it’s impossible to see those supplementary provisions... Even if the news were to break out, most of the frontline media in this world was in the hands of the Easterners.
In this respect, the Easterners had suffered many losses and had also learned this trick. As far as Lu Ping’an knew, some scattered media were also being urgently acquired by the Easterners.
"Millions of tourist visas, they really thought that up..."
Actually, even the tourist visa (ID card) was given by the Official side of the Eastern Country; the New Kingdom didn’t even keep a record of it.
You land and possess New Kingdom citizenship, including all the corresponding treatments; this was what Big Shot Linnu had negotiated with the New Kingdom before, and now it was just being further implemented... The original negotiators never thought it would jump from tens of thousands to millions, completely changing its nature.
And given the scale this has reached, arguing for widespread tax exemption was no longer justifiable, so that aspect was renegotiated as well.
The tax system would be the same as for the ordinary nationals here; playing double standards here isn’t a good thing—it’s like laying the groundwork for racial conflicts... but tax exemptions and reductions were still possible.
Some lords still enjoyed significant tax reductions for a certain number of years... Of course, the documents didn’t put it that way; the documents stated, "It can be offset by investing in national infrastructure and public welfare."
Simply put, the lords could count their investments in constructing bridges, roads, power plants, and schools in their territories as their tax dues.
Sound familiar? This indeed wasn’t originally by Lu; many Earth people do the same, only here it’s done even more excessively.
This means that as long as the lords keep investing in building up their territories, they can avoid paying taxes to the capital... The root of why the capital isn’t opposed is that they originally didn’t receive the taxes; now, at least they get something.
"Let’s go."
Lu Ping’an chose to leave; with his current status, he no longer needed to interfere much with these specifics.
He was just coming to see the situation, to confirm these people’s work abilities... As long as they weren’t doing terribly, Lu Ping’an wouldn’t say anything. From the current results, these outsiders were the experts in administrative matters, and Lu Ping’an was thus reassured.
He had some more important things to take care of; now that he had learned of the "future," he naturally needed to layout plans in advance.
"Lulu, get ready, you’re going to rise in rank within half a year."
The process of returning to the military academy went quite smoothly; the cadets there even greeted Lu Ping’an voluntarily, after all, this "specially appointed instructor" not only visited frequently but his occasional public lectures on battlefield theories were always packed.
"... I understand."
"Uh, aren’t you going to ask why?"
"I’m not blind. The people in the council have told me, and Lin Nu’s allies have urged me several times, the situation at the frontline is too terrible to keep dragging on like this."
Lu Ping’an put down the pen in her hand, massaged her temples, and sighed. Over this past half a year, since she had become Principal, she felt like she had aged ten years.
The anticipated counteroffensive had already occurred, yet the worst thing about the Great Counteroffensive was that no one could feel its presence.
Was there a counteroffensive? It seemed so.
The current Director of the military was actually quite competent, having absorbed the experiences of his predecessors. Although his position was high, the ones he could actually command were all his own people, so practically his capability was quite limited.
New Kingdom was always just a shell. Warlords still held power in their respective regions. Each faction of the Salvation Army was seizing time to seek development; they all lacked the motivation for a counteroffensive and for reinforcing the lines.
It’s not that they were refusing the call of the military department. A battalion at the frontline could be at full strength or even overstaffed with armed forces, or it could be a half-camp of slave soldiers.
These days, labor was the least of shortages, and anyone within the possession of coins could easily buy some losers. The power that those "warlords" could muster was imaginable.
It wasn’t that there was no way to break the deadlock. The place was still incredibly "feudal". When "King’s Right" held enough prestige and achievements, the "Knights and lords" would naturally follow orders obediently, or else they would face the consequences of disloyalty.
But now, successive Directors of the military had fallen into this vicious cycle. He needed achievements and prestige to gain obedience from his subordinates, but front-line victories were necessary to achieve that. The problem was that the frontline was currently not winning, and only the obedience and contributions of other subordinates could possibly turn it around.
This also wasn’t without a method to break the pattern. The Director personally leading his troops or his trusted allies into battle, scoring a series of victories, could then start rolling up the snowball of victory, gaining more supports and reinforcements, and naturally becoming the de facto leader of the military.
It wasn’t completely impossible, but the prerequisite was to be strong enough and daring enough to risk everything, and this past half-year, various constraints had made the capabilities of the appointed Directors rather subtle.
Coveting achievement, fearing death, and chasing after minor benefits were taboo for a leader. They might be strongmen or excellent battlefield commanders, but clearly didn’t qualify to be Commanders.
In contrast, the prestige of Lu Ping’an, who had originally retreated from her position, was actually rising... There had already been four phases of Delegated officers from the military school, and those quality lower and middle level commanders had indeed changed the dynamics on the battlefield. While everyone else was making no progress, she was consistently contributing, strengthening the overall military power.
And this contrast had not been buried.
In the media controlled by Easterners, her contributions were increasingly magnified. Civilians had long been calling for her to return to power (Lu himself really hadn’t paid for this; he felt the time wasn’t right).
"Is it time yet?" Lu Ping’an still hesitated; there was no turning back once the bow was drawn.
"Of course. The aid has already arrived; it’s time for a real Great Counteroffensive." Missing this opportunity would be very difficult; Eastern Country People would not likely give this "merit" to an outsider.
"Even if I’m not here... they can complete it very well, right?" This step was still hard for Lu Ping’an to take.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of fighting, nor was she satisfied with the situation at the frontline, but rather, she also didn’t want to give up on the military school lightly.
"So, this merit could possibly belong to him. If he manages to secure his position through this merit... are you sure you want to let an incompetent coward become the highest military commander, having him direct the life and death of frontline soldiers?"
"...Fine, give me some time to sort out the school’s affairs."
"Don’t worry, a group of active-duty officers from Eastern Country will come over to act as instructors. They will greatly enhance the quality of the lower level commanders."
"...I’m becoming more anxious."
Lu Ping’an sighed; it seemed she had no other alternative.
Hopefully, her decision wouldn’t be wrong.
The next day, all the major media simultaneously reported the defeat at the frontline; negative news such as "corruption and bribery," "logistical disadvantages," and "absence of aid for the wounded" pervaded everywhere, with all conflicts eventually pointing directly at the military department.
— End of Chapter 1486 —