Chapter 805
Despite the devastating separatists and rebels in a round with Steam Knights and Floating City, it doesn't mean the end of things for Perficot.
She stood in the command room of the floating city, looking down at the city below through the heavy glass windows, but she didn't have a trace of joy of victory in her heart.
She knew that this victory was just a manifestation, and the real crisis was still lurking in every corner of the empire.
The reason why she did not use military means at the beginning was because she clearly understood that a war would not solve the problem, but would intensify the contradictions.
War brings only brief surrender, not true surrender.
Those suppressed cities have returned to peace on the surface, but the undercurrents of resistance are like underground magma, which may erupt at any time.
Perficote knew very well that once the people's hearts were lost, they would be like a broken mirror, and no matter how they were pieced together, they would not be able to restore their original state.
Those who once had loyalty to the empire are now only indifference and hostility.
They may have succumbed to the power of the empire for a while, but their inner resentment grew like wild grass, waiting for the right time to explode again.
Because Perficote gave up his local policies, the people in the empire were disinterested in the center of the empire.
People on the streets no longer talk about the glory of the empire, but instead are confused about the future and doubts about the empire's rule.
The flag of the empire is still flying at the highest point of the city, but the people under that flag no longer look up to it.
Although the empire did not give up on them in name, the act of abandoning the empire's land and transferring the empire's center to the north is equivalent to actually abandoning them.
This decision may have been a helpless move to deal with the doomsday at that time, but in the eyes of the local people of the empire, it was undoubtedly a betrayal.
They once believed that the Empire would protect them in times of crisis, but reality made them feel abandoned and betrayed.
This also led many local people in the empire to believe that the empire had abandoned them at a critical moment and still want them to be loyal to the empire? Go dreaming!
This sentiment spread rapidly among the people and even penetrated into the grassroots officials of the empire.
Although they were still executing the empire's orders, their inner loyalty had long been shaken.
Perficote clearly realized that the foundation of the empire was rapidly collapsing.
She understands the anger and disappointment of those people, and even at some moments, she will shake her position.
But she can't, because her identity and responsibility do not allow her to do so.
If it can be delayed until now, Perficote will praise the authority of the empire and the grassroots officials of the empire are loyal enough to the empire.
But even so, she knew that this loyalty was quickly exhausted.
The authority of the empire is no longer as indestructible as it used to be, and the loyalty of grassroots officials is also being eroded by the cruelty of reality.
Her current identity represents the empire, and her position must also be from the perspective of maintaining the unity of the empire.
She cannot allow the empire to fall apart, especially at this moment when the end of the day is approaching.
She must do everything she can to bring the empire back together, even if it means she must stand opposite to the people.
And the most critical point is just like when she chose to give up the empire's land and strive to build the northern border with all her might, this is the way to save more people.
After all, the empire was scarce, and if a strong enough leader could not unite them together, relying solely on the individual governments of each city, they would soon kill themselves.
Perficote is very sure about this. She had witnessed the chaos and disorder in those cities, knowing that without a strong central government, these cities would soon fall into internal struggle and collapse.
So, although she knew her decision would make the empire’s native population more disinterested, she had no choice.
She could only continue to move forward and use iron fist to maintain the unity of the empire, even if it meant that she had to bear more infamy and resentment.
But now, Perficot will not blindly adopt high-pressure policies.
She formulated a policy of politeness and planned to gradually promote various technologies that have been widely used in the north of the empire.
Due to many reasons such as technological communication and insufficient industrial capacity in the empire, other places have not been applied to new technologies except for Langton City and several surrounding cities that are closely related to Langton.
This also leads to the difficulties of life in many cities in the empire, and people are just struggling to survive on the brink of life and death.
By applying new technologies to improve the living standards of these people, this can also be regarded as winning back the hearts of the empire’s people.
After all, for ordinary people, no matter how dissatisfied with the empire, as long as they can live, they will choose to endure.
Ordinary people may not understand the overall situation, but their universal values will still tell them how to survive.
The newest ⊥Xiao⊥Speak⊥Send⊥Six⊥9⊥Book⊥⊥⊥⊥Back⊥⊥⊥⊥!
Submissive empire may be harder to live, but you can live well, have a job that can make a living, have food that can fill your stomach, and have a warm nest that can shelter the family from the wind and rain.
As for resisting the empire? Steam Knight will trample your city, tear down your house, and then insert your entire family into stakes.
Perficote didn't like to do this, but the facts told her that she could only do it.
She knew very well that the promotion of technology was not only to improve people's lives, but also to consolidate the ruling foundation of the empire.
By providing better living conditions, she hopes to win the trust and support of the people again.
However, she also understood that this was not a night of success.
The spread of technology takes time, and the trust of the people requires long-term efforts and accumulation.
She must wait patiently while constantly adjusting and optimizing policies to ensure that every step is taken steadily and vigorously.
However, the road is not smooth.
Every policy adjustment and optimization will encounter various resistances and challenges.
Some believe her policies are too mild to effectively suppress rebellious sentiments; others believe her policies are too radical and may cause greater turmoil.
Faced with these doubts and criticisms, Perficote could certainly ignore them and repress them with authority, but this dictatorial rule could only last for a while, and it took her long to nail the empire to maintain the authority of the rule.
Once she leaves, those officials with ulterior motives will quickly resurface and various problems will break out again.
So this time Perficote chose to compromise as much as possible instead of iron blood and authoritarianism.
Rule cannot be just tough. If she can stay in the empire forever, then toughness will not be a problem.
Anyway, with enough force to suppress, she can straighten out all the problems and get the empire back on track.
But this time her purpose was to inspect all the colonies of the empire, and it was impossible for her to waste too much time on the empire's homeland.
(This chapter ends)