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Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Clouds in the Blue Sky, Water in the Bottle
Inside the duke’s private office, firewood crackled in the fireplace, yet it could not dispel the icy atmosphere among the three people.
Oswald toyed with the cigar in his hand. He had already left the two of them standing there for an hour, yet he still refused to give either of them so much as a glance.
It was as if the cigar in his hand were some extraordinary treasure.
Standing stiffly on his left was Knight Commander Red, a veteran who had fought his way up from the bottom. He was also someone Oswald had given up on nurturing during the previous life.
Е̂ nú m̌ а́
Not only was Red cowardly in battle and glib in conduct, he was also fond of private brawls, greedy, and lecherous. He looked tall and imposing, but aside from a bit of blind loyalty, he was of no great use.
As for the other person, the red-haired girl in a maid outfit, Eileen...
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This person claimed to be Oswald’s personal maid, but in reality, she was the Chief Secretary who assisted him in governing the territory.
Eileen was capable, and not just ordinarily capable. No one had expected that after Oswald’s death, she would be able to stir up such a massive internal rebellion.
Therefore, whether out of curiosity or speechlessness, Oswald now had no choice but to raise his head and look squarely at this ambitious schemer whom he had always ignored.
In short, because he understood both of them far too well, Oswald inevitably had to give them a warning.
Ė.nu m̊ ӑ
“Chief Secretary, I hear that our Northern Territory is now filled with starving bodies, and that everyone is going hungry. Even in Ice City, right beneath my feet, the people have collapsed throughout the heavy snow.”
“Even beneath the capital itself, matters are still like this. Why have I not seen you report this to me?”
Eileen froze for a moment. Then her entire body began trembling with excitement, and she hurriedly lowered her head.
“In reply to Your Grace, the territory truly has no grain left. At present, we have no solution.”
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When Oswald heard this, his gaze swept over her coldly, and he said harshly, “Spring plowing begins once winter passes. If the commoners starve to death, shall we all go beg for food next year?!”
“Please calm your anger, Your Grace.”
Е̃_ṅ üḿa.i_d̃
Eileen swiftly dropped to her knees, and Red reacted just as quickly. With a thud, he knelt as well, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
“What anger could I have?” Oswald suddenly laughed despite himself, but the smile at the corner of his mouth vanished at once. “Only people with empty stomachs have anger in their hearts!”
After hearing those words, Red was already trembling with fear, cold sweat pouring down his body.
Good heavens. When exactly did this young duke change his nature? He had actually begun caring whether commoners lived or died.
After a long while, Oswald lit his last remaining cigar and spoke as if he were dismissing the two of them.
“Go. The two of you will handle two matters for me.”
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Red immediately perked up and hurriedly listened with all his attention. An assignment was good. If there was work for him, that meant he was still useful.
“Chief Secretary, go and sell the jewelry and luxury goods in the Ducal Estate. Exchange them with the grain merchants for grain, then distribute it to the people in the city. In addition, contact the Ducal Estate’s pastures and have them personally send two thousand sheep to Ice City to nourish the disaster victims.”
Eileen stood up, revealed a smile, and bowed slightly.
“Yes.”
Oswald nodded. He was still confident in Eileen’s administrative ability. However, he soon changed the subject, and his distant gaze settled on Red.
“As for you, Red, go and arrest my fiancée’s entire family in Ice City. Bring enough troops with you. Confine them in the Marquis Estate under house arrest. You must move quickly, and do not alert anyone else.”
Е́ n̂ ů m̊ а̃_
“After you finish, immediately lead troops to the marquis’ territory as well. Escort all the grain in their granaries and all the treasures in their treasury back to Ice City. But remember, do not come into conflict with the soldiers in the territory.”
“Yes.”
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Red’s head buzzed as if it had exploded, and he responded almost entirely by instinct.
He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. By the time he stood up, a storm was already surging in his heart. Everyone said the young duke was ruthless, but he had never expected that Oswald would make a move against his fiancée’s family the moment he took power.
Yet the moment Red met those cold, gloomy eyes, he did not dare to breathe too loudly. The two of them hastily accepted their orders and hurried out of the Ducal Estate.
After they left, Oswald’s expression remained unsettled. He deeply exhaled a mouthful of thick smoke.
Е̇ñ ůma
That nominal fiancée of his... could she be the one who rewound time?
In any case, as the heroine closest to him, he needed to meet her and probe her reaction.
If Oswald’s guess was correct, the person who had rewound time would also retain the memories of the previous life!
And now, he was oppressing the marquis’ family in the same way as the plot. If she did anything out of line, that would be equivalent to exposing her identity. When the time came, what should he do then...
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For the time being, he still could not sort out the current situation. The System had also gone to investigate the timeline and had no time to bother with him.
There was no point thinking too much. Since the weather had been clear for several consecutive days, Oswald, having nothing else to do, rode a horse through the city.
Ёn u̇ m а
One could only say that some people mourned the loss of their beloved things, while others saw only ruin wherever they looked.
The people of the upper circles were all worried about whether the duke would continue his bandit-like conduct. After all, the entire Marquis Estate had been emptied out. Not only had the precious trees in the garden not been spared, even the wild grass by the roadside had been uprooted.
As for the people of the lower circles, after finally filling their stomachs, they were completely unaware of the strange atmosphere in the city. A little hope had begun to grow in their hearts.
And Oswald simply gave a cursory glance at the collapsed houses lining the street and the ragged residents before he felt a terrible headache coming on.
Fortunately, he already had some experience in governance. After confirming that the disaster victims had all been settled, and after inspecting the city defenses, he whipped his horse and returned to the equally empty Ducal Estate.
The old butler still wore a bitter expression. As a former art student, his greatest wish was to realize his own aesthetic vision.
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That was, to decorate the historic Ducal Estate with gold, jewels, artworks, and antiques.
But Oswald had no money for that nonsense. According to his plain values, people were the most important. With people, one had everything. Even if it was a losing bargain of exchanging one gold coin for one able-bodied adult, he would gladly do it.
However, the old butler’s gaze was too resentful. It was so resentful that Oswald had no choice but to avoid him every day and quietly enter his office through the side door.
Eileen, who styled herself as his personal maid, had already brewed him a cup of tea. After handing it to Oswald so he could warm himself, she presented him with the latest administrative docket.
Oswald rubbed his hands warm, skimmed it briefly, then stamped it. After that, he silently raised his head and sized up a certain maid.
In the game, Eileen was a plot device used to verify how absurd Oswald’s actions were.
Ẽ n̈ u m̀а̌ .i d̃
She herself was the eldest daughter of a baronial family who had graduated from a prestigious imperial university with excellent academic results. She was beautiful in appearance and graceful in figure. She had only come to the Ducal Estate to apply for a high-paying secretarial position.
Yet Oswald had said that her long red hair was rare, and that the cold, monotonous Ducal Estate was too dull, so she might as well become his personal maid, allowing him to see a little more color every day...
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Then he had actually forced her to become his personal maid.
One had to know that in this world, aside from members of the royal family, it was illegal for any noble to force another noble into servitude.
Fortunately, the Oswald in the game was merely an off-putting man obsessed with rebellion, and he had not done anything else particularly evil.
In the previous life, Oswald had tried to remove her maid status and let her peacefully serve as Chief Secretary. In the end, she had thought he was going to dismiss her, and she cried so pitifully that she looked like pear blossoms bathed in rain, her grief seemingly tearing her heart and liver apart... In the end, the matter had been dropped.
Еṅu m̂а̀
Although he did not know why, this woman seemed to truly lack money. She also appeared particularly satisfied with working one job and collecting two salaries...
Enough said. Was that not just being a work dog? Oswald deeply empathized. Even though he had only been a student in his previous life, he understood wage earners.
“It isn’t a solution for these disaster victims to sit around idle day after day.” Oswald, whose spending had been downgraded, rolled tobacco as he spoke to Eileen.
“I intend to establish a coal mining company in the name of the Ducal Estate.”
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In all fairness, the Northern Territory’s coal resources were abundant. Not only did it have large open-pit coal mines, ownership of all of them also belonged solely to the duke.
However, just because other transmigrators could use coal mines to make money did not mean he could do the same.
Еǹ u mа̄
First of all, the Northern Territory had a sparse population, and most of its people were so poor it was almost poetic. Second, the forestry resources of the northern snowfields were completely saturated. Tall, straight coniferous forests were everywhere. Compared to buying coal, everyone was more inclined to cut trees...
Even in the bitter cold, they would rather gather firewood in order to save a few copper coins.
But coal was ultimately an efficient energy source. It was a strategic resource, and it was also the foundation for the next stage of development. Even if he had to mine it at a loss, Oswald had to grit his teeth and fill his storehouses with coal.
Of course, mined coal could not simply be left unused. The costs of mining and desulfurization were both there, so Oswald decided to boil hot water.
Naturally, this was not a small step for industrial civilization. Oswald did not have the energy to build some sort of steampunk industry in a magic world.
The goddess could even reverse time. Steampunk? Could anyone be more punk than her?
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He simply wanted to establish several paid hot-water facilities in the city, commonly known as hot water houses, which would also include functions such as bathing.
After receiving the lord’s appointment, Eileen did not dare to be negligent. While Oswald was still smoking away, she had already conceived the entire outline of the plan on her way out of the Ducal Estate.
It was often said that the person above only needed to open his mouth, while those below would run until their legs broke. That saying was truly correct.
Of course she knew where the coal-producing area was. Thirty kilometers southwest of Ice City, there was a large open-pit coal mine that had been abandoned for years. But now, there was nothing there except a few broken wooden huts.
Therefore, the first thing she had to do was go to the military camp and mobilize troops.
Eileen arrived at the military camp alone on horseback. Red did not dare to look down on Eileen, who was dressed in a maid outfit. To put it bluntly, even if he were blind, the white sable cloak draped over Eileen’s shoulders was clearly something that had once belonged to the duchess’ private collection.
W ѐb̆ǹ õ v̌ е̄l̈ Еn.üm̆ ȧ
Although Oswald was about to become a pauper, he was still not stingy when rewarding subordinates who handled matters attentively.
As for why Red, who had taken on responsibility and confiscated more than ten generations of treasures from the Marquis Estate, had only received two gold coins as a reward, while Eileen, who had merely comforted and settled the disaster victims, could receive a coat worth no less than a hundred gold coins...
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Red could not understand this question. Everyone said his reputation was terrible, but how much better could Eileen’s reputation for loving money be?
I’m greedy too. I can be bought with money too!
Eileen did not dismount and directly said, “His Grace has entrusted me with a task. I need to temporarily requisition one hundred military tents and some supplies. In addition, I need thirty cavalrymen to obey my orders.”
When Red heard this, he merely gave an obsequious smile.
Е nü.ṁа
“Understood, understood. I will arrange it immediately.”
The moment he turned around, he cursed this treacherous courtier in his heart and began to feel that his own mission as a loyal minister was heavy and his road was long.
Putting aside how Red slandered her in his heart, after obtaining the supplies, Eileen led the cavalry onward without stopping. Only after she had also requisitioned a batch of grain, fodder, and money from the estate treasury did she go to the disaster victims’ gathering place in the eastern part of the city to recruit miners.
One squad of cavalry maintained order at the scene, while another squad went to fetch the tools needed for mining. Eileen put up a recruitment sign on the street, and after the servants brought over a table and chairs, she quietly sat down.
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When the disaster victims saw that the female official recruiting workers was the same person who had previously distributed grain for free, how could they still have any doubts? They all rushed forward enthusiastically. For a time, the scene fell into chaos, and only after the cavalrymen shouted them down did they line up in a long queue.
According to the lord’s arrangements, this recruitment could not interfere with the coming year’s spring plowing, so those who owned farmland under their names naturally had to be eliminated first.
En̆ ům̀ а
The elderly could not be accepted either. After all, miners always needed a certain amount of strength.
“A settling-in fee of one silver coin. Food and lodging included. Wages of thirty copper coins a month... Women are also accepted. Not only as miners. We are also recruiting procurement staff and cooks here...”
“You are a blacksmith? Wait. I will write you a new contract. Can you accept sixty copper coins per month?”
“No children... You can drive a carriage? Mm. Sign a temporary contract first. We will see how you perform.”
The enthusiasm at the recruitment site surpassed Eileen’s imagination. It was not until night fell that she finally dispersed the disaster victims who were still unwilling to leave and announced that this recruitment had ended.
Those who had obtained jobs were naturally overjoyed, while those who had not received a work opportunity sighed repeatedly.
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Winter was still long. No one knew whether they would be able to hold on...
The next day, Eileen brought the newly recruited disaster victims with her. Facing the wind and snow, she whipped her horse forward, and the whole procession followed her out of the city in a grand line, slowly advancing toward the southwest.
However, after they had only traveled two kilometers, Eileen had no choice but to order them to stop. While instructing the cooks to prepare lunch, she led the disaster victims who had already received their tools to open up a road.
That was right. The old road to the mine had long since fallen into disuse. Their first job was to reopen the road, at least to the point that carriages could travel along it.
For a time, work in the forest was in full swing.
Some cut down trees, some dug out stones, some tamped the earth, and some patrolled.
Е̃ n̊ ú m.а
Under Eileen’s orderly command, these disaster victims, who could once again exchange labor for food, appeared highly motivated.
Eileen only raised her head and looked toward the heavy dark clouds in the north. Her expression turned slightly grave, and no one knew what she was thinking.
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Meanwhile, in Ice City, the capital of the Northern Territory, Oswald had already begun planning the second round of recruitment. With the Marquis Estate’s assets serving as his first pot of capital, he did not need to worry about money for the time being.
But from a long-term perspective, if the Northern Territory wanted to recover, relying on money alone was absolutely not enough.
According to the statistics from the previous life, the Northern Territory’s population six years later had been around three million. With that, Oswald had maintained eighty thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry. Even then, he had nearly kicked the entire Northern Territory’s economy over the edge.
In a word, it was too bitter. The country suffered from bitter war, and the people suffered because of war.
Е nù mа́
Other transmigrators flocked eagerly to such frontier lands, saying things like how this journey was like a bird rising into the blue sky, or a trapped dragon entering the sea, and that from then on, they would never again be fettered.
But Oswald only wanted to say that this so-called Grand Duke of the North was complete nonsense. It was something others had already passed over. Forget one hundred thousand. If he had even thirty thousand iron cavalry, he would dare twist the king’s head off and kick it like a ball.
After all, this place could not support thirty thousand iron cavalry. It could neither counterattack the demon army nor flip the table against the emperor...
It was neither high nor low, and one wrong move could bring the danger of total destruction.
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Not to mention, in the south, there was still a child of destiny, along with his five wives who possessed the goddess’ power.
“I need to think of a way to seize the South’s land and population...”
Е̊ n ù mӑ.і_d̈
Oswald murmured to himself while rolling tobacco. If others could strike first, why could he not return the favor?
He no longer thought about going back now. After all, even the System still had not found a way.
Since that damned adult-game heroine had dared to reverse time and cut off his path home, then she could not blame him for waiting until autumn came on the eighth day of the ninth month, when after his flowers bloomed, all other flowers would die.
And the closest opportunity would be the plague that swept across the entire country next September.
According to the System’s intelligence, a used Wishing Star could not be used again. Therefore, the plague that had been quelled by the Church Saintess using the Wishing Star last time would inevitably ravage the whole country this time.
This time, the one who would save the people from suffering would inevitably be me, Oswald!
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