Free Web NovelChapter 429: Chapter 426: The Three-Part Plan
Once the Prime Minister’s convoy, guided by Bart, drove into the factory, the welcoming crowd was finally dismissed. They lined up according to the initial registration list to receive their wages and breakfast.
Bart and Andre were in charge of receiving the Lord Chancellor. Because the preparations had been rather hasty, the Lord Chancellor was able to get a relatively unvarnished view of everything in Kempson.
The advanced smeltery built around the original mining pit, in particular, left Mr. Otto quite stunned.
Along the way, the convoy encountered a group of Mechanical Bodies crossing the road. The massive, quadrupedal constructs made the Prime Minister’s Guards tense up again, and even their trained horses grew restless. Bart and Andre had to explain repeatedly that the dangerous-looking creations were merely farm equipment.
’Farm equipment?’ Otto’s mustache twitched as he stared at the so-called "farm equipment." Their geometric lines gave them the rugged, stark feel of metal machinery, yet they also mimicked the movements of living creatures, appearing more agile and effortless than a horse-drawn carriage as they climbed slopes and crossed gullies. As if to prove the claim that they were "farm equipment," the last "large crawler" was carrying Master Humboldt on its back.
He was sitting right on its back, and upon noticing the Prime Minister’s convoy, he nodded at the dumbfounded Otto in acknowledgment.
"Is that Alexander?"
"Ah, yes, Master Humboldt. He’s probably on his way to meet the team from the Tower of Forest." To get the work started, the Great Mage couldn’t be the only one on the ground. A follow-up team of Mages and Apprentices from the Tower of Forest was on its way via Airship. ’As for why a Master was riding a Mechanical Body...’
Andre had noticed that Master Humboldt seemed to have a fascination with all kinds of vehicles. After seeing these four-legged beasts, he had immediately shifted his interest from the small Air Car to them.
"How does that... farm equipment work?"
"You just need to attach the right modules, like special plows, clamps, or scooping blades, and they can perform tasks like tilling, sowing, and harvesting. They’re also very useful for clearing new land. Rorschach Mage once proposed a concept: considering the Mechanical Bodies have excess carrying capacity, a linkage system could be designed to perform preliminary threshing, separating the grain from the straw and leaves."
These days, Rorschach was only responsible for providing the ideas. Andre would record them, and then he would turn them into project outlines, breaking them down into different tasks to be assigned to several companies. As for the designers at the Refining Factory complaining that something couldn’t be built, they were told to go out into the fields themselves, consult with old farmers on how those tasks were done, and then use that as inspiration to design the machinery.
Andre and Bart answered all the Prime Minister’s questions without hesitation, as everything they were saying was already in the Cwegerling Agricultural and Commercial Society’s public promotional materials.
"Farm equipment... Farm equipment is a good thing," the Prime Minister murmured, staring at the departing line of Mechanical Bodies as his convoy finally moved on.
「...」
At first, the Prime Minister had been somewhat annoyed with Bart due to his excessive attentiveness. But as their conversation deepened, he gradually changed his opinion of the young Mage. Labels like "the King’s son-in-law" and "Rorschach’s roommate" alone were enough to warrant his attention. After hearing Bart’s explanation of how he settled the refugees, the Prime Minister became even more convinced of the young man’s abilities.
’So he’s the one Rorschach Mage mentioned, the one who aspires to become an Empire Senator... a potential asset in the heart of Bayern.’ The Prime Minister believed that even within the Bayern Kingdom, there was a divide between an independence faction and the Empire Faction. When the latter was at a disadvantage, it was worth spending some time and effort, and making a few gestures, to win them over.
Not to mention, the young man’s eyes were filled with longing and excitement, and Otto would absolutely not let such an opportunity slip. As for the other young man, who couldn’t say a word without mentioning Rorschach, he could be used to extract more information about Rorschach Mage, but that was all.
After they had finally completed the tour, the Lord Chancellor got his opportunity to speak with Bart alone. The price was that Rorschach still had not appeared.
Andre explained that there had been an incident at the factory yesterday that Rorschach Mage needed to handle urgently. At the Prime Minister’s urging, Andre left the reception Meeting Room.
The old man waved his hand again, and the Guards and other non-essential personnel left the room, leaving only three people: Bart, the Prime Minister, and his personal secretary. Bart finally realized the Prime Minister had something to say to him.
"The first day I arrived in Bayern, I met Rorschach Mage. He mentioned he had a close friend who wanted to join the Empire Council. Was that you?"
Bart was caught off guard by the direct question, but what bewildered him even more was the Prime Minister’s next sentence: "But it’s impossible." The Bayern Kingdom holds six seats in the Empire Council, but they aren’t filled through public election. Instead, candidates are recommended and appointed by the Royal Family and the City Hall—it was a system of appointment by recommendation.
"Therefore, these prestigious positions are monopolized by members of the Royal Family, and they’re all doddering old men, as ancient as I am. With your relationship to the Royal Family, perhaps you could get in line... in twenty years? Thirty? Even if you did make it into the Council, you would be nothing but a puppet of the Royal Family, a soulless statue."
"In the Empire’s Directly Affiliated States and Free States, however, senators are chosen by election. Although only certified citizens have the right to vote and be elected, and different weights are assigned based on land and assets, even this unfair electoral process is better than Bayern’s current situation."
Bart and Amelia had discussed this before. Of the six seats on the Empire Council, three had to be representatives of the Nobility, two belonged to the City Hall, and merchants could only get one. Bart would have to achieve remarkable things and pull all the right strings just to have a hope of joining the queue of candidates, and even then, it would be a long game of waiting his turn.
"If a new system could be implemented, like in the Empire’s Directly Affiliated States and Free States, then with your abilities, my young friend, your popularity among the refugees, and the support of Rorschach Mage... you could certainly replace those who just warm their seats and enter the Empire Council to represent your homeland."
The Prime Minister’s tempting words stirred something in Bart’s heart. He shook his head slightly. "That’s impossible. The Ludwig Clan would never allow it..."
The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed as he struck while the iron was hot. "But what if the situation were to change? I can tell you that the Empire Council is about to undergo a reform. It will shift from large electoral districts to a system of smaller ones, and new seats will be added."
"The Empire will respect the Bayern Kingdom’s unique circumstances. Whether you participate in the reform is entirely up to you. If the new system were to be implemented in the Kingdom, the preliminary plan is to divide it into three electoral districts."
His secretary took out a map and a pencil. The Prime Minister casually drew a line. "A northern district centered on Wertzburg, with two to three seats; an eastern district on the Newren-Munich axis, with at least three and at most five seats; and..."
The pencil in his hand took a sharp turn, grouping Lansite and Kempson together. "...a western district, with at least three seats." Since Lansite was close to Munich, it was forcibly grouped with Kempson, looking on the map as if a huge bite had been taken out of the eastern district.
In truth, this so-called "preliminary plan" was just an idea the Prime Minister had come up with on the spot. The small-district reform was going to happen, but since Bayern was on the verge of secession, this particular division had never been part of the plan.
Otto had roughly divided the kingdom based on what he had seen and heard recently: a northern agricultural zone, an eastern commercial and industrial zone centered on the Royal Capital, and a western industrial zone. He knew that the disparity in their economic foundations would inevitably lead to differing political demands. Simply proposing these plans would be enough to stir up a great number of people.
He put down the pencil. "If the Bayern Kingdom continues with the old system and merely adds more seats, you might still have a better chance of realizing your dream, my young friend. But if you can fight for the change to smaller districts and win the western district a status equal to that of an Imperial Free State, its representatives will be free from the Royal Family’s constraints. Its senators will be worthy of the title."
Seeing that Bart couldn’t take his eyes off the map, the Prime Minister pushed it toward the young man and said with warm encouragement, "Where there’s a will, there’s a way."
