"Your Majesty..."
The Minister of Defense stood up, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.
The Ruler's Hall in Gafura was not as austere as people imagined, with the Emperor seated solemnly on the high platform while the ministers below trembled in fear.
Indeed, some painters and writers have depicted an image of a tyrant through such descriptions, but we must say that their drawings and descriptions are biased.
Because here, while the Emperor indeed sits on a high platform, the ministers below are not standing on either side but are seated.
They have their own seats, independent high-backed chairs, and sometimes their dealings would continue until noon or even the afternoon; if they were all standing, 99% of them would not be able to endure.
Moreover, the Emperor is not truly a tyrant; that is merely a creation for some purposes. Sometimes his temper is bad, but overall, he is considered a good monarch and would not mistreat his ministers.
The Minister of Defense stood up and expressed his views, "Your Majesty, after some time of contemplation, I believe we cannot solve these issues in the short term."
He spoke while glancing around at the other ministers; some showed expressions of surprise while others watched him calmly.
"I am very pessimistic in thinking that we do not have the capability, nor can we thoroughly solve this problem because we are the aggressors, and we have always been avoiding this issue!"
The Emperor of the Empire frowned slightly, but he did not stop the Minister of Defense from continuing. He wanted to hear what the guy had to say, "Don't worry about my mood, continue with your ideas."
"Wise as you are, Your Majesty!"
Appropriately, the Minister of Defense shamelessly flattered His Majesty, which effectively made the Emperor less irritable.
"Your Majesty, fellow colleagues, no matter how we disguise, we cannot change our identity as aggressors."
"In our view, assisting the people of the Amelia Region in developing their economy is Your Majesty's benevolence and glory, but for them, it's nothing more than the trick of an aggressor."
"As long as we cannot erase this identity, they will not fully calm down, because we are inherently oppositional!"
The words of the Minister of Defense stirred discussion among the people in the Ruler's Hall. In fact, everyone understood this principle; they just didn't want to speak about it before.
His Majesty the Emperor always believed that vigorously developing the Amelia Region, apart from benefiting the Empire—this point no longer needed discussion—other than this, the people of Amelia Region could also enjoy more benefits, deepening their sense of identity with the Empire.
New development opportunities, and when this region becomes the Empire's most important overseas territory, the Empire's resources will continuously favor this area, and some people domestically feel that those living in Amelia are getting a big advantage.
But he always neglected this key issue mentioned by the Minister of Defense. These Gafura people are invaders; they took over the region through war, killing their relatives, and forcing their rulers into submission to occupy this place.
So the so-called honor and glory instead become a kind of shame, a disgrace, always humiliating each and every one of them.
Imagine, living under the rule of invaders, accepting the rule of invaders, children eating food bestowed by invaders, singing songs from invaders... will people accept it?
No, not much. The people there will tell their children to remember this painful history; this is not glory, but shame!
This contradiction cannot be resolved; even if they annihilate all the resistance groups today, new ones will rise tomorrow until all are completely wiped out.
The candor of the Minister of Defense elicited some annoyance from the Emperor of the Empire. He patted the armrest, "I didn't ask you to chastise me; I asked who among you can solve this problem, understand?"
The Minister of Defense nodded, bowing, "Of course, Your Majesty; it's also why I present these factual factors, we need someone who can help us, to become a bridge for communication between us and the local Amelies."
"To ease the antagonistic emotions between us, and then through some means, change their view of us; as new generations of children grow, our rule will become much more stable."
"After two or three generations, no one will remember who are the invaders, or where the homeland is!"
As the Minister of Defense reached this point, everyone in the Ruler's Hall nodded, which was also their initial thought.
Children have no attitude or stance; they learn whatever is taught to them and consider those things as the basis for understanding the world, as well as the truth of this world.
As they grow up in an environment filled with Gafura culture, they will assimilate, and after a few generations, they will be the purest Gafura people.
Even, for this plan, His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire intended to emphasize the issue of racial equality, although it wouldn't be of much use, it could win people's hearts.
The Emperor looked at the Minister of Defense, "So your idea is..."
"A buffer, a bridge, Your Majesty, we need a third party to provide us with some help!", the Minister of Defense once again advocated his perspective, "I believe the Bail Federal is a good ally, first of all..."
"Impossible!", before the Minister of Defense could finish, His Majesty the Emperor interrupted him harshly, "Impossible, do you understand, impossible!"
"I will absolutely not agree to this request. If you think this is the only way, then find me another appropriate power, but the Bail people, impossible!"
The Emperor, who was relatively calm, lost control of his emotions immediately upon hearing the Bail Federal being mentioned. A naval battle shattered Gafura's pride and invincibility, and their remaining main fleet now hardly dares to leave the coastal areas. God knows if there are those damned submarines out there.
This battle not only resulted in the loss of half the fleet, but it also directly destroyed Gafura's invincible image, stripping His Majesty the Emperor of his pride, and left Gafura in a very passive position on the international stage.
Thus, it was better for the Minister of Defense not to bring up the Bail Federal. Once he did, His Majesty the Emperor's emotions spiraled out of control.
Seeing the Minister of Defense seemingly wanting to continue discussing the matter, His Majesty the Emperor stood up directly and left the Ruler's Hall, not bothering to continue deliberating on other matters.
The remaining individuals looked at each other, ultimately rising and departing. This was possibly the fastest ending of a court meeting in recent years. Normally, it would last until noon or afternoon, but today, they still had time to go back and take a nap.
Of course, that was just a joke; they couldn't really go back to sleep.
As soon as the Minister of Defense stepped out of the Imperial Palace, a car horn sounded by the roadside. He glanced over to see several familiar faces in the rolled-down window.
He hesitated for a moment, then walked over and got into the car.
In fact, he didn't particularly like doing this, because the Emperor also didn't like them doing this.
As the largest noble in the Empire, without exception, the Emperor greatly disliked these nobles forming factions and banding together.
The expansion of the Noble Group signifies instability in the power of the Imperial Family. Historically, several political events that almost shook imperial authority were due to the unprecedented strength of the Noble Group back then.
Under normal circumstances, ministers would not blatantly gather together like this, but today's situation was somewhat different. His Majesty the Emperor withdrew directly, ending the court meeting right after it began, and they were also discussing issues related to the Amelia Region.
The Minister of Defense only hesitated for a moment before walking to the car. Once the car door opened, he got inside.
Inside the car were three people: the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of the Army, and the Minister of Construction.
These three individuals are closely related to the Amelia Region.
Although the Empire's fleet hasn't left port now, if it truly became necessary, the fleet would still go out.
Once in the car, as it started moving, the Minister of the Navy directly asked a question, "What made you think of bringing the Federation people into this?"
This question seemed harmless on the surface but was actually a probe. The Minister of the Navy, Minister of the Army, and Minister of Construction all knew that each of them was benefiting and that they weren't only taking benefits from Preton but also from many other people.
Over the years, the Empire's Navy has been invincible across the seas. Any merchant wishing to seek protection to quickly establish their business abroad would find the simplest way is having the Navy escort their merchant ships and occasionally appear in some commercial ports nearshore.
The Minister of the Army and the Minister of Construction were similar. In their respective fields, if merchants wanted their help, they had to provide benefits to them.
Many, like Preton, sponsored three or four, or even more noble ministers.
Some were known among themselves, like each other, but today, the Minister of Defense suddenly speaking for the Federation was unexpected for them.
After all, defense matters, other than colluding with those arms groups, seemed to have little to do with monopolistic merchants like Preton. How did they get connected?
To avoid probing the wrong way, the Minister of the Navy didn't directly ask if the Minister of Defense knew Preton. He just inquired about his motive.
After being in high positions for many years, they could immediately discern if someone's motives matched their actions, let alone something as crucial as the stability of the Amelia Region.
The Minister of Defense sighed slightly, "Didn't you notice the new report from the Governor of Amelia?"
Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Recently, more and more young people have left home and joined resistance organizations. If this trend isn't suppressed, soon they will no longer just be 'resistance organizations'!"
"According to the intelligence we've gathered so far, they intend to capture a region as a rear base and push for the independence of the Amelia Region..."
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