Brainwashing the Revolutionary in a Romance Fantasy (3)
Brainwashing the Revolutionary in a Romance Fantasy (3)
To my sarcastic remark asking if she thought the world was a fairy tale, Flora roared like a lioness.
"It's you nobles—people like you who were born into good families for no other reason—who torment the poor commoners! You exploit the money and grain we earn through blood and sweat to live in luxury and comfort!"
"I won't deny that the poor commoners have suffered because of me and the other nobles."
"Then my words are correct, aren't they?"
"But what you're saying is no different from claiming that if you just pull the knife out of a dead person's body, you can bring them back to life."
The Fallen Noblewoman is Good at Revolution is a novel written with the French Revolution as its motif.
That's why the aristocratic enemy faction of the female protagonist are completely rotten—indulging in every kind of luxury during the age of absolute monarchy, fooling around, and waging wars they couldn't handle, ultimately bankrupting the country from military expenditures long ago.
The lives of the peasants living in such a world are truly miserable.
The people living in my Kreuz Barony are exploited to the point of reminding me of African refugees, and the situation in the Empire's other territories isn't much different.
"Alright, let's say you kill off all the corrupt nobles. And then you become the Empress... Other than reducing taxes, what can you give those people?"
Hearing my words, Flora answered boldly even with her limbs tied up.
"If taxes are lowered, the poor commoners' income will increase, so they'll have enough food to eat right away. Then people won't have to starve."
"That might be true at first. But if you eliminate the corrupt nobles without presenting a proper plan and without providing a way for the poor commoners to make a living... the same thing will just repeat itself eventually."
In history books, we only learn that the French Revolution was great—we don't learn much about its aftermath.
But immediately after the French Revolution ended, the lives of the French people plunged into the abyss of hell.
That's because those who seized power after the revolution implemented all sorts of absurd policies to calm the angry mob.
Using this story as an example should be effective in persuading her.
"The current Emperor, and the nobles including me—we're all rotten to the core. But if the Emperor and the nobles disappear, and you and others take power, do you have any certainty that you won't change?"
"The people who share my ideals will never lose their initial resolve even if they seize power."
There's almost no one who says they'll never lose their initial resolve after seizing power who actually maintains it.
Why do people admire and respect Admiral Yi Sun-sin? It's not just because of his military achievements—it's because even after gaining power, he always tried to stand on the side of the people...
Unlike Won Gyun, who always acted subserviently before seizing power, but once he firmly held it, he stabbed others in the back and abused his subordinates.
Of course, not everyone becomes like Won Gyun just because they seize power.
But even in the military, there are privates and PFCs who sing about eliminating injustices, only to become senior corporals or sergeants and instead of getting rid of injustices, they're scumbags who promote them...
And people at the very top of power maintaining their original resolve? That's impossible.
But anyway, let's move past that. I have a lot more to say.
"Most people change when they seize power. Even those who have only been trampled on say that when they're the ones being trampled, they swear they'll become someone who cares for everyone if they get power. But after their position changes, they often end up trampling people even more aggressively."
They say that during the Japanese colonial period, the ones who tormented the Joseon people the most were the low-level pro-Japanese collaborators.
The severity was so extreme that Japanese officers often had to tell them, "Hey, ease up a bit."
"But let's say those people don't change, as you claim. Then after you reduce taxes, how do you plan to raise the money to stop the Barbarians that come charging in from the North every single day?"
No one can deny that the nobles are steeped in luxury.
But they're nobles in name, and they have the ability to survive generation after generation while committing corruption—that's how they can create this mess.
Those corrupt Emperor and nobles, even while indulging in luxury, always invest at least the minimum budget needed to maintain the military.
"What money will you use to operate the officials needed to run the Empire? How do you plan to deal with sudden administrative vacuums? If you can't handle this properly, the Empire will be trampled by the Northern Barbarians and other countries in no time."
Corrupt and incompetent politicians are all trash.
I was a politician in my previous life too, but those kinds of scumbags are sinners who are a nuisance just by breathing in society.
But even a rotten mackerel is better than nothing—incompetent politicians are still far better at running a country than competent civilians who know nothing about politics.
Because even to maintain a state of corruption, incompetence, and greed, you need the skill to keep the country alive in a barely surviving state.
Hearing my words, Flora bit her lip so hard it looked like it might bleed.
Then she carefully opened her mouth...
"Well, other capable..."
She stopped mid-sentence and just stared at the ground.
Then she clenched her fist and trembled.
"The moment you say 'other capable people,' Flora, you've already proven with your own mouth that you don't have the ability to lead this Empire properly. A kind-hearted but incompetent Emperor or noble only pushes the soldiers and commoners beneath them into hell."
"But if I try harder—or if someone else lends me their strength..."
"You can't save people with just a kind heart and effort. Can a quack doctor save anyone even if he examines them with the kindest heart? He'll only kill even those who could have been saved."
Communism is actually an ideology born from extreme kindness. In that sense, you could call it a kind-hearted quack doctor's ideology.
Putting aside whether communism is right or wrong—how righteous and good is it?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could live sharing everything, if a world of equality could be achieved?
In reality, it's an ideology where no matter how hard you work, it's useless, so everyone loses their will to labor and all hold hands together and starve to death.
'It's similar to how a group project without a leader always gets an F.'
Tears dripped ttukttuk from Flora's eyes.
"...So everything I believed in was wrong...?"
"Everything was wrong. From start to finish, all of it. Even if you succeeded in rebelling against the Emperor, you would have dragged people down to the very bottom of hell."
Why do you think Napoleon became Emperor after the French Revolutionary government, and the Bourbon dynasty was briefly restored?
Because after actually starting the revolution, it was such a cesspool that people thought, "If this is how it's going to be, the French Empire was better," and they returned to monarchy.
In fact, right after the French Revolution, the living conditions of the French commoners were at rock bottom compared to before the revolution...
'The world where Flora succeeded in her revolution must have turned out like that too.'
"But don't be too discouraged. I, right here, will inherit your dream and one day behead the corrupt Emperor and become an Emperor for the people."
"...How am I supposed to believe that?"
"I despise people who just spout flowery words about future prosperity, peace, and dreams like you do. So I'll let you see it with your own eyes."
The most important thing for a politician is confidence—crudely put, guts.
Without the guts to say, "Just elect me, and I'll bring in subway stations, department stores, and all kinds of public facilities and industrial complex investments," you can never get elected.
"And I'll make you say it with your own mouth: that no one except Baron Mikhail Kreuz can save this Empire."
A tiny glimmer of curiosity appeared in Flora's eyes.
"And how do you plan to make me believe that...?"
"Within one month—just one month—I'll let you see with your own eyes. Proof that I'm the only one who can save this territory, no, this Empire. If you're disappointed after that, you can leave. I'll secretly set you free."
A politician can't make a living if he can't say two different things with one mouth.
If I can't persuade this woman, I plan to kill her.
Leaving her alive is too dangerous.
When I turned my back and walked out of the room, I heard Flora muttering.
"I will never change my mind just because you want me to."
**
And one month later, the female protagonist of The Fallen Noblewoman is Good at Revolution, Flora... witnessed a shocking sight that would change her convictions.
She saw the faces of the commoners in the Baron's territory—everyone had cursed him as a wicked Baron—but now, faint smiles were blooming on their faces.
"...What the hell happened here...?"