The Merger Vote
It went without saying, of course, that the West and the South simply deciding they wanted to merge would not make it a legal merger overnight.
Any change to the Empire’s administrative districts required the Crown Prince’s approval.
And the Crown Prince was never going to grant it.
In his eyes, the South—already defeating the West and swelling in strength—was becoming an uncomfortably powerful presence.
"...That concludes the analysis from the think tank under our Southern Intelligence Bureau."
"Thanks, Lucilla."
"Ah, and the Design Bureau has sent word that preparations for the ‘new weapon’ are complete. They say they can stand ready the moment you give the order."
"Perfect timing."
The foundation for beginning the merger within a few months was already in place.
That did not mean there were no obstacles left.
No matter how much of a fool he might be, the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince. However poor his reputation, ignoring a crown prince’s command in a pre-modern empire was another matter entirely.
For over a thousand years the Empire’s people had been told that the emperor was the living manifestation of the sun, a divine being.
If the West and South forced a merger through in the face of the Empire’s fierce opposition, public sentiment in the West could sour. The Empire might even resort to reckless military intervention.
"Well, it doesn’t matter. I never planned to push for a completely open, ‘full’ merger right away anyway."
The position he wanted to occupy inside the Crown Prince’s declared “Peace of Our Era” was modeled on interwar Germany—walking the tightrope without ever quite crossing the line, forcing everyone else to wonder whether the cost of intervening was worth it, or whether it was safer simply to leave him alone.
Of course such a position would not last more than a few years. But he did not need more time than that.
A few years would be more than enough to swallow the entire Empire whole.
So the position he would take was already decided.
"Lucilla. In the East they have a saying: ‘It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.’"
"Meaning the only thing that matters is achieving the goal by any means?"
"Exactly. Whatever color the cat is, pursue the practical benefit. Politics is no different."
A “complete” merger required the central government’s approval?
Then he simply would not carry out a complete merger.
Substance over justification. Exactly as the saying went—he would do everything short of a physical, legal merger.
"First, the Western army and our Southern army have already conducted joint operations. We’ll need to keep the Western barbarians in check going forward, so we can integrate the military command structure into one."
Military authority was an inherent right of the lords. And with Kaiser III having loosened the reins even further, intervening in that authority without an actual attempt at treason was impossible. That gap had opened the moment the Iron-Blooded Line was abandoned and Kaiser III died.
"And we have more than enough justification to unify the administrative systems of the West and South as well. A large share of the Western cabinet is already filled with our Southern personnel anyway."
Since they were all Southerners, there was no point wasting administrative effort on complexity. Simply merge the administrations into one. With a puppet government already installed in the Western Grand Ducal Castle, it was hardly difficult.
"The modernization of the West has begun, so the West will need new laws suited to the new technology, won’t it?"
Using technology transfer as the pretext, he could merge the judiciary.
"The chaotic situation in the West will have to be cleaned up by our Southern police."
Using public order as the pretext, he would deploy the police.
"And we can merge the decision-making bodies into one as well."
He would establish a single joint decision-making organ for the West and South, then steer the West’s voice to suit Southern tastes.
All of it would be carried out under the banner of serving the citizens.
"Our South has decided to integrate the institutions of the West and South into one in order to stabilize the chaotic situation in the West."
On paper it was cooperation between equals. But with the majority of Western nobles already purged by Southern hands, there was no way they could exercise equal voice.
Officially the West and South would remain separate regions. Yet once legislative, executive, and judicial powers were all merged, could anyone still call them separate?
By the time the Empire finally answered that question, it would already be far too late.
Every step of the merger was conducted through a vote.
"Our South also values the thoughts of the Western people. If the Westerners feel any displeasure, we will proceed no further."
Of course, few Westerners chose to refuse.
Thanks to the Southern army they had been able to pacify the steppes. If the Southern army and the South’s new weapons withdrew, the Western frontier would once again be ravaged by barbarian raids. In that situation, no one could tell the Southern army to leave.
It was also the South that was holding the collapsed public order together. The police forces the South had deployed were roughly filling the vacuum left by the corrupt nobles. The moment those police vanished, order would collapse—no one could demand their withdrawal.
"If I vote against this, they say we won’t be able to bring in any more of the new goods?"
"Regrettably, yes. Without large-scale reform of the Western legal system, our companies cannot begin full-scale operations."
After enjoying Southern culture and goods for the past few months, no one was willing to give them up either.
"The Southern Grand Duke is truly remarkable. To think he pulled out the deep-rooted corruption of the West in a single stroke."
"Without those corrupt nobles, life is finally worth living. No more taxes scraped away under every excuse—now I can actually build some wealth."
"They squeezed people dry for so long, and look at them now. Serves them right."
People who had tasted how much better life was without the corrupt nobles also supported the merger with the South.
Above all, the very act of holding a “vote” set this government apart from the corrupt nobles who had ruled the West until now.
"This is the first time anyone’s ever listened to the voice of dirt-poor farmers like us."
"No wonder my son who went south keeps praising His Grace the Southern Grand Duke."
The sight of people traveling the West to hear the voices of the common folk was a fresh shock to the Westerners. If a government was willing to listen like that, wouldn’t their own lives improve as well?
Those hopes gathered, and the vote produced an overwhelming majority in favor.
"Ninety-one percent in favor, two percent invalid, seven percent opposed. We have heard the will of the Western citizens clearly."
Overwhelming support from the Western citizenry. Silence from the Western intelligentsia. The Western Grand Ducal house had been a Southern puppet from the beginning.
With no one left to oppose the merger, every procedure began to move forward smoothly.
The ones most shaken by the situation were those in the capital.
The mages said:
"This is clearly the sign of a forced merger! We must raise an army at once and strike them down!"
The nobles said:
"By law, each regional grand duke is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy."
The Imperial Army generals said:
"Support among the Western populace is far too high. If we attempt clumsy military intervention now, this affair will immediately escalate into civil war."
Civil war.
That was what the entire upper stratum of the Empire feared most.
They already knew they were riding a sinking ship. They had long felt the pressure of the Republic, which grew stronger every day by embracing new technology, and of the neighboring states. If civil war erupted under those conditions, could they possibly weather the aftermath?
Indecisive Crown Prince Theodore, who valued his own reputation more than his life, had no desire to see an imperial civil war break out because of him and tear the Empire apart.
So he took another step back.
"...I have heard your counsel. In that case, continue to watch for a little longer. If clear signs of an actual merger appear, it will not be too late to intervene then."
"But if we simply sit on our hands, it will already be too late!"
The mages’ desperate cries only shifted the Crown Prince’s heart by the slightest degree.
There was only one way to intervene between the West and South without war.
"We shall prepare a propaganda campaign of our own to turn Western public opinion."
Of course, once more than ninety percent of public opinion had already crossed over, propaganda was meaningless.
The only person in that chamber who failed to understand that fact was Crown Prince Theodore himself.
"So the Southern dogs have finally begun the merger of the West?"
In the quiet residence of the Eastern Grand Duke, Edward gazed out at the sea, then looked down at the crystal orb in his hand as he spoke.
"In that case... it seems we must deal with that Southern Grand Duke brat first."
The disappearance of the Western Grand Duke as a rival was certainly welcome. Yet the South’s power had grown stronger still. The only time to stop them was now—while they had not yet fully absorbed the West. He would force a decisive settlement, seize their economy by the throat, and dismantle the links between West and South one by one.
He would make them pay the price for falling out of favor with the man who ruled the Empire’s seas.
"Issue orders to the undersea monster legion and the navy. Prepare a naval blockade."
"...Understood."
The adjutant nodded with an odd expression.
The East’s situation was hardly better. The once brilliant and sharp-minded Eastern Grand Duke Edward had, at some point, begun using that mind solely to win a woman’s favor.
Work? I have no interest in anything so dull anymore. You see, an intriguing unsolved riddle has recently appeared in my life.
That was how Edward spoke as he abandoned every duty. The Eastern economy began to follow the same downward curve as the collapsing Empire.
What would happen if the naval blockade failed under these conditions?
Carrying that vague unease, the adjutant set off to summon the naval ministers.