Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 856 - 85: Collapse of Imperial Authority

Even though the Steam Knights and the Floating City had blown away the separatists and rebels in one round, for Perfikot, this did not mean the end of things.

She stood in the command room of the Floating City, overlooking the city below that had just experienced the fires of war, but there wasn't a trace of victory's joy in her heart.

She knew this victory was only superficial; the real crisis still lurked in every corner of the Empire.

The reason she initially didn't use military means was because she understood clearly that a war couldn't solve the problem and would instead exacerbate conflicts.

The war brought only temporary submission, not true allegiance.

The cities that had been suppressed seemed to return to peace on the surface, but the undercurrents of resistance flowed like underground magma, ready to erupt at any moment.

Perfikot understood deeply that once you lose the hearts of the people, it's like a shattered mirror; no matter how you piece it back together, it cannot return to its original state.

The citizens who once had loyalty to the Empire now only felt indifference and hostility.

Perhaps they temporarily submitted to the Empire's force, but their inner resentment grew rampant like wild grass, waiting for the right time to erupt again.

Perfikot's initial decision to abandon domestic policies led to the locals of the Empire distancing themselves from the Imperial Center.

The people on the streets no longer spoke of the Empire's glory; instead, they talked about their confusion over the future and questioned the Empire's rule.

The Empire's flag still flew at the highest point of the city, but the people beneath it no longer looked up to it.

Though the Empire hadn't officially abandoned them, the act of abandoning the Empire's heartland and relocating the Imperial Center to the Northern Territory equated to abandoning them in reality.

This decision might have been a desperate move to face the end times, but in the eyes of the domestic citizens, it was undoubtedly a betrayal.

They once believed that the Empire would protect them in times of crisis, but reality made them feel abandoned and betrayed.

This also led many of the Empire's domestic citizens to think that the Empire, having abandoned them in times of crisis, now expected their loyalty? Dream on!

This sentiment quickly spread among the populace and even seeped into the ranks of the Empire's grassroots officials.

Though they continued to carry out the Empire's orders, their inner loyalty had long been shaken.

Perfikot was acutely aware that the Empire's foundation of rule was rapidly crumbling.

She understood the people's anger and disappointment; even at times, she wavered in her own stance.

But she couldn't, because her identity and responsibility wouldn't allow her to.

For being able to hold on until now, Perfikot had to credit the deep-rooted authority of the Empire and the sufficient loyalty of the Empire's grassroots officials.

But even so, she knew this loyalty was rapidly being worn away.

The Empire's authority was no longer as unbreakable as it used to be, and the loyalty of grassroots officials was being eroded by harsh realities.

Her current role represented the Empire, and her stance had to be from the perspective of maintaining the Empire's unity.

She couldn't allow the Empire to disintegrate, especially at this moment with doomsday looming.

She must use every means possible to reunite the Empire, even if it meant standing against the people.

And the most critical point, just as she initially chose to abandon the Empire's heartland to fully develop the Northern Territory, was that this was the way to save more lives.

After all, the Empire's heartland was resource-poor. If a powerful leader couldn't unite them, relying on each city's autonomy, they would quickly ruin themselves.

This point, Perfikot was very sure of.

She had witnessed the chaos and disorder of those cities firsthand, knowing that without a strong central government, these cities would quickly fall into infighting and collapse.

Therefore, even though she knew her decisions would alienate the domestic citizens of the Empire, she had no choice.

All she could do was continue forward, using an iron fist to maintain the Empire's unity, even if it meant bearing more insults and resentment.

However, Perfikot didn't resort solely to high-pressure policies now.

She formulated a conciliatory policy, planning to gradually introduce various technologies widely used in the Northern Territory to the Empire's heartland.

In the Empire's heartland, due to inadequate technology diffusion and industrial capability, except for Langton City and a few nearby cities closely related to Langton, other places hadn't received new technology applications.

This left many cities in the Empire's heartland struggling with difficult living conditions, with people barely surviving on the edge of life and death.

By applying new technologies, improving these people's living standards, this could also be seen as regaining the Empire's trust.

After all, for ordinary people, no matter how dissatisfied they are with the Empire, as long as they can get by, they will choose to endure.

Ordinary people may not understand the bigger picture, but their universal values will tell them what to do to survive.

Obeying the Empire might make life harder, but it allows you to live well, have a job to feed yourself, food to fill your belly, and a warm shelter for the family.

As for resisting the Empire? The Steam Knights will flatten your city, tear down your house, and impale your whole family on stakes.

Perfikot didn't like doing this, but reality told her she had no other choice.

She was deeply aware that the promotion of technology was not only to improve the people's living conditions but also to consolidate the Empire's ruling foundation.

By providing better living conditions, she hoped to regain the people's trust and support.

However, she also understood that this wasn't an overnight task.

The spread of technology required time, and gaining the people's trust required long-term effort and accumulation.

She had to wait patiently while continuously adjusting and optimizing policies to ensure every step was steady and strong.

However, this path was not smooth.

Every policy adjustment and optimization faced various forms of resistance and challenges.

Some believed her policies were too mild to effectively suppress rebellious emotions, while others thought they were too aggressive, potentially causing greater turmoil.

Faced with these doubts and criticisms, Perfikot could certainly ignore them and suppress them with authority, but such dictatorial governance could only be maintained temporarily, requiring her prolonged presence in the Empire's heartland to maintain rule.

Once she left, those officials with ulterior motives would quickly revert to their old ways and issues would erupt again.

So this time, Perfikot chose compromise as much as possible, rather than blood and iron.

Governance cannot always be tough. If she could always stay in the Empire's heartland, being tough wouldn't be an issue.

Anyway, with enough military force to suppress, she could sort out all issues and bring the Empire's heartland back on track.

But this time, her goal was to inspect all the Empire's colonies, so she couldn't waste too much time in the heartland.