I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 283: Colmar Peasant Revolt (6)

Human nature is like that.

When someone else is in pain, instead of empathizing, most people wonder how they can exploit the other person’s weaknesses to gain something from it.

Even more despicable humans are too busy slandering others with their weaknesses.

If someone committed a crime, something clearly deserving of being gossiped about, then fine, I’d understand.

But when it comes to things like losing parents, being poor, having no girlfriend, not being married, or being a loner with no friends...

‘Such gossip ends up causing real harm to people in society.’

That’s why society always warns against revealing your weaknesses.

Especially politicians, those who hold the highest positions human beings can reach.

On the flip side, it’s obvious how vile those who survive the dirtiest mud fights to reach those positions must be.

“The Emperor of the Holy Empire has been experiencing several major failures lately.”

The Tulip speculation incident caused the Holy Empire’s economy to collapse, and the war with the Lyon Kingdom has led to two losses.

While the Emperor’s position doesn’t necessarily rely on actual achievements...

No matter how much of a feudal empire it is, the power of those in high positions always depends on their accomplishments.

To put it simply, consider King Sejong, the greatest ruler of Joseon, and Emperor Gojong, the greatest barista of Joseon.

It’s easy to tell who had more power while they were alive.

In a similar manner, the Emperor now has experienced multiple failures, so his power has significantly dropped.

“The Emperor of the Holy Empire will try everything to solve this issue.”

“Indeed. The decline of the Emperor’s power is equivalent to the collapse of the country.”

“And the solution to this issue is quite simple.”

Doctors who diagnose illnesses tend to focus more on accurately identifying the disease than on performing surgeries or administering medications.

When you’re sick, it’s natural to want to treat the illness directly, but diagnosing it properly is crucial.

For minor illnesses like a cold, it doesn’t matter if you take the wrong medicine, like throat medication instead of nasal medicine.

But with serious conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, using the wrong medicine, even in small amounts, can dangerously affect the patient’s health.

But once the correct diagnosis is made, the patient’s condition improves rapidly.

“The solution is for the Emperor to successfully occupy the border regions of the Lyon Kingdom.”

Even if you fail twice or three times, as long as you eventually enter a prestigious university, the previous efforts will be seen as steps toward success, not failure.

If the Emperor succeeds in expanding his territory, everything—from the Tulip fraud to the two defeats in war—will be glossed over.

The result justifies the process.

This is the same logic behind those who gamble or invest in stocks.

‘If you win big in gambling or the stock market, you’re a beast; if you lose, you’re just a disgrace.’

The Emperor nodded, understanding my point.

“If I occupy the border region, my reputation will turn around in an instant. I would have no choice but to do that.”

Just like those who drop out of Harvard to start a business and become successful, they will brag about it in their graduation speeches, boasting about how they challenged themselves to become like them.

But if they fail, they end up like the homeless people living near Times Square.

The Emperor thought for a while before offering his own opinion.

“Let me see. In that case, this is how things will unfold.”

The Emperor tapped the armrest of his throne with his finger and continued.

“The Lyon Kingdom will send a large army to suppress the rebellion, and the meaningless uprising of the common folk will be swiftly crushed. No matter how determined they are, they’re just a bunch of insignificant creatures, no match for an armed force.”

When we think of peasant revolts, we first think of the Donghak Peasant Movement.

In that case, the Donghak army, led by Jeon Bong-jun, easily defeated the government troops.

But that’s because the Joseon army, weakened by the power struggles of the time, was nothing more than a disorganized mess. The army was so poorly trained it couldn’t even handle a basic task, much less a well-equipped military force.

A decent army could have wiped out any peasant army in no time.

Considering the facts, the Emperor must have been furious about the commoners’ disrespect for the system.

“Once the rebellion is suppressed, as you predicted, the Holy Empire will push into the border regions. They will do whatever it takes to cover up their failures and turn them into victories.”

“Yes, that’s likely what will happen.”

“In my opinion, the Holy Empire and the Lyon Kingdom will fight, and when both sides are exhausted, it will be best to occupy the border regions. Once both are worn out, we can simply take advantage of the situation and expand our territory without much effort. Just like how you took territories like the Guillaume fief after the last war.”

Imagine a fisherman finding a crane and a clam exhausted after fighting for days. The fisherman can catch both without much effort.

This is what we call the fisherman’s benefit in Chinese idioms.

The Emperor is aiming for this very situation.

“My idea is different from yours, your Majesty. Why not just give up the land, which is as useless as a chicken’s rib, to the Holy Empire?”

“Why do you think that?”

“The financial situation of the Holy Empire is so bad that it could collapse at any time. After another war, the country will be forced to openly go into debt with the merchants.”

Even the great United States, under the rule of the Almighty Emperor, found itself in financial trouble after the Iraq war.

How could the Holy Empire, which doesn’t have the ability to print money like the U.S., continue after three consecutive wars?

‘They don’t even have the concept of money printing in this era.’

“On top of that, the cost of restoring the devastated lands will be immense. Will the Holy Empire even survive?”

The war on the Albanian «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» continent wasn’t the kind where missiles and bombs flew everywhere.

Still, rebuilding the land devastated by war would cost the equivalent of two years’ worth of tax revenue.

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Given that the border regions are vast and densely populated, the cost of reconstruction would be astronomical.

‘The Holy Empire will definitely go bankrupt.’

“The Holy Empire will undoubtedly go bankrupt due to financial shortages.”

“Even so, they will still have the land.”

“They will gain the result of territorial expansion, but once the financial deficit becomes a serious issue, will they be able to survive?”

For ordinary people, the victory in war and the acquisition of territory is similar to winning the World Cup.

They’ll feel happy for the moment.

Just like when South Korea made it to the World Cup semifinals, there was a festive atmosphere across the country, and many new couples were formed.

The same will happen in the Holy Empire—it’s certain that they’ll celebrate.

But think about this for a moment.

‘What if, after winning the World Cup, they impose a 50 million won tax?’

“The Holy Empire may look fine on the outside, but its internal financial situation is a disaster. The Deus Church is forcing people to buy indulgences, and the Holy Empire’s parliament is imposing heavy taxes on the nobles, citizens, and peasants.”

Whenever the government gives out favors, the money spent on those favors is always covered by taxes.

“With the added tax burden from this war, things will become chaotic inside the Holy Empire.”

The Emperor showed signs of unease after hearing this.

“If the Empire becomes chaotic, traitors aiming for usurpation will emerge. So, we should wait for the right moment.”

“...Indeed, that’s what we’ll do.”

It’s only when people’s lives are ruined that religious reforms begin.

History has proven this fact.