Opportunity, at times, arrives in a manner no one could have predicted.
Half a month later, explosive news came from the northwest of Leithanien.
The Elector of the Wasser Fief Grand Region, Otto Gladstone, known for his arrogance and cruelty, had once again allied with a Victorian duke to launch a surprise attack on Kazdel.
He had intended to take advantage of the chaos in Kazdel, which was still without a new king and mired in internal strife, to wipe away his past humiliations and deal a heavy blow to those demon folk.
However, his muscle-filled head had clearly failed to comprehend the cunning of the Victorians.
Just as his grand army pushed deep into Kazdel's heartland, locked in a grueling struggle with Sarkaz guerillas and utterly exhausted.
His ally, that Victorian duke, not only failed to provide the promised support but suddenly turned his guns around, blockading their retreat. The duke then seized the opportunity to occupy several mines and towns on the Wasser Fief border, plundering all the resources in the vicinity.
Attacked from both front and rear, Otto Gladstone paid a terrible price before he managed to flee back to his territory in disgrace, with the help of another Elector who had rushed to his aid.
His three most elite Caster Corps were almost completely annihilated, and the Golden Law Guard that accompanied the expedition suffered heavy losses.
It was a complete and utter defeat, a scandal that sent shockwaves throughout Leithanien's noble circles.
When the news reached Wischeim, Gertrude was in her residence, enjoying afternoon tea with several newly acquainted noble ladies.
When the butler handed her the intelligence, delivered by a coded messenger, the hand holding her teacup trembled almost imperceptibly.
She quickly excused herself and unfolded the thin sheet of paper in her study.
After reading it, the color drained from her face, replaced by an exhilarated shock.
She immediately took a land-vehicle to the Workers' Party headquarters.
"Lacey!" She practically burst into Lacey's office, forgetting even the most basic noble etiquette. "Something terrible has happened!"
Lacey was reviewing the cadre training plan submitted by Serafina.
He looked up at the panicked Gertrude and calmly pointed to the chair opposite him. "Sit down and talk, Countess. The sky isn't falling."
Gertrude took a deep breath, trying to calm her heaving chest, and handed him the intelligence report.
"See for yourself."
Lacey took the report and read it word by word.
His expression did not change, but his pupils contracted sharply.
"To make up for this disastrous military loss, Otto Gladstone has already ordered the tax rate for the entire Wasser Fief to be raised to an outrageous seventy percent," Gertrude's voice trembled.
"He's even enacted a birth tax and a death tax. For every baby born or person who dies in a commoner's family, they must pay him a hefty sum."
"He's gone completely mad! He's going to bleed his own people dry!"
"He's terrified," Lacey said, placing the report gently on the desk.
"A crushing defeat has cost him his most important military pillar. He's using these methods now only to mask his own weakness."
"He desperately needs money to rebuild his army and stabilize his rule."
"But doing this will only push his people into our arms!" Gertrude said excitedly.
"Ever since 'My Struggle' began to circulate, there has been a constant stream of fugitives coming from Wasser Fief."
"They say the workers and farmers there are all secretly praising your name and see our Workers' Party as their only hope!"
...
Just as Gertrude had said, the Wasser Fief Grand Region had at that moment become a living hell.
In the mining district of the capital, Eisenwald, a miner was hanged alive at the entrance of the mine shaft by an overseer for being unable to pay his taxes.
His wife, holding an infant still in swaddling clothes, knelt beneath his body, crying her heart out. But the surrounding miners' eyes held only numbness and a rage suppressed to its absolute limit.
In the dead of night, inside a dilapidated workers' shed, several miners gathered around a dim oil lamp, carefully spreading open a dog-eared copy of 'My Struggle'.
"The book says... Mr. Lacey says that a nation without a strong army to defend its dignity is nothing but fish on a chopping block, to be carved up at will."
A literate young man read aloud in a hoarse voice.
"Aren't... aren't we the fish on the chopping block right now?"
"Shh! Keep it down!" an old miner next to him whispered, glancing around nervously. "If the guards hear us, we'll all be hanged!"
"Then let them hang us!" a man with a face covered in coal dust slammed his hand on the table, roaring in a hushed voice.
"What's the difference between being bled dry by that bastard Otto and being hanged?"
"My son had a high fever the day before yesterday. Just because we couldn't pay the tax, the clinic doctor wouldn't treat him. I had to watch him take his last breath! I've had enough!"
"If Mr. Lacey came, I'd be the first to join him!"
"But... but Wischeim is so far away. How would Mr. Lacey know about our suffering?"
"He will. He definitely will." The young man who had first read from the book had a flame burning in his eyes.
"Mr. Lacey said in his book that all the workers of Leithanien are brothers! He won't abandon us!"
Similar conversations were quietly taking place in every city, every village, and every mine in the Wasser Fief Grand Region.
'My Struggle' was like a thousand embers, buried deep in the hearts of the people.
And Elector Otto's tyrannical rule was like a constant stream of fuel being poured upon them, waiting only for a single spark to ignite a prairie fire.
...
Meanwhile, in Lacey's office.
Taylor had rushed over upon hearing the news. His burly frame crowded the doorway as he said excitedly, "Mr. Lacey, this is a great opportunity!"
"That old dog Otto is nothing but a paper tiger now. We just need to send troops over and rally the people, and the citizens of Wasser Fief will surely stand with us!"
"No!" Gertrude immediately retorted. "He's an Elector! One of the pinnacles of power in Leithanien! Attacking him directly is open treason!"
"When that happens, not only the Twin Empresses but the other eight Electors will never sit idly by! They'll pounce on us and tear us to shreds!"
Serafina calmly analyzed, "Lady Gertrude is right. Militarily, we have no chance of winning. Politically, we have no just cause."
"The moment we make a move, all our past efforts will be for naught."
"So we just watch?" Taylor scratched his head in frustration. "Our brothers in Wasser Fief are still suffering!"
The office descended into an argument.
One advocated radical action, one urged caution, and one calmly weighed the pros and cons.
Lacey remained silent throughout, listening quietly.
His fingers tapped rhythmically on the tabletop, making a soft 'tap, tap' sound.
Finally, he raised his hand, signaling for silence.
"Taylor, I understand your feelings, but wars are not won on passion alone," he said gently, looking at Taylor.
"The Countess's concerns are valid. We cannot place ourselves in opposition to the entire nobility."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them before finally landing back on the map, a slow smile spreading across his lips.
"However, who said we were going to attack him?"
His words stunned the other three people in the room.
"We are the Workers' Party, representatives of the people." Lacey stood up and walked to the map. With a red pen, he drew a large circle around the area of the Wasser Fief Grand Region.
"Since the people of Wasser Fief are suffering and asking for our help, then of course we must go and help them."
"To liberate them."
Hearing this, a flash of understanding crossed Gertrude's eyes, Serafina's breath caught slightly, and even Taylor was left frozen in place.
Just then, a guard ran in hastily, snapping to attention at the door to report, "Reporting, Mr. Lacey! A dozen people have arrived outside headquarters!"
"They claim to be... to be miner representatives from Wasser Fief! They broke through the blockade and fled all the way here. They say they have something of utmost urgency to discuss with you in person!"
Involuntarily, everyone's gaze focused on Lacey.
Lacey turned around, a smile on his face as if he had foreseen everything.
"See?"
"Opportunity has delivered itself to our door."
________________________________________
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