Chapter 227 : The Rise of Cabansia
Chapter 227: The Rise of Cabansia
The application of listening devices could be said to be a product of epoch-making significance.
Even if beaten to death, the two of them would never have imagined that the vibrations produced by the air they depended on for survival would become the culprit behind the leakage of their secret conversation.
Through this kind of black technology, Mitia had emptied the pockets of quite a few nations. In many cases, intelligence departments would even use listening devices to help the Alliance’s Chamber of Commerce play open-hand games.
If the First Industrial Revolution was still at a stage where ordinary people could basically understand or figure things out just by seeing the physical object—being the utilization of mechanical force and steam power—
—and still possessed the characteristic of being imitable and replicable—
then the Second Industrial Revolution, represented by new mediums such as electromagnetic force behind devices like listening equipment, with its core being the 【Electrical Revolution】, had already begun to exceed the realm of what ordinary people could comprehend.
It belonged to a domain that required systematic textbook knowledge to teach and understand; guessing alone could never uncover its principles.
Electricity was like magic that mortals could wield—millions or even billions of times more powerful than human muscle. It could transmit information, drive electric vehicles, illuminate streets and homes, and, like an invisible spirit, weave through every alley and street, transforming every aspect of society.
The past few years had been extremely miserable for the United Kingdom of Cabansia.
The red, white, and black zone division policy of the Seris Federation had replaced and dismantled the previous feudal enfeoffment system of the kingdom.
The original Red Zones were later incorporated into the Alliance. Four White Zone states separated the two sides, and although several states behind them still belonged to the Black Zone, there were very few that the Kingdom of Cabansia could fully mobilize.
Present-day Cabansia existed as a nominal united kingdom. The states beneath it had not declared independence, but in taxation, military, and political matters, they were autonomous—whether they listened to the kingdom depended entirely on their own will.
Such a situation was unacceptable for any nation. The immense domestic pressure forced the previous king of Cabansia to “die of illness,” and the former Crown Prince Warwick succeeded to the throne, beginning to readjust policies.
Publicly, the Alliance was the kingdom’s greatest enemy; privately, it was also the culprit behind his father’s death. Emotionally and rationally, the new King of Cabansia had to stir up some trouble.
In recent years, he had continuously caused disturbances in the White Zone states, occasionally orchestrating attacks to create chaos and attempting to assassinate pro-Alliance leaders such as state governors.
However, Warwick believed he was engaged in a battle of wits with the Alliance—but in reality, this was nothing more than his own wishful thinking.
From the very beginning, Mitia had positioned Cabansia as a comparative experimental ground, where different systems of the Red, White, and Black zones operated simultaneously on the same land.
Aside from initially supporting a group of idealists to take power through various means, she had largely taken a hands-off approach afterward, allowing it to develop naturally.
With the Alliance’s rapid development in recent years, public welfare systems and infrastructure had been completed, and living standards in the Red Zone states that had joined the Alliance were improving day by day.
Basic living costs such as food remained stable, with slight surpluses. The opening of railways, roads, and shipping networks made the circulation of goods within the Alliance extremely efficient.
The most direct benefit was the noticeable increase in variety on dining tables. Although meat was still relatively expensive, there was an abundant supply of dairy products and sugar.
At the same time, the government strongly promoted basic education and literacy. Subsidized school meals significantly reduced the burden on parents.
As the world’s largest supply chain source for industrial goods, the largest hub for raw materials, and a massive consumer market—
enterprises continuously optimized and integrated costs for the vast domestic market, making industrial products extremely cheap. Some small traders even took risks to smuggle Alliance goods abroad to profit from price differences.
Additionally, due to its vast territory, the Alliance actively promoted the affordability of automobiles, keeping fuel prices consistently low. Car ownership within the Alliance was rising year by year.
In comparison, life in the White Zones was noticeably worse. Owning a private car was unrealistic, but many people had become truck drivers, transporting extracted resources between the Red and White Zones.
Driven by the consumption of the Red Zones, life in the White Zones was not particularly wealthy, but it was far from poor—indeed, far better than that of most regions in other countries.
As for the Black Zone where Cabansia was located, it was essentially a slum.
The people lived in hardship, and public security was correspondingly poor.
Gangs and criminal organizations were everywhere, and the air itself seemed filled with the scent of gunpowder.
Under the cluster effect of the Alliance, the closer one was to it, the harsher life became. With the dumping of Alliance goods, it was impossible for local industries to develop. Food aid, moreover, was a deadly trap.
With the White Zones acting as transit hubs, cheap raw materials from the Black Zone were continuously extracted—effectively draining its lifeblood. Even resistance was extremely difficult.
The overall direction had already been set. Naturally, Mitia paid little attention to the minor details, and the entire Alliance remained hidden in the deepest shadows.
Those truly engaged in the struggle against Warwick were the current beneficiaries—people who lived off the spillover benefits of Alliance development.
In other words, all White Zone states were the same. The benefits were there—follow the Alliance, and there would be meat to eat.
Thus, it did not matter who became the representative. Whoever took the position would automatically become the new spokesperson for the Alliance.
So when the plan of a three-nation conspiracy appeared on Mitia’s desk, she could not help but find it both ridiculous and laughable:
“Who gave them the illusion that Cabansia could cause us trouble?”
“Are they relying on those imitation firearms of theirs, or on Cabansia’s pitiful mobilization capability and the physical quality of its soldiers?”
“If he can even deal with the people of the White Zone, I’ll consider him a king worthy of his title.”
One should not underestimate even minor forces. After training by Alliance forces and absorbing professional combat doctrines and equipment, the White Zone armies possessed about sixty percent of the combat effectiveness of the Alliance’s regular army—even accounting for equipment disparities.
For Warwick to defeat this force, which even included organized tank units, was far from as easy as he imagined.
However, Warwick did not think that far ahead. He mobilized surrounding military forces, assembling a total of one hundred thousand troops, and without declaring war, launched an offensive toward the White Zones, hoping to seize them before the Alliance could react.
Meanwhile, the combined regular armed forces of the four White Zone states numbered just over twenty thousand—this was the source of Warwick’s confidence.
Although the White Zone forces reacted quickly and launched counterattacks, a considerable number of small enemy units still infiltrated deep into the White Zones, wreaking havoc.
They looted unprepared villages and towns, slaughtered those who resisted, and seized all food and women. No one would have believed that just decades ago, both sides had been citizens of the same nation.
Due to the need to hold major fortified cities and contain the enemy’s main forces, the White Zone’s main army could only watch helplessly as these small-scale units caused destruction, waiting for reinforcements and counterattacks from the rear.