When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#499 - The Three-Zone System and 1453

Having bid farewell to Pettier, Horne returned to Jeanne d'Arc Fortress.

After entering the city, he didn't ride his horse, but instead led it slowly along the canal.

After winning Pettier over, Horne needed to consider the next steps for developing his territory.

Unlike his homeland, he hadn't inherited a large, unified power, nor was he stuck with isolated enclaves deep in enemy territory.

He was a unified power stuck deep in enemy territory, temporarily safe only due to internal strife among his enemies, yet unable to project the Holy Path sect outward.

Compared to the former, he possessed two unique advantages—Holy Power and Aether.

Unlike his old home, Horne was the one who initially possessed advanced productive forces, but lacked the scale and market to realize the dividends.

In other words, he could independently complete industrialization, and as long as the enemy couldn't move Autumn Dusk Island, he would always be at the forefront of the industrial revolution.

He didn't need to rush like he did at the beginning of his nation's founding.

The church and land-based feudal forces were indeed difficult to eliminate; this was a long-term project exceeding an individual's lifespan.

If he took it slow, once the leader passed away, if the transfer of power wasn't handled well, or if the successor was weak, it was highly likely to result in a classic back-and-forth tug-of-war.

Similar to the situation where royalists and republicans in England and France took turns coming to power, the wheels of history would sometimes advance and sometimes reverse.

This process of reform required someone with sufficient prestige and ability to keep things in check, ensuring the smooth progress of the reform.

But lifespan always had its limits, and to ensure the success of the reform, various forms of impatience and recklessness were unavoidable.

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, Horne looked down at his hands, which bore not a single scar, and revealed a smile that was half helpless and half satisfied.

The injuries he had sustained in previous battles had left no scars whatsoever.

Apart from the scar on his neck and the scars he already had, it was as if he were frozen in time.

Since his resurrection, his body had undergone this peculiar change.

Could it be that he, like other witches, possessed a lifespan beyond that of mortals?

As a male witch, Horne was even younger than most leaders of other factions; he was only 19 years old.

The fear of the reformer, that when people die, policies end, was not a problem for Horne; he could guarantee that even after the first generation of opponents died, he would still be alive.

Not only would he still be alive, but the witches who formed his core team would also still be alive.

Even if the first generation of core members, like Jeschka and Madelaine, kicked the bucket, the second generation of child soldiers would immediately be able to take over.

So Horne could take his time and do things slowly, stretching a fifty-year reform process into a hundred years; he could afford it.

It wasn't that Horne sought a bloodless revolution; revolution would inevitably involve bloodshed.

If it was necessary to suppress riots with machine guns, he would order it without hesitation; he simply hoped to reduce internal friction and the growing pains of industrialization.

After all, as a pioneer, he had to blaze a trail not only for the Salvation Army but also for the world.

He thought of Ludwik, who was supposed to arrive in mid-September but was delayed by internal conflicts within his faction until mid-October, as well as the secret society of Black Serpent Bay.

Horne finally made up his mind: "Even if there are glass shards hidden in this meat, I have to swallow it. The three-zone system must be implemented."

The so-called three-zone system was a system created to reduce this kind of internal friction.

Simply put, it involved implementing three different legal systems within one country of the Papal States.

After conquering a territory, if it was possible to make the land Holy Ownership, then it would be made Holy Ownership; if it was not possible, it would not be forcibly promoted, but rather a simple reform policy would be implemented.

In this way, the land held by the Salvation Army would have three states.

The first was the Pious Zone, which fully complied with the 'Holy Nation Land Decree' and all related laws, typically the Great Marsh Township and Red Maple Township (Kush Territory).

The second was the Holy War Zone, which partially complied with the 'Holy Nation Land Decree,' implementing reforms similar to those of the Juanists, depriving lords of their taxation rights, with taxes collected by the army, which would then allocate land rent to the lords.

The typical examples of this were Ibe Township in the south and the two townships east of Kasha County.

The third was the Missionary Zone, which relinquished diplomatic and war-declaring powers, reduced rent and interest rates, and was not allowed to obstruct the Holy Path sect's missionary work, while everything else remained the same.

Currently, there was only one Missionary Zone, which was Golden River Township in the far south.

The future development process would be for the Missionary Zone to slowly transform into a Holy War Zone, and finally become a Pious Zone.

Although this process was a bit slow, it didn't matter; Horne was young and had a long life ahead of him.

Even if the male witch's lifespan was the same as a normal person, he still had Jeanne; he could afford to wait.

In the future, if Morea and the two sides were willing to negotiate and unite, the Five Mountain Counties and Hotam County could be used as Missionary Zones.

Thousand River Valley inherently lacked manpower, and for a long time to come, it would be blockaded; under the premise of not violating principles, it was best to minimize casualties.

Otherwise, after fighting the foreign war with Prince Condé, they would fight the internal war with Morea, and after the internal war, the C-Army would come again, leaving no time for recuperation.

Morea and Horne had a relationship where cooperation benefited both, while separation harmed both; Horne simply couldn't figure out whether Duke Herma Stone could suppress his egoistic nature and unite.

He hoped she could be rational.

Don't look at Prince Condé flaunting his power in Thousand River Valley; in the entire empire, he was just a mid-level minion.

Once Thousand River Valley truly became independent, what awaited it would likely be the C-Army.

Thousand River Valley was a place contested on all sides; although Noen and Fran secretly supported and guaranteed its independence, there were no promises between countries, only interests.

Not to mention tactics, but with the current strategic situation, driving away Prince Condé was difficult, but it would only take two or three years.

In the future, it was best not to fight if possible, to prevent foreign forces from taking advantage of the situation.

If it really couldn't be avoided, wait ten or eight years, let Horne's industrialization machine get going, and then find an opportunity to tear up the treaty and fight a civil war.

By then, the first batch of talents cultivated by the Salvation Army in ten years of development should have emerged, taking over the entire Thousand River Valley and also resisting foreign enemies would not be a problem.

Horne had no psychological pressure about going back on his word and tearing up treaties; what was one more stain on the history books?

He had a low moral advantage; he had accumulated too many stains along the way, so he wasn't afraid.

"Four years, ah, four years."

Walking on the hard mortar road, Horne lowered his head, unconsciously uttering a murmur.

Currently, because Thousand River Valley was small, and Horne's territory was even smaller, economic development was only being carried out according to a four-year war preparation plan.

It was small, which made it easy to control.

Starting in 1446, Horne would officially begin the war preparation plan.

That was why in 1445, Horne had to establish a primary administrative network, build basic road infrastructure, restore agriculture after the war, and ensure that handicrafts and commerce in urban areas returned to normal.

This was to lay the foundation for the subsequent economic development plan.

The result was the current Salvation Army government and the various levels of centurion districts, as well as the revitalized rural and urban economies.

The following year, he entered the first year of the four-year plan and began to seek development.

The current main goal was to establish a reliable and orderly government system and ensure increased agricultural production, developing primary industries such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, and mining.

And to begin developing and supporting light industry in urban areas, continuing to extend the mileage of the mortar road, connecting the current several townships of the Salvation Army into a single line.

Once the first four-year plan was completed, the Salvation Army would be able to complete agricultural reform and proto-industrialization within its territory, ensuring that a basic exchange of products formed between urban and rural areas.

In this way, the Salvation Army's industrial products could be traded externally to extract sufficient profits.

During the second four-year plan, he would begin to gradually develop heavy industry, which was the steel, alchemy, fertilizer, and other industries, forming a system framework.

Establish the first batch of factories in the Autumn Dusk Island area and develop the entire Salvation Army's handicraft workshops to their peak.

With enough funds, enough food, enough weapons and equipment, and the political, economic, and ideological transformation of the past eight years, Horne was confident that the Salvation Army system could withstand the C-Army's attack.

"Careful! Your Eminence!"

The guard beside him suddenly stopped Horne. Horne looked up in surprise and saw the Sphinx Hoge statue in front of him.

If the guard hadn't stopped him, he would have almost bumped into it because he was distracted.

Patting the guard's shoulder, Horne took a deep breath and stepped into the Holy Proclamation Hall.

Eight years, ah, eight years. If he could survive these eight years, the future would belong to the Salvation Papal State.

Wait, if he calculated it that way, starting from 1445, two four-year war preparations would be 8 years...

Then the time to complete the plan would be—1453?