Regardless of how Nes Luman’s soul was silently pulled into the Divine Realm by Gu Hang or what treatment he received there, the atmosphere in the command post outside the Alliance Expeditionary Force city was merry and harmonious.
Everyone thought that Nes Luman was finished, but no one expected that this proud and ambitious king could let go of all his dignity and say those words.
Nor did anyone anticipate that the Gu Clan Head from Rage Owl Star would actually agree!
Gu Hang accepted Nes Luman’s apology and accepted his ‘gift.’
From then on, the Luman Kingdom was to take the surname ‘Gu.’
This was the most significant change.
But some things seemed to remain unchanged.
Nes Luman was still the ruler of the country, only no longer called a king but reduced to a duke.
It seemed that Gu Hang truly believed in the king’s oath of loyalty and planned to continue entrusting the reign of the kingdom to Nes Luman.
The kingdom’s loyal officials and the envoys of the two marquesses were filled with incredulity. Stay tuned for updates on empire
So… magnanimous?
What’s the difference from before?
Oh, the only difference is that there was now a Governor Gu Hang above the head of King Luman… Duke Luman. But what difference did it make to those below? Would they still heed Nes Luman’s orders in the future?
No, perhaps that was too naive.
It must be just about propping up a puppet, right?
But isn’t the Gu Clan afraid that this puppet might get out of control?
Or do they need to plant many of their own people?
But is it worth it?
…
Many questions swirled in the minds of these people.
However, outwardly, everyone’s reactions were surprisingly consistent: they were grateful for Governor Gu Hang’s leniency and swore to govern diligently henceforth, serving the governor well, with some even hinting at keeping a close watch on Nes Luman.
Nes Luman himself also behaved normally.
He was joyous at Governor Gu Hang’s generosity and swore to reflect earnestly and work hard.
Thus, it seemed that a seemingly happy ending had been reached.
…
After sending away the many visitors, Gu Hang, now alone, called up the system interface.
A brand new function interface appeared here.
[Vassal]
Upon opening it, he saw some new information.
[Heijian Star: Luman Kingdom]
[Vassal Level: LV3, Low tendency for secession.]
[Status: Military Conquest, Puppet Sovereign, Internal Secessionism]
[Monthly Enfiefment Revenue: 344 points]
This was an unexpected pleasure.
The [Vassal] system itself he explored a bit, had no special functions, just some display of data.
But having this display was already very good.
The vassal level was a rating given by considering various factors, including the degree of foreign powers’ interference, control over the ruling class, local secessionism within the vassal state, and the emotions of the vassal state’s populace…
LV3 symbolized an average level, and maintaining this grade meant that the likelihood of this vassal territory breaking away, becoming independent, or seceding wasn’t high.
Below LV3, it would be more turbulent. At LV2, the probability of secession would increase; at LV1, it was like sounding the alarm, as almost certainly there would be secessionist uprisings requiring suppression.
Conversely, above LV3, at LV4, it meant that secession was hardly possible. At LV5, it suggested that the vassal should be annexed into the homeland.
Of course, this was not a game, but a real world.
The system’s given rating was accurate enough, but what to do specifically was up to Gu Hang.
He could very well declare the full annexation of the Luman Kingdom right now, appoint himself as king, and meddle in all of the local military, political, and economic affairs, and fully act as a ruler.
But obviously, this would carry a huge risk.
For one, the system might judge that Gu Hang only had nominal ownership over the area, or even that he had no such title at all, that his claim was not legitimate, purely based on military occupation, and that he hadn’t even established effective governance, so it certainly wouldn’t recognize this land as his own, nor would there be an income of enfeoffment points.
Secondly, Gu Hang would find it difficult to establish a reasonable rule here. The other six nations would immediately jump; the Empire would not easily admit this; Gu Hang’s military occupation was very unstable, he would have to dispatch more troops to maintain it; rebellions could well arise one after another…
This was why a vassal level of LV3 did not suggest a direct annexation.
And Gu Hang would not do such a thing.
For the time being, he was content with this vassal status.
Don’t underestimate the state of being a vassal. Gu Hang had already obtained what he needed.
He could use the vassal state’s government to influence national policies. For example, if he wanted to abolish feudalism here, free up the productive forces.
Even without changing the nature of the Luman Kingdom as an agricultural country, agricultural production should still be made more efficient, and the food output from millions of square kilometers of land could be significantly increased in value.
And the labor force freed from farming could move to factories for initial industrialization.
In a word, making the entire country wealthy was very meaningful.
Gu Hang did not want to be dealing with a place that had a mere few hundred thousand tax currency surplus every year.
If the Luman Kingdom maintained its previous state, then his actions this time would have been in vain.
With more wealth, Gu Hang would be able to draw even more ‘blood’ from the Luman Kingdom.
And beyond ‘wealth,’ Gu Hang had his eye on another aspect of the Luman Kingdom: its people.