The Kingdom of Diaratline is an inland state.
It is surrounded by the Wheat Country of Weizenland to the north, the United Kingdom of Aphrasia to the east, the Soltia Merchant State to the south, and the Kingdom of Ironia to the west, and it has not sufficiently developed either resource-producing territory or technology.
However, setting the United Kingdom of Aphrasia aside, it borders three states, and by leveraging its location—along with the fact that a large river runs through its territory—it enjoyed a certain degree of prosperity as a trade state that aggregated goods.
The great river that runs north to south is wide and large, connecting the Wheat Country to the north and the Soltia Merchant State to the south, enabling navigation all the way to the ocean.
On the western side there is also a reasonably large lake, and it is a location that allows trade with the Kingdom of Ironia through that route as well.
The great river became the road that carried salt and wheat, and from the west, iron ore and iron were brought in.
Those were aggregated into its own country and exported to each state.
Many merchants traveled back and forth within the country, and along with them, various goods also gathered.
Furthermore, in recent years it has also been putting effort into spinning.
Using high-quality cotton imported from the Wheat Country, it produced large quantities of cotton thread and cotton cloth.
Using abundant water resources, it also introduced automatic machinery using waterwheels.
Recently, factories using large steam engines imported from the Kingdom of Lepuitari have also been increasing.
As for Fuelstone used as fuel, it had been mined from the wasteland on the United Kingdom of Aphrasia side.
Especially recently, because Fuelstone could be sold at high prices to the Kingdom of Lepuitari, it had become a considerable means of acquiring foreign currency.
But then, the United Kingdom of Aphrasia was occupied in its entirety by a mysterious group.
It was right when they had started putting effort into increasing Fuelstone extraction, so the information brought from the United Kingdom of Aphrasia’s gateway city—West Gate City—gave the leadership a tremendous shock.
It so happened that it was the timing when they had dispatched an excellent diplomat in order to expand Fuelstone acquisition.
Therefore, it was fully believed that the report was not grand delusion or the other side’s bluff.
The other side had already fixed the border line.
Although the specifics were not conveyed, it was thought that the mining sites the Kingdom of Diaratline was building would likely be forced to be abandoned in large part.
Reports were already flying in that several forts had been seized by mysterious golem users.
According to the report from the ambassador in West Gate City, the group that occupied the United Kingdom of Aphrasia called itself <Paraiso>, and in only a single day it apparently disarmed and occupied West Gate City and the nearby Great Horse Town.
Furthermore, though it was uncertain information, it was said that the occupation had already been completed all the way to the Royal Capital of Aphrasia, and that it was just before they would issue a notice of complete control to the surrounding states.
In that situation, making a clumsy move was dangerous.
Much less, with the other side’s strength unknown, attempting to retake the mining sites was the height of folly.
First, intelligence gathering was the priority.
This line of judgment was heavily connected to the kingdom’s history of long prospering as a trade state.
Trade is, in other words, an information war.
The trick to earning profit is to grasp accurate information as quickly as possible and outmaneuver the other side.
<Paraiso> is dangerous.
Based on the ambassador’s report and the messages from the forts, the leadership immediately decided its policy going forward.
It was, truly, a wise decision.
An opponent you must never oppose—that is <Paraiso>.
As far as dealing with foreign affairs, that posed no problem.
But they misjudged how to handle things domestically.
Because they themselves were competent, they had overestimated the ability of the Margrave in the provinces—specifically the one responsible for the border with the United Kingdom of Aphrasia.
The Margrave feared the loss of financial resources due to the halt in Fuelstone mining.
And he underestimated <Paraiso>’s power.
Furthermore, he also had a great deal of rebellious spirit toward the kingdom’s leadership.
Believing this was an attempt by the royal family to weaken ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the Margrave’s power, he resisted.
Therefore, he sent the elite he commanded—his standing forces—toward retaking the largest mining site.
By the time the leadership grasped the situation, everything was over.
The Margrave’s attack force was annihilated.
The golem forces controlled by <Paraiso> counter-invaded into the territory, and most of the forts guarding the border line were destroyed. The stationed forces were scattered.
The only saving grace was that the soldiers themselves were not actively targeted.
There were many soldiers killed or injured due to the collapse of the forts, but most fled and managed to cling to life.
After destroying the forts, <Paraiso> apparently did not plunder or pursue, and simply went back as-is.
When the kingdom organized troops and arrived at the site, all that remained were completely destroyed forts and trampled earth.
It seemed that <Paraiso> had ravaged everything in only a few hours, and then returned to the United Kingdom of Aphrasia side.
It was like a natural disaster.
Naturally, upon grasping this situation, the leadership despaired.
Originally, the international situation was not bad, and the Kingdom of Diaratline’s military strength was small. Moreover, most of it was allocated to border security, and the force that could respond immediately to an invasion was fewer than 1,000 men.
In this situation, if <Paraiso> invaded domestically, there was no means to resist.
At worst, prepared even to cede territory, the ambassador negotiated with <Paraiso>.
As a result, <Paraiso> demanded no compensation in particular, and it simply became a matter of continuing trade as before.
Normally, perhaps, seeing the other side as weak-kneed, taking a hard stance might be the correct answer.
Because one could judge that the other side did not have the military strength to invade domestically.
But the ambassador who was actually facing <Paraiso>, and the leadership that trusted that ambassador, understood.
<Paraiso> felt no threat whatsoever from the Kingdom of Diaratline.
That if the border violation was not repeated, that was enough—and that they would let it go with only the warning of destroying the border forts.
Well, it was probably a threat that there would be no next time.
Conversely, that meant they would wipe the slate clean at that level.
The Margrave himself was ranting, but he was a fool who could not even read the times.
Abandoned by his own people, the royal family decided to cut him off.
Using the troops they had dispatched as “relief,” they restrained the Margrave and his family as-is. The Margrave’s domain was abolished, and it was decided it would be incorporated anew as direct royal territory.
By his own actions, the land seizure he had feared was carried out.
If he had not done anything unnecessary, there had been a future in which he could prosper greatly through direct trade with the United Kingdom of Aphrasia.
Putting that aside.
Having lost one of its core industries—Fuelstone mining—the Kingdom of Diaratline was forced into a shift in national policy.
There were some mines and such within the country, but it had neither the technology to develop them on a large scale, nor was the amount of reserves even certain in the first place.
Therefore, it decided to steer toward mass production of cotton thread and cotton cloth, and exporting them.
It would import large steam engines and expand production factories.
It would export the cotton thread and cotton cloth it produced and obtain Fuelstone as fuel.
A rush of factory construction began, and a large number of technicians capable of handling steam engines were needed.
Steam engines were lumps of iron, and the factories themselves also used large amounts of iron.
Starting from importing iron, in the end it would even carry out ironmaking.
Along with these, many factories that manufactured iron parts were also built.
Going forward, the Kingdom of Diaratline would develop as a great power of raw-material import and product export.
Also, cotton cloth did not remain merely an export—apparel production techniques also improved greatly.
Along with this, it also established its position as a fashion leader, providing cutting-edge fashion to surrounding states.
The place that played the central role as the cutting edge of trends was, ironically, the domain capital of the abolished Margrave.
For some reason, a custom also formed of dressing up for festivals by attaching beast ears and beast tails.
