Chapter 237: Chapter 233: Snake-Shaped Shield Machine 1.0
"Miss, the people have already been sent away." The old butler Foster came to Perfikot’s side to report the situation to her.
"Grandpa Fu, do you think I need to clear out the native tribes in the Northern Territory?" Perfikot toyed with the horse hair that Hudden had given her earlier and asked Foster this question.
Foster was momentarily stunned by the question, but then he opened his mouth and replied, "If you’re looking solely at the Empire’s interests, you certainly need to clear out these native tribes as much as possible to make room for the construction in the Northern Territory.
But..." The old butler hesitated for a moment and looked at Perfikot with a complex expression, "As an old man who has watched you grow up, I don’t recommend you do this. Your hands have already been stained with enough blood.
These natives pose no threat to you; they can’t even survive this disaster. You just need to drive them away or subdue them with a conciliatory approach to resolve the problem. There’s no need for you to... add more killings to your conscience."
Foster knew how many people Perfikot had killed for this plan. Even though she hadn’t acted personally, the number of people who had died indirectly because of her was indeed too many.
Therefore, the old butler sincerely hoped his lady would stop killing, at least not when it wasn’t necessary.
Facing the old butler’s heartfelt words, Perfikot sighed helplessly: "It’s not that I want to kill them, but that I have to kill them."
Perfikot was not a bloodthirsty person. If possible, she would prefer to be a simple noble lady without worrying about these matters.
But now she was at this position, facing certain situations, if she didn’t kill, it would be unthinkable.
However, she could not bear to disappoint the old butler who had watched her grow up. After considering it for a moment, she said, "As long as those natives don’t actively resist this time, I won’t do anything to them. If they’re willing to submit to the Empire, I can give them all the preferential treatment I promised."
"Your kindness will be rewarded." The old butler understood, this was already the limit of what Perfikot could promise.
After all, the Empire was now facing a world-devouring disaster. To survive this catastrophe, Perfikot didn’t even hesitate to crush the three nations of France, let alone a bunch of native tribes.
For Perfikot, if they were sensible, she could indeed spare these natives, even tell them about the world’s end, giving them a chance to survive.
But if these natives weren’t sensible and thought Perfikot was here to plunder and enslave them, then Perfikot would have to use more efficient means to eliminate potential threats.
For her, some things depended only on whether she wanted to do them, rather than whether she could do them.
Moreover, for the Empire, keeping the large-scale native army was just a waste. It would be better to utilize them in the Northern Territory, maybe even use those armies as labor to build shelters.
So, what decides the fate of the Wild Mane Tribe and other native tribes has never been Perfikot’s attitude, but their own attitude.
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Using a live snake for reference, after spending two more days improving the design, Perfikot finally perfected the shield machine design to a level she found acceptable.
Named the Serpentine Shield Machine 1.0, the model was now on her lab table, supported by a spiral stand, showcasing its structural details to everyone.
"Countess, this machine is meant for digging underground, right?" An official from the Northern Territory inquired Perfikot, seemingly very curious about the machine.
There were already many bureaucrats in the Northern Territory forming the administrative system there, preparing to welcome the successive pioneer groups coming after spring.
Having been summoned by Perfikot, they initially thought it was to announce new policies, but it turned out to be to give opinions on the Countess’s new machine.
This left the civil officials a bit confused, as none had the capability to comment on the invention of the Empire’s leading alchemist.
"This is a shield machine, used for building underground cities." Perfikot briefly introduced to the civil officials and explained why it’s needed: "You’ve all seen the Northern Territory’s snowstorm this winter. Considering such conditions, normal buildings can’t withstand it, so I decided to build the cities underground. This way, even with heavy winter snow, it won’t affect the normal lives of Northern Territory’s citizens."
Though an improvised excuse, it wasn’t a lie in essence.
Perfikot was genuinely considering how the Northern Territory’s citizens could live under such snowy conditions, though the snow she referred to was not the usual winter snow, but the doomsday end-of-world winter.
However, for the Northern Territory civil officials, this was quite abstract.
Fortunately, they didn’t need to grasp such profound issues; they just needed to understand what Perfikot required of them and fulfill the Countess’s instructions.
So these Northern Territory civil officials discussed among themselves and then proposed several questions about how to use this shield machine and what points related to its management should be noted.
After Perfikot answered these questions, the civil officials expressed that they had no more queries. They then gathered to discuss how to use this machine effectively and where improvements could be made.
Compared to the civil officials, the Northern Territory alchemists, having seen Perfikot’s design of the spiral underground city, better understood why she designed such a shield machine.
Once they understood the working principle of the shield machine, these alchemists proposed several questions from their respective professional perspectives.
Some of the questions seemed meaningless to Perfikot, but she still answered them seriously.
As for the rest, they included some suggestions that she considered quite good, prompting Perfikot to think about possibly incorporating them into the Serpentine Shield Machine 1.1 design.
However, the question that truly caught Perfikot’s attention came from the side civil officials, addressing a dilemma even Perfikot felt conflicted about.
Namely, the cost of this shield machine, how much its efficiency in building underground cities could improve compared to other construction methods, and how much of a cost difference existed between them.
Perfikot hadn’t calculated these questions, so she couldn’t answer immediately. Yet she was clear that except for the shield machine’s efficiency, there was no need to consider these questions, for the Empire was sparing no expense this time.