CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 209 THREE QUESTIONS

Kallen opened her mouth to answer Perfikot’s question, but Perfikot’s words, "Think carefully and answer when you’re certain," made her fall into deep thought.

Kallen had never considered what impact independence would have.

In all the information she had come across, everyone was talking about how the various problems and hardships facing the New Continent colony stemmed from the Empire’s exploitation and oppression.

Especially in the war for world domination between the Empire and France a dozen years ago, the Empire, although victorious, was still heavily impacted by the huge military expenses and consequences of the war.

To restore the economy and shift the contradictions, the Empire transferred the fiscal deficit caused by massive military spending to the New Continent colony, imposing heavy taxes on it.

It was precisely from that time that the tide of the independence movement began to rise.

People always proclaimed that the Empire had transferred the enormous military costs of that war for world dominance a dozen years ago to the New Continent colony, imposing heavy taxes so that all the wealth created by the people of the New Continent was plundered by the Empire.

If they could overthrow the Empire’s rule over the New Continent and let the people of the New Continent control their own wealth, everyone would quickly become wealthy and live a good life.

Kallen used to believe these words, but after Perfikot did some calculations for her, showing her the tax structure of the New Continent colony and the Empire’s fiscal revenue from the New Continent, she realized how much money ordinary people actually had.

It’s true that the Empire did shift the huge military costs to the New Continent colony, and the heavy taxes were no lie, but the connection with ordinary people wasn’t as significant.

True, the heavy taxes imposed by the Empire were indeed borne by every person on the New Continent, but the tax rate was calculated, not casually set by some feverish lords of the Noble Council.

According to the tax rate set by the Empire, although the living standards of the New Continent colony would indeed decrease, it was merely from having meat three days a week to once a week.

After all, the heavy taxes were primarily levied on factories and businesses, and these are the profit-making industries the Empire targeted for taxation. However, those profit-hungry capitalists and factory owners were unwilling to cut skin and instead shifted the burden by reducing workers’ wages.

Otherwise, although the heavy taxation by the Empire undoubtedly impacted the lives of the people on the New Continent, it wasn’t to the extent that survival was impossible or that they had to risk execution for independence.

Of course, maintaining such a high tax rate is not without issues; it can be emergency manageable in the short term, but if sustained long-term, it could indeed lead to accumulating public grievances, eventually triggering riots or larger disasters.

Perfikot often scorned the Noble Council as parasites, yet these parasites only cared about their interests and weren’t truly brainless.

Although they set such high tax rates, they also provided a ten-year limit. The Empire only wanted to clear the war deficit, not squeeze the New Continent colony dry.

Despite some wanting sustainable exploitation, the Duke of Ruth and the Empress herself jointly vetoed this proposal.

However, the independence movement on the New Continent quickly erupted, and it’s impossible to believe that no one was instigating it.

According to the investigation by the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, it can be confirmed that the French provided funds and weaponry support for the independence movement.

Additionally, aside from external support, the main force of the independence movement was made up of passionate youth and city dwellers, but it is crucial not to overlook the emerging bourgeoisie’s backing behind them.

This is understandable because the absence of traditional aristocratic constraints in the New Continent colony led to the rapid development of capitalism, which also spurred economic growth, making the emerging bourgeoisie a major part of the New Continent colony and significant vested interests.

They were dissatisfied with the Empire’s economic policies that limited colonial power while also imposing heavy taxes, hence secretly promoting the independence movement’s development and expansion.

But when the Empire showed its determination and strength to suppress with iron blood, without sufficient external support, they quickly retreated, and the independence movement consequently entered a downturn.

Through this, Kallen at least figured out the first two of Perfikot’s three questions, that is, why they wanted independence and what impact independence could bring them.

Answering these two questions also made Kallen realize some things: that if the ordinary people of the New Continent colony want to change their current situation, they do not actually need to rebel for independence or use force to gain independence.

This is not to say that armed struggle is untenable, but rather what they gain is disproportionate to what they give.

Before independence, they suffered under the exploitation of those big capitalists and factory owners, and after independence, they still suffered such exploitation, only slightly less of it.

Before independence, I was exploited by you, and after independence, I am still exploited by you. Wasn’t my independence for nothing?

Before independence, at least I was a citizen of the world’s strongest nation, but after independence, what status does the colony hold?

So, it’s not that independence is bad, but the independence movement should overthrow not just the Empire’s oppression of the people, but also the bourgeoisie’s exploitation of the people, and the latter is far more direct than the former.

It’s like someone working in a factory, subjected to the boss’s harsh exploitation, not blaming the boss but blaming the country, and when the boss gives them a meager bonus at year’s end, they still praise the boss. Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?

Perfikot admitted that the things she told Kallen were filled with rhetoric, implication, and persuasion, but there was no sophistry because what she said was factual.

Ordinary small citizens and farmers, what do they know? As long as they have enough to eat and can scrape by, they won’t think of rebellion.

Keeping a whole family fed every day already exhausts all their energy, leaving no time to think about independence and freedom.

The true guidance for these people to resist the Empire’s rule comes from the interested classes in the background, those large capitalists and factory owners directly harmed by the Empire’s economic policies.

And the alleged benefits of independence?

For the big capitalists and factory owners, it is so, because with the mountain over their heads removed and a new emerging country under their control, how could they not benefit?

As for the lower classes? The leftovers bled through their fingers are enough to appease them.

"So, do you have an answer for the third question?" Perfikot looked at Kallen, whose worldview seemed to be undergoing a reconstruction, with a strange expectation in her eyes.