(One month later)
Everything progressed smoothly during the next month. The train was coming together. The tracks are being laid down, and train stations are also being built in Tempest and Dwargon. Trains are also being constructed to connect the many cities and towns throughout Tempest, as well as the new cities acquired from the former territory of the Eastern Empire, after Artoria ordered more infrastructure to be built. A huge boom in employment resulted from it. Hundreds of thousands of workers were hired to work on it. Not only that, but factories in new cities also received large orders for manufacturing-related train parts for the massive train network, resulting in more demand in other businesses. The domestic train building was a lot faster than the connection with Dwargon, since there were not as many hurdles to go through.
New national parks were established and opened to the public during this time as well, creating more jobs and another source of money for the government. Tourism increased, and new guidebooks were created.
Reconstruction in the Eastern Empire was also proceeding smoothly. Benimaru made sure all the money sent was allocated correctly, and also taught Masayuki when he had time, as well as advising on creating and establishing new laws and reforming or removing current laws, as well as in the empire he is to rule. Benimaru knew how influential he could be in this part, but he tried to be more of a guide to Masayuki instead of simply telling him what to do. If Masayuki were to rule the empire, he needed to know how to do things himself instead of doing whatever someone told him to do. Overall, reconstruction was going to finish ahead of the estimated timeline.
As for other news? Well, something was happening in Ingrassia.
"Hey, Artoria, so about that civil war happening in Ingrassia. Should we stay out of it? Or how involved should we get?" Rimuru asked Artoria as they were in a meeting room together.
"We should stay out of it, mostly, but also keep an eye on what's happening there. I've already sent Souei and his team there to keep an eye on it and pass any information to us," Artoria said, hiding the fact that she was relieved that such a perfect cover was given for Souei and his team for their operations there.
"Oh, so soon?"
"Well, I'm sure all everyone else is doing the same thing."
"I worry for the people there, though. Maybe we could send aid, provide some kind of asylum, or something else?"
"Nope, not at all. We're not taking refugees or providing asylum. I understand that a civil war is brutal, and I empathize with the struggle that the people there are going through, but we're not going to take refugees or asylum seekers. Look, the amount it would cost to care for so many people is a lot, and we're already spending so much on building our national train network, as well as the connection with Dwargon, and that'll take longer because of the different laws and regulations between our countries, but we're also providing aid to the Eastern Empire at the same time. The more we go around getting involved and putting a whole bunch of money in places, it'll stretch us thin and make us vulnerable economically."
"But, we can help them."
Artoria sighed. She knew where Rimuru was coming from, but the scale of things seemed to be lost on him. "Look, I know it sounds bad, but it's also an ugly truth when money gets involved. It'll only provide a negative impact economically, since they won't provide anything in return, while we provide everything needed to survive, while they take refuge. And that's assuming they go back after the war ends, and don't decide to stay here, therefore adding to our population. Our population has increased massively, by a few hundred million people, after acquiring half of the territory of the Eastern Empire. We're still trying to sort out all the issues that come with that, and you want more? Be real, Rimuru. Like I said, I'm going to put priority on our own territory and people before getting involved in issues in other countries on a deeper scale."
"But, we're able to help." Rimuru stuck to his guns.
"Rimuru, we are under no obligation to provide asylum or refuge to people seeking it. Like I said, it's unfortunate, but money, as it does on Earth, also has a tremendous amount of influence, and the money is saying no on your particular proposal. Now, that can change once the war is over and settles down."
Finally, there was some room here, at least for Rimuru, and he bounced at the opportunity. "Okay, so how do we help them?"
"First of all, we'll have to pick a side. The country may be split into two, possibly using the mountains in between them as a sort of natural border. It'll be North and South, in my opinion. I say when it does happen, we help the North, since they have a coastline, and that brings a lot of benefits. Oh, and when they announce it, we can help them, but very carefully."
"What do you mean by 'very carefully?'"
"We send them supplies and loans, but no soldiers. No boots on the ground, or direct military involvement. I don't need to tell you the times when a country has lost or faced unintended consequences by getting directly involved instead of just sticking to indirect involvement by sending support. There's more success in indirect involvement instead of a full-scale military operation."
"Okay, but we have a very powerful military; we can easily send in the troops. Maybe we're an exception?"
Artoria had to hold back a laugh at his words, knowing the disadvantages of thinking like that. She didn't need to think much to think of several examples where that backfired. "Rimuru, some of that imperial hubris is hitting you. Also, direct military involvement or power doesn't guarantee stability of any kind. If we sent in the troops to support a side and then got directly involved in nation-building, it would take away any local legitimacy and popular support that the country has. The people there would just see it as a puppet controlled by us, and that will lead to arguably more instability than a civil war would cause in the long run. It would kind of force us to stay there for seemingly forever and then have everything collapse once we leave. Like in the Eastern Empire, Benimaru is helping and guiding, not us acting through him to impose our will and whatnot."
"Wow, uh, you put a lot of thought into this. Way more than I would've. But can't we still help them?"
"Yes, we can. Look, I'm all for projecting the power of the empire and showing military dominance, but I would rather have it be our own wars, and not fighting for some other country. Like I said, we just need to have indirect involvement, and the important part is money. We can send them loans." Arotria scoffed. "It'll be a lot cheaper and stable than sending in the military."
"Money? But won't that only go so far?"
"You want to know a power that has more influence and control than having a powerful military does? It's money, financial power. That's what really runs the world. A powerful military doesn't come close at all."
"Uh, what?"
"We'll send them loans, with interest, as well as many other supplies to help whatever side we're on. It'll be one of those rules of engagement. The enemy knows we're sending them money and supplies, but they'll allow it as long as we don't get directly military involved. Anyway, we can get financially involved, but of course, we have to get our money back. It doesn't have to be payments with gold coins or stellar gold coins, but it can be through other economic benefits. Now, there is the risk that if we get too financially involved, we'll have to stick to it, basically falling into a sunk-cost fallacy, if our side starts to lose. At that point, we'll have committed so much that we need our side to win, because the repercussions are too big if we pull out, leading to us losing international prestige. We'd have to save face basically."
"Yeah, you know what, uh, maybe I'm not cut out for this. You're going into things I never thought of or even crossed my mind in some way."
"You know you have Raphael, right? Just let them do the thinking for you. It's a skill, so use it."
"Yeah, I guess, but I like to put my thinking to the test, and it seems I need to get better. A lot better."
"Well, don't take it all for granted, this all just a theory. But financial power is what we'll leverage in this whole thing, if we get involved."
Rimuru and Artoria were suddenly interrupted when Souei appeared in a black blur. "Lady Pendragon, Lord Rimuru, this is news from the civil war in Ingrassia." Soeui placed a crystal ball on the table, replaying a message that was broadcast. Artoria smirked, pleased that everything was going to plan. It was a declaration that a separatist force was declaring a new country.
"Well, the Republic of Northern Ingrassia isn't that bad of a name. Maybe a bit generic, but it seems fitting. It tells you everything. So, Rimuru, after the conversation we just had, what are your thoughts?"
"Uh, I need time to think."
"Well, we don't have a lot of time. It's going to be a race now. You better believe other nations are going to start picking sides secretly, especially those that border Ingrassia. Those Western States are going to go crazy. We're also going to meet with Luminous, since our nations border on Ingrassia. This will be kind of fun. You ready to formally recognize a country, Rimuru?"