I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

 【Someone always tried to return to the past, believing that by doing so they could transform themselves from a hero into a new evil dragon.】

【But they seemed to have never considered this: the one who decided whether they became an evil dragon or not was not them, but me.】

【Even if they truly became evil dragons, at best they would only count as garnish beside the main dish. So who gave them that illusion?】

【Sorry, it seemed it was also me…】

Mitia looked at the reports, which included many cases of officials who had long been recognized by the public as corrupt and were directly beaten to death in their homes by enraged citizens when the winds changed, and gave the above evaluation.

She had, in fact, always been doing her utmost to avoid the tragedy of “discarding the bow after the birds were gone.” She tried her best to ensure that meritorious contributors and fallen martyrs all received relatively appropriate treatment.

State-owned enterprises turned into luxury goods that guaranteed profits regardless of drought or flood, extra points in national examinations, rent and tax exemptions, as well as medical, educational, and livelihood保障.

In every aspect, she believed she had already fulfilled that famous line from Cao Boss’s Romance: 【I shall take care of your wife and children; you need not worry.】

But some people were corrupted by desires of an entirely different nature.

Did Golitsyn lack money? He would not need to worry about money even in his next next lifetime.

Did he lack power? The position of Speaker had already reached the ceiling—one step higher would only be Mitia stepping down and him stepping up.

After retiring, he would only be a little over fifty. Going into education and serving as a university president or the like would pose no problem at all.

Lacking neither money nor power, and even able to retire safely and enjoy his later years, having followed three generations of rulers of the Astal Family—so long as the Astal Family was not exterminated, there would always be a bowl of food for his family.

After his death, the clan genealogy would have to start recording from him onward. So why was he corrupted? For those two adopted sons to branch out and multiply? For them to monopolize an entire state, so that his name would be worshipped generation after generation by the adopted sons’ family?

This reason was extremely abstract, yet it was the confession Golitsyn gave. He said that in this lifetime he had obtained everything except that bit of familial posterity. While he still held power, he wanted to give the other party the greatest convenience possible—however much they could grow, so be it.

And that silver medal was the confidence he had hidden away at the bottom of his chest. If he failed, he would use it as a death-exemption token. The Empress would absolutely not kill him.

Mitia indeed would not kill him. She acknowledged that medal as a death-exemption token as well. But what he had not anticipated was that in the end he would not be able to get past the hurdle in his own heart, nor had he considered that while he possessed a death-exemption token, others also possessed one. There would always be someone who could deal with him.

And he indeed had no familial destiny.

Because of him, a future pillar of the Alliance had been driven to death.

When Thatcher’s secretary submitted the evidence he had left behind, the joint investigation team successfully cleared his name.

Thatcher’s wife, her belly swollen with pregnancy, holding her son’s hand, together with the families of the other victims, under the protection of the Special Affairs Office and the military, held the portraits of their husband and family members and walked a full circuit through the city. The entire New State instantly turned into a powder keg.

Under the cold-eyed observation of the military police and the central personnel dispatched from above, the great net they had painstakingly woven was torn to shreds by enraged citizens.

Do not underestimate the relationship networks of ordinary people. In daily casual remarks, many people would unconsciously let their tails slip out.

Of the ten clans of his two adopted sons, nine and a half were wiped out. Nine clans were completely annihilated; the tenth had most of its members dead. Their reputation in the local area stank for a thousand miles on the wind, and no one even knew who had dug up their ancestral graves.

At the same time, there were also signs of the situation spreading into other fields. Seeing that the momentum was becoming somewhat wrong, Mitia immediately ordered the local military and police in areas where matters were slipping out of control to impose strict suppression.

Mitia almost held daily live broadcasts facing the entire Alliance to cool emotions, asking citizens to give the Alliance some time.

At the same time, she transparently explained the current situation and the concrete implementation standards of the previously delegated policies.

Leaving everything else aside, when Mitia learned that the supplies she had paid for and distributed for free were being twisted into something that charged money, even she herself was furious. Such despicable people truly crawled right onto one’s feet like a toad.

She had no intention of shielding anyone, nor did she have any reason to do so.

However, a large number of cases in a short time overwhelmed the analytical capacity of local authorities. The central special personnel responsible for review were also prone to fatigue, leading to misjudgments and wrongful judgments. This was clearly not worth the loss.

Expanding the review teams would instead give room for sand infiltration into the law enforcement units whose loyalty was currently guaranteed. It was better to review cases slowly, bit by bit, prioritizing major cases over minor ones, and strive to resolve the problems gradually.

At the same time, a large number of corrupted officials had assets that were simply not within Alliance territory. Even their wives were only found to deal with the Alliance—their real families were overseas.

Toward this, Mitia did not indulge them either. For cases involving large sums or where the person had successfully fled, Mitia coordinated one by one with those countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She did not demand one hundred percent recovery of the stolen funds. She only wanted half returned along with the relatives; the remaining half would be given to that country as a “hardship fee.”

The vast majority of countries accepted such conditions. The Seris Alliance had already traced matters back to the source—if they continued to feign ignorance, it would be inappropriate.

Although there were no extradition treaties between them, they still had to do business with the Alliance to some extent. They feared that if they pocketed this money, the Alliance would make them spit it back out in other ways.

By comparison, taking half was already pure profit. Handing over worthless relatives could also count as a favor done along the way.

There were also countries that flatly refused to return them, because what they obtained were not useless relatives, but state-level high-ranking officials from within Seris, who more or less held some internal Alliance secrets.

Technical materials were things they neither knew nor could remember. The Alliance also deliberately kept technology confidential, preventing too many irrelevant people from knowing it, let alone mastering it.

But from these people, they could still obtain information in other aspects—for example, how the system operated, roughly what level of equipment the military and police were equipped with, how large the population of subordinate states was, and what level of output they had.

That other countries would refuse to return this batch of people did not surprise Mitia. She directly activated the second plan. If the people could not be brought back, then bringing back some parts they carried on their bodies would also suffice.

If even parts could not be taken, colleagues from the chemical department would provide them with technical assistance, letting them experience the deadly beauty unique to chemistry.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Trade directly imposed punitive import tariffs on all goods exported by those countries to Seris, except raw materials.

They would see whether Seris, as a trade-surplus country, suffered more, or whether these long-term trade-deficit dumping destinations suffered more.

The outflow of citizens’ property was indeed hateful, but allowing the other side to roam free was something all citizens could not tolerate. By comparison, the loss of money did not seem so important.

Local governments had to use their own fiscal surpluses to fill this gap. Welfare within the public service system was reduced proportionally according to the amount—an indirect collective punishment system.

Do not think that because the money was not taken from you, it had nothing to do with you. Do not play games of human sentiment and worldly favors with me.

Mitia wanted to make it absolutely clear to this group of iron rice bowl holders: when I hunt down the main culprit, I hunt down you as well. What I take is your money!