I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

Muller Port was land ceded by the United Kingdom of Cabansia under pressure from the Seris Federation, and it was defined as one of the Federation’s overseas military bases.

In reality, even if the Federation had forcibly occupied it, the United Kingdom of Cabansia would not have dared to say anything. The kingdoms of the Main Continent, separated by two to three thousand kilometers of sea, dared to bare their teeth at the Federation only because the Federation still had certain reservations toward the Main Continent.

But Cabansia truly did not dare to act recklessly before the Federation. The two sides were separated only by an undefended border line—if the weather turned cold, the kingdom could fall overnight.

However, that did not prevent them from harboring some small schemes in private and trying to wrestle with the Federation. Mitia was well aware of this.

Under the Subcontinent Community policy back then, Cabansia could already have been forcibly annexed outright. In the end, Mitia only chose to carve away several states that had been most deeply integrated.

Why did she not simply swallow the remaining territory of Cabansia in one bite? Because a half-dead Cabansia was far more valuable than a completely dead one.

The plan of the Spring of Cabansia had technically ended after most of the kingdom was split apart.

But in reality, it had never stopped. It had merely transitioned from a plan of division into a long-term, sustained strategy.

Ethnic integration was a long process. Differences in faith, culture, language, values, and even physical appearance would all prolong the time needed for mutual recognition.

Especially when internal conditions were relatively good—once ordinary people had enough to eat, they naturally had more leisure to dwell on distinctions, dividing “you,” “me,” and “them.”

Within the Federation, control over propaganda channels was extremely strict. Numerous short stories, operas, music, and cultural performances were all heavily used to strengthen the sense of identity with the Federation.

But that alone was not enough. They still needed contrast to continuously reinforce confidence in their cultural system. There was no better candidate for this role than the Cabansia Kingdom right beside the Federation.

For this purpose, Mitia and the intelligence departments divided the entire territory of Cabansia into three regions.

One was the Red Zone that had already been annexed by the Federation. The middle was the White Zone, which required contact but not annexation. And the rear areas of Cabansia, where influence was difficult to reach, were designated as the Black Zone.

During the earlier annexation, Mitia had deliberately left a hidden mechanism.

Although the Federation had unified and taken over all assets—including populations—of the states that declared accession, during the process of identity and household registration, the Federation merely recommended that people change their ethnicity to “Federation Ethnicity,” no longer distinguishing between humans, beastfolk, dwarves, and so on. This made it easier to obtain a First-class Citizen Card. However, this was only a recommendation, not a mandate.

Only after the household registration system had largely been implemented did the Central Federation Government publish the detailed welfare standards for First-class, Second-class, and Third-class cards.

The First-class Card was initially defined such that all citizens from the original Seris Federation states automatically met the requirements. As long as they changed their ethnicity to Federation Ethnicity and applied, they would be approved and could enjoy all Federation welfare policies.

The Second-class Card was introduced after the great unification. To upgrade from Second-class to First-class, one needed to work for five years and pass an identity recognition assessment, or reach the racial elderly stage within five years after joining the Federation.

Second-class Card holders had no political rights. Their access to welfare benefits was also lower in priority and limited to only 50%.

The Third-class Card was a temporary card, generally used as a targeted work permit for foreign workers. It remained valid only for as long as the company employed them. They did not enjoy Federation policies but were guaranteed basic human rights.

The identity card system was fluid—it could be upgraded or downgraded. The first two types were not the main focus; the Third-class temporary card was.

Third-class targeted work mostly referred to heavy labor and high-risk jobs such as road construction, mining, and land reclamation.

After ten years of work, one could be promoted to Second-class. If commendations were received during the period, the requirement could be shortened—at minimum, five years to upgrade—and one could bring along a family member.

This three-tier classification effectively separated people into three groups.

Between First-class and Second-class, there was essentially no fundamental difference. It was merely a buffer period that Mitia had reserved for the Federation at the time. After all, expansion had been too rapid, and it was extremely difficult to fully implement welfare policies immediately, so distinctions between closeness and distance naturally arose.

At present, there were no longer any “old” Second-class citizens within the Federation. Existing Second-class citizens were mostly those who had recently been promoted from Third-class and had only joined the Federation in recent years.

The Third-class category, in essence, served as a channel for immigrants outside the Federation to integrate into it. Its attractiveness might not have been very high in general, but for the original residents of Cabansia, it was an enormous temptation.

In the Red Zone, the Federation heavily supported infrastructure construction, land development, and the establishment of factories.

In the White and Black Zones, the Federation adopted a relief model—more precisely, targeted relief.

What was “targeted relief”? Take Ongita, which produced 40% of Cabansia’s grain supply, as an example.

Ongita’s current governing leadership had been supported by Seris and followed a National Socialist system. In other words, the land in Ongita State completely belonged to the state government.

Federation state-owned enterprises cooperated with the state government to purchase Ongita’s grain production and then distributed most of it for free to other regions of Cabansia.

With such massive food aid, would the people in other states no longer suffer from famine?

No! On the contrary, famine became even more severe—and it turned into an endless structural famine.

Industrial goods were also distributed as targeted aid. When Cabansia developed light industry, the Federation would collect unwanted old clothes from its citizens at extremely low cost and donate them to Cabansia. Money did not matter—just cover the shipping cost.

However, cotton and salt were products that the Seris Federation purchased at high prices. While grain was free, essential goods like salt were extremely expensive.

This created a very strange phenomenon: whatever Cabansia produced industrially became worthless, and the profit from growing grain was far lower than that from growing cotton.

The White Zone, being a transit hub for Federation supplies, naturally enjoyed certain advantages—they received the first batches of both food and materials.

Aid such as oil and salt was also distributed, but it was deliberately maintained at only the minimum amount required for survival for part of the population in the White Zone.

Manor Lords had always voted with their feet. Controlling the land, they naturally grew whatever was most profitable.

Ordinary farmers, due to the low returns on grain and the high cost of by-products, found that land producing only one or two harvests per year could not cover the costs of by-products and taxes. They were thus forced to switch to cotton cultivation.

Grain output plummeted from a previous overall level of 60% to less than 10%. Even with the additional 40% from aid, it only reached about half of the original supply level. This kind of structural damage was almost irreversible.

The free grain distributed by the Federation completely crushed Cabansia’s grain market. Whether commoners or Manor Lords who owned land, none could sell grain at a good price.

You would never know when the Federation’s grain aid would arrive. Just as you enjoyed the joy of a harvest, the Federation would also have a harvest—and its grain would arrive.

The Federation would symbolically charge one copper coin. Naturally, all grain on the market that day would only be worth one copper coin. Prices could hardly rise afterward—buying at a high price today might be followed by free distribution tomorrow. Expectations for the future became extremely pessimistic.

Over time, people naturally developed a sense of inertia. After all, they would not starve—there was relief grain. Clothes could be bought for one copper coin apiece. But if they wanted to eat well, they had to buy expensive grain from Manor Lords.

If they had land, they would grow cotton, relying on cash crops to offset living costs. If they had no land but had ambition, the Federation’s border was always open—they could choose to work in the Federation and gamble on a future.

As for working in Cabansia? What work was there?

Through this, the Seris Federation could siphon away the younger, more driven population of Cabansia into its territory for various high-intensity jobs.

These people treasured these hard-earned opportunities more than anyone—stable food supplies, wages, and a tangible future.

At the same time, the hardships they had experienced in Cabansia would spread through their own words. As firsthand witnesses, their accounts were far more convincing.

Meanwhile, from beginning to end, the Federation was providing all kinds of aid for free, naturally occupying the moral high ground. It not only shaped a positive international image but also gilded itself with a layer of legitimacy.

The plan was despicable—but extremely effective.