Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste

On the Flying Airship, Perfikot was standing on the deck, gazing into the distance.

The wind, sharp as a blade, whipped across her cheeks, causing a pain that resembled needle pricks.

But Perfikot paid no attention; she merely stood on the deck at the bow, looking out over the sea of clouds ahead.

At this moment, the Flying Airship was navigating above the cloud layer. Below her feet was a sea of clouds that resembled the ocean, appearing serene and peaceful.

However, Perfikot was well aware that beneath the clouds, a storm was raging, and the Flying Airship had ascended to this height to avoid it.

This situation she faced was much like that of the Knight; both the Empire and the Northern Territory still seemed under her control, everything appearing quite stable.

Yet beneath this stability, undercurrents were already surging and stirring.

These undercurrents were not solely the problems caused by those heretical sects, although these were the most troublesome issues Perfikot faced, they were not the primary concern.

The nobles, bourgeoisie, and others dissatisfied with her, whom she had long suppressed, were the primary issues Perfikot needed to confront.

An empire built over centuries could hardly be without factions, and the divisions could not be simply split into nobles and the emerging bourgeoisie.

The Royal Family, Royalist nobles, Royalist bourgeoisie, Conservative Party nobles, Reform Faction nobles, Radical Faction nobles, Conservative emerging bourgeoisie, Reform Faction emerging bourgeoisie, Radical Faction emerging bourgeoisie...

Different factions had different demands, with entirely different interests and relationships.

Wanting to harness them, to get everyone to temporarily set aside prejudices and unite forces in one direction, was enough to make even the most excellent politicians tear their hair out.

Perfikot was certainly not a politician who could dance among three eggs. Her method of getting everyone to temporarily set aside disputes was to suppress all conflicts and opposition with an iron fist, forcibly uniting everyone together.

Because of the enormous external threat of an impending apocalypse, alongside Perfikot representing a political faction, her forceful iron rule did indeed temporarily suppress all discord, allowing the Empire to concentrate most of its strength on dealing with the apocalyptic crisis.

But just like a spring pulled too tightly will snap, the current state of the Empire could not continue this way indefinitely.

High-pressure rule could only be maintained temporarily; they must have a chance and a channel to release the pressure, or it would result in irreparable consequences.

In fact, Perfikot already knew that internally, people were connecting, attempting to oppose her iron-fisted policies.

This was quite understandable; when a leader can no longer satisfy the demands of the interest group they represent, they are immediately abandoned by that group.

During the Second World War, British Prime Minister Churchill led the United Kingdom to resist Germany's invasion and later united the Allies to defeat the Axis powers. By rights, his prestige in the United Kingdom should have been unparalleled.

Contrast him with his peers, Soviet leader Stalin and American leader Roosevelt, both whose positions were extremely secure.

Yet only Churchill, after World War II ended, immediately lost his prime ministerial position.

Even then, Churchill was attending the Potsdam Conference with Soviet and American leaders. The conference was paused for a few days to allow Churchill to return home to hear the results of the prime ministerial election.

Confident, Churchill arranged a small banquet at his London home on the day of the election results, to celebrate his impending electoral victory, confident that he would return to Potsdam as the leader of Britain's new government.

However, the next day, the prime minister who had led Britain to win World War II lost his position.

Upon learning of his defeat, Churchill sat there, dumbstruck.

Unable to understand being toppled at the moment of impending victory, Churchill later quoted the Greek writer Plutarch from the Roman Empire era: "Ingratitude towards their great men is the mark of great nations."

Yet for Perfikot, it was well understood, because Churchill could no longer represent the interests of the British ruling class then.

Or perhaps because Churchill had caused the British ruling class to lose too much during World War II, which led to his loss of the prime minister's position.

And now, Perfikot actually faced a similar situation.

From initially being neither anticipated nor recognized, to grudgingly leading the people to achieve success, just as victory seemed to be within reach, she faced betrayal for various reasons.

Perfikot felt that the situation she faced was exactly the same as that faced by the prime minister who stepped down in dismay.

Unlike Churchill, however, Perfikot clearly understood the issues she faced now.

She had indeed led Victory to gain a chance of survival in this apocalyptic disaster, but Perfikot also clearly knew that her methods would inevitably attract a large number of opponents and dissatisfaction.

Humans are like this; when they need you, you are their savior, their hero, and great person.

But when they no longer need you, every word you've spoken and every action you've taken becomes evidence they use to accuse you.