Sack of Highdrilian: Difference between revisions
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Initially, Aikkian workers were raised on a voluntary basis. This yielded comparatively low numbers as most of the railway workers had been farmers seeking employment outside of the harvest season, and were as such disinclined to travel to Cryria for assignments that might last multiple consecutive years. However, the Concern's recruitment drive dovetailed with an unrelated legislation pressed onto the Aikkian court by lobbyists in Leidenstad, which lifted trade restrictions on Cryrian agricultural products. Cheap foodstuffs soon began flooding into Aikkian markets and undermined local farmers, who had already been impacted by a series of poor harvests.
The Concern saw an opportunity to impress the Cryrian government, expand its landholdings in the Aikkian interior, and increase the Aikkian government's dependance on Cryrian industrialists. In 1870, the Norsian Concern heavily subsidized Cryrian agricultural imports into Aikthudr'zhur. Smaller local farmers,
The removal of so many Aikkians under exploitative contracts and the economic damage dealt to rural areas caused severe social and economic dislocation within the Aikkian interior, particularly as food prices began to rise again and Cryrian merchants dictated their terms with minimal local competition. This transfer of wealth, power, and people impacted every level of Aikkian society and was simply referred to as "The Theft."
=== Interior Campaign ===
1885 marked the retirement year of longtime Governor-General Krister Kraskne. During his twenty-year reign, Krister had transformed the Norsian Concern and extended its power from a handful of coastal enclaves throughout the entirety of Aikthudr'zhur. The nation's transportation network was entirely owned by the Concern, and the lands of small, independent farmers had been taken over and reorganized into larger plantations which produced the black tea that had become highly popular in Cryria at the time. The Highdrilian - Ctarost Railway, meanwhile, brought the entire country under Cryrian influence and turned it into a regional bastion for Leidenstad while offering a land route to the Varentine League. The Railway's construction came with the establishment of a series of fortresses to guard critical mountain chokepoints, which drew the ire of local Ny'Sænuri clans.
With the Aikkian court and aristocracy now firmly in hand, the curtailment of these clans became the Concern's new priority. To that end, Kraskne was replaced by Melker Öberg, a former Naval Infantry officer who had overseen the Cryrian response during the 1871 Lielsta Rising. His success in crushing Elven unrest in the Cryrian Highlands made him an attractive candidate for the Concern, as did his close friendship with King Albert of Cryria. Öberg's appointment also marked a shift in the position of the Governor-General, which had historically acted as an appointed civilian administrator separate from the Cryrian military presence. Öberg commanded a great deal of personal respect within the Cryrian Navy, and he treated his appointment as something closer to a military command at the head of an occupying force. Öberg was far less inclined to respect the nominal independence of the Aikkian authorities, a fact which would later lead to considerable friction.
[[Category:Cryria's Pages]]
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