With the establishment of the Commercial and Industrial Union, the presence of the two united associations in the Northern Territory has effectively covered the middle and lower classes of society. As for the upper-class capitalists and nobles, they inevitably have some thoughts on the matter.

Besides them, some other groups that believe they don't belong to these classes or groups are also seeking to establish their own organizations.

The most representative among them are the Alchemists, Knights, and military personnel. They undoubtedly do not belong to the parts covered by the two existing associations.

The Alchemists and Knights are easier to address. The Alchemist Association and the Knight Association are large organizations that have existed for at least a century. Although they do not have branches in the Northern Territory, their influence as professional associations is well-established.

Although the branches in the Northern Territory have not been set up, and Perfikot may not welcome the people from the Knight Association to the Northern Territory, this does not mean Perfikot can set up another two organizations to rival the Alchemist Association and the Knight Association.

This is not a matter of power and strength but rather about the legitimacy and influence of these organizations, which have been deeply ingrained in people's hearts for many decades.

Although many people often do not care about reputation and so-called righteousness, in critical moments, a righteous cause and legitimate title can still be very useful.

Therefore, Perfikot just sent two letters to Langton explaining the relevant situation and letting the Imperial Center decide what to do.

As for everything else, she doesn't need to express herself explicitly. She believes Langton will understand her intentions.

In this regard, Perfikot is confident in Langton and those nobles. They are all political animals. If they can't even see through this routine, then there's no need for the Empire to keep them around wasting resources.

However, Perfikot is somewhat hesitant concerning the military personnel.

Although the military system of the Empire, after reform, improved the status and treatment of the grassroots soldiers, turning what were originally tenant farm followers into professional soldiers, the Empire's consistent dehumanization approach makes the treatment issue of the Empire's grassroots soldiers a topic no one wishes to touch.

Empire officers even receive alcohol allowances, but grassroots soldiers may even face delays in getting their monthly pay and food allowances. The difference between humans and dogs is larger than the difference between Empire officers and grassroots soldiers.

This problem is particularly severe in the Navy.

It is known that space on warships is limited, and the number of personnel must be maximized to meet combat needs. So, typically, the "hot bunking" system is employed on warships, which means three people share a bed—one working, one resting, and the other sleeping.

Precisely because of this, there was a well-known joke in the original world: "A hundred sailors were stuffed into the narrow space below the deck. Someone was amazed at how a hundred people could fit in such a cramped area," to which the Navy officer responded, "They are sailors," making it a complete satire.

With this reality, one could imagine the treatment problem for retired veterans in the Empire.

Apart from receiving a sum of money when leaving the army, the Empire does not provide any additional benefits to retired veterans.

If they have achieved military merits on the battlefield and received medals, et cetera, it is acceptable, as some Empire medals come with corresponding benefits.

But the vast majority of grassroots veterans do not have these, especially those not retired normally but forced to leave the army due to injury and disability, which is even more the case.

They might have a war wound medal or one or two military medals without matching benefits. The retirement subsidy they receive might be slightly better, but beyond that, there's nothing more.

The Empire does not arrange post-retirement jobs for them nor cares about their subsequent life. If they have a good superior, perhaps they have hope because many Empire officers have a tradition of supporting subordinates, and some nobles let their retired veterans live on their estates.

But this is only a portion of it. The resettlement issue of the Empire's retired veterans has always been a persistent and challenging problem for the Military Department.

Empire's military expenses are barely enough to cover the active troops, requiring the Army and Navy to rely on plundering to meet their needs. Adding a large resettlement cost for veterans would indeed overwhelm the Empire's military budget.

So, although the old generals in the Military Department have made multiple attempts to bring this matter up at the royal meetings and Noble Council, the results have never been satisfactory.

After all, the Empire's budget is as it is laid out. If the Military Department takes more, others will get less. In such conflicts of interest, those old generals can't offend other forces for a bunch of veterans. If they can win benefits, naturally they will, but if not, there's nothing they can do.

As for the Northern Territory, Perfikot has the final say in everything. She could indeed raise the treatment of retired veterans.

Although the Northern Territory's finances currently still depend on financial allocations from the Imperial Center, with the establishment of Chernobyl and Beloburg, and the commencement of tax collection from the two cities, the finances of the Northern Territory have started to function, with some funds available overall.

The awkward problem is that most of the military personnel in the Northern Territory are active-duty soldiers, and retired veterans or those who retired due to injury are rare.

After all, until now, the establishment of the Northern Territory has not exceeded two years, and the 17th Guards Division arrived later. There are almost no retired veterans.

Because of the wars initiated by Perfikot, which were either directly crushed by the Steam Knights, there are even fewer wounded and retired soldiers, which means this problem in the Northern Territory is not serious.

The few retired veterans are those who retired in the Empire's mainland and then came to the Northern Territory with the development team, essentially making them ordinary immigrants rather than retired Northern Territory military personnel.

The military personnel in the Northern Territory is mostly active soldiers of the 17th Guards Division.

They don't necessarily need improved post-retirement treatment, or rather, that's not what they urgently need, but as a group, they do hope to improve their treatment.

The 17th Guards Division holds a guards title and was one of the Empire's main corps in Langton. Since coming to the Northern Territory, although Perfikot has not reduced their treatment, they feel that transitioning from an Empire main corps to noble private soldiers, with no significant battles to their name and only being tasked with repairing forts, has made members of the 17th Guards Division somewhat discontent.

However, for Perfikot, the greatest significance of the 17th Guards Division is that this was her grandfather's unit. Other than that, they are not much different from other Empire troops, so she did not prioritize addressing the 17th Guards Division's situation.

Now with the changing situation, she considers placing the matter of the 17th Guards Division on the agenda.

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