A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The young man knelt in front of the two of them, his forehead pressed tightly to the ground, and his whole body was trembling.

After accidentally seeing the exposed corner of malachite, he vaguely guessed that this child wearing civilian clothes must be the child of a noble or a wealthy businessman, because only they could own malachite.

He went to the streets today to do odd jobs. Because he barely knew a few numbers, even though he was still young, there were shops that were willing to let him do odd jobs, guarding the shops and counting goods. He has been worried since he got today's wages. The family is almost destitute, and his mother is still seriously ill. The money can barely buy some ointment, but it can't make his mother get better.

Although their family was originally poor, with the little money left by their deceased father and the hard work of their mother, the family was still able to ensure food and clothing. The mother even saved a small amount of savings, and then found a master who knew how to read numbers to teach him. Recognize numbers and some simple and commonly used words.

At most, the common people can only learn the crude and simple writing of the common people, while the beautiful and noble Aaron Landis writing is a writing that only nobles and priests can learn and use.

noble.

The young man thought about it, feeling great fear in his heart and at the same time he couldn't help but grit his teeth in hatred.

If it weren't for those damn--

His mother wouldn't be in the current situation!

Obviously, because of the kindness bestowed by King Camos not long ago, he and his mother were still looking forward to a brand-new, clean and bright new house, and were full of hope for the future.

Not only them, but also the people around them, everyone living in the slums talked about that incident with joy, bursting with gratitude to King Camos for his grace, and happily looking forward to the day they move into a new house.

However, just a few days later, they were sent from heaven to hell.

The facts made them realize that they, the lowly poor, did not deserve a bright future.

His mother was seriously injured because of this incident, the house was also smashed, and all the savings he had had were spent.

When he picked up the money bag, he didn't think much about it, but when he saw the malachite corner, something went wrong. He secretly followed the child for a long time, and heaven and man were fighting in his mind, telling him not to do this, and at the same time... I thought of my mother who was seriously ill and dying in bed.

He thought that if this continued, his mother might not be able to survive much longer. Although he felt ashamed for robbing a child, but...but his father was dead. If his mother was also dead, and he was forced to become a slave to the nobles who killed his mother, then he I'd rather die!

[Malachite is the favorite gemstone of Solga, the god of wisdom. It can drive away evil, drive away diseases, and regain the souls of dying people from the hands of death. 】

With these words echoing in his mind, the boy finally couldn't resist the temptation and snatched away the child's malachite amulet.

As long as he can save his mother, he is willing to pay any price!

The boy kneeling on the ground gritted his teeth and thought.

He had indeed risked his life, even if he used his own life to apologize to this noble child, as long as he could save his mother——

Looking at the young man kneeling in front of him, Garlan did not speak, but walked around the young man and ran to the wooden pile.

On the low wooden pile, the originally beautifully carved malachite token has been smashed into pieces. The emerald green gravel has rolled all over the wooden pile, some are large and some are small. The characters originally engraved on it can no longer be seen. I can't tell that this is a token.

Fataya who followed him let out a sigh.

"You actually have such a gem... You are not a child from a commoner family, are you?"

She asked: "Are you a lower-level noble?"

Because Garlan had a fair complexion like her, Fataya guessed that this child should belong to a lower-level noble family like hers, and it should be a very wealthy family.

She looked at the smashed malachite amulet with regret.

Just by looking at the hollow lines and patterns on the larger stone, you can guess that the complete amulet must be very delicate. The child even said that it was passed down from his ancestors, so it was such a pity that it was smashed like this.

Fataya sighed and turned around. The trousers on her lower body were slightly tight, showing off her toned and slender thighs. With one long step of her legs, she stepped directly to the boy's side and reached out to hold him down.

"Okay, come with me to the City Guards Department."

When the young man heard this, he immediately struggled, but the female knight held him down with one hand and he could not get away.

He begged: "I won't run away, but please, my mother -"

Fataya then remembered that the boy who had just stolen had shouted that he wanted to use malachite powder to save his mother. She turned around and saw that the blond child had walked to the door of the low wooden house at some point.

She dragged the boy over, stood behind the child and looked into the house.

I saw a haggard middle-aged woman lying on the bed. Although the things in the room were shabby, they were very clean. The unconscious woman's body was covered with injuries, her face was gray, her breath was weak, and her lips were so dry that they were cracked, as if she would stop breathing in the next second.

And looking at those wounds, many of them were already inflamed, and some were even serious and had begun to fester and turn pus.

The female knight was startled for a moment, and the boy broke free from her hand, ran to the wooden pile, rushed into the house holding the broken malachite, and then carefully applied the malachite powder in his hand to the pus-producing wounds. While wiping it, he looked nervously at the woman's face.

Garlan looked around at the things in the room and felt it was a bit strange, but he couldn't say what was strange about it. When he took a closer look, he suddenly understood. It turned out that something was very wrong with the tables, chairs and other supplies in this room. Not only were they old, but almost all of them were rotten. It was also obvious that they had been smashed recently and had to be repaired and used again.

It feels like... someone came and smashed it recently.

Garlan was still thinking in his mind when he suddenly heard a bang from outside, and then the sound of a wooden fence being smashed.

The boy who was still kneeling by the low bed applying malachite powder to the woman suddenly trembled when he heard the voice, and his face turned pale. He looked at his mother who was still sleeping, gritted his teeth, stood up and walked out.

"Get out of here! You are not welcome here!"

he yelled at the visitor.

"Little guy, why are you making such a fuss?"

A carefree voice sounded, very frivolous. Garlan followed the sound and saw a tall, thin man who looked very frivolous standing there, followed by more than a dozen strong men.

He looked at the young man with a smile on his face, but his curved eyes were full of malice.

"I'm here to give you money. Do you understand?"

He took out a money bag and weighed it, and the sound of coins clinking was heard. The tall man squinted and listened to the sound of coins, as if he was hearing the most beautiful music in the world.

He smiled and handed the money bag to the young man.

"Here, money. I don't want it even if I have it. Are you stupid?"

"Seeing that this place is about to be renovated, you need money to buy a new house. I will send you money. It's just right for you to buy a new house."

The man narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "That means I have a good heart and am willing to lend you money. Why don't you accept my kindness? Isn't this throwing my good intentions to the ground?"

The young man gritted his teeth and said, "Get out! I would rather die than lend you money!"

The man yelled, a vicious light shooting out of his eyes.

"Just say that your kid is ignorant. Come on, let me 'reason' with your mother. Your mother is in the house, right? Come on -"

As he walked forward, he winked at the dozen or so big men behind him, and those people continued to smash.

The wooden fence surrounding the yard, some working tools in the yard, earthen pots, etc. were all smashed to pieces by them.

"What are you doing? What are you doing! Don't touch my mother!"

The young man's eyes turned red and he rushed forward to stop the tall man, but the man pushed him hard and stumbled backwards, almost falling down.

A hand reached out from behind and held his shoulder, which prevented him from falling to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

A clear female voice sounded, and the female knight who came out of the house appeared in front of everyone.

The man was startled for a moment, and he stopped trying to break into the house rather fearfully.

"Hey, isn't this Master Fataya? What are you doing in such a shabby place?"

"you know me?"

"If so, who wouldn't know about you, a female knight who became the captain of the city gate guard at a young age?"

The man smiled and said, although he was a little scared, he was obviously confident.

"The master asked us to do something today. Who knew we would bump into you here... Oh, by the way, we are from Kabeiqian."

The female knight frowned.

She said, "I'm here to do something and I'll be leaving soon."

"That's it. Then my brothers and I won't disturb you for now."

The man said this, turned around and left.

The city guard chief is here. Although he has support behind him and is not afraid of her, it is not appropriate to cause trouble. After all, it is a serious crime for a commoner to harm a noble. He would come back later, and he was not in a hurry. Anyway, the family was already desperate.

He first went to another house and asked that house to lend money.

Tsk tsk, why are these untouchables so disobedient? They still have to let him bring people to the door to fight and kill. How ugly. If you are honest and obedient, just borrow this money. You have to let him come again and again. Run on the ground——

The man complained in his heart and led the people away.

Garlan, who was watching the show on the side, was a little confused. Those vicious people over there insisted on giving the money to the young man, but the young man refused life or death.

It feels like one of them wants to borrow money by force, while the other refuses to do so.

What the hell is going on?

"They...are they going to lend you money?"

Garlan asked.

The young man stared blankly at the backs of the group of people leaving, but when Garlan asked this question, he suddenly became excited again.

"I won't borrow it! Even if I am beaten to death here! I will never borrow a penny from those villains!"

He said through gritted teeth.

After saying this fiercely, he slumped to the ground, holding his head in his hands, looking dazed and helpless.

"I'm sorry...I'm really sorry..."

He murmured an apology, his eyes turning red.

"I will go with you, I will go to jail, as long as my mother is fine, she is fine..."

Fataya frowned as he watched the group of thugs leave, and then asked: "Kabe Money Bank, the actual controller behind it is the Chief Secretary."

The chief minister is a powerful person in the royal court, second only to the left and right ministers. At the same time, his family is the in-laws of the previous king, and is very prominent in the royal city.

Even lower-level nobles like her didn't dare to mess with her. How could a pariah from the slums mess with that money shop?

"How did you end up with Cabetian?"

The boy, who was sitting slumped on the ground with his head in his hands, paused for a long time, and then started to speak in a choked tone.

…………

"Is Garlan not up yet?"

Heimos asked. This was the second time he came to Garlan in the afternoon.

The maid knelt on the ground and lowered her head and replied: "Yes, Your Highness, Prince Garlan has been sleeping the whole time."

Because Garlan had told them not to wake him up, they just stayed in the courtyard and did not dare to go into the house.

I slept so long, was it because I was too tired from the morning’s archery session?

Heimos thought so and looked across the room again.

The room was quiet, and through the cracked window, one could vaguely see the bulging blanket on the bed. The child seemed to like to wrap himself up in a blanket and lie on the bed, like a ball.

He shook his head and turned around to leave and come back during dinner. Suddenly, a golden figure rushed past his feet like an arrow.

When he turned around, he saw that the little lion had thrown himself on the door and scratched the door with his claws.

Nerga comes here almost every now and then, and the originally delicate carved wooden door is scratched with claw marks.

Heimos walked over quickly, trying to carry away this little guy who was disturbing Garlan's rest. Unexpectedly, before he walked over, the little lion heard his footsteps, turned around, and roared fiercely at him, then turned around, ran and jumped, and actually jumped directly onto the partially closed window next to him. Got in from there.

This guy--

Heimos couldn't reach out and pinch it, so he could only watch it jump up the window, rush into the room, and then excitedly pounce on the ball on the bed.

Ouch!

Just as the little lion howled with excitement, the whole lion suddenly fell down.

The bulging ball on the bed was pressed down by its small body, and the blanket spread out, revealing a large ball of down.

Nerga's entire lion suddenly pounced into the large group of feathers, and the feathers that were smashed by it flew into the sky and scattered throughout the room.

The fluffy little lion sat with its head covered among the feathers, looking confused. Then it was stimulated by the thin down and sneezed.

Heimos, who jumped into the room from the window right after Little Nerga, looked at the empty bed and the feathers all over the room, but there was no figure of Gallan, and his eyes suddenly froze.

…………

………………

In addition to the royal family and nobles, the people of Aaron Landis were divided into three classes.

Commoner, untouchable, slave.

Commoners have a certain amount of permanent property and usually have a small amount of savings. They can do business, learn civilian writing, and even become grassroots officials, and are protected by the law.

Untouchables are usually from poor families and cannot afford daily food and clothing. They do the most painful, tiring and dirty jobs in the city, but receive the lowest wages, and are looked down upon by others everywhere.

Usually untouchables gather in the dirtiest and messiest shadowed corners of the city. The places where they gather are called slums. They live an extremely hard life, extremely humble, hard and numb.

But this time, King Camos gave the untouchables in the royal city a hope.

King Camos issued a decree to transform the slums in the royal city, transforming this dirty place into a clean and tidy place, and building houses, roads and shops on the same scale.

With this order, there was an instant explosion in the royal city.

You know, the housing prices in Wangcheng are extremely expensive, and every inch of land is precious. However, the slums were too dirty, so no one ever thought of that place.

But now that Wang ordered it, everyone knows that after the renovation of that place, the land price and house price will definitely increase exponentially, maybe dozens of times. As a result, countless greedy noble officials were ready to take advantage of the situation and take possession of the land there.

However, King Camos was very aware of the greed of some officials and nobles. Therefore, in order to prevent them from secretly using lease and other means to take those lands as their own, he issued an order that the renovated houses and shops could only be sold, and money must be used. Buy it or use it.

At the same time, in order to protect the interests of the original untouchables, he also issued an order that untouchables living in slums can buy a small house at a very low price, provided that they must be untouchables who originally lived here.

The price is really very low. Even untouchables, most people can afford it. If they really can't afford it, they can borrow a sum of money from the state, buy a house, and then pay it back slowly.

only……

There are policies and measures to counter.

The aristocratic officials, as greedy as silverfish, are always good at finding loopholes in the law.

You won't let us buy it at a low price, right?

Okay, just let those untouchables pay for the house first.

By the way, doesn’t it cost a sum of money to buy a house?

Come on, come on, I'll introduce you to a money bank, and you can go borrow it.

As for the mortgage, don't worry, just use your future house as a mortgage.

What? Do you want to borrow a loan from the state?

No, you can only go to those money banks to borrow money.

What? Do you have enough money? Don’t want to borrow?

It’s impossible not to borrow it!

If you don't lend me money, I won't let you buy this house, and I'll keep you busy.

What, you still don’t want to borrow it?

So, people come to your door every day to cause trouble, smash things up, and hurt people until you are willing to borrow money.

In short, right and wrong will force you to lend me this money.

Of course, the interest on this loan is horribly high, and the interest rate is compounded. Even ordinary people who borrow this kind of money may not be able to pay it back, let alone the poor untouchables.

…………

With the support of certain forces behind the scenes, the officials who handle these matters work together to deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates.

As a result, these secret operations made the aristocratic officials behind the scenes full of food. The renovation of the slums had not even begun, and a large number of land and houses had almost fallen into their hands. They hold countless loan notes in their hands. When the time comes, as soon as the untouchables get the house, they will go to collect the debt with these notes.

Naturally, the untouchables can't pay back such a high interest rate. Of course, they can only pay the mortgaged house to them.

After all, repaying debts is a matter of course.

The house is still not enough. What should I do? I can only sell myself to pay off the debt.

It is conceivable that by that time, the vast majority of the untouchables in this slum will not only lose their houses and most of their life savings, but they will also become slaves of those noble officials.

It was originally a project that benefited the country and the people, but it became a feast for those greedy noble officials who feasted on human flesh and blood.

The author has something to say: When I read the comments on the previous chapter...

…………

I:"???"

Confused.

Wait, friends, you’ve got the whole point wrong.