Age of Heroes, ten consecutive guarantees

When talking about the foundation created by the ancestors of the Bai family in Rome, we have to mention the changes in history.

Although personal destiny is always closely related to the individual, it is also inseparable from the torrent of the times.

The ancestor of the Lao Bai family traveled across the ocean alone. After going through ninety-nine and eighty-one hardships, he became the son-in-law of a nobleman and established himself in Rome.

But in the end, the Bai family are still businessmen.

When it comes to businessmen, in fact, until the bourgeoisie became stronger and entered the stage of history, they had no social status.

Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants were at the bottom of the list. This was the case in Daxia. In Rome in the past, the status of merchants was not much higher.

Rome was founded for 800 years.

The thicker the history, the more it means the existence of many behemoths.

From Cordelia's narration, we can see that Rome today is a constitutional monarchy that has transitioned from a feudal empire. Its composition is very complex and it is divided into many factions.

Imperial power and religious power were unified, so the royal family still had a strong power, followed by the nobility... below the nobility were the citizens, who had the right to vote.

The nobility and royal family correspond to the Senate; the citizens correspond to the National Assembly.

This is a very standard bicameral system.

The difference is that in Rome, where imperial power and religious power were unified, the power of the emperor was still supreme. Everyone was trying to get the position they wanted, but it was just the position of prime minister under the emperor. The real first ruler was always the Roman emperor himself. .

The origin of the bicameral system originally came from the Estates-General.

However, with the progress of society, the ordinary bicameral system cannot actually meet the overall social needs.

The Roman Senate was a group of nobles with hereditary power; citizens had the right to vote, but under these citizens, there were ordinary civilians.

In the past few hundred years, although ordinary civilians were numerous in number, they did not possess many overall social resources. Citizens, nobles and other classes had a larger number of extraordinary people. The limit was to be able to protect their own class interests through legislation.

But later, as magic energy was developed and the cake became bigger, even the civilian class was able to obtain enough benefits. This gave birth to another group among the civilians... businessmen or capital.

This has been the case in many countries since ancient times. Although wealthy businessmen have acquired huge wealth, their social status has always been low. Even if they are rich, they always have to look at the faces of the nobles and citizens.

This makes the business class very cautious and treading on thin ice. The so-called accumulation of family property is not practical no matter how much they accumulate. They always need to judge the situation and take sides.

For example, in Frederica's family five hundred years ago, her father was a well-known businessman who once monopolized 80% of the carriage manufacturing market in and around Rome. Even so, he had to accept the situation. Living on the lap of a congressman, donating various political donations to the other party, helping the other party's elections, becoming a member of the National Assembly, almost all the family wealth, and finally spent ten years of hard work before getting a citizenship that the other party reciprocated.

This is what a successful investment looks like in the eyes of a businessman. It took him almost all his wealth to move up a level.

This was Rome five hundred years ago. For businessmen at that time, it would take them ten years to make a successful investment or accurately identify people, which shows how difficult it was.

Five hundred years later, with the launch of the world network and the development of magical energy, Rome began the Industrial Revolution. During the Industrial Revolution, the rate of land annexation would be several times that of agricultural society, and various absurd bills would follow. In the past, the upper class would do anything to drive farmers off the land and send them to factories to be used as human meat batteries. Correspondingly, the wealth accumulation rate of merchants also surged, exploded, and skyrocketed.

In just one generation, one can earn the wealth of more than ten generations in the past. In the midst of the times, too many people have benefited from this wave of dividends.

The economic base determines the superstructure. These businessmen will gradually realize that they hold the lifeblood of the entire society and huge social resources, and naturally they will no longer be satisfied with their current social status.

This has seriously affected social stability, so for the Roman emperor, institutional reform was imperative.

A bourgeoisie represented by merchants was added to the original four-level system of emperor, nobles, citizens, and civilians;

The emperor must carve out a sufficient share of the pie to allow these businessmen the opportunity to be promoted and share each other's qualifications to enter the power field.

It is obviously unrealistic to set up a separate parliament... The bicameral system facilitates the emperor to mediate and balance, just like the emperor in the East will micro-manage to balance the civil servant group and the eunuch party. If the number reaches three parliaments, the emperor will not get actual benefits, and The efficiency of the tricameral system is too low, and the problem of redundant officials will also drag down the national finances.

As for increasing the number of citizens and the number of seats in the National Assembly, all citizens will definitely not be happy.

The increase in number means weakening their privileges. If you look at the strike of doctors next door, you will understand that history keeps repeating itself. After anyone gets on the bus, they will not think about opening the door, but welding the door shut.

For the Roman emperor, how to reasonably increase the social status of merchants, allow them to participate in politics and complete the improvement of social class was a major historical issue.

From the emperor's point of view, he could not allow businessmen to form a separate parliament, nor could he allow asset power to completely flow into the National Assembly or the Senate, lest this overwhelming force be directed to either party, which would completely destroy the relationship between the two houses. balance between.

His solution was to turn the merchant group into a cake, and then cut it in half so that half of it would fall to the nobility and the other half to the citizens. Although this would inevitably greatly increase the power of the two houses, what else could be done? What to do, just make do with it?

Neither the cabinet system nor the presidential system can make a final decision like the Roman emperor. Having an additional emperor to divide the cake directly can sometimes effectively prevent the two houses from falling into meaningless internal friction, or the separation of powers. The administrative efficiency is low... After all, both the prime minister and the president are one of the products of the system; and the Roman emperor was the founder of the system and was outside the system.

As for whether anyone will be dissatisfied with this?

There must be, but no one will tell.

After all, the royal family and the church do have canonizations.

Truth only exists above nuclear bombs.

Saints are the messengers of nuclear peace in this world. According to historical data, as long as there are one or more saints on both sides at the same time, the possibility of maintaining peace between the two parties will greatly increase to more than 60%. If there is mediation by a third party, this probability will increase. increased to more than 70%.

The Roman royal family was undoubtedly smart, acting as an arbiter without having to personally end the dispute.

But this does not mean that all conflicts have been bridged. In the final analysis, they have only been covered up.

One group of merchants was allowed to enter the Senate with the title of nobility; another group was granted citizenship and entered the National Assembly...

But none are eternal.

Noble titles need to pass the test of time and will be withdrawn if they are not in compliance;

The same is true for citizenship.

Many businessmen have to work hard just to maintain their current status. All kinds of competition are indispensable, and their foundation is constantly being eroded in competition, exclusion, and confrontation.

Not to mention the more senior status of a member of both houses of Congress.

Therefore, during the hundreds of years of running-in time, the foundation of merchants was relatively weak. Compared with the nobles and the large number of citizens who had been operating for a long time, they did not have an advantage in all aspects... In this day of advancement and retreat, Some businessmen chose to withdraw, while other businessmen realized the influence of the emerging class during this back and forth process, and directly realized that as the third force, they did not need to rush to their end.

Business is business, politics is politics, they are two different things.

In other words, these businessmen have learned their lesson.

The way these people think is: I don’t need to join the two houses of government at all, I just need to choose suitable and satisfactory cooperation partners.

He learned to play both sides, learned to mediate between the nobility and citizens, and learned to jump back and forth between the two houses to seek a plan that maximized interests.

The results may not even have occurred to the Roman emperor.

A huge family-based business group emerged.

After one hundred and fifty years of development, in today's era, Rome has almost all the power and influence. In the commercial society, social resources themselves are held hostage by these giants.

Although citizens and nobles still exist, it is no longer the era where merchants can be manipulated at will for hundreds of years.

This situation is completely different from that of Daxia. Daxia allows regional leading companies to emerge to drive the local economy, but does not allow monopolies and giant companies. If they appear, some beatings must be made; but Rome's own system has taken shape, and the bicameral system pulls each other's back. Underwear, this gave the giant business family an opportunity to rise.

There may be a chance to cut them off before they develop, but once they develop, cutting them off will inevitably affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of families. Even the emperor would not dare to do this easily.

However, this kind of family group is not invincible.

A family succeeds and a family fails.

Since it is a family, it is possible to separate the family; once the family is separated, it will lead to the separation of the industry.

There have been several issues in history where super business groups have been split due to inheritance rights, and it is suspected that the Roman emperor was behind this.

Back to the original topic.

In Rome today, there are still a total of ten business families and giant groups...the actual number is slightly more than this.

It is a legacy that has been worked hard by more than ten generations of the Bai family.

It is naturally...

Not part of the Big Mac group.

As mentioned before, Laobai's family has very few members. For this reason alone, it is impossible for it to become a giant because of the lack of people.

Although it is not a giant-level group, its size is almost one-tenth of that of a giant-level group.

The industry size is quite large, and the business scope is broad, spanning several fields, from physical to virtual digital industries.

Bai Potian is quite capable in business, second only to his talent in writing.

Ten years ago, the old man became one of the Ten Evils and was expelled from the country. He returned to Rome from Daxia alone, bet all his family fortune, began to expand production capacity, devoted all his energy to starting a business, and finally created the 'Donghuang Group'. 's business miracle.

However, as a saint, he will not be directly involved in management.

After the initial success, he hid behind the scenes. The person who actually managed the Donghuang Group in an orderly manner was the granddaughter adopted by the old man.

…

That night.

The night view in the city is brilliant.

Under the light, a woman lowered her head and continued working at her desk.

In the same spacious room, there are only four desks in total, and the three secretaries are dealing with their own affairs. There is only the quiet sound of papers and signatures in the room, and no sound of discussion or communication can be heard. Everyone is working in their respective departments. His job.

The atmosphere was oppressive and tense, making one breathless.

The more stuff you have, the more things you have to worry about.

Each decision corresponds to more subdivided instructions. Especially for a large-scale group, a few wrong decisions may be fatal.

The job of the secretarial department is to organize and summarize all information and make a detailed and appropriate report to the president.

The three secretaries stopped when they heard the sound of writing on the top desk. They immediately stood up and walked to the front of the desk.

"Start reporting."

Behind the desk, the woman who had just finished processing all the documents on hand raised her eyes. After more than four hours of non-stop work, her expression showed no sign of fatigue or numbness, but instead showed sharpness and calmness.

Melusina Vivian Wallenstein.

The current president of Donghuang Group is also its helmsman.

She has appeared on the cover of Empire Weekly twice and was hailed as the most outstanding female entrepreneur of the decade.

The report praised that no matter how radical the operation strategy was, she could always turn decay into magic and smoothly survive every dangerous cycle.

And she herself is only twenty-six years old this year.

At the age of sixteen, he already held the position of assistant to the chairman.

She took the script of a domineering female president and followed the absolutely superior elite route. She has a strong aura tempered by years of shopping mall experience, and she has the energy of a monster. She is the first to open the book in the Donghuang Group.

The three secretaries combined couldn't catch her alone.

The red-haired secretary has long ears and is a sub-race of the long-eared tribe in the forest. She took out the information and began to report: "Recently, the sales volume of snacks and beverages of our affiliated companies has dropped by two percentage points, and the market share has been impacted by the launch of new products. As it continues to decline, the company reported asking whether it needs to adjust its business strategy, such as lowering prices or improving flavors to cater to the market..."

The reports of the first two secretaries were all related to the market.

Melusina's answer was very clear, just follow the fixed plan. Her market sense has always been keen. These established markets will not cause too much disturbance, and its audience is very stable.

The third secretary came up, swallowed and said: "I received news here that Green Group and Heavy Rain Group are in the stage of cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and have postponed the production plan, and sent company representatives to request a grace date. "

"……how long?"

"It could take months to reorganize the production lines... or so they say."

"anything else?"

“Giant Bank’s new batch of loans did not go through the internal process.”

"Isn't our group's credit rating very high? We have never defaulted on a loan." Another secretary couldn't help but ask: "It didn't pass, so this loan isn't too big, right?"

"Continue." Melusina said calmly.

Then the secretary reported several things again, none of which was good news.

It is nothing more than the partner delaying or delaying the delivery date, or other bank loans being delayed, or the sales side being cold.

"Thank you for your hard work." Melusina said calmly: "You guys go to get off work first."

The three secretaries looked at each other, left the information, and exited the office.

As they walked down the aisle, they couldn't help but start whispering to each other.

"Has the cash flow pressure been a bit high recently?"

"Well, the financial situation isn't very good."

"The scale of production has been further expanded."

"If the chairman hadn't allocated the budget for the next three years before he left, we wouldn't be so stretched now."

"In order to open up the mid-winter market, you must spend money upfront. It's also Queen Victoria's birthday. The mid-winter nobles are very rich. There are so many specialties in the fairy world, but it's a pity that the market has never been opened."

"Really? How did I hear that the chairman is going to deliver a betrothal gift?"

"Ah? Is this happening?"

"The chairman is already that old!"

"Bah, bah, don't talk nonsense. It's not that the chairman is getting married, but I heard that the chairman's grandson is coming to Rome. It seems that he is looking for a bride in the middle of winter. Most of the money has been exchanged for betrothal gifts."

"Grandson? Ah... When you said that, I remembered that Donghuang Group can be considered a family business."

"Yes, President Melu is also the adopted granddaughter of the chairman."

"That's really strange. Why do you have to go to the middle of winter to propose marriage? President Melu is very nice. Could it be that the boy from outside doesn't like her?"

"I said, we won't see the president change in the future, right?"

"Huh? You don't want that kind of thing. I really like President Melu. If I were a man, he might be harassed by his gaze. It's annoying to think about it. Before changing jobs, I had to change into a long skirt and flat shoes. , now I dare to wear miniskirts to show off my long legs. This is the confidence that the female president gave me!"

"Bah, you shameless person, who are you trying to seduce!"

"I always feel that the group is going downhill recently, which is really difficult."

"Let's take it one step at a time. If it doesn't work, just shake the chairman back. If the sky falls, let him bear it... You can't even abandon the foundation of Rome just to open up the mid-winter market and win a granddaughter-in-law, right?"

"Tris, why don't you speak?"

"I want to go back and work overtime."

"Are you suffering from CEO syndrome?"

"I want to reduce some pressure on the group. I was originally a child who grew up in an orphanage sponsored by Donghuang Group. Without all the support provided by the group, I would have starved to death on the street long ago, even if I went to another orphanage. , and I don’t have the opportunity to go to school..." Tris whispered: "The group has been under so much pressure recently, and I plan to take the initiative to reduce my salary."

"Speaking of which, I've received quite a few reports of proactive salary reductions."

"Maybe it's similar to Tris. After all, our group's welfare expenses have always accounted for a large proportion."

"Humph, but it will also raise some white-eyed wolves!"

The secretaries walked out of the company building chattering, ending their day's work.

Upstairs, Melusina was still working on her work.

Another hour passed. She put down the pen and paper, stretched her stiff wrist, picked up the cold coffee, and took a sip.

Jingle bell bell~!

A phone rang.

Melusina pressed the answer button, and soon a familiar voice came.

"Ah, it's connected, it's connected." The old man's hearty voice sounded: "It took you so long to call back, how could you say thank you...it's been more than a month, right?"

"It's thirty-seven days." Mei Lu's serious expression thawed, and now she showed a slight smile: "Forgetting me also proves that grandpa lived well in the middle of winter."

"Where is that?" There were murmurs coming from Bai Potian's side: "I have just arrived in the middle of winter, and I was inexplicably dragged into the fairy world by the Goblin King. He said he wanted to chat with me about something. There is no signal here, and There are a lot of bad things that I am too lazy to take care of. It seems that Xinghai has thrown some garbage down again and asked me to help clean up the mess. Damn it... I can't leave for a while now. I don't know what to do here. I couldn't make it in time for the Queen's birthday, and my plans couldn't keep up with the changes. Fortunately, the Goblin King made a lot of promises, but he looked sickly. I was afraid that he would burp the next second after he signed, and then my hard work would be in vain. field."

Nagging is a common problem among the elderly. After Bai Potian talked a lot, he remembered and asked, "Is the situation over there okay? Nothing happened."

Melusina looked at the large list of reports on the desk and said calmly: "You know my ability, even if there are some small problems, I can't be troubled."

"I'm here in the middle of winter, so I suspect that the few giants may have made some moves recently. Businessmen are chasing profits and are inevitably short-sighted. Donghuang Group has developed too fast and has made many enemies. As soon as I leave, I'm afraid I won't have time to take care of you. You Take care of yourself, don’t work too much overtime all the time, and find some time to relax.”

"Yes." Melusina agreed casually: "I will."

"And one more thing."

At the end of his words, Bai Potian finally mentioned the important point: "I can't leave here, but calculating the time, Xiao Yujing will arrive in Rome soon. When he arrives, he will be able to accompany you and relieve your boredom... "

"I will take good care of him." Melusina thought for a while and added: "Just like before."

"Hey... what you say seems to make me partial, grandpa." Bai Potian smiled and said, "But you are mistaken. What I mean, grandpa, is not that I need you to take care of him... That kid is already an adult, and his ability If you can prosper in Daxia, it will be enough in Rome."

"You have to pay some living expenses." Melusina joked.

"Hey, Xiao Yujing has a strong vitality. You can survive with a few yuan reward on weekdays. It's easier to feed than a cactus. When you don't have any money, you go to the Fountain Square to perform a performance of breaking rocks on your chest and swallowing a sword alive. You can easily earn some living expenses. I used to do it back then. I've done this before." Bai Potian laughed, not knowing whether he was telling the truth or just joking.

Melusina didn't quite believe that with Bai Potian's doting grandson character, she would be willing to let Bai Yu crush rocks on his chest... At most, he would bite the lighter in a show, no more.

The communication soon came to an end.

Bai Potian cursed on the other end: "How many phone bills, hurry, hurry, hammer... what? The Goblin King was fucked down? He was fucked down three times? No, why didn't he even last five minutes? I can’t stand it anymore. How can such a loser be a king? It’s better to abdicate and let me take over.”

Immediately there was another burst of strange words that he couldn't understand, which should be some kind of fairy language.

"I'm very busy here. I'll hang up first. I won't worry about the Goblin King being killed by the absentee who fell from the outer realm. Let's go. Remember to eat well!"

Dudududu——!

Bai Potian hung up the phone.

Melusina put the phone back with a subtle expression.

The old man is still so energetic.

A phone call disturbed some of her thoughts.

Melusina crumpled the manuscript paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can.

"It seems that someone is behind the scenes, trying to delay the production date and not allowing the loan to be decentralized on time. They are all trying to drag down our company's cash flow."

"The people behind the scenes are probably some giant groups. Are they trying to force me to make concessions in this way?"

"In business affairs, I choose to do it when grandpa is not around, because I am young and easy to bully."

She turned her chair and looked out the transparent window at the scenery. High-rise buildings were thousands of feet dangerous, and people's hearts were as changeable as floating clouds.

A faint sigh.

She didn't really care about these little troubles.

There are many financing channels, but Donghuang is not a building block. How can it collapse so easily?

What occupied most of her attention at this time was not about the company's management, but another thing the old man said.

Melusina held on to the armrest of the seat and stood up slowly, her movements seemed a bit difficult.

She picked up the civilized stick placed beside the desk. It was actually a crutch.

Using a cane, she didn't limp when she walked. She walked steadily but slowly.

Go to the back of the office, press the button, and the interior room lights up.

This is her living room, which is about fifty square meters, with one bedroom and one bathroom. It is simple and complete with all the essentials.

Walking straight to the bedside, there were a few items placed on the bedside table, the most conspicuous one being a photo frame.

The photo in the frame is a group photo of a pair of children. The girl is slightly older, about sixteen years old, wearing a white dress, and the boy is about ten years old, wearing children's clothes, with ice cream at the corner of his mouth.

The two of them put their heads together, tilted their heads, and raised their scissor hands. The photo was frozen in the summer ten years ago.

Melusina touched the photo frame. The boy in the photo had a clear and childlike smile.

She sat on the bed with her eyes nostalgic.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

I heard that he lost his memory of that half-year after he returned home after being injured. I am afraid he no longer remembers Sister Wanxia from back then.

She closed her eyes slightly and touched a scar on her skin.

Although Melusina was praised in all aspects, she knew that she was far from perfect, at least in appearance, she had great flaws.

Nearly a quarter of the area on the left side of her face was left with red marks, like scars left by burns. She had undergone surgery and tried various methods of recuperation. No matter how successful the surgery was, it could not last long, and it was very difficult for her to do so. The scar will grow back soon, like a curse; the second is her lameness, she cannot walk as fast as the wind, and she must use crutches to even walk.

This disability and the scars on his face are also the scars left by a fire in his childhood.

Therefore, she has always avoided appearing directly in the public eye. Weekly magazines can be operated.

Touching the scar, she thought back to her childhood.

She is a distant relative of Bai Potian. After becoming an orphan, she was adopted by the old man as his granddaughter and treated as his own.

Most of the old man's care for his offspring and his desire for family were transferred to her.

Melusina always knew she was a substitute.

Since their separation ten years ago, she has imagined many things.

"Finally we can meet again."

"I'm afraid you don't remember me anymore."

"Well, it's okay if you don't remember."

She lay on the bed holding the photo frame and murmuring.

"Let's get to know each other again."

"This time, I will do better than last time."

(There is no reason, I suddenly want to make a chapter)