I will be crowned king

Looking at the thick stack of cards in front of him in stunned silence, Anson suddenly felt a little confused and didn't know what to say for a while.

Yes, he also understands that the Cressy family wants to express sincerity but also has concerns. It is certainly impossible to so easily buy one of the twelve volumes of the "Great Magic Book" - it is even very likely that they are the only one. Some rolls - given to myself for free.

Thinking about his beloved mentor and Sister Thalia's "ex-fiancé", the great Professor Mace Honnard, who spent decades establishing a layout in Clovis, fighting wits and courage with the church, the Rune family and the Guards. , and finally gave up and ended up dying miserably, and his reputation was ruined.

And all he did was just to get a volume of the "Great Magic Book".

Although I may be slightly responsible for his tragic death, it is not difficult to see how difficult it is to obtain the "Great Magic Book" - for more than 90% of spellcasters, its existence is basically only Stay in the legend.

Thinking about it this way, the process of obtaining this volume of "The Great Magic Book" was not too easy. It took almost no effort, and the other party took the initiative to hand it over. If I expected more, I would feel a little sorry for being crushed by myself. Professor Mace Honnard.

But the question is, how do you look at giving yourself a bunch of cards?

There is absolutely no Difference Engine to be found in the entire New World. If you want to see it, you have to return to the mainland privately. And then almost all the Difference Engines are in the hands of the church - you have to sneak through the church's layers of security measures and trial surveillance and sneak into a certain cathedral. , turn on a differential engine to read the contents stored in the card.

Recalling the tragic end of Professor Mace Honnard, Anson, who was usually very confident, felt that it would be better to be alive.

"If Anson is willing to wait, Thalia has a way to get the contents stored in these cards without using the difference engine."

The girl on the side suddenly spoke quietly.

"What method?" Anson asked slightly surprised.

"It's very simple. In the final analysis, the principle of the difference engine being able to read information from these cards is to calculate through the 'small holes' on these cards and their order." Thalia picked up a card with her right hand and placed it on In front of her and Anson:

"As long as the underlying logic is figured out, the rest is to keep doing arithmetic problems - it happens that Talia has the memory of a priest who once used a certain difference engine. All he needs to do is learn it now and then calculate it."

"Really?!" Anson looked happy:

"How long will it take?"

Thalia, who smiled, told the truth: "Excluding the study time, it will take about three to four years."

"What about the time for studying?"

"Twenty-three or twenty-four years - Thalia has never studied mathematics. This should be the fastest way to learn it from scratch."

Anson Bach: "..."

"Of course, there is actually a simpler and more convenient method."

Looking at Anson, who was hiding his disappointment, a meaningful smile appeared on the girl's lips: "Within one day... If you are lucky, in just one night, Thalia can get Anson the third volume of "The Great Magic Book" All three volumes.”

Just need one night?

Looking at the girl's confident and pointing expression, Anson raised his eyebrows in surprise. After being silent for a few seconds, he couldn't hide his curiosity and asked:

"That... specifically how to do it, can you tell me some more details?"

"It's not important." Thalia's smile grew brighter:

"Anson is Talia's fiancé. Isn't it a matter of course for a fiancée to fulfill her fiancé's little wish?"

The girl looked straight into Anson's dull eyes, moved her petite body little by little, and gently held his cheek with her warm hands:

"As long as dear Anson makes up his mind, Thalia will do the rest."

……………………

Although Talia's proposal was extremely tempting, after much thought and inner struggle, Anson finally declined.

There is no other reason. Deep down in my heart, I actually know very well what Talia wants to do "specifically", but I am just deceiving myself and pretending not to know.

He doesn't care about the life and death of Ian Clemens and his gang of "Faithless Knights". To be honest, if he can use the lives of these people to teach the Cressey family behind them a lesson and help them quickly recognize Let's face it, it might actually be a good thing.

The key is what is Talia's reason for doing this.

Although it was just a vague premonition, Anson always felt that if he finally chose to accept it, he might never be able to go back - a similar feeling to when he accepted Ludwig's lieutenant colonel rank and finally chose to become a spellcaster similar.

What's more, since the other party can take out the memory card of the third volume of "The Great Magic Book", it is very likely that he also has the content inside; as long as he continues to think of ways to deal with the other party, it is only a matter of time before he gets it.

Even if not, there is a large steam differential engine underground in Clovis Cathedral - it is not completely hopeless to find a way to persuade Miss Sophia Franz to help.

As for Thalia...it should be considered as the last resort until the last resort.

Having made up his mind, Anson stopped thinking about it and returned his energy to the most important "taxation" at hand.

Although there were some minor surprises, it was an absolute surprise that the person in charge of tax collection was William Sissel - relying on the transaction with the Royal Fleet, the two parties had already established a preliminary cooperative relationship, plus The other party still owes me a favor, and the cost of private discussion and negotiation is definitely much higher than coming with a stranger.

As for the lack of local funds and the need to draw blood from the colonies, in fact, if you look at it from another perspective, it might not be a good thing.

Now that we have been forced to draw blood from the colonies, directly dispatch troops to suppress riots, and even delegate such an important task as tax collection to the royal fleet... What does this prove?

It proves that all the local forces have been invested in the battlefield against the empire, and there is not much spare power to control the colonies; the Storm Division, which serves as the garrison, is the only force that symbolizes the local control of the colonies.

As long as the income of the colony is not reduced, he can use that quarter of the purchase amount as a bargaining chip to impose more conditions on the mainland and give himself more privileges to move freely in the colony.

Anson had a flash of inspiration and did not hesitate any longer. He decisively took out a piece of letter paper, spread it out, and wrote:

[Yours sincerely, Archbishop of Clovis, Lord Luther Franz:

Please allow me to extend my sincere greetings to you from the edge of the world. Thanks to the gospel of the Ring of Order, everything is normal in Ice Dragon Fjord. Although some accidents that are not worth mentioning have occurred, she is still as prosperous and stable as before.

Without further ado, the person in charge of this year’s colonial procurement on behalf of the Royal Bank has successfully arrived at Beluga Port, and conveyed to me the difficulties of the Royal Bank this year, requiring the colonies to bear 100% of the procurement volume while maintaining the same purchase volume. Twenty-five purchasing expenses...]

Anson deliberately did not mention the name of the person in charge or the Beluga Port Council. On the one hand, based on Archbishop Luther's relationship with the royal family, he probably knew that this matter had been handed over to the Cecil family, but I am afraid who it is specifically. It is still unclear, and it is speculated that the Cecil family may not dare to admit publicly that they let an inexperienced family heir take charge of such an important job.

On the other hand, not mentioning the parliament is also a statement. It is a tactful "hint" to the archbishop that he has actually controlled the entire Beluga Port and can represent the colony and work directly with the mainland without going through the parliament.

[...It must be admitted that this will be a huge blow to Beluga Port, which is not wealthy. If forced expropriation is implemented, it is likely to trigger protests and riots, greatly damaging her economic potential and future sustainable development momentum, and It will certainly result in massive production cuts next year.

But no matter when and where, serving the royal family is always the eternal obligation of a royal army officer; no matter how difficult it is, I will be duty-bound to serve the interests of the kingdom.

Thanks to my best efforts, the financial problem has been temporarily solved; but in order to ensure that everything goes smoothly and avoid various uncontrollable factors, some places still need local support - there are three aspects in total.

First of all, Beluga Port can bear a quarter of the cost of this purchase, but the local government must also provide a written guarantee, promising that for at least the next three years, the total purchase volume can only be maintained at this year's level, and will not decrease or increase. Provide stable confidence for colonial production.

Secondly, opening up more trade restrictions will allow the colonies to purchase more and better quality local goods - especially technical personnel and production tools. At the same time, it will be guaranteed by the Royal Bank and allow the colonies to set up their own banks. This will be of great benefit. Promote the economic development of the colonies.

Finally, a commitment was made to the colony not to send any more expatriates for at least five years, to the legitimacy of the colonial assembly, and to allow it to continue its autonomy; this was basically the same as the first reason, giving the colony more confidence in its development.

Of course, in order to maintain the colony's loyalty to the royal family, it is recommended to establish an "honorary governor" who will nominally serve as the supreme leader of Ice Dragon Fjord, but will not assume any management functions; this can also reassure the colony while also providing More people with a sense of belonging and identity.

These are some small suggestions from me as the commander of the garrison, and they are also necessary preparations to ensure the solution of the royal family problem; I hope you can understand your loyalty to Clovis and remind the great His Majesty Carlos II that in The White Whale Harbor at the end of the world also flies the royal flag of Clovis.

Once again, I would like to extend my sincere blessings to you. May the Franz family prosper and be glorious for thousands of years.

Sincerely, Army Colonel Anson Bach, Commander of the Beluga Port garrison]

Folding the letter paper, Anson carefully put it into the letterhead, sealed it with ink pad, and put it together with the letter he was going to send to Sophia, and then entrusted the navy to take it back.

As long as he can get the local commitment and endorsement, he can start the next step of the plan - to expand the control area of ​​the Storm Division from Beluga Harbor to the entire Ice Dragon Fjord, and at the same time be prepared to deal with the imperial invasion and the indigenous counterattack.

In fact, the Storm Division has already started to do this, and all it needs is local recognition and endorsement.

As long as the royal family and the Privy Council nod, the Luen family will naturally use various methods to transfer their assets in Clovis City to Beluga Port in a reasonable and legal manner without being subject to restrictions from the mainland and the church; at the same time, they will win over Franz and The Cecil family of North Port invested heavily in and supported colonial industries.

For resource-based industries such as seafood, minerals, forestry, and leather to see profits, in addition to sufficient labor force, the key is effective organizational power and the ability to attract sufficient investment; especially after a slight improvement, a large amount of investment is needed. Only then can the entire industry be brought to life.

In the past, there was no decent organization in Beluga Port, which was inactive and autonomous. The only way to generate revenue was because of its vast land, sparse population, and abundant resources. No matter how inefficient it was, it could still make some money. This in turn also restricted the improvement of industrial standards.

After all, who would want to farm when you can just pick up food?

But now the situation is different. Anson absolutely cannot tolerate these local snakes continuing to exploit foreign workers - the temptation of autonomy, religious fanaticism... It doesn't matter what method is used, but their passion for struggle must be forced out.

The factories in Clovis City can popularize the twelve-hour work system. Some crazy people even leave the lights on in the middle of the night, using the eighteen-hour work system to challenge the physiological limits of human beings. They wish that the workers would even turn on the machine and tighten screws while eating and sleeping. .

Anson is not that extreme, but compared with the mainland, the ten-hour work system is not excessive in any case; in the past, the infrastructure level was poor, the tools were crudely made and inefficient, but now that the roads have been repaired and new equipment has been added, it cannot continue to be so low. Already?

As for the difference of two hours... considering the abundance of resources in the colony, it was almost a little less. After all, the extended working hours would also cause damage to the tools.

Think about the factories in Clovis that get off work at ten o'clock and start work at four o'clock. Workers in the colony have fourteen hours a day to relax and relax. They are as happy as in a paradise!

Anson felt that this was a very good selling point in terms of publicity to attract local skilled workers to live in the colonies; he had already thought of the slogan:

Ten hours of work, ten hours of rest, and four hours of spending time with his family. The day of an ordinary colonial worker is such a happy... and fulfilling one.

"Dong dong dong!"

Just when Anson was letting his mind wander, there was a knock on the door outside the study.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Anson Bach, for disturbing your rest time." The little secretary pushed open the door and entered with a slight apology on his face:

"But today is the sixth time that Lord Mason Wetzler of the White Whale Port Council has come to ask me if I can ask you to meet with him to discuss the local 'taxation'."

"This is just my personal suggestion, but I think it would be more appropriate for you to meet me."

"Of course, please invite him in..."

Just when Anson subconsciously wanted to agree, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind and his words stopped abruptly.

"No... no, it's better not to invite him in." After a few seconds of silence, Anson looked at the little clerk who was waiting for his words with wide eyes:

"Tell Lord Mason Wetzler that I am convening an emergency meeting of the Beluga Harbor Council in my capacity as Honorary Speaker."

"Just tomorrow!"