I will be crowned king

Beluga Harbor, Parliament Hall.

Thick black curtains covered the walls on both sides of the hall, and because it was early in the morning, the chandeliers were not lit. The towering vaults were cast in deep shadows, making the already dark hall look extremely depressing.

The hall facing the podium, which is large enough to accommodate all 500 members, is now full of seats; in the dead air, some have nervous expressions, some have furrowed brows, some are restless, and some are pretending to be calm... ...Five hundred people with a thousand eyes stared intently at the figure in military uniform on the stage.

Colonel Anson Bach, commander-in-chief of the garrison.

Just one day ago, the "Honorary Speaker", on the grounds that "there are major changes in local taxation this year", took advantage of the five hundred members - excluding Thalia Rune, it was actually four hundred and ninety Nine people - all in Beluga Harbor, held this impromptu meeting.

As the "honorary speaker", Anson is not qualified to ask the parliament to convene a meeting; but for well-known reasons, not only did no one in the five-hundred-person parliament object from top to bottom, but they all arrived at the meeting at least ten minutes in advance with a tacit understanding.

Although Anson has always considered himself a very humble, elegant and easy-going ordinary person with no vanity, but facing such an obedient and well-behaved Beluga Harbor Council, he still felt a sense of expansion in his heart, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously towards his ears. The direction of the roots goes up like crazy.

"Ahem... Distinguished members of Congress, good afternoon everyone."

Anson cleared his throat slightly, put his right hand behind his back, and held a blank document in his left hand. He raised his head and faced the 499 pairs of nervous eyes with a serious expression:

"I have convened this temporary meeting specifically to waste everyone's precious afternoon tea time for no other reason - just one day ago, I just received a very important piece of information that needs to be notified to you immediately."

“And this information is related to this year’s ‘Taxation Day’.”

Almost as soon as the words fell, all the MPs in the room seemed to have turned into pigeons at the same time, sitting up straight and sticking their heads out, staring at Anson on the stage attentively.

"As everyone knows, in previous years, the person in charge of taxation would arrive at Beluga Port at the end of February, that is, a few days later, as usual, complete the purchase under the escort of the Royal Fleet, and return to the mainland." In the silence, Anson's voice It echoed under the vault for a long time and reached the ears of everyone present:

"However, due to many unexpected events this year, the originally planned representatives of the Royal Bank failed to arrive as scheduled. Therefore, the 'taxation' work was handed over to the Royal Fleet to take full responsibility, and it was also responsible for the two tasks of procurement and escort."

"I am honored to introduce to you that the person in charge of this year's tax collection is the young naval commander who arrived at Beluga Harbor with me, Captain William Cecil!"

"At the same time, I am also happy to tell you that after some private discussions, Colonel William Cecil expressed his willingness not to increase the purchase quantity and to complete the tax collection task entrusted to him by the royal family in full accordance with last year's quota!"

As soon as the words fell, the hall that had been silent just now was filled with exclamations one after another. The MPs who had been nervous to death suddenly looked happy one by one, and began to whisper happily to each other.

"but!"

Anson suddenly raised the document in his hand above his head, interrupting the commotion that had just begun: "Colonel William Cecil, my good friend, told me a very shocking news."

"Due to the long war between the mainland and the empire, coupled with the Yisel Elf Punishment War and the Hantu Defense War that broke out last year, the royal family consumed a lot of financial resources. The capital chain of the Royal Bank has temporarily encountered some minor problems."

"Therefore, for this year's procurement plan, the price given by Wangjia Bank will be significantly reduced."

As soon as the words fell, the hall, which had not really started to get excited, suddenly became silent and silent.

reduce?

What do you mean, how much does this have to be reduced... No, no, no, the important thing is that it is so cheap that it is almost free, and the royal family actually wants to reduce it? !

Do they think that the ores, salted fish and wood are everywhere in Beluga Harbor and can be obtained with little effort? !

Uh... That seems to be the case, but do the locals think that hiring workers to work, buying tools, contracting land, renting warehouses and merchant ships are all free of charge? !

Putting aside these costs, the Beluga Port councilmen, who do nothing but bear risks, can only earn a pitiful profit of less than 10% per ton of cargo.

Ordinary people who open a tavern or sell baked potatoes on the street can earn more than this!

Despite their rage, the members remained silent, glued to their seats, with no one standing up to protest or raise any objections.

Of course, this is not a sudden burst of loyalty to the royal family, but simply a fear of death.

Although more than ten days have passed, they still have a deep impression of the large warehouse that was bombed into the sky.

If they stand up to protest, when the navy sets up naval guns and prepares to blow up their own homes, these congressmen who are already loyal to the commander-in-chief have no idea that Anson Bach and his Stormtroopers will stand by them. side.

It would be better to say that he was more likely to assist the navy and send troops to clear the road to avoid accidental damage.

Feeling the angry and frightened eyes of those two pairs, Ansen, who was completely as expected, slowly began to raise the corners of his mouth with pride:

"Of course, I also understand that this level of cost is unbearable for you and even the entire Beluga Port."

"So after some private negotiations, I have thought of a way for everyone to get the best of both worlds, without embarrassing the local area or losing your interests..."

………………

"What, you have to bear half of the purchase cost alone?!"

In the living room of the headquarters, William Cecil stared at Anson in astonishment: "Colonel Anson Bach, I admire your loyalty, but please allow me to emphasize that that is a lot of money. …I really don’t think that with the salary and allowance of a colonel, I can…”

"you misunderstood!"

Seeing that the misunderstanding was getting deeper and deeper, Ansen quickly raised his hand and interrupted: "I don't plan to use my savings and that little allowance to bear half of the purchase cost, and I'm not prepared to bear half of it!"

"B-But didn't you just say..."

"I mean, I have a way to solve a quarter of the share without resorting to force." Anson took a deep breath and managed to maintain a smile.

"any solution?"

"It's very simple, that is, let Miss Talia August Luhn pay for the money." Anson said directly.

"Um?!"

William's expression was almost completely stiff: "This...will she be willing to agree to this?"

"Of course it's not easy, but after I tried my best to persuade her, she has agreed that the Luen family will bear this expense entirely, and it is not a debt, but in the form of donation." Anson stroked his chest slightly and said very modestly:

"The Luen family is willing to donate half of the funds to the Royal Bank in cash and half as mortgages on fixed assets in Clovis City - there are no bonds and no interest required. It is a complete donation."

"real?!"

William was stunned, his expression could no longer be described as "surprise": "I...I don't know how to describe this, it's really too generous. Such a feat will definitely shock the entire kingdom!"

"Of course, that is the most wealthy family in Clovis." Anson leaned back slightly:

"Not only that, Talia and I also had a serious discussion about this donation, and I thought it might as well say in your report that it was only after your hard persuasion that Talia agreed."

Anson raised his right hand and poked William's chest.

"Me?!" The young naval officer's eyes widened.

"Exactly."

Anson nodded and smiled: "In this way, as the youngest fleet commander of the Royal Navy, on his first colonial mission, he saved a quarter of the royal family's procurement expenses - this will definitely be of immeasurable help to your future prospects. .”

There was silence in the empty living room.

The young naval officer pursed his lips tightly, and his lowered eyes flashed with complicated thoughts. There were both unconcealable surprise and desperately suppressed ecstasy, mixed with a trace of instinctive suspicion.

After a long time, a heavy sigh finally broke the tranquility.

"You are so kind, I don't know how to thank you." William couldn't help but sigh.

"No need to thank you, this is what friends should do."

Anson waved his hand and enthusiastically picked up the coffee pot on the table and poured him a full cup: "But there is one thing that may need your help - letting the Luen family bear a quarter of the cost alone, this is not I hope you can understand if there are no conditions.”

"Of course, I can understand it - this is a large sum of money, and it is understandable to ask for some additional conditions." William nodded slightly, not expressing any dissatisfaction, or that he had expected it:

"Please don't be restrained. Just speak up. As long as it is within the scope of my authority, you must agree; even if it exceeds this scope, I will convey the Luen family's request to the top as soon as possible and seek permission from the royal family."

"This request is very simple. I think you can completely agree on behalf of Wangjia Bank - of course, just in case, you should find their person in charge later and do the endorsement work." Anson chuckled, indicating that the other party should not be nervous :

"If I had to sum it up, I could actually explain it in one sentence."

"Oh? Please speak."

"That is, although the actual cost borne is only a quarter, externally, the local government must publicly state that the Luen family worked for this acquisition and borne half of the cost..."

……………………

"... Inspired by the noble ring of order, for the sake of Beluga Port, the Kingdom of Clovis and the noble royal family of Osteria, the great and ancient Rune family is determined to... stand up at this extremely difficult moment. !”

"Miss Thalia August Rune is determined to have the Rune family bear half of the cost of this purchase alone, to solve the royal family's problems, and to protect Beluga Harbor everything she deserves."

"And no one asked or forced her to do this. Miss Talia took it all on her own initiative."

"This is a gift from the ancient Luen family to the rebirth of Beluga Port!"

Under the vault of the hall, Anson Bach, waving documents, spoke incessantly on the podium, and his steady voice echoed over and over again in the surrounding walls and reached everyone's ears.

But at this moment, not a single member of Parliament was still looking at the commander-in-chief of the garrison on the stage. All eyes turned to the petite figure sitting in the front row.

On the seat, Thalia, who was deliberately dressed up for the occasion, sat upright, spreading her arms to both sides and pressing the armrests of the chair, and looked quietly at the figure on the stage, her eyes full of doting smiles.

For the Luen family, if they want to fully integrate into or even conquer the entire colony, just showing force is not enough - the army can intimidate everyone, but after all, at least on the surface, it is not the Luen family's own power, and the high-end "Magic" carries huge risks, and even if it can act as a deterrent, it has considerable side effects.

Therefore, the best way is for Anson to demonstrate force, and then Talia herself to demonstrate financial resources - to shock the entire Beluga Port with financial resources beyond everyone's imagination.

If it is just a simple dispersion of wealth, it doesn't matter how effective it is, but it is easy for local forces to mistakenly think that the Luen family uses this method to "win" the recognition of everyone in Beluga Port.

So directly shouldering half of the "tax" cost became a wonderful opportunity.

Thalia was able to win the gratitude of the entire White Whale Port in the simplest and most crude way, and at the same time let them understand the truth, that is, the Luen family did not care about them, let alone take them seriously.

If necessary, she could even buy the entire Beluga Port directly.

……………………

"...In addition, I also have some personal suggestions and requests." Anson said solemnly:

“This does not relate to my work on this levy, so whether you agree or reject it, it will not affect the procurement work - I hope that the Cecil family can provide some help with immigration, especially this year and next year. "

"Maintaining the growth in production of raw materials requires a large amount of labor. However, due to the war, the management of immigration in the mainland has become much stricter than before."

"That's no problem!" William agreed decisively without even thinking:

"Even if you don't mention this, the Cecil family will take the initiative to do this - the local demand for raw materials from the colony is huge, and the best way to maintain growth is of course to increase immigration, especially the immigration of young and strong laborers. Quantity; I will tell my father about it, and select immigrants at Northport in the name of recruiting temporary sailors and laborers."

"Colonel William Cecil, if this matter goes well, the entire Beluga Port owes you a huge favor." Anson said with great emotion:

"Then...does this count as a deal?"

"make a deal!"