I will be crowned king

Amidst a burst of fierce applause, Anson ended his speech, picked up the rum glass handed by the little clerk and walked to the audience. The hall that had become a little quiet just now became lively again.

The musicians played the cheerful songs even harder than before, and the wealthy businessmen and parliamentarians once again resumed their drunken and decadent appearance, laughing amid the mountains of delicacies and gourmet dishes. The warm atmosphere made the air much hotter. .

The only one who didn't seem to be "social" was Baron Akers, who had just been ignored by Anson and then "slapped in the face" in public.

After kneeling on the spot for more than half an hour, this ardent believer in the Messiah stood up with a gloomy face and hurriedly left the banquet amid laughter and laughter; his actions proved that he had given an explanation to Anson Bach. Not satisfied.

Not only him, but almost everyone present did not believe the theory of "attack by indigenous tribes" - even if they had no evidence at all.

But so what?

The thing is over, it doesn't matter what the truth is, what matters is that Anson Bach wanted it to be, and that's what it must be.

For no other reason, just because he is Anson Bach, the de facto colonial governor of Ice Dragon Fjord, who controls the most powerful armed force in the entire New World. Five of the six major colonies of the Free Confederation have "deep relations" with him. ", two of them are even more dependent on Beluga Port to the extent of being close to vassals.

More than ten days have passed since that long night. The excitement and fanaticism of the aftermath of the disaster have long since faded away, and calmness and reason have once again dominated the way they think about problems.

Of course, if Anson Bach really accepted the identity of the "Savior", they would be as excited as Baron Akers to burst into tears, kneel down and cheer, celebrating the great ring of order and His messenger.

But since the Commander-in-Chief said that this was not the case, and that everything was the credit of the soldiers, everyone turned to praise the victorious army that defeated the imperial army, and the Commander-in-Chief’s well-organized arrangements. No wonder he could easily defeat them. The Empire drives down the stormy sea.

They could not imagine that Anson was doing his best to avoid giving the empire any excuses and reasons to launch a counterattack against the colonies. Even if it could not be avoided, he would try to ensure that the other party was completely isolated without any allies or reinforcements... He wished that the army would encounter a storm as soon as it went to sea. completely annihilated.

No matter how confident you are in your plan, you should avoid battles that can be avoided. Unless the conflict is completely intensified, violence should remain in the deterrent stage. This is Anson's code of conduct.

Representatives of Beluga Harbor and the Free Confederacy did not understand this aspect, and were even less interested in it; what really attracted their attention was Anson's attitude towards the indigenous people.

Return freedom to the indigenous people, accept them as part of the colony, and even allow them to accept the baptism of the Circle of Order doctrine and become equal members of the colonists...

Such radical remarks were tantamount to directly challenging the entire colonial economic system.

You must know that the reason why the colonies can transport huge amounts of raw materials to the entire old world with a very small population is that the beast slaves...or enslaved indigenous people are the most important labor force, and even some of the "raw materials" are included. Beast Slave Trade”.

Once the beast slaves are required to be given personal freedom, not to mention the important financial source of the slave trade, the mines and farms everywhere will immediately face the crisis of labor shortage, directly threatening the foundation of the prosperity of the entire new world.

If it were an ordinary colonist, these words would probably not cause any waves. If it were an ordinary congressman and wealthy businessman, they might be attacked by a group of people; but when the person who said these words has an army of tens of thousands, a prosperous land Colony, and still holds the source of almost everyone’s interests...

Well, then his words are worthy of serious discussion.

"Dear Commander-in-Chief, your speech was as vivid and wonderful as usual."

Holding a cup of mulled wine, Polina got closer to Anson before anyone else, smiled and curtsied to him: "Our new world... You are so right. The Free Confederacy wants to completely separate from the Empire." To cut, changes must be made.”

"Otherwise, what will we become? A group of slave owners shouting 'equality' and 'freedom'?"

The girl blinked her eyes exaggeratedly, and before Anson could react, she laughed "Pfft!"

"You are also so humorous and interesting, Miss Polina Frey." Anson took a sip of rum gently:

"Such a concise summary is not something that ordinary people can do."

"That's because I have a good teacher."

Polina, whose eyes were wandering, said without hesitation. After less than a moment's hesitation, she took the initiative to move closer to her side. Her petite body meant that she had to raise her head to look at Anson. It looked like she was being held in a hug. inside.

Anson nodded slightly and didn't think much about it. After all, the main author of the "Declaration of Resistance" that made the girl famous was the little secretary. He only gave a few keywords. If he really wanted to compare the contribution, he would not even have a tenth. None.

Looking at the unresponsive expression of the man in front of her, Polina was silent for a few seconds, but soon she raised her eyes with a smile:

"But even if it is the right thing, it will never be as easy as it seems to be completely implemented, especially now that animal slaves are one of the very important commodities in the trade activities of almost all colonies of the Free Confederation."

"But with your wisdom, since you have come up with this proposal, you must have already found a way to deal with those selfish and snobbish guys. Am I right?"

She was testing my bottom line, and at the same time she was also implicitly expressing her willingness to cooperate with my goals, provided the price was right... Facing those simple and smart eyes, Ansen smiled slightly:

"certainly."

"The fundamental reason why the animal slave trade has such a long history is that the geographical location and environment of the colony restricted the pace of our development. At the same time, there are visible differences between us and the indigenous people, and we have to supplement it by enslaving them. We’re short of labor.”

"This sounds cruel, and even violates some of the teachings of the Ring of Order, but it does comply with certain laws; after all, our numbers were few at that time, and we did not have a stable stronghold - if there were no beast slaves, we would not be able to survive in a short period of time. It’s completely whimsical to see what it looks like today after a hundred years.”

"But after the colonial stronghold was established, there was a relatively stable source of labor, and an extensive trade in animal slaves even began to appear, its existence began to become out of date, and it would even affect the prosperity of the colony."

Anson paused slightly and said in a slightly heavy tone: "The low cost of animal slaves, which are widely used as hard labor, has caused many new immigrants to find no jobs at all after arriving in the colonies. They are pursuing their dreams and hope for the future." It is placed on pioneering, but those small colonies in the wilderness of the New World often disappear after two or three winters, and they have no meaning except consuming the population in vain."

"And the beast slaves who were originally regarded as cheap coolies, are they really 'cheap' now?"

"well?"

Polina was stunned for a moment, this question seemed to conflict with her common sense.

"In the past, using a small amount of beast slaves was indeed an option to reduce costs, but now the Free Confederacy is no longer just a small amount, but as long as the positions of beast slaves can be used, immigration will not be used." Anson sneered. explained:

"The large-scale use of beast slaves has in turn fostered a slave-catching market, making beast slaves an important commodity. As long as they become commodities, where they go is entirely determined by money, so that many beast slaves are still Sold to the Old Continent, demand exceeds supply and drives up the price of beast slaves."

"The mine owners and farmers had to reduce their purchases of beast slaves, allowing their limited beast slaves to take on more work than originally. Resentment and hatred further accumulated internally, and then broke out; when the beast slave rebellion broke out, all The colonies had to spend money to form militia groups to prevent rebellion from threatening their security again."

“By this point, what was once cheap coolie labor had become a liability to the colony’s prosperity.”

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, with emotions of shock and surprise intertwined in them.

"Of course, I am not asking the Free Confederacy to completely abolish the beast slave trade, or to free all beast slaves overnight. That is not reality, and it is difficult to say what the result will be." Anson changed the topic and lowered his head to greet The girl’s gaze:

"But in any case, we should give the indigenous people and slaves more choices and allow them to become one of us under certain circumstances instead of becoming enslaved laborers."

"As long as this can be done, many crises can naturally be alleviated; the reason why the large-scale attacks on the colonies by the indigenous people were frequently successful in the past was the rebellion of the slaves; when they were respected and free , you will not choose to destroy, but to defend.”

"That's it..." Polina nodded slightly, her eyes exuding indescribable admiration and a little strange emotion:

"Lord Anson, I understand what you are thinking - when the next Supreme Council comes, I will definitely try my best to push for a resolution that allows animal slaves and indigenous people to live freely in the colony."

"No, that's not enough! When I return to Gray Pigeon Castle, I will free all the beast slaves who work for the Frey family, and tell them that if they want, I will keep them in the farm and mines on a hired basis. Work, get paid, and everything they deserve!"

"That will be an excellent start." Anson exclaimed: "New World Company will be happy to provide high-value, low-interest loans and investments to such an upright and promising industry to help it overcome the initial difficulties. After participating, it will be healthy. amidst expanding trade.”

Amidst the laughter, a win-win business was concluded.

The Frey family and Gray Pigeon Castle were willing to cooperate with Anson's policy towards animal slaves and indigenous people, so Anson instructed New World Company to invest in low-interest mortgage loans for the Frey family. Both parties got what they wanted most.

And the reason why he did this was certainly not to advocate "freedom" or "labor liberation"... Although these had a really great economic impact on the colonies, he really didn't care.

The only goal is simple: suppress the animal slave trade market.

At present, the animal slaves in the colonies are a pure buyer's market. Especially not long after the War of Independence, there is a labor shortage problem everywhere. Even the animal slave traders are complaining: There are no animal slaves anymore. They are all leftovers. You It’s too expensive for me!

The excessively high price caused the Shooting Army's army expansion plan to encounter serious funding problems. Although Anson was not short of money, of course he had to save it if he could.

Once granting freedom to beast slaves and indigenous people becomes "right" within the Confederation, the price of beast slaves will inevitably drop significantly even if there is no coercive force to prevent and restrict it.

What's more, Beluga Port is a colony of Clovis. Clovis, who is currently building a large-scale railway, has a huge demand for beast slaves. At the same time, he has mastered trade routes and a large order, and the well-funded Storm Legion has become a "strong force". Buyers" have a certain degree of pricing power.

Compared to the still-rich Lake Town and the extremely poor Winter Torch City, the Gray Pigeon Castle, which is being rebuilt, is a perfect partner - which is why Anson wants to find Paulina.

"Equality and freedom are words that seem simple but contain infinite wisdom. I once thought they were so funny, but I never expected that they actually contained the truth of prosperity and prosperity."

Polina sighed with emotion, her expression seemed to reveal a lot of interest: "Master Anson Bach, you have opened the door to a new world for me, a once ignorant girl!"

Um? What does she mean by this? She thinks my price is still too low? Anson opened his mouth, but still hesitated to speak. He just nodded slightly:

"Oh, is it so?"

"Of course!" Polina immediately interrupted, her eyes exuding a strange light: "So I want to learn more wisdom from you and further understand the meaning of equality and freedom. What do you think?"

"Of course this is possible..."

"I mean tonight, right now..."

"Now?!"

"Yes!"

"Well... this won't work." Anson refused righteously: "Miss Polina, it's already very late today. I still have a lot of work to deal with. I'm afraid I don't have time to discuss this with you anymore."

"How about this? Let's make an appointment at a more suitable time later, such as when the Supreme Council is held, and continue to discuss those...truths in depth. What do you think?"

"well?"

The girl was stunned for a moment, and before she could recover, she found that the Commander-in-Chief had turned away and quickly walked through the crowd towards the lounge.

What she didn't notice was Anson's shocked expression with a hint of surprise - at that moment, he felt an extremely familiar aura appearing near him without any warning.

Thalia August Rune!