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If one were to rank the moral standards of the various factions within the legion, the civilian group surrounding His Majesty the Marshal would undoubtedly be ranked at the top.
While the Eastern Legion was still figuring out how to squeeze the last drop of oil out of the indentured slaves, the civil service group had already referred to the colonial management methods of the Southern Legion and figured out a "systematic" way to convert indentured slaves into debt slaves.
.
Don't think this is anything evil. Considering the era background of the wasteland, turning people from livestock into goods can definitely be regarded as a "good deed".
The poor people in the Bugla Free State can at most complain that the advertisement for opening the door of the refrigerator is too long and the iris detection device is too anti-human. But the slaves in the Borneo Province may not be sympathetic after hearing their troubles, but will be confused.
I am forced to ask what refrigerators and advertisements are, why waste 75 seconds of your life without spending money?
In short, although the civil servants of Triumph City did not allow the survivors of Sisail Port to use refrigerators, they at least opened a window for their hopeless lives.
These civil servants first cooperated with the nobles of Lion State and rented the slaves from the nobles for 50 dinars a month. Then they gave the slaves an additional 50 to 150 dinars as a "reward" at the end of each month.
.
How much you can get depends purely on your performance at work.
Of course, this money will not be put into the pockets of those slaves, but it will be recorded in their accounts. When enough money is saved, they can redeem themselves and their families.
And after these slaves redeemed themselves, they were considered skilled workers. Not only did they have rich work experience, but they were also more motivated to work.
The legion will continue to hire them to work, and the original reward will be their monthly wages.
For the Wilantes, the wages they paid to these people did not change. Instead, they saved the 50 dinars monthly rent paid to the nobles, which was equivalent to hiring a group of more skilled workers at a lower cost.
labor.
For the nobles, how much the slaves did did not affect their income. Although it was a pity to sell the skilled workers, the redemption fee of one thousand dinars was not a loss, which was equivalent to 20 months of income at one time.
.
Moreover, they can also make a fortune by relying on the labor registration office as a packaged labor agency.
The only ones who lose are the free people.
It turns out that their food and accommodation were on the noble's property, but now they have to rely on themselves for everything...
…
Sails Harbor.
Different from the busy and sweaty days in the past, the atmosphere at the pier today was a bit strange and abnormal.
Black crowds crowded the port, and the entire road from the dock to the warehouse was blocked. Every face was filled with suppressed anger.
They were the first batch of workers to arrive at Xifan Port. Every brick in this port is condensed with their blood and sweat. However, these people are not only satisfied with stepping on those bricks under their feet, but also put down what little dignity they have.
And hope is also trampled underfoot.
Orissa was not the first coolie to die in West Sail Port, or even the first freeman to die on the job. However, his death was like the straw that broke the camel's back, causing the entire port to
The freedmen were completely angry!
Why do they live like donkeys without complaint?
Isn't it just to get the piece of paper proving that they are free citizens?
Man is an animal that relies on hope for food. When there is hope, he can survive even if he eats dirt.
"As long as you work diligently, you will be free" is like a carrot hanging in front of them. For this carrot and for their family to eat this carrot, they will not hesitate to endure the whip of the supervisor.
He cursed and cursed, causing illnesses all over his body, and even broke his own spine...
However, the gentlemen of Xifan Port pulled down the carrot hanging in front of them and threw their only hope to the ground.
So what if you get it?
With that piece of paper, I can’t control you anymore?
In the end, it's still the same. The only real free people in Saipan Port are those who don't need paper certificates to prove themselves.
No one would ask the Velant people for that thing, and no one would ask the nobles for that thing. Even the priests of Silvermoon Bay and the merchants of the southern seas didn't need it. It seemed to be because of some agreement between the Sticky Community.
Orissa spent a thousand dinars to redeem himself, and an unknown amount to redeem the lives of his family members, and he may have borrowed some from the Wilantes.
However, the compensation for his death was only a pitiful eight hundred dinars!
Eight hundred!
According to the worst and worst exchange rate of 1:5, you can't even exchange for 200 silver coins!
This money could neither repay the debt nor sustain the family's expenses for long.
Once he is buried in the ground, his family will either repeat his mistakes or suffer the same fate as him.
Or——
You can only sell yourself and start the next cycle of despair.
If the fresh wind from the wasteland never blows here, the people here may be able to endure all this without complaint, and even wake up the moment they enter the earth. And the moment of pain is not a kind of happiness.
Unfortunately, however, the merchant ships from the east brought not only wealth and technology.
And the thought that inspired it all.
The free people standing here may not know many words yet, but from the priest from Silvermoon Bay, they already know that there is a settlement called Boulder City thousands of kilometers away and an awakened person named Bol.
The power of one person is small, but when half a million survivors unite, even the giant wall hundreds of meters high will tremble, and the building thousands of meters high will collapse!
There are not just half a million survivors in Sails Harbor, but over a million!
Encouraged by the power of example, the people who originally dispersed as soon as the gunshots were fired united once again...
They've had enough of the lies.
They have to rely on their own hands to fight for their own rights.
Facing the growing crowd, Najib broke into a cold sweat, but still mustered up the courage to shout at them.
"What are you doing here! Why don't you go to work quickly... You're itchy again, aren't you?"
The people didn't speak, and they didn't step forward to challenge the Wilant soldiers like last time. They just stood there in silence, looking at him with their eyes.
Nagy was so panicked by those eyes that he swallowed nervously. His right hand holding the whip kept shaking, as if he had muscle weakness and couldn't move his hand at all.
There were at least 20,000 to 30,000 people gathered here, more than ten times the number the day before yesterday.
Not only do these people not work themselves, they also block the way back to the warehouse.
Now the entire port is like an alarm clock that has been broken, and the loading and unloading work has completely come to a standstill.
If he can't unload all the cargo on the dock before dark, the Wilantine shipowners and the local nobles will all come to trouble him!
When he thought of that scene, cold sweat suddenly broke out on Najib's forehead, and he looked at the port guard next to him for help.
The guards were also whispering to each other, seeming to be discussing countermeasures.
"Why don't we disperse these people first?"
"But the dock still needs them to work."
"But if they stay here now, they are just a nuisance."
"But what if we don't have them? We rely on those slave laborers to keep us busy until tomorrow."
"The governor told us that our job is to ensure the order of production here... We have to find a way to get them back to work, and we have to let them work conscientiously."
The guard captain glanced at the group of workers and frowned tightly.
He had underestimated these guys before. Although they were as timid as mice, they were not without merit.
Such as being cunning enough.
Strikes by "freedmen" have also occurred in other colonies of the Valantians, but they usually occurred when there was a complete imbalance between debt interest and income, and rarely occurred in the initial stage of the transition from indentured slaves to debt slaves.
This was supposed to be the honeymoon period for both parties.
However, as if someone told them how far this scam would develop next, they suddenly woke up from their illusory dream.
And I also learned the worst, worst bad habit of going on strike.
They can use guns to drive these people from one cage to another, but they can't force these people to be motivated to work.
Whenever this time comes, even the Wilantes can only make some compromises by weighing the pros and cons.
It's a pity that the Governor returned to Triumph City for the New Year and is probably still floating on the sea.
The guard captain strode up to Najib, looked at the pale latter's commanding tone and said.
"... It is not an option to continue with this stalemate. You should talk to them and see how you can get them to go back to work."
Najib quickly returned to the crowd, trying to regain his usual domineering expression, but he couldn't find the confidence to be vicious, so in the end he could only lower his posture and speak earnestly.
"What's the point of just standing here? You have to tell me what you want!"
With the support of his companions, a worker stood up and stared at him.
"We lost an Orissa."
Najib gritted his teeth and said.
"We have already given compensation, what else do you want!"
The laborer said angrily.
"...Too little! Eight hundred dinars is simply not enough for his family to survive in Sisail Port!"
"Then go back to the countryside -" Najib opened his mouth to refute, but was angrily interrupted by the other party.
"Stop pretending to be stupid over there. The fertile land in Lion State is covered with plantations. Where is there any land that they can survive on!"
This sentence resonated with many people, especially those who originally worked on plantations.
If they really had a choice, they wouldn't want to come to this damn place to work hard.
They have the ability to farm, but unfortunately they have no land to farm.
"That's right! They have no home to go back to!"
"Should Orissa's wife and children be allowed to return to their original master's plantation?"
"Then what are we trying to redeem ourselves for? In the end, it's not the same!"
The noise became louder and louder, and people became more and more excited.
Nagy suddenly panicked and yelled desperately.
"Then what do you want? Do you want us to raise them for a lifetime? Why!"
The moment they heard this sentence, everyone was in an uproar, and their eyes became even more angry.
"Why!"
"Just because Orisa died while working for you!"
"We have worked hard for this port, why is there no place for us here?"
"That's right! We not only want justice for Orissa! We also want justice for ourselves!"
"Work wages must go up!"
"Either give us at least 10 dinars a day! Or allow us to organize ourselves and contract the dock! Let's compete fairly. We can eat as much as we do, and we will never rely on you!"
The entire dock was filled with angry roars of workers, and even the slaves who wanted to squeeze through the crowd stopped involuntarily.
Listening to the increasingly excessive demands, Najib felt his scalp go numb.
These guys are asking for high prices!
10 dinars a day!
That’s 300 a month! It’s equivalent to doubling the previous maximum salary!
It costs so much money to move a few boxes, why don't they grab it!
As for letting them organize themselves to contract the dock, that is absolutely impossible.
This is not just a matter of interests, there are other more difficult issues involved.
Neither the Willantes nor the nobles would agree to allow these low-class people to organize themselves.
They dare to ask for the contracting of the dock today, and tomorrow they will rush to ask for the city hall, bank and post office to be contracted as well!
Who else will be named after Saifan Harbor then? Will it be named after these rats?
Najib's brows twitched fiercely, and he yelled at the crowd with all his strength.
"Are you crazy! Do you know what you are asking for? You might as well ask us to give you this port!"
"Then give it to us!"
The workers standing in front of the crowd did not show any weakness at all, nor did they intend to give in.
As if he heard some funny joke, Najib sneered and said.
"For you? You will destroy everything here in less than a day!"
The dock worker stared at him.
"Then just destroy it. Anyway, everything here never belonged to us!"
Seeing that the crowd was getting more and more excited, the Wilant guards standing aside finally couldn't stand it any longer.
The guard captain walked up to Najib, pulled him aside, stared into his eyes and spoke word by word.
"Are you a pig? I asked you to negotiate terms with them and coax them back to their posts, but I didn't ask you to quarrel with them! Do you still want me to teach you what to do?"
Seeing that the Weirant people were angry, Najib quickly explained in a distressed manner.
"My lord, you don't understand... You can't give them a good look! Once you let them taste the sweetness, they will immediately crawl up the baton in your hand like a snake."
"I don't understand?" the guard captain sneered, and patted his head with a smile, "How many colonies have you been to? You have only been a foreman for a few days, and you dare to talk to me like this?"
Najib broke into a cold sweat and lowered his head with a pale face.
"Young ones don't dare..."
The guard captain looked at the helpless guy with disdain, and the expression on his face became more and more disgusted.
He doesn't reject obedient dogs, but this dog must be of some use, right?
As a guard in the Southern Legion for more than ten years, he often had contact with the local natives around the colony. Although he did not directly participate in the games of those big shots, he still understood some basic consensuses.
Whether it is the Southern Legion, the civil service group, or the local indigenous chiefs or nobles, they all prefer to fatten the cows before milking them.
This is good for everyone.
And these guys, as if they have never seen money, would like to use a knife to slit the neck of the cow, skip the milking process, and just lie on it and drink the blood.
There was no time to wait for this guy to figure it out on his own, the guard captain said in a tone that left no room for doubt.
"Raise the standard of death compensation and increase their wages, but you can't give it to them all at once. You can bargain with them... You can decide this yourself. I only have one request, resume work as soon as possible and don't make the matter a big deal, otherwise the Governor
Sir, if you know it, you won’t get any good results!”
Upon hearing this, Najib suddenly cried and begged.
"But sir, our profit is only a little bit. If we give them a wage increase, how can we still make money..."
"Don't pretend that I don't know!"
Seeing that this guy was still trying to be smart and treating himself like a fool, the guard captain couldn't help but burst out and pointed at his nose and cursed.
"You charge based on the weight of the goods! The wages you pay them are less than one-tenth of what you earn! What will happen if you just give out one-tenth? All the time and money you waste here
The money is already much more than this amount! Do you still need me to teach you how to do business?"
Seeing the foreman who was so scolded that he didn't dare to take a breath, the guard captain sighed and said in a gentle tone.
"...Be kind to your compatriots, don't push them too hard, and don't always think about winning the last dinar, otherwise it will be bad for everyone."
"yes……"
Najib reluctantly agreed, although he didn't feel that these snakes, rats, insects, and birds were his compatriots at all.
He is also a lion tribe after all.
Even if he is not a noble, he is much nobler than these guys.
Under the urging of the guard captain, he had to return to the crowd again.
"...Thank you, the kind Governor! We can give you a wage increase! But don't go too far, how about eight dinars a day? That's 240 dinars a month! Damn it, I'm jealous of your wages.
I can buy a little wife after working for 5 months!”
When they heard that the wages had increased to eight gold coins a day, the originally angry crowd gradually became divided, and some people's eyes once again revealed their expectations for life.
As Najib said, 240 dinars a month is a lot!
However, not everyone is so easy to buy.
There were still many people staring with indignation at the foreman who was pushed to the stage.
"What about Orissa?"
Najib gritted his teeth, thinking that after all he had spent a lot of money, it would not be so bad, so he said with a heartbeat.
"The Labor Registration Office will give his family an additional 3,000 dinars... However, this money is not compensation, but a donation entirely out of goodwill and kindness! We cannot let the hearts of those who have worked hard for Sifan Port feel cold, and his family
You should be supported by Saifan Port!"
3000 dinars is not bad!
Even if calculated based on the salary after the increase, it is still one year’s salary!
Everyone's eyes finally glowed with hope. Unexpectedly, some of these nobles were also good people. Some of them even couldn't help but whistle and clapped their hands in praise.
This time, even those who were originally filled with righteous indignation gradually began to have differences, with only a small group of people still staring angrily.
Looking at the shaken crowd, Nagy continued in a soothing tone.
"Okay, let's all disperse. If you still want to get today's wages, then go back to work quickly, or do you expect the gold coins to fall from the sky on their own?"
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Najib finally breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking about the money spent, he still felt a pang in his heart.
I hope you won’t blame me...
If he were to blame, he could only use the Weirant people as a shield.
Let's just say that he originally adhered to the bottom line, and it was the Weiland guards who forced him to increase his wages.
The people who saw the trouble all went back to work, and the Wilant guards who lined up in front of the port also disbanded and went about their own business.
After receiving the telegram, he reported what happened to the secretary in the governor's office.
Governor Huye returned to Triumph City and took away half of the guards in the Governor's Mansion. General McClung and other instructors also went to Yongye Port to take a boat some time ago. Only the port guard and local troops were left in Xifan Port.
The city defense force formed by human beings has an unprecedented lack of defensive strength.
If possible, he hoped that the Governor's Mansion could borrow a team of men from the Southern Corps.
Even if it is a servant army.
However, the trouble is that there is not a single ship on the entire route. The available ships have been sent to the east by the civil service group. It may not be easy to transfer people here...
On the other hand, Najib, who had finally settled the matter, returned to the labor registration office and reported to several major shareholders one by one on the situation at the port and the wage increase.
Before he could take a breath after being scolded, he saw his men running fast again, shouting and shouting as they ran.
"Sir, something bad has happened!"
Before his butt could warm the chair, Naji felt his heart skip a beat and stood up from the chair again, cursing.
"What happened again? Didn't I give them a wage increase!?"
His men turned pale with anxiety and spoke in a hurry.
"Well, this time it's not the dock, it's the steel factory...and the cement factory. As soon as the workers in the factory heard that the dock had raised wages, none of them stopped working, and they also clamored for a wage increase.
.”
Upon hearing this, Najib almost spit out a mouthful of blood and cursed loudly.
"Those greedy vultures!"
It was exactly what he expected.
He knew it would end up like this!
Those Weirant people don't know much about the situation in Borneo, and those mud-legged people cannot be tolerated. Once their lives are comfortable, they will fix these problems.
When the wages at the factory increase, the workers at the dock will probably argue again, saying that the work of transporting goods is more tiring, and how can they get the same wages as those in the steel factory?
They don't want to make money anymore, they might as well close all the factories in the port!
Najib was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead, but the director of the Labor Department standing aside frowned and muttered in a low voice.
"I always think something is wrong about this, like someone is fanning the wind to light a fire."
Najib was shocked.
"You mean the Alliance?"
The director shook his head.
"That's not like it. Eight poles can't hit the edge."
The merchant ships of the alliance will also come here to buy steel and cement. The demand for building materials in Golden Gallon Port and French Fries Port is not small, as well as the southern sea area and Haiya Province that are being rebuilt, etc.
It would not do them any good to make Sailsport a mess. At most, it would give the Legion and the Empire a headache.
At this moment, the servant who came to report the news suddenly felt something in his heart and spoke quickly.
"By the way, I heard that the people who took the lead in making trouble seem to be members of the Silver Moon Church! And the ones who made the loudest noise just now!"
When Najib heard this, he immediately became angry and cursed loudly.
"Are those idiots crazy?"
The director of the Labor Registration Office's eyes flickered slightly and he said thoughtfully.
"The Silver Moon Sect's teachings include the tenet of mutual help. The reason why this matter is such a big fuss...maybe it has something to do with them."
The servant quickly continued.
"Right! I always feel that those gangsters are not good people. By the way, I heard that Orissa is a believer of the Silver Moon Sect. The ones who took the lead in making noise this time often worship with him."
Najib's eyes gradually narrowed, and there was an imperceptible evil light shining in the slits of his eyes.
"It took me a long time because of this..."
It was indeed his negligence.
He almost forgot that the church is also an organization.
Not to mention that the Silver Moon Sect is not honest. Not only does it teach its followers how to read, it also runs a newspaper.
As if he had grasped the root of the problem, he immediately started thinking about it in his mind.
"...We have to find a way to get rid of that church."
After hearing this, the director shook his head.
"This matter is difficult to handle... We can't touch the people of Silver Moon Bay. They are residents of the Camelback Kingdom and are protected by the relevant treaties of the Sticky Community. If we attack them without a reason, it's hard to say what will happen.
Big problem."
"Why do you have to do it yourself..."
Najib suddenly smiled sadly, and said slowly under the surprised gazes of the two people.
"It was the residents of Xifan Port who drove away the charlatan, so we can't blame it, right?"
…
Although the steel plant has a lot of orders, after all, the work is not as urgent as the port.
Before the guards raised by the Wilante gentlemen at the port could take action, Najib took a hundred slaves borrowed from the labor department and formed a "long stick team", not only promising them freedom and dinar
I received my reward and promised not to treat them badly in the future.
As soon as these slaves heard that they could get money and that they could also be used in important ways by their master, without saying a word, they picked up sticks and dispersed the group of workers who had gathered together not to work.
Looking at the rabble scurrying about, Najib showed a proud and evil smile on his face.
If you don’t do it, don’t do it!
The worst case scenario is that the steel factory will be closed for two days, and we'll see who starves to death first!
With the lessons learned at the port, he understood that he must not hesitate in this matter. He must be tough when it is time to be tough, and he must be decisive when it is time to take action.
It is always better to strike first than to strike later!
Even if someone is killed, it is still better than going to the gentlemen of the Wilantes and getting a beating from each one.
After settling the trouble at the steel plant, Najib followed the same pattern and took people to the cement plant, commanding the sticks loyal to him, and taught the troublemakers a lesson.
Under his vigorous and resolute efforts, Xifan Port, which was filled with gunpowder barrels, seemed to have finally returned to its former peace. However, it seemed that a greater crisis was brewing in the endless greed...
In three days, with the hard work of dock workers, all the cargo ships blocking the port were finally unloaded, and the dock was finally empty.
The lightly-armed caravans took the authorization letters from the Governor's Palace and headed towards the legendary dream land - Haiya Province in the far east!
At the same time, Najib, who was exhausted by the porters, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The most difficult days were over, and he was finally free to do something.
Whether it's the workers on strike or the Silver Moon Sect who instigates those workers to be lazy and lazy...
He swore he would make them pay!
As time passed, Xifan Port seemed to be quiet for a while.
At the same time, the caravans that first set off from West Sail Port to the Death Coast finally arrived one after another at the coast in their dreams.
After floating at sea for eleven days, looking at the port appearing on the coastline, Arman's face finally showed an excited expression while standing on the deck.
It's a port!
They finally arrived!
The nearest unit of the Eastern Legion is stationed in Haibei City, a hundred kilometers away from the coastline. As long as you give those people a letter issued by the Governor's Palace, they can get the arms that are sold by the pound!
"Quick! Move the boat over!"
Armen shouted to the crew behind him and excitedly took out his binoculars.
However, the moment he took out the binoculars and looked at the coastline, he was completely dumbfounded.
I saw jet-black tanks parked neatly next to the containers, waiting for professional suspension equipment to load them onto the ship.