The kings were a little frightened by Gawain's words, and they fell silent collectively.
In this silent moment, they probably calculated the expenses.
No matter which world it is in, the cost of building roads will never be low, so this kind of plan puts a lot of pressure on the kings.
So, a wise king immediately asked Gawain.
"Wait a minute, Gao Wensheng, can this so-called sea train really greatly increase the transportation scale and speed of all kinds of goods as you said?
If possible, haha, then of course I would be willing to do it. Maybe one day in the future, I won’t need to take a boat to Mariejoia for meetings.
You see, I absolutely support your decision, you are as bright as the sun in my eyes.
But... Your Highness, I hope you can understand my difficulty.
Our country really has no money now. The gold in the sky is really too heavy. In order to pay back the gold in the sky, we have really gone bankrupt!"
After the words fell, the king who spoke looked at Gawain cautiously, and then he made an embarrassed expression.
At the same time, the other kings, after a moment of silence, immediately spoke out to support the king who was crying for poverty again.
For a time, these kings were dressed in gold and jade, and each of them carried a crown worth at least several billion beli. Not long ago, they were buying luxury goods and fashionable slaves in Chambord.
They are described by themselves as just like drifters who barely make a living by sleeping in bridge holes.
Those who are extremely poor do not know that they must have a dream of being an actor...
On the sidelines, seeing the kings' performances gradually becoming more exaggerated, Gawain raised his hand and patted the table gently.
"That's it, everyone!"
After the words fell, Gawain's right hand pressed on the table, and countless arcs of electricity burst out.
Accompanied by the harsh sound of the arc, the kings who were crying fiercely were startled, and they quickly sat upright.
Seeing them calm down, Gawain took back his right hand and said with a smile.
"I understand your difficulties, but you also need to understand my difficulties.
Heavenly Gold has been the core rule of the World Government since its establishment. Even I cannot easily break such a rule.
If it were just the heavenly gold of a certain country, then I might be able to propose a reduction or exemption.
But you are sitting here with a total of seventeen kings, and there are no kings who have reached this place on the great route, and there are representatives of raw material exporting countries from all over the world who are not qualified to stand here.
Taken together, I'm afraid there are 4 to 50 countries that will gradually join our cooperation in the future!
This is nearly one-third of the alliance countries in the world. I am powerless and cannot propose a proposal for so many kings to temporarily retain the heavenly gold and refuse to hand it over.
You should be able to understand this!"
After he finished speaking, Gawain glanced around coldly, and his eyes made everyone he saw lower their heads.
But even so, the kings would not shut up easily.
After all, in the eyes of the kings, if they were to spend a large sum of money for Gawain's plan, their behavior would not only lower their own lives by at least one level, but also lower their nobles' lives.
They complained!
In particular, the kings felt that Gawain had trouble standing and talking.
Their men earn less and will never be able to complain to Gawain.
After all, it is these poor kings who are regarded as a thorn in the side of those people!
In short, even though the kings were trembling, they did not accept Gawain's explanation. The king immediately spoke to Gawain cautiously.
"But, sir, I...hey.
I am really willing to support you, but I really don’t have the ability!
After all, everyone knows that our Kingdom of Alabasta has just experienced a drought that has lasted for several years, and now I still have to rely on the help and assistance of others to barely keep the civilians alive."
Having said this, Kobra gave Gawain a look full of meaning, and at the same time, he continued to speak to the people around him and Gawain with his full acting skills.
"The common people in our country really can't afford to eat, and they can't squeeze out any oil or water from them. If you don't believe me, then I can even hand over the entire economy of my kingdom to you, sir!"
At this point, Kobra put on an attitude of breaking a jar and started dancing with a grimace.
"As long as you don't remove me and the treasures of my nobles, then the financial power of our country will be handed over to you at worst!
The shops of the nobles under me can pay you taxes, but in addition to the normal commercial taxes, if you plunder the wealth of our nobles too wantonly, then even if you are a Celestial Dragon, we will take the lawsuit to the Five Old Stars before.
In short, this is what I mean, you are here to send people to manage our country's finances, and you are here to collect taxes from the shops of our common people, that is, other groups of people excluding the nobility.
Then, you will be responsible for paying the heavenly gold for our country. Is this okay, Your Highness Gawain?
You know, I have handed over all the financial power to you, so if you decide how to deduct money from the hands of ordinary people, or how to set prices and import and export tax rates, you will always have something It's profitable.
However, I still want to emphasize that I will not give you the right to manage the nobles!
And the most important thing is that this kind of management can only last until the sea train is completely established!
Do you think this is okay?"
After speaking, Kobra made an interested expression, and then he glanced at the kings around him.
To be honest, a smart king immediately became interested in this plan.
For the kings, the little money in the hands of common people was really a drop in the bucket.
Especially today's common people, haha, the tax money deducted from them is barely enough to pay the heavenly gold!
They also have various industries of their own, and those industries are where they make most of their money. As long as their industries are not moved, their treasure trove will always increase.
In particular, if Gawain sends someone to take care of the taxation of the garbage of low-class civilians, he will not only save money in heaven, but also save money to build a sea train!
Don’t the kings know that once things like sea trains are launched on a large scale, it will be a good thing for everyone and make the cake bigger?
Of course they know, but those good things are good things in the future, but they cost them money now.
It is true that if this thing comes to pass, they will make more money in the future.
But they don't feel they need to do this kind of sacrifice.
Although money is important to them, they also want to earn more.
But no matter what, they don’t want to bear even a moment’s loss!
When Chongzhen was rebelled against by Li Zicheng, the emperor personally took the lead in borrowing money from civil and military officials to fight the war, but in the end he couldn't even raise one million taels of silver.
Everyone is poor!
As a result, after Li Zicheng broke into the capital, he turned over the plate and ransacked his mother's house.
This copy costs hundreds of millions of taels of silver. They are so rich.
They are the smartest people in the Ming Dynasty. Almost all of them are the top picks and the top candidates. Don’t they know that if the Ming Dynasty continues to exist, they can earn more?
Have they never thought that once Li Zicheng comes in, their wealth will really disappear?
Are they just looking at Li Zicheng with a sense of luck?
Some people say that people at the top of wealth sometimes do not pursue making themselves richer.
All they have to do is keep the common people poor.
Because as long as the common people are poor enough, there will always be people to cultivate their land and there will always be people around them to take care of them.
As long as the lower class people are poor enough, then the upper class people will still be served by the lower class people even if they earn less or save less.
Although this statement has some truth, it has been proved by the facts over the years.
The superior people never make choices, they want them all.
While I keep the lower classes poor, why should I suffer a slight loss of my own wealth?
No, I want them to be poor, and I want me to be richer. This is their principle!
History has proven that the real truth is that the richer a person is, the less likely he is to let go of the wealth he has already acquired and is about to acquire.
At this moment, looking at the kings who were gradually moving around him, Gawain really looked forward to the day when he would completely eradicate them.
Although Gao Wen particularly admired Qin Shihuang, he had to admit that Gao Wen's favorite method of governing was Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty.
Since officials have obtained the qualifications to manage others and have a higher status than ordinary people, they should keep the spirit of poverty and don't think about accumulating unimaginable wealth!
Anyone who has embezzled dozens of taels will be dragged out, skinned and stuffed as grass, and his head will be left with his head!!!
Of course, for now, compromise is an inevitable choice.
So Gawain sneered in his heart, and smiled at a group of expectant kings.
"Haha, Kobra actually made a good suggestion.
Such as what Cobra is thinking now, in fact, I have also considered similar plans in the past.
Please hand over the economic sectors of your respective countries that are geared towards civilians to my hands, and let me squeeze the unscrupulous people under your control for you!
I am a Tianlong. Even if they dare to resist you, even if they dare to defy you, they will never dare to do anything that makes me dissatisfied!
I am here to withhold more money from them, and then I am here to bear the heavenly money you each need to pay for you. I am also here to bear a series of investments for you in building the sea train!
You guys are so lucky. When you meet such a generous adult like me, you just need to follow me and enjoy it!
But one thing is very important.”
I saw Gawain raising his palms to everyone around him.
"You must understand me, I am not here to do charity, I also want to make money, everyone!
If I have no money, what can I use to equip my big ship, and what can I use to support my maids and guards.
And those sought-after slaves, you don’t want me to be unable to afford those slaves, right?
So, everyone, don’t think about kicking me out of this plate as soon as the sea train is completed!
The sea train is destined to be a profitable business, and I hope to make a good fortune from this business!
My Black Bird cost me a full two trillion beli. You should understand what kind of number that is!
So, three years, I don’t want much, just three years!
Three years after the construction of the sea train is completed, I will still hold on to your financial power!
Moreover, in those three years, I will not continue to pay any heavenly gold for you!
Can you understand?"
"certainly!"
"Haha, we understand it so well. Lord Gawain is a good person!"
"Your plan can be launched immediately. You can even send someone back with me directly. I will let the adults under you control the financial power.
But only in the past few years, sir, you must not be offside."
"Your Majesty is so generous, haha. It's just a tax from a group of common people. We should earn the same amount without having to pay heavenly gold or the money to build the sea train!"
"Yes, it feels like a huge benefit has fallen on us. How much money can those lowly people get out of their hands? This is all because Lord Gawain takes care of us!"
"I will put up your statue as a tribute when I get back!"
"I'll provide the photos."
"Long live your lord, the Five Old Stars have never been as generous as your lord, they only know how to kill demons!!!"
"Long live my lord!"
For a time, under the tacit leadership of Kobra and others, the kings even began to cheer in the conference room.
They have plenty of money, their country will have countless more jobs and import and export trade channels, and they won’t have to pay the heavenly gold in the next few years!
For these big shots, this was simply a blessing. As for what they paid, they only made the lives of the lower-class people under them worse!
As for what you said, why don't they think that those lower-class people will live better under Gawain's control, and even do things that Gawain coerces to attack their superiors, or even directly rebel.
Haha, don’t be kidding, no king would think like that!
Because Gawain is a Celestial Dragon!
The kings know the Celestial Dragons very well. The Celestial Dragons don’t even treat them as kings as human beings, let alone just low-class people?
Even if Gawain was a slightly smarter Celestial Dragon, the kings wouldn't think much of it.
Who told this sea to be full of stereotypes about the Celestial Dragons?
As for Gawain, looking at the increasingly excited kings opposite him, he crossed his hands, held his chin and laughed.
Whether your plan can be realized or not depends on the next three to five years.
It is indeed a good thing to be able to control their financial power. It can even be said to be an unexpected blessing. Cobra has never communicated this to Gawain.
According to Gawain's original plan, he wanted to have a good discussion with the kings about some specific business content, such as a series of business adjustments involving raw material prices, and then find out from this business adjustment that the kings could accept.
of profit.
Gawain's idea cannot be said to be wrong, but he has really forgotten that this is not the real world, this is the Pirate King after all!
Gawain thought about this matter too much. He really didn't understand the kings here.
It turns out that at least he doesn't know those people better than Kobra!
In short, today's agreement is a good thing for the kings to cheer.
At the same time, for Gawain, this event is also worthy of celebration.
After all, what Gawain cares about is not financial gains and losses. If he is really short of money, then he can go to the Golden Emperor. Thirty percent of the world's wealth is with him.
All Gawain wants is to completely connect the Grand Route!
The most important thing is that for him now, the sea train plan is not just a great achievement of trains running on the same track!
This plan has other more important meanings for Gawain!
Don't forget, Gawain is a thunderbolt, and he has the ability to use the medium to reach a speed comparable to that of a mobile phone signal!
But the seawater full of sea tower factor slightly isolates all that, and the pure air without various signal towers is not enough to maximize his speed!
So…….
What if Gawain spread the tracks of the sea train to every corner of the sea?
At that time, every train and track will be Gawain's antenna!