In an orphanage in Newham District, Ma Wei, who came to meet Arthur after receiving the letter, was full of surprise and wondered if he had heard wrongly.
As soon as he walked in, Arthur asked him straight to the point if he had any money. If he had money, he would lend him some.
Okay...
Emotion called him here just to borrow money!
"The Labor Party launched this general strike. Of course, it must ensure the basic needs of the striking workers, but there are too many people on strike, and the West Island nobles who support me will not give their all, so I came to you for help." Arthur.
Said calmly.
"How much do you want to borrow?"
"How many do you have there?"
Since he started sending money back to the Romanov Kingdom, Mavey has only kept the liquidity to maintain the company's operations. The second prince has asked him more than once to move to a large villa in the prosperous Yiling District. Mavey will not go.
To save money.
Living in a big villa seems comfortable, but in fact you have to hire servants, which increases the risk. On the contrary, if you live in a grocery store and there are no outsiders except them, you will naturally not be afraid of leaking secrets.
Now Arthur wants to borrow money and asks him how much money he has...
"You don't want to pay me out of pocket, do you?" Ma Wei looked at Arthur warily: "I don't want the second prince to be suspicious, so I can only lend you 500,000 gold pounds."
"How many?"
"500000."
"I originally wanted to borrow 300,000 yuan." Arthur said quietly, "Father, you are really rich."
"The company has to purchase potions from all over the world, go through storage, freight, customs clearance and other procedures. Of course, it needs to prepare more working capital. This is an international market."
It is no exaggeration to say that with the strong support of the Church of the Three Goddess of Destiny and the acquiescence of other churches such as the Church of Wisdom and Judgment, Manstein's Potion Company has almost monopolized the international potion market and occupies a dominant position on the surface.
70% of the potion trade volume, swallowing up half of the cake like a whale.
The main reason is that there are no opponents. Whether it is the First Empire of Bonaparte, the Kingdom of Frederick, or the Roman Republic, although they have established a relatively complete potion system, they still cannot compete with the Manstein Potion Company. They have been doing
I don't know why, actually...
Behind the Manstein Potion Company is the strong support of the two major powers, the Kingdom of Windsor and the Kingdom of Romanov.
The Kingdom of Windsor has a large number of overseas colonies, and the land owned by the Romanov Kingdom combined is equivalent to 30% of the world's total land area. How can one or two kingdoms compete with such vast land resources?
Nowadays, Ma Wei, as long as he wants, there is no potion material that he cannot buy. Many churches are short of materials and have to seek help from the Manstein Potion Company. Over time, a virtuous circle has been formed, helping Manstein from the side.
The Tann Potion Company continues to grow from strength to strength.
It stands to reason that as the founder and top shareholder Ma Wei should not go shopping leisurely every day, but in fact, once such a huge money-attracting machine is started, it will start running on its own. The so-called leadership is just for
They are just the people who set the direction for the company, and there is no need to do it themselves.
"Just borrowing money won't solve the problem."
In the empty backyard, Ma Wei looked up at the sky and said: "It is not a wise move to compete with capitalists for capital. This is what they are best at."
"I have considered this issue." Arthur said: "I plan to start from the outside. Although all the big businessmen in London have united, this strike involves the entire southern region of the kingdom. The businessmen in London can resist, and the small cities can resist."
What about the businessmen? They won’t be able to sustain it for long.”
"As long as we can withstand it for a week, businessmen in small cities will naturally compromise if they can't."
"It seems you already know what to do."
"Besides borrowing money, I have come to you today for one more thing." Arthur looked into Mavey's eyes and said, "Have you given the soul potion to Charles?"
"I left it to him yesterday. If he acted quickly, he would have started poisoning today. Why, you changed your mind?"
"I just want to confirm a rough time." Arthur said lightly: "You said you found Avalon last time, is that true?"
"I'm not sure if that's the holy land you're following, because I haven't been there either, but I've got the key to Avalon... Do you want to go now?"
"No."
Arthur shook his head: "If my mother is there, then I should put on the crown and go to see her."
.....................
royal palace.
After sending away the nobles who came to complain, Rhodes IV slowly closed his eyes and leaned back on the throne. A strong sense of exhaustion came over him, as if he would fall asleep at any time.
This is a sign that the soul is about to be completely exhausted. Even if he does nothing, he is still drowsy, and fatigue spreads in his bones. Now Rhodes IV is like an old man who is about to die. Even if his hair is still black, his spirit has
I can't hold it any longer.
There were subtle footsteps behind him, accompanied by a faint fragrance. Rhodes IV did not open his eyes and asked hoarsely: "How long do I have to live?"
"At most half a year."
A woman's voice came from behind: "Unless you are willing to dedicate your soul to the great Belial, then Belial will grant you eternal life."
"Eternal life..."
Rhodes IV smiled, "It sounds tempting, but I won't agree."
"You should understand that death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of everything." the woman said.
"I'm tired, I want to rest..."
Opening his tired eyes, Rhodes IV took off his crown and stroked the precious gems on it: "I have enjoyed worldly power for long enough. Now, I want to get peace."
"I hope you can fulfill the contract and not interfere with Arthur after I die."
The woman said coldly: "We never break the contract."
"That's good."
Click.
The door opened and the maid brought lunch, with Lord IV's favorite roasted sturgeon on the plate.
Picking up the knife and fork, Rhodes IV slowly cut off a piece of fish and handed it to the woman beside him. The woman opened her red lips and bit the fish, chewed it twice and said, "It's poisonous."
"Is it fatal?"
"It's not fatal, but it's harmful to the soul. If you take it for a long time, ordinary people will collapse in bed. And with your current situation..." The woman thought for a while: "I'm afraid the life span will be shortened to three months."
"They should have done it." Rhodes IV cut off a piece of fish, stuffed it into his mouth under the woman's gaze, and chewed it slowly: "In my life, I have four sons, Charles, Shukri, and Andrew
And Arthur...I hope they will be harmonious and not kill each other, but now it seems that all this has become a luxury hope."
"Is it too late to say this now?"
"It's a little late, but I don't regret it." Rhodes IV said: "Everything I have done is for the Kingdom of Windsor. My union with Sophia is inevitable, and the birth of Arthur is also inevitable. He will lead Windsor
The kingdom is reaching its peak, and the most regretful thing in my life is letting go of Marvie Enders, making him the biggest enemy of the Kingdom of Windsor."
After a pause, Rhodes IV asked: "How long will it take for the attack to occur?"
"This is a chronic poison that only takes effect in about a month."
"In other words, what do I want to do that I need to complete as soon as possible?"
"Yes."
"knew."
.............................
"What? Father is going to Frederick's Kingdom?"
At the Nightingale Club, the eldest prince listened to the palace servant's report and couldn't help but frowned: "Why is father so crazy? Why is he suddenly going to Frederick's Kingdom?"
"Your Majesty... His Majesty said that this was an idea he had when he was young, but it has not been realized for so many years, so..."
"He is the king! How can he leave the kingdom without permission? Aren't he afraid of danger on the road?"
"His Majesty invited Archbishop Liviu to go to Berlin with him..." the servant said.
"I really don't know what to say!"
The eldest prince put down his books and couldn't figure out what was going on in Rhodes IV's mind.
For so many years, King Rhodes IV has been a peaceful monarch. He rarely leaves London and completes government affairs in a standardized manner every day for decades. Today, he suddenly has to go to Berlin...
Where is Berlin?
The capital of Frederick's Kingdom!
What are you going there for?
What the eldest prince couldn't understand, the fourth prince knew clearly.
In the Educators Association office, Arthur also heard that Rhodes IV was preparing to leave for Frederick's Kingdom. After hearing this, his first reaction was silence.
"Your Highness, why don't you speak?" Sean Rickman asked.
"When I was young, King Rhodes IV once said that he wanted to visit my mother's hometown. He said that he would set off with my mother to the foot of the snow-capped mountains of Frederick's Kingdom, which was my mother's hometown.
..”
"Is His Majesty going to fulfill the promise he made back then?" Sean Rickman asked in surprise: "How many years have passed? Why is Your Majesty so whim?"
"Who knows? Maybe he feels that his physical condition is getting worse day by day. If he doesn't go, he may really have no chance."
Sean Rickman didn't know what to say. This was Arthur's family matter and had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't talk too much.
Arthur's mother, Princess Sofia, was from the royal family of Frederick and was the sister of Katerina's mother. In terms of blood relationship, Arthur was Katerina's cousin.
At the same time, Princess Sofia is also the sister of William V, the current king of the Kingdom of Frederick. William V's eldest son, Daniel, is a relative of the same generation as Katerina and Arthur.
The marriages between the royal families of various countries are somewhat complicated. If we insist on tracing back, a king of the Kingdom of Windsor once married the sister of the mother of the king of the Kingdom of Windsor, and his son married the king's daughter...
Such a complex network of relationships is of course impossible to calculate, so all countries follow one rule:
Regardless of bloodline, be loyal to your current kingdom.
There is no other way around this. If we talk about blood, we are all relatives and related by blood. I am not only your eldest brother-in-law, but also your second uncle-in-law or your son-in-law. What should I do then?
It's best to forget the past.
In any case, Arthur had no reason to stop Rhodes IV from going to Frederick's Kingdom. It was just that the time chosen by the other party was very subtle. Not only was it the period when the eldest prince was trying to poison him, but it also happened to be the moment when the strike was at its most violent.
.
"If His Majesty leaves the kingdom, many matters will have to be decided by the cabinet, and the cabinet currently does not support the Labor Party, which is not good for us," Sean said.
"Don't worry about them. The most urgent task is to distribute the supplies. How is the situation in the city?"
"Similar to last time, the lives of many residents have been affected after the strike. Trains and freighters from outside cannot come in, and there is a shortage of supplies in the city. However, we have opened a channel and can continuously bring in food every day. Manstein
Since the private funding from the potion company has also arrived, it won’t be a problem to hold on for half a month.”
Arthur nodded and said, "Are those small businessmen outside having trouble with their cash flow recently?"
"That's right." Sean said with a smile: "They are suffering more than anyone else now. Debt collectors come to their door every day to demand payment. If this rate continues, they will soon be unable to bear it."
"To add fuel to the fire, let the West Island businessmen take them to court."
"clear!"
As early as a month ago, Arthur had asked the West Island nobles to sign large orders with many factories in the southern part of the kingdom. After paying the deposit, he launched the second general strike.
Failure to deliver the goods is a breach of contract, and the large amount of liquidated damages is enough to make these businessmen break their bones. This is the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
Soon, the West Island nobles took many factory owners to court in the name of breach of contract without compensation. When they received the summons, the factory owners' legs couldn't stop shaking. They knew that they would lose this lawsuit.
The contract is written in black and white, and the goods cannot be produced. If they go to court, who will favor them?
And once the lawsuit is lost...
They will face bankruptcy and liquidation.
As a last resort, these businessmen ran to London to seek asylum from the second prince, hoping to find bank loans to tide them over. The second prince also generously lent them money, but the interest rate was very high, and he had the intention of taking advantage of the situation.
Of course the second prince understands the principle of losing one's lips and teeth, but those bankers don't understand. It's not that they don't understand, but they are taking a chance and being blinded by the benefits.
Once businessmen sign high-interest loan contracts, they will be controlled by banks in the future and become a money-making tool.
All this was done without the knowledge of the second prince. After getting the contract, the businessmen were in despair. They were either dead if they borrowed it, or they were dead if they didn't borrow it. They were completely put on a stand and were in a dilemma.
unless...
Agree to the conditions of the workers' union and accept the minimum hourly wage treaty. That way, even if profits decrease, you can still survive!
At least you don’t have to be restricted by others!
After understanding this, many businessmen turned around and compromised with the workers' alliance. After agreeing to the conditions, many workers immediately returned to work and continued production, helping the bosses to escape the penalty date.
"Both! Worms! They are a bunch of damned bugs! They should be hanged on the gallows!!!"
When the second prince learned about this, he became furious and smashed everything he could see. He scolded not only the weak-minded businessmen, but also the group of bankers who took advantage of the situation!
"How long have you been thinking about making money! Have they fallen in love with money?!"
"Your Highness, be careful what you say."
Baron Frederick quickly advised: "The Thames Bank supports you, and your words cannot reach their ears."