It was dark at night, and Sean's carriage drove out of the secret police station.
Carmen Gable was squatting in the car, with an unshaven beard, and he was wolfing down a piece of bread.
The secret police kept him hungry for two days.
The reason why he was "invited" to the detention center by the secret police was entirely because of the inappropriate remarks he made in the newspaper. He has been a little carried away recently, thinking that he is the ideological mentor of the Genoese people.
His remarks were not enough to challenge him and sentence him. Instead, the secret police received a large number of letters of protest. However, if Carmen wanted to get out of the detention center, he could only find powerful people to guarantee him.
As the president of the University of Poitou, Sean happened to be at the school these two days. When he heard about this, he personally came forward to bail him out, because other people who came forward were rejected by the police. They secretly deliberately made him suffer.
"Mr. Gable, I remember you are graduating soon, right?" Sean asked.
Carmen choked on the bread and rolled her eyes. After a long time, she said: "Principal, do you want to kick me out or clean up the house?"
"Of course!" Sean nodded and admitted, "You have been advocating for so-called equality or freedom, but it is me, a privileged person, who provides you with protection. Isn't this a joke?"
"But you are not opposed to the pursuit of equality, right?" Carmen said.
"Don't forget, the person sitting in front of you is a nobleman. For example, the Rocky Mountains are there. Apart from providing me with a hunting place, it does not bring me any obvious benefits. Even so, no commoner has my
It is allowed, but not allowed to go into the mountains to collect. Of course, my mountain guards usually turn a blind eye to civilians going into the mountains to pick up some mushrooms. The mountain guards know that I will not pursue it, and the civilians will not go too far.
If one day, common people get equality, and when he steps into the Rocky Mountains to collect fungi, or even thinks about cutting down trees, and I have conflicts, he will only feel that he is not dealing with one lord, but with another.
Dealing with Europa citizens." Sean said, "Mr. Gable, why do you think I should accept the so-called equality."
"Do you mean that equality is just charity from the superior to the inferior?" Carmen said, "If this is the case, I cannot agree with you."
"No, no, if you put aside your identity, I agree with your point of view, but your position is very problematic. What you pursue is not true equality, but equality for property owners." Sean smiled, "Frankly
Say, I am not afraid of the equality and freedom you pursue, because no matter how the world changes, there will eventually be another kind of inequality, based on inequality in wealth and inequality in positions and rights. And I am not afraid of these two aspects.
They all have advantages.”
Seeing that Carmen was silent, Sean continued: "You may not even realize that when you say you speak for the farmers and speak up for the workers, you are actually speaking on the side of the urban bourgeoisie. You only see that the nobles occupy a large amount of land.
, but they fail to see that the urban bourgeoisie also owns a large amount of land, and they also have privileges. For the sake of profit, they are even more unscrupulous and unscrupulous."
"You advocate the abolition of the privileges of the nobility, as well as the privileges of the robe-wearers, and taking back their land by imposing heavy taxes. Isn't the purpose of letting farmers own the land?" Sean stared at Carmen with sharp eyes.
"Isn't it right?" Carmen asked, "Land to the tiller is one of my wishes."
"But you have to think about it, once these privileged people you oppose lose their land, that land will not naturally go into the hands of farmers. If I were in power, I would deliberately divide the land into large pieces, far more than the farmers.
At an affordable price, I also hypocritically set up a credit bank so that farmers can pay in installments. This will discourage real farmers and thus make those
Some urban bourgeoisie easily obtained land ownership, and they were able to enclose the land and even implement new laws to allow them, the new landowners, to pay less taxes. Not to mention the tenant farmers, unless the land was allocated to them free of charge. The final result
Yes, the land is still concentrated in the hands of a few people, and farmers are still poor." Sean said, "Think about it, naive Mr. Gable!"
"But it is much better than the land being in the hands of the nobility and the church. In their hands, the country will not receive more taxes because of this." Carmen retorted, and Sean's words pointed to his misunderstanding.
, a little naive, "Of course, I admit that your analysis is correct. In the countryside,
It is common for peasants to flee, and this cannot be sustained for a long time. I heard that you distributed ownerless land to peasants in the Moorish area of Guineapolis. This is definitely a very wise and kind thing.
, why can’t the same thing happen elsewhere.”
Sean smiled mysteriously and did not answer.
The answer is simple, because the war destroyed the ruling order and created a power vacuum. Of course, Sean can do this without external intervention.
This was the result of his "bribing" the crown prince in a special way. The crown prince obviously also knew that allowing local farmers in Moore to own land would not only quickly restore peace, but also increase tax sources for the empire. This was the reason why he acquiesced to Sean's proposal.
.
"I know your uncle. He built an important highway for me. I dare say he is a member of the True God Party. Even if he has not joined the True God Party, he is still a sympathizer. Is he still in the secret society now?" Sean did not look at it.
Carmen looked a little pale and continued, "Mr. Gable, if you are invited to tea by the secret police next time, I will not show up again. As you wrote in the newspaper, I am also a member of the leisure class.
We are naturally rivals."
"Principal, I owe you a big favor, and you deserve my repayment in the future." Carmen said seriously, "Besides, I am also from Vichy, and I will never oppose you!"
Because the residents of the western Poitou area now consider themselves to be from the expanded Vichy town. Carmen's loyalty was not readily accepted by Sean.
"It seems that you are preparing to revolutionize my life." Sean said, "Mr. Gable, this is a very dangerous idea. I should stay away from you."
Carmen had no fear: "Frankly speaking, I don't need to hide this in front of you, because I believe you will not tell the truth. But please don't worry, I will go to the Holy City in a few days. In fact, I
I have received several invitations from the Holy City. That is the place where people like me should go. The oppressive and dull air here makes it impossible for me to breathe freely."
"Then I wish you good luck. I suggest you get your diploma first." Sean knocked on the carriage, stopped the carriage, and kicked Carmen out.
Carmen shouted from behind: "Principal, I haven't arrived yet!"
The carriage continued to move forward. There were few pedestrians at night, but there were also workers going home in the night. In the past two years, many handicraft workshops have appeared in Poitou, such as the shoemaking industry and the perfume industry. Some are not small in scale, but overall
Generally speaking, steam engines, which represent modern industrial power, are still rarely used.
But this situation is also changing. Vichy is an example. In addition to Sean's own textile company, the agglomeration effects related to arms manufacturing are becoming larger.
Now Sean has invested in setting up an ironclad shipbuilding company. This is a modern industry with the latest technology, but because it is new enough, the progress is slow.
Partner and talented inventor Andrew Johnson also felt that building an ironclad ship with a load capacity of 200 tons was not the same as building a batch of ships and building a giant ocean-going ship.
At the same time, this is also a huge cash hole. In order to provide supporting industries, Sean must also establish a steel company.
Before establishing a steel company, he had to consider the source of raw materials. He had already sent several geological survey teams to search for iron ore and coal mines everywhere in the south.
The rice can only be eaten one bite at a time.
Sean has an extremely bold and ambitious plan, and the prototype of a complex based on steel and arms manufacturing is taking shape in his mind.
Therefore, he did not have much sympathy for the traditional nobles who relied on the land. They were conservative and stubborn. If they could look away from the land in time, they might find a more secure position in the future.
Sean was thinking about his grand plan, and his struggle had only just begun. As the carriage continued to move forward, Nelson suddenly knocked on the window outside the car:
"Viscount, in front of you seems to be Countess Robinson's car."
Mafrabo quickly sped up, letting the carriage run parallel to the carriage in front of him. The other party also recognized the sign of Sean's car and quickly reported it to his master.
The car window revealed Audrey's delicate and dignified face.
"Good evening, madam, where are you from?" Sean asked in surprise, because he knew that Audrey could hardly leave Rowan Castle.
"Come out of Count Koval's mansion." Audrey replied. In fact, she had been thinking about things related to Sean along the way, but she didn't expect to meet Sean halfway.
This seems to be God's will.
"Invited by the countess?" Sean knew clearly. Of course he had heard the news about the countess of Koval returning home to visit her relatives, because this was the focus of discussions in Poitou's upper class society recently.
For example, Count Koval wants to get the position of deputy minister in the cabinet. Of course, everyone is more concerned about Count Koval's struggle to get a prominent position in the palace.
"Yes, Countess Koval is my cousin. I haven't seen her for several years." Audrey replied.
She also has a property in the city, which is one of the legacies left to her by her deceased parents. It is located in a wealthy area of the city and is a two-story building with gardens on the front and back.
"Can I come in and have a seat?" Sean stretched out his arm so that Audrey could hold his arm and step out of the carriage.
"Okay, you can only stay for twenty minutes. It's very late after all." Audrey said.