Time flies, and nearly five years have passed since Lorraine Hill came to the empire.
"Excuse me, is Master Jialan here?"
In the quiet room, the hardwood door of the room was knocked, and a questioning voice came.
"Please come in." A light reply sounded in the room.
"Thanks."
The afternoon sun is still a bit strong, and the world outside the window is particularly dazzling, but the office room is much cooler and quieter.
Lorraine Hill was sitting on the seat wearing a comfortable white dress, with her light cyan hair falling on her back and front, complementing her white neck.
Now that the organization of 'Fairy Wood' is relatively complete, and she doesn't have many things to deal with, she will be a little curious about who is looking for her.
"Hello, Lord Jialan, I am Sosifa from the Hanging Wing Province." This man was wearing a smart white shirt on his upper body and military trousers on his lower body.
"Perhaps you don't know me, because I am not a member of the Fairy Woods."
"However, I have cooperated with the organization very early and provided much-needed supplies in many ways before, so I gained trust."
"Then why are you here today?" Lorraine Hill gently supported his head with one hand, and his fair and delicate wrists were exposed from the cuffs of his sleeves.
She is mainly responsible for education, the construction of laws, publicity and guidance in the "Fairy Wood". Regarding business and taxation, it is Lu Bin and others who are responsible, so she is a bit unfamiliar to this person.
"Actually, I have some questions that I would like to ask, sir."
He bowed and saluted first, and then spoke.
"Nowadays, many changes have taken place within the empire, especially the new emperor who has begun to imitate the southern border reforms, and this trend has gradually spread to the borders of the empire."
"I can say that I am the one who has made more profits as the organization has grown and expanded, and now there are many industries in the local area."
He began to introduce his industry in detail. He had built a large steelmaking plant locally and had the mining rights of several mines.
"It can be said that compared to ordinary people, I do have greater influence, but I also want to ask your Excellency a question, that is, can I get more protection." He looked at this appearance and himself.
A girl who looked like a daughter asked with a sincere voice.
In fact, Sosifa's visit today was not just his personal idea. There were also many similar owners of large chambers of commerce. The factory owners wanted to use this opportunity to explore the arrangement of the 'Drywood' organization for them.
Later, they found Sosifa, who was closely related to the organization but did not belong to the "Drywood" organization.
"Is this so?"
Lorraine Hill was thoughtful. She gently shook the bell and asked Iena, who was resting next door, to come over and put a chair for Mr. Sosifa.
Soon after, the maid asked for a wooden chair and some tea.
“What coverage do you want?”
Lorraine Hill looked at this man and continued to ask. She estimated that this man must have heard about what happened in the Imperial Parliament recently, so he asked this question.
"Uh...how do I describe this? I'm not eager to gain superhuman power. I know this is not recognized by the organization."
"However, I also hope that I will not be framed or manipulated so easily."
"Sir, you also know that when a person has huge wealth, it is inevitable that some people will be jealous, so they will use some unconventional means, such as framing, or false accusations."
"For them, the cost is not big, and once they succeed, they can get huge benefits, so some people will take the risk."
"What's specific?"
"For example, let's put it this way: According to the laws stipulated by the organization, factories are not allowed to mistreat employees or hide safety hazards."
"I did follow the requirements above, but what should I do if someone deliberately forges or pretends to be a worker and enters my factory and falsely accuses me of mischief?"
"Such things are often difficult to distinguish. If they came often, I might be arrested by the legal correction team."
"This is the first point. They can try and make profits from me at a small price."
"The second point is that some small officials use their power to blackmail me. How should I respond?"
"Most of the people in the organization are good people, I take that for granted, but occasionally there will be one or two people with bad character among them. They may not have a high monthly income, so they use their positions to deliberately block me and make things difficult for me. I
How to deal with it.”
"If I oppose them, does that mean I oppose the organization? If they imprison me on the grounds of law enforcement, what should I do?"
"You may say that I can appeal through the law, but when I am imprisoned, I lose my freedom and safety. That is a very scary thing."
Although his expression was somewhat vague, Lorraine Hill vaguely guessed his true intention, which was to obtain a certain degree of power protection.
It's not that this person is a bad person, he just wants his wealth to be safe, long-term, and maintained.
In fact, these problems have appeared in previous lives, and the methods adopted by different countries are also different. Some people use agents to isolate themselves in layers to protect themselves and stay away from ways that may threaten them. Others will directly obtain certain powers and enter
The upper class of society.
"I probably understand what you mean." The girl looked at the man and nodded, but she didn't want to answer directly.
"We will establish relevant laws in the future to punish those who make false accusations. We will also review internal personnel and constantly correct mistakes."
After finishing speaking, Lorraine Hill slowly drank tea until the man couldn't sit still.
"Then, sir, do you have any other, uh, more different measures?"
"Sorry, no. The belief of our organization is that everyone is equal. Wealth can give you more choices, but it does not mean that you can be superior to others."
"But, what should I do if someone is jealous and wants to rob me of my wealth with just a trivial matter?" His words finally became a little unsteady.
"If it is a legal judgment, such behavior will be cross-examined by the upper management of the organization. After all, you own a lot of property, so you will be more cautious."
"If it is not a legal sentence, but there are bad people bullying you, then you can report it to the organization and we will conduct corresponding investigations."
Gu 丿
"But...but..." He hesitated for a long time, and finally resisted the topic, then slowly shut up and had to stand up to leave.
However, what if those personnel are no longer fair? The girl said those words for him in her heart.
Regarding this issue, some countries in the past have stated from the beginning that the higher-ups cannot be trusted, so they need to have guns in their hands, a jury, so-called evidence, etc., in order to achieve a balance.
But, how can ordinary people compete with the rich? It's just a complicated fig leaf.
In fact, this is also a difficult problem in modern society. When a person has huge wealth, a business, and many people working for him, it is difficult to regard him as the same as ordinary people.
No matter how much the laws and systems are adjusted, they can gradually erode or circumvent them through various means, and these people will use these powers gained overtly or covertly to gradually devour fairness, and finally make the country or the world unbalanced.
It became a mess.
Before reaching that day, human beings have to hold their noses and fight against this disease. If you exploit loopholes, I will fix them. If you corrupt the country into a mess, then a country that is healthier than you will surpass you and replace you.
replace.
Although it cannot be eliminated, it can be slowly iterated to prevent it from completely deteriorating.
What changes the world is always a comprehensive innovation in technology.
Because of the railway, the country's resources have been connected, and the construction of all large-scale production and industrial chains has gradually taken shape.
Because of the radio and the Internet, the thoughts of all citizens have begun to converge, with unified thoughts, unified voices, a unified sense of identity and collective memory.
Because of cameras and QR codes, the tracking and trajectories of various people can be clearly estimated, and many criminal activities have begun to decline.
When technology becomes more and more abundant, there will be fewer and fewer dark corners, and it will eventually become bright and just.
In the Twilight Era, the humans of the "Original Heart" faction discussed the end of system construction and the ultimate way to solve the problem. This was also the origin of the later "Throne of Gods" plan.
It's a pity that they fell down halfway, and then the 'Mechanical Council' picked them up and continued walking, but the way they walked seemed different from the 'Original Heart'.
Based on the idea that everything is a tool for me, the 'Mechanical Parliament' maximized the tool properties of the 'Throne of God'. This also briefly made the ancients powerful, but unfortunately it also led to the convergence of all human beings.
It also makes the risk resistance ability extremely low in disasters.
The tide of the Sea of Ezeka submerged everything, and the remaining humans formed the "Sun of Divine Wings", found out the idea of the "Tree of Life Sect", started over, and continued on.
Although it is a new world now, the same situations we encountered in the past will be encountered again by today's civilization.
Lorraine Hill couldn't explain to this man at this time that the world would change soon, and what he said would no longer be a problem in the future.
But for now, let's just be patient for now.
In the middle of the empire, the merchants and tycoons who became wealthy due to emerging industries began to pursue power. They clearly understood that without power in the empire, all their wealth was just a fat sheep to be slaughtered, and people could use it in various ways.
Come and seize.
In the absence of a sense of security, these people's thirst for power is unimaginable to ordinary people.
Although the emperor opened up the status of members of the local edict council, allowing these people to participate in politics to a small extent and gain some voice, but under the inertia of the imperial tradition, the nobles still have great detachment.
If a nobleman duels with a wealthy businessman in the street and kills the other party, he will not commit a big crime, and the noble court will favor the nobleman. Similarly, if a wealthy businessman uses conspiracy to kill the nobleman, he will be destroyed and all his family property will be destroyed.
All will be inspected.
For this reason, although the emperor has opened up some powers, many chambers of commerce have gradually formed their own protective forces after gaining huge wealth and urged by a lack of sense of security.
Such armed behavior gradually touched the sensitive nerves of the feudal nobles.
You are doing business on my territory and you still maintain such a large armed force. So who has the final say here?
Within the empire, the conflict between nobles and wealthy merchants gradually became fierce.
But unlike the drastic changes in the central region, the southern region is experiencing prosperous development.
First of all, there are no nobles in the Southern Territory now. The empire was cleaned up in the early stages of the civil war. Later, the continuous uprisings and rebellions consumed a lot of money. Finally, the unification of the 'Fairy Wood' wiped out the remaining small nobles and ruled in name only.
Moreover, the descendants of the Red Dragon Duke publicly stated that they would give up their nobility status and all their privileges, so other minor nobles did not dare to say anything.
Can you be more glorious and noble than the Paskar family? Obviously not, so under the circumstances, you can only accept it, and finally become the same as ordinary people, and re-accept the distribution and division of local land by the "Drywood" organization
.
Nowadays, the 'Drywood' organization is in its new period. The first batch of people who founded it are still there. It is the period when its beliefs are at its peak and rising. Naturally, there are no various diseases of the old organization. Although some people may be affected by the influence of the central part of the empire.
Influence, some small thoughts were raised, but in the end it was not a climate, and there was not much ground.
However, the situation in other regions of the empire is not so clear.
The eastern border is mostly plain and has a suitable climate. Planting, trade, and animal husbandry are the main industries. Although there are also many handicrafts and new workshops, most of them were developed by the original local nobles themselves. They were the industries of the nobles from the beginning.
, so it didn’t cause much problems.
Thanks to the influence of elven blood, the nobles of the Eastern Territory tend to have a longer-term perspective. They will live longer, so they also value sustainable development. Therefore, the treatment of workers is quite acceptable. Therefore, conflicts are relatively small.
Small.
The northern border is currently restricted by the cold disaster and it is difficult to develop the economy. However, the workshops gradually established in each border require a large amount of raw materials and minerals. The surviving residents here have begun to rely on the excavation of mines to make a living.
Compared with the cold outdoors, it seems to be much warmer underground or in mines in the mountains. Therefore, many people's lifestyles have begun to change.
The western border is mainly a mountainous area covered with forests and hills, with few plains. It relies on the Blue River that passes through the Sighing Mountains, and the border defense of the southern border of the empire. The Salius family of the Duke of Griffin controls the main route from the empire to Crancia.
The east and west sides of the mainland trade with each other, and most of the profits generated flow into the hands of the western feudal nobles, and they also scorn the empire's new policy.
Rich businessman? They are just sheep passing by on their own land, and they shear their sheep every year.
How can a sheep ride on people's heads and still give them power? No need to think about it. And these Western nobles are gradually becoming dissatisfied with the rule of the new emperor Elio.
At the end of the year, the nobles of the central provinces began to embezzle the properties of the Chamber of Commerce because of their jealous interests, which gradually led to conflicts. Some workshops closed down, and unemployed and landless workers began to live on the streets in large numbers.
Broken Mars begins to sprout.
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PS:
It’s impossible not to talk about things like politics, otherwise many plots will not be explained, the world will become unreal, and the audience will not understand.
But this can be a bit boring sometimes, so I will try to reduce the appearance of these contents in the future unless it is unavoidable.
I don’t want to write about troublesome and brain-consuming politics, I just want to write about Lorraine’s warm daily life, but... why has it come to this point? Is this the price of writing epic novels_(:з」∠)_