Seeing this miraculous scene, Shi Huaiya felt as if his heart had stopped beating for several seconds.
"This isn't Originium Arts..."
Shi Huaiya had been so tense that he hadn't even blinked.
He was certain that the other party had made no preparatory movements to use Originium Arts. He didn't even have a "staff" on him.
"I only have this small jar of soil. Its production process is extremely complicated, and I'm the only one who can make it. It also has to be diluted before use, or its effects won't be very significant."
"Mixing this special soil into other soil can greatly shorten the time needed to grow crops and even increase their yield. All you need to do is apply more fertilizer during the growing process."
"Fertilizer... That stuff isn't cheap."
"If absolutely necessary, throwing in a few high-purity pieces of Originium will have about the same effect," Huang Cao said.
If the new nobles mixed this soil throughout all of Victoria, wouldn't that mean the country's crop production would be controlled by me alone?
What Huang Cao could do wasn't limited to increasing crop yields. He could also suppress crop growth.
Even if the Victorians discovered it later, what could they do? Could they really dig out and sift through all the soil?
Shi Huaiya had no idea what Huang Cao was thinking. At this moment, blinded by immense profits, he had already forgotten what vigilance was.
"From here on, I'll be counting on you. Help me summon all those who hate the old nobles most to the headquarters of the Victoria Commercial Association. If anyone refuses to come, demonstrate the effects of the Originium Inhibitor and this jar of soil to them.
"I believe that after holding themselves back for so long, the new nobles have long wanted to fight a beautiful battle of reversal."
Huang Cao said this with a smile, without the slightest trace of evil in his eyes.
I'm helping you people!
I'm not a bad person!
The Originium Inhibitor could reduce the margin for error when the new nobles personally experimented with new technology.
As for the soil that allowed crops to grow rapidly, it completely shattered the old nobles' advantage of monopolizing the land.
With these two things, victory was practically guaranteed.
What Huang Cao had to do next was make these people believe in him.
At the same time, he would speedrun Victoria in one month!
The effects and uses of these two things quickly spread throughout Victoria's capital under Shi Huaiya's promotion.
More and more people began spreading the news, treating Huang Cao completely as their trump card for turning the tables.
Shi Huaiya had first notified those who were most dissatisfied with the old nobles. Quite a few of them even carried blood debts.
Thus, they were more fanatical than anyone else, wishing they could cut off King Aslan's head on the spot.
The Aslan Royal Family being pushed onto the executioner's block hundreds of years later was definitely not something that happened overnight. It was the result of long-suppressed conflicts finally being forced to erupt.
More and more people gathered from all directions in the lecture hall of the Victoria Commercial Association.
By this time, Huang Cao had already put on a splendid gentleman's suit and stood on the podium with shining eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the opportunity to change the times has arrived!"
You People Are Really Making Things Hard for Me!
"Ladies and gentlemen, are we really going to remain content with the status quo forever?"
"Aslan defeated the far more powerful Draco, but can the victor truly enjoy everything?
"Which person here doesn't have ancestors who followed King Aslan through the pass as heroes? Why have we now fallen to this state?"
Standing on the podium, Huang Cao spoke passionately while pounding the table with his fist.
He stated the current facts one word at a time.
At the same time, every time he finished speaking, he fell silent for a while, allowing the others to feel the atmosphere.
Only silence filled the hall.
More than two hundred people below the stage said nothing. They merely darkened their faces as Huang Cao's words brought back memories of the humiliation they had suffered.
This brother was right.
My ancestors also followed King Aslan through the pass. Why couldn't I become a noble?
Why were those people allowed to stand above everyone else? They didn't seem so impressive to me.
There was one obvious difference between the old nobles and the new nobles.
The former could become nobles even if they were fools. If something went wrong with the descendants of the latter, their families might decline immediately. They had no safety net at all.
Don't say that fortunes couldn't be squandered in ten generations. That was only because you had never met a master squanderer.
"So are we really going to accept this? Why should those members of King Aslan's royal family, high above us, occupy resources that don't belong to them? Victoria will keep turning without those parasites."
"Bloodline is absolutely not the reason that binds us."
"The first King Aslan was certainly a hero. Without a doubt, he was a hero. But his descendants have completely rotted away."
How could one destroy the last trace of the concept of ruler and subject in the hearts of the new nobles?
It was simple: give them a morality that made everything seem justified.
In a feudal country, the monarch was nominally the master of the nation. But in reality, if people truly had to choose, the overwhelming majority still believed that the nation stood above everything else.
Huang Cao had now placed everyone on the level of the nation while denigrating the power currently held by King Aslan.
Once the last trace of moral guilt disappeared, all that remained was endless fanaticism.
"That's right. The oldest King Aslan also defeated the Red Dragon before ascending the throne. If he hadn't had our help, could he have sat securely in that position?"
"We've already shown him more than enough kindness! Why should his descendants continue enjoying everything that we can't?"
This was a bait-and-switch. In reality, King Aslan had distributed positions according to merit.
If the ancestors of these new nobles had truly made great contributions, King Aslan could not possibly have refused to grant them good social standing.
But I was standing on the podium and deceiving them. Did you really expect me to spout some damn grand principles?
Inciting emotions was what mattered most!
"So we must reclaim everything that belongs to us and let that high-and-mighty king see our strength."
"Respected colleagues, I'm a merchant from Sargon, and I usually love making friends. It was precisely because I saw Victoria's nearly hopeless situation that I chose to lend you all a hand."
"Although I'm not a Victorian, wealth has connected us. My family business has also suffered greatly because of the obstruction of these old nobles."
"Some of you may not believe this, but in the eyes of that group of nobles, pepper is no different from an ordinary seasoning. Not only can they buy it freely, they can even buy it at relatively low prices, because they are the ones who set the tariffs."
"How could we possibly defeat these parasites in such an environment? So if we want to obtain the same social status as the old nobles..."
"But we don't have land." A graceful female noble said regretfully.
Huang Cao gave the female noble an elegant gentleman's bow, then lifted the objects placed on the podium.
"I believe Mr. Shi Huaiya has already shown this to most of you here, but some colleagues still haven't experienced the true use of my invention."
Huang Cao once again explained and demonstrated the effects and uses of the soil. The miraculous power displayed by the soil instantly caused an uproar among the crowd.
"Land is certainly important, but it isn't absolute. Knowledge and technology are the vital forces that lead the future forward. Bloodline is merely an advantage granted to warriors by heaven."
"Without so-called bloodlines, we can create wealth of our own all the same."
After finishing, Huang Cao put on a pained expression and placed the jar of soil on the table.
"For my own benefit and everyone else's, I'm willing to contribute this jar of soil. Unfortunately, it's too precious, and even I can't supply everyone at once."
"But even so, I absolutely won't suck your blood like those old nobles. Therefore, I absolutely won't lie."
"I promise you all that roughly one pound of this soil can increase the yield of twenty acres of land by at least twenty percent.
"All you need to do is add more fertilizer to the soil and throw in a few pieces of relatively low-concentration Originium. But please be careful not to injure yourselves."
"My price is one pound of soil for only two gold coins!"
The moment the price was announced, the entire hall nearly erupted. The nobles were practically going mad, and almost everyone used every word of praise they knew to compliment the young man standing on the podium.
Huang Cao placed his hand on the table, signaling for everyone to quiet down. He then introduced the effects of the Originium Inhibitor he had brought with him.
Compared with the soil, however, the Originium Inhibitor he offered afterward was extremely expensive. A single vial cost two hundred gold coins.
But all the new nobles felt that the price was perfectly reasonable. After all, both of these things were trump cards wherever they were placed.
Mr. Huang had already been this generous. What more did you want from him?
If he went bankrupt, I'd make you pay!
"But possessing these things will only allow us to accumulate wealth. They still won't touch the foundation of Victoria."
"King Aslan's decrees basically have to be decided through a council. So we must also establish an organization capable of influencing their decisions. Therefore, I propose establishing a parliament."
"Abandon the hypocritical Victoria Commercial Association. Have any of you gained any benefits from the association? After joining for so long, has our situation changed at all?"
Here it comes, here it comes. It's time to play the trump card of the Lower House system.
In the original story, Victoria also had a Lower House. Its predecessor was very likely the current Victoria Commercial Union, but it had appeared much later.
Now, Huang Cao had moved up the Lower House's appearance.
"Chairman, whatever you say goes!"
At this moment, a large group of new nobles immediately began shouting, directly placing the title of chairman on Huang Cao.
Huang Cao pretended to panic and hurriedly waved his hands. "But I'm merely an outsider from the impoverished region of Sargon. What qualifications could I possibly have to become chairman for all of you distinguished people?"
"You people are really making things hard for me!"
There would be another update this afternoon. Please vote, everyone, and thank you!
Mister Huang Is Truly a Divine Man!
"Since the place where the old nobles discuss state affairs is called the Upper House, our organization will be called the Lower House. Consider it leaving them a little bit of face."
"I think we should give the position of chairman to Mr. Shi Huaiya."
Huang Cao pulled Shi Huaiya, who had been hiding below the stage and watching the show, to his side.
Shi Huaiya, dragged onto the stage, stared blankly at everyone's gazes. He instantly understood what Huang Cao meant.
It's just acting, isn't it? I, Shi Huaiya, am a first-rate genius at this.
"Brother Huang, don't decline anymore. In the eyes of those Noble Lords, aren't all of us ordinary people?"
"Has sitting here attracted even the slightest bit of attention from them?"
Shi Huaiya took advantage of the moment to raise Huang Cao's hand high. In a loud, impassioned voice, he declared, "Let us welcome the first chairman of Victoria's Lower House!"
The nobles in the hall all offered their loudest cheers, then joined the Victoria Lower House one after another in an orderly fashion.
After the celebration, Huang Cao brought out a large barrel of pitch-black soil and prepared Originium Inhibitor from backstage.
"Since everyone thinks so highly of me, I'll accept your kindness. Consider this a small gift from me. There isn't much, but I guarantee everyone will receive some. This is also the founding principle of the Lower House."
"I believe that overthrowing the nobles requires more than verbal support. We also need practical action."
"This world is ultimately material. It won't change because of certain people's words."
Huang Cao wasn't in a hurry to squeeze profits out of these people. He understood the principle of casting a long line to catch a big fish.
Besides, he had established his commercial position in Victoria with just one speech. Was there any more profitable deal in the world?
He hadn't even put in much effort.
"May I ask what brilliant plan Mr. Huang has?" someone below the stage asked.
"Establish the Federal Reserve Bank, integrate all resources, and establish a complete inspection system so that every resource can be used appropriately."
"But don't we already have a unified bank?" a noble below the stage asked in confusion.
"Who was in charge of the bank before?"
"The chairman of the Victoria Commercial Association."
"Then you should see whether he is a lapdog of the old nobles or your guide."
The crowd below erupted into an uproar upon hearing this. Some wondered how Huang Cao knew about it.
Naturally, it was thanks to the Originium Database.
Before you continue