Everything Can Be Sold! / When Freedom Goes Too Far, It Is Easily Burned to Ashes

On the contrary, it has been almost constantly rising.

Because the transportation costs were really high, and the road conditions were far worse than in Master Huang's previous life.

Land in Mobile City is incredibly valuable; how could anyone possibly grow food there?

The Mobile City is surrounded by vast farmlands, and transportation costs are high. In order to maintain the high agricultural prices Great Depression, farmers have no choice but to destroy all their produce.

As for low profit margins and high sales volume? That's even more impossible!

For example, a bag of potatoes originally cost ten silver coins, and a cart could transport dozens of bags of potatoes, with the transportation cost being only about one silver coin.

However, if the strategy is changed to low profit margins and high sales volume, the price of a bag of potatoes becomes a silver coin.

Originally, one trip would earn several hundred silver coins, but now it will take dozens of trips, and the price of potatoes will continue to drop, making it difficult to even earn back the travel expenses.

Therefore, if farmers want to maintain their previous income, they must raise prices and destroy their agricultural products, creating a forced scarcity marketing strategy.

Therefore, for more than a month after the outbreak of the large-scale holiday sales, the market only saw a brief one-day price drop for goods, after which prices began to rise across the board.

Prices of basic agricultural products such as wheat and potatoes have risen by 300%!

In order to buy food at rising prices, Columbia have had to sell off their existing assets, resulting in a large number of properties being sold at very low prices.

This is a vicious cycle.

The relationship between productivity and price was completely disrupted; the stock market crash and the loss of wealth made Utopia a fortune.

Two months after the Great Depression began.

Under a city overpass, eleven-year-old Kristen and an even younger girl named Wyvern were warming themselves by a fire.

"My parents were both fired from their jobs, and those awful debt collectors took our house. And we haven't heard from either of them since."

"You're lucky; my parents passed away a long time ago."

The girl named Saria calmly assessed the current situation while taking two potatoes out of her pocket.

"This is what I earned today from my part-time job. I'll share one with you."

Saria handed the potato to Kristen, who was standing next to her.

Kristen accepted the gift with a flattered air, while glancing warily around her.

"Don't be afraid, I've beaten everyone around me into submission. I'm a woman from the Wyvern tribe. Don't underestimate me just because I'm young; I'm a formidable fighter."

Although Saria said this, there was a hint of melancholy in her tone.

As a Wyvern woman, ten-year-old Saria is already past the age of crying and wailing when her toys are broken.

But the sudden and drastic change still left her somewhat dazed.

Is this still Columbia?

One second she was an arrogant little female dragon, the next she turned into a pathetic ground chicken.

Saria's parents have been missing for a long time.

Anyway, after dropping Saria off under the overpass, the two of them disappeared under the pretense of going out to find work, leaving behind only a bag of potatoes.

If it weren't for Saria's formidable fighting prowess, this little female dragon would have starved to death long ago.

During her time wandering under the overpass, Saria unexpectedly encountered Kristen was also looking for work.

But what kind of work could a blonde girl with little strength do?

So the little dragon took pity on the older sister, and since Kristen was indeed somewhat educated and could help her improve her skills, she took her in.

Kristen was so hungry she couldn't even speak, but she recovered after receiving help from Saria.

Thus, in this era where brake pads are severely jammed.

Eleven-year-old Kristen and ten-year-old Saria are currently homeless in this city.

Chapter 464: I'll sell anything!

During the day, Saria works as a porter on the railway, and when she returns at night, she shares the food she has earned with her good friend, Kristen then tells this Wyvern.

"I don't know when this will end, and I'm so hungry. Those people on the railway are so awful. Just a few days ago, after they moved the tracks, there were four potatoes left... and now there are only two."

Hearing her companion's complaints, Kristen felt a pang of guilt.

I have a lot of knowledge in my mind, but now I can't even exchange it for a potato.

I originally thought that my parents' death was the biggest blow to me, but I never expected that misfortune would come in pairs.

She thought she could inherit a fortune and live the life of a wealthy heiress, but now she's lucky if she doesn't end up a millionaire in debt.

"Have you heard? Our Mobile City is about to be sold, to some guy called Utopia."

Saria carefully bit into a roasted potato that was only about the size of her two hands put together, trying to savor the starchy flavor of the potato as much as possible in her mouth.

Kristen shared half of the potato she was holding with Saria, while seriously correcting her:

"Utopia isn't a guy, it's the name of a country. After all, before this disaster, they were among the least interested in stocks."

Kristen said to Saria, "Utopia... My parents had a fairly good impression of this country before they passed away. Perhaps it can bring about change in this city."

Does this disaster have anything to do with utopia? Theoretically, it certainly does, because the biggest beneficiary is this country.

But what did Utopia do? Nothing. It just spent money recklessly in Columbia.

Huang Cao really didn't do anything, not even speed up the process, except for his subordinates occasionally stirring things up in Congress.

However, without the cooperation of others, the president's power would not have been restricted so quickly.

However, the market is indeed improving. Under Master Huang's intervention, the market has seen macro-control measures that should have occurred in the first place, but in a very strange way.

However, this time the regulation should have been done by the Columbia government, but it has now become a utopia.

The independence of the various mobile city-states in Columbia leads to insufficient information transmission.

Capitalists don't care about anything when they sell things; Mobile City are nothing compared to the direct sale of state-owned land.

Because in their eyes, "I'm a big, established company in Columbia, so what difference would it make if I sold it?"

The Mobile City where Kristen and Saria wander is the private property of a certain family, built with investment from Columbia.

The family sold all their shares to Utopia, converting the proceeds into cash in an attempt to move to a different place.

In theory, they should be the least affected by this economic disaster.

However, the Utopia fleet has already reached the border. If they don't find a way to demonstrate their loyalty, they might really be hung from a street lamp.

In Columbia, this magical country, capital can even buy and sell national land at ridiculously low prices.

Since the economic disaster broke out, Huang Cao has acquired 40% of Columbia's land within just a few months.

This land occupies one of the most prosperous corners of Columbia and borders the country.

Six months after Columbia's economic collapse, Huang Cao ordered Utopian troops to forcibly cross the country's borders.

It wasn't until the Columbia congressmen discovered the Utopian army that they considered releasing the president.

Although the president was angry after being released, he still had to do the work that needed to be done.

Under the influence of utopia, the Grand President finally regained control of the Columbia state apparatus.

But a few days later, the president fell into despair.

Under the president's leadership, Columbia's response to the crisis was somewhat efficient, but no matter how efficient it was, it couldn't change the established facts.

More than fifty High-speed Battleship have penetrated deep inland; even a god couldn't save them, and even Witch King would tremble before them.

"Utopia! Do you want to go to war with Columbia?!"

President Blue Bird addressed the nation, seeking an answer from Utopia and attempting to gain the people's support.

Before long, the two had established a communication connection—literally.

The two communicated via a telephone line several tens of kilometers long; beyond that distance lay a dense array of High-speed Battleship.

"My dear President, I am protecting my private property. After all, I bought quite a lot of things to save the Columbia market."

Huang Cao, not to be outdone, directly invoked Columbia law.

"Utopia believes that the current situation in Columbia is no longer sufficient to protect our private assets within your country, and doesn't your law state that private property is sacred and inviolable?"

"I will naturally take good care of the things you sold me, otherwise, what if I encounter robbers or bandits later..."

The president cursed inwardly: What kind of robber dares to rob High-speed Battleship? You're the robber!

Economic warfare is much more lucrative than banditry; real bandits arrive in High-speed Battleship.

"In short, from now on, the southern region of Columbia is entirely mine, unless you want to have a head-on confrontation with the High-speed Battleship I brought."

The president originally wanted to make some tough statements, but considering that all the machines purchased from Utopia had stopped working and Columbia was facing serious internal problems, it simply did not have the conditions to start a war.

Furthermore, the other side doesn't seem to have any real intention of starting a full-scale war. Why is that?

Of course, it's to reduce costs!

The fall of Columbia was a foregone conclusion; it was merely a matter of whether it would end in an immediate or slow death.

Instant death would cause a lot of damage, Huang Cao, adhering to the philosophy of not wanting to help the poor, would rather slowly erode the land.

During the process of gradual encroachment, a utopian system can also be gradually implemented. For example, Victoria, which has become one of the utopian provinces, faces almost no difficulties in implementing a utopian system in this country.

It is very difficult to grow food on uncultivated land.

The president was helpless and could only watch as the country he had worked so hard to build fell into the hands of others.

At the same time, he angrily denounced his capitalist subordinates for having no sense of national responsibility and selling off the land and Mobile City so quickly.

If it had been just a day or two later, the president felt that Columbia could still be saved.

Capitalist: We don't want this either, but if we don't have the money to appease the mob below, we'll really be hanging from the streetlights.

Why don't capitalists' bodyguards protect their bosses' lives?

Because these people are also paid employees, if they can't even get their wages paid, they'll naturally want to beat up their boss.

Land and assets can be earned back, but once life is gone, it's truly gone.

Chapter 465: Freedom taken too far can easily be burned to ashes.

The nobles did not want to choose either hanging or bankruptcy.

Although the assets have been sold off at a bargain price, at least there has been no real bankruptcy. The money obtained from the sale of the assets will be a significant help when the economy recovers in the future.

At least that's what this group of people thinks.

Huang Cao compiled all the acquired Columbia Mobile City into a book, and based on the largest Mobile City, replaced all the officials there.

After the Abundance Warrior entered these Mobile City, they immediately prepared to drive all the capitalist nobles who had sold their homes to the areas under the jurisdiction of the northern Columbia government.

In theory, forcibly replacing local power brokers could cause considerable unrest, as the conflicts of interest involved are extremely complex.

But the economic problems outweigh all else right now, and Huang Cao has already paid these nobles, so it's only right to drive them away.

Besides, he has his own leadership team and doesn't need these people to help him manage the city at all.

As for whether these nobles will become the main force resisting him after he arrives in the north...

The officials in Huang Cao are far smarter and more efficient than those in Columbia, so there's absolutely no need to worry.

The Mobile City are integrated into a single entity, while the previous federal system is completely abolished, and a centralized system is adopted.

Before the Northern Federation could react, Utopia had already begun using its administrative power to forcibly regulate the market, while providing financial subsidies to basic agriculture and industry.

Although all administrative bodies at all levels have been replaced by utopian officials, the social structure at the grassroots level cannot be changed overnight.

But it doesn't matter, Utopia Bank has plenty of money.

Moreover, through deliberate arrangements, in Columbia, the south ruled by Master Huang has been completely separated from the north.

Under layers of containment, Columbia has been completely divided into two countries.

However, considering that the two groups from the north and south might have family members communicating with each other.

On the very day Huang Cao occupied the city, he issued a notice: Anyone who wants to go north can submit an application now, and Utopia will provide a travel fee of one gold coin.

The total population of Columbia is at most 20 million, and at most a million will leave.