"Thanks to Your Excellency's support, the Abundance Group is currently the fastest-growing company in all of Victoria. All the profits will be delivered to your territory by caravan in the second year."
Shi Huaiya felt as though he had stopped breathing for several seconds. Although he was currently the one keeping the company running,
he did not dare touch even a single copper coin of the money it earned.
The last time someone from his family embezzled a silver coin, Shi Huaiya tied him to a large stone that very night and kicked him into the river.
As it happened, the person who was sunk in the water was related to Shi Huaiya by blood, so many people within the family said he was ruthless.
Even so, if it had been a relative he saw often, Shi Huaiya might still have steeled his heart and done the same.
After all, for the family's prosperity and flourishing, anything was worth it!
That was the Shi Huaiya Family's creed!
If Victoria absolutely had to name a company with no corruption whatsoever, the Abundance Group unquestionably deserved first place.
That was because every year, the company sent all its profits, without leaving behind even a single penny, to Eden.
"Don't worry. I naturally trust your management, but in the future, I'll place several people I trust in charge. All you need to do is cooperate when the time comes. Also, they're all Sarkaz.
"Do your best to build public support within five years and slightly restore this race's awful reputation in Victoria."
"In a few days, a letter will probably be delivered to your desk. It will contain a detailed schedule and plan. Feel free to improvise according to the milestones I indicate."
"Over the next year, I'll gradually reduce the supply of soil, but I'll lower the price of Originium Inhibitors. Do your best to hint to the new nobility that they should prepare to expand their armies and go to war."
Shi Huaiya's expression changed drastically, and he asked in a trembling voice, "What are you trying to do? Surely you're not planning to seize the king's throne?"
"I do want King Aslan's throne, but it doesn't seem particularly useful even if I take it. However, I very much want his authority."
"As the Speaker, I can't remain hidden in the shadows forever. And why do you sound so frightened? Don't tell me you're afraid?"
Of course he was afraid!
This was a business that could cost him his head—a full-blown rebellion!
"Don't be afraid. You'll live, and all of us will live."
"Because this isn't a rebellion. It's a violent social revolution."
68
Chapter 68: A Storm Is Brewing in Victoria.
Yet this was also a fatal temptation.
Once successful, the Shi Huaiya Family would secure the foremost position among Victoria's new nobility.
Then Shi Huaiya's fate would be second only to one person.
The tiger drew a deep breath. Even Huang Cao, on the other end of the phone, could sense his struggle.
As a good employer and partner, Huang Cao did not interpret this as distrust or betrayal.
On the contrary, it was an extremely intelligent decision, so he was willing to give him time.
After more than ten minutes, Shi Huaiya's voice finally came from the other end of the phone.
"Esteemed Speaker, what would you like me to do next?"
My Shi Huaiya Family is in! The timid starve, while the bold feast!
I, Shi Huaiya, would rather die stuffed than starve to death!
Perfect. I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Huang Cao was extremely satisfied as well.
"Six months from now, I'll send a large shipment of soil to Victoria. During the time leading up to it, you'll be responsible for leaking this information to Victoria's King Aslan."
"At the same time, before this shipment of soil reaches Victoria, I want you to spread a message in my name: the soil will be provided free of charge to all members of the Lower House."
"Remember, this message must reach the old nobility before the new nobility hears about it."
"When that happens, the Aslan nobles will certainly not stand by idly. They'll definitely intercept the shipment on the way."
Shi Huaiya asked in confusion, "But isn't this soil extremely precious? Are we really going to give it to the Aslan nobles for nothing?"
Huang Cao said, "You can't catch a wolf without risking the child. Only by making the performance convincing will those nobles believe it. Don't worry. I absolutely won't let anyone profit from this."
The fact that the soil was genuine was a good thing. Only tangible crop yields could make the new nobility even more jealous of the old nobility.
Free meant that what had originally been mine had been stolen by you.
Taking away someone's wealth was like murdering their parents. How could that not make the new nobility hate them?
Besides, this was a deal that killed two birds with one stone. It would both sow discord between the old and new nobility and allow his power to continue spreading across Victoria.
Not everyone could maintain their rationality, especially when profits were at stake.
Thus, over the following six months, Victoria's stock-market trading volume reached new highs every day.
Agriculture in particular underwent unprecedented development, even attracting merchants from Yan Country.
What those foreign merchants did not know was that Victoria was then in the midst of an unprecedented clash of interests.
The chaos was comparable to that of future Siracusa, because every day, well-dressed nobles died on the bustling streets.
Some were run over by cars, while others were stabbed in secret while returning home at night. As many as five or six could die in a single day.
The covert struggle was even more intense in Victoria's capital, Londinium.
Even ordinary locals could sense that something major was about to happen in Londinium, and they no longer dared to go out at night.
So far, the conflict between the two factions of nobility had only been viciously fought in secret. Neither side dared bring it before King Aslan.
No one could behave recklessly beneath the Son of Heaven. That was a matter of etiquette.
But everyone had a limit. The new nobility continued raising more and more private soldiers, gradually uniting into a single force under Huang Cao's call.
After all, they had a major backer providing medicine that could suppress the onset of Oripathy. Some casters even became so fanatical that they began implanting Originium into their own bodies.
When the time was ripe, after all the groundwork had been laid,
the old nobility, having received advance word, unsurprisingly intercepted the soil that was about to be shipped into Victoria.
When the news reached Londinium, the new nobility could no longer tolerate it. Yet another letter from the Speaker once again caused their fury to build.
In the letter, Huang Cao comforted them: "Raise troops for a thousand days, use them for one. Today's humiliation is so that you can repay it even more thoroughly in the future.
"You must defend your rights through procedural justice. Bring all your grievances before King Aslan and let the great king judge who is right and who is wrong."
This was another ruthless move!
In a sense, Victoria was a nation governed by law. The law still possessed authority in this country.
In a sense, it was also a means for the new nobility to defend their rights against the old nobility's oppression.
Although it had little effect and was rarely used, it was not entirely useless. At the very least, it symbolized King Aslan's authority.
Had the old nobility done wrong by intercepting the soil?
Of course they had. It could not even be called justice. Victoria's laws reflected noble interests everywhere, and both the new and old nobility were subject to the same laws.
At least, everyone enjoyed justice on the surface.
But when faced with justice, if King Aslan openly favored the old nobility, it would mean that the last shred of protection this country offered the new nobility had vanished completely.
In his previous life, the collapse of the Son of Zhou's authority had likewise begun with the destruction of the ritual system.
All Huang Cao wanted was to make the new nobility the side representing justice.
After all, those who "purged the emperor's flank" always claimed to be acting for justice. The importance of having a righteous cause went without saying.
If someone observed everything Huang Cao had done over the past six months from God's perspective,
they would probably discover that, aside from sowing discord, all the methods he had used against Victoria so far
had been blatant open schemes. Victoria could only take them head-on without understanding what was happening.
It had not even realized that it had been manipulated.
If the discord had been organized and premeditated, Victoria's intelligence agencies would not have been useless.
If they focused on the search, they could always find a trace or two. Yet from beginning to end,
Huang Cao alone had been the mastermind behind all this turmoil. Moreover, everything he had done so far had strengthened Victoria's national power.
Whether establishing the Lower House or increasing the country's grain production, all of it had unquestionably strengthened its national power.
How were the intelligence agencies supposed to investigate that?
They might well get beaten up by both the new and old nobility during the investigation and simply not dare say another word.
At the national level, there were far too many clever people. It was easy to lose when playing schemes, but much easier to use open strategies.
Even if they could not outplay you, the other side would have no way to deal with you.
In the time that followed, the new nobility pursued legal channels in an attempt to resolve their conflict with the old nobility.
After all, they all lived in the same country. There was truly no need to reach the point of armed conflict.
As long as you returned my property, I could also turn a blind eye.
But just as Huang Cao had anticipated with his open strategy, the current King Aslan would certainly favor his own base.
What are you made of to think you can sit at the same table and eat with me?
Yet he also knew that both the new and old nobility were fundamental to Victoria's strength. He could offend neither side.
Thus, he could only keep dragging the matter out. But delay could never solve the problem.
69
Chapter 69: King Aslan: This Really Makes No Sense.
And that delay lasted a full six months.
King Aslan attempted to calm both sides' anger through this method, hoping to demonstrate an attitude of favoring neither side.
At the same time, he secretly hinted that the old nobility should not make the matter too serious and that they should be satisfied with making their point.
But clearly, faced with such enormous profits, the old nobility could not let go.
Thus, the two sides kept bringing their case to court. They fought for an entire six months, and by the time the court finally adjourned, there had been no progress whatsoever.
In the end, both the new and old nobility agreed that King Aslan doing nothing was the greatest problem of all.
That was the terrifying part of an open strategy.
Favoring neither side meant offending both sides. As king, he could not lower his head and openly admit his intentions.
If he said it outright, that would mean the king wanted the two groups to reconcile. Then what was to be done about those who had been assassinated before that?
If conflicts could be reconciled so easily, there would not be so many accidents in this world.
The new nobility thought: You won't uphold justice for me, yet you claim you're not favoring the old nobility? Get on the executioner's block!
The old nobility thought: You won't slaughter all these unruly commoners, and you keep dragging things out instead. Are you planning to eliminate us? It seems you're the one who wants to get on the executioner's block!
King Aslan thought: Why is everyone talking about execution blocks? Speaking of which, wasn't the guillotine a specialty of the country next door...? Wait, it really is a specialty of Victoria.
In fact, the first king in Western history to be sent to the guillotine really was from Victoria.
It was just that people in his previous life often used the King of Gaul as their example.
As the troublemaker behind Victoria's chaos, Huang Cao was practically laughing himself sick.
As expected of the indecisive King Aslan. If he showed even a little decisiveness now, Huang Cao's plans would suffer a major setback.
Vina's family truly had indecision running through its bloodline.
But now was not the right time to enter the stage. The new and old nobility were both pressuring King Aslan, and the situation was like a pressure cooker.
During this period, Huang Cao could organize his troops.
After all, he could not rely solely on the new nobility to charge into battle and absorb the damage. If fighting really broke out, the hotheaded cats might not even be able to defeat the Steam Knights.
What would he use in the future if those little cats were hammered into meat paste by the Steam Knights?
It would be a shame for such useful tools to die, meow.
At that moment, Huang Cao instantly transformed into the director of Cat-Loving TV. He absolutely could not let all those new nobles get themselves killed in a fit of hotheadedness.
Although that situation was impossible anyway.
Before you continue