The next day, the Western Syrmia Trade Conference was held as scheduled.
When the conference began, to everyone's surprise, the first person to raise an objection was Prime Minister Osborn.
"I've heard about what happened in Clothbell in recent days. The actions of the Councilors of Clothbell are really distressing."
"That's right."
Prime Minister Osborne and President Locksmith also spoke with a serious expression on their faces.
"It's not just the internal problems of the Clothbell Council. Even the Garrison Commander is imprisoned because of this. It seems that Clothbell is prosperous on the surface, but there are many internal problems. Judging from the current situation, we suspect that the idea of autonomy in Clothbell was a little too naive. "
President Locksmith chuckled.
"The political environment in Clothbell is prone to corruption. In this case, we can't rely on one or two people to change things. Although Clothbell is determined to step up efforts to punish corruption, considering the situation this time, we're really worried."
"… … …"
Hearing the words of Prime Minister Osborn and Grand Duke Locksmith, Chancellor McDowell's face turned livid. He did not say a word. In fact, he had expected this to happen. Why did Clothbell rarely punish these crimes before? On one hand, it was because the officials protected each other. On the other hand, they all knew that if many things were exposed, the Empire and the Republic were likely to use this as an excuse to intervene in Clothbell's autonomy. So, most of the time, they would rather hide the truth than make a judgment.
But Fangzheng did not care about this. He cleaned up the entire Clothbell Council and informed all the citizens of the crimes and punishments of the Councilors of Clothbell. This certainly stabilized the people to a certain extent, but on the other hand, it also gave the Empire and the Republic a reason to intervene.
"Indeed, corruption can't be eradicated in politics."
At this time, Crown Princess Colotia also hurriedly spoke.
"But as long as a sound system is established, the problem can be solved. I believe that as long as we give it some time … "
"… Forgive me for my rudeness."
Prime Minister Osborn spoke again.
"Your Highness is still young, and I understand that you are willing to believe in hope. However, Clothbell is different from Libel, which is led by an ancient royal family. Where there is no reliable authority, the regime is very easy to weaken. History has proved this point very clearly. "
"…"
Hearing Prime Minister Osborn's words, Colotia couldn't help but fall into silence. At the same time, a chuckle sounded.
"Just as Chancellor Osborne said."
Everyone looked up and saw Fangzheng sitting up and looking at them with a smile.
"Without authority, political power is meaningless, and political power comes from the barrel of a gun. This is an unchanging truth. Therefore, I hereby announce that, considering the incompetence of the Crossrail Parliament and the problems it has caused, I hereby dissolve the Crossrail Parliament. From today onwards, Crossrail will be managed by Starlight Technology. "
"This …"
"What …?!"
Although everyone was mentally prepared, they didn't expect Fangzheng to say it so bluntly at this time!
"What a surprise. Starlight Technology is just a business association. What qualifications do you have to manage Crosbell?"
"This doesn't conform to the terms and rules …"
For a moment, Prime Minister Osborn and President Locksmith also began to refute loudly. However, Fangzheng just sat there with a sneer. It wasn't until both of them finished speaking that he spoke again.
"Okay, you two, don't put on an act here. We all know very well that the fist is the truth. Your so-called political principles and rules are meaningless in my opinion. If you don't understand, then I'll explain it in more straightforward words here … Crossrail is now under Starlight Technology. If you're not satisfied, then fight us. "
"…"
Faced with Fangzheng's declaration, everyone fell into silence for a moment.
You've said it so firmly, how are we supposed to respond?
"Besides, I'll play a game with you here."
Completely ignoring everyone's gazes, Fangzheng sat leisurely on a chair. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the crowd with a sneer.
"The status of Crossrail has always been a complicated historical issue, so I'm going to play a game with everyone here. Whether it's the Empire or the Republic, you can do whatever you want. Whoever's soldiers and legions can reach the city of Crossrail first, the whole city will immediately be annexed to their territory. What do you think? That way, we won't need this troublesome and headache-inducing political system. "
After saying this, Fangzheng closed his mouth, while Prime Minister Osborn laughed and stood up.
"What an interesting game. I thought you would capture us and use us as hostages."
"Only the weak need to play tricks in private. I'm sitting here and proposing this game to you precisely because I'm convinced that I'm stronger than all of you."
"Interesting."
Hearing Fangzheng's answer, Osborn stared at him.
"From your words, I can sense a strong will. But what happens when two people with strong wills clash? The weak will will be swallowed up by the strong will, making the fire even more fierce. When the resulting fire of karma continues to burn everywhere on earth, all justice and ethics will melt in the scorching heat, and the world will be enveloped in a sea of fire.... Are you mentally prepared for this? "
"Of course …. No."
"….?"
Hearing Fangzheng's answer, not only did Osborn's face stiffen, even Clodiya almost spat out a mouthful of water.
"Oh? Why? "
"It's simple. Because this is a question that only the weak need to consider."
Fangzheng looked at Osborn with a grin.
"For a lion, it doesn't need to think about whether an ant that invades its territory will cause harm to it, let alone whether a rabbit will threaten its existence. Oh, I forgot to tell you that not long ago, we annihilated a hunting group that sneaked into Crossrail – the Red Constellation. Its leader and ninety-nine of his men have been executed. They claimed that they were hired by the Prime Minister of the Empire to come here …. Well, I personally think it's just nonsense. What do you think, Prime Minister Osborn? "
"…."
Faced with Fangzheng's question, Osborn was silent for a moment.
"I don't know anything about this."
"Haha, I guessed so."
With that said, Fangzheng chuckled.
"Well then, thank you for your hard work. I think you've already noticed that I've summoned you here for only one topic, and that is to officially announce that Crossrail will be independent from the Erebonian Empire and the Republic of Calvard, and become a new independent political entity. In the next two weeks, I will be announcing new laws and regulations for Clothbell. As for the commercial activities of various countries in Crossrail, they will be protected as always. But if the citizens of the two countries dare to violate the laws of Crossrail again, they will not be acquitted like before, but will be severely punished. I hope you can inform your citizens of this matter. "
Fangzheng stared at President Locksmith and Prime Minister Osborn.
"From today onwards, Crossrail will no longer be the same Crossrail that the Empire and the Republic can do whatever they want."
As he spoke, Fangzheng stood up.
"Then I announce that the Cissamurian Trade Conference is now closed."
The Cissamurian Trade Conference ended in just two days, but the storm of Crossrail's independence did not stop because of this.
After that, Starlight Technology issued a series of detection and guidelines.
First, a national constitution was formulated to abolish the governance of the original suzerains – the Empire and the Republic – and to completely abolish the 10% tax on the two.
Secondly, the Crossrail Council was completely disbanded. The governance of the entire Crossrail would continue as before, with Starlight Technology in charge of coordination and control. President Fangzheng had the highest authority. At the same time, he also announced that the new Crossrail would have a new political promotion system. Unlike the democratic governance system of the Empire through aristocratic families and the Republic, Crossrail would adopt a system similar to the company's promotion system in the appointment and dismissal of officials. Instead, it would not rely on fancy words to deceive the trust of the people. Instead, it would rely entirely on one's actual performance and ability to select and dismiss officials.
"Dear audience, please think carefully. Crossrail pays 10% tax to the Empire and the Republic every year. What is this money used for? To put it bluntly, isn't this protection fee? We kneel on the ground, pay the tax, and pray for the blessing and protection of the two. What's the difference between this and paying protection fees to the gangs in the market in exchange for the safety of your shop? What's more, after receiving the money, the gangs will protect the shop from threats. But everyone, think carefully. Even if Crossrail pays the tax, do we get the protection of both sides? The Empire and the Republic can do whatever they want here, while we can only cower in a corner and hope that they will be merciful. Is this the fate of the people of Crossrail? "
Fangzheng stood in front of the stage, stared at the screen in front of him, and continued speaking.
"Then, what about democracy? Everyone should remember very clearly that apart from the representatives of the Republic and the Empire, the members of the Crossrail Council are all elected by you. But you have seen what they have done. They have betrayed your trust. The promises they made to you are nothing more than lies to allow themselves to grasp power. The so-called rules and order are nothing more than a fig leaf to cover up their criminal acts. The times are changing, and so are the rules. There are no supreme and sacred rules. All of this is just a lie used by the politicians to deceive the people. They claim that democracy allows everyone to participate, but isn't that just using the people as a cover to weaken their own responsibilities? The people trust them and let them be their representatives. These representatives use this as an excuse to do whatever they want, and when problems arise, they push the blame onto the people … "
"… That's amazing."
Wu Xiang, who was sitting in a corner of the bar, looked at the crowd not far away and Fangzheng, who was talking on the wall. She couldn't help but sigh.
After the completion of the Starlight Tower, Starlight Technology installed a conductive technology product called "television" in various public places. It looked like a large screen, but unlike the conductive technology products that were purely used for communication in Wu Xiang's memory, this product called "television" could play all kinds of programs 24 hours a day. This included Fangzheng's speech to the people.
As Calvard's secret agent, Wu Xiang of course understood what kind of changes this conductive technology would bring to the world. For a long time, the media had been monopolized by newspapers and weekly magazines, but not everyone could understand what was written on them. And if they were to say it themselves, none of them knew how to split themselves, so it was impossible for them to say it clearly to every single person.
But the emergence of television changed everything. It had a transmission power that was incomparable to words and images. Even children and illiterate people could participate in it.
This was just the technology itself. What frightened Wu Xiang the most was what Fangzheng said.
During the conversation, Fangzheng criticized both the democratic system and the aristocratic system, but it wasn't just a simple rebuke on the surface. Instead, it was a blatant tearing apart of the bright and beautiful facade of the two systems, completely exposing everything hidden inside to the people.
This was simply terrifying.
It must be noted that these were the secret arts of the ruling class. Ordinary people wouldn't even think about these things, let alone discuss them. For them, these things had nothing to do with them.
However, Fangzheng tore open the dark curtain and told everyone the secrets within.
For example, democratic elections. On the surface, this seemed to be a fair system, but Fangzheng directly pointed out the hidden secrets. First of all, for an election, the voters had to know of one's existence. However, to achieve this, a large amount of money was needed, but most people couldn't fork out the money. Also, people who were good at doing things might not be good at communicating with the people. However, the people could only judge and evaluate a person based on their appearance and speech. Wasn't this how scammers deceived people?
It had to be said.
Compared to Clothbell's independence, the storm that followed was even more intense in the Empire and Republic. Wu Xiang wasn't too clear about the situation in the Empire, but she was clear that in the Republic, there were people who had begun to discuss whether democracy could really solve the problem, as well as the feasibility of a third system apart from the aristocratic system and democratic system that Fangzheng proposed.
For the academic community, they seemed to be more concerned about the shortcomings of the political system and the direction of reform.
However, for the Republic and Empire, this was intolerable behavior.
If Clothbell's independence was nothing more than a provocation to the two countries, then Fangzheng's speech had directly shaken the foundation of the politics of the two countries. Needless to say, just what Fangzheng said was enough to shake the people's trust in the country. The Empire was even more furious, furious at Fangzheng's blasphemy and slander of the aristocratic system.
Both countries immediately held a press conference to announce that Clothbell's independence was invalid. Of course, words were useless, so both sides quickly reached a consensus.
That was to send troops and attack Clothbell!
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