"186 years ago, Duke Morante, who occupied the Falik Plains, suddenly announced a reformation and abolished the traditional feudal system of the Grindia Continent. He formed the Forde Merchant Guild and allied with Twinhead Dragon, Wessia, Mayflower, Leward, Peterson and Chikdor to form the Trade Union, using the Falik Plains as their base to trade with the various nations of the continent. "The formation of the Trade Union gave the merchants, who had always been oppressed by the nobles, a reliable source of support. It also greatly increased the status of the merchants and allowed them to voice their demands for the first time on the Grindia Continent."
The meeting room was filled with the high-ranking officials of the Norton House in Morante City, such as the high-ranking knights of the four major legions, Supervisor Spiel and a few other administrative officials. They had all been summoned by Lorist to discuss Charade's proposal, which would affect the future of the Norton House forces in Morante City for a period of time.
Charade was currently giving a lecture to the high-ranking officials in the meeting room, explaining the history of the Trade Union and Morante City. He wanted them to understand why he proposed such a proposal and how it would affect the future of Morante City, the Trade Union and the Norton House.
For Lorist, Els, Charade, Yuriy and the rest, who had lived in the city for more than ten years, it was difficult for them to explain why they treated the million-plus citizens of Morante City so cautiously. Just like Fiercetiger Loze didn't understand, he asked Lorist why he didn't force half of the million-plus citizens of Morante City to move to the dominion. For example, Yungechandler Province, which they had just taken over, was sparsely populated and in urgent need of manpower.
Loze's thinking was simple. Not only would moving half of the population elsewhere solve the problem of the million-plus citizens of Morante City, it would also increase the house's population by a few hundred thousand. That would be good for everyone. Not willing to move? Hehe, don't you know that the Norton House is best at forcing people to move? As long as Lorist gives the order, he and Tigersoar will definitely deal with it properly.
Lorist smiled bitterly and thought, if only things were that simple. Ever since the founding of the Trade Union, the century-long war against the Krissen Empire had instilled the ideals of independence, freedom and equality in the hearts of the people of the Trade Union. That was especially so for the citizens of Morante City, who were extremely proud of their freedom. This pride was the reward for the blood and tears they had paid for over a hundred years. It was the freedom and pride that their ancestors had won for their descendants and juniors at the cost of countless lives and heroic deeds.
Moving them back to their family's territory to become their subjects was something that only a crazy noble would do. It was not hard to imagine that if the citizens of Morante City were to be moved to the dominion, every single one of them would definitely become a spark that would incite the citizens of Morante City to fight for freedom and equality in order to form an alliance against their dominion lord. Lorist felt a headache just thinking about it. As a landed noble, he would have to consider whether he should reject the request of the citizens of Morante City, let alone moving them to the dominion, even if they wanted to work or trade in the dominion, Lorist would have to consider whether he should reject their request.
"The establishment of the Trade Union, its unique system, and its business-oriented national policy made it very difficult for them at the beginning. The surrounding countries were very suspicious and disgusted. They made all kinds of difficulties for their business transactions, and even sealed their borders and refused to do any business with them. "At that time, the Krissen Empire felt that it was a golden opportunity and wanted to take over the Falik Plains while the Trade Union was isolated and helpless.
However, Krissen IV forgot one important thing. Compared to the weak Trade Union, the Krissen Empire, the strongest of the three superpowers, was even more feared by the other nations of the continent. They were worried that the moment the Trade Union crumbled, the Krissen Empire's cavalry would take advantage of the situation and charge in. That would be the end of all of them.
"So, the neighboring nations of the Trade Union began to support the Trade Union in the war against the Krissen Empire, hoping that the Trade Union would be able to stop the Krissen Empire's invasion. In the following hundred plus years of war, the Trade Union grew stronger and stronger. Not only did they defeat the Krissen Empire, they also gained a great reputation among the nations of the central south. At the same time, they opened up trade routes to various parts of the continent and became one of the most powerful factions in the region.
"Even though the citizens of the Trade Union had to pay a huge price in order to regain their freedom and not be enslaved by the Krissen Empire, they also gained self-confidence and pride. Back when I was studying in Morante City with His Grace and the others, the phrase I heard the most was the pride of the Moranites: I am a free man. "There was once a report in the newspaper that the citizens of Morante City were the least suitable subjects to serve a landed noble. This was because he would see himself as an equal to the feudal lord. Not only would he not obey the feudal lord's orders, he would also subconsciously oppose the feudal lord's rule over him.
"That's why the citizens of Morante City are an anomaly on the Grindia Continent. They won't be loyal subjects of a landed noble, but they will willingly bow down to gold. In other words, the trade atmosphere of the Trade Union created the unique citizens of Morante City. They looked down on authority and worshipped money. They were only willing to be slaves to it.
"The biggest mistake the Trade Union made was their decision to implement the nobility system. That was probably the political goal of the upper echelons of the Trade Union. Even though they were the leaders of the Trade Union and held a lot of power in their hands, they were looked down upon by the nobles because they didn't have a noble title. Merchants were greedy for profit and liked to compare themselves to others. They couldn't stand being looked down upon, so they decided to implement the nobility system to raise their status.
"Originally, the Trade Union wanted to take over the nobles' fiefs from the former Krissen Empire, but the sudden War of Glass changed the relationship between the Trade Union and the surrounding nations. The Trade Union swallowed up the Teribo Kingdom and seven other nations through the war and expanded their influence from the protectors of the central south of the continent to the invaders.
Even though the various merchant guilds of the Trade Union benefited greatly from the war and obtained their own fiefs, the Trade Union was still in the midst of a war. However, the losses of the war far outweighed the gains of the Trade Union. "Externally, the various nations in the central south of the continent saw the Trade Union as a destroyer of order and decided to seal off their borders and cut off their trade routes, causing the Trade Union to suffer a huge blow in terms of trade and never recover from it.
"Internally, because the various merchant guilds of the Trade Union obtained their own fiefs, they moved their production facilities and warehouses from Morante City to their own fiefs to reduce costs and increase profits. However, those measures were a fatal blow to Morante City. A thriving commercial city with a population of more than a million was on its way to decline.
"The upper echelons of the various merchant guilds blamed the blockade of trade routes by the surrounding nations in order to divert attention away from the conflict and spread the news that Morante City's predicament was caused by the surrounding nations. They even went to war with the allied nations in the central south of the continent, resulting in the current strategic situation."
After introducing the history of the Trade Union in detail and analyzing the current situation of Morante City, Charade finally got to the main point of his plan. "House Norton occupied Morante City and the Falik Plains to stop the hopeless war between the Trade Union and the Andinaq Kingdom. We were prepared to use that to force the Trade Union to sign an armistice with our kingdom and restore peace.
"However, the Trade Union's response was completely out of our expectations. They abandoned Morante City without hesitation and left us with a huge mess. They also forced us to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of the lives of more than 1.3 million citizens of Morante City. "Even though we still haven't received an official reply from the Trade Union, we have to make preparations to prevent the Trade Union from scheming against us. Past experience has proven that even though the merchants of the Trade Union have all sorts of noble titles, they are still immoral and untrustworthy.
A few days ago, our house conducted a survey of the 24 outer sectors of Morante City. During the process, I was shocked to discover an unbelievable truth. " Charade smacked his lips and downed the cup of water in one gulp. He then used a thin wooden stick to point at the map of Morante City on the wall and said, "The influence of the various merchant guilds in Morante City has been wiped out completely by our family forces. The ration system of food and daily necessities among the million-plus citizens of Morante City has also been wiped out. The responsibility of maintaining the livelihood of the million-plus citizens has also fallen on the shoulders of the Norton Family.
If we exclude the merchant guilds that retreated to Maweifulin Province from the Falik Plains and treat them as other nations, then look at Morante City now. Doesn't it resemble the newly formed Trade Union 180 years ago? "
What did Charade mean by that? Apart from Lorist, who already knew what was going on, the higher-ups of the house looked at each other in confusion. But soon, some of them thought about the history of the Trade Union and understood what Charade meant. He was going to abandon the merchant guilds and nobles that had abandoned Morante City and form a new Trade Union in Morante City.
It was truly an inconceivable idea. Was it even possible to use the million-plus citizens of the 24 outer sectors of Morante City to form a new Trade Union?
"Of course it's possible. When Duke Morante formed the Trade Union, the population of the Falik Plains was less than a million. Most of them were serfs who had just gained their freedom. After more than a century of resistance against the Krissen Empire, the citizens of the Trade Union gradually developed the ideals of freedom, independence and equality. Now that we don't have to fight for more than a century, we have more than a million citizens with the same ideals. What else can we not do? "
Charade's words shocked most of the people in the room. Most of the people in the room were either landed nobles or candidates to become landed nobles. They were all beneficiaries of the feudal system. Yet, they were sitting together to discuss how they could help the million-strong citizens of Morante City form a free and independent trade union. No matter how one looked at it, it was a rather comical sight. Lorist felt that it was far too laughable.
"But... But back then, the Trade Union had six large merchant guilds. They had plenty of wealth and resources. That's why they were able to help the Trade Union gain a foothold in the Falik Plains. Right now, apart from the million plus citizens of Morante City, there's nothing left. Almost all the merchant guilds have become enemies. I really don't believe that the new trade union will be able to survive, "said Potterfang as he stood up to express his doubts.
"A blank piece of paper is easy to draw from. It's precisely because of the absence of the merchant guilds that Morante City is like a blank piece of paper for us to draw on. Even without the merchant guilds, we still have the associations. The various merchant guilds of the Trade Union have restricted the development of the citizens of Morante City. Without the restrictions of the merchant guilds, I believe that the citizens of Morante City will soon explode with shocking creativity. They will definitely bring us a miracle. "
Charade's plan mainly focused on a few aspects. First, he suggested that the various associations in charge of the 24 communities in the outer city should work together with the temple and academy districts to form a council to govern the citizens of Morante City. He also suggested that the restrictions of the merchant guilds be lifted to encourage the citizens of Morante City to develop their own businesses. In the past, the Trade Union had placed the council under the jurisdiction of the merchant guilds. Charade's plan was to do the opposite and allow the council to govern all business.
As for the captives who surrendered, Charade believed that the 100 thousand or so new soldiers that the Trade Union recruited to defend the Falik Plains could be sent to the Yungechandler Province to be used as laborers. As for the 120 thousand captives who surrendered, they could select a few elites to form four to five divisions to replace the house forces in defending the citadels of the Falik Plains. After all, the four main legions of the house forces were gathered at the Falik Plains and Morante City, so the dominion was rather empty.
As for the citizens of Morante City, Charade suggested that they start with the shipbuilding and fishing industries. Those two industries used to be controlled by a few large merchant guilds and private individuals were not allowed to interfere. Even private individuals could only fish at Hidegold Bay and were not allowed to go out to sea. Most of the seafood in Morante City was captured by the Chikdor Merchant Guild from the Sunny Seas. Now that Morante City was under the control of the Nortons, the seven to eight shipyards at Hidegold Bay had become their spoils of war.
Charade suggested that the shipyards and their materials be used to repair warships and build fishing boats. They could also recruit crew from the citizens of Morante City and even sell the boats to them. On one hand, fishing could enrich the meals of the citizens. On the other hand, the coarse hemp in the warehouses could be used to hire the citizens to make fishing nets. It was killing two birds with one stone.
In the end, Charade suggested that the first thing to do was to hire residents to build farms in Tomas City and Gypsy City. The three years of bloody battle at Falik had caused up to 400 thousand peasants to flee to Morante City. Now that the war was over, the first thing they could do was to restore the farmlands around the two citadels near Morante City and build farms of various sizes to reduce the number of unemployed citizens in Morante City.
Charade's plans were rather effective, but the only problem was that they required a huge amount of funds. Spiel furrowed his brow and asked, "Where will we get the funds from? There's no way the house will be able to fork out that much money. "
"We don't need the house's investment," Charade laughed, "Morante City is actually quite rich. We just can't get our hands on it."
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