Chapter 527 - Capital and Power (2/2)
“Don’t take my kindness toward you for granted.”
Roland did not care what state John Junior was in at this point. He stood up, left the study, and asked Vivian to leave with the mayor’s wife and daughter for Roland’s estate.
In the carriage, the mayor’s wife sighed in relief. She looked at Vivian and said, “Thank you for sparing us, mother and daughter. I was so worried when John Junior received the people from Cornucopia that I was afraid that one day, some powerful Mage would come and bombard the city gates.”
Vivian’s eyes widened in surprise. “But you will be living in Roland’s manor for a long time, aren’t you afraid that Roland will have l.u.s.tful thoughts?”
“Lady Andonara won’t let Mr. Roland mess around,” The mayor’s wife said indifferently. “Besides, even if that were the case, I would be the one taking advantage!”
Well… that makes sense. Roland then returned to the Magic Tower and called a meeting with the leaders of all the powers under the Magic Tower’s command. Many people in the city knew about this matter. The n.o.bles and merchant leaders of various trades were all eagerly awaiting the results.
How was Roland going to counter Cornucopia, which was also organized by the Golden Sons?
Half an hour later, Sheriff Reed, with an elite infantry, set out from the city hall, came before Cornucopia, and in the presence of a large crowd of n.o.bles and industry stakeholders, read the following:
“According to a month-long study and visit by the City Hall of Delpon, it has now been determined that Cornucopia is an illegal guild, with questionable income, tax evasion, and malicious disruption of the free economic market, causing a great and detrimental impact on the business climate of Delpon. Cornucopia is hereby seized, and three days from now, all members of the guild must leave Delpon. They will be banned from conducting business in Delpon for the rest of their lives, and all taxes must be paid in full before they leave.”
Then Cage Reed had the whole building surrounded, and at the door, he placed a white seal.
There were a lot of discussions going around.
When Husso saw this, he almost fainted.
He roared, “Roland, you sc.u.mbag!”
He thought that Roland was just a martial artist who would be bullheaded and take a swing at Cornucopia. But it never occurred to him that the other side would use authoritative power.
This way, all their calculations and dependencies were for naught.
After roaring, he looked to the surrounding crowd, in which there was a small group of people who had contacted him and promised him that they would stand up against Roland when necessary.
But these acquaintances who were in the crowd averted their eyes; none of them would meet his gaze.
It wasn’t as simple as that.
Roland teleported to the capital of Hollevin, met Antis, and asked Antis to take him to the old king
The old king, who looked even older now, met Roland at the visitor’s palace.
“How is Andonara?” The old king narrowed his eyes and he looked very spiritless. “That child Veronica misses her.”
“I would welcome Princess Veronica as a guest in Delpon,” Roland replied without humility nor arrogance.
The old king sighed. “Well, it seems that there is no hope of Andonara coming back. Then, Roland, what is the purpose of your visit?”
“Cornucopia.”
As soon as this word came out, Antis’s expression became a little surprised.
The old king, however, looked the same, and said indifferently, “It seems that your city, Delpon, has also been affected.”
“I reckon all the counties in Hollevin have been affected by them.”
Antis said, “Yes, they are very troublesome. They first use a high-price strategy to push out all their compet.i.tors and when they have a monopoly, they drastically reduce the purchase price, then sell at a high price.”
“Why don’t you take action against Cornucopia?” Roland said. “You can gather information about their evil deeds in the marketplace and then use public doc.u.ments to drive them away from the city and the territory.”
The old king and Antis looked at each other, both of them a little shocked.
“Aren’t they also Golden Sons?” Antis replied incredulously. “If we do that, won’t you Golden Sons find a reason to beat us up?”
Roland laughed. “They just figured you’d think that way, that’s why they are so arrogant. But in reality, we don’t agree with their behavior, and soon they will be ostracized by us Golden Sons. But until then, I will need some written information, as well as a few speeches from you, Your Majesty!” The old king: ???
[1] Karl Marx, Capital Vol. 1, Chapter 31: The Genesis of the Industrial Capitalist
[2] Rich men that everyone praises: a phrase used by Guancha Syndicate, a news media company, to describe Jack Ma, who said, “Business itself is the greatest public welfare.” It has become a meme used sarcastically to mock businesses, the rich, and capitalism [3] Comes from Chinese President Xi
[4] marked as hostile