Chapter 684 (2/2)

But now, they would no longer be obliged to accept such injustice.

Furthermore, in the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, the aristocrats and merchants had always had a tumultuous relationship. Such tension had started from the country’s early years of development and piled up over time. The negative relationship could even be likened to a barrel of gunpowder, which could explode and destroy everything with just one spark.

The accumulation of wealth brought about the question of how to spend such lavish amounts of money. Some people wanted to choose the reliable path of buying land and finding people to maintain the land, while others were enterprising and chose to expand their business. Originally, both methods would bring about a reasonable amount of benefits.

However, over time, the former group would have developed and connected to many aristocrats and lands. On the other hand, the latter group would be connected to several important businessmen. This would then create the dilemma of businessmen gaining profits through peddling goods while aristocrats found themselves falling behind in terms of money reserves and demanding tax payments to make up for the imbalance.

This was the first major conflict between the aristocrats and the Commonwealth merchants. A civil war was nearly started! Eventually, under the mediation of the Goddess of Wealth, the two sides sat down to negotiate, and after almost two years of difficult negotiations, they drafted a tax collection standard that both sides grudgingly accepted.

Later on, the aristocrats desired greater control over the land and wanted to ensure that no man could threaten their rule. On the other hand, the merchants were fiercely protective over their property and did not want to run the risk of any loss. This was the second clash between the Commonwealth of Gold Coins, and eventually, the merchants compromised yet again. Eventually, most of the bigger banks chose to set up their headquarters outside the city, despite the extra expenses and risks that such a move brought about.

The two episodes left the merchants extremely disgruntled, and they were determined to stand their ground should any conflict arise again. They complained that they had already given in twice and requested for the aristocrats to come to a reasonable compromise on their own part. However, having gotten their way twice, the aristocrats had begun to take their wins for granted and were increasingly resistant towards negotiation.

Of course, the Church of the God of Aristocracy also influenced the conflicts that had occurred. The Church of the God of Aristocracy took the stand that the aristocrats should be allowed to rule over their own land and claimed that they should have to answer to no one but the supreme leaders. Thus, they tried to reduce the legal powers of the merchant trade organizations as much as possible.

Such a claim clashed directly with the teachings of the Goddess of Wealth, and the merchants scorned and despised them. The aristocrats pretended to agree with the merchants on the surface but secretly praised and subscribed to such a belief. Lobbyists of the Church of the God of Aristocracy were afforded special privileges and treatment when they visited the mansions in the country.

The Goddess of Wealth was silent for a long time as she mused over the situations that had unfolded.

“Maybe I was wrong from the start. Maybe it really is impossible for a capitalist country to be incorrupt and fully legitimate.”