Chapter 712 (1/2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The banging sounds were incessant. Pedestrians had to bypass the “No Entry” danger zone demarcated by white ash. They would rather take a longer route around it than go near it.

This was the southernmost end of the Republic of Northwest, where the Rye Fortress was located. In the past, anyone who wanted to travel from Commonwealth of Gold Coins to the Republic of Northwest had to pass through this fortress that had been built within the valley. Now, the fortress was still there. But the mountain next to it had inexplicably crooked to one side to reveal a wide road that could allow people to bypass the fortress. They could then proceed to Rye Town, which was located on the northern side of the fortress.

As for the fortress, it was completely enclosed within the circle marked out with white ash. There were many signboards stuck within the circle in a messy manner. There were words like “Danger” and “Stay Clear of Area” marked on the signs in various languages.

Not only that, if anyone who was illiterate wanted to get close, every step he took towards this circle, the panic he felt would increase by a little. The closer he got, the more panic he would feel. In the end, he could only turn back and leave to feel better.

Had it not been for these means, it would be impossible to stop those who were rude or curious by only relying on the white ash and warning signs.

This was, of course, Sui Xiong’s handwriting. As of now, he was in the fortress in contemplation. He intended to rebuild this originally dull and plain fortress into a tourist attraction with “fortress” as the theme. Naturally, he could not be disturbed by others.

As to whether it could still fulfill its role as a fortress after becoming a tourist attraction… did it mean that a blade which had been adorned with beautiful embellishments could no longer kill someone?

Of course, Sui Xiong did not feel that the role of this fortress was still required. At present, the population of the Republic of Northwest might not be large enough, but it had many masters. If there was really a conflict with Commonwealth of Gold Coins, and people from the Republic of Northwest did not take the initiative to strike first, the Commonwealth should be thankful. How could they possibly think of retaliating?

If there was really an attack in this valley, it would be a day where there was a need to depend on this fortress for defense. The degree of degeneration for this situation would be unthinkable!

However, just like the saying “Things don’t always go according to plan,” Sui Xiong wanted to work on creating this mega-sized model toy peacefully and steadily, but the Commonwealth of Gold Coins had already caused trouble.

The Great Migration had come to an end. Now, the Commonwealth of Gold Coins was still an ostensibly complete country. In truth, it had already been divided into two pieces, the North and the South. The South was dominated by the aristocrats as the core power of control with their large population. Their industry was based mainly on agricultural production. The North was dominated by the merchants as the core power of control. The population might be relatively small, but by virtue of well-developed businesses, they had a large amount of capital.

This plan of “Merchants to the North and Aristocrats to the South” might seem to be quite successful at first glance. But the problems soon arose.

The aristocrats in the South began to impose heavy taxes on merchants in their own territories.

By right, this matter was a logical consequence. The aristocrats had consolidated their domination, so the next step was naturally to weaken the merchants’ strength. It was just that their methods were too unrefined, and the way they did things was too brutal. It just felt as though they were focused on draining the rivers to get the fish right before them and simply did not consider the long-term consequences.

The merchants sought profits. So long as there were enough profits, it would not be a problem for them at all even if they had to cooperate with the aristocrats. But the aristocrats’ approach had greatly slashed the profits that the merchants within their own territories could gain all of a sudden. Many petty merchants were headed straight for bankruptcy, and even the big merchants were severely affected with an impaired vigor.

The merchants certainly did not agree, which immediately led to a dispute. But this time, the aristocrats did not yield at all. They expressed that they no longer needed to deal with despicable and malevolent merchants, so they got even more vicious in levying taxes.

There were even places where the aristocratic lords directly brought their troops to the Chamber of Commerce to launch a raid. They had every intention of uprooting the merchants.

In this way, the conflict was completely intensified.