Darkstone Code-Chapter 779 - 0777 Leopard
As soon as Lynch spoke, His Majesty the Emperor found himself unable to continue his speech.
The main reason for the lack of development in Amelia Province is that the nobility are unwilling to go there. On one hand, Amelia Province is a "concession," and in this world, the notion of a permanent concession lasting over a hundred years does not exist.
No matter how long the lease term of a concession is, when the time is up, the concession must be returned.
In other words, if the nobility were to invest a large amount of money to develop Amelia Province, then after one hundred and twenty years, when this region, which might surpass the Gafura Main Island economically, comes to the end of its term, it must be returned to its "original owner."
In that case, all those years of time, energy, and wealth would ultimately benefit others, and worse, to Gafura’s rival nation, which is practically aiding the enemy.
Once this region is taken back by the original nation, will they possibly treat Gafura’s nobility and merchants favorably?
It’s impossible—they’d be thankful not to round up Gafura nobles extensively; at the very least, they would drive the nobility out.
This means that one hundred and twenty years of effort by Gafura nobility would be in vain; the assets that a noble family devoted all their strength to would ultimately become someone else’s property. How could they possibly be interested in responding to His Majesty’s call to develop the place? 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Previously, there were also some statements claiming that Emperor Gafura did not intend to return the land. They would certainly take over the entire country the next time war broke out, using it as a forward base for Gafura’s conquest of the world.
But the problem is, to this day, people have not seen any hope. To conquer a continental nation, the invader must first possess a powerful army.
The Gafura army... it’s already fortunate enough that no one invades them—nobles do not believe there will be a day when the Emperor’s words come true.
This is not pessimism; it is simply a fact.
Moreover, once Amelia Province thrives, the status of the Gafura Main Island will become awkward.
The aristocracy’s wealth lies on the Main Island, with vast tracts of land, beautiful villas, and imposing ancient castles...
And various valuable immovable properties—wealth accumulated over time is firmly tied to the Main Island in several forms.
Once Amelia Province’s growth surpasses that of the Main Island, the nobility’s wealth will shrink dramatically because the shift in the focus of wealth and power will gradually lead to the Main Island’s decline.
How could the nobility possibly promote such a thing?
Developing for one hundred and twenty years while transferring wealth to a rival nation continuously in the process by undercutting themselves for Amelia Province’s development is something nobility cannot do.
Everyone knows that developing Amelia Province is currently the only way out of the ’entrapment of the island,’ but under the inclination of interests, people still are unwilling to heed His Majesty’s directive to develop there as much as possible.
There is an unshakable issue of principle here, as well as a bottom-line issue.
Even to this day, the number of nobility developing in Amelia Province is pitifully small, aside from some officials stationed there who have no choice but to go; no other nobility are willing to go.
For this, His Majesty is greatly troubled, always considering how to ’drive’ the nobility over there. He even suggested relocating the Imperial Palace to Amelia Province, but still made no progress.
Lynch’s single sentence at this moment made him see a glimmer of hope.
Everything is like this, from when children start learning to walk, to knight apprentices picking up a sword for the first time. Whatever it is, ignorance begins with a first step, the crucial first step.
His Majesty the Emperor remained silent for a moment, looking at Lynch, weighing some choices in his heart. Occasionally, he would lower his head or look elsewhere to avoid Lynch’s gaze for too long, so as not to expose his thoughts.
Up to now, he would never regard Lynch merely as a young man.
He had just discussed with the Prime Minister about taking down these ’opportunists’ like Lynch to stabilize the entire market, never expecting Lynch to propose another plan first.
This plan is quite tempting.
To be honest.
Compared to satisfying some financial investors’ deficits, the development of national strategies is clearly more important. One concerns the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, while the other is the inevitable path of the Empire’s rise. The Emperor very well knows which one to choose.
His current hesitation is merely to create an illusion for Lynch—’I really want to agree, but it’s not easy; even if I do agree, it’s reluctantly.’
Lynch watched the Emperor’s performance, already fully confident in him, simply watching... watching until the Emperor became somewhat embarrassed.
By the script, Lynch should propose further conditions at this time to persuade him; that’s what raising stakes means.
One is not enough, give another.
But Lynch showed nothing, and His Majesty told himself not to get angry, knowing it’s Lynch’s strategy, yet he couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.
He gave Lynch a glare, while the latter raised his eyebrows with a smile, "Your Majesty, after our previous discussion, we plan to allocate about thirty percent of the jobs in our investments to the people of the Main Island."
"The wages will be slightly higher than the average salary, perhaps this will silence some people, don’t you think?"
At first, His Majesty the Emperor didn’t understand what Lynch meant, but it didn’t take long for him to realize, and his expression turned peculiar.
"You want those protesters to go work for you in Amelia?" the Emperor’s tone was slightly raised, "Ha, very amusing, Lynch."
"I’m not accusing anything, it’s just that you take their money and then want them to work for you... Are all people of the Federation as shameless and greedy as you?"
Faced with the "accusation" from His Majesty the Emperor, Lynch’s face showed no dissatisfaction, but rather a sincere smile, "Your Majesty, you may not be aware that being shameless and greedy, for people like us, is more like a compliment."
"You might have heard of shameless and greedy merchants, but you certainly have never heard of merciful and kind merchants."
"We use valor to praise warriors and wisdom to admire wise men. These are their specific praises, no different from shamelessness and greed."
Lynch’s perspective was peculiar, and His Majesty the Emperor pondered it seriously for a moment, then nodded subconsciously.
Indeed, if one were to use "valor" to describe a wise man, it certainly would not be a compliment.
However, Lynch’s attitude impressed the Emperor deeply; he wouldn’t let others’ opinions influence his emotions, nor would he be joyful, sad, or angry over matters unrelated to him.
Even if he didn’t like Lynch, he had to admit this: Lynch was excellent.
"Let’s discuss other ideas..." His Majesty the Emperor said seriously, picking up a pen, ready to write or draw at any time.
Lynch knew he had successfully impressed His Majesty the Emperor, he stood up with a smile, "An honor, Your Majesty."
"In my plan, a large number of factories, especially those in light industry and processing industry, which do not require high thresholds, can accommodate a large number of jobs and would greatly help stabilize the security of Amelie Province."
"More importantly, if we can provide relatively unbiased job opportunities to the locals, it would effectively dispel the hatred between the Gafura people and the locals."
"No matter how we try to cover it up, there are some issues that cannot be hidden, like massacres..."
The Emperor frowned upon hearing this and interrupted Lynch, "That wasn’t a massacre, it was an orderly execution of some criminals."
Lynch smiled, not arguing, everyone knew whether it was a massacre—a truckload of people sent to the execution ground, slaughtered batch by batch, then buried or burned outside the city.
To this day, in the centers of some cities, the soil between the cracks of the bricks is still dark red or black, saturated with blood, even after many rainfalls, it hasn’t changed color.
Lynch mentioned this not to provoke His Majesty the Emperor, but to remind him.
To remind him that under the stable rule, there still exists irreconcilable hatred, and what the Gafura Empire needs is not to reignite conflicts but to find ways to resolve them.
Providing people with stable lives and improving their quality of life is evidently a good method.
In Lynch’s description, education, employment, and a relatively free environment, policies entirely different from those of Gafura itself, could enlighten the populace.
The example set by Lynch and other nobles could also influence some observant nobles; not all nobles have deep foundations, some, like the small nobles around Lynch, come from relatively new families.
They are more inclined to gamble and willing to make attempts compared to traditional nobles.
At least, it’s hard for them to develop at home because the resources are held by old-fashioned nobles; to grow, they can only turn to Amelie Province.
Lynch’s plan was not complicated at all, nor did it pretend to be profound, it was just that simple.
After listening, His Majesty the Emperor pondered back and forth for a while and found Lynch’s plan to have a strong executable aspect.
The key point was that he and his companions were willing to invest all the money into the development and reconstruction of Amelie Province, which was crucial.
By the end of the conversation, His Majesty the Emperor had a good understanding of all of Lynch’s ideas, and the papers in front of him were filled with notes for discussion with other ministers.
Towards the end of their conversation, His Majesty the Emperor asked a question, "I am quite clear about what you’ve said, do you have any requests?"
"For example, do you need policy support, tax exemption, or anything of the sort?"
"If so, speak up, we’ll discuss together later so as not to drag on for too long."
Lynch nodded, "I do have a small request..."
