It was on this note that the first meeting of the free city-state of Zeellandia came to an end.

Although it had been foreseen beforehand, after forty-six years, the awakening of the Dragon Lord would definitely make some changes to the existing pattern of the entire Zelandia and even the new city.

But when this kind of drastic reform is cut down, it is so quick and ruthless.

So much so that when the meeting ended, the vast majority of people were in a trance and absent-minded.

The merger of Zeellandia and Minas Stirris, and the official change of its name to the Free City-State of Zelandia, are still in the realm of everyone's expectations, and have even been waiting for it for a long time.

After all, Minas Stirris, the new city of the Northlands, is already a veritable independent city-state, both economically and militarily, and nothing more than a declaration of independence.

Others worry about whether this will provoke a radical reaction from Gerthonn's drow.

Although the Shadow Queen Signia once tried to win over Zelandia, who already had a certain strength, to participate in the Gerthon Beast Tide Guardian War, and verbally recognized their autonomy.

But autonomy is only autonomy after all, so Zeellandia is still nominally part of the territory of the city of Gerthorne.

The establishment of an independent city-state means that they will soon usher in more detailed and standardized legislation and a more authoritative government agency.

The former is related to the vital rights and interests of the vast majority of people, and the latter means that many of them will usher in an unprecedented opportunity to leap into the class.

An opportunity to become a true 'noble' from a citizen.

After all, the managers of a 'chamber of commerce', whether in terms of status or authority, are far from being compared with the nobles, bureaucrats, and even lords of those city-states.

Some people even can't stop wondering, with the momentum of Zeellandia's growing momentum now, will it slowly develop into a kingdom like Cormier?

Even... Recreate the greatness of Netheril... Magic Empire!

But just when they wanted to get into trouble, Li Wei's 'separation of politics and business' poured cold water on many guys who were just about to have a sweet dream.

And the choice given to them by Li Wei is also very simple, for the public servants who have already served in Hogg Mining or other chambers of commerce, part-time are required to have a one-time 'transformation', and voluntarily choose to stay after decoupling.

You're either in politics or in business.

Choose one or the other.

If this article just makes them feel sad but still have a trace of luck, then the follow-up adds:

'Their immediate family members and their spouses are not allowed to engage in any commercial activities in the city-state' is a direct blow to the eyes of many people.

They can see that this series of measures by their lord is not impromptu because of this small corruption case, but has been prepared for a long time.

And the truth is indeed as they speculated, and Levi did have a plan for this.

In the past, Zeellandia was just an insignificant small territory, and it could even be said that it was a small gathering place brought together by a mining area.

Its nature determines that if Levi operates and manages it as a company, it will obtain the greatest efficiency and effectiveness.

But since the establishment of the new city of Minas Stirris, the nature of the city has changed completely.

They have a territory of their own in the true sense of the word, from nothing.

They have built a real army strong enough to defend a city, but also enough to destroy a town.

After decades of development, they have relied on a series of measures to attract a large enough population, and also have a series of pillar industries that are independent enough.

All of this is objectively decided, whether they admit it or not, they have developed to the scale of a real city-state!

If we continue to follow the previous model of integrating business and government, it will easily lead to the ruling body slowly becoming bloated, unable to lose its tail, and having unclear powers and responsibilities, until it falls into chaos.

Referring to the history of another world, the long-term stability of a strong country is inseparable from the streamlining of rights and responsibilities and the clear division of rights and responsibilities.

So Li Wei, who woke up at least 20 years later than he expected, directly chose to cut through the mess quickly.

Only by clarifying the rights, responsibilities and attribution can we reduce unnecessary supervision and criticism, and can we more effectively carry out work and optimize the use of resources.

It is impossible for anyone with a little brain to give up the rights in their hands, but this 'price' is not insignificant.

However, since ancient times, internal reform cannot only have 'big sticks' and no 'sweet dates'.

Just as some of them, who were already in high positions in Hogg Mining, were so heartbroken that they could not breathe, they heard their lord announce:

Half of Hogg Mining's shares will be held by the city-state of Zeellandia, and all public servants will enjoy proportional equity dividends and corresponding benefits according to their official positions, but the city-state's government agencies will not participate in direct management.

The remaining half of Hoag Mining's shares will be continuously distributed through a series of methods such as internal financing, virtual equity, and employee stock ownership.

This means that in the future, Hoag Mining's salary will be composed of three major items: salary, bonus and stock dividends.

After this measure was announced, even the employees who criticized the previous policy had to be amazed by the generosity and magnanimity of their lord.

This means that their lord has used the huge profits of Hogg Mining to tie everyone under this system deeply.

Under such a system, everyone will fight for the city-state, for the company, and for themselves.

It is worth mentioning that in this meeting, there are also some resolutions, which are a little confusing.

After the meeting ended, Herbert, who was fortunate enough to be an observer, carried the jug of wine to the tavern opened by the Iron Hammer family.

As soon as he entered the door, standing in front of the bar, a bearded dwarf who was about the same as a hammer in Herbert's perception lit up, jumped off the low stool and saw no human figure, and in an instant pushed open the door and greeted him cordially:

"Yo, Captain Herbert, you're here again! ”

After greeting this distinguished customer, he turned his head to the back of the store and roared: "Old man, the head of your family has come to drink with you!

"Poof!"

Herbert had just drunk half of the 'eaux-de-vie' when he choked on it.

After so many years, even Herbert has long been assimilated by Zeellandia's culture, and the word 'pick-up' still makes him a little unbearable.

"I'm not behind my ears. ”

The hammer, which was still strong, slashed the pig-killing knife in his hand on the cutting board, tore off the oil-stained apron and threw it beside the stove, and came to Herbert's table with a smile on his face.

"Ahh

Herbert hesitated and said, "Isn't this the end of the meeting ahead of schedule? No, it can't be said to be over schedule... What to say, our Dragon Lord, have mentioned some... It's a special resolution, so this meeting may be held again at a later date. ”

"Hey, I thought it was something, I didn't listen to it, unless we were given tax exemptions, it wouldn't matter to us anyway. ”

As soon as Hammer heard the decision or something, his head widened.

"This time, it might really be on your head. ”

Herbert glanced at his former friend meaningfully, then looked around again, pausing for a moment over the scantily clad tavern dancers.

And this gaze was naturally captured by the hammer, and his eyes couldn't help but widen:

"Hmm, Herbert, you've changed! You can't be a dancer who has a crush on me, do you?"

Xu was aware of the gaze cast by his 'wife', and Iron Hammer hurriedly lowered his voice and said:

"I advise you to dispel this idea, although they are slave girls bought by my family from Jishui City, but they will take on some private work on weekdays, I think they are pitiful, so they don't interfere too much, but there are so many adventurers coming and going in the tavern, God knows if you will meet someone who is sick..."

It's just that as he spoke, he gradually closed his mouth in the eyes of his old friend who looked like an idiot, and only then did he ask:

"What the hell is going on? Raise taxes, right?"

"It's not a tax increase. ”

Herbert also knew that his dwarven friend was an impatient, so he no longer sold it, and said directly:

"The lord's order is estimated to be issued within today, from today onwards, there will be no more slaves, all slaves will be converted to civilian status, so you have to prepare early. ”

"Ahh

Iron Hammer was shocked, and quickly turned his head to look at his wife, who was also pricking up her ears behind the counter, and asked with sweat in her head:

"When will it be executed, will it be too late if I hurry up and transport them out of the city and sell them now?"

In order to get a few dancers who could easily attract more customers, he dragged Kirk to accompany him to the slave market in Jishui City for a long time, and he also made a lot of money, and he had to change a batch every ten years or so.

If he is released so easily, then he will pay for his death...

Herbert hurriedly pressed the excited dwarf back and hurriedly reassured:

"Don't get excited, it's not the dancer who robbed you. ”

"Why didn't I rob it! I bought it with money! Do you know how expensive a slave girl of this quality is?"

The Hammer's excited Parkinson is about to commit a crime.

"The city-state will come forward to redeem it unifiedly, and it shouldn't lose much. Herbert reassured.

"Isn't that still a loss?"

Hammer Sensei was more unlucky, but after hearing that it was not gratuitous, he breathed a sigh of relief, and also dispelled the idea of quickly taking it and selling it.

After all, he didn't do this, and he couldn't sell it, but he couldn't avoid broken thoughts:

"I don't understand, Zelandia came forward to ransom it, just to free the slaves, why do such a stupid thing, did you take so much money at once, it's not a small amount!"

After paying too much price, the sound of the hammer involuntarily became louder again, so that the dancers showed disbelief, glanced at each other, and gathered around Herbert with the shouts and curses of the dwarven proprietress .

In less than a minute, Herbert was overwhelmed by the plump buttocks and fat of this group of dancers, and his ears were full of the pleading voice of the warbler Yanyan:

"Captain Herbert, you said that the lord may want to redeem and release us?"

"What the hell is going on? Can you tell us? Please!"

"yes, yes, if that's really the case, I'm today... You can do whatever you want. ”

"I can too, I can too, we sisters serve you together, and make sure that you go directly to heaven. ”

For Herbert, a frequent visitor to the tavern, coupled with his high position and wealth, they have coveted this station leader for a long time, but it is a pity that the other party is a little too clean, so gradually that kind of heart fades.

But the news inadvertently revealed by the boss at this moment is related to their future and fate, and they don't care about anything else for a while.

And sadly... The only thing they can do is their own bodies...

"Stop, stop, calm down, listen to me. ”

Herbert struggled out of this pile of beautiful flesh with great difficulty, and then stopped the angry dwarven boss with his eyes, glanced around at the excited and apprehensive girls, and continued:

"As far as I know, the Consulate will indeed come forward to redeem it, but it will be a debt to you, and at the same time you will have to sign a contract that will only regain your freedom in the true sense of the word after paying this debt. ”

"It turns out... Is that so? Aren't we still slaves?"

"It's just that he has become a slave of the state. ”

The dancers, who were originally full of hope, looked gloomy again.

Herbert also blamed himself for not speaking clearly, and continued to comfort the girls:

"No, it's not like that, from the moment you are ransomed, you are no longer slaves, but commoners, just civilians with a debt, you have the right to choose your own profession, the city-state will pay one-third of your salary every month as a forced repayment, which means that your private property will also be protected, and more importantly, you will no longer have to worry about your children, will repeat your fate, they will also have the right to receive free education at the Zeellandia Miners' Academy, to become a commoner with basic rights。 ”

But after these words were spoken, there was no scene of excitement and revelry in Herbert's imagination.

These dancers looked a little complicated and confused, and one of the dancers broke down and cried on the spot, and then rushed into the back store.

This scene also confused Herbert, and another dancer whispered to him:

The dancer failed to use contraception a few years ago, and in order to avoid the pressure on work and life caused by giving birth to the other party, and in order not to let the other party become a slave from birth, she chose to have an abortion, but because of the drug overdose, she seemed to have completely lost the ability to have children.

This was supposed to be a good thing in a way...

But now, it seems a little ironic and cruel.

"Thank you, Lord Herbert, for we... I went back to work. ”

"Mr. Herbert, don't you really need us to serve you tonight? ”

A dancer seems to be reluctant to miss this big fish, and she really wants to 'thank you' the other person in this way.

Herbert still refused.

After a hiccup, Herbert's side finally regained its quietness.

The words of the two also became a little duller, but it was Iron Hammer who spoke first:

"I said, isn't there anything good going on at this meeting?"

"Yes. Herbert replied with some confusion.

"Hey, you said it earlier, is there going to be a war?"

Hammer suddenly became a little excited.

Although he is retired, the average age of the dwarves is about four hundred years old, and he is a real veteran.

As long as Zelandia called, he promised to be the first to apply for enlistment and respond to the call of the lord.

In Corell, fighting is the first thing to make money.

It's a pity that he has been a soldier for 16 years, retired for 30 years, and still hasn't had a war, which makes him always lament bad luck.

"Why are you so busy thinking about war?"

Herbert wondered, "I'm talking about something else. ”

"What?" Hammer wilted when he heard that there was no fight.

"The lord has issued another resolution, and from this term onwards, all citizens will have the right to propose before each meeting. ”

Herbert himself was a little uncertain.

"The right to propose, to give advice? Comments?"

Hammer was dumbfounded, and then asked rhetorically, "Then do you have any mature suggestions?"

Herbert shook his head blankly and sighed a little:

"I haven't read anything, so I don't know what advice to give, let alone to the city-state and the lord. ”

"It's just... We don't have many people in Zeelandia who have ever gone to school, so what do you think... Is it tax-free..."

The dwarves are still obsessed with taxes.

"......" Herbert was speechless.

"By the way, what about your son Anthony, he's a mage, and I would like to ask his opinion?" the dwarf scratched his head.

"He's—he's still in Zeelandia, seemingly... Accompanying the lord to tour the Golem Workshop. ”

Herbert said with some pride.

He suddenly felt a little stunned.

Perhaps, this right is for their next generation.