To the east of the port of Poitou, in the shipyard of the Kang's Shipbuilding Company.

The land, which was sold to Sean by the municipality for 1 gold louis, covers more than 20 hectares. At the beginning, this price caused some criticism, but now it is gone, and it is even considered one of the best public deals in Poitou. In line with the principle of maximizing the number of beneficiaries, the most powerful people in Genoa are its shareholders.

Today, the second and third Shark-class ironclads were officially delivered to the Navy. After a short period of adjustment and learning from the previous lessons, Kang's Shipbuilding began large-scale construction activities again, building five ironclad ships at the same time.

In view of the success of the Bass and its deep impression on the Empire's holy city leaders, the Navy has added 10 ironclads to the construction plan, bringing the total number of ironclads to 20.

This is where Kang's shipbuilding is confident.

The Navy even established a naval school in Poitou, located in the barracks of the Vichytown Garrison Brigade, to train sailors adapted to the new ships, so as to avoid the embarrassment of having only a warship and no sailors who could operate it.

According to the estimates of the financial advisers of those "enthusiastic" bankers, the first 10 construction plans can allow Kang's Shipbuilding to recover all the investment in the early stage, and even a slight surplus, which is obtained when Kang's Shipbuilding provides the navy with 60 guns on three warships for free, and the last 10 construction plans can get an average profit of 100,000 yuan for each construction of one ship.

Unfortunately, Kang's Shipbuilding is currently in need of capital increase. No, arms dealer Bess may be one of the biggest winners, as he generously gifted 80 guns to the Navy, making him the only weapons supplier to the remaining 17 ironclads.

Carmen Gable, who had just returned to Poitou, had the privilege of being invited to the delivery ceremony, which was attended by all the big names in Poitou.

The two new ships were named "Count Koval" and "Siyes", respectively.

Yes, the Koval family felt that they could no longer fight Sean, and although the family did not really see Sean as an enemy, or even a fundamental conflict, the family was clearly aware that it was increasingly being isolated by the people of its homeland, consciously or unconsciously.

In Genoa, all are Sean's allies.

So, the Koval family paid 400,000 in cash to get the naming rights of an ironclad ship. Sean happily accepted the money, which to outsiders saw as both a "show of weakness" by the Koval family and a "reconciliation" between the two parties.

As for the "Siyes", it is the personal ambition of the banker Mr. Siyes, because with the jewel of the "Bes" in front of him, he also wants his name to appear in the major newspapers of the Holy City.

Sean clearly marked the price, and Tong Su was not deceived. Both Count Koval and Siyes thought that these 40 things were worth it, especially for Count Koval, who was alone in the Holy City.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Carmen was exposed to Sean's light, and with Sean's introduction, he was able to interview all the big names, including the Governor.

He found that the Genoese he interviewed were filled with optimism, and that the stability of law and order, economic prosperity, and full employment had made everyone happy with the status quo.

This is in stark contrast to the bleak North.

The pace of life in Genoese has also increased, and all this has changed in just two or three years.

Economic development has also benefited ordinary people.

The rich are getting richer, and they don't complain about paying more taxes than before, because they are subsidized elsewhere: for example, the unification of tax rates, the elimination of checkpoints and double taxes within the provinces, the improvement of transportation and the smooth flow of goods, and the actual increase in income due to the spillover effects of large-scale industrial investment.

Carmen noted that farmers were more willing to farm because of the lightened burden, and that some large landowners began to show signs of reluctance to continue to acquire land because of the 1/20 tax, and that some families, such as the Robinsons, even sold some land to farmers who were willing to farm, in part because many farmers, especially tenants, preferred to go to the factories to earn money.

The landlords invested the money they received in new industries, such as the birth of many supporting factories around Kang's shipbuilding. Most of the landlords reduced their rents to a greater or lesser extent, otherwise no one would want to farm for them.

The shortage of manpower has led to an increase in the wages of workers, and some of them are well paid.

If you add Sean's coal and steel companies, as well as the expanding railroad company, the Gena people's foreign population has increased by more than 100,000.

The Count of Koval and the Siyes have disappeared from the sea level, and most of them have dispersed.

Sdia Koval revealed the not-so-friendly news: the empire had raised taxes again.

He received a letter from Count Koval this morning, saying that in order to restore the security of the Empire's maritime frontiers, an additional sea tax would be levied on all groups and subjects throughout the country. The method of taxation is equivalent to a 1/20 tax, which is in effect a universal tax on a national scale.

This was nothing for the Genoese, because Genoese had fewer nobles and was a Estates-General region, where the forces of the various classes checked and balanced each other and compromised with each other, prompting them to reach a consensus at this time last year, which put them at the forefront of the country.

But everyone could have predicted that the increase in the marine tax would provoke a nationwide outcry.

Of course, it is the rich who are protesting, especially the privileged.

In Europa, apart from farmers, workers and craftsmen, everyone else enjoys certain privileges to a greater or lesser extent, and it is undoubtedly their lives to be made to pay a little more. At this time, they will talk about tradition again and take privilege for granted.

But none of this affects Sean at the moment, although that's what he expected.

Sean is constantly working, because everything is still in the ascendant, and although the management teams of the various industries under his name have been established, it will take time to get these teams running on the right track.

Sean was on the train from the Darlington Iron Mine to the Dockton Coal Mine and was officially interviewed by Carmen:

"Science and technology are the primary productive forces. Times are advancing, the invention of the steam engine hastened the changes in the world, and we now create more goods, more armaments, and more wealth in a year than we have in the past ten or twenty years. Then we have to adapt to this change. ”

"Viscount, are you advocating reform?" asked Carmen. What he wanted to ask was actually more explicit, such as revolution.

Sean understands his subtext, so he steers clear of some sensitive words:

"Of course, I'm in favor of some reforms, like our tax system.

The same kind of commodity tax, which is a heavy tax in one province and a light tax or even exempt in another, often violates the local laws and regulations by the businessman, and if he wants to spread his business all over the country, he must hire a consultant who is proficient in taxation.

At the same time, he wanted to sell the perfumes produced in Poitu to the Holy City, and he had to face many hurdles along the way, and he had to endure the exploitation of tax collectors who followed different laws, which made people think that we lived in different countries. ”

"Of course, it's not just our tax system that needs to be reformed. Our cabinet doesn't have a complete plan for industrial development, they expect the rich to invest themselves and then collect taxes. It is true that the rich invest in the industries in which they make money out of a desire for profit, but from the level of an empire, the government should guide and support it. The cabinet assists His Majesty in ruling over the people, not only to collect taxes, but their main duty should be to ......"

As he spoke, the train slammed, and the wheels rubbed against the rails with a screeching sound.

Because of inertia, Carmen slammed into the wall of the box, and immediately his eyes were full of gold and blood. In a trance, he heard Sean yelling:

"Clark, Arthur, what's going on?"

After a while, someone shouted urgently: "Viscount, the rails in front have been tampered with, and the front of the locomotive and the two carriages have flipped on its side." ”

Another exclaimed, "Viscount, are you injured?"

"Go and save someone!" ordered Sean.