As the night darkened, Sean's carriage drove out of the secret police station.

Carmen Gable is crouching in the car, his beard unshaven, and he's gobbling down a piece of bread.

The secret police kept him hungry for two whole days.

He was "invited" into the detention centre by the secret police solely because of the inappropriate remarks he made in the newspapers. He had been a little flustered lately, thinking that he was the spiritual teacher of the Genoese.

His rhetoric was not enough to condemn him, and the secret police received a large number of letters of protest, but Carmen could only find a strong person to vouch for his exit from the detention center.

As the president of Poittu University, Sean happened to be in the school for the past two days, and when he heard about it, he personally came forward to bail him out, because the police refused to come forward with other people. The secret deliberately made him suffer.

"Mr. Gable, I think you're graduating soon, right?" asked Sean.

Carmen rolled her eyes at the dough and choked on the dough for a long time before she said, "Headmaster, do you want to sweep me out of the house or clear the door?"

"Of course!" Sean nodded in acknowledgement, "isn't it a joke that you've been agitating for equality or freedom, and yet it's me, the privileged, who provides you with protection?"

But you're not against equality. Carmen said.

"Don't forget, sitting in front of you is a nobleman. Rocky Mountain, for example, is there, and it does not bring me any obvious benefit other than providing me with a place to hunt, and even then, no civilians are allowed to enter the mountains to gather without my permission. Of course, my mountain guards usually turn a blind eye to the civilians who go into the mountains to collect some mushrooms, and the mountain guards know that I will not pursue them, and the civilians will not go too far.

If one day, the commoner is equalized, and when he steps into the Rocky Mountains to collect mushrooms, or even starts to cut down trees, and I am conflicted, he will only feel that he is not dealing with one lord, but with another citizen of Europa. Sean said, "Mr. Gable, why do you think I should accept so-called equality. ”

"Do you mean that equality is only a handout from the superior to the inferior?" said Carmen, "and if that is the case, I disagree. ”

"No, no, if you put aside your identity, I agree with you, but your position is very problematic. What you are looking for is not true equality, but equality of the propertied people. Sean smiled, "Frankly speaking, I'm not afraid of the equality and freedom that you are pursuing, because no matter how the world changes, there will always be another kind of inequality, based on inequality in wealth, inequality in position and power." And I have an advantage in both. ”

Seeing that Carmen did not speak, Sean continued: "You may not realize that your so-called speaking up for the peasants and speaking up for the workers is actually speaking on the side of the urban bourgeoisie, and you only see that the aristocracy owns a lot of land, but you don't see that the urban bourgeoisie also owns a lot of land, and they also have privileges. For the sake of profit, they are even more unscrupulous and unscrupulous. ”

"Aren't you advocating the abolition of the privileges of the nobles, as well as the privileges of the robes, and the repossession of their land by heavy taxes?" Sean stared at Carmen with sharp eyes.

"Isn't that right?" asked Carmen, rhetorically, "the tiller has his land, which is one of my volunteers." ”

"But think about it, once these privileged people you are against lose their land, that land will not naturally go into the hands of the peasants. If I were in power, I would deliberately divide the land into large chunks that would be far more than the peasants could afford, and I would have set up credit banks so that the peasants could pay in installments, which would discourage the real peasants, and thus make it easy for the urban bourgeoisie to take ownership of the land, and they would have stake their land, and they could even introduce new decrees so that the new landlords would pay less taxes. Not to mention the tenant farmers, unless the land is allocated to them without compensation. The end result is that land is still concentrated in the hands of a few and the peasants remain poor. "Think about it, naïve Mr. Gable!"

"But it is much better than the land in the hands of the nobility and the church, where the state does not receive more taxes. Carmen retorted, Sean's words pointing to his misunderstanding, a little naïve, "Of course, I admit that your analysis is correct. In the countryside, the flight of peasants has become commonplace, and it cannot be sustained for long. I have heard that you have given the unclaimed land to the peasants in the Moorish region of Guineapoli, which is a very wise and merciful thing, why can't the same thing happen somewhere else? ”

Sean smiled mysteriously and did not answer.

The answer is simple, because the war destroys the ruling order, and then creates a power vacuum, which Sean can certainly do without external intervention.

This was the result of his special "bribery" of the crown prince, who apparently knew that allowing local Moorish farmers to own land would not only quickly restore peace, but also increase tax revenue for the empire, which was why he acquiesced in Sean's claim.

"I know that uncle of yours, who built me an important highway, and I dare say that he is a member of the True God Party, and even if he does not join the True God Party, he can be considered a sympathizer. Is he still in secret society?" Sean continued, not looking at Carmen's somewhat pale face, "Mr. Gable, if you are invited to tea by the secret police next time, I will not come forward. As you wrote in the newspaper, I am also a leisure class, and we are naturally rivals. ”

"Headmaster, I owe you a great favor, and you deserve to be repaid to you in the future. "Moreover, I am also from Vichy, and I will never oppose you!"

Because the inhabitants of the Siputtu region now consider themselves to be the inhabitants of the expanded town of Velikvichy. Carmen's loyalty was not gladly accepted by Sean.

"Looks like you're ready to kill me. Sean said, "Mr. Gable, this is a dangerous idea, I should stay away from you." ”

Carmen was undaunted: "Frankly, I don't need to hide this in front of you, because I'm sure you won't go to snitching." But rest assured, I'll be going to the Holy City in a few days, and in fact, I've already received several invitations from the Holy City. That's where people like me should go, and the oppressive air here makes it impossible for me to breathe. ”

"Then I wish you good luck, I suggest you get your diploma first. Sean knocked on the carriage, stopped the carriage, and kicked Carmen down.

Carmen shouted from behind, "Headmaster, I'm not here yet!"

The carriage continued to move forward, and there were few pedestrians at night, but there were also workers who went home in the night. In the past two years, there have also been many handicraft workshops in Poitou, such as the shoe industry and the perfume industry, some of which are not small, but in general, the steam engine that represents the modern industrial power is still very little.

But this is also changing, as is the case in Vichy, where in addition to Sean's own textile company, the agglomeration effect associated with arms manufacturing is growing.

Now Sean has invested in the establishment of an ironclad shipbuilding company, which is a modern industry with the latest technology, but because it is new enough, progress is slow.

Andrew Johnson, a partner and genius inventor, also felt that building a 200-ton ironclad ship was not the same thing as building a batch and building an ocean-going ship.

At the same time, it is also a huge cash hole, and in order to support the industry, Sean must also establish a steel company.

Before setting up a steel company, he had to consider the source of raw materials, and he had already sent several geological and mining exploration teams to search for iron ore and coal mines everywhere in the south.

Meals can only be eaten one bite at a time.

Sean had an extremely bold and grand plan, and the rudiments of a complex based on steel and munitions were taking shape in his mind.

So he didn't have much sympathy for the traditional land-dependent aristocracy, who were both conservative and stubborn, and if they could take their eyes off the land in time, they might find a safer position in the future.

Sean is thinking about his big plans, and he's only getting started. As the carriage continued to move forward, Nelson suddenly knocked on the window outside the car:

"Viscount, it seems to be the seat of Countess Robinson in front. ”

Mafrabo lightly sped up so that the carriage was parallel to the carriage in front of him, and the other party also recognized the sign of Sean's car and hurriedly reported to his master.

The windows reveal Audrey's delicate and dignified face.

"Good evening, ma'am, where are you from?" asked Sean in surprise, knowing that Audrey could barely leave Roarburg.

"Come out of the mansion of the Count of Koval. Audrey replied. In fact, she was thinking about things related to Sean all the way just now, but she didn't expect to meet Sean halfway.

This seems to be providential.

"Was the Countess invited?" Sean understood, of course he had heard the news of the Countess of Koval returning home to save her family, as this was the focus of the recent discussion in Poitou high society.

For example, Count Koval wants to get a deputy minister in the cabinet, and of course everyone is more concerned about Count Koval is trying to get a prominent position in the court.

"Yes, Countess Koval is my cousin, and I haven't seen her for years. Audrey replied.

She also has a property in the city, which is one of the inheritances left to her by her deceased parents, in a wealthy area of the city, a two-story building with gardens in the front and back.

"Can I go in and sit down?" Sean held out his arm so that Audrey could hold her arm out of the carriage.

"Well, you can only stay for twenty minutes. It's late after all. Audrey said.

"Well, although this time is a bit short. ”