Congressman Anse Claire, who was discussing the new bill with his staff in the House of Representatives of the City Hall, received a letter from Gorgo, the chief steward of the scavengers' union, and then remembered President Tris, who was the biggest promoter of the re-election success and one of the financiers, and took advantage of the time to fold the letter back into its original form according to the creases.

Since Aldrich was accordingly recruited to visit around the North Sea with the ship, the life of the scavenger guild he created was not very good, after all, President Tris was too ostentatious, and with the name of the Fourth Knight, not only the bosses of the underground world were angry, but even some of the knights within the city guard showed ridicule and dissatisfaction in private.

When Aldridge was still in Eastwood, because he maintained a good relationship with the temple of the Friends of the Merchant, the taxation of smugglers with swords caused the displeasure of a certain tycoon, but in exchange for the approval of the high lord Eastwood Earl, the situation generally showed a benign trend.

However, after he left for a long time, he lacked a strong voice, and the orderly dockland area fell into chaos again, and the scavengers' union was forced to adopt a strategy of retreat, with the Shiying neighborhood as the core to stabilize the basic market in order to survive.

Congressman Anse Claire understood the key and immediately happily expressed his expectation that he would be separated from Triss for a long time, and he asked his aides about the afternoon's itinerary in front of Goregaard, and waved his hand impatiently after hearing a series of trivia: "Push it all away, I will meet with President Triss in the afternoon, this is the most important thing." ”

When the scavengers' chief butler left with a satisfied smile, the newly re-elected congressman turned to his aides and instructed his aides to look at the records, then quickly discussed with the staff who drafted the bill to finalize the rough outline, hung them in his office, went to the coat rack to change into civilian clothes for the trip, and went to the public bus station alone.

After waiting for a while, the hurried assistant came to Councilor Claire with his bag, and it happened that the public carriage not far from him was seated one after another, and he hurriedly walked over to find a place.

Anse Claire's proposal to equip each councillor with a special carriage has won a lot of popularity in both houses, but it has also brought a lot of negative comments, so after the success of the re-election campaign, he changed his past noisy style of winning the crowd, pretending to be close to the lower classes, and even the way of travel has also changed.

The creaking and slight jolting of the parquet steel wheels over the gravel road did not prevent Councilor Claire from reading the information collected by his close assistant in the City Hall Archives, and as he continued to flip through it, he quickly figured out the difficulties that the Scavengers Guild was currently facing, and had a corresponding response to President Tris's call, instead of being at a loss when he received the letter.

Putting away the copied documents and putting them in his bag, Anse Claire pressed them with both hands, closed his eyes and began to work on the draft, unlike some civilian councillors from the bottom, who had no scripts and even had some difficulty in formal conversations, but he had three years of experience in handling government affairs at the town hall and was able to find supporters for his campaign and maintain friendly exchanges.

Aldrich Triss of the Scavengers Union has put in a lot of effort to get Congressman Claire re-elected, not only financially generously, but also by integrating Docklands' connections and his own prestige, and now the time has come for the young House to re-elect for a second term.

Half an hour later, after two bus changes, Anse Claire got off at the stop at the entrance to the Poet Eagle Neighborhood, and hurried to the whole wheat bakery, the scavengers' union, with a handbag full of briefcases.

On the way, there were occasional union members, who always traveled in groups of twos and threes, and they spoke in a relaxed tone, without the panic of being suppressed by various forces as rumored, and it was clear that Aldrich Tris, a ballast stone of sufficient weight, returned safely, so that the small ship of the scavengers union was not afraid of any wind and waves outside.

Without seeing President Triss at the door, Councillor Claire was a little dissatisfied, but he didn't show it on his face, after all, he had experienced the washing of the verbal swords during the House debate, and his face had been honed thick enough.

Descending the spiral staircase to the second floor, he saw Aldrich seeing off a group of visitors, who were clearly dressed as small gangs in the docklands, and from different factions.

"Triss the Impartial has begun to settle the dispute again, and it seems that the chaos in the docklands will soon be over, and a welcome calm will be restored. ”

Put away your messy thoughts, turn sideways to avoid these animals who wander in gray areas that are not clearly defined by the law, and make a living by extortion and insurance fees, and try to keep their bodies close to the walls for fear of getting their scent.

Aldridge looked at Councillor Claire with a smile on his face, and stretched out his hand to greet him, which immediately attracted cold eyes and squints from several gang leaders who had not yet gone downstairs.

They are very sensitive to human feelings, and they are well aware of the rejection of keeping their distance, and it must be the disgust of the upper class who feel good about themselves, but in the face of President Tris, the impartial, he snorted and stepped down the spiral stairs heavily.

Frightened but not revealed, Councillor Anse Claire was invited to his office by Aldridge, and just sat down for the two of them to warm up with their usual greetings on the good weather today.

Trying his best to seize the initiative and take the rhythm of the dialogue between the two into his own hands, the congressman couldn't help but get to the point: "Did you gain anything from a trip to the northern seas?"

Aldrich nodded slightly, took out a long wooden box from his arms, put it on the table and slowly opened it: "The specialties of the three countries of the North Sea are said to be only available to the royal family and the noble family. ”

Anse Claire couldn't help but look curiously, and saw a golden bull's horn lying on the rosy red flannel in the birch wooden box, the horn itself was not as delicate as the eye-catching, but the strange runes engraved on it made him a little puzzled.

"What is this? A guessing game? I don't have anything to offer in that. The well-informed member of the House resisted the thought of reaching out and touching it, and looked up at President Triss with inquiring eyes.

Aldrich gently pinched the silver tether at the top of the horn and lifted it up in front of Anse Claire: "My trophy, the Rune amulet, can avoid a fatal injury by wearing it. ”

The congressman who had heard the rumors hurriedly reached out to take it, his fingers gently brushing the quaint lines, and the slight numbness of the touch made him sincerely surprised: "This is a precious gift, especially from His Excellency Triss, I don't know what to say." ”

"I've gilded the North Sea trade routes in the encounters, and it's not much to say it's too much, it's not much to say it's a little less, and it's nothing to give you one. ”

Aldridge sat up straight, his calm attitude made Anse Claire, who was accustomed to guessing the thoughts of others with malicious intent, a little ashamed, but the hand that grasped the golden horn never let go. There is never an example of something that falls into his hands, whether it is money or a gift, that is never returned.

Tris, my friend, you should know that a member of the House of Representatives, who is running for re-election like me, has invisibly erected a lot of enemies and political opponents. ”

"That's right, because the scavengers are actively supporting you, it seems that you have violated some hidden rules and have to take the opportunity to stay away from the storm that is beginning to form against me. Fortunately, the trip was very smooth, not only did he get enough military merits, but he also gained a lot of loot. ”

When Aldrich mentioned the word "trophies" for the second time, Anse Claire, who had developed a keen sense of smell in the House of Representatives, immediately caught the reason for President Tris's conversation, but there were still some gaps in the relevant clues, and he could only continue to perfunctory it patiently.

"Tris, my friend, please believe that I don't know about it, after all, I'm running for re-election for the first time and don't know the rules of the game. It's definitely my fault for getting you involved, and I hope you can give me a chance to make amends and save it. ”

Aldridge was noncommittal, just smiled lightly, and waved his hand disapprovingly, "Opportunity and difficulty are twin brothers, if I just stayed in Eastwood City and didn't go to the north to go to sea, I guess I would still be limited by the environment to the docklands, instead of greatly expanding my horizons like now." ”

Anse Claire can only smile at this, but only he knows what he thinks in his heart.

Tris didn't have the ability to guess people's hearts, so he took the topic and brought his own rhythm: "The Three Kingdoms of the North Sea are still stuck in the past, indulging in the glory of their fathers and not knowing how to forge ahead, and not knowing that they regard the Western Soil as a barren land, and now the overall strength has been completely surpassed, and even the northern countries are probably not able to cope with the Triple Alliance." I dare say that the war over the North Sea trade route is over, and it is a foregone conclusion that the three parties will divide the profits of the trade, but there is still a lot to settle before that. ”

The congressman was intrigued by Aldrich's words, and he sat up straight and leaned forward slightly, showing an intentional gesture.

"The roar of the Eastwood City Workshop District is like a thunderbolt, and the machines powered by flowing water, flames, and steam, and the continuous output of industrial products, are the key to our defeat of the three North Sea countries in the West-Turkey Customs Union. I don't know the changes of the times, and I still stubbornly guard the set of farms and pastorals in the past, because of the monopoly of the profits of the North Sea trade, although the overall strength has not declined, but it has not been used as an accumulation to complete the essential transformation. ”

Tris clenched his fists and slammed them on the table: "They will be buried eventually! If they do not change and innovate, the three countries of Beihai will be finished, and the day when they will completely withdraw from the stage of history will not be too far away." ”

"That's great news!" Anse Claire spread her hands, "but it doesn't have much to do with us. ”

On my way home, I passed through the port of Baifan, which had been turned into a fortress of war, and the wharf that had been expanded several times was filled with all kinds of loot that had not been counted in time, and most of them were still unpriced goods, which came from the blood tax levied on the merchant ships of the three North Sea countries. It is estimated that a steady stream of spoils will be harvested in the future and stored in several port cities along the coast of Xitu. ”

Aldrich's words came to this point, and he immediately stopped talking, waiting for the re-elected congressman to see the opportunities and benefits contained therein.

"Stacked in the open air, endlessly, loot. Anse Claire, who was muttering to himself, suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Tris, my friend Tris, finally know what you mean by calling me over." ”

The congressman picked up his topic: "Before the war, the big lords were stingy with their contributions, and they were probably not optimistic, so they ignored the war dividends they harvested. ”

Aldrich nodded: "The process of creating the scavenger union by myself, I think many people know that they want to imitate, but unfortunately they lack the key to it, and they have never succeeded in replicating." Do you know why?"

Anse Claire was a little tired from the topic of jumping, but he had a decent mind, and quickly turned the corner to keep up with President Triss's rhythm: "I don't know, I was trying to ask you for advice." ”

"My interests are firmly tied to theirs, and together with fair rewards and punishments, the scavengers have a clear hierarchy and everyone is highly cohesive. ”

The House of Representatives was surprised, and immediately agreed with the forehead, "It's very simple, but when it comes to actual implementation, few people can do it." The reputation of the impartial people of the docklands is loud not only inside the scavengers, but also on the outside. ”

"The rich dividends of war are shared with the civilians, and they will burst out with the greatest enthusiasm and rush to the North Sea frantically without the same conscription of adventurers and regular armies as they do now, in which the inevitable ideological friction is not yet perceptible, and will surely become a hidden danger after a long time. ”

Anse Claire stood up with a sigh: "I understand, I will draft a new bill as soon as possible and submit it to the House of Representatives, the Senate, and even the Archduke Eastwood for consideration." ”

"The country estates of the Western Territories are declining, a large number of bankrupt civilians are pouring into the cities, and there are enough frustrated people at the bottom of society that the large workshops can absorb and digest them, but that is only part of them. ”

At this point, Aldrich Tris, who was sympathetic, spoke in a heavy tone, but he continued to speak.

"The war for the ownership of the North Sea trade routes will create a great demand, further stimulate the potential of the Western Earth city-states, and continue the war until the end, and we will usher in greater prosperity after victory. ”

The source of virtue continued to soar, and the knight's heart condensed during his cultivation in the Whispering Forest was no longer a small thing, and the heat surged to fill his body and mind.

When the House of Representatives saw President Triss standing up, a strong light appeared on his body, and it was a little dazzling in splendor, and behind him appeared the golden hero of epic legends, and his figure gradually merged with it, and tears filled his eyes, and he had to close immediately.

"Whew!" a cold wind blew through the window, and the dreamlike scene faded like a tide in an instant, and Anse Claire opened his eyes, but saw that everything was as usual.

The unquenched kindness in the House of Representatives' hearts: "Could it be that what just happened was an illusion! It must be the result of President Triss's noble personality." ”

And questioned the nature of everything: "What a joke! It can't be a little trick he plays!"