"Ha, old friend, how did you end up here. Pollit got dressed and walked out of the bathhouse, and at a glance he saw Rhodes sitting on a chair in the corridor waiting.

Rhodes looked up and saw four thinly dressed girls blushing and following Pollitt out, and the waiter handed them a silver coin each, and then the girls disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Sure enough.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw another person come out of it.

Hodge –

He stood up abruptly, walked over to Pollit's side, and said solemnly: "Your Excellency, as your treasurer, I need to remind you that the relationship between us and the miners has reached a stalemate to a certain extent, and if we continue in this state, we will lose the support of the merchants, and once the merchants withdraw from Blackstone, our revenue will drop sharply, and the Marquis will also be dissatisfied with this, so I propose to immediately restore the previous tax system to avoid further deterioration of the relationship between the two sides." ”

"Hmm...... Is it that serious?" Pollitt was slightly stunned.

Fat people who are used to eroding on the bed are sometimes so naïve.

And this innocence is a great opportunity in the eyes of those who have a heart.

Hodge stepped forward and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Rhodes is probably too cautious, although this is not a vice, but as the treasurer of the adults, he always stands in the position of a businessman and speaks for them, isn't it right?"

Rhodes said angrily, "Shut up! I can't talk to the adults before you interject." ”

"Your Excellency?" Hodge turned to Pollitt for advice.

Pollitt waved his hand: "Old friend, don't do this. Brother Hodge is also your colleague no matter what he says, and as the chief of intelligence, he can certainly express his opinion. ”

"But it's a financial matter!" Rhodes' hand gripped the corner of his coat to prevent him from being able to control his anger.

"I would like to ask Your Excellency Rhodes. "Since you are so pessimistic about the status quo, have the chambers of commerce made it clear that they are resisting? they have refused to pay the mining tax, and have even threatened to withdraw from Blackstone?"

With Hodge's reminder, Pollitt also noticed this: "Old friend, what are these three bags?"

Be one step ahead!

Rhodes took a deep breath, took out the gem bag and handed it to Pollit: "My lord, this is the remaining mine tax that the Taura Chamber of Commerce has made up according to 20% of this quarter's revenue, President Gauld said...... Now that we're no longer entitled to the relief, we might as well start with this quarter. ”

Pollit didn't listen to Rhodes' words at all, but only cared about untying the rope of the gem bag, staring at the jadeite, diamond and other precious stones in the bag, and rubbing nothing else in his eyes.

You must know that this quarter's mining tax has been sent to the castle of Marquis Raymond, which means that the three bags of gems are completely owned by him, and with the total quarterly output value of the Toura Chamber of Commerce, even two percent is a huge number.

Noticing Pollit's appearance, Rhodes helplessly stretched out his hand and shook his body: "My lord, please listen to me." ”

"Oh, you say. Pollitt reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

"That said, President Gauder is already extremely dissatisfied with the new tax system, and perhaps Taura will really refuse to pay it next quarter, and you should know that with the size of the Taura Chamber of Commerce, this part of the tax is quite critical, and I think it is imperative to ease the relationship between the two sides. ”

"My lord, let me interject. ”

Rhodes glared at Hodge.

It's you again!

Hodge ignored his anger and said to himself, "My lord, I think Your Excellency Rhodes's inference has added too much speculation, and we can assume the situation. My lord, what would you do if the Marquis of Raymond suddenly came to you one day and asked you to hand him over the share that you should have gotten your hands on?"

Pollit thought for a moment: "I can't disobey the words of Lord Marquis. ”

"That's true, but don't you have anything in mind?"

"Perhaps, yes. "When you encounter such a situation, as long as you are a human being, you will naturally feel congested.

"And what if you have a bad temper in the first place, like President Galder, and that happens?"

"In that case...... "Pollitt thought along his train of thought, "I should have scolded the Marquis's messenger, and even made a rough move." ”

"But you're still going to obey that command, aren't you?"

"That's right. ”

"Why?"

"Because that's the Marquis, after all. Pollit thought for a moment, "and...... I think that if you accept the order, you can still get considerable benefits, and even such benefits cannot be measured by ordinary money. ”

Smack!

Hodge twitched his fingers and snapped his fingers: "That's right, that's the point, even if President Gauld is dissatisfied, he won't be so easy to make an enemy of us, because he understands that you are the mayor of Blackstone, you are the absolute center of Blackstone, even if you suffer some losses at this time, but in the long run, this is not a loss-making deal." ”

"Is that so?" said Pollitt.

Hodge smiled: "That's right, that's it. ”

Watching the conversation between the two singing and harmonizing, Rhodes's heart became colder and colder.

......

Man possesses many mysterious powers that he has not even noticed himself.

For example, people who carry sacks on their backs to collect stones in the mountains are carrying sacks on their backs, bending down to rummage through the turf, picking out stones and throwing them in the bags.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Until this action becomes a habit of the body.

The weight of the bag is constantly increasing, and perhaps in an inadvertent moment, the weight of the bag has exceeded the limit of what a person can carry.

At this time, the quarryman may not be crushed, the mysterious power of man, habit, will make him ignore the warnings from his body, continue to bend down, pick up the stone, and throw it into the bag, even if the bag is already heavy, even if it is a little laborious to bend down and straighten up again, but this action is a habit that is rubbed into the bones, and they repeat it as always.

The bag was already heavy, far beyond the limits of the body, and the quarryman's waist was bent more and more, and it was almost no longer necessary to bend over, because they had bent to the bottom, and they could reach out and throw the stone into the bag.

Did they stop at this point? Still not, they were still picking, throwing, carrying.

Until the weight of the bag has reached the limit of the limit, at which point there is no need for stones.

Just come across a bouquet of dandelions that happen to float by, and gently put it on the bag.

Smack! People will be completely crushed.

He finally got until the bag was too heavy, but by this time it was too late, and the stones in the bag would roll on top of him until it crushed him into a pulp.

And at this time, for Rhodes, the bunch of dandelions that crushed him.

It's finally here.

His face turned grim as he clutched the letter with the Toura's chamber of commerce badge in his hand, his hand shaking.

The Taura Chamber of Commerce, officially, refused to pay high mining taxes.