Chapter 1614 - 96: Fox and Rat Game (6)

Chapter 1614: Chapter 96: Fox and Rat Game (6)

At the meeting, Gessa said half-jokingly and sourly, "Those bumpkins genuinely adore you. The applause when you speak to them is much more sincere than when I speak to them."

"Can you even tell real from fake applause?" Winters feigned ignorance.

"What’s applause?" Gessa sneered, "I can even tell whether their farts are intentional or uncontrollable."

Despite many attempts to refuse, Winters ultimately couldn’t resist Gessa’s insistence and, as the military representative, presented the battle report of Jade Crossing to the National Assembly.

The situation was indeed as Gessa described. When Winters talked about their side carefully setting up an ambush and gradually luring [Firm] into a trap, a pin-drop silence enveloped the room, with the audience holding their breath, afraid their sound would scare the enemy away;

When Winters mentioned their Infantry closing in from all sides, surrounding the majority of [Firm] on the hills, their Cavalry crushing the remaining enemy troops marching on the road and seizing all enemy cannons, the room erupted with thunderous applause and cheers echoing to the heavens;

When Winters described the fierce fighting to thwart the breakout attempts of the cornered [Firm], how brave and fearless the New Army’s soldiers were, even many representatives past fifty years of age secretly wiped tears from their eyes.

In short, His Excellency Montaigne’s report on the battle of Jade Crossing was a resounding success, sweeping away the gloom that hung over the Great Council after the failure at Kingsfort. ℯℯ𝑙.

This made Gessa incredibly envious.

But jealousy was useless as some things cannot be learned.

"You," Gessa sighed long and deeply, "really need to show your face more in front of those bumpkins..."

"Alright, don’t worry," Winters nodded like a pecking chick, "definitely."

However, even the fish in the pond could see Winters’ perfunctory attitude, not to mention Gessa, who could smell whether a fart was intentional.

"You kid, why are you so clueless," Gessa admonished sincerely, "since your visit, they’ve been more generous when I dip into their money pockets."

Winters was speechless, "I’ve never seen anyone be cheerful when their money pockets are dipped into."

"It’s less painful and quicker now," Gessa spread his hands, "isn’t that being cheerful?"

"Alright," Winters responded earnestly, "I definitely will."

"You kid," Gessa fumed, "Do you have any idea how much we spend every day? Every single day requires so much for the entire army, even mountains of gold and silver would deplete;

"Wounded soldiers need placement, fallen soldiers need pensions, and new recruits need constant intake. For future offensives, we need roads, horses and carts prepared, build military stations, establish logistics warehouses, gosh, [expletive] my hair is [expletive] about to turn white from worry..."

"Aren’t you ashamed to say that?" Winters remained unmoved, "Where did you get the hair?"

"[Extremely angry profanity]!" Gessa exploded and shot up from his seat, only to black out and crash back onto the chair.

Winters quickly stood up to help Gessa catch his breath but didn’t let up and continued, "Besides, when have you ever managed making money? Aren’t you just responsible for spending it? I’ve been reviewing the accounts, and in terms of making money, I haven’t seen you contributing much! The old account books were cleared by Speaker Bard and his team, new taxes were submitted by the local tax farmers, what has it got to do with you?

"Moreover, the way you dip into their money pockets is too improper. If you’re going to take, take openly and above board, whether it’s a movable property tax or an immovable property tax, at least give it a proper name. Every day you’re collecting donations for that honor awarding program, no matter how large my face is, I can’t help you personally, and I don’t want to help you personally..."

Gessa was already on the brink of vomiting blood. He shoved Winters aside and, trembling, pointed at the silently invisible Skur Meklen and said with bitter indignation, "Skur! Aren’t you planning to build fortifications at the Anya River Mouth? Not spending money, are you? Why not say something?"

Since meeting with Matteo Konar, Skur Meklen had been distracted, not hearing a word the other two men around the table were saying, only feeling their noise.

Taking some time to grasp the situation, Skur gazed at Winters and asked meaningfully, "Isn’t it fine to dip into other people’s pockets, does it matter how it’s done? Are you unwilling to make money?"

"Some money can be made," Winters maintained firmly, "some money cannot."

"I thought the Sea Blue People had no money they couldn’t make."

Winters furrowed his brow, "Why are you also starting with the personal attacks?"

Skur snorted lightly and chose not to reply.

"What’s the matter with you?" Gessa was intrigued, raised an eyebrow at Skur, "What did you discuss with that wealthiest of Sea Blue? What does he want?"

"Humph, he wants..." Skur replied leisurely, "he wants to mint coins for us."

"What? Just that?" Gessa feigned relaxation, "Hand me a pen, I’ll write him a patent right now—But I suppose it’s not just that simple."

"Yes," Skur pondered for a moment and slowly replied, "specifically, it’s not an ordinary patent he wants, but an exclusive patent license.

"When we grant him this patent, all patents granted by the former government in the hands of every gold and silversmith under the new government will automatically become invalid, in other words—he wants to monopolize the minting business."

"Hahahaha," Gessa laughed heartily, leaning back and forth, tears and snot flowing, "The wealthiest of Sea Blue is indeed outstanding, one shot and he’s knocking down all of Paratu’s gold and silversmiths’ flour cabinets, incredible! Really [profane] incredible!"

He vigorously patted Winters on the shoulder, laughing until gasping, saying, "Kid, your fellow townsman’s appetite is huge, much bigger than yours! Learn! Learn!"