Chapter 358: There is a traitor around the lord
Once it started, the criticism of the merchants became louder and louder.
Fergus shook his head to clear his head, intending to speak a fair word for the businessmen.
“Everyone, although most of them are opportunistic people, we can’t do without them. Without them, where will we buy those foreign goods, and what we produce in our own manor will be sold to Who?”
“Sir Fergus is right.” Mr. Warren, the host of the banquet, stroked his mustache.
"But even so, people in this world still rely on us farmers to feed themselves. Land and food are the foundation for us and even the people of the entire continent to live and work! Everyone here who is about the same age as me should have experienced famine. Have you experienced it?”
Mr. Wallen’s words reminded people of the great famine that the Aldo Kingdom experienced decades ago. The younger generation was okay, they just heard what the elders said, and The eyes of the older people showed a hint of fear.
It was really a terrible era. Starvation was everywhere. Some people suddenly fell down while walking on the road and could not get up again. In some places, there were terrible rumors of cannibalism. In a famine of that magnitude, no matter how rich you are, you can't buy food. Those who have food at home won't exchange it for gold and silver.
"Yes, Mr. Warren is right, food is the foundation for a person's survival."
Everyone praised the host of the banquet for his point of view.
Suddenly someone became angry: "We are working hard in the fields to grow food, but those businessmen are poaching us. Have you forgotten what happened last year? The lord suddenly proposed to build a 'customs union' , to reduce or even cancel the territory’s tariffs on passing goods, the bulk of which is food. God, this... this... this is really terrible."
One sentence pushed everyone's emotions to the top.
“No need to guess! It must be those businessmen who did it!”
“Yes, they bewitched Mr. Grayman.”
Eldo Emotions He excitedly slapped the table in front of him with his hands, looking like he had been greatly wronged: "This is not poaching our corner, this is poking the lord's corner, this is poking the entire Alda's wall."
Despite the popularization of various agricultural machinery, at least last year, Arda's grain production did not have an advantage compared to other grain-producing territories - such as the Ferdinand family's territory - and once the tariffs were gone, the consequences would be unimaginable. At least in the eyes of these manor owners, it was unthinkable.
But the situation is different for those businessmen who have fallen in love with money. This means that they spend less money buying food from other places.
Ah~ These evil-hearted maggots actually used such despicable means to attack fellow Arda people.
“They must have been slandering Lord Grayman, and Lord Grayman was so careless that he accidentally fell into their trap.”
“ The customs union is not a tool they use to make money.”
At this point, everyone started to feel happy again.
“Fortunately, we all worked together to oppose this matter! We didn’t let the businessmen’s schemes succeed.”
“Yes, I remember it was Warren at the time. Master, take the lead. Let’s give a toast to Master Warren!”
“Here’s to Master Warren!”
The host of the banquet, Old Warren, took the cup and accepted it from everyone.
"Lord Grayman is surrounded by traitors!"
Old Warren drank a full glass, his face became more rosy, and then he said this sadly.
Fergus suddenly became nervous when he heard what he said. As a retainer of the Graiman family, he still cared about his master. Traitor? How could it be possible? Arda had just won a tough battle against the Kent family, one of the best. Their reputation had soared. How could the lord win the battle if he was surrounded by traitors?
“Why not?”
Mr. Warren continued to feel sad, "Think about it, that Hansel Abbott is not a good person! Everyone here has been exploited by him in the past two years, right?"
"Lord Your Excellency wants to consolidate the cultivated land, which is a good government, but it has been ruined by this southern guy!"
Old Warren's words reminded everyone of their experience of being cut off by Hansel in the past two years, because they Basically, there are encroachments on public land. Hansel, who is the director of the Ministry of Agriculture, found out one by one during the statistical measurement. He either spit out the occupied public land and was fined, or paid several times the money to plant several crops in his family. Buy the land for someone else.
Everyone complained bitterly.
"Abbott, he is simply a skin picker! Anyone caught by him will be in bad luck."
"This traitor must have swallowed all the fines himself!"
"I don't think those officials from the south are good people!"
Someone began to expand the scope of the attack.
"That bushy, big-eyed chief secretary, that guy named Bernard, is probably not a good person either!"
Someone stood up indignantly and waved their arms and said: "I am in Port Fulan I have seen with my own eyes, truckloads of food and all kinds of other supplies, just transported to the south!”
"It must be these southerners who are transporting the dog food to the royal capital, eating the dog food inside and outside. Lord Grayman is raising them. The vassals I vassal are not my vassals. It is Lord Grayman they should be loyal to. The world How can anyone leapfrog their loyalty?"
"The maggots with evil hearts, the rats crawling out of Jingyao's sewers!"
"They are just a bunch of moths. If we leave them alone, they will die sooner or later. Empty the entire Alda."
"They are occupying the latrine and doing nothing. So many important positions in the Government Affairs Council are filled with these southern rats, and they have caused so much trouble."
"Those positions should be filled by our local people, Lord Earl...Oh, let's not talk about it anymore."
Someone sighed, "There are traitors inside, and there are profiteers outside. I think this Arda is going to..."
He covered his mouth before he finished speaking.
It’s just that the atmosphere in the hall has changed. At first, everyone was praising the lord for being so wise, but now they say that Arda is suffering from internal and external troubles, and will be overthrown by villains in an instant.
Even Fergus was unknowingly infected by the crowd's emotions.
He is also opposed to the Customs Union, and he also dislikes those foreigners who hold important positions in the Government Affairs Council.
Isn't there really a traitor around the lord?
He must find time to go back to Huxin Town and inquire about those old friends.
The words of Mr. Warren, the host of the banquet, touched his heart.
"Only we, the farmers, are the foundation of the lord and Alda! We must protect the earl from being deceived by treacherous villains."
(End of this chapter)