I will be crowned king

"Cheers to our distinguished Governor of Ice Dragon Fjord!"

The crisp sound of clinking glasses and passionate voices echoed for a long time under the crystal chandelier of the Northern Chamber of Commerce Hall.

A unique salon is taking place between the flickering candlelight and the starry sky outside the window.

If we insist on saying that the Clovis people have made any contribution to the social interaction of the upper class in the entire Order world, salon activities are definitely one of them; it is different from simple family banquets, charity sales, dance parties and cocktail parties... this "new" way of socializing Very private and organized.

A group of people with different origins and personalities, but who share a common language in some aspects, organize themselves spontaneously and hold regular meetings to exchange ideas or simply chat and share fresh and interesting stories with each other - more formal than a cocktail party, more formal than a cocktail party. Club casual.

It can be said that each club represents a certain social circle. As long as you can join it, you can share their connections and certain resources. Of course, the price is that you must also pay your own share; any new person who wants to join , must be recommended by at least one member and approved by everyone.

Nature workshops are one of them.

On the surface, this is an academic salon in geography and astronomy, where a group of "amateur scientists" and hobbyists discuss each other's research findings; in order to better conduct academic research, the members of this salon even raised funds to hire several students. Professors regularly offer small lectures and professional courses.

In fact, its members include many high-level officials of the Clovis Railway Commission, large industrial owners, mine owners, bankers... They control the steel and coal resource trading network in the northern part of the Order World.

And it's not just the Clovis people, the three North Sea Kingdoms, the imperial giants... important members of the northern raw material market of the Order World are among them.

This is also another characteristic of salons. Participants often cross identities; or it is precisely because of their different origins that they can integrate more personal connections and upstream and downstream resources.

As the eldest daughter of the Franz family, Sophia actually had little interaction with these people in the past. Apart from the fan club of a certain novelist, her social circle was a family that had significant interests with the Franz family.

But she has a deep relationship with Mrs. Catarina, the chief of the railway committee. Both of them are core members of the Detective Book Club; under the introduction of her wife, Sophia successfully joined the nature seminar and relied on "Franz's eldest daughter" "The dual status of "Honorary Governor" allowed the seminar to convene most of the members in Clovis City to hold an induction ceremony specifically for her at the Northern Chamber of Commerce.

In order to ensure smooth operation, she only put on light makeup and put on a dark old-style empire dress that was slightly solemn but not overwhelming. A small "Qiuzhen Sect" sterling silver emblem hung on her chest and she carried it with her. An original copy of St. John's "Fifty Years of the Calendar of Saints - A Geographical Overview".

Young and studious, full of intellectual beauty, loving the imperial chivalry style, and at the same time rich in assets - Sophia, who is passionate about detective novels, knows how to use clothing to convey the message she wants to convey.

Everything was as expected... In the blink of an eye, she had already won the curiosity and admiration of most people in the nature seminar with Lady Catarina's introduction and her status as "Honorary Governor".

Naturally, this includes Philip Rowland, the president of the Northern Chamber of Commerce.

"Dear Miss Sophia, you are truly an extraordinary woman."

Philip, who had a strong figure and was dressed in a knight's attire, came forward and praised without hesitation: "Even in the history of the empire, except for a few queens, I really can't think of any other woman who has the same thing as you." Achievement!"

"It's just the honorary governor." With her eyes flowing, Sophia smiled shyly:

"I believe it's just the importance His Majesty places on my father and brother that Ai Wu and Wu Xia would grant me such an honor - apart from the title, I am just an ordinary girl who loves detective novels and is full of curiosity about the natural world."

"No, no, no, you shouldn't belittle yourself too much." Philip seriously corrected:

"As a man, I believe in the vision of Carlos II - especially for such an important title as colonial governor, your appointment will be a signal; if it were not for an extraordinary woman with sufficient ability, His Majesty Carlos would never take it. Such determination."

Determination as a man... Sophia kept a calm smile: "You are really too generous. By praising Sophia like this, where do you want to put Mrs. Katarina?"

"Mrs. Catarina has her own unique charm, which is completely different from what you have shown." Philip changed the subject, slightly playfully.

"Oh, what's the difference?"

Sophia asked curiously.

"Mrs. Catarina...she is like a towering camphor tree, mature, noble, exuding an awe-inspiring aura. When you are with her, you will not consider gender differences. She represents herself when she sits there, Not men or women." Philip explained with some flattery:

"But you, you are different; the moment you appeared at the Northern Chamber of Commerce, I seemed to have seen a young oriole, using the clearest and most melodious singing to show your uniqueness."

"...This is really the most wonderful metaphor I have ever heard." Sophia smiled faintly and took a sip of the wine in the cup.

She suddenly regretted chatting with the president of the Northern Chamber of Commerce. Listening to this man's words was like forcing herself to swallow butter raw, feeling greasy from the inside out.

"More importantly, you can bring some more novel insights to those of us who love nature; Mrs. Catarina is a knowledgeable elder, but many of her theories are already old clichés."

Philippe Rolland, who had no idea that he was disgusted, continued to hint in a playful tone.

The girl's eyes lit up, and it only took her a few breaths to guess the true meaning of the other person's words:

"You mean...the colony?"

"Miss Sophia, you are indeed an outstanding woman." Philip praised again:

"His Majesty Carlos's granting of the title of Governor to you is a very important sign that Clovis will truly begin to look to the New World and vigorously exploit its endless resources - for my colleagues at the Nature Symposium, this means the entire industry It’s turned upside down.”

"Who among you here would not admire a young Oriole who is about to bring changes to the entire industry?"

No, there won't be any changes... Sophia secretly thought in her heart.

She has received first-hand information from her father that the Osteria Palace has decided to abandon the colony...canonize herself as an honorary governor and acquiesce in all the Storm Division's actions in the new world, which are just tricks to confuse the empire.

But since the other party believes it, he might as well take advantage of the situation and deeply bind the interests of the Roland family behind the Northern Chamber of Commerce and Beluga Port...

"Speaking of colonies, my father did mention this topic to me."

While the other party was chatting, Sophia suddenly changed the topic: "There seems to be some problems with the efficiency of the Royal Bank this year. In order to ensure the profits in the colony, the Osteria Palace plans to open a private bank in Beluga Port. "

"Private bank?" Philip became interested instantly and put the unpleasantness of being interrupted behind him: "You mean..."

"To be more precise, it is an investment institution that can more conveniently develop and serve the resource extraction of the new world."

Sophia chuckled and explained: "Use coal ore as collateral to raise funds from all walks of life to jointly develop various resources in the Clovis colony."

"So you thought of nature seminars?"

"To be more precise, it's the Northern Chamber of Commerce." The girl said with a hint of flattery, her pure eyes seemed to be able to speak:

"Mrs. Catarina told me that if there is anyone in the entire Clovis City who can help with this matter, especially in terms of financial resources and connections, then it must be the Northern Chamber of Commerce."

"As expected of the Iron Lady of the Privy Council, she indeed has extraordinary eyesight."

With a long sigh, Philip said with emotion: "She is right, even within the nature seminar, there are not many people who can help you - as the eldest daughter of the Franz family, you need the affirmation It’s not about capital, it’s about trade networks and more powerful buyers, and this happens to be the strength of the Northern Chamber of Commerce.”

"Of course, to be more precise, it is the strength of the Roland family; we have the most complete trade network in the entire empire, with thousands of warehouses and storefronts all over the world of Order; to put it bluntly, under Clovis's 'Iron Cross' plan On every sleeper, you can see the sweat stains left by the employees of the Northern Chamber of Commerce..."

Facing the ignorant and curious girl, Philip talked freely, enjoying the pleasure of being a "mentor" from a high position, completely unaware of the flash of disgust in those big eyes.

According to the information revealed by Lady Catarina, this Philippe Roland is one of the heirs designated by the Roland family of this generation; because of his "poor ability" and lack of awakened bloodline power, he was unable to enter the imperial court to serve the emperor, so he was killed by Cloro Wei Cheng serves as a representative for the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce.

Relying on the deep heritage of the Roland family, Philip had a smooth life in Clovis. The industrial owners who were hungry for steel and coal mines simply provided him as a family heirloom (fat sheep) and expanded countless businesses-even It allows the imperial fleet to specialize in smuggling raw materials for buyers in Clovis City.

Under Philip's operation, this smuggling network, which was absolutely against the interests of the empire, extended from ordinary sailors to the royal family and even the queen. Everyone except the emperor himself got a share of the pie.

Sofia, who was holding back her vomiting, listened "attentively" while mentally calculating how to tie the Roland family onto her own chariot and become a force to resist the expansion of the empire's colonial war in the New World.

………………

"So that's why Sophia sent you - just to open a private bank?"

Anson, who was extremely sleepy, fought back his sleepiness and tried to open his fighting eyelids to look at the black-robed priest.

It must be admitted that Colonel William Cecil's ability in war is still debatable, but he is definitely a master in storytelling-the five hours of non-stop bombing almost made Anson a spell that was about to reach the critical point. The kind of person who is so exhausted that he can't even tolerate coffee and a pipe.

"You can also think of me as the one who sent me to monitor you, plus the liaison between the two of you."

Karin Jacques picked up a glass of water on the table, took out a small blue pill from his jacket pocket and threw it in. After confirming that the color had not changed, he took a small sip with relief:

"After all, in Miss Sophia's heart, you are still her loyal subordinate, and the Storm Master is also one of her most important investments and properties. No one looks at her and makes her feel uneasy."

Especially on the premise that the eldest daughter of the Luen family is in Beluga Port...the black-robed priest only muttered this sentence in his heart.

"Getting back to the subject, the mainland - the Osteria Palace has tacitly allowed you to use some 'extreme' means if 'necessary' to defend Clovis's colonies in the New World, especially important raw material supply areas and There is absolutely no room for loss on the trade route, and there is no room for any reduction in output.”

acquiescence? This is not unexpected...eh? Anson was stunned for a moment:

"Defend Clovis's—colonies in the New World?"

"Not only Ice Dragon Fjord and Beluga Port, Gray Snow Town is also included." The black-robed priest explained:

"The title granted to Miss Sofia by His Majesty Carlos II is 'Honorary Governor of the Colony'; this honor covers both parts of Beluga Port and Gray Snow Town; and as the first military leader under the Governor's rule, you naturally also Be responsible for policing all areas!"

"Well, to put it more bluntly - from now on, you are the governor of both colonies."

"It's the commander-in-chief of the garrison!" Anson corrected, then paused deliberately and asked in a slightly tentative tone:

"Then...the city councils in the two regions still have taxes, right?"

"It's all your responsibility to 'replace' the honorary governor in overall management." Karin Jacques rolled his eyes in his heart and said patiently:

"As for the taxation work, it will naturally be handed over to the private bank that is about to be established. It will be held by multiple parties and jointly developed. In addition, although the information I received did not make it clear, in the future, the local 'taxation' of the colonies should be It will also be transferred from Wangjia Bank to it, which means..."

"Because the shareholders of this bank will replace His Majesty as the ruler of the colony; and the person with the largest shareholding will become the uncrowned king of the colony." Anson said solemnly:

"And if the business scope of this bank continues to expand and extends its tentacles to all colonies in the entire New World, then those colonial industrial owners who lack investment will fall at its feet and willingly accept its investment, just like the knights willingly The fiefs received from the king became the cornerstone of the kingdom."

"The new world...will give birth to a new king and his kingdom."

Karin Jacques was stunned:

"I...uh...I didn't say that."

"It doesn't matter." Anson chuckled and glanced at the empty wall and closed door behind him:

"I'm not talking to you either."