"It is inconsistent with your image to blame a single prisoner for the shortcomings and difficulties of your rule."

Thales snorted coldly.

"That letter."

"What letter?"

Thales raised his gaze.

"Not long ago, the "Replacement Petition" you sent to my father said that you should pay taxes and reduce the number of soldiers. It seemed to be submissive and obedient, but in fact it was full of mysteries and traps."

"You said in the arena," Zhan said coldly, "you tore up the letter."

"Yes. But if you don't surrender to the enemy, you dare to violate even the letter of peace to the Supreme Iron-fisted King, and keep an eye on it. Then when you face me, you are forced to step down from the position of city lord and lead the south bank of the Emerald City.

"When we gave up," Thales' questioning was harsh and disdainful, "how could he not hide his back, lay traps, and leave the vacant seat full of thorns for his successor?"

The room was quiet for a while, and the only sound that could be heard was the breathing of the two people.

"Then have you ever thought," Zhan En looked at the night view of the city that once belonged to him, with sharp and deep eyes, "Maybe if you want to sit firmly in that chair, you should have to overcome all obstacles?"

"Is it supposed to be?"

Thales said disdainfully and put down his wine glass.

"My people spent a whole day, and even persuaded many financial officials to work overtime, and finally sorted out the accounts of Emerald City, especially the pile of debts."

"Congratulations." Zhan said sarcastically.

Thales leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms:

"In fact, huge public debt is not a bad thing for the Emerald City. It has been a common occurrence for many years and is a means of financing future development and governance."

"I really hope that all of my financial officers have your vision." Zhan still seemed to be sarcastic.

But Thales' eyes moved:

"But the strange thing is that Emerald City began to organize and restructure its debts seven or eight years ago. Some were rescheduled, some were split, some were merged, some were revised, and some even increased borrowings in large sums. In the end,

All kinds of debts have been concentrated into three batches: the first batch alone includes millions in upfront debt, which must be paid off within two years from now."

The prince said coldly:

"The debt repayment period for the second batch is around ten years, and for the third batch, it is around fifteen years."

Zhan didn't speak, but he finally shifted his focus from the window, slowly turned around, and faced Thales.

"As you said before, you had long expected that Fuxing Palace would attack Iris, but you didn't know when they would come or how they would come, so you simply prepared in advance and took precautions."

Thales continued calmly:

"Three batches of huge debts are actually triple insurance that you left for yourself by using the Emerald City's finances. In the past fifteen years or even longer, no matter who has subverted your rule and seized the Emerald City in any way,

Every city has to face a dangerous debt trap..."

"It's just a matter of money," Zhan interrupted, turning the wine in his hand into a scarlet whirlpool, "The Bright Star royal family is the richest in the world, you must have a way to solve it, right?"

Thales frowned.

"A money problem?" the prince snorted coldly, "Emerald City changed hands and was already experiencing political turmoil. Merchants who were accustomed to the Emerald City's trade order began to sell in panic, resulting in unstable prices and chaotic market conditions..."

In addition, there are various rumors such as 'the prince wants to squeeze out the Emerald City', 'the prince wants to raise taxes to make money' or 'the prince wants to clean up the family'...

He thought worriedly.

"And when I started to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and thought of ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure to pay off debts, more troubles came," Thales said coldly, "When the idea of ​​reducing expenditures and moving the budget came up, the work of officials at all levels

Efficiency has dropped visibly, and the Seychelles Knight - regardless of whether he got your permission or not - even quietly threatened our army to go on strike. The accident on Ruhsan Street, let's regard it as an accident, that's all.

The reason is caused by the low efficiency of the security officers and the chaos and turmoil caused by the Blood Bottle Gang."

Zhan En listened quietly and stared at him with heart-stopping eyes, without any gloating smile.

"Then people are panicking. People have lost trust in the future of Emerald City. People with some wealth are fleeing one after another. There are frequent security cases in the market." Thales stared at the other party closely. "If we don't do something, the once prosperous city will be gone."

The beautiful Emerald City may begin to decline."

Zhan En had no more expressions. He just took a deep breath and slowly raised his glass:

"drink wine?"

Thales frowned deeply, but he ignored the other party and continued:

"I originally planned to summon the powerful vassals and big businessmen of the South Coast Territory, and even the wealthy businessmen from abroad, to coerce and lure them, and ask them to lend money to help Emerald City fill the deficit and temporarily provide relief..."

Zhan En snorted, his meaning unclear.

"But before that, I received the account book from Ashford's steward, which was about the status of the Kevin Deere family's private property."

Zhan En's eyes moved:

"As expected, you hit Kevin Deere's head."

Thales sighed.

"My people have just roughly figured out that the Iris family is indeed as rich as the rest of the world. Just in the field of prospecting for limestone mines, your assets are estimated to be worth millions, and there is a constant source of energy.

The cash cow assets that generate wealth do not include smelting and trade," the prince said gloomily. "Even if only half of it is squeezed out, it will be enough for the Emerald City to tide over the difficulties for the time being."

Zhan En didn't answer, but just stared at him intriguingly.

"But here's the problem."

Thales left the back of his chair and stared at the other party.

"I went through the account books and searched all over Kongming Palace, and found that the Kevin Deere family had very little cash, and the total amount was less than 50,000."

Zhan raised the corner of his mouth.

"Because as early as seven or eight years ago, you started operations and invested most of the family's cash in major industries - for example, the Emerald City Cotton and Wool Chamber of Commerce has 20% of your shares, and many lithium mines in the north are

It is jointly invested by Kevin Deere and the Lacia family. Half of the business groups in Gonghai City's Yongshi Oil Industry have signed contracts with Iris. And these are only what can be found. Businessmen like Dagory Moss may

There are many more, everyone is your asset white glove, covering all walks of life and every aspect in the South Bank Territory of Emerald City, and even in Star Kingdom."

The more Thales spoke, the more serious he became, gritting his teeth:

"So, if I want to use Kevin Deere's money, the first thing I have to do is to draw and sell off assets from more than a dozen wealthy properties on the South Coast. And once I do this, for example, sell it at a low price and you keep it.

In the textile industry, there are more than a dozen workshops, dozens of warehouses of raw materials, hundreds of shops, thousands of looms all over the South Bank..."

"Taking fire from under the cauldron and pulling out the source of the problem," Zhan En took over his words and seemed relaxed and comfortable. "The already unstable industry order and economic situation will only become more panic, chaotic, and turbulent in the short term, but it is still settled."

Rumors that the prince wants to drain the Emerald City dry."

Thales took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions.

Where did he know this?

Forget it, it's not important anymore.

"What's worse," Thales continued with difficulty, "if I get through the crisis by selling your family's assets at a low price, which leads to economic turmoil and industry crisis, then those who collude with you and are entrenched in the upstream and downstream of the industry will

Countless large business groups, wealthy individuals, aristocratic forces, vassal families, such as the Karabyan family who jointly invested with you in the textile industry, these giant predators all over the South Coast Territory, their interests will also be harmed."

Thales clenched his fists.

"So, I canceled my meeting with these people and gave up my plan to borrow money from them to bail out the situation."

Zhan took a sip of wine silently:

"Why?"

"Why? Because they have long been economically and industrially tied to you and the Iris family, and cannot be separated from each other," Thales said disdainfully, "Why should I make enemies for no reason and bring trouble on myself?"

Zhan said nothing.

"Anyway, in this round, finance, debt, taxation, commerce, public security, people's livelihood..."

Thales suppressed his anger:

"From beginning to end, no matter where I start, I will be blamed. No matter who actually benefits and who loses, no matter how complicated the process is, the final price and infamy will be borne by me who comes to power."

Thales took a deep breath and calmed down.

"But I guess these people would be willing to lend it if you asked, right?"

He looked at Zhan En with sharp eyes:

"Why? Just because you have a cooperative business relationship with them and have intertwined interests?"

Zhan sneered.

"I guess you can call it trust," the Duke of Nan'an shook his head, "but it's based on systems and habits: they believe in me and Iris, not just by faith and loyalty, habits and obligations, but also by stance and interests.

Rely on institutions and systems.”

Zhan En's eyes moved:

"So that once they leave us, they will inevitably lose trust in this city."

Thales snorted disdainfully.

Jenn raised his voice:
To be continued...