Xu Yi turned his head and smiled slightly: "Now that you have seen it with your own eyes on behalf of His Majesty the King, isn't it the same?"
"Maybe..." Sevini chuckled and nodded.
Three months have passed. At this time, Sevini is no longer as sad as he was when he first received the news of the death of Lampali XIII. His face has regained its usual peaceful smile. And compared to before, her smile now seems to be much more sincere and gentle, making people look more friendly.
Thinking of what Sevini had done during this period, Xu Yi couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in his heart.
Being able to remain calm and strong in the face of great changes, and being able to stick to her own ideas without being tempted by huge power, I'm afraid there are few people in the world who can match her determination.
"Speaking of which, you should just call your father His Majesty the King." Sevini glanced at the Porter Chamber of Commerce cargo ships on the Sandy River and said suddenly. "Brother, he hasn't done anything to you or the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce since he succeeded to the throne. Are you still unwilling to accept him?"
"It's not a matter of acceptance or not." Xu Xiaoxiao also shook his head. "This is just a habit. I have only met one His Majesty the King in my life. As for His Royal Highness Prince Eric... I have never met him at all, so I am not used to changing my name for him. Besides, I am just an ordinary person. A small businessman, it doesn’t matter what I think of him.”
"Xu Yi, you've committed your old habit again." Sevini showed a slightly playful smile, stretched out her finger and tapped Xu Yi. "Don't always underestimate yourself so much. You say you are just an ordinary small businessman? I am afraid that no one in the entire kingdom will believe it except you. If a person who can even influence the decision-making of more than half of the cities in the entire kingdom is just a Small businessmen, what about the other businessmen in the kingdom?”
"Your Highness, please stop making fun of me." Xu Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head. "How cities make decisions is just so they can earn more fiscal revenue. It has nothing to do with me. If your words fall into the ears of His Highness Prince Eric, then I might be in trouble."
"This is another old problem of yours." Sevini pursed his lips and chuckled. "Every time you don't mean what you say, you will use the honorific title to me. Don't worry, eldest brother promised to treat you and the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce well. From now on, he has indeed done it. You see, eldest brother has inherited the throne for three months Well, I haven’t done anything to you and the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, so in fact you can be bolder and continue to develop the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as before. "
Xu Yi glanced at Sevini: "Are you here to be a lobbyist for His Royal Highness Prince Eric?"
"No. I'm here to be a lobbyist for the entire Lampali Kingdom." Sevini shook his head slightly, his expression becoming solemn. "Xu Yi, please don't abandon the Lampali Kingdom, okay?"
Xu Yi was silent for a moment and said: "I never said I would give up the Lampali Kingdom."
"But that's what you did." Sevigny said seriously. "In the past three months, not only have you failed to expand the New Flying Chamber of Commerce's base in Luoyu Valley according to the plan you told me before, but you have also relocated various personnel and facilities in Luoyu Valley. According to me As we know, the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce’s Magic Research Institute and Magic Machine Tool R&D Center have been moved entirely to your Chamber of Commerce’s base in the Principality of Standing, right?”
Xu Yi was expressionless, but did not deny it: "Where did you know that?"
"Do you think that such a big move can be hidden from everyone?" Sevigny asked unceremoniously. "In addition, Steele and your daughter Freya were also sent to the Principality of Standing by you. By doing this, don't you want to leave the Kingdom of Lampali?"
"You think too much." Xu Yi smiled. "The climate in the Principality of Standing is better than here. I sent Steele and Freya there just to make their lives more comfortable."
"Don't lie to me." Sevini stared at Xu Yi with a firm tone. "Xu Yi, I've been with you for so long, how come I can't see what's in your mind? You've clearly made a plan and started to implement it step by step. In fact, seriously, as early as two years ago, you You already had this plan when you first went to the Principality of Standing, right? "
Facing Sevini's gaze and being silent for a long time, Xu Yi sighed softly and said, "This is just leaving a way out for myself. Your Highness, three months ago, weren't you still reminding me to prepare in advance?" Why are you coming to accuse me now?”
A trace of sadness flashed across Sevini's face, he gritted his teeth gently and continued: "I understand your approach. But Xu Yi... can't you be more patient? Give your elder brother more confidence, and at least see that he is really I want to target you and the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. Isn’t it better to make another decision?”
"It will be too late by then." Xu Yi snorted softly. "Give me more patience and confidence? Sevini, if you take over the throne, I can give you absolutely enough patience and confidence. As for His Royal Highness Prince Eric... Haha... "
"But I think my eldest brother has done a very good job in the three months since he took over the throne. At least he didn't attack you and the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as soon as he ascended the throne, as you worried before, right?" Sevigny still refused to give up persuasion.
"Really?" Xu Yi asked back, looked at Sevini for a while, and then suddenly asked: "Your Highness, I heard that after you handed over all your duties, you have been living in seclusion in your own territory and have never left?"
"Yes." Sevini nodded slightly. "This is also to reassure my eldest brother. This time I come to see you is the first time I have left the territory in the past few months."
"Did His Highness Prince Eric ask you to persuade me?" Xu Yi asked again.
"No, this is my own decision. Brother just told me the situation." Sevini replied.
"That's no different from him asking you to come out." Xu Yi shrugged. "It seems that His Royal Highness Prince Eric really understands your character. Well, no matter what the reason is for you to come to see me, you have been living in seclusion in your own territory for the past few months. Compared to the situation outside, you are not at all aware of it. learn."
"What? Is there anything unusual?" Sevini was a little confused. "I didn't see any special abnormal changes along the way? On the contrary, when I came to Bangta City, I saw that Bangta City has become more prosperous than before. This makes me very happy."
"Of course it can't be seen on the surface. As for the reality... let me give you an example. Sevini, do you know that Bangta City's Chamber of Commerce policy has been adjusted recently?"
"Adjustment of business tax?" Sevini frowned slightly. "How was it adjusted? Was it adjusted lower or higher?"
"What do you think?" Xu Yi sneered. "Just six days ago, the city government announced the latest commercial tax collection standards for Bangta City. According to this standard, chambers of commerce that produce magic machinery, including our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, will be classified as new industries and enjoy new business benefits. Tax standards. Specifically, an additional special protection tax for magic machines is levied, ranging from 5% to 8%.”
"Extra taxes?" Sevini frowned deeper. "The previous business tax remains unchanged?"
"No. The previous commercial tax rate has also been increased. Take our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as an example. Because the annual income reported by our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce exceeds five million gold coins, it belongs to the first-tier income chamber. The commercial tax rate will be unified from the previous one. increased from 43% to 56%.
"13%?" Sevini was stunned. "Why did it increase so much all at once? If you add that extra tax, wouldn't it increase by nearly 20%?"
"If we take our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as an example, it's not close to 20%, but more than that." Xu Yi sneered. "Of course, except for our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, most of the other chambers of commerce are not mainly engaged in magic machinery, so the tax increase rate is not high. The largest increase in the Amuli Chamber of Commerce is about 17%. "
"This is so crazy!" After hearing the data given by Xu Yi, Sevini's pretty face immediately darkened. "So much improvement all at once. How much profit do you have left?"
"Your Highness, if I tell you that our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce will follow this commercial tax standard, this year's annual profits may be cut by more than half, would you believe it or not?" Xu Yi asked with a sneer on his face.
Sevini was silent for a moment, nodded slightly, and then became a little confused.
"If this is the case, then why is Bangta City even more prosperous now than before? You see, there are all kinds of goods being transported everywhere, and among them, all kinds of magic machines are the most numerous. Why is this? "
"It's simple, because the profit margin is too low. If you don't make more things to sell, you won't be able to make much money at all. Even maintaining the basic operations of the chamber of commerce will be problematic." Xu Yi sighed. "Sevigny, when you were walking around the city just now, didn't you notice that the smiles on everyone's faces were much less than before?"
Sevini recalled what he and Xu Yi had seen when they took a magic car around Bangta City to inspect, and found that Xu Yi was indeed right.
Bangta City indeed looks more prosperous, and the transportation of goods is busier, but people's faces are not always filled with nervous but happy smiles like when she was the city lord before. Instead, everyone has solemn expressions and brows. Locked up tightly, one look shows that there is a lot of pressure.
"If the chamber of commerce no longer makes money, it will naturally find ways to save costs. The most important part of the cost is the workers' wages." Xu Yi continued to explain. "In the last month alone, fifteen worker riots broke out in the factories of major chambers of commerce in Bangta City, all to protest against wage cuts."
Sevini looked at the old Bangta City in the distance and remained silent.
"The workers are dissatisfied. In fact, many businessmen in the city are even more dissatisfied. Many presidents of chambers of commerce that also produce magic machinery have complained to me, saying that they can no longer support themselves." Xu Yi's expression was also dissatisfied. nice. "There's nothing I can do about it but advise them to keep at it."
"Then...can you hold on?" Sevini asked hesitantly.
Xu Yi sneered slightly: "What do you think?"
Sevini once again looked at Bangta City on the far side of the horizon, lost in thought, and stopped talking for a while. (To be continued...)