Soqya Peninsula, Ambratu County.
In a gloomy, dilapidated tavern, Ronnie Kane and a group of fellow former Ambratu citizens were drinking and cursing the Viscount of Lanwan, Jonathan Hackman, and those Ambratu freedmen who had usurped their social status and property.
"I feel like we can't just sit here and wait for death! We have absolutely no income. If this goes on, my family is going to starve!" Ronnie Kane slammed the table as he spoke.
"That's right, we can't just sit and wait for death!"
"Is this any life for a human being?"
"My family doesn't even have porridge to drink anymore!"
The companions at the table chimed in agreement.
In reality, ever since Jonathan Hackman was removed from office, Ambratu's economy had begun to gradually recover.
First, Charlotte rebuilt the main road from Ambratu to the Lanwan Viscountcy, making transportation much more convenient. The gradually prospering Lanwan Viscountcy also drove Ambratu's economy, a fact that could be verified by the carriage drivers traveling daily between Elm Tree Town and Ambratu.
Secondly, Charlotte had begun to expand her naval forces. She ordered ten double-decked galleys and twenty single-decked galleys from the Ambratu shipyards. The three shipyards in Ambratu had already begun operating at full capacity; this single large order was enough to feed them until the end of the year.
Furthermore, because Ambratu's existing three shipyards were all on the west coast of the Soqya Peninsula—that is, by the Pearl Sea—Charlotte also planned to build a shipyard and a shipping dock on the Lanwan coast to the northeast of Ambratu. This was another massive investment.
Finally, Charlotte was starting construction on her cement factory next to Horse Head Mountain in the east of Ambratu. The first batch of craftsmen and slaves had already been dispatched. Judging from the construction area designated for the cement factory, the scale was huge, and the demand for labor was extremely high.
Against this economic backdrop, it was actually quite easy for people in Ambratu to find a job. Even a completely illiterate person with no skills, who didn't even know how to use a hammer but had a bit of strength, could go to the cement factory to carry earth and stone. Although the income certainly wouldn't be high, they wouldn't starve to death. Not to mention high-level talents like Ronnie Kane, who could read and calculate.
However, Ronnie Kane did not want to look for a job.
Three consecutive months of hard labor on the canal had been enough for Ronnie Kane; he regarded it as the shame of his life. Back in the city-state era, what kind of life did Ronnie Kane live? He might not have been dining on delicacies from cauldrons while bells rang, but at the very least, meals were served to him and clothes were held out for him. Being forced into labor was one thing, but now that he had finally gained his freedom, was he expected to go do those menial jobs?
These days, Ronnie had received some financial aid from former "old subordinates" of the Kane family, allowing him to scrape by temporarily. But this was not a long-term solution after all. Ronnie felt he still had to think of some way to change the status quo.
"But what should we do?" a companion said with a frown. "The Viscount of Lanwan is so powerful now; we are simply no match for her."
"Originally, we were hoping the Dorukocha people could stall that little bitch for a while longer. In the end, they surrendered directly. They really wasted the intelligence we sent them in vain," another companion complained.
Ronnie Kane frowned. This was indeed a problem. After being tossed around by Charlotte and Jonathan Hackman, the spirit and strength of the Ambratu citizens were no longer what they used to be. Even if they wanted to challenge the Viscount of Lanwan, they lacked the power.
At this moment, a young man stood up and spoke with a relaxed expression: "Everyone, there is no need to be too worried. I have a way to handle this matter."
This young man was Bill Capino.
Because he had driven away Jonathan Hackman with a petition, Bill now held considerable prestige among the former citizen group.
"What plan do you have?" Ronnie asked curiously.
"Challenging the Viscount of Lanwan head-on right now is definitely unwise. In fact, if we want to fight for our own interests, we don't need to do that," Bill said, holding his head high. "From the Jonathan incident, we can see that the Viscount of Lanwan still cares about the public sentiment and public opinion of Ambratu.
"As long as we stand united, gather enough people to protest at the entrance of the Governor's Mansion, give public speeches in the market, and loudly express our dissatisfaction and anger, there is a high probability we can fight for the things we want."
"This..." The former citizens present felt it was a bit unreliable. One of them questioned, "Will the Viscount of Lanwan back down so easily?"
"No, it's not about making the Viscount of Lanwan back down," Bill shook his head and said. "It's about making that guy John Rice back down! John Rice is a weak and incompetent man. Although he has defected to the Viscount of Lanwan, his nature hasn't changed.
"As long as the commotion we make is loud enough to reach the Viscount of Lanwan's ears, she will definitely be dissatisfied with John Rice. Didn't she remove Jonathan Hackman and replace him with John Rice just to restore order to Ambratu?
"To avoid the Viscount of Lanwan's blame and punishment, the weak John Rice will definitely choose to compromise with us and appease our emotions. At that time, we can have John Rice present our demands."
"That's a good plan!" Ronnie said with a pleasant surprise. "Jonathan could rob us of our property, so why can't that guy John Rice, who is also the Governor, snatch our property back for us? If he doesn't want to do it, we'll force him to do it!"
"Won't this make things difficult for Elder John?" a former citizen who once had a good impression of John Rice hesitated.
Immediately, another companion retorted sarcastically, "Does John Rice even remember that he was our Elder? He just wants to be his Governor now. Didn't you see that fawning look on his face yesterday when he faced those lowly freedmen?
"If he still remembered that we were the ones who elected him as Elder, he should have demanded the return of our property long ago, instead of letting us drink this swill that even dogs wouldn't touch!"
As he spoke, that former citizen slammed his wooden ale cup onto the table.
Suddenly, a dark, grimy hand reached over and snatched the wooden ale cup away.
The former citizen looked back in astonishment, only to find a drunkard reeking of alcohol.
"You... if you won't drink it, then let me drink it..." The drunkard brought the cup to his mouth and guzzled it down.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you here again? And stealing other people's wine! Didn't I tell you not to come in if you don't have money?" The tavern staff hurriedly came over to drive the drunkard away.
"Isn't... isn't this Avery?" A former citizen recognized the drunkard.
"Avery? Who is that?" Ronnie asked in confusion.
"A citizen who lives on Hardwood Street. It is said he participated in quite a few battles," the companion introduced him to Ronnie.
"Oh..." Ronnie nodded, not taking it too much to heart. In his impression, those living on Hardwood Street were all lower-middle-class citizens who weren't very wealthy.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Bill stood up just in time, stopping the staff member who wanted to kick the man out. He said to Ronnie, "If we want to create enough pressure on John Rice, we must unite all forces that can be united. Even lower-middle-class citizens like Avery cannot be abandoned."
"Mn," Ronnie also realized this and hurriedly said to the staff, "This is our friend. Let him drink here with us; we'll pay for his drinks too."
"Really?" The staff member looked skeptically at this table of guests who didn't seem very rich. "This guy drank two rounds in our shop before this and still owes the money. Are you going to pay that for him too?"
"We'll pay for it all!" Ronnie instantly felt a bit humiliated and annoyed. In the past, when had he ever been looked at as a pauper like this?
Meanwhile, in a mansion within Ambratu City, a group of people was discussing a similar matter.
"Mr. Palacio, we cannot sit and wait for death!" McAvoy said to a middle-aged merchant in his forties dressed in silk clothes.
This middle-aged merchant was named Palacio, the President of the Ore Chamber of Commerce. The Ore Chamber of Commerce did not specialize in selling ore; it was an organization formed during the city-state era by Ambratu freedman merchants to support each other for warmth. It contained all kinds of merchants; Palacio was a merchant who dealt in the slave trade.
"Yes, Mr. Palacio, haven't you seen it clearly yet? That John Rice is the spokesperson for those citizens! He is bent on shielding those citizens!"
"Are you going to watch that guy John Rice snatch all our property away and give it to those evil citizens?"
"We should write a petition too! Petition the Viscount of Lanwan to drive John Rice away!"
The other people who came to visit Palacio with McAvoy also spoke up one after another.
These people were all former city-state freedmen who had gained tremendous benefits during Jonathan's administration. The recent activity of the former citizens had really agitated their sensitive nerves. They were undoubtedly the people who least wanted the former Ambratu citizens to return—even less than Charlotte did.
Although John Rice had ruled in McAvoy's favor in the previous trial, he had not substantively punished Ronnie Kane. This made McAvoy's group keenly perceive that John Rice was inclined toward the former citizens' side.
How could this be allowed?
Just a month ago, they had witnessed through Jonathan Hackman just how much power the position of Governor held. If John Rice were to pull a reverse operation, wouldn't they all be ruined and dead?
So, McAvoy and his friends discussed it together and felt that matters had reached a critical juncture, and it was necessary to make some response.
But relying solely on people like McAvoy meant they were a bit weak in influence, and they lacked a leader. Thus, everyone thought of Palacio, the President of the Ore Chamber of Commerce, who had profited the most during the Jonathan purge era and currently had the most substantial family fortune.
Listening to everyone's chaotic accounts, Palacio couldn't help but frown. He was indeed wary of the return of the former Ambratu citizens in his heart, but compared to those restless former citizens, what Palacio cared about more was actually the Viscount of Lanwan's thoughts.
By removing Jonathan Hackman and appointing John Rice, the Viscount of Lanwan obviously wanted to restore Ambratu's livelihood and economy.
Palacio was very clear that his current meteoric rise was largely granted by the Viscount of Lanwan and her knights. If he led everyone to petition to drive John Rice away, would it arouse the Viscount of Lanwan's dissatisfaction?
However, at this moment, McAvoy suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Palacio, we have already prepared weapons for your slaves. If you agree, it will be a slave riot..."
"What?" Palacio was so shocked he slammed the table and stood up. "You actually dare... if the Viscount of Lanwan gets angry, we will all die! Her knights are stationed right outside the city!"
"Do you think the Viscount doesn't want to kill these damned citizens?" McAvoy said without hesitation. "We are just doing it for her!"
"You..." Palacio scanned them one by one, discovering that although everyone present looked solemn, no one showed a look of surprise. Obviously, these people had already discussed it before coming to find him. "You all..."
The reception room was quiet for a long time. Finally, a small merchant couldn't bear it anymore and broke the silence, saying, "Mr. Palacio, you are our President after all. Even if you aren't willing to join us, we will only say that you called for it."
Palacio's expression shifted uncertainly. Finally forced by the situation, he could only sigh and say, "This matter must be done cleanly and efficiently. Some citizens have fought in quite a few battles and aren't easy to deal with. It's best to recruit some Extraordinaries to mix in among the slaves..."
The undercurrents surging within Ambratu City actually couldn't be completely hidden from people, especially from Governor John Rice, who was governing the region.
On this day, John Rice personally sought out Jarrod Garcia, who was inspecting the cement factory construction site outside the city. The cement factory was an important project that Charlotte had repeatedly urged must not have any mishaps, so Jarrod led a team to patrol it personally every day.
"Knight Garcia, the situation inside Ambratu City is much more chaotic than here at the construction site. Why can't you send a few more patrol squads into the city to patrol?" John Rice advised Jarrod earnestly.
"I have told you many times," Jarrod said with a frown. "I am only responsible for resisting foreign enemies; the petty theft inside the city is not under my jurisdiction! Do you expect my knights to go catch a few thieves or hooligans? Do you not know that knights are also nobles?"
"Of course, I am not talking about petty theft," John Rice tried hard to explain.
"If it's not petty theft, then what is it? Did enemies fall from the sky into the city? Or is someone trying to rebel?" Jarrod asked in return.
"This..."
John Rice didn't know how to explain for a moment. Although he sensed the tense atmosphere within Ambratu City and understood the dissatisfaction of the former Ambratu citizens, he could not imagine just what kind of terrible event was about to unfold.
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