Alien Knights

On the second day after the dinner, Todd came to the venue of the political debate according to the time and place provided by Emerson after dealing with the government affairs at hand.

The so-called debates in Twilight City are somewhat similar to the televised talks during the US presidential campaign in the previous life.

It's just that the venue was set at the Muxi Grand Theater, and the audience also sat in front of the candidates directly from the TV.

When Todd walked into the venue, the entire theater was instantly flooded with shouts and praises. The king, who hadn't been seen for a long time, finally returned to the kingdom, which was a great thing for the people.

But for some, it may be a great shock.

When the business alliance's campaign team saw the return of the king, everyone's faces showed nervousness and uneasiness.

Todd sat on the viewing platform on the second floor, first beckoned to the audience, and then turned his gaze to the stage below.

Emerson sat with a few assistants on the left side of the stage, and a sharp-eyed, well-dressed young man in his twenties sat across from him, seemingly indifferent to the ensuing debate.

A man who looked like a consultant ran out of the seat of the business alliance in a panic, walked up to the young man, and quietly gestured for him to look at the stands on the second floor.

The young man shook his head impatiently, and shouted back at the man.

Staring at this strong and confident young man, Todd thought secretly, could this be the Rutledge Dawson that Emerson mentioned, the current head of the Dawson family?

Rutledge glanced at the auditorium, threw the speeches prepared by his subordinates on the floor, stood up from the chair, and said to the audience: "Today, what I want to tell you here is not the experience. A revised and whitewashed manuscript! It is a fact, a complete and irrefutable fact!"

Listening to a group of college students chanting Rutledge's name, Todd smiled and said to Huggins: "This young man is really the head of the Dawson family? Although his words and deeds are full of passion , but don’t know restraint.”

Huggins bent down and whispered, "Rutledge has two older sisters and one younger sister. He is the only son of the previous Patriarch Dawson. He was placed in high hopes by the family, and he inherited the position of Patriarch from his father last year. Your Majesty , don’t underestimate this young man, he is excellent in terms of eloquence, thinking ability and action ability.”

Todd suddenly became interested, and he leaned forward, wanting to see what the outcome of this debate would be.

The moderator of the debate, a well-known university professor, signaled the audience to be quiet, and immediately announced the official start of the political debate.

The first issue that came up was the most concerned issue of the Knight Council - taxation.

Rutledge was the first to attack: "My lord, I read last year's financial announcement. Compared with the previous year, last year's tax revenue clearly increased by 52 percentage points, but the kingdom's year-end final accounts showed a deficit. How should this be explained?"

Wearing his reading glasses, Emerson picked up a manuscript and said calmly: "Because of the government expenditure, there has been a substantial increase."

Rutledge then asked, "Can you tell me what the main expenses are?"

"Urban infrastructure, port expansion, government staff salaries, social welfare..."

"Wait a minute!" Rutledge interrupted Emerson suddenly: "You mentioned social welfare, may I ask how much was spent on this area last year?"

Emerson took a breath and said slowly: "37321 Jin Xu..."

Rutledge nodded: "What about the year before last?"

"If I remember correctly, it's about 7200 Jin Xu."

Rutledge stared at Emerson and asked, "I'm not particularly good at mathematics, but I can also calculate that last year's social welfare expenditure was five times that of the previous year. Isn't that strange?"

The latter shook his head: "It's not surprising at all. Last year, a large number of farmers in Muxi City, because of some merchants with ulterior motives, caused a large backlog of their agricultural products and had to sell their land at a low price. The cabinet had to help these farmers Resettle and start a new round of farming."

Hearing Emerson's emphasis on the word "ulterior motives", Rutledge shrugged with a smile: "Mr. They are all free, as long as they are willing, there has never been such a saying that there is a backlog of products, and the fundamental reason lies in the greed of these farmers."

"You might as well take a look, what was the price of one kilogram of wheat in Muxi City five years ago, and what is the price of wheat now? Farmers wantonly raised the price of agricultural products, causing the price of food in Muxi City to skyrocket. Anyone who is not blind can see it." Given this fact, you actually think these farmers are innocent."

Hearing this, Todd, who was sitting on the second floor, smiled.

This sneaky change of concept is really beautiful.

The biggest reason for the price increase of agricultural products is inflation, but Rutledge defines this phenomenon as the greed of farmers.

"Originally, as long as the price is lowered a little, and the two coppers less are earned, all the products can be sold. But this group of greedy farmers, but they are clinging to the profits and refuse to let go. They would rather watch the grains in the warehouse rot. , and refused to lower the price to a reasonable position.” Rutledge sneered, and said to Emerson: “For this group of people, I can only give them one word—it’s their fault.”

Hearing the applause and echoes one after another in the venue, Todd smiled helplessly.

The pricing of agricultural products involves a series of costs such as land, fertilizer, labor, animal power, etc., and when the pricing is expressed in currency, it is also necessary to calculate the interest rate difference between general equivalents in the free market, as well as overseas bulk trade. The exchange rate changes in China are simply not something that can be explained casually by saying "Business has always been free".

This Rutledge took advantage of the public's blind obedience and shifted the main contradiction to the farmers, which not only absolved responsibility, but also attacked political opponents. He is really a rare rhetorician.

Seeing that Emerson wanted to refute, Rutledge rushed to say at this time: "Regardless of the price of agricultural products for the time being, what I want to ask most is why should the tax paid by the taxpayers be given to those people for nothing? Greedy farmers."

Emerson, who came from aristocratic background, even though he had a good temper, was very angry at this time. He only heard him say in a deep voice: "Those peasants are citizens of Muxi City! They are brothers and sisters of everyone here! Back then, they were the most important members of the kingdom. When they were in trouble, they donated the only food in the cellar as rations for the army, and tore off the only cloth from the curtains to make bandages for wounds. Now they are begging on the street, and they are about to starve If you die there, shouldn't you lend a helping hand?!"

Rutledge stood up, pointed his finger at the auditorium, and said loudly: "My lord, please open your eyes! Of these people here, who is not dedicated to the kingdom in obscurity?! If you don't have money to buy food, you will Go make money! If you don’t have a job to support your family, find a job! If you just want to use this reason to blackmail the people just because you have made some contributions to the country in the past, what will this country look like if this continues?! "

"So, those guys who live by sucking the blood of taxpayers, I absolutely do not recognize them as my brothers and sisters! I also absolutely do not agree that the cabinet spends tax money on them!"

Rutledge's impassioned speech was like a spark igniting a pile of dry wood, and the atmosphere of the entire venue was instantly ignited.

Many spectators stood up, applauded spontaneously, and chanted various slogans loudly.

"If you don't have money, make money! If you don't have a job, get a job!"

"Our tax dollars are not used to feed these vampires!"

"We don't have brothers and sisters like that!"

In the stands on the second floor, Huggins looked at Todd's frowning, and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, do you want me to find some people to maintain order?"

Todd waved his hand: "No need, keep watching."

At this moment, seeing that the venue was gradually losing control, the moderator of the political debate quickly shouted: "The next debate is on the second topic—religious wars!"