"Please rest assured, the Lawrence family will certainly make a gesture of goodwill towards you."
It must be said, his timing was impeccably chosen.
The wake for the Newman brothers had gathered all the surviving upper echelons of Royal Port and the prominent figures from the surrounding colonial towns. Even if Byron were truly duplicitous and not as he was in legends, it would be impossible for him to act against Lawrence in public. Moreover, the Newman Family’s orphaned daughter was like a child holding gold—quite defenseless. Even with the barely noticeable Bill as her protector, her situation remained unchanged.
As long as Lawrence initiated the property liquidation process, given the level of corruption among the officials in Royal Port, they would undoubtedly swarm in to tear a large chunk from the Newman Family’s assets. Once they ford a community of interest, not even a strong tiger could stand against a pack of wolves!
A barely detectable, smug smile touched Lawrence’s chubby face as he thought to himself, ’This way, many officials in Royal Port who benefited will have to owe , Lawrence, a great favor. My modest title might even allow , through these connections, to leapfrog into a prominent position in Royal Port. At worst, I can also give The Sea Hunter two or even three-tenths. After all, Byron, what does the wealth of Bill’s wife’s family have to do with you? Wouldn’t you be ecstatic to get two or three-tenths for nothing? I believe there are no moral saints on these seas. There’s no such thing as betrayal, only a price that hasn’t been high enough.’
However, to his utter surprise, only the prominent figures from the other colonies showed covetous expressions. Among the power holders in Royal Port, not only did Byron fail to reach out for this pie falling from the sky, as Lawrence had expected, but not a single one of the notoriously corrupt officials from the various departnts showed any sign of being tempted by money.
Even Royal Port’s Tax Officer, Maltz, after exchanging glances with Warden Akman Cyril, approached Lawrence together. Maltz said coldly, "Lawrence, is it? The Lawrence Trading Company, registered in your na, is suspected of tax evasion. The evidence is conclusive. Please co with us."
Lawrence realized sothing was amiss, and his face imdiately changed. "Wait, what do you an? The taxes I evaded... those were under the Newman Family, and with your direct... AGH!"
Before he could finish, the Warden punched him in the stomach. Cold sweat poured down Lawrence’s face as the blow forced him to swallow back all the words he shouldn’t have said. Then, two n seized him and dragged him away.
The mourners from out of town subconsciously recoiled, knowing the Tax Office was not to be trifled with. Once thrown into the dungeon, even if one erged alive, not a single copper coin of one’s assets would remain. And from the looks in the eyes of the other departnt heads, these mourners had a premonition: this fellow might not live to see that day.
Just look at Royal Port before them. The Navy, Tax Office, Prison, Judiciary... all departnts seed connected, like a solid block of iron. These officials, high and low, had clearly pledged their allegiance to a new master.
Bill, who had been standing by Byron’s side, placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and snorted coldly. "An ignorant fool. Don’t you know that in Royal Port now, the rules of The Sea Hunter *are* the rules? Once sothing has been decided, who else has the right to interfere?"
Although it was subtle, everyone present was sharp and imdiately understood. Bill was referring to more than just the recent property distribution. It was about who would hold the ultimate authority in Royal Port!
A country cannot be without a Monarch for a day, and Arawak Island, with an area equivalent to one twenty-fourth of the motherland, naturally cannot be without a leader either. Although everyone coveted such imnse benefits, the mont they saw the Royal Port officials all standing behind Byron and then assessed their own strength, their expressions turned grim.
Bill continued to speak as he paced, "My good brother Byron has always been kind-hearted, making few enemies (who are still alive) since his debut. But I, Bill the Executioner, can’t tolerate even a speck of dust in my eyes. Those who show respect, from now on, all their east-west trade routes serviced by Pioneer Navigation will receive a three-point discount. They will also have priority rights to purchase property when the International Port next opens for investnt. If you don’t show respect, then from now on, we’ll just... handle things strictly by the book."
Bill emphasized the words "by the book," then his gaze swept across the entire assembly as he asked in a solemn voice, "So, who agrees, and who objects?"
Byron remained silent throughout, but their good cop, bad cop routine was far more effective than that of the Newman brothers, who had rely used empty words to send others to their deaths.
It must be understood that the power of a Supre isn’t derived rely from the height of his position. Rather, it depends on how many benefits he can distribute to others. The broader the reach of these benefits and the more generous the profit-sharing, the more formidable his power becos.
Certain ’micromanagent experts’ in history loved to believe they were strategizing from afar, deciding battles from a thousand miles away, and treating millions of lives as re pawns. They even issued baffling orders like, "Machine gunner, shift five ters to the left!" Ultimately, it all boiled down to one thing: the common soldiers understood a fundantal truth—there was no benefit in it for them.
How many of Lancaster’s remnants are even left? Even if every one of them could take on ten opponents, could they conquer the world with rely one or two thousand n?
The principles of conflict are clearly written in books: make more friends and fewer enemies. Regardless of how stable these friendships might be, one thing is certain: the greater the benefits you can offer, the more friends you will have.
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