After secondary education, it was necessary to compete for higher education, although it was a bloody path to forge, it at least provided an upward channel for people of any class.
This was a fundantal social welfare accessible to Union Citizens of all grades.
Just these two opportunities, could the lower class on Eagle Horse III have ever dared to dream of them in the past?
Personal welfare, on the other hand, was linked to one's grade. This included food security, housing security, and personal dical security, aning that once one reached that grade, these things were all provided. The Alliance would be responsible for distributing food, allocating housing, and providing higher-quality dical services based on one's grade.
With a higher grade, the food would no longer be synthetic starches or simple grains, but would include more refined processed foods, at, and vegetables...
Housing would also evolve from cramped shared cubicles of a few square ters to private residences and even better accommodations.
dical services would evolve from the most basic to so drugs available for free and so diseases treatable for free. Without a high grade, one would only be able to get these services by paying [far more].
Progressing further, one might even receive more vacation days and greater transportation subsidies.
These were just the benefits, not to ntion allowances.
Allowances, akin to a salary, were paid directly in Alliance currency. This money could be used to trade and purchase all legal goods. It could be used to pay for education costs beyond secondary level, to handle the costs of disease treatnts beyond both the basic and grade-linked dical benefits, to buy better-quality food to improve als, and to purchase furniture, appliances, cars, clothes...
With all this accounted for, a grade E5 citizen, though counting his welfare and allowance, might have an annual expense of 0.4 Tax Currency for food and clothing which might be close to enough, but with the benefits of healthcare and housing, he was far more secure than the non-Union poor; not to ntion the educational benefits which not only provided upward mobility for oneself but also for one's descendants, and one could also ascend in grade through years of work and contributions.
For the common populace of Eagle Horse III, once they experienced these Alliance policies, who would want to return to the old days?
The Planetary Governnt was truly dood!
Ulrich was deeply worried.
Yet he still did not dare to refuse outright.
"Give a little more ti..."
"I said today is the final deadline."
"I understand, but today isn't over yet, is it? Two hours, just two hours, at least allow one last consultation."
"Fine, I'll give you these two hours. I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here waiting for good news."
...
After parting from Wu Yang, Ulrich wiped the sweat from his forehead and went to another conference room not too far away.
Several big shots of Eagle Horse III were waiting here.
He was the Planetary Governor indeed, but no ruler could govern alone. On Eagle Horse III, various interest groups certainly existed.
Mainly comprising union farm owners, big landlords, and mining group executives.
They supported the Planetary Governnt, and in fact, Ulrich was one of them. The agricultural and mining groups he controlled were the largest landowners on the planet and the fourth largest miner.
They were the true masters of this world.
The Alliance's economic union aid to take this world from them.
They feared the power of the Alliance, coveted the aid of the Alliance, and resented the exploitation by the Alliance.
Seeing Ulrich return, soone imdiately asked, "How did the talks go?"
"No change, the Alliance hasn't given us any room to negotiate, only the options to accept or reject."
Hearing this, soone roared, "Then let's quit! Everyone goes their separate ways! I refuse to believe that the Alliance would really dare to kill us all!"
Another person cynically retorted, "What's there not to dare? And why do they need to kill? They'll take the land, seize the mines, what can you do? And who can handle their generals? The Planetary Defense Force is already fully under their command, do you dare revolt?"
"Then what do we do? Just hand over the property accumulated over generations for nothing?"
"There are options of redemption, equity conversion, local recruitnt of managent, I've always thought this was sowhat reasonable..."
"Nonsense! They're just robbing you of your property and throwing you a few scraps!"
The conference room erupted into noise, and Ulrich's headache grew.
This wasn't the first ti.
Actually, when Wu Yang first proposed this economic alliance bill and he gathered the various 'vassals' to discuss it, the situation was roughly as it is now. Subsequently, he held several more discussions, and the results were all similar.
No unified agreent was reached.
There were actually not many who were firm; most of the noise was from those hoping to stir everyone into collective action to avoid individual bla. Despite their fierce talk, when it ca to being the leaders, they all would retract their heads.
Those more cowardly didn't dare make trouble at all.
However, there was a fundantal ntality that everyone, including himself, shared: dissatisfaction.
No, there seed to be one exception.
Ulrich's gaze shifted to a young man who had been silent the whole ti, rely puffing on a cigarette with a mocking expression on his face.
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