Seeing with his own eyes that two powerful dragon allies were severely damaged and captured by the enemy in an instant, Delt's already unstable emotions finally collapsed completely. His eyes were filled with frightening bloodshot, and he stared fiercely at the Moon Sea Tyrant who was holding a blood-stained javelin in one hand not far away.
Almost at the same time, the arcane spellcasters of Zhentil Keep led by Manshoon, the undead army of Sazastan, the red robe wizards, and the priests and dark guards of the Church of Bane, the god of tyranny, also set out together.
In less than seven or eight minutes, the few spellcasters in the coalition forces of the two cities were forced to flee in panic.
The defense line that had been stabilized with great difficulty collapsed completely.
Countless soldiers and adventurers had no choice but to lay down their weapons and surrender in desperation, trying to save their own lives first.
They obviously knew very well that it was impossible to outrun the combination of the swift goblins and wargs, ordinary goblins and goblin dogs with just their two legs.
In addition, although Zhentil Keep and the Church of Bane are typical evil camps, they are also lawful camps.
Once a promise of surrender and spared death is made, it will usually not be violated.
At worst, after being captured, they would be sent to places like mines and quarries to do hard labor, or they would be demoted to slaves and sold.
Anyway, it is definitely much better than continuing to put up a meaningless resistance, getting killed, and then being pulled up and turned into undead by those equally evil red-robed wizards.
It has to be said that the appearance of Sazastan and his Undead Legion indirectly helped Fuzol Chamberlain a lot and successfully dispelled the determination of many people to fight to the death.
After all, they might be able to accept their own death calmly, but they would never be able to accept that after death they would become undead creatures and continue to be enslaved by evil enemies.
In contrast, the elite knights that the city of Eltoril had spent a lot of money, time and effort to train would obviously not surrender easily.
Because they are all devout believers of the guardian god Heim.
If you surrender at this time, you will be rejected by the gods, so you can only fight to the death until the last moment of your life.
Except for a small number who suffered mental breakdown due to extreme fear and despair, abandoned their faith in Heim and chose to surrender, the rest were almost wiped out.
Especially the alien creatures summoned through spell magic, many of them have excellent flying abilities.
The cavalry's most powerful impact and speed advantages are completely useless in front of flying units.
They would either be pulled off their horses and hacked to pieces by a swooping blow, or be suppressed by low-level, large-scale control spells such as Grease and Web.
Especially when the coalition's spellcasters were suppressed, a large number of mages and warlocks who mastered the ability to teleport realized that they were doomed to defeat and abandoned their companions and fled. The remaining low-level spellcasters were either quickly killed or taken prisoner.
After the battle, they will be divided up by the Red Wizards and Zhentil Keep, and threatened with death to force them to commit evil deeds such as killing their former companions, and then spread the news.
As a result, these wizards had no choice but to accept their fate and join the former's organization, gradually becoming evil and corrupt, and eventually becoming selfish spellcasters.
As for those pastors, if they are willing to change their beliefs, they will be immediately accepted by the Bane Church.
If you don't want to, I'm sorry, please go to hell.
In short, since Zhentil Castle had rich experience in war and conquest, it was very adept at handling these matters, and there was no situation of random looting, killing, and gang rape of women like in other armies.
Their organization, discipline, and obedience are no less than those of the religious armed forces under the command of lawful good gods.
Even the chaotic ordinary goblins and the monsters that had just been recruited strictly followed orders under the supervision of human and orc officers.
Because anyone who dares to disobey or who loses control and falls into a bloodthirsty frenzy will basically be killed on the spot without mercy.
After all, although various monsters account for more than 70% of this army, they are not the kind of mob led by primitive tribal chiefs.
Quite the opposite!
Fuzor Chamberlain used the power of the Church of Bane, the god of tyranny, as its skeleton, the strictly trained officers of Zhentil Keep as its foundation, the absolute control of the Tyrant's Scepter, and a clear reward and punishment system to form a powerful legion.
All recruited monsters are usually not sent into the battlefield immediately, but must first undergo a series of training.
This is also why after the defeat, the army stayed on the river bank for so many days to rest.
On the one hand, it was to restore morale, and on the other hand, it was to train those monsters who had just been forcibly recruited, so that they could learn to abide by discipline, follow orders, and how to cooperate with each other and fight in formation.
It can even be said that the underlying tone of this army is the ultimate evil law.
However, as the supreme commander of the coalition forces, Delt had no time to gather the defeated troops and retreat back to the city. Instead, he rode on the strong heavy warhorse under his crotch and charged towards the Tyrant of the Moon Sea without hesitation, wanting to rescue the two seriously injured and captured metal dragons.
After all, he is a lawful good paladin, and his nature and beliefs mean that he cannot abandon any of his men or allies and choose to retreat.
"Hahahaha! Foolish paladin! Who do you think you are? How dare you challenge the great dark king's representative in this world?"
Fuzor Chamberlain laughed wildly and bestowed a large amount of divine magic on himself, then waved the scepter in his hand and rushed forward.
Bang! With a dull sound of a skull breaking, the horse's head was instantly smashed in the air. It neighed and turned 180 degrees in the air, and finally fell heavily to the ground, twitching unwillingly as it took its last breath.
Obviously, with the help of powerful magic equipment and several divine arts, Fu Zor Chamberlain used the purest brute force to bring the warhorse to an emergency physical stop.
The force he released in the previous instant even far exceeded the combined impact force generated by the weight and acceleration of the warhorse and rider.
As for Delt, who was a LV17 Paladin, he was knocked unconscious on the spot and failed to complete the riding charge.
You have to know that this guy was originally determined to die, and wanted to use the Evil-Breaking Slash at the cost of his own life to directly kill the opponent.
But unfortunately, although the gap in professional level between the two is not big, Delt even has a considerable advantage in close combat.
But the problem is that Fuzor Chamberlain is a divine spellcaster and a chosen one, and his combat power cannot be measured by common sense.
What's more, he has more than one powerful artifact in his hands, as well as a large number of high-level equipment and magic items.
Among them, the Scepter of the Tyrant that Zuo Si temporarily borrowed was currently held in his hand, while another artifact, the Scepter of the Eye of the Tyrant, was activated and floated in the air as an intelligent weapon with independent consciousness and thinking ability, continuously attacking the enemies lying on the ground.
Since the latter would continuously release debilitating rays to all targets that did not believe in Bane, Delt became miserable after only resisting twice.
If the strength attribute weakens to zero, he will die instantly, and his soul will be sucked in and imprisoned, with the same effect as the eight-ring spell magic [Soul Imprisonment].
In addition, Fuzor Chamberlain also has +5 solid magic armor, +8 protective wrist guards, a bat cloak, a ring of free movement, a ring of teleportation, etc.
But what does Delt have on the other hand?
This paladin who worships the guardian god Heim only has a +3 holy greatsword with extra damage to evil creatures, a set of +1 full body armor, and an amulet given by the church that permanently protects the wearer from evil.
If the paladin did not possess divine grace, aura of courage, and divine protection, and had an incredibly high resistance to magic, he would not feel fear no matter how terrible the enemy was.
Faced with such an overwhelming disadvantage, most people would have collapsed and fled long ago.
Although there are many heroic legends in the continent of Faerun who defeated powerful enemies with pure spirit and faith, Delt is obviously not one of them.
As he was hit by the weakening rays more and more times, his strength attribute quickly dropped to a level lower than that of an ordinary person.
In this state, let alone continuing to fight, even bearing the weight of the full body armor made him breathless and unable to do anything.
As a result, Fuzor Chamberlain seized the opportunity to kick him to the ground, kicked the +3 sacred attribute giant sword far away, stepped on the chest of the armor with one foot, and said in a condescending tone: "Don't struggle, holy warrior.
You and your god can't change anything.
This land is destined to be shrouded in the glory of the great Bane.
Now I give you a chance to turn from darkness to light.
As long as you are willing to abandon the guardian god Heim and serve the great god of tyranny and become his dark guard.
Then not only will I not kill you, I will also give you an important position in the church.
From now on, you will not only continue to manage the city of Eltoril, but you will also be able to take over other nearby towns and villages."
Needless to say, the reason why Fuzor Chamberlain chose to persuade surrender is that the higher the level of the paladin, the more powerful the extra power he can obtain when he falls into the dark guard.
This is a competition between good and evil.
If successful, even Bane, the god of tyranny, will be pleased and reward the person who achieves this goal handsomely.
If a paladin of level one or two falls, he can gain at most one extra Smite of Good per day, but if he is level three or above, he can gain Holy Hands, and above level seven he can summon infernal creatures as servants or mounts. At level nine he can control an extra undead creature as a companion in addition to infernal servants, and is immune to the priest's dispel or rebuke.
Once you reach LV11 or even higher, you can even instantly convert your previous Paladin class level into a Dark Guard class level.
Therefore, people like Delt, who has seventeen levels of paladin, will be given extra attention by both the good and evil camps.
Because he is a crucial weight on the scale.
Leaning to either side could potentially trigger a chain reaction and increase the power of the opposing camp.
In addition, the brilliant light emanating from his soul is also the treasure most desired by everyone from gods to demons and devils.
Nothing pleases Bane, the god of tyranny, more than tempting good to fall into darkness.
The leader of another faction of the Dark Lord, Aegason Nasser, gained almost the same power and status as Fuzor Chamberlain by leading Sammaster astray and letting the latter establish the infamous Dragon Cult.
Due to a series of reasons such as differences in ideas and struggles for power, the two often accuse each other of heresy and distort the original teachings of the great Bane.
"Bah! I'd rather die than serve your evil, dirty, filthy gods."
Delt spat at the other person in a very tough manner.
A holy knight of his high rank has already had the belief in kindness and order deeply engraved in his bones. How could he easily change his position?
"Humph! You don't know what's good for you! Since you don't want to accept my toast, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."
With a gloomy face, Fuzor Chamberlain raised the Tyrant's Scepter high, intending to use the powerful magical power to enslave the other party and turn it into a puppet under his control to carry out some tasks related to massacre and betrayal.
For example, clearing out the largest Heim Temple in the city of Eltoril and publicly transforming it into the sanctuary of the Dark Lord.
When Delt has committed enough evil deeds and is hated by the residents of the entire city, control will be removed and he will be forced to face the cruel reality. Eventually, he will collapse and degenerate into a backbone of the church.
All the way from the Dragon Coast, Fuzor Chamberlain has successfully used the same method to turn several captured paladins into Bane's minions.
Therefore, he believed that as long as he did the same thing, the guy in front of him would follow in his footsteps without any accident.
Delt obviously hasn't realized the seriousness of the problem and is ready to face death at any time.
At this critical moment, a female golden dragon that was hovering in the sky to avoid attacks finally couldn't hold back any longer. She ignored the dissuasion of her other two companions and suddenly rushed down at a nearly vertical angle, trying to use the blind spot above her head to sneak attack Fuzol Chamberlain, in an attempt to severely injure or even kill the Tyrant of the Moon Sea.
But she apparently forgot that priests' perception attributes are often very high.
High perception brings strong willpower, judgment, keen intuition and danger prediction.
If a person's perception attribute reaches sixteen points, then when there is an enemy hiding behind and secretly watching him, he will most likely discover it.
If you reach 18 o'clock, you can even predict one or two seconds in advance that the chandelier fixed above your head is about to fall, thus avoiding the impending danger.
And Fuzzol Chamberlain's perception attribute is a full twenty-one.
So when the golden dragon's descent reached the last hundred meters, he suddenly raised his head with an evil and cruel smile on his face, and used another activated artifact to instantly give himself the magical effect of [Defeat the Enemy], and then threw the cursed javelin again at lightning speed.
Whoosh! Since the golden dragon dived vertically at nearly 90 degrees with its wings folded, it was basically like a free fall.
In addition, she was within a range of less than 100 meters from the ground and had no time to dodge, so she crashed into the javelin.
The next second...
Puff! The sharp blade containing the dragon curse instantly pierced through the neck of the female golden dragon, causing the high-temperature blood to splatter everywhere.
Although he spread his wings to try to cushion his fall, it was too late.
About a second or two later, this huge monster smashed a big hole in the ground with a bang.
Broken bones! Torn muscles, blood vessels and internal organs!
In an instant, more blood gushed out of the golden dragon's nose and mouth, as well as some minced meat that looked like leftovers.
There is no doubt that if such a collision happened to any other creature, even a giant, it would have been dead long ago.
However, the dragon's tenacious vitality did not cause her to die immediately. Instead, she fell into a state of severe injury and near-death shock.
"Brainless idiot! Do you think I won't be on guard against attacks from these giant dragons circling in the sky?"
Fuzol Chamberlain stepped on the golden dragon's head, raised his chin slightly and showed a contemptuous expression.
Seeing that another companion was missing, the remaining metal dragon immediately gave up the plan of rescuing him, quickly turned around and left the battlefield, intending to find a deserted place to discuss countermeasures, or ask for support from other companions or allies.
After all, if you can't win, call for help. This is the glorious tradition of the metal dragons in the good camp.
Especially the silver dragon, which is known as the "dragon socialite", there will always be various "suck-ups" around it.
This is why the evil-aligned chromatic dragons despise them the most.
"Congratulations! After winning this war, the army of Zhentil Castle will be able to cross the Chongsa River and capture important towns such as Sknubel, Eltoril, Tril, and Soba.
Once you defeat Baldur's Gate and capture it, you will have completely conquered this land."
Sazastan suddenly appeared out of nowhere beside him and complimented him with a smile.
But Fuzor Chamberlain did not show any joy at all. Instead, he responded coldly: "So what? In the end, I will still be making wedding clothes for others. As long as Soth is here, I will not be able to touch the vast land on the west coast of Faerun."
"Don't say that. In fact, to some extent, my situation is the same as yours." Sazastan comforted calmly.
"Yes! I'm not blind. I can see that you are being used and directed by him now. This guy is just like a monster. He can easily see through other people's minds and offer you a price you can't refuse." Fu Zol Chamberlain sighed helplessly and complained.
Just when Sazastan was about to say something, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Are you talking about me?"
As the last word came out of his mouth, Zuo Si slowly walked out of the darkness and looked between the two people with a slightly playful look.
"Why are you here?"
Fuzzol Chamberlain was visibly surprised.
Zuo Si smiled and asked, "Why can't I come?
Don't forget, you've been here too long.
If I can't advance to the designated battlefield before Baldur's Gate sends out its troops, it will seriously affect my plan.
Besides, I am not here to look for you this time, but to make a deal with Sazastan."
"trade?"
The legendary lich was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something, and a terrifying light symbolizing the identity of an undead creature flashed from his eyes.
"Yes, trade. I have obtained what Velsharoon is looking for, which is also a tool that can make mortals become gods. If you are interested, you can make an offer now."
As he spoke, Zuo Si took out the Eye of the Storm that was sealed inside the crystal ball under the gaze of countless eyes.
When the destructive aura emanating from this thing was felt by the people around, everyone's face changed.
Fuzzol Chamberlain could feel his heart beating wildly.
As one of Bane's chosen ones, and someone who had studied the Silver Fire in depth, how could he not know what this eye meant.
The Holy Knight Delt at the side struggled to sit up and shouted: "No! Stop! You can't do this! He will definitely use this thing to cause a terrible disaster!"
"I'm sorry, but it's not your place to tell me what to do. Besides... you don't even know what it is, right?"
Zuo Si glanced at the other person without a trace of emotion.
He certainly had no fear that the paladin would tell others what he had seen tonight.
摆在德尔特面前的道路只有两条。
一条是宁死不屈坚持到最后，在一片指责与谩骂声中被他曾经想要保护和守卫的人杀死； 另外一条则是承受不住巨大的心理落差，情绪激动之下铸成大错，彻底走上黑暗堕落的道路。
正当圣武士还想要痛陈利害的时候，萨扎斯坦终于抡起干枯纤细的手臂，从指尖射出一道魔法光束，让前者瞬间倒地陷入昏迷，随后小心翼翼的试探道：“你真舍得把它拿出来做交易？”
“为什么不呢？ 反正我又不想要成为神。
它对于我来说并没有什么特别的价值。
但对于你和维沙伦而言就不一样了。
要知道在这个世界上，强大的神器和魔法物品又很多，可是能让凡人成为神祇的东西可不多。
所以如果你真的想要，最好不要表现得太吝啬。
不然的话我会考虑去跟维沙伦谈谈。
相信他一定愿意不惜代价把神之眼赎回去。
当然，如果想要成为神，光有这个是不够的。
你还得从维沙伦手上抢到那个同样是从古老遗迹中挖出来的知识。
只有当两者合二为一，才能晋升成为真正的半神。”
在说这番话的时候，左思不断将手里的水晶球高高抛起、接住、再抛起、再接住，那满不在乎的态度就仿佛拿着的不是一件无价之宝，而是个精巧的玩具一样。
“你想让我跟维沙伦全面开战成为不死不休的敌人？”
萨扎斯坦明显不是傻瓜，马上就意识到了这背后险恶的用心。
可左思却不以为意的笑着说道：“怎么，莫非你们现在还不是不死不休的敌人吗？
如果我没记错的话，你们自从为了争夺死灵派系首席这个位置翻脸之后，已经相互争斗了几个世纪。
相信要是有机会，不管是你也好还是维沙伦也罢，肯定都恨不能一劳永逸的解决对方。
所以我可是在一定程度上帮你下定决心铲除强敌。
想想看，这个世界上还有什么比杀死仇敌，从对方手掌抢走对于他来说最宝贵的东西，然后晋升成为高高在上的神明，更令人感到满足的事情？
如果你要是觉得有问题，完全可以选择拒绝。
毕竟交易的前提就是双方都必须是自愿的。
反正我认为，愿意为这颗眼睛支付高昂价格的人应该有很多。”
什么叫做有恃无恐？ 看看此刻左思那咄咄逼人的嚣张态度就知道了。
他根本不在乎萨扎斯坦是怎么想的，更不在乎对方是否会因此而记恨自己，就是摆明了要狠狠地宰上一刀。
“你为什么不考虑把这只眼睛献给伟大的班恩呢？”傅佐尔·钱伯瑞横插一脚忍不住提议道。
“黑暗君王不需要、也不喜欢来自混乱和混沌的力量。不要整天光想着怎么拍马屁，凡事多动脑子好好想想。”左思没好气的训斥道。
瞬间！
傅佐尔·钱伯瑞陷入了沉默，脸上的肌肉更是不受控制的轻微抽动。
他也意识到自己刚才干了一件蠢事。
班恩是守序邪恶的强大神力，强调统治、纪律和服从。
而风暴之神塔洛斯则截然相反，是混乱邪恶的强大神力，强调随心所欲的破坏跟毁灭。
如果不是神职上没有冲突，两位神怕不是一见面就要打起来。
得亏周围没几个人，否则傅佐尔·钱伯瑞怕是要当场社死。
“我可以把【死月法珠】和【撒寇席尔之座】两件神器拿出来作为交换。”
萨扎斯坦反复考虑了良久之后迅速做出选择。
他很显然很清楚，把耐色瑞尔时代强大巫师之王拉洛克送给自己的神器拿出来做交易，极有可能会引发对方的震怒。
但在成神的诱惑面前，这显然根本算不了什么。
毕竟就算拉洛克再厉害，也不可能威胁到真正的神明。
“再加你手上那枚三愿戒指！”
说罢，左思直勾勾盯着巫妖手指上那枚镶嵌着三颗散发红光宝石的戒指。
虽然以他现在的施法能力，制作这玩意并不是什么太大的问题，而且还有火巨灵每天赋予的大量许愿术，但现在能白嫖一个为什么不白嫖呢？ 要知道这玩意在很多时候都相当的好用。
就算自己不用，也可以送给关系亲密的人作为礼物。
“成交！”
萨扎斯坦二话不说，直接把手指上的戒指撸下来扔了过去。
紧跟着他又施展物品传送魔法，把另外两件神器【死月法珠】和【撒寇席尔之座】也召唤到空地上。
其中【死月法珠】就是一个闪烁着微光的球体，可以在手掌大小和人头大小之间自由变化，
拿在手里可以清晰看到表面黑色与紫色如同水油的物质在不断流动，相互缠绕在一起，并且会吸收周围环境的光线。
它的作用是可以让持有者每天施展一些特定的法术，并且召唤下层位面邪魔（包括恶魔、魔鬼、尤格罗斯魔）强迫其完成一项任务。
当任务完成后，该邪魔会自动返回老家。
召唤出来的邪魔越强大，事后需要冷却时间就越长。
另外，【死月法珠】还具有心灵感应、锐耳术之类的恒定效果，可以用来占卜、偷听和偷看某个人正在干什么。
相比之下，【撒寇席尔之座】看上去就如同名字一样，是个巨大且沉重的王座。
它的主要作用是封印和奴役那些强大的异界生物。
现如今，王座内囚禁的是一个叫做艾尔塔柏的倒霉恶魔领主。
确认两件神器都没有任何问题，左思这才随手把封印着神之眼的水晶球丢给萨扎斯坦。
后者二话不说，施展法师之手稳稳的将其接住，立刻便带着手下撤退了。
因为他已经拿到了自己渴望的东西，已经没必要再留下浪费时间。
“你就这么把那件东西交给他了？”
傅佐尔·钱伯瑞脸上浮现出十分意外的表情。
左思随手把两件神器收起来，然后才嗤笑着反问：“不然呢？我可是出了名的信守承诺，从来不会干那种出尔反尔没品味的事情。”
“这可不太像你的作风。”
傅佐尔·钱伯瑞摸着下巴小声嘀咕。
“呵呵，那只能说明你还不够了解我。”
左思显然不打算透露太多细节，随便打了个哈哈糊弄过去。
毕竟他跟眼前这个家伙从来都不是一路人。
后者之所以愿意配合，完全是出于对暴政之神班恩的敬畏。
眼见问不出什么有价值的信息，傅佐尔·钱伯瑞立刻便打消了套话的念头，意味深长的问：“我现在已经按照计划，攻陷了从巨龙海岸到西哈特兰德地区所有的城镇。
用不了几天功夫就能抵达预定战场——巨魔之爪。
那个叫做沙洛佛克的巴尔之子现在怎么还没动静？
他该不会是夺权失败了吧？”
“不！他其实已经成功了。
根据我目前得到的消息，沙洛佛克已经在变形怪的帮助下成功拿到公爵竞选名额。
接下来要做的就是除掉最后一名有实权的贝尔特公爵，借助莉拉·珍娜斯女大公的帮助顺利掌权。
这个过程会非常快，最多不会超过一个星期。
也就是说，你只有一个星期时间来梳理这片土地的权贵。
记住，我希望在战争结束后看到一片空白，没有任何统治结构的干净土地。”
在说最后两句话的时候，左思语气变得异常严肃认真。
作为一个把大一统思想刻在骨子里的人，他最讨厌的就是像北地、西哈特兰德、巨龙海岸一带这种碎成一片，遍地都是独立城邦和大大小小贵族领主的地方。
还有那些屁用都没有的纹章学、姓氏和家族传承。
与又菜、又爱装逼的传统封建贵族相比，敲骨吸髓玩经济殖民的安姆统治阶层都算得上是开明而又进步。
傅佐尔·钱伯瑞耸了耸肩膀回应道：“别担心，那些可能会对你统治造成阻碍的家伙，现在不是已经躺在坟墓里，就是已经被装船运往散提尔堡当做奴隶贩卖。
要知道受过良好教育、长相英俊或是美丽的年轻男女贵族，在奴隶市场上可是最抢手的。
有很多暴发户愿意一掷千金，品尝一下贵妇和贵族小姐们的滋味，甚至是把她们买回去作为宠妾。
说实话，我有点不太明白，你为什么对于贵族和商人有那么大的敌意，非要把他们彻底赶尽杀绝。”
左思轻轻摇了摇头解释道：“不是我对他们有什么敌意。
而是他们妨碍到我对这片土地的资源进行整合跟重新分配。
并且在大一统国家中，掌握大量土地资源的贵族存在在本身就是一群毒瘤。
Especially the various privileges they have in their territories, which make them like a country within a country.
This is not the kind of rule I want, let alone the country I want.
As for businessmen, if they are just doing business honestly, I will not do anything to them.
But if there is any ignorant person who dares to bribe bureaucrats, manipulate politics, public opinion and monopolize, then I will not hesitate to raise the butcher knife. "
"What about the great families of Amn? From what I know, they are the ones you mentioned who not only enjoy privileges within their own territories, but also manipulate politics and public opinion, and use their power to monopolize trade."
Fuzzol Chamberlain asked with a smile.
“I have already started to strip away the political, judicial and other powers from their hands.
As for the territory, after I become the King of Amn, I will first talk to the nobles who own large tracts of land and redistribute the land through redemption.
If you're smart, just take the money and leave according to the conditions I offer.
If they don't know what's best for them, I have plenty of legal means to destroy their families and separate them from their spouses and children.
Finally, regarding the trade monopoly, I would play a game of Snake with dozens of the richest families in Athkatla.
Don’t they like monopoly, expansion and the mad pursuit of profits?
Then I'll let them eat until they become fat and strong, until they die of starvation.
The specific operation is to select several families with the highest comprehensive strength rankings every few years, split up their properties, and distribute them equally to their family members who have the right of inheritance.
Then disperse them and send them to settle in remote corners of the empire.
If the family business does not want to be broken up, it must shrink and control its scale when it develops to a certain extent.
When all the big chambers of commerce at the top begin to restrain greed and capital expansion and take the initiative to split up the family, won’t the monopoly problem be solved? Moreover, I did not confiscate a penny of their property, nor did I force them to the brink of death.
Instead, an internal redistribution of wealth was carried out within an acceptable range.
Those who originally had no chance to inherit the family's huge wealth will not hate me, but will be grateful to me from the bottom of their hearts.
Because I gave them a great gift, an opportunity to break away from the control of the direct line and establish their own family.
In addition, the descendants of these split families often have a lot of money in their hands, and they can also revitalize the economy of those remote places..."
Zuo Si raised the corners of his mouth and revealed a chilling smile.
The reason why merchants have had a bad image for a long time in history, and can even be said to be synonymous with greed, ugliness, and meanness, is actually closely related to their nature of excessive pursuit of wealth and profits.
Especially the rise of modern capitalism on Earth has brought this excessive greed to the extreme.
It is obvious that the expansion of capital and the monopoly of social resources by the rich are almost unsolvable deadlocks in any modern country.
Even the most powerful central government can only curb it slightly and achieve secondary distribution of wealth at the national level by adjusting taxes.
So when he decided to establish the West Coast Empire, Zuo Si had been thinking about how to deal with the business oligarchs in Amn, to prevent them from becoming too powerful and wealthy, and eventually turning the entire country into a capital empire with powerful magical powers.
After much deliberation, he drew inspiration from a very ancient enfeoffment order and came up with this set of mandatory antitrust splitting bills.
However, unlike those people on Earth who only split up companies but not families, he not only wants to split up the companies but also the huge families as well.
In this way, when the huge monopoly groups disappear, the market will once again enter a state of full competition, leaving enough room for latecomers.
As long as the rulers carry out this behavior, no family or interest group can maintain a monopoly position for long.
The entire market will continue to make space in the upper level, and the lower level will also be able to obtain upward channels, entering a relatively virtuous cycle.
Of course, the reason why Zuo Si dared to do this was because he was strong and ruthless enough, and possessed enough power and political skills to implement his will.
Otherwise, if there was a weaker or kinder ruler, the big families in Amn who were used to abusing their power would probably raise their own armies and rebel in no time.
After all, this splitting bill is simply digging at the foundation of their family's survival.
But as the saying goes, most people in this world like to compromise.
If you directly say that you want to carry out such a split, the big families of Am will definitely not be happy.
But if you first offer to confiscate their property and kill them all, and then offer such an alternative, they will not only accept it with pleasure, but may even be grateful.
The art of political compromise.
But in Zuo Si's eyes, it is not himself who needs to learn this art, but others.
"Hahahaha! You are truly worthy of me! The perfect tyrant chosen by the great Bane!"
Fuzzol Chamberlain could not help laughing.
From the brief conversation just now, he learned a lot of skills about ruling, playing power games and how to force others to submit, and he planned to try it out in the newly occupied city later.
(End of this chapter)