Chapter 462 An apology is definitely the first priority.
Old Franklin squinted, his fingers tapping idly on the table. "The royal treasury has always been an empty shell, propped up entirely by the taxes collected from families like ours. In a few days, isn't that their most important annual banquet?"
I heard that the Insect King wants to hold a grand event this time to showcase the majesty of the royal family...
Sheet looked at old Franklin with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding what he meant.
"Father Xiong, what does their palace banquet have to do with our current plan?"
Old Franklin: "..."
Sometimes he really wanted to open his son's head to see what kind of mess was inside, since he couldn't even see through the basics!
He took a deep breath. "Hmph, the royal family is just an empty shell. They want to show off their poverty. They definitely can't come up with that much money. They'll either have to divert funds from elsewhere or borrow money from all over the place."
Old Franklin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have you figured it out now?"
Shet still didn't quite understand, but looking at old Franklin's eyes, he could only nod reluctantly.
Old Franklin then gave a satisfied, cold laugh. "If we were to delay paying this year's taxes to the royal family at this very moment, what do you think they would do?"
When he said this, a malicious glint was clearly visible in his eyes.
"Then their palace banquet can't be held?" Shet joined in the gloating.
The thought of Tan Chi, that guy who provoked him, losing face made him unable to contain his joy.
Old Franklin nodded. "That's not all. When their palace banquet is halfway through preparations and they run into financial difficulties, they'll definitely divert other funds, such as... military funds..."
Shet's eyes lit up immediately. "Then we'll have the bug release the scandal of 'the royal family misappropriating emergency military funds for a lavish banquet'! The royal family's reputation will be ruined! The whole empire will laugh at the royal family! Hahaha..."
He thought the idea was absolutely brilliant!
However, Shet quickly thought of another key point, and he immediately added excitedly, "Father! There are also natural foods! This palace banquet is so large, the royal family will definitely use natural foods to entertain the guests to save face!"
The amount of natural food present can determine the level of sophistication of a banquet.
It would be quite interesting if there were no natural foods at royal banquets!
Old Franklin, rarely seeing his son with any ideas, looked at him and asked, "What are your ideas?"
Shet smirked, revealing a sinister smile: "If we buy up all the natural food available on the market in advance, wouldn't the royal family be unable to buy enough natural food? Wouldn't that be even more embarrassing for them than not having enough money to host a banquet?"
At a grand royal banquet, they couldn't even serve decent natural food and had to use synthetic nutrient solutions instead...
That would be an absolute disgrace!
This is even more embarrassing than the funding issue!
Old Franklin hesitated for a moment, clearly not as excited as Shet.
"Didn't the royal family previously claim that they had mastered the cultivation technology of natural plants? They even promised to grant the Smith family a sales right. So they shouldn't lack natural plants themselves, right?"
"Father, don't let them fool you!"
Without even thinking, Shet immediately retorted, "Think about it, if they could really grow so much natural food themselves, would they be unable to even snag a decent item at the auction?"
His face was filled with confident mockery, especially when he thought about how Tan Chi and the others could only afford to bid 60 million at the auction, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I think that's just them bluffing! That so-called planting technology is completely fabricated and used to fool insects!"
The more he talked, the more convinced he became of his analysis, and his tone became increasingly agitated.
“Father, have you seen the Smith family start selling natural plants recently? No! They just released a message saying that pre-sales will begin in a month! This is clearly a delaying tactic to prepare for the banquet!”
They might not have even managed to grow it yet, or they might not be able to grow it at all!
For the first time, Shit felt his mind was so clear that he could think of so much at once!
He must be the kind of late bloomer that other people talk about!
That must be it!
Old Franklin listened to Shet's analysis and surprisingly found it quite reasonable.
He stroked his chin, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "You're right. The royal family might be playing a ruse, trying to use some so-called technology to force us nobles to pay taxes."
Thinking of this, old Franklin immediately ordered the servant insect guarding the door, "Go! Use all the family's liquid funds to go to the market immediately and buy back all the natural foods you can get your hands on, regardless of type or price!"
Since we want to see the royal family make a fool of themselves, we can't give them any chance!
"Yes, Your Excellency!" The servant acknowledged the order and quickly left.
Shit's smile widened even more smugly. He added slyly, "Father, I think if the royal family really runs out of options, they might actually come begging to our family to buy natural food..."
After all, the royal family would surely find out about their large-scale purchases of natural plants and food.
The royal family isn't stupid; they might even investigate the conflict between him and Tan Chi at the auction.
If the Insect King were any smarter, he would know what to do!
An apology should be the first priority.
As for natural foods...
Shit's eyes darted around, then he continued, "Then we'll raise the price to twenty times the market price! Let them bleed a good pound! Let's see if they dare to go against the Franklin family again!"
Upon hearing this, old Franklin finally showed his first genuine smile of the night.
He gave Shit an approving look, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Good! That's the kind of person the Franklin family is! That's settled! I want to see how the royal family will clean up this mess! Hmph! They've messed with the Franklin family, so they'll have to pay the price!"
...
at the same time.
Inside the study of the Insect King in the Imperial Palace.
After Eli saw Tan Chi off, he then went to see the Insect King.
"How was it? Did you have fun at the auction with Achi and the others?" The Insect King merely glanced at Eli before continuing with his official duties.
Because Eli and Tan Chi went together this time, he hadn't had time to have the guards who went with him report the situation.
Eli thought for a moment, then spoke the truth, "Uh... if we're talking about happiness, I'd say I'm happy, right? I don't think there's anything wrong with Achi's mood..."
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