Chapter 452 Where’s My Money?
On the same day that the Imperial Emperor Li Longxing set out on his expedition, Mo Zhai, the chief priest and de facto absolute leader of the Papal States, held a grand speech across the country, announcing that the Papal States would surely win.
A large number of cannon fodder who had only undergone a few months of training were sent to the battlefield. Just looking at the number of people, it was an absolutely unprecedented scene in human history.
The overwhelming sea of people stretched to the ends of the world.
Mo Zhai has also staked everything. He does not seek to win. As long as he is not defeated, his prestige will reach its peak, and he will be able to realize his dream of the Grand Papal Federation, break the canon that the chief priest of the Papal States can only serve for twelve years, and become the first lifelong high priest in history.
In order to achieve his goal, he doesn't care even if every last untouchable dies.
The speech was a sensational success, public opinion at home was high, countless people temporarily joined the army, countries around the world sent him congratulatory telegrams, various aids were increased again, and previously promised aid also arrived.
At this moment, Mo Zhai was in great glory, reaching the pinnacle of his life in the past fifty years and becoming the vanguard of the world's anti-imperialist and anti-hegemony wave.
Leaders of major countries extended olive branches to him one after another. Whether in the Western Continent or the Eastern Continent, he was able to get along with everyone, and everyone was waiting for him to defeat the evil empire.
Even within the empire, there are many forces trading with him.
Mo Zhai had never believed as much as he did now that he was the chosen one, the savior chosen by God.
"The Divine Religion will surely rule the world!"
Mo Zhai screamed wildly in front of the camera, abandoning his usual gentle and polite disguise.
"Long live the Divine Religion!"
"Long live the Divine Religion!"
The roar of response hovered over the Papal States.
——
Not only the empire, but the situation in the world has become more tense than ever before.
Only Changshan County remains the same and is developing rapidly.
After learning that Changshan County had received a project with a 300 billion investment, engineering teams from half of the empire came.
Huaizhen, which had been a little deserted since the food war, became lively again.
Lord Zhao Ming held meetings every day, with nearly a thousand contractors sitting together and listening to the various harsh conditions set by Changshan County.
Forget about quality supervision and inspection, progress tracking, and following the county government's orders.
What's even more bizarre is that they require the contractor's employees to collect their own wages and deduct them from the project payment they are entitled to.
The contractors all felt that Changshan County was overreaching.
I am owed wages. They are the hard-earned money of the migrant workers. That is my ability. Why do you have the right to interfere?
The migrant workers came to me to settle accounts, and I have my own ways to deal with it. I don’t want you, Changshan County, to intervene. Why do you have the right to interfere?
The Imperial Bank has set up an office in Changshan County specifically for paying project fees, and all contractors for the second batch of projects need to collect their money there.
However, this is just an institution responsible for giving money.
How to give and how much to give is determined by Changshan County.
Some contractors thought that Changshan County was deliberately making things difficult for them, while others thought that the old man was asking for bribes.
They tried their best and searched high and low, but they hit an iron wall.
After much difficulty in finding a way out in Changshan County, the person in charge was captured by spies in gray coats and big hats the next day and never appeared again.
The contractors felt creepy and wanted to quit.
But there is no other place in the empire with such a large investment.
If you leave Changshan County, you can’t even eat meat or drink soup.
If you follow Changshan County, you can still make some money and won't starve to death.
The contractors had no choice but to sigh and admit that they were unlucky, and accepted Changshan County's harsh conditions.
After all, there is one advantage: the money is directly distributed by the Federal Reserve, so there is no possibility of not getting the money.
In this way, a thousand contractors were quickly reached, and the unprecedented large-scale development of Changshan County, the epic project of building a city on flat ground, was about to begin.
Lin Wen also felt tremendous financial pressure.
Changshan County has now become a behemoth, with more than six million direct and indirect employees, five million of whom are producers in the new factory area.
Under Lin Wen's strong order, there is no such thing as contract workers or dispatched workers in Changshan County. Everyone is a formal employee of the Changshan County Government Office and enjoys the same welfare benefits under this position.
Changshan County pays out more than 8 billion in wages and benefits every month.
Looking across the entire empire, or even the world, no regional government dares to do what Changshan County does.
Whoever does this will go bankrupt.
But Lin Wen dared.
And not bankrupt.
This is also the reason why Lin Wen has a huge reputation in Changshan County.
This is not a utopian society that cannot function without external input.
The profits earned by Changshan County's industries are enough to support all wages and expenses, and there is a total surplus of up to 7 billion every month.
Among them, the artillery factory with five million workers provided a net profit of 4 billion.
Changshan County’s profits are so terrifying!
This is something that all the sociologists and economists in the empire cannot explain, and they cannot understand the reason why the Changshan County model exists.
They don't understand how much profit can be brought by liberating productivity, and the little money earned from exploiting employees is not even a drop in the bucket.
But now, Changshan County has to pay 6.3 billion to the Imperial Reserve every month, and the surplus is only 700 million.
The monthly tax revenue is only 200-300 million, and the total surplus does not exceed 1 billion.
There are countless departments in Changshan County asking for money. Although there is no need to worry about salaries and benefits, various projects cannot be stopped.
For example, the Tenglibaba project, the biochemical base project, the food base project, urban construction projects other than the new town, transportation, highway, water and electricity projects in various places, and military expenditures.
This cannot be stopped.
Changshan County is no longer the poor area it used to be where people only had pants left.
Its expenses and income can no longer be measured by normal funds.
There are probably only a very few people in this world who know how many affairs and people are involved in the operation of a huge group.
By analogy, how many affairs does an empire that is countless times larger than Changshan County have?
I'm afraid only the Great Elder knows this.
The shortage of funds made Lin Wen extremely anxious, and he broke his bones before he could even make any big moves.
Just when he was feeling annoyed, Lin Wen suddenly had an idea. He remembered that he still had a large sum of money that was enough to solve all his problems!
He actually forgot about the huge assets worth over one trillion!
Lin Wen felt extremely regretful and excited at the same time.
With a trillion, Changshan County wouldn't have to worry about achieving great things. My good karma wouldn't take off.
The Taoist Patriarch is already waving at me. All I need to dominate the Immortal World is these one trillion!
Lin Wen rushed to the finance department and shouted, "Old Xie! Quick, go get the money!"
Old Xie was delighted when he heard this: "Money? Where is the money?"
Lin Wen laughed and said, "A few months ago, didn't I ask you to place a bet at a gambling company on Changshan County to win the battle between Changshan County and Shizhou? The odds at the time were 1:16,500, and I asked you to bet 100 million!"
Old Xie remembered it immediately.
"Yes, that's the case."
Lin Wen laughed and said, "Now that we've won, doesn't the gambling company have to pay me 1.65 trillion?"
Old Xie looked embarrassed and stammered, "Well, I don't think I can afford that much."
Lin Wen sneered.
"If you dare to pay even a penny less, I'll blow that gambling company to pieces! Call me!"
Old Xie had no choice but to dial the gambling company's number.
"Hello." said a rough male voice.
Old Xie simply repeated the situation. His idea was that the gambling company only needed to pay out 300 to 500 million.
Unexpectedly, the person on the phone actually said, "Is that true? Did you call the wrong number?"
Old Xie knew it was a sign of defaulting on his debt and sneered, "This is Changshan County's money. Think carefully."
"Oh, Changshan County, it's so powerful. What should I do? I'm so scared."
Lin Wen snatched the phone.
"If you don't send me one trillion today, you're dead!"
"One trillion?"
The voice on the phone was extremely exaggerated, as if someone had heard some huge joke.
"Look, come and see! There's a fool here asking us to send a trillion dollars! He's so smart! He made a trillion dollars in one go. He's so rich that he can't spend it all in ten lifetimes."
There was a burst of laughter coming from the phone.
"Hey, big fool, call grandpa and let him listen. Maybe if grandpa is in a good mood, he will transfer a trillion to you."
Old Xie shouted, "If you don't acknowledge it, just give us your money back!"
“Cough cough cough!”
He coughed deliberately a few times over the phone and pretended to be serious, saying, "You are violating the rules by buying your own tickets. This is suspected of cheating. According to Article 0 of the Stupid Regulations, the cheating funds will be confiscated."
A distant voice rang out over the phone: "You're speaking so formally, what if that idiot doesn't understand?"
"I'll do it!"
A voice spat violently into the phone.
“No retreat!”
There was laughter on the other end of the phone.
"Hahahaha! No retreat!"
“No retreat!”
Old Xie felt the air pressure dropping rapidly and the sky seemed to be dark.
County Magistrate Lin had no special expression on his face. He said calmly, "Where are you?"
"Hahaha, you still want to chop us down?"
"We won't tell you."
"No, no."
A gruff voice came over.
"It seems like we're afraid of him. Boy, let me give you a piece of advice. Empire Gambling Company, you should carefully check our backers. The address is No. 77, Changyang Mountain, Tiandu. Think carefully about whether you want to come or not."
Lin Wen hung up the phone and walked out without saying a word.
Suddenly, Lao Xie felt that it was dawn.
He turned his head and looked outside. It was sunny.
——
Lin Wen determined the direction, came to the outside of the county government hall, used [Soaring in the Clouds], and flew to No. 77 Tiandu Yangshan.
It was a large manor built among mountains and rivers.
The scenery is beautiful and the luxury is extraordinary.
Lin Wen simply activated [Spirit Cat's Swiftness] and walked towards the gate.
The doorman stopped him and asked, "Who are you?"
Lin Wen sneered, "Lin Wen, the governor of Changshan County, tell your boss that if you don't immediately pay the one trillion you owe Changshan County, you're dead."
"What a lunatic! You're looking for death!"
"Get out of here now, or you'll get into trouble!"
Lin Wen didn't bother to talk nonsense. He took out a hammer from his arms and knocked the two guards to the ground.
Kick open the door and walk into the manor.
Alarms sounded in the manor and a large number of guards and security guards rushed out.
Lin Wen turned a deaf ear to their shouting and scolding, accelerated his body, and crashed into the crowd. In the blink of an eye, they all became gourds falling to the ground.
Lin Wen continued to rush forward. The alarms grew louder and louder. A large group of bodyguards dressed in black and holding pistols rushed out, shouting, "Who are you?"
"Put down the hammer!"
"Kneel down and hold your head!"
Lin Wen ignored them completely.
The bodyguard opened fire immediately after three warnings, but Lin Wen was as swift as a fish and a bird, and he couldn't hit him at all. In a flash, he rushed into the crowd and knocked everyone to the ground like a whack-a-mole.
Lin Wen pushed forward and hit everyone he saw.
The commotion finally alerted the manor's real owners, who called the butler and asked, "What's going on outside that's causing all the noise?"
The butler's forehead was covered in sweat. "Master, a guy claiming to be the mayor of Changshan County has come to our door, and all our guards and bodyguards have been knocked down!"
"What?" A bald man was surprised. "How many of them are there? Have you called the police?"
The official stammered, "One person."
"A person?" another burly man shouted, "Is he a cyborg or a martial arts master? Are you all just useless?"
"Quick, go call the senior guards!"
But the senior guards also fell to the ground like gophers.
When the news came, the bald man couldn't believe it. "Are the senior guards all a bunch of shit?"
"Quick, quick, go call the Wu Tuan bodyguards!"
The Wutuan bodyguards also fell to the ground one after another.
"Quick, go call Master Long."
Master Long fell to the ground with blood all over his head.
"This, this is not a normal person."
"He's a cyborg!"
"Hurry, run!"
However, Lin Wen had already blocked their way.
"Where's my money?"
“Run!”
Bang!
A long metal rod was inserted accurately into the door lock.
Even more than a dozen people couldn't break it open.
Lin Wen walked closer step by step, holding a big hammer.
"You are surrounded by me!"
“Pay back the money!”
With a whoosh, a pure black man who had been hiding for a long time rushed out from the darkness and stabbed at Lin Wen with a dagger in his hand.
Lin Wen was furious and no longer held back, smashing his head with a hammer.
Eliminate evil and gain +3 good karma.
Blood was flying, and the headless corpse fell at Lin Wen's feet, with blood gushing out.
Blood foam splashed all over Lin Wen's face.
Lin Wen, however, seemed oblivious. He stared at them with a burning gaze and asked word by word, "Where's my money?"
This scene was so shocking that a burly man broke down and burst into tears on the spot.
"Lin, Master Lin! We will compensate you, we will pay you..."
"One trillion, not a penny less!"
A rough man howled, "Master Lin! Even if you dismantle our entire company, you still won't get a trillion!"
"No?"
Lin Wen raised the hammer, and everyone hugged each other and burst into tears.
"Master Lin! I have a ninety-year-old mother and a one-year-old child..."
"Mercy! Mercy!"
"We'll do anything for you! Just spare your life!"
A thin man was smart and howled, "Chief Lin, if you kill us, you won't get a penny!"
This sentence successfully stopped Lin Wen.
"Right now, raise as much money as you can for me!"
However, despite their best efforts, they were only able to raise less than 60 million.
"That's all you have?" Lin Wen's rage was about to burn the sky apart. "Where's your manor? Where's your house?"
"Master Lin, we rented all of them!"
"Master Lin, our expenses are also very high!"
Lin Wen was furious. He invested 100 million yuan, didn't make a penny, and even lost 40 million!
"From now on, you will work for Changshan County for free! You can't leave until you pay back one trillion!"
The hand rises and the hammer falls.
Ding ding ding ding.
When they woke up again, they were already in an unfamiliar room.
Everyone had a splitting headache, their hands and feet were shackled with cold shackles, and they were surrounded by a group of people wearing gray clothes and large hats.
They have been imprisoned in Changshan County.
"What should we do?" the thin man asked in a low voice.
"It's okay." The tattooed bald man said, "I've already taken the opportunity to call my big backer."
"here you go!"
"Changshan County will collapse soon!"
"I'm going to make that stinking fellow kneel down and kowtow before me!"
The group of people became excited and didn't mind being taken like prisoners to have their heads shaved, take baths, take photos, change clothes, and then locked up in separate small rooms.
——
Elders' Courtyard.
While the Great Elder was handling busy official business, a man who looked like a butler was let in by the Imperial Garrison Commander.
He carefully bowed to the Great Elder and said softly, "Great Elder, Xu Zi and the others have been captured by people from Changshan County!"
The Great Elder Ping Yuan didn't even raise his eyes.
"Why?"
The steward didn't dare lie to the elder and whispered, "Changshan County previously placed a heavy bet on themselves at the Shizhou odds opened by the Empire Gambling Company. Xu Zi and his men couldn't afford to pay, so they refused to pay."
"Although they were wrong, as long as Xu Zi and the others return the principal, that's fine. Changshan County openly arrests people, which shows that they don't take you seriously."
The Great Elder Ping Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly.
The garrison commander came up and slapped him twice, leaving his mouth full of blood.
The housekeeper fell to the ground, tears streaming down his face from the pain, and cried out, "Great Elder! Spare me! Spare me!"
The great elder Ping Yuan said coldly, "I told you, don't use your little tricks in front of me. Go tell those useless idiots to pay back what they owe."
The housekeeper exclaimed in surprise, "Great Elder, Changshan County wants them to pay back one trillion!"
"Then I'll work in Changshan County for the rest of my life."
The Great Elder Ping Yuan lowered his brow, and the Imperial Guard grabbed the butler's arm and threw him out.
(End of this chapter)
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