#1231 - Smuggling

"If we obey the oracle, we will be like sheepdogs..."

The remaining members of the Church of Waukeen immediately followed Archbishop of the Holy Pentacle and repeated the chanting. They did not think so much at all. They only knew that it was absolutely right to follow the Archbishop's footsteps. At the same time, it also strengthened their understanding that Gavin was the incarnation of the goddess of wealth Waukeen.

"As long as you follow my footsteps, I will definitely grant you corresponding wealth and status." Gavin's third paragraph is ambiguous.

Since the misunderstanding cannot be resolved, make full use of it to maximize benefits.

Just as he had once been the nominal elect of Lady Strategy, it was not impossible for him to be the human incarnation or deity of the goddess of wealth, Woking, for a while.

In the long run, he would inevitably lose some glory and believers, which would be very detrimental to his future development.

In the short term, the help is absolutely huge. It is a bit exaggerated to use all the wealth accumulated by the entire Church of Woking over the past countless years for him, but there is no problem in fully mobilizing it. This will become a new accelerator for his future development and will replace Ms. Strategy to provide the second stage of help, soaring into the sky like a rocket.

When he develops to a certain level, he will naturally get rid of his old identity like a cicada shedding its shell.

Nowadays, everyone who meets him respectfully addresses him as Mr. Road Builder, and no one would even mention the voters of Ms. Strategy.

When the day comes when my divine power far exceeds that of the goddess of wealth, Woking, she will have to be under my control whether she likes it or not.

The struggle before this was more like the self-esteem of an incompetent man. Although he tried his best, he was unable to push the woman off him and turn the tables completely.

Once you have adjusted your mindset, everything will fall into place.

"We will certainly follow in your Majesty's footsteps." The members of the Woking Church said loudly and devoutly again.

But compared to the previous two times, this time it is obviously more from the heart, because it is a matter of obeying inner desires. Power and wealth are their lifelong pursuits.

"Archbishop Shangjin and above will stay here, and the rest of you should go back and start to reorganize. What should be cancelled should be cancelled, what should be cut should be cut, and what should be destroyed should be destroyed. This is your last chance.

Otherwise, once I send out an inspection and audit team and find problems with you, that will be the time for me to cut you off or destroy you.

But don't worry, I am a person who abides by the rules. Before that, I will draw red lines for you and formulate corresponding rules. You just need to take your place according to the rules. "

Gavin's fourth paragraph is equivalent to putting shackles on these Woking believers.

Although he relied on the power of faith, he would not leave everything to faith, especially the Woking believers, who dealt directly with money and were easily swallowed up by their own desires.

In just three years, the teachings of Lady Joy became popular and almost dragged the entire church into the abyss of depravity. Her teachings were only the inducement; the key to the problem lay with these people.

No matter how devoutly they believe in the goddess of wealth, Waukeen, don't expect them to be completely self-disciplined. After all, they are human beings at heart, and as humans they have desires and are prone to making mistakes.

There must be a matching strict regulatory system to review and supervise them, especially when they are subsequently connected with their own territory, it is even more necessary to prevent collusion between officials and businessmen, which can shake the foundation of the territory.

Not to mention that there are four consecutive oracles, and the styles are greatly different from the previous ones. When combined, they will directly bring about earth-shaking changes to the entire church.

What it means is to unite the strength of all people into one and make the church stronger and more cohesive.

Or maybe it will just fall apart, with countless believers unable to adapt to the change and turning their backs on the church to join the arms of other gods? No one knows.

But this is not what they should worry about. All they need to do is to adapt to this change as best as possible.

Most of the Waukeen believers left the Golden Tower like a tide, bringing the oracle to those Waukeen believers who were not qualified to enter.

Then it spread from the city of Askatla to the entire continent of Faerun at an extremely fast speed.

In the continent of Faerun, information is polarized.

Among ordinary people, the transmission of information was very slow. It was common for a letter to take ten days to arrive, and it was not uncommon to receive it after a year or two.

Among those who have sufficient ability, information can be transmitted at an alarming speed. In an instant, news from one end of the continent can be transmitted to the other end.

The believers of the Woking Church are undoubtedly the latter, because wealth is also a kind of ability. They are well aware that information is wealth. They have their own exclusive business information network, which facilitates the rapid transmission of information and earns the corresponding price difference.

Even if the Woking believers who can enter the Golden Tower are not bishops of a region, they must be the leaders of a guild of commerce somewhere. They will make preparations based on their understanding of the oracle.

The shocks generated in this process will extend from businesses to ordinary residents, and have a profound impact on their lives.

But at this moment, all eyes are still focused on the Golden Tower of Askatla, because everything is not over, but just a beginning. The Church of Waukeen is holding its first high-level meeting after the reorganization.

This time Gavin did not continue to resist, but directly took the golden chair of the Archbishop of Holy Coin for himself and sat high above.

Archbishop of Holy Coin stood aside like a butler and introduced him to the core members of the Church of Woking. There were more than a dozen of them, all of whom were well-known businessmen in the continent of Faerun.

In the Church of Waukeen, status is not determined solely by how devout one's faith is, but by whether one can accumulate wealth of one's own.

This is seen by the church as synonymous with success - provided that the money is earned through investment or trade, rather than through illegal means.

This is also the reason why the top leaders of the Church of Woking are younger and more dynamic than those of other churches, because business ability, especially when it reaches a certain level, is very dependent on talent.

Many people are born with business talents. They can show their talents from a young age. They can create opportunities even if there are no opportunities and then soar to success.

Some people are not born to be businessmen. They lose a lot no matter how much they work. Even if they own a huge family business, they will not be able to get it back on track in the end.

What is very interesting is that in the process of the Goddess of Joy eroding the Church of Waukeen, there was also a situation of counter-erosion. Several joy priests who were frustrated in the Church of Joy instead showed excellent business talents in the Church of Waukeen and jumped to the position of Archbishop of Shangjin.

Archbishop Shangjin's status in the Church of Woking is second only to Archbishop Shengbi. He is in charge of the church's business operations in a certain area and his status is equally transcendent.

They did not leave with the Goddess of Joy, which means they have completely turned their backs on her and integrated into the Church of Woking.

Both Gavin and the goddess of wealth, Woking, were tolerant of them and did not exclude them from this high-level meeting.

"The first thing we need to do now is to draw a red line for this church reorganization and further formalize our own industries. We must not touch some black and gray industries ourselves." Gavin directly threw out the issue.

The archbishops looked at each other in bewilderment. It was obvious that this topic was the first time for them to discuss it, and no one spoke for a long time.

As if he could see their concerns, Gavin added, "Now is the discussion stage, everyone can speak freely. As long as your speech is for the future development of the church, you will be forgiven regardless of whether you are right or wrong."

"Your Excellency, we are not clear about the defining criteria for this black and gray industry. Please explain it clearly!" Archbishop of Holy Coin broke the silence.

Gavin answered without thinking: "For the rule of a territory, those that do not play a positive role in promoting it, but instead become the source of unrest, are all black industries, such as slave trade, fraud, drugs, gambling, and illegal trade.

Gray industries are businesses that walk on the edge of the law and take advantage of regulatory loopholes or the gray areas of social rules to make profits. This is more difficult to judge and develops according to social development. Each era and stage has its own unique gray industry, and now it is mainly pornography. "

"I can understand cracking down on illegal transactions," an archbishop of Shangjin asked cautiously, "but I don't quite understand why we don't participate in the black and gray industries. These are all highly profitable industries, the kind that make a lot of money. Even if we don't do it, someone else will. There is no way to completely eradicate it. Instead, it will greatly reduce the wealth and income of the church!"

"You asked a very good question." Gavin looked at the Archbishop of Shangjin with an encouraging look and answered patiently, "This is not only to build a stable trading environment, but also to establish a fair and good image of the church and facilitate the promotion and development of our other businesses.

Since there are honest ways to make money, why do you have to go into that stinky ditch and compete with those evil people for their money?

Although you are believers of the Goddess of Wealth, it is impossible for you to earn all the money in the world. You only need to earn the part that you deserve.

As for punishing those black industries, this is the job of the kings and lords of each country."

Gavin's attitude and patient explanation obviously played an encouraging role, making the Archbishop of Shangjin bolder and continued to ask: "What do you mean by the fair way of making money? Could you please tell me in detail?"

"There are many ways to make money honestly. I will show you a few clear ones." Gavin is now directly mixing in private goods. As long as the goddess of wealth Waukeen does not come forward to stop him, he will reform the Waukeen Church from top to bottom according to his own ideas.

His words obviously aroused the interest of everyone present, and their ears were like rabbits, standing up as high as they could.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"Let's start with the most basic production and trade." Gavin said patiently, "Let's take the city of Dalauma as an example. In the past two years, they have comprehensively improved their textile technology, using water power or magic drive instead of manpower, and started large-scale mechanical production, which has saved them a lot of labor costs. There are a lot of business opportunities here.

Looking upstream, their demand for cotton has increased significantly. Will they make money by opening up new land in the surrounding areas and investing in building cotton plantations?

Is it profitable to purchase cotton from other regions, transport it to Dalama City for processing, or make it into cloth or finished clothes, and then transport it to where it is needed?

The latter belongs to the downstream industry.

So far, I have not found any businessmen or chambers of commerce arriving in the city of Lauma to negotiate with the mayor of Zalanda to jointly build factories in other places.

The Lord of Zalanda provides the technology, and you provide the funds and connections. If you build a new type of textile factory in the cotton producing areas, won't it make money?"

This was a rare opportunity, and Gavin took the opportunity to attract a wave of investment for Zalanda, allowing Dalauma's textile industry to continue to grow and become stronger, forming a complete industrial chain in the surrounding area.

Gavin's series of questions were like a slap in the face to the high-ranking officials of the Church of Woking. Their faces turned red and they wrote furiously in their little notebooks.

Because every word Gavin says now is golden and every word is a business opportunity.

Archbishop Saint Coin said in an embarrassed way, "In the past three years, most of the church's energy has been distracted by Ms. Joy, and many people have no interest in business and investment..."

Gavin waved his hand and said, "No need to explain. I have said before that past events will be forgiven and you do not need to make excuses for yourself. Failure to do your job is failure to do your job. You can find a way to make up for it in the future.

We are only conducting a simple business analysis now. You still need to make your own judgment on the specific matters and bear your own profits and losses.

If you make money, it reflects your ability. If you lose money, it reflects your ability. Don’t blame Ms. Fortune for not protecting you! "

"Your Excellency is merciful." Archbishop of Holy Coin could only continue to praise.

"Similar technological innovations in Dalauma are not limited to the textile industry, but are intended to be applied to all walks of life, because they have developed a new magic energy supply technology that is enough to trigger a technological revolution and spawn countless new industries." Gavin stopped talking and said, "I can only say this much. How far you can achieve it depends on you."

These people are all business elites with a keen sense of business opportunities.

As long as their enthusiasm is mobilized, they will naturally invest in or delve deeper into various industries, which will lead to countless possibilities, far better than what Gavin can say directly.

"Your Excellency has said so much. If we still don't know what to do, then all our years of business experience have been wasted, and we are not qualified to stand in this hall and talk to you."

"Investment is a prudent matter. It is natural that we should be responsible for our own profits and losses. You have done your best to point out the direction for us."

"Your message is priceless. Just based on this, we have already stepped ahead of countless others and seized the business opportunity."

All the high-ranking members of the Church of Woking present praised Gavin highly. In their eyes, this was a selfless act.

After all, in the Church of Woking, this kind of commercially valuable information is itself a special commodity that requires a huge price to exchange for, and it will never be shared like it is now.

They are both cooperative and competitive.

Gavin ignored the little thoughts of the Waukeen believers and continued, "After talking about basic trade, let's talk about the investment and construction of public assets. Let's take roads as an example.

As a trade church, roads are the foundation for maintaining smooth trade. We should not sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor, but actively participate in the construction and development of roads.”

Archbishop Saint Coin, who knew Gavin's origins very well, explained: "Our church has always attached great importance to the repair and expansion of roads. Our church has a special fund for road repair, which is used to repair damaged roads free of charge and even expand some new roads."

"How does your special fund for road repair work? What proportion does it account for in your church?" Gavin asked curiously.

This was the first time he heard of this matter.

Archbishop of the Holy Coin, who knew Gavin's true origins, responded awkwardly: "We hold a grand donation festival every May 12th, calling on all believers to donate. Half of the donations will be used to repair the roads, and the other half will be used to improve the lives of those poor people.

Therefore, the annual cost is not fixed, but depends on the donations. It may reach tens of millions, or it may be only a few million. As for the roads that need to be repaired, it is usually determined by referendum, and generally the most prosperous commercial roads are repaired. "

"I see." Gavin didn't show much emotion, he just nodded to show that he understood.

Archbishop Shengbi hastily added: "This was in the past. We will formulate a more professional road repair policy in the future and directly draw funds from the church's general finances to repair or build new roads."

"I have a better way to deal with this matter." Gavin neither confirmed nor denied Archbishop Saint Coin's opinion, but proposed a new strategy, "Free of charge is not a long-term solution after all. If we want to fully implement road improvements in Faerun, we must make sure that everyone can benefit from it.

Road builders can gain wealth, while ordinary residents enjoy the convenience brought by roads and earn more wealth.

You can negotiate with those local lords to provide road construction loans to those towns that need roads. These loans do not necessarily have to be repaid directly by those local lords, but in exchange for commercial tax concessions for a certain number of years.

This way, we can ensure that the loan can be recovered, and we can also ensure that we have new trade routes available, and those territories will have more convenient transportation conditions. "

Most of Gavin's current road construction remains within his own territory, or he directly opens up new land in the wilderness.

He went to other people's countries or territories to build roads, and only with the permission of those kings and lords.

In those secular countries and territories, his reputation as a conqueror was greater than that of a road builder. Even if he built roads for them free of charge, they would have to think twice, fearing that by the time the roads were built, their territories would be lost.

If he could use the Church of Woking to promote road construction in other regions, it would be extremely beneficial to the expansion of his faith.

Of course, if we want to promote this business, we cannot do business at a loss. We need to let these businessmen see the benefits, so that they will be motivated. (End of this chapter)