Chapter 214: Change the battlefield
The next day.
The Council Hall of Maro City.
Today, everyone was surprised to find that the Great Sword Saint who had not attended the council for a long time actually appeared.
Many people showed joy on their faces.
Yes, these people smiled just by seeing Ethan, the kind of smile of relief.
Sophia took in the expressions of everyone, and a trace of doubt rose in her heart.
Just when she was about to ask Ethan what happened, a councillor in a suit smiled and opened his arms and walked towards the two of them.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Mr. Ethan!"
Ethan looked at the person who came in and found that it was Councillor Joseph.
Councillor Joseph is the leader of the Pearman family.
This family runs a leather and fabric business in Maro City.
It is the largest material supplier for the Lawson family's clothing business, and they often have business dealings.
Therefore, everyone is relatively familiar with it.
At the same time, they are also one of the members of the anti-Duke Alliance this time, so they have a seat in the parliament.
However, the strength of this family is at the bottom level among all members.
Therefore, Ethan does not care much about this family.
Normally, a nod would be enough to greet each other, but today he went against his usual norm and opened his arms to give the other person a warm hug.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Councillor Joseph!"
After greeting each other, the two chatted about the weather, and the more they talked, the more they got interested. Before they knew it, they talked about the impact of the weather on ships.
At this time, Joseph suddenly said mysteriously: "Speaking of ships, I heard that you and the Casillas family have broken up because of the shipyard issue. Is that true?"
Ethan smiled slightly after hearing this: "Absolutely not. Shipping is about the future, how can it be said to break up.
It's just that Speaker Charlton thinks that a new helmsman should be replaced, and of course we have to satisfy his wish."
Hearing this, Joseph immediately became energetic.
"Mr. Ethan, you did the right thing. In this matter, our Pearman family firmly stands on the side of the Lawson family."
Ethan smiled: "What are we waiting for, let's go in!"
"Please!"
Sophia had been listening to the conversation between the two quietly. At this time, she finally knew what Ethan wanted to do.
Although she didn't know exactly what to do, she had already given Ethan a thumbs up in her heart.
Thinking of the result, she really wanted to rush up and give Ethan a kiss.
However, she finally held back.
Several people walked into the parliament slowly.
The layout here is very similar to the British House of Commons.
A small podium in the middle.
There are several rows of backrest benches around.
Ethan sat down in his fixed position, regardless of what the parliament was discussing, and took out his notebook to write and draw.
Since there are really no entertainment activities in this world, he has always wanted to do some entertainment projects.
It just so happens that I have time now, so I just design it.
After thinking about it, I finally chose billiards.
But he immediately encountered a problem. The billiard table is easy to design, but what material is used for billiard balls?
Traditional wooden balls?
The sound is not crisp enough when hit.
…
Just as Ethan was lost in thought, he suddenly found that Sophia gently pushed him, and Ethan realized that the parliament was silent.
He looked up and found that everyone was looking at him.
Ethan smiled slightly, knowing that it was time to go on stage, after all, he submitted a proposal today.
He walked up to the podium slowly, greeted everyone, and then went straight to the point.
"Everyone knows that Maro City is a grain-producing area, but not many people know that many people in Maro City starve to death every year.
Yes, you heard it right, a grain-producing area can actually starve people to death.
This is simply an irony for our parliament.
And do you know what the culprit for this reason is?"
At this point, Ethan deliberately paused.
Seeing that everyone was looking forward to it, he turned his eyes to Earl Charlton and said with a smile:
"Yes, it is... animal husbandry."
"Huh!"
The whole audience was shocked when he said this!
Everyone turned their eyes to Speaker Charlton.
Charlton looked a little unnatural, but he said nothing.
Seeing this, Ethan pursed his lips and continued:
"They waste too much food.
Let me ask you, if people can't eat enough, why raise so many animals!
You can't just care about the interests and ignore the lives of the people!
Therefore, I propose to increase the reflection tax on animal husbandry by 1% to urge them to make corrections.
You can't just care about your own interests and ignore the overall interests of Maro City.
As a parliament, we still have to consider more for all the people."
Ethan's words are full of mistakes, such as "they waste too much food", what about the specific data?
No!
Instead, he gave a direct definition, that is, the food wasted by animal husbandry.
But no one cares about these.
As soon as he said this, the parliament hall fell into silence, and you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone knew that the Casillas family was engaged in animal husbandry, and this proposal was obviously aimed at them.
And this 1% tax was named the reflection tax, and the meaning of it was intriguing.
The leader of the Casillas family, Earl Charlton, cried out in his heart after hearing the name of the tax!
The first reaction of the representative of the Duke's Mansion after hearing this was a good thing.
This is an internal conflict between the Lawson family and the Casillas family.
When he was about to stand up to support this proposal, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
"Oh no! This is going to be a big deal!"
Sure enough, the representative of the Duke's Mansion just thought that something big was going to happen.
Thunderous applause rang out in the parliament.
People stood up and applauded, giving Ethan support.
"Member Ethan's proposal is really beneficial to the country and the people! Our Pearman family firmly supports it."
"Our Carlisle family also supports it!"
"I suggest skipping the discussion and starting the vote directly!"
"That's it! Vote directly!"
"Vote!"
"Vote!"
...
With the support of everyone, this proposal went directly to the real-name voting stage without any discussion.
This real-name voting was requested by Ethan, and everyone agreed.
Of course, there were also objections.
In the face of different opinions, Ethan meant that as long as more than half of the people voted in real name, and the final number of votes exceeded half, then the proposal would be passed.
Everyone expressed their support and cast their votes.
The voting results came out soon.
20:0
5 abstentions.
The proposal was officially passed.
At this moment, Ethan and Sophia both showed an imperceptible smile on their faces.
The MPs who voted before all surrounded the two and congratulated them on the passage of the tax bill.
Earl Charlton watched this scene quietly, and at this moment he was as disappointed as death.
In fact, he had already understood that the leader of the anti-Duke alliance had been replaced before the proposal was voted on.
The passage of the proposal was just to determine the members of the new alliance.
The Lawson family has gained absolute control of the parliament at this moment.
Miscalculated!
No wonder they did nothing before, and they were waiting to be kicked out of the shipyard.
Alas...
It was right to set the Lawson family as the primary target, but I forgot to consider the feelings of the alliance members.
They have no ambition to dominate, they joined the alliance just because they don't want to pay taxes.
Just look at them wearing masks before voting, and you can tell this.
This group of short-sighted people can't even tell which is more dangerous, the Lawson family or the Duke's Mansion.
Their cooperation with the Duke's Mansion is just to curb the development of the Lawson family, which is beneficial to everyone, but they...
As soon as they saw the alliance break up, their first reaction was to make a choice between the two families.
Obviously, they prefer the Lawson family with the Great Sword Saint.
Because in the eyes of these fools, the Duke's Mansion is the biggest enemy.
Alas...
The Lawson family made a beautiful move, raising the original business behavior to a political level.
And the vision and timing are just right.
Thinking of this, Earl Charlton sighed deeply.
However, he is not ready to surrender.
After all, the control of the parliament must not be lost, otherwise it will be manipulated by others in the future.
And from the current situation, the new alliance has just been established, there are still variables, and the outcome is still unknown.
So Charlton stood up and slowly walked to the podium...
