The carriage approached Hartle Street, and Agnes heard the cheers of a group of people in the distance.
"It's really lively."
Because there is a huge square on Hartle Street, it is the first choice for hosting many large-scale events.
Agnes looked through the car window towards the place where the cheers came from. The crowd gathered there and she couldn't see clearly what was happening inside.
But even without her enhanced vision, Agnes could still see that although the clothes of those gathered together were not extremely glamorous, at least most of them were decent.
Agnes stopped the carriage on the street and walked towards where the crowd gathered without taking Hedy with her.
The crowd stood extremely compact, and it was difficult to see what was happening inside. Agnes did not try to force her way in, but turned around and climbed up to the base of the statue in the square not far away, sat on it and looked inside .
There was an area roughly ten meters in diameter in the center of the crowd, and a man who looked like a college student was standing in the center.
Agnes saw him proudly holding out his hand to signal the crowd to quiet down, and then slowly said:
"Today, the guild system that has tortured Feneport's guild for more than three hundred years is finally coming to an end."
"In the past three hundred years, they have sucked the blood of their helpers, trampled on the emaciated bodies of apprentices, and created wealth for their real members - the dozens of craftsmen in each guild."
"them......"
Agnes sighed helplessly. She looked around at the crowd surrounding the speaker. Most of them were well-dressed people, with very few people dressed like craftsmen or helpers.
Based on the content of the speech, it may seem that the speaker has a high degree of understanding of the guild, but the target of the speech may not resonate enough. But this is normal. Real craftsmen and helpers have no time to come to Hartle Street to listen to lectures. They have already exhausted their efforts just to make money to support themselves and their families.
However, such a speech has enough power to mobilize public opinion. Although the audience may not have much resonance, it will leave the impression that the guild is not a good thing, Agnes commented secretly.
Agnes sat on the pedestal of the statue and listened to the other party's speech.
"They even have many restrictions on the members themselves. In order to ensure the so-called 'equal interests' of members, they implement a member sharing system. If a member purchases goods, other members of the guild have the right to request to share the goods. ..."
"That's not it!" A discordant voice came, and Agnes saw a little commotion in a corner of the crowd.
Agnes followed the sound and saw an acquaintance whom she had acquaintance with, Henry Schelling, the chief craftsman of the Blacksmith Guild, who was suspected of being an Extraordinary of the Ordinary Sequence who was trying to "act bravely".
Henry Schelling looked much more haggard than the last time he saw him. He had changed into a more respectable-looking shirt and trousers, but it could still be seen that the clothes were washed white and there were obvious edges. signs of wear.
"The guild was established to promote the common interests of its members. The member sharing system is only to eliminate the purchase advantages of some members and prevent some members from using their own resources to hoard raw materials for profit." Henry Schelling said in a hoarse voice .
The speaker looked at Henry Schelling and raised his eyebrows, and said in a strange tone: "Are you the acting president of the Blacksmith Guild?"
Henry Schelling nodded.
Agnes saw that the speaker was obviously excited, and he asked Henry Schelling loudly: "I heard that the real reason why your former president Ossie Carman committed suicide was to illegally coerce members of the parliament in an attempt to escape legal punishment. is that so?"
Agnes saw Henry Schelling lower his head slightly, clenched his fists tightly, and did not speak for a long time. The speaker seemed to be startled by Henry Schelling's reaction, quietly took a few steps back, and swallowed After a few spits, he said loudly:
"If you don't say anything, it seems that this is indeed the case."
Just as Agnes stood up secretly, preparing to save the speaker before Henry Schelling took action, he loosened his fist, covered his eyes with one hand, and roared: "Yes, I admit it and I participated.”
The crowd was in an uproar, and there was a lot of discussion for a while.
Agnes shook her head secretly. Henry Schelling seemed to be emotionally unstable. His emotional response would bring the blacksmith's guild into an even more embarrassing situation. President Carman's case was neither convicted nor mentioned in the newspapers. There must be some hidden secret that made those who stood on the side of abolishing the guild system give up using this to criticize. The speaker just didn't know where to start. Where did I get such gossip to ask.
But now it was Henry Schelling himself who admitted the truth of this matter in front of so many people. Even if there was something hidden, his father and the others could no longer pretend they didn't know about it. Under such circumstances, out of the desire to make full use of all available advantages, they will not let go of such a good opportunity to further attack the guild system, and the blacksmith guild will probably become the biggest victim.
Henry Schelling had probably devoted himself entirely to technology in the past and had never experienced such an occasion. It seemed that President Carman had protected him very well. Otherwise, anyone with a little experience would probably immediately deny it in such a situation.
Agnes sighed, thinking of the first case she came into contact with when she entered the Heart of Nature with Alisa, and according to Alisa's account, President Carman's strange attitude. Maybe we can go to Ms. Jones and ask what was discovered in the follow-up of this case. Maybe we can know what President Carman and the others did, Agnes thought.
"But our guild really does not exploit any guild members. We will provide relief to members in need, visit them when they are sick, and bring two loaves of bread, a gallon of wine and a loaf of bacon..." Henry Schelling's words sounded tired and hoarse.
The speaker interrupted Henry Schelling and asked: "But do you consider apprentices and helpers to be members of the guild?"
Henry Schelling's words paused, and the speaker said unreasonably: "A guild has at least five to six hundred people, and craftsmen generally have thirty or forty people. The watchmakers' association with the highest proportion of craftsmen only has There are more than seventy people in the guild, with helpers and apprentices accounting for the majority."
"To you, helpers and apprentices are just cheap labor. Helpers first need to have enough funds to support their business before they can be qualified to be promoted to master craftsmen. In addition, you also need to evaluate whether they have the skills to be promoted to master craftsmen, but the evaluation What is the standard? It all depends on the subjective evaluation of the judging craftsmen. Someone has counted the backgrounds of those who have been promoted to master craftsmen over the years, and among them, children of guild master craftsmen account for almost two-thirds! This is irrefutable to you!"
"But...but..." Henry Schelling tried to say something, but only repeated monotonous words in vain.
"Besides, what is your 'unfair competition'? I think you should know this sentence very well - 'If a shoemaker with new tools can make 70 shoes in a day when others make 20 shoes, that will It's the destruction of 100 or 200 shoemakers'."
"Emperor Roselle once said that all corrupt and backward things will eventually be lost in the flow of history!"
Upon hearing the speaker's words, Agnes subconsciously twitched the corners of her mouth.
