The warm sun is shining, and the warm sunshine has completely melted the ice and snow, and the branches and leaves of the trees are full of life again. Winter seems to have completely passed, and the city of Petersburg, the royal capital, has ushered in real spring.
Manor outside Petersburg.
In the study, Duke Ivanovich, who has a slightly curly beard, is listening to the butler's report on recent profits. After the war, the king ordered a three-day carnival to celebrate the victory of the war. Of course, the people Happy to participate in such a festive festival, more drinks were sold in these three days than in the previous six months combined, and the benefits of Prohibition were further expanded.
This was also the last remnant of "Prohibition". With the end of the war, the king untied the "Wartime Laws" and "Prohibition" and gave small workshop owners the power to make wine again, but Duke Ivanovich didn't care. Everyone knows that the "Prohibition" cannot be implemented forever, especially for big drinkers like the Romanov Kingdom.
"Master, our wine profit in the past three days has reached 200,000 rubles..." the butler concluded.
200,000 rubles is equivalent to 20,000 gold pounds in the Kingdom of Windsor. This number seems small, but in fact it is terrifyingly high.
You know, the price of a glass of kvass in a tavern is only 10 kopecks, and a large glass is only 15 kopecks. For spirits like vodka, the cheapest one is only 8 kopecks.
A senior worker who can operate machines can get a monthly salary of about 20 rubles, and the annual salary is only about 200 rubles.
The winery under the name of Duke Yinvanovich made a profit of 200,000 rubles in just three days, which can be said to be a huge profit.
"It's still a little bit missing..."
Prince Ivanovich was not satisfied with this figure: "We stocked up so much wine and only sold 200,000 rubles in the end?"
"Yes, sir, I think it's because the war has just ended and everyone doesn't have much money in their pockets..."
"What a bunch of poor people."
They all muttered, as if they felt that there was no more money to be squeezed. Duke Yinvanovich asked the butler to restore the price of his wine to the level before the war. In the case where the currency value, personal output value, and economic aggregate did not fluctuate much, , Private price increases will cause market imbalance. Duke Ivanovich really wants to make money, but he understands better that wool needs time to grow.
Slow water is the real thing.
"Taking advantage of the crazy price increases during the carnival, I sell drinks at high prices and make a lot of money. I'm afraid there's no one worse than me in the world. Alas..." Duke Ivanovich laughed at himself and picked up the lit cigar. He took a sip and said, "Sometimes I'm afraid that I'll give birth to a baby without a butthole."
The housekeeper smiled and said, "Master, you are really good at joking. The doctor has said that the young master and the young lady are very healthy and can go to the toilet smoothly."
"That's good, that's good... No matter how bad a person is, how bad can he be?"
Duke Yinvanovich nodded, put on a hunting suit, picked up a shotgun, and was about to take a few guards to hunt in the back mountains, when a little boy wearing white stockings and small leather shoes ran into the room: "Father!"
"Alexei, oh, let me hug you quickly..."
Picking up his son, Duke Yinvanovich asked: "Would you like to go hunting in the back mountains with your father? Winter has passed and the prey are out and about. Maybe we can hunt a black bear!"
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【Father Mavey】【】
"I'm not going." Alexey shook his head: "An uncle dressed very strangely came and said he was looking for you, father!"
"Um?"
Duke Yinvanovich held his son and walked to the window. He looked towards the gate of the manor and saw a carriage with a purple fleur-de-lis flag.
That is the flag of the Wisdom God Religion.
His brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed. Duke Yinvanovich put down Alexei and patted his son on the head: "Go and play, father has something to do."
Alexei rushed out of the room on his little leather shoes. Prince Yinvanovich glanced at the butler: "We are waiting in the tea room."
"Yes, sir."
....................................................
"Bishop Abel!"
In the brightly lit tearoom, Duke Ivanovich warmly embraced Bishop Abel. Alexey, who had rarely had any contact with the church, thought it was understandable that Bishop Abel's strange black robe was because he was born. ..
The Apocalypse Religion has been overthrown.
"Your Excellency, long time no see."
Bishop Abel held his breath to avoid smelling the pungent scent of Prince Ivanovich's perfume. It would be rude to sneeze suddenly.
After sitting down, Duke Ivanovich asked: "Why do you suddenly come to see me? What's the important thing?"
"Actually, I came here on the orders of the Archbishop."
Bishop Abel nodded and said: "Everyone knows that you are quite prestigious among the nobles. You are a bright light in the Romanov Kingdom. With you here, no one dares to make mistakes."
Faced with Bishop Abel's praise, Duke Ivanovich laughed, opened the cigar box, took out a cigar, and raised his arm slightly to signal Bishop Abel to help himself.
"call...."
The smoke rose. Duke Ivanovich stared at Bishop Abel sitting opposite him through the smoke. After a while, he said: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly. I don't like to beat around the bush."
"Half a month ago, the Church of Truth sent monks to various places to establish branch churches and monasteries. Does your Excellency, the Duke, know about it?"
"Have heard a little bit."
"According to our investigation, in the past half month, the Truth Church's preaching sites have appeared in nearby cities, as well as in other cities slightly farther away. This means that the Truth Church has begun to take action. We must respond and cannot sit back and wait. .”
"Of course, does Archbishop Henry have any good plans?"
"Well....."
During the hesitation, Bishop Abel said tactfully: "The policy pursued by the Church of Truth and Her Royal Highness Katerina is to abolish serfdom. After discussions between Archbishop Henry and His Majesty the King, they both believed that serfdom is not conducive to the Romanov Kingdom's development. Developments in the Industrial Period.”
Duke Yinvanovich narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light flashed in his eyes: "Continue."
"I came here this time just to ask His Excellency the Duke, who is a representative of the aristocracy, about his views on serfdom."
"Serfdom has been the basic national policy of the Romanov Kingdom for hundreds of years, and successive kings have highly praised it... I have no opinion on serfdom. Everything follows His Majesty's will... But I don't think so. Serfdom will hinder the progress of industrialization in the Romanov Kingdom. Aren’t cheap serfs the best labor force? Rather, industrialization must strengthen serfdom.”
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【Father Mavey】【】
Bishop Abel nodded: "In other words, Your Excellency the Duke does not agree with the abolition of serfdom, right?"
"You misunderstood, I didn't mean that." Duke Ivanovich held a thick cigar in his mouth and said with a smile: "I support your Majesty's decision. If your Majesty thinks that the abolition of serfdom is the next step for the Romanov Kingdom, If you want to do something, I will naturally support it with both hands."
"What if His Majesty agrees?"
"If His Majesty agrees, then the process must be followed. Such an important matter must of course be submitted to the Senate for unified planning and voting."
"I see."
Bishop Abel stood up, kissed his fingers and said at the same time: "Your Excellency the Duke's opinions, I will give them to Archbishop Henry word for word."
"Please do this."
Duke Ivanovich did not get up, but just watched Bishop Abel leave.
The four-wheeled carriage with the flag of the Wisdom God creaked away. In the teahouse, Duke Yinvanovich smoked a cigar vigorously, his eyes flickered and his expression was extremely solemn.
"Sir, Bishop Abel is gone." The butler walked into the tea room and said.
"Um...."
Duke Yinvanovich was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Is Her Royal Highness Katerina's birthday coming soon?"
"Her Royal Highness Katerina's birthday is November 7th. Sir, you remembered it wrong."
"No, I remember correctly." Duke Yinvanovich said in a calm voice: "I was going to give her an expensive gift on her last birthday, but I accidentally forgot it and I have to make up for it."
The housekeeper understood instantly, bowed and asked, "What should we give her?"
"I have a sapphire called Adam's Star in my safe. Please give it to Your Highness Katerina as a gift."
Hearing the name 'Adam's Star', the butler was stunned for a moment: "Sir, you spent a lot of money to buy that sapphire from the Duke of Tbilisi. You regard it as a treasure and you really want to give it to Your Highness Katerina?"
"No matter how precious the gem is, it is not as important as the head." Duke Yinvanovich said calmly: "Send the gem to Mosk in person. When you meet Her Highness Katerina, tell her that I gave it to her." It’s a birthday present, don’t say anything else.”
".....as you command."
After the butler left, Duke Ivanovich said softly: "Are you satisfied with this?"
Click.
The small door hidden on the right side of the tea room opened, and a young man in a suit and leather tie, holding a mahogany cane, came out with a smile on his face: "I think you have made the right decision."
"You got it right, I have no choice."
"There will be... We are your escape route."
The young man walked into the sunlit place, raised his head, and revealed a very familiar face.
Finn Droste!
