Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

"As you can see, Your Highness,"

Because it was a serious matter, Kal'tsit unusually used honorifics.

"Chianti's intelligence has been proven true. This morning, Rhine Life's stock price plummeted, its cash flow has dried up, a large amount of inhibitor inventory is stuck in the warehouse and cannot be sold, and the expanded production line cannot be started due to insufficient funds. Rhine Life tried to temporarily assemble some goods to deliver to the supplier in order to obtain emergency payment, but large medical institutions, led by Columbia Morgan Hospital, have reached a consensus and demanded that Rhine Life solve its internal problems before they can accept this batch of inhibitors with peace of mind."

Wayne almost laughed as he listened. Rhine Life needed money to solve its current problems. How could it get money? It needed to complete orders and receive payment. But how could it deliver those orders? It needed to solve its internal problems first.

Clearly, this was a vicious cycle from which there was no way to escape, and Wayne could picture Director Henry raging in his office.

Those hospitals, or rather, those businessmen who ordered the inhibitors, Wayne felt, had no intention of saving Rhine Life Insurance at all. Loken Williams, though not a good person, was certainly intelligent, and his analysis resonated with the true psychology of Colombian capitalists: they didn't want to see a new medical company emerge that disrupted market order and seized market share with excessively low prices, but they also didn't want to give up the potentially huge profits from the new inhibitors. Therefore, in this situation, a dead Rhine Life Insurance was naturally better than a living one.

Once RheinLife is gone, the patent rights will also be lost. The inhibitors and their manufacturing methods, which have been taken over by the state, will be controlled by the Federal Parliament, which in turn is manipulated behind the scenes. At that time, they can set the price however they want—euphemistically, in accordance with market rules.

Reasonable, compliant, and most importantly, legal, it conforms to the flexible democratic ethical standards of Colombia, which impressed Wayne greatly—to be able to package extortion and intrigue in this way is, one has to admit, a skill in itself.

However, even the most ingenious conspiracy must remain hidden. Once the cause and effect are known, even a small part of it can trigger an irreversible domino effect, altering its entire course. Wayne understood this, and so he was prepared.

Let the storm rage on!

............

Victoria, Lentinium, Lentinium core city.

The core city is constantly changing; a hotel that stands here today may become a new enterprise established by a capitalist or nobleman tomorrow. But there is only one thing that remains constant in the core city—the Londinium Financial Exchange.

Located one block away from the Elizabeth Hotel, in the core southern district of the city, near the Iron Palace of Aslan, the Londinium Financial Exchange stands here, encompassing all currency transactions, stock futures, and large funds circulating throughout the continent. Nearly 80 percent of Terra's daily financial trade passes through here before flowing into the other nations of the land.

As the absolute embodiment of Victoria's economic hegemony, it held an unshakeable position throughout Terra. Although new financial trading centers in the East, such as Great Flame Dragon Gate, and in the West, such as Columbia New London, attempted to challenge its position and share its glory, it was clear that, barring two world wars, the sun of the Victorian Empire would never set!

Sitting in the rooftop restaurant of the Elizabeth Hotel in the heart of Londinium, Theresa and Vina could see a building a block away, relatively low-lying among the towering skyscrapers, with just a slight glance down.

"According to Vina, the stock exchange should be the most conspicuous building in this city, right? Why is it built so short?"

Theresa asked, somewhat puzzled. Vina waved her hand; she had known Theresa might ask this question, and had specifically reviewed it last night. Now, with a slight smile, she confidently explained, as if to say, "I know this very well!"

"To prevent gamblers who have lost all their money from jumping off the roof one by one to reopen the business."

Theresa was startled:

"Wouldn't it be easier to climb up if it was built shorter?"

Vina took a sip of lemonade (Neither Theresa nor Wayne allowed her to drink alcohol), and smiled mysteriously:

"If you build it short, you won't die from a fall."

The usually eloquent Theresa was momentarily speechless, feeling like she had a lot of complaints stuck in her throat. After stammering for a long time, she finally managed to say:

"really."

Vina smiled and waved, explaining:

"Alright, alright, all of that is classified internally. To the outside world, we always say that 'status is not determined by height or weight, and the importance of a building is never determined by its size.' If someone complains to you about this, just tell them that."

Theresa scratched her head, her lips twitching as she nodded:

"understood."

Although she didn't think anyone would complain to a Sarkaz like her about such a thing. Even after spending a whole month, she had only just gained the recognition of the Iron Palace's court members as the Sarkaz Princess, not to mention the vast territory of Victoria—the task was still arduous and the road ahead was long.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Vina suddenly shushed, “Our guests have arrived.”

Yes, as Queen Victoria, although Vina maintains a worldly attitude and even frequently travels incognito (secretly followed by a large group of unicorns and guards) to places like the common people's quarters to observe their lives (to visit her friends Indra, Dalki, and Gawain), she has a strong presence in the eyes of the Victorians (everyone knows that their new Queen Vina is a beautiful girl, and the secret civilian society "Queen's Guard (Single-Person Supporter)" has been formed). But this does not mean that Vina can leave the palace aimlessly and at will.

She's an empress; going out incognito once a week is enough for her, otherwise it would inevitably create an extra burden on the city's traffic and security. This week, however, she'd already used her "leisure pass"—she'd come to the core city on official business.

Oh? You're asking about Theresa?

She really came here to have fun.

The hotel doors were pushed open, and after a thorough body search and scan by the guards at the entrance to confirm that he was not carrying any dangerous items, a man dressed in a suit, wearing a top hat, with a mustache and a monocle, walked in—almost exactly like an English gentleman from a movie.

"Hello, Sir Sandro."

Vina put on her signature queenly smile, and Sandro immediately bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle.

"Hello, Your Majesty, I wish you good health and a long life."

Sandro Lynn George, president of Victoria General Medical Corporation. A former follower of the Lancaster family, a regular at the Lontinem Financial Exchange, and a major capitalist.

Chapter 45 The Beginning of Enterprise Nationalization

Vina was puzzled as to why Wayne was so harsh on the financial city of Londinium, which paid taxes to the country. Not only did he establish a large number of rules that she could not understand at all, but he also thoroughly investigated capitalists who wanted to seek status and position.

She was even puzzled about the purpose of Wayne's eight-hour workday, unions, and other strange systems, and why Wayne considered these things "absolutely necessary." Did he have some kind of prejudice against these people?

Facing Vina, the future ruler of the Victorian Empire, the Empress who would one day achieve independence, Wayne patiently explained that he was not against making money, nor did he harbor any prejudice against these people. He was not against capital; from his position, he truly could not revolutionize capital, since the kind of revolution it envisioned was bottom-up, originating from the people, and was destined to be beyond his control. What he needed to do was oppose the excessive expansion of capital.

While he couldn't achieve the absolute best, he could at least reach a secondary level: having the state control capital, rather than letting capital manipulate the state. Capital should serve the national interest, not the other way around. His suppression of capitalists in the City of Londinium who sought aristocratic status exemplifies this.

Imagine a group of very wealthy capitalists who become nobles. They know how to make money, they understand business strategies, and they hold a lot of power. It's not that Wayne looks down on the many nobles of Victoria. I ask you, apart from those who control the military, what competitive advantage do the other nobles have?

When the traditional aristocracy is completely ousted from the center of power, and the new bourgeois aristocracy seizes power, what's next? What else stands in their way?

That, of course, is the emperor.

At that time, Vina will face either a glorious revolution or a French revolution; she will either keep her head but lose her power, or keep her power but lose her head.

This isn't to say that Wien opposed progress or the replacement of feudalism by capitalism. But in truth, he was the most progressive person of his time, and compared to a bunch of cunning capitalists, the old aristocracy who spent their days in parties were clearly much easier to control. This could be considered one of the few remaining advantages of absolute monarchy—as long as the monarch's thinking was enlightened enough and his governance was wise enough, the people could live a prosperous life.

Wayne didn't consider himself a wise ruler, but he was still far better than those scheming bastards in Terra who treated people like dirt. Besides, he wasn't alone; he had Theresia, Kal'tsit, and Vina, who was gradually accepting and actively learning his ideas.

A few days ago, when discussing the preparation of investment funds with Vina, Wayne had brought up this plan. The royal family certainly couldn't come out on the surface to invest in and acquire Rhine Life. They needed an agent. Wayne and Vina discussed the candidate for this agent for a long time and finally chose Victoria General Medical Company.

There are many reasons, but the three biggest ones are:

First, Sandro Lynn George, president of General Health, was once a follower of the Lancaster family. The Lancaster family had many followers; as the founders and controllers of the City of London, almost all of the city's capital was intricately connected to them. When the King of the North came to power, he indeed ruthlessly purged the Lancaster family from top to bottom, inside and out, but even with his audacity, he could only kill a few of his most zealous followers.

After all, if they were all wiped out, the core city of Londinium would probably be 70-80% empty. Losing Victoria's financial hegemony for a few pawns is not a wise move. Sandro was one of these "pawns" who were spared.

Vina has ample evidence of his past collusion with the Lancaster family, which provides leverage for the royal family to keep this dog in check.

The second reason is that his business scope is somewhat similar to that of Rhine Life Sciences. Although medicine and bioscience are strictly speaking two different things, they are often closely intertwined. Having them carry out this task is more reasonable than having one of the "baby" companies on the list acquire Rhine Life Sciences.

It would be too embarrassing for a doll company to acquire it; people who didn't know better would think Victoria was developing some new kind of bionic "doll." The people at Rhine Life are still very concerned about their image; they might not agree.

As for the third reason...

Considering the first two points, Victoria General Health is currently the most suitable company to be "nationalized".

Based on Wien's theory of state control of capital, most existing private enterprises are unreliable. Some of them may have some conscience and will donate money and materials when the country needs them, but the country cannot entrust its economic lifeline to the conscience of individuals. Thus, the three "cannot" principles are formally proposed: arms cannot be privately owned, resources cannot be privately owned, and infrastructure cannot be privately owned.

As for the path of nationalizing enterprises, Wayne was unclear. He could only proceed cautiously, feeling his way forward, regarding how to nationalize enterprises and how to operate them after nationalization. This necessitated a pilot project. At this opportune moment, when all the right conditions were met, Victoria General Medical naturally had to shoulder this sacred mission.

General Medical will be nationalized, and Sandro will run the company like a dog being choked by Vina. He will then begin acquiring Rhine Life during this critical time. The acquired Rhine Life, along with all future nationalized companies, will relocate to New Wales, a newly built large mobile city—the Prince of Wales' fiefdom—as a special district to pilot the nationalized economy. In the future, New Wales will serve as the center, radiating throughout the entire Victorian Empire.

Great figures have walked this path; Wayne is merely copying it. He may not understand the specific operational procedures, but Victoria is full of talented people, and there will always be someone who does. He only needs to provide the guidelines, check whether the path has gone astray, and finally verify the results.

It doesn't matter if you fail once or twice. Victoria is now a true hegemon and can afford the cost of failure. If all else fails, you can always start over and eventually succeed.

Sandro, having heard Vina's request...

He hadn't done anything truly wrong while following the Duke of Lancaster, but sometimes, choosing the wrong side is the biggest mistake. What could he do now?

It's nothing more than him suddenly having royalty added to his head, which is already the top CEO. It's better than losing his head, right?

With mixed feelings, Sandro bowed and said:

"Yes, your majesty!"

Let's all fill in the gaps in the previous posts.

It's a bit unsettling to look at this empty space. I originally wanted to write some sweet moments with Kal'tsit in the Columbia arc, but I encountered backstabbing from the Forbidden Zone twice in a row, and I'm completely numb.

Please help me fill in the gaps in this post, I'm begging you, sob sob.

The second illustration is almost finished, but Shuke can't post pictures right now, so I can't share it. I'll wait until it's unbanned.

Here's a joke: Yesterday, July 1st, I went to the Martyrs' Cemetery and Museum to pay my respects and wanted to ask for leave. But when I got home today, I found that my leave application hadn't been approved and issued yet. Well, I got my leave application for nothing.

The Columbia volume is about 70% complete. To be honest, the number of new subscriptions dropped drastically after the Forbidden Zone post, which is very disheartening. I understand now why Shuke has so many missed deadlines. Seeing the number of new subscriptions decrease day by day is truly disheartening. It's disheartening to write without feedback. I'll keep writing, though. The next volume is the Lungmen volume, which will be introduced by the Patriots' side, and the foreshadowing has already been laid.

Goodnight everyone.

Chapter Forty-Six: Once the deed is done, Rhine Life will surely repay you handsomely!

Columbia, Silicon Valley, Lykenfender Cafe, VIP Box.

Director Henry was indeed seriously considering the current plan. It must be said that the military's investment was an attractive proposal. Not only because such stable and powerful capital as the military could solve Rhine Life's immediate crisis, but also because cooperating with the military could elevate Rhine Life's previously low political standing to a level that was previously unimaginable.

After all, private enterprises and military enterprises are completely different.

Especially after seeing the news manuscript in his hand, supposedly written by a Pulitzer journalist, Director Henry became even more determined in his decision.

If Rhine Labs were powerless, if it remained as weak as it is now, it would only become a toy in the hands of politicians who only care about their own interests. It would be impossible to realize its long-cherished dream of changing Terra with technology, let alone ensure the survival of the company and the basic needs of its employees!

They need to form an alliance with a strong ally, and the Colombian military is undoubtedly a good choice.

But the problem is...

Henry sighed and put down the Pulitzer manuscript in his hand.

He could indeed see the general's intentions, who was wearing a gold star on his shoulder, and he knew that the military intended to take over Rhine Lab as a backer, but given his current status, he could no longer make the decision.

"Excuse me, sir."

Henry could only explain helplessly,

“You’re too late. I’ve already been fired by Rhine Life. I’m neither the executive director of Rhine Life nor have any control over it. I simply cannot agree to your request, and even if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

He pointed to the Pulitzer manuscript on the table and said,

"After all, if what the manuscript says is true, then the upper echelons of the board, being political figures, have already decided to strike at Rhine Life in order to balance the two companies, so they would not agree to your entry and the forces behind you. Unfortunately, I am not capable of changing the board's decision."

Henry felt he had made himself perfectly clear, but the brigadier general firmly shook his head and smiled:

"No, no, no, you're mistaken. You have that ability, Mr. Henry. We say you have it, so you have it."

Seeing that Henry was about to agree, he relaxed, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, clasped his hands, and explained in an extremely relaxed and somewhat arrogant manner:

"Now is the best opportunity. Think about it, Mr. Henry, why is Rhine Life facing such a crisis?"

Henry frowned, and said carefully: