Chapter 310: Ethan’s Ambition
Ron wasn’t happy with the idea of Goldenveil opening its ports to other merchants, but his unhappiness didn’t matter.
Even Amelia shouldn’t be able to help Ethan create something that big, so Ethan must have an even stronger supporter!
Ron couldn’t afford to lose Ethan as an ally, and he knew full well that the young lord’s backer was even more terrifying than his mother.
If there was one thing that governed merchants as much as gold itself, it was the fear of ending up dead—and without that very gold—for being too curious and greedy.
Being entitled to fifty percent of all surplus production was already a marvelous thing in itself, and he had already won Ethan’s trust anyway.
With a stifled sigh, Ron raised his fist, meeting Ethan’s halfway. Their spatial rings touched with a soft metallic clink, a faint pulse of energy threading between the two artifacts.
He transferred the entire amount at once, drawing a broad smile from the young lord standing beside him.
From that moment on, Goldenveil had a source of income capable of generating millions of gold coins every month.
This, of course, excited Ethan, even though he knew full well that the plans he was drawing up for the future would demand much, much more.
For now, Goldenveil could support itself and still have a fortune left over at the end of each month. But what about when he founded a duchy? Or an entire kingdom?
A large-scale national development plan could cost as much as tens of billions of gold coins, and the Darkwall family itself spent several tens of millions a year just to develop its territory—even though they were merely a family of counts.
For Goldenveil, a centralized state whose power was entirely concentrated in Ethan’s hands, such a sum would be merely a drop in the bucket compared to what he would need to spend in the future to build a functional state from scratch.
"I’ll have my men deliver all the goods directly to your chamber of commerce. Let’s go," Ethan said, giving Ron a gentle pat on the back.
Ron nodded silently.
It pained him to spend such a large portion of the massive investment he’d received from the banks of Solene and the Kingdom of Burning Ice, but he would make every coin count.
Alongside Ethan, he returned to his chamber of commerce, where his staff were already bustling about, settling in throughout the building.
In total, he had hired two hundred people just to work in the chamber’s main building, divided among a private security force, cleaning staff, administrative personnel, array masters, and strategy masters.
At first, there wouldn’t be enough work to keep everyone busy, so Ron instructed them to assist Ethan and Goldenveil itself with whatever was needed in the meantime.
The young lord, naturally, didn’t refuse the offer. A broad smile spread across his face as he said his goodbyes, leaving Ron to attend to his own affairs.
Officially establishing a chamber of commerce was no easy task, and he would need a long meeting with Tom, the current mayor of Goldenveil, to discuss all the legal issues and, of course, tax matters.
Goldenveil operated under a flat tax rate based on income, ranging from 1% to 15% for ordinary citizens and self-employed business owners.
For large companies, the tax bracket was also based on income, ranging from 5% to 17%.
There was also a third level of taxation, created specifically to prevent the kind of corporatism Ethan had seen back on Earth.
In principle, every corporation had the right to make as many billions in profit as it wanted, as long as its top priority was maintaining the well-being of Goldenveil’s population.
Ethan was the only one with the authority to make this classification and, with the stroke of a pen, he could transform any corporation willing to sacrifice the common good for short-term gains into an entity required to pay—also based on income—between 50% and 95% in profit tax.
The only way to escape this tax bracket was to pay a fine equivalent to five times the damage caused to the people of Goldenveil, and to cede an entire year’s worth of the company’s profits to the government.
The other option was, of course, to hand everything over to the Goldenveil government.
Ethan would pay an amount equivalent to one-tenth of the company’s market value and transfer it to more competent leadership, keeping the company private but ensuring its loyalty to the people of Goldenveil.
Ethan simply wanted to make sure that all these companies understood, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was Goldenveil’s protector.
Attacking the people of Goldenveil was, after all, attacking himself.
Choosing to destroy a market in pursuit of quick profits, while ignoring long-term stability and development, was the same as declaring that their own company was no longer welcome in Goldenveil.
The free market was the foundation of Goldenveil, and Ethan would defend it with an iron fist and blood, if necessary.
"Ah... being an authoritarian leader is just too good..." Ethan thought, a satisfied smile curving his lips.
Well, compared to the average leader in that world, he gave his people a great deal of freedom.
In the Kingdom of Burning Ice, for example, even the slightest criticism of the royal family would result in the punishment of having one’s tongue cut out.
In Goldenveil, there was no censorship whatsoever of the media, and even publicly cursing him was permitted without any punishment.
Insults directed at his wives and future children, however, were punishable by fines and even imprisonment, depending on the severity of the case.
Furthermore, experts above the fifth stage, in the rest of the continent, could kill peasants with virtual impunity.
In Goldenveil, that mattered little.
Even for a fifth-stage expert, killing even the most insignificant commoner without valid justification was still a crime punishable by death.
"I don’t want to create a thousand-year dynasty," he declared softly, coming to a stop before the gates of his own palace.
His eyes fixed on the sun already setting on the horizon, tinging the sky with shades of orange and red.
He wanted to create a truly eternal dynasty.
He wanted to be more than just a simple Lord. He wanted to be a...
Ethan’s gaze rested on his palace, bathed in the amber light of late afternoon.
A God-Emperor.
He wanted to be worthy of the title of God-Emperor.
He wanted every citizen of Goldenveil to bow their heads before him, not out of fear, but out of reverence.
That every child would have plenty of food on the table, good teachers, and safe places to play.
That every father and mother would have the peace of mind of knowing that, simply by being born in Goldenveil, their children’s bright future was already guaranteed.
That was why he invested so much in the well-being of the people of Goldenveil.
He wanted to build a paradise capable of making every other empire in history green with envy.
That was his ambition.
"Ah... now, I need to decide what to do with all this gold," Ethan whispered, his lips curving into a thoughtful smile.
Tomorrow a new month would begin, and it would finally be time to build a divine forge and a magical tower for Goldenveil.
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