Cthulhu Gonfalon

Could a capitalist country really be pure?

Sui Xiong felt that it could be possible. Although the world had all kinds of magical powers and dangerous monsters as well as mighty gods, the average human’s life was still comparable to that of Earth. While Earth was dominated by merchants, such an idealistic world was still possible.

As Sui Xiong had entered this world, the Earth’s most powerful country was holding elections, and the first candidate was backed by a big consortium and the second candidate was an influential merchant. He had not voiced his opinion aloud but rather pondered on how to solve the issue.

Although the Goddess of Wealth had felt that the issue was serious and deep, Sui Xiong felt that a solution could be found, however temporary. After all, on Earth, when the merchants had first risen in status, they had not been in immediate conflict nor violent war with the aristocrats. Of course, he also knew that any temporary solution would eventually be useless when faced with a new problem and that eventually, war would be waged between both sides. However, the social situation was not at such an extreme level yet.

While Sui Xiong was not familiar with this world’s society and its history, he nevertheless understood the idea that a capitalist revolution usually took place after an industrial revolution. If an industrial revolution had not even taken place, there would not be a situation where a bigger rebellion was needed.

If Marcus were aware of this, he would definitely have teased them!

“What do you plan to do now?” Sui Xiong asked the Goddess of Wealth. After racking his brains, he still could not come up with a temporary solution and decided to deviate from the topic at hand as a means of distraction.

“Well, I don’t really have a choice at the moment. I think we’ll have to leave it in the hands of the church to mediate as much as possible to perhaps stall for as much time as possible,” the Goddess of Wealth replied.

To this, Sui Xiong nodded in agreement. While dragging the situation out was only prolonging the tension, it was a logical choice to make at this point in time. With more time on their hands, they could spend it thinking of better solutions to solve the problem.

“Actually, couldn’t we organize a meeting for them to discuss the situation, such that they could come to a compromise or negotiate with each other?” Sui Xiong mused.

“They’ve had countless meetings in the past that have been of little help. This is due to the fact that both sides feel that they’ve already had to give in many times till they’ve drawn the line and refuse to negotiate further,” the Goddess of Wealth replied with a bitter smile.

All of a sudden, Sui Xiong had a flash of inspiration, and a perfect solution popped into his head.

“We could organize a conference where all the main issues plaguing the country can be brought up and addressed by the different societal group’s representatives. How does that sound?”

The Goddess of Wealth paused slightly, then replied dully, “At the end of the day, it would still end up in a massive argument, just like all the previous meetings did.”

Sui Xiong quipped, “No, this is not the same concept as the previous meetings. Firstly, conferences ensure that the majority opinion is adopted. For example, if someone wanted to build a bridge on a shared river, those present at the conference would vote for or against it, and the decision would be made based on the majority vote. That way, no one can disagree with the decisions being made.”

“That is not a new idea. The Commonwealth has always adopted such a method between the merchants and aristocrats, and they have been discussing and voting on all important decisions all along.” The Goddess of Wealth sighed.

“No, that’s still different. In the past, there were only two parties present—the merchants and the aristocrats. When the two parties engaged in discussions, they would definitely argue and fight because both parties had the power of numbers through the support of their entire social class, and this needs to be mitigated!”

“How do we do that?” the Goddess of Wealth asked hesitantly, her brow furrowed. After some thought, her eyes lit up in understanding. As a goddess, it was clear that she was ingenious enough to understand Sui Xiong’s logic through his simple explanation.

“I understand what you mean now. By separating the different levels of merchants and aristocrats and choosing representatives based on the type of areas and their needs to organize a large conference, votes will be made scared as it would then be harder to sway a vote. Those with societal status and advantage would also be too concerned with their internal conflicts and politics to be able to create a large united front for a war,” the Goddess of Wealth clarified carefully.

“That’s not all! Do not forget that we also require two other parties—clergymen and the common folk—in the conference,” Sui Xiong reminded the Goddess.

“That’s right! The clergymen would always take on a neutral position, and the common folk would support the side that benefits them more. We wouldn’t require too many representatives either as their presence is enough to determine a clear preference between any two solutions. The merchants and aristocrats would then no longer have the ability to influence them and would need to find ways to convince these neutral parties should they want to do so. That would require either providing them with material benefits or gaining their trust, and both methods require sacrifices. In the end, they would choose to compromise instead of cutting a better deal overall!”

“Yes, that’s right! We could also take this opportunity to bring up the core issues plaguing the country and break them down for discussion. During these discussions at the conference, both sides would be able to say their piece in a civil way. Even if we are still unable to reach a compromise at the end of the day, at least we’d have stalled some time. In any case, any issue that any party wishes to bring up can be talked through, and if they eventually choose to use violence as a means of resolving the issue in a few years’ time, we can deal with it when such a situation arises in the future.” Sui Xiong smiled.

“Yes, although a few years doesn’t sound too far off, but to the common folk, it would be sufficient. Maybe by adopting this plan, things can finally change, or both parties could possibly find new areas to negotiate on,” the Goddess of Wealth mused.

“Even if the conference really doesn’t lead to any tangible solutions, at least the grievances by each side are aired and can be further thought about from henceforth,” Sui Xiong replied lightly. Seeing this, the Goddess of Wealth’s eyes lit up again in satisfaction.

After deciding on such a plan, they continued to discuss the details of the conference. Details such as the number of votes allocated to the merchants and aristocrats had to be decided, as well as the number of votes allocated to each social class and their entitlements. They also had to ensure that it was impossible for social classes to rig votes or to sabotage any decisions. Finally, they had to publicize the event while creating a hopeful and peaceful atmosphere. These were all issues that required thought to come up with good solutions for. Sui Xiong and the Goddess of Wealth felt that they needed more opinions and brainpower and thus invited their allies and far-sighted sages among their believers to engage in discussions. Eventually, they emerged triumphant with a concrete plan after a few days.

The Goddess of Wealth was well prepared and efficiently made the announcement personally. She ordered all disgruntled and angry merchants and aristocrats who had been consistently at each other’s throats to return to negotiations and suggested the conference to them. The merchants and aristocrats were both agreeable as internally, they treasured their own lives and were secretly afraid to lose them. They were only aggressive towards each other due to it becoming the norm, but in reality were actually more concerned with protecting themselves. Hence, once the idea of a conference was proposed, it put both parties at ease, especially those with the mental power to debate. They cheered and celebrated on the announcement and agreed that such a method was much more viable than physical combat.

With such exuberant spirits on both sides, a temporary truce was formed, and the great meeting of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins was launched.