Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 841: Chapter 365: The Chartist Movement and the Pact (2)

In his view, the Steam Council is already an incredible group of antisocial elements, and to deal with this bunch of lunatics, a heavy hand is necessary.

Simply hanging or burning at the stake is no longer enough; their heads must be shattered with a pistol to truly set one’s mind at ease.

”Three and a half years ago, their actions were far from reaching the level of the Pine Tree Coal Mine.”

”At that time, their approach to Extraordinary Industrialization was still in its early stages, and the Extraordinary Items they produced were mainly based on Mysticism, which neither reached a truly Extraordinary level nor could it be industrialized.”

”After three and a half years of dormancy, the level they have reached at this moment is no less than the official Extraordinary Steam Engine of Stilan. Whether it is the coal essence they refined or the core of that machine, it is difficult to see traces of Mysticism; it is purely mechanical.”

Raventon was silent for a moment and said gravely:

”I even feel that the Extraordinary Steam Engine they have created is more advanced than the official one of Stilan.”

Wu Chang shrugged his shoulders; when he discovered that the level of the Steam Council was only so-so, his attention was no longer focused on them.

Raventon’s attention was fully attracted by the Steam Council, but he still remembered the initial reason for their investigation of the Pine Tree Coal Mine.

”So based on the existing clues, do you think Prime Minister Ron’s death might be related to the Steam Council?”

Wu Chang could discover the secrets of the Pine Tree Coal Mine and the involvement of the Steam Council through resentment, but he could not determine the assassin of the Prime Minister without consulting Raventon’s opinion.

Raventon shook his head and said:

”I would like to say that the Prime Minister’s assassination was the doing of the Steam Council, but there’s something that can’t be explained.”

”The death of the Philip Baron’s family was because we discovered the deep coal essence refining machine of the Pine Tree Coal Mine, which indicates that the secret of the Pine Tree Coal Mine had not been discovered before that.”

”Assuming the Prime Minister was indeed killed by the Steam Council for investigating the Pine Tree Coal Mine, and the secret of the Pine Tree Coal Mine was not exposed, what would be the reason to take the risk of eliminating him?”

Wu Chang frowned slightly and said, ”So you’re saying the Prime Minister’s death can basically be ruled out as related to the Pine Tree Coal Mine.”

Raventon said, ”Perhaps not directly related.”

Wu Chang asked, ”What do you mean?”

Raventon took out a photo of the Prime Minister’s desk, pointing to the report on the worker’s movement above, he said:

”The cause of this worker’s movement is the Pine Tree Coal Mine explosion case, and the Prime Minister’s death is also likely related to it, but the source of danger may not only be the Pine Tree Coal Mine explosion case, but the worker’s movement itself.”

”Do you remember what Thomas once said?”

Wu Chang pondered over the topic of the worker’s movement discussed with Thomas.

”He said that workers from the Pine Tree Coal Mine who went to participate in the parade broke out in large-scale violent conflicts in the city, many people were imprisoned, and the remaining workers mixed with the Charter Movement’s workers.”

Raventon said, ”The true reason for the Prime Minister’s assassination may lie in the Charter Movement. To investigate the assassination of the Prime Minister, the Charter Movement could be a starting point.”

Wu Chang followed Raventon’s train of thought and after a moment of contemplation, asked, puzzled:

”Is there really such a great conflict between the workers and the Prime Minister that it would escalate to assassinating the Prime Minister?”

”I remember you said that Prime Minister Ron once promoted the ’Factory Technique,’ limiting the working hours of child laborers and other actions to fight for workers’ rights, which led to hostility from the industrial nobility.”

”I’ve heard a saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whether from Prime Minister Ron’s enactment of the ’Factory Technique’ or from the perspective of the enemy’s enemy, the conflict between the workers and the Prime Minister shouldn’t be deep.”

Raventon shrugged and said, ”I also said, our dear Prime Minister is not well-liked.”

”The phrase ’the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ I’m not sure in what context it was said, but sometimes, the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy. And the reason for the conflict between the workers and the Prime Minister is precisely because of the Charter Movement.”

Seeing Wu Chang’s puzzled expression, Raventon began to explain to Wu Chang what the Charter Movement was.

The so-called Charter Movement was a manifestation of the workers’ dissatisfaction with their current lives and their desire for greater political power.

It meant that all adult men should have universal suffrage, including the right to elect and the right to vote.

In the current Stilan, voting rights were a privilege belonging to landlords and the upper-middle class. Only those with an annual income exceeding ten gold pounds, and who have paid certain taxes, had the right to vote.

To run for parliament, one must prove ownership of property exceeding three hundred gold pounds.

These two criteria excluded the vast majority of workers from politics.

Even in Grimland, families purely composed of workers could only live in worker districts with extremely poor living conditions.

If unfortunate like the Thomas family, with parents passing away before the children reach adulthood, they would face moving from the worker district to the slums.

Under such a status, there were neither representatives fighting for the workers’ interests nor the right to vote.

Only by changing these two points could the workers’ living conditions be fundamentally improved.

Speaking of which, Raventon took a sip of wine to moisten his throat and said somewhat helplessly:

”The problem is, while our Prime Minister Ron does strive for workers’ rights, he is a pure elitist, believing that workers have not received necessary education and lack basic political judgment, hence he is adamantly opposed to their demands.”

”Moreover, the Prime Minister adheres to the principle that order is above all, believing the worker’s movement severely threatens social stability, often resorting to violent suppression, resulting in the deaths of a large number of workers.”