Chapter 249: Piltover Depression
Swain led his own regiment and set out by ship from Noxus. After a long voyage, he finally arrived at the port of Piltover more than a month later.
Amystan greeted her at the port.
The way she felt when she saw Swain's reinforcements arriving was probably the same as how Camille felt when she welcomed her into the city.
This time, the one coming is the direct regiment trained by Admiral Swain himself. The combat effectiveness of this regiment is firmly at the forefront within the empire, and its strength is far above that of Amistan's regiment.
Logically speaking, the military and civilians of Piltover should be encouraged by the fact that Noxus has sent such powerful reinforcements this time.
But this time when the imperial army moved in, the atmosphere was obviously not as relaxed as last time.
The last time the Noxians came, they were so relaxed that it seemed like they were on a sponsored trip.
But this time, the Noxian soldiers who stepped off the ship all had solemn faces and resolute eyes, as if they were not coming to the most prosperous city in Runeland, but the most terrifying and cruel battlefield in the world.
The only person who greeted them at the dock was Amystan, and there were no more Piltover citizens, businessmen, reporters or other atmosphere groups.
On the contrary, there were many people in Zaun looking out from the other side of the river, chatting and laughing as they watched, creating a very relaxed and lively atmosphere.
"General Swain, you're here at last." Amystan hurried forward to greet him as if she had seen a savior.
"Cough cough cough cough..." Swain started coughing tactically as soon as they met.
He was shaking from coughing, leaning on a cane, with an ominous red-eyed crow standing on his shoulder. He looked like he was so sick that he could hardly walk.
Almost anyone who sees him will sigh and wonder, has the heroic commander of Noxus fallen to this point?
"General, are you okay?" Amystan's face was full of concern.
Swain only replied indifferently: "Not bad."
Amystan is a military leader of the old aristocratic faction.
Although he came from an old aristocratic family, he was actually a representative of the new military aristocracy.
Swain knew that Amystan had little genuine respect for him.
But her concern for his health was probably genuine - Amystan must be worried that he would suddenly die, and then no one would come to take over the Piltover business that was thrown into her hands.
So Swain stopped being polite with Amystan.
He skipped the useless aristocratic etiquette and went straight to the point: "Amystan, I have to go to Zaun."
"This..." Amystan could hardly maintain her fake smile.
She asked nervously, "What are you going to do in Zaun?"
"Issuing a formal diplomatic warning to the Windwarder for its illegal interference with Imperial military operations in the Ionian province of Baruo."
Amystan understood.
This is to stir up trouble and provoke conflicts right from the start.
"General Swain... your reinforcements have just arrived in Piltover, and the soldiers are not familiar with the battlefield yet. Isn't it too hasty to rush into a quarrel with the Wind Leader?"
It was too hasty.
Amistan had originally planned to use her connections to transfer herself away from the Twin Cities as soon as possible after Swain became the savior, and away from the leader.
Now, before she could even run away, Swain came to "declare a war" on behalf of the Empire.
"Haste? Yes, I think it's hasty too." Swain was also helpless.
How could he not see that these were the bastards from the Black Rose who were forcing him to come over and provoke a local conflict with the Leader?
These insects clearly wanted to use him to test the Leader, and at the same time use the Leader's hand to eliminate him and the direct lineage he cultivated.
It was just a replica of the Battle of Presidium a year ago.
In order to avoid this conflict, and also to buy more time to prepare the "countermeasures" he had secretly planned, Swain had been trying very hard to delay his trip.
The Emperor ordered him to arrive in Piltover as soon as possible to take up his post, but he said it would take time for the Chapter to prepare for war.
After finally reorganizing the regiment, the army boarded the troop transport in Noxus. The fleet also experienced "various accidents" at sea and had to dock for repairs repeatedly.
After more than a month of delay, Swain's army finally arrived at the Twin Cities.
But when the army arrived here, he could no longer delay.
“This is an order from the Emperor,” Swain said.
"Okay, I'll help you negotiate with the Leader and arrange a meeting." Amystan sighed helplessly and had to agree reluctantly.
"No need to arrange anything." Swain had his own idea: "I want to go to Zaun by myself and take a look around on the way."
"I understand." Amystan nodded: "I will prepare the car for you now."
She arranged a car for Swain, and the two drove to Zaun together.
After getting in the car, Swain did not discuss the conflict that was about to break out.
He was really just "taking a look" along the way, as he said.
"Piltover seems to be much more desolate." Swain looked out the window and suddenly said: "The last time I led my army past to get supplies, there were many more pedestrians and shops on the street than there are now."
The current Piltover can only be said to be... still stronger than most cities in Runeterra.
But compared to the city of progress in Swain's memory, or even compared to Piltover just two months ago, Piltover now seems so depressed, even desolate.
The ornately decorated shops on the street have closed down one after another, but inconspicuous roadside stalls have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
There are fewer and fewer well-dressed, elegant and energetic citizens on the streets as before. Instead, there are many drunkards who do nothing and wander around.
Those elegant gentlemen and ladies driving BMWs have completely disappeared from the streets of Piltover.
The gangsters who used to only appear in Zaun, as if they existed only in the imagination of the people of Piltover, began to parade around the city openly.
The "Hoover Huts" that had disappeared from the Zaun communities have also gradually appeared in Piltover's city parks.
The most striking thing is...
Ordinary citizens of Pi City, who had not been very interested in the Leader's theory in the past, now carried the Blue Bird flag, picked up the Leader's slogans, and began to promote it openly on the streets.
The Piltover law enforcement officers did not dare to do anything and could only turn a blind eye.
"How did Piltover become like this?"
The vibrant and flourishing scene of Piltover in the past is still before our eyes.
But all Swain saw was devastation.
"Isn't this the fault of those damn leaders?" Amystan gnashed her teeth in hatred.
The last time the leader came, he took away all the high-tech companies in Piltover, even the university research institutes that supported the companies, along with their factories and people.
Factories and equipment were moved to Zaun.
Workers and engineers also changed jobs and took the high salaries offered by the leaders, and moved to Zaun to settle down.
Piltover instantly lost a huge amount of excess profits and also lost a large number of high-income people.
Without the driving force of these high-tech enterprises, the supporting small manufacturing industries will be doomed.
Without the consumption of these high-income people, the resulting high-end service industry will not be able to continue.
And the worst part is...
"Those Piltover merchants have all run away, too."
Yes, the Ziben people in Piltover were completely frightened by the supreme power of Goddess Janna.
Even if they had not been caught and liquidated by the Leader in the last war, they would never dare to stay in Piltover again.
And seeds know no borders.
As long as there is a need, Zibenjia can be borderless.
In order to escape the unstoppable Leader, the surviving Piltover merchants will naturally try their best to sell their assets in Piltover and then move to the next place where they can safely parasitize and profiteer.
And their escape this time was not some self-protection trick of having three burrows, but a real move to remove all the roots of the Piltover cartel.
The wealth these merchants and wealthy families took away from Piltover was enormous. They took away almost half of the wealth accumulated by Piltover in the past three hundred years overnight.
So, Piltover not only lost its high-end manufacturing industry.
All the money-making industries originally run by wealthy merchants and nobles, which served as the ballast of Piltover and employed the largest number of people, almost all collapsed and shut down collectively in just two months.
In this way, the defeat in the war triggered Ziben's escape.
The escape of seed benzene triggered an industrial avalanche.
The industrial avalanche has led to a wave of unemployment.
then……
"The Great Depression is coming." Amystan spread her hands helplessly.
Piltover is now like the bankrupt Jiangnan Leather Factory. The boss ran away with 300 million and his sister-in-law, leaving behind a bunch of unemployed workers who can't get their wages.
Fortunately, Shuangcheng used precious metal currency that maintained its value; and the leader took over the bank and the vault in time when Ziben’s family ran away, maintaining the most basic financial order.
The wealth of the citizens of Piltover was not wiped out during this Great Depression.
Thanks to the savings accumulated over the years, most citizens of Picheng can still live a decent life, at least for now.
But it’s far from being as good as before.
Factories and shops closed down in large numbers during the Great Depression, and those that could still barely survive began to frantically "cut costs" in order to survive.
How to reduce?
In fact, there are only three ways: one is to send talents, the second is voluntary overtime, and the third is voluntary salary reduction.
And the reduction was not just a little bit, but directly reduced to the same level as Zaun apprentices.
Because at this time, the Piltover tycoon ran away, and the Piltover Council was also destroyed. Piltover became completely controlled by Noxus, and the Piltover Law Enforcers became a decoration.
The series of laws and regulations that the Piltover Council originally enacted in order to consolidate its base, such as the Local Employees Labor Protection Act and the Foreign Manpower Employment Act, which favored protecting the interests of local workers, naturally became dead words.
Now no factory is willing to hire a Piltover local at a salary ten times that of a Zaun apprentice.
If the people of Piltover want to keep their jobs, they must compete on an equal footing with Zaun apprentices.
But how can the people of Piltover, who are used to a comfortable life, compete with these roller kings from Zaun?
then……
The workers in Piltover, who once lived a life of luxury, now enjoyed the same treatment as the people of Zaun in the past: "This is the treatment you get. If you like it, do it. If you don't, get out."
What can the people of Piltover say? They can only do it.
After all, in this depression, it was good enough to have a job to support the family. What else did you need a bicycle for?
Haven’t you seen that outside the factory, there are countless unemployed people in Piltover who have begun to rely on the "garrison economy" to make a living, cooking, washing clothes, sweeping the floor, and polishing shoes for the Noxian soldiers, and even serving as drinking companions and pimps to make a living?
Just like that...the living standards of the people of Piltover have plummeted at an alarming rate in the past two months, and are infinitely approaching the living standards of Zaun apprentices in the past.
Who is to blame for this?
Amystan thinks the leader should be blamed.
And this blame can indeed be put on the leader. After all, the leader came to Piltover this time and moved a lot of things.
If we are a little more shameless, we can let the leader take the blame for the collective escape of the Ziben family.
But the problem is...
The news media in Piltover no longer dares to say bad things about Zaun.
In the past, Zaun had always been a sweatshop for Piltover, providing cheap goods, but was criticized by the Piltover media, who said that "they took away the jobs of the people of Piltover."
Now that Zaun has really taken away the jobs of the people of Piltover, the Piltover media dare not say a word.
Not only did he not curse, he even started licking it.
Even the Piltover Daily News, which was once described by Levi as "toilet paper", has transformed itself into a mainstream newspaper that specializes in praising trendsetters.
Then, the people of Piltover were confused.
Since the conflict cannot be shifted to the people of Zaun, we naturally have to look for the problem within Piltover.
Who else can be blamed for this problem? Of course, it can only be the Ziben family who ran away.
As a result, they finally understood what "direct education from Ziben Zhuyi" was, began to be interested in Janna's thoughts, and began to actively participate in various promotional meetings of the Leader in Piltover.
There are even people from Piltover who have applied to the Windleader on a large scale, hoping to immigrate to Zaun, a country they used to look down upon.
It's only been two months, and the status between Piltover and Zaun has already reversed.
The beacon of the civilized world went out, but the spark of Zaun burned brightly.
"..." Swain remained silent upon hearing this.
Piltover’s current problems are indeed serious.
But with his intelligence, he could still see that Piltover's problems could actually be solved.
"Piltover also has the huge profits brought by the Sungate Canal. Our garrisons that are constantly replenished by Noxus can also indirectly save Piltover's economy."
"Amystan, don't you plan to do anything?" Swain asked in a dissatisfied tone.
Piltover's geographical location in Runeterra is almost equivalent to the combination of Singapore, Suez and Istanbul.
Given this geographical location, even a pig could take off if it came here.
So what if the manufacturing industry collapses? The huge revenue from the Sungate Canal alone is enough to feed these two million citizens, right?
As long as the ruler of Piltover wants to save Piltover, it will be saved.
What about your "visible hand"? Can't you just use it?
But here’s the thing…
"Haha." Amystan showed a colonist's triumphant smile: "The Sungate Canal, including everything in Piltover, is now the property of the Noxian Empire."
"What does it have to do with me if the people of Piltover can't eat?"
