Chapter 2521: Improper
Why build a city wall? From the historical perspective, in addition to defending against foreign enemies, the greater role of the city wall is to collect tolls.
The city wall can gather people who come in and out of the city to the gate of the city, so that it is easy to understand the amount of trade and collect commercial taxes. It is a very convenient way to collect taxes.
In Eldia, three high walls stand tall, and trade is completely monopolized by interest groups that collude with officials and businessmen. Ordinary people have no chance or way to enter and exit the wall to trade, but trade is inevitable, so the merchants who come and go to trade collude with the garrison corps, the gendarmerie and officials to form a huge interest group that is more unbreakable than the high wall.
However, the breach of the Maria Wall this time is definitely a huge loss for the interest group. Because the giants don't do business with them.
At this time, the huge population and material pressure forced the top leaders to consider sending a group of people to die.
Within a month after the fall of the Maria Wall, the whole country was shocked, and then a counterattack involving two layers of the population in the country began to brew. However, the lack of weapons and equipment, and the lack of various preparations, this rash counterattack is like sending death.
Because the idea of the top leaders is to let them die, after all, they think that the death of two layers of population can barely keep the country running.
The trio has successfully mixed into the relief center, and together with the ten-year-old protagonist group, they are waiting for the day to join the training corps. If you want to study, you can only join the training corps, otherwise you will be illiterate. The Eldian Empire has never popularized education.
This is a backward era, so even if Duran is doing a mustache in this world, it is extremely advanced. Because there is no power in this world that can improve people's wisdom, and no voice can unite the people. In order to protect their own interests, the top leaders brainwashed the people and told them that the enemy of mankind is the giant, and the wall is to protect everyone. However, in the past hundred years, they have never proposed any meaningful policy to deal with the giant, which is to send the Survey Corps to die continuously. Even if one or two geniuses occasionally appear in the Survey Corps, they only regard fear and the giant as the two major enemies of mankind, and will not face the enemies and contradictions within the wall.
These geniuses all believe that as long as the giants are solved and the country is not limited, everything will be fine. But don't think about the fact that although the high wall is a limitation, it has also given birth to a large number of interest groups. Why do these interest groups form conservatives and try to disband the Survey Corps several times?
Because the high wall is a huge trade barrier. With this barrier, they can make money lying down by monopolizing trade. How can they let people destroy such a comfortable life?
In this world, the civilians of the empire never think that these high wall termites are enemies, because they don't read Marxist philosophy, don't understand the development of productivity, and don't understand that the high wall conservatives have become a stumbling block for humans to fight against the giants, and are more difficult enemies than the giants.
Of course, the radicals are not necessarily good, because their goal is not to defeat the giants, but to use the Survey Corps as a political achievement and play political cards. These high-level officials are high and out of touch with the ground, and have long forgotten the basic demands of the people. After all, they hide in the walls. They can't stop the giants, and they can't stop these ordinary people?
So whether it is the Survey Corps or the awakened people, they are all just tools. Under brainwashing education, the protagonist can only stare at the giants and can't see that the real enemy of the Eldian Empire is actually inside the high wall.
Duran became a hero. No one in the Garrison Corps had the courage to face the Titan, but Duran, a civilian, rushed to the front line. Although he did not kill the Titan, his performance successfully attracted the Titan's attention and bought time.
"Obviously the hero is the red meteor, and Duran is a liar." Allen was disdainful of Duran's enthusiastic pursuit, because he was at the scene. The one who really played a decisive role at the time was the female warrior in red, shining like a meteor, cutting through the Titan's weaknesses wherever she passed, shuttling between steam, powerful and elegant, and the red ghost mask brought an incomparable sense of security.
Because of the help of the familiar soldiers of the Garrison Corps, Allen, Mikasa, and Armin settled down in the second wall. Now they are still young, so they will work as child laborers first, and they will be able to join the training corps after a while.
The refugees ate the worst rations. Children might be able to barely eat, but adults can forget about it, so many people took risks to get enough food, which greatly damaged the security conditions and caused the living environment of the second wall to deteriorate sharply.
At this time, Duran raised his arm and called for a great force. Everyone was not very familiar with Duran. Although they knew he was a bit powerful, Duran did not explain any ideas. They followed Duran just to have enough food.
The problem now is what to eat. Duran currently has no way to make them full, but there is no way to create a solution.
"Let's join the army. Isn't it said that we should take back Wall Maria? At least we can have enough food in the army. What's the point of following Duran? No matter how powerful he is, can he still make food?" The two came to the scene where Duran recruited soldiers, but there were differences of opinion.
"Joining the Corps is to seek death. These people don't know how to fight giants at all, otherwise the current situation would not happen." "Duran is a hero. I saw with my own eyes that he attracted the attention of the giants and protected many people. Now he is gathering people to do something big. Let's go and see."
After losing the first wall, a lot of land and a huge market were lost. It can be said that the decline of the country is inevitable, but people still have to survive and find a way out.
Whether it is to send troops to attack or follow Duran, they are all ignorant choices for survival.
It is very simple for Duran to gather people, that is, to form a militia, but not to fight with the giants outside.
In fact, even if you fight with giants, you can't solve the problem of food, because giants have no civilization and do not produce. Even if you kill some giants, there is no benefit. So the problem of food still needs to be solved within the wall, and you have to take the surplus and make up for the deficiency. It is very simple to make money from merchants.
As for how to make money, that is to be a bodyguard. Now the public security is not good, so the bodyguard is still very promising.
There are 130 kilometers between the second wall and the third wall. This is still a straight-line distance. If you take a detour, the distance will be even farther. Bodyguards still have a way out.
So Duran easily gathered a group of strong people to start the transportation work. The returning home trio waited on the spot and waited to join the training corps.
Duran's business is very good, because a thief named "Red Meteor" appeared inside the wall, specializing in robbing merchants. All merchants escorted by Duran Company will be delivered smoothly and will not be attacked. Over time, Duran's business is getting better and better, and soon it has become a powerful security company.
Although some people suspect that the so-called thief is secretly arranged by Duran to intimidate merchants, they just suspect without evidence.
In short, Duran successfully became the largest security company in the second wall by dishonorable means, and then continued to expand, because the scope of Red Meteor's operations is also expanding, and even her figure appeared in the capital, and people were panicked for a while.
The giant cannot scare the top leaders of the capital, but the Red Meteor can.