Sain’s tone carried a trace of the contrived cadence of official propaganda.
"Trains, railways, steamships, these technologies have changed people’s lives." His hand gestured in the air, as if describing a glorious future.
"Sugar, tea, tobacco from the overseas colonies are spread across the country, even the poor can enjoy cheap food. In past eras, the lowest serfs might not have tasted such delicacies in their lifeti."
As he spoke these words, a complex expression flashed in Sain’s eyes, as if he were repeating soone else’s teachings.
Lu Yan neither affird nor denied Sain’s assessnt, simply asked in a flat voice, "Is it really just these?"
This simple question was like a sharp sword, cutting straight to the core. Sain was stunned, his expression froze on his face, then his brows furrowed as he sank into contemplation.
Situated in the industrial district, Sain could clearly hear the roar of machines from the operating factories outside, along with the bustling sounds of workers.
After quite a while, Sain softly opened his mouth to inquire, "Do you an, those workers?"
"Exactly."
Lu Yan spoke slowly, "Those souls laboring day and night in the factories, those who are replaced by machines yet beco part of the machines.
They live in smoke-filled slums, drink polluted water, and breathe air tainted by coal smoke, yet they create value that does not truly belong to them.
Their children start working dangerous jobs as young as two years old, disease accompanies all workers, and the average lifespan of workers in the entire industrial district is only a little over a decade."
Sain’s brows furrowed even tighter.
He seed to sense sothing was wrong, but with his limited education, he was unable to articulate it. He could only mutter to himself:
"But... but since the Industrial Revolution began, everyone has been living like this."
The Industrial Revolution pushed forth several hundred years ago, from the king and nobles constantly testing the church’s limits, to its eventual implentation over a long period.
This scale ant generations of change for the lower classes but was inconsequential to the upper echelon’s High Sequence Transcendents.
Everything in the world revolved around the will of the church and aristocrats, ordinary people were even deprived of the ability to think.
"Just because it has always been this way, does it an it’s right?"
Sain was completely stunned, unable to co to his senses for a good while.
Lu Yan slowly stood up from the sofa, walked to the window sill, the tails of his black tailcoat gently lifted by the morning wind.
He gazed toward the distant towering chimneys and massive red-bricked factory buildings, where the constant roar of machinery mixed with workers’ shouts and overseers’ curses.
In the morning mist, everything appeared blurry and oppressive.
"The tis are advancing, this is ultimately a good thing, but in this process, there has never been a shortage of at eaters’ exploitation."
"If they could yield a little profit, reduce a bit of exploitation, the workers at the bottom wouldn’t be reduced to this."
Sain’s eyes gradually replaced confusion with thought.
He thought of Little Wood, swindled out of all his wages by factory owners, and his sister who was sick and unpaid, lying in a cold, damp basent, unable to afford a doctor.
These images flashed through Sain’s mind, prompting him to ask, "What should we do?"
Lu Yan turned around, looking down at Sain, a subtle smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Before openly declaring the church, what you need to do is teach the workers how to reclaim their rightful profits. They will be the cornerstone of the future church."
"From today onward, the Black Robe Gang abandons all previous operations of exploiting workers, those coercing the lower-level gang mbers should also be cleaned up.
You must learn to unite with the workers, and utilize your advantages."
Sain was dumbstruck, what Lu Yan spoke of was sothing he had never imagined.
Under normal circumstances, helping workers seek profits from aristocratic capitalists is undoubtedly a suicidal act.
If soone of the Seventh Rank dared to say this today, their body would be thrown into the incinerator tomorrow.
But now Sain had Lu Yan behind him, an erging True God Church, re capitalists ant nothing?
"Following your orders!"
Sain’s expression was invigorated, he said and then prepared to clean up the gang’s internal affairs.
But before he stepped out of the eting room door, it seed he thought of sothing, quickly returned to ask:
"Excuse , sir, can the Black Robe Gang still use this na in the future? Shouldn’t we choose a different na?"
However, Lu Yan had already vanished from the eting room, only the windy haze blew in through the window.
Sain felt a bit disappointed, but at this mont, a ethereal voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Since it’s about gathering the power of workers, call it a Union!"
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