Rules

The document contained a voluminous amount, truly a perplexing quantity, and Arthur, despite his keen mind, didn't even fully grasp the meaning of many of its complex clauses. His brow furrowed in concentration as he scanned the dense text.

But the more he read, the more he felt the immense, suffocating weight of this document pressing down on him. It was a burden, a premonition.

He even felt, metaphorically speaking, a sharp knife hanging precariously over his head, its blade glinting, ready to fall at any moment.

Oh no, it shouldn't be hanging over his head, he realized with a jolt of alarm, but rather over Mayor Henry Lemieux's head, because this damning document was officially issued in his name.

Damn it, Dutch, that cunning bastard, used these Saint Denis dignitaries as unwitting scapegoats! Arthur roared internally, a silent scream of disbelief and dawning horror. His hands, gripping the document, trembled visibly, the paper rustling faintly with his uncontrolled shaking.

These two documents, now seen as a terrifying pair, had clearly touched the fundamental foundation of the United States' establishment! Those powerful capitalists, who were already notorious for seizing by force and exploiting others without compunction, would not possibly remain indifferent to this document. No, they would react with a violent, terrifying fury.

Because this document started something. Something profoundly new. An unimaginable, terrifying beginning for their carefully constructed system!

To put it another way, the lower classes, the common folk, don't care who ultimately controls this country, who owns this company; they just want to live better lives, to put food on their tables and a roof over their heads. And Dutch's audacious approach, outlined in these documents, would undoubtedly raise their living standards, giving them hope. But wouldn't that, by stark contrast, create a glaring disparity with other places in America, highlighting the oppression elsewhere?

In that case, is there any need to wonder who the American people would truly support? When people are dissatisfied with the United States Government later, when discontent inevitably boils over, won't there be a clear blueprint, a successful model to copy? A flame lit for rebellion?

And once this precedent is set, once this dangerous spark is ignited, even if the Van der Linde Gang is wiped out, even if the new Saint Denis Government is crushed, even if Lemoyne and New Hanover are utterly annihilated, this flame of revolutionary ideals will not die down. It will spread. Countless people across the nation will be influenced by this damned policy, by this seductive vision, and strive for it, fighting for a better life.

Watching Arthur tremble, his face pale with the implications, Dutch didn't care in the slightest. He merely offered a small, knowing smile, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

These two documents actually had only one meaning, one profound implication: Saint Denis Government capitalism, or rather, state capitalism! A revolutionary concept in this era.

As is well known, the United States is a country of individual capitalism, where all large enterprises are privately owned, and this untrammeled development often leads to severe, often brutal, oppression at the turn of the century.

And Dutch, in his audacious bid to win the hearts of the common people and dig at the very roots of the American capitalist system, could only take a fundamentally different path from them. This way, the lower classes, the exploited masses, could clearly see the starkly different performances of both sides: their oppressors versus their benefactors. And then, Dutch hoped, they would become more fervent, more worshipful of him, spontaneously attracting even more people to his side.

Although Little Mustache Man also followed capitalism, because individual capital originally supported him, it could also be seen as state capitalism that integrated national capital…

The appeal, loyalty, and fervor of these two sides – individual capitalism versus Dutch's nascent state capitalism – are completely incomparable! 

In this era, such advanced ideological thought, combined with the current, formidable strength of the Van der Linde Gang and the burgeoning popular support they garnered in the two states – New Hanover and Lemoyne – was truly explosive.

Arthur, the unwitting mouthpiece who spoke these words, would undoubtedly be hailed as a mentor, a prophet! He would be placed on a pedestal by the grateful world, a symbol of liberation!

And this, Dutch silently observed with a triumphant gleam in his eye, was the golden statue he was meticulously building for him!

"Alright, Arthur, don't be surprised, child," Dutch said, his voice calm, reassuring, yet with an underlying note of mischief. He waved a dismissive hand, a gesture of practiced nonchalance. "This document has nothing to do with us. This was all done by Mr. Henry Lemieux. Damn it, Mayor Lemieux, I truly admire you!" He turned his gaze towards the battered Henry, offering a small, ironic nod of respect.

"Oh, I never thought such a great person could exist in a place like Saint Denis!" Dutch exclaimed, his voice laced with mock awe, gesturing expansively towards the prostrate mayor. "Gentlemen, quickly help the Mayor up. Damn it, the ground is so cold; what if our Mayor gets frozen? He has to go to work tomorrow!" His words, dripping with sarcasm, sent a shiver through the room, even as they sparked a new kind of fervor.

Dutch was absurdly cunning; he loudly declared his intentions, a master of misdirection, pushing all responsibility and the perceived illegality onto the helpless Mr. Henry Lemieux. He made it sound like Henry was the architect of this revolutionary change.

And as Arthur continued to read, his voice steady now, the eyes of the crowd below – the gunmen and even some of the more resilient battered dignitaries – completely changed. A transformation occurred in their gazes.

If listening to Mr. Van der Linde's initial command to attack Saint Denis tonight still made them uneasy, a flicker of moral conflict, after all, they were attacking a government. But with Arthur's words, the unease in their hearts completely vanished, replaced by a fierce, ideological zeal.

Because almost all the content in this document was directly related to them, to their own lives, to their families. It was all about improving their lives, all for their sake!

Damn it, a collective thought rippled through the gunmen, their eyes widening in awe. Listen to Mr. Morgan's words just now: the Saint Denis Government would provide funds to reduce their living expenses! Is this something that could possibly appear in the United States?

Sh*t, they marvelled, their jaws slack with disbelief, they had never heard of such a warm, benevolent policy, like a decree from God himself, in all their wretched lives!

In the past, those American capitalists and the United States Government would rather squeeze every last drop of oil, every last penny, from them; how could they possibly bring them welfare policies? The only thing that even counted as a welfare policy was the paltry, often unfulfilled, subsidy for American soldiers retiring!

Of course, it was almost never actually given in the end, a cruel joke.

All American people were now completely under the dual, crushing oppression of the United States Government and the relentless American capitalists!

And at this very moment, a government, a new government, suddenly appeared that actually gave subsidies, not only subsidies but also guaranteed jobs, and even no less than fifteen dollars a month! A princely sum!

This simply shocked these never-fed Westerners, these perpetually hungry masses, more profoundly than seeing God himself. It was a tangible miracle.

At this moment, listening to Mr. Van der Linde's demands, a group of gunmen yelled with a surge of renewed energy. They scrambled forward, vying to be the first, pushing and shoving, eager to grab Mayor Henry Lemieux, who still lay pitifully on the ground, beaten and unable to stand. They wanted to fulfill Dutch's ironic command.

And the group of Saint Denis nobles lying on the ground, listening to the contents of the document read by Arthur, were truly desperate now! The full, terrifying implications of Dutch's genius were dawning on them.

Their faces, already bruised, were now ashen, filled with an unbelievable, paralyzing shock. Some of them couldn't even speak at this moment, their mouths agape, uttering only choked sounds; it was only when the zealous gunmen stepped on them, trampling them underfoot in their haste to grab Mayor Henry Lemieux, that they painfully came back to their senses.

"Oh, f**k! Van der Linde, do you know what you're doing?!" Mr. Henry shrieked, his voice raw and thin, twisted with fear and a profound, dawning horror. He struggled against the hands grabbing him. "I'm telling you, the Veteran Club has made the United States unable to tolerate you! And now, with what you've done, no country in the world, no government, will tolerate you! Damn it, you will die, you will definitely die!!!" His eyes were wide, staring wildly at Dutch, a flicker of desperate hope that his words might deter him.

"Everyone will be your enemy, Dutch Van der Linde!" he screamed, a prophecy of doom.

Damn it, if you're going to do it, why drag our family's name into it?! Henry's mind raged, even as his body was manhandled.

"Oh, sh*t!" Hearing Mr. Henry's desperate curses directed at Dutch, Arthur's protective instincts flared. He couldn't tolerate anyone insulting Dutch, his mentor, like that. His face tightened with anger. He immediately stepped forward, reached down, grabbed Mr. Henry by the collar with a firm hand, hauled him halfway up, and, with a swift, decisive motion, gave him two hard, resounding slaps across the face. The sharp cracks echoed in the room.

Mac, never one to miss an opportunity for violence, followed closely behind him. With a malicious grin, he wielded his steel pipe and fiercely struck Mr. Henry on the butt, adding another excruciating blow to the already battered mayor.

The room erupted into utter chaos; Mayor Henry, being brutally torn between his assailants, was almost dismembered by the zealous crowd of gunmen who vied to drag him away, each wanting to be the one to fulfill Dutch's command. The Saint Denis dignitaries lying on the ground screamed as gunmen, in their haste, trampled unthinkingly on their bruised and battered bodies, and Mr. Henry continued to be severely beaten, his cries adding to the deafening cacophony.

No one present could have possibly imagined that this chaotic, grotesque scene, born of brutality and revolutionary fervor, would one day become a classic, pivotal moment in human history.

Historically known simply as: 'Saint Denis.'

According to American history, the events in Saint Denis completely laid the foundational stone for America's future development, igniting the beacon of a new era for the nation. It also marked the formal establishment of the VDL Party, a political force born from blood and ideals.

At the same time, the bold, terrifying events in Saint Denis made the Van der Linde Gang completely invincible within the territories of New Hanover and Lemoyne, cementing their power and forever changing the course of the region.