Tales of the Reincarnated Lord

Chapter 590 Lack of Labor

Fatty Shi took a thick folder and hurriedly walked to Lorester’s study. It has been a month since the last time Duke Kenmez came to visit. It is now the Gellington Asian Continent General Calendar 1786. November of the year.

In a small office next to the study, Fatty Shi was very pleased to see his second son, Frederic, grimly copying a stack of official documents. He coughed twice, and waited until Frederd raised his head and looked at him, and said, "Go and tell me, I'm here to meet your Highness..."

Frederic raised his eyebrows listlessly at the door of the study: "Father, you can go in by yourself. Your Royal Highness has already said that you don't need to inform..."

Fatty Shi got angry all of a sudden: "Asshole boy, if you ask you to report it, you should report it. Your Highness is polite. As a subordinate, you must understand the rules and keep your duty. Do you understand? Why don't you go!"

Frederd mumbled and stood up: "If you do this, don't you trouble others, as if you know the rules best..."

Soon, Frederick flashed out of the study and opened the door of the study: "No, your majesty invites you in..."

Lorist is not alone in the study, Tagle, who is the chief of the Norton family’s intelligence, stands beside the desk.

"Are you here? First take a look at the pieces of information sent back from the imperial capital." Lorist said to Fatty Shi, pointing to the documents on the table.

Fatty Shi put down the folder in his hand, picked up a piece of information on the table, and read: "Your Majesty has decided to form the Stormy Sands Corps with a total of 45,000 people, ready to deploy in Malivia Province. There is already definite evidence. It shows that the Antalo Chamber of Commerce has obtained a standard iron weapon and armor equipment from the business alliance, which is sold to His Majesty at a preferential price of 30 gold ford and raw materials. In fact, His Majesty has not paid any money, and all the funds are paid by the Antalo Chamber of Commerce Pay...According to the inside line in the palace, His Majesty has placed an order for 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment to the Commercial Alliance...Your Majesty, is he crazy..."

It's no wonder that Fatty Shi would issue such doubts. What does the Second Highness want to do? The Commercial Alliance used to be the mortal enemy of the Christen Empire, but now the Second Highness has placed an order for 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment. This is not a small amount. Even a set of 30 Jinfu requires 3 million. A huge amount of money, not to mention the raw materials used to make this equipment...

"What do you see?" Lorist asked.

"I doubt if our majesty has a problem with his brain. It is a time of peace. Instead, he has vigorously strengthened his armaments and invested money into this bottomless hole. Three million Golden Ford funds plus raw materials in exchange for 100,000 sets. With standard fine iron equipment, did he forget that the business alliance was once the empire's biggest enemy? He was supporting the empire's enemy!

Also, the Gale Force has lost its reputation because of the caravan capture incident. His Majesty didn't think that adding a sand character would make it a new legion? The Sandstorm Army is also deployed in the province of Marivia. Isn't it going to replace the White Lion Army? Is it possible that your Majesty is going to let the White Lion Army take charge of the suppression of domestic banditry, and then let the Sandstorm Army take charge of foreign conquests? "Shi Fatty doubted.

"Look at several other documents. The Antarctic Chamber of Commerce has built a large-scale refining plant and forging plant in Liushuichuan. It has conducted preliminary processing and refining of various raw materials and ores, which has improved the efficiency of transportation and reduced The cost of land transportation. It also covers the three million funds of the 100,000 sets of refined iron equipment orders issued by your majesty to the business alliance...

It is said that the funds of the three million Golden Ford were forcibly allocated to the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce by His Majesty. Because we increased the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources, His Majesty lost one million in revenue last year and this year, so he This loss was passed on to the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce. As for the other million, it is the income of His Majesty’s investment in the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce. He invested 800,000 Golden Ford and asked the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce to give an annual profit return of 500,000. This is really a good deal..."

Lorist’s mouth wore a sarcasm: “I really admire the business talent of the Master Seliger who presided over the Antares Chamber of Commerce. He has not only resisted our family’s price war to increase the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources, It is indeed an amazing talent to be able to develop the Antares Chamber of Commerce to its current scale step by step in the greedy and forceful apportionment of our majesty.

I originally thought that raising the purchase price could compress the cash flow of the Antalo Chamber of Commerce, increase the cost of its land transportation, and then force our Majesty to pass the loss to the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce, which would force it to disconnect or narrow the route. The size of the trade route of the business alliance. But they didn't expect that they would use standard refined iron equipment to satisfy His Majesty's greed, and expand trade with business alliances to make up for the return of cash.

I have to admit that our family’s intention to use the increase in the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources to force the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce to submit to submission has no effect. Our King, in order to obtain the 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment, has already directly controlled it. The mining and marketing rights of the seven mineral resource areas in the three provinces are all granted to the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce..."

In the past, the Antalo Chamber of Commerce only involved sales rights, so the Norton family increased the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources. But now the Second His Royal Highness has also granted the mining rights of the mineral resource areas of the provinces directly under the Central Government to the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce, so the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce can mine on its own without the need for external acquisition. In time, the Antares Chamber of Commerce will surely develop into a business giant that can even affect the implementation of the empire’s policies. This should be something a wise king should avoid and be vigilant...

"His Royal Highness, how should we respond..." Fatty Shi asked with a frown.

"How to deal with it? No way..." Lorist shook his head: "We can't control your majesty's decision. What he wants to do is his right as the emperor. As long as it does not violate the interests of our family, then we can only Stand on the sidelines and watch. In fact, in the next few years, our family will have no spare energy to care about noisy affairs. Even if we suffer from a dark loss, we can only bear it.

At present, our family’s energy is focused on the Malek defensive line in Bangshan Province. This is a major event related to the long-term stability of our family in the future. As long as the Malek line of defense is completed, without the invasion of the mountain barbarian tribe and the beast group, then Bangshan Province It can become the back garden of our Norton family and a good place for our leaders to live and work in peace and contentment. In the future, the family will have a solid backing and base when the power of the family expands to the barbarians. "

Lorist pointed to several pieces of information on the table with his fingers: "In fact, these pieces of information do not only let us know what happened between Your Majesty and the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce, and what agreements have been reached. If we analyze in depth, We can also discover more secrets. For example, what can you think of the 100,000 sets of fine iron equipment mentioned here..."

Fatty Shi's expression changed: "His Royal Highness, 100,000 sets in two years... This shows that the business alliance is likely to adopt large-scale hydraulic forging machinery like our family. Otherwise, they will not be able to complete this in two years. An order, and sold it to Your Majesty at such a low price..."

"Yes..." Lorist nodded: "This shows that the strength and vitality of the business alliance is recovering quickly, so it is possible to research and manufacture these hydraulic machinery. Now the empire and the business alliance are in contact with the Antai Chamber of Commerce. Close and exchange of existence, the restrictions on the business alliance we arranged in the year have completely lost its effect. Just like the salt monopoly system implemented by the Peterson Kingdom, it has become a decoration, and the Antarctic Chamber of Commerce will ship rock salt in large quantities to the business alliance for sale. , The Kingdom of Peterson did not dare to control. And the Sandstorm Legion that your Majesty is preparing to form will be deployed in Marivia Province, clearly threatening the Kingdom of Peterson not to interfere with the trade between the empire and the business alliance... "

"His Royal Highness, do you think the commercial alliance is likely to challenge the Peterson Kingdom in the next few years?" Fatty Shi asked.

"It is possible that the business alliance must open up the passage to Mana Hill Plains to regain the Mana Hill Plains and recover the Mana Hill Plains and Morient City. The Peterson Kingdom is the first hurdle before them. But from the current situation. , The business alliance should not be so unwise. In the next few years, if it launches an offensive first, it will definitely become the thorn in the eyes of all countries in Zhoubian. After all, it has only been a few years since the war in the central and southern regions has subsided, and all countries in Zhoubian are wary of it... .." Lorist answered while looking at the map on the wall.

"Tagger, increase the investigation of the business alliance, and report it immediately if it finds any move or sign of the business alliance to prepare for war!" Lorist ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness." Tagore replied.

"His Royal Highness, it is a pity that we are too far away from the Faliqiu Plain and the Peterson Kingdom. Once there is any change, we will be beyond our reach." Fatty Shi sighed.

"Hehe, it's okay, don't forget that our family has a leased land beside Moriente. As long as we help defend Moriente, it doesn't matter even if we lose the Mana Hill Plain. Sometimes I really hope that the Commercial Alliance can launch an offensive again. , Then I’m going to mobilize the family’s armed forces to completely destroy it to eliminate our heart problems. Alas, it’s a pity, we don’t have this chance now." Lorist is now very lamented, if he did not care about the casualties of the soldiers. If you work hard, you won't have these troubles now.

The Business Alliance Committee is really a Xiaoqiang who can't be killed, and the kind that can be bright with a little bit of sunshine, especially now that he is still working with the Second Highness to turn enemies into friends under the communication of the Antares Chamber of Commerce, and the business is getting bigger and bigger. All affected the layout of the Norton family in the empire. And Lorist can't come up with any good countermeasures for a while. After all, business competition cannot be solved by shouting and killing. Using the identity of the swordmaster to suppress it will only end up inferior and be laughed at... …

Tagger cleaned up the information on the table and bowed respectfully. Lorester opened a bottle of blackcurrant wine and poured a glass for Fatty Shi and himself.

Fatty Shi opened the thick folder he had brought, and sipped the fruit wine in the glass: "His Royal Highness, this is a report sent by Chief Camora. He said that your Majesty has sent an official document and hopes that the port The amount of grain purchased next year will be increased, and at least double the amount of grain purchased this year..."

Lorist shook his head: "Our Majesty is short of money and impatient. The grain purchased by Qilin Port is delivered to Morient City for sale. Your Majesty can earn more than one million Golden Ford every year. You write a letter to tell. He, the food market in Morente City is so big, and there are only so many needs. If the quantity of purchases increases, the selling price will only fall, but there will be not so much profit. Reject his request..."

Fatty Shi nodded: "Master Siropa sent a report from the front line of Pangshan Province. He is not optimistic that the scheduled project schedule of the Malek defense line can be completed as scheduled this year. The original plan to achieve the project schedule this year is One hundred miles, but the current progress is only more than sixty miles. The lack of labor is the biggest reason why the project cannot proceed as planned. We need more young and strong labor..."

Lorist frowned. This is a big problem facing the family. Perhaps the life in the family territory is too superior. The people of the Northland are not willing to leave their homes and go to Pangshan Province, which is still relatively wild. Provinces go to carry out engineering work, as long as they can endure hardships and hard work, they can easily find a good job in the North. This made the family's original plan to recruit 100,000 young laborers in the Northland to go to Pangshan Province to build the Malek line of defense...

"Now there are only more than 40,000 laborers who are carrying out construction projects on the front line of Pangshan Province, of which more than 30,000 are prisoners of the Torch Corps. They were sentenced to five years of labor and forced to work by us. In the past year, there were nearly 1,000 casualties, mainly poisoning. Morale was very low due to the epidemic and the sneak attack by the mountain barbarian tribe. The remaining 10,000 young and strong laborers are all the people who have settled in Bangshan Province. They are very clear about what the completion of the Malek line of defense means for Bangshan Province. So they are the residents who most support the construction of this project, but unfortunately there are not many people..." Fatty Shi gave a further report.

Lorister tapped his fingers on the tabletop and asked, "Do you have any good suggestions for lack of labor?"

"Master Bodfinger proposed to increase the reward for recruiting labor. Under the reward, there must be a brave man. He thinks that if the reward is doubled, it may be easy to recruit enough young laborers in the family territory to go to Pangshan Province to build Malek. Defense line, but this proposal was rejected by Chief Speer. Chief Speer believed that the family could no longer increase the additional expenses of the Malek defense line. It is already the family finances to be able to allocate project expenses and war alert costs within the budget. Hard work...

Lord Malek suggested that the garrisons of the provinces should be drawn to the front line of Bangshan Province, and construction projects should be carried out for six months every year to make up for the shortage of labor. However, Lord Hickerd raised an objection to this. He believed that when the three main armies of the family gathered on the front line of Pangshan Province, the garrisons of the provinces should not be transferred to carry out engineering work, otherwise the family should change. The emptiness of the territory is easy to be driven directly by the enemy..."

Fatty Shi looked at the documents and reported the views and controversies of the family's senior officials on the issue of lack of labor. After turning over a page of the document, he paused and laughed: "His Royal Highness, Tiger Rose actually made a very interesting suggestion. He suggested that our family’s armed forces cooperate with the White Lion Corps to clean up the central provinces with severe banditry, and then use these captive bandits as engineering labor, which saves money and the trouble of recruiting labor..."

"Hmm... Tiger Rose is very rare, and finally has a good proposal." Lorist asked with a smile, "Any other suggestions?"

"Yes..." Fatty Shi replied, "Actually, Lord Christon, the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, suggested that the family can use the method of compulsory recruitment to recruit civilians to solve the problem of lack of labor~www.wuxiaspot.com~Serving for the lord is originally to serve the lord. It’s just that our Norton family has never adopted this approach..."

It is the prerogative of the lord to compulsorily enlist the leader to serve. The lord can decide how much time his leader spends every year to work for himself. Some benevolent lords only allow the people to perform one month of labor and provide some food. Some harsh and petty lords will lead the people to work for up to half a year and have to bring their own meals, but the escape rate of such territories is very high. There are not a few territorial nobles like the Norton family who have never used this privilege.

Lorester was silent and speechless, and shook his head after a while: "It is not advisable to compulsorily conscript the people for service. This will dampen the people's centripetal force on the family, and it will also make the hearts of the people in the family territory uneasy. Since my family The ancestors have never used this power against the leaders, so I am not going to set this precedent. Let's think of another way."

"Okay, Your Highness. Actually, I think Tiger Ross's proposal is very operational..." said Fatty Shi.

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