Duke returned to the castle hall with three of his vassals, then pulled out a few of the papers on his desk and handed them to Vlavic.

These documents were the result of several days and nights of painstaking meditation.

The current Dukedom of the North is not just a small northern fortress, with less than 10,000 people.

After peacefully taking over the Connaughton region, his territory has now more than tripled, and his number of people under his rule is nearly 30,000.

Today's administrative and law and order problems are not as simple as multiplication.

Due to the change of lords and the previous skirmishes, these problems have increased exponentially.

And he still has only three ministers to help manage it.

In addition, he was not a professional in this field in the first place, but only knew some modern ideas, and the existing capital was simply not enough for him to try and make mistakes again and again.

So he can only rely on constantly squeezing the only brain cells he has to design a plan that meets the current situation.

"Dozens of people from the existing lords will be selected to serve as teachers, and free evening schools will be held in the Connaughton area, and the city hall ?...... will be expanded by selecting outstanding young people."

Looking at the documents that Duke handed to him, Vlavich couldn't help but show his confusion and surprise.

This is also the core idea of Duke's decree, which is to make more people have knowledge.

Previously, he used the spirit of wisdom to master the basic literacy skills and a certain amount of common sense of nearly 10,000 people under his command at one time, which can be said to be a thorough and efficient literacy eradication activity.

However, due to the rush of time, these people who have received initial education and rehabilitation are mainly confined to the fields.

After the emancipated serfs and slaves became free men, they continued to open up the land step by step.

This development did not meet Duke's initial expectations.

This group of people should be freed from the fields and put into a role in a higher position.

For example, the factory that will be built in the future, and the ability to become a teacher to acquire knowledge for more people.

This is why he distinguishes the newly purchased slaves and the subjects of the Connaughton region from the lords of the Northern Fortress.

He felt that it was necessary for the people of the realm, except for the northern fortresses, to receive a certain amount of general education and norms in order to better integrate into the subsequent reforms.

"As you can see, that's what needs to be done in the next week. Duke nodded and reaffirmed the order, "You know, our change needs to make the people aware of the value in it, so that it makes sense and doesn't fail.

A young and efficient administrative team is also a strong basis for ensuring that the decree can be better implemented, and our territory will not always be so small now and in the future. ”

Vlavich nodded approvingly, then carefully tucked the pieces of paper into his arms.

Duke then instructed the remaining two: "Joseph, I hope that you will be able to find special products in our territory other than grain and ore to increase the income from trade, both of which are equally important to our future development and cannot always be sold as commodities. ”

"As for Lenia, last time I said it would be a bit difficult to expand the army to five hundred, and now that I have taken over the Connaughton area, it is enough to support an army of this size, and I want you to complete the screening within the next week. ”

Lenia bowed down and didn't say much, because this was originally a plan that had been negotiated before, but now it was just written in the form of paperwork.

But Joseph said that the lord's task made him feel very stressed.

He took out a small handkerchief to wipe his sweat and poured bitter water on the side: "Lord, what else is there in the northern fortress besides food? Since ancient times, the Connaughton region has relied on the export of iron ore to maintain its economy, and we don't need so much ore ourselves. ”

According to common sense, this is indeed the case, and now that the northern fortress has undergone a major manpower liberation and the promulgation of the land reclamation order, the grain production of the coming year is sure to double.

The iron ore in the Connaughton area, as one of the richest mines in the north, can be exported in large quantities in addition to supplying local demand, earning high profits.

But in Duke's plan, steel was a necessary resource that would be in huge shortfall in the future.

The more food, the better, after all, the people of the Celestial Empire pay attention to having food at home and do not panic, and they may encounter a disaster year or war.

"What do you think of our cement business, the one you just saw. ”

Duke said something they didn't expect, and cement was indeed a specialty of the Northern Fortress, the only one in the world.

"Adults must not, this is not sending the root of life out, not to. Joseph, who was extremely sensitive to money, was indeed the first to speak out against it, which meant that iron could not be made of steel.

Vlavich and Lenia, who reacted later, also agreed with Joseph's statement, saying that there is no shortage of money to this point now, and everyone can continue to find a way to solve it.

Duke smiled a little helplessly, he had expected that this decision would be unanimously opposed by his vassals.

But he also had his own reasons for it, so he patiently explained to his subordinates: "You have also seen the raw material of cement, that is, ordinary stone, and only if it shows extraordinary value, then it is only a matter of time before the method of making it is revealed." ”

The raw materials and methods for making cement are not difficult, and there are no absolute technical barriers.

As long as a wealthy lord or merchant is willing to spend money and thought, it is only a matter of time before the blind cat meets the dead mouse and finds out this distribution.

"Since sooner or later it will be distributed by others, then we can only get the money back as soon as possible, and it is a time difference. Duke reasoned and explained to them in a factual manner, which also calmed down Joseph and the others and thought about the pros and cons.

"And we can add some misleading information to slow down this process of dissemination and decryption. When it's hot, I don't mean to sell it now, we haven't used it ourselves!"

After Duke's explanation, the three ministers finally reluctantly accepted Duke's idea and no longer opposed it so fiercely.

"That being the case, I propose that three hundred slaves from the suburbs be drawn to burn cement, with the promise that they will be granted the status of freemen after three months. ”

Seeing that everyone was beginning to agree with his ideas, Duke said his own arrangement.

With the foreshadowing, the current proposal is naturally unanimously adopted.

"Okay, let's move on to the next topic, what do you see what this is?"

Duke clapped his hands, then pulled out a grotesque scale the size of a basin from a drawer.