The two looked at each other for a moment, and Sevini immediately reacted, his reaction just now was indeed a little too intense, and his expression couldn't help but be a little embarrassed.

"No...... Don't get me wrong. Xu Yi, it's not that I don't like Freya, I just ...... I just don't think the two of them are suitable. ”

Xu Yihu looked at Sevigny suspiciously, not quite believing her explanation.

Of course, he couldn't mistake Severny for disliking Freya, but Sevigny's reaction was so abnormal that it made him a little strange.

Feeling Xu Yi's suspicious gaze, Sevigny's face became even more embarrassed, and he opened his mouth, but did not give further explanation, but paused and changed the topic.

"Xu Yi, how is the abolition of slavery in your Duchy of Stantin?"

This transfer topic was so blunt that even Xu Yi was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

He gave Sevigny a deep look, took a breath, and gave up on pursuing further.

The origin of this child is very strange, and she still refuses to reveal who the father of the child is, which is obviously unspeakable for her.

As a friend, Xu Yi certainly couldn't force her to reveal the secret she wanted to keep.

"Uh...... Not very smooth. The lords of the principality did not want their slaves to become commoners. They felt that by doing so, they would lose these slaves and suffer in vain. ”

"That's for sure. Sevini nodded. "Xu Yi, actually...... I also think what you're doing this time is too ...... It's weird......"

Xu Yi glanced at Sevigny's appearance of wanting to speak and stopped, thinking that she must have wanted to say that she was crazy, but she didn't say it.

"Slaves have been on this continent for so long. You want to abolish it outright. This is tantamount to challenging the order of the entire continent. Slave lords are unlikely to approve of your idea. You can force it in the Duchy of Stantin. But if it were the Kingdom of Lampari, there would be absolutely no chance that this proposal would pass through the Kingdom Parliament. ”

"What if you're going to do it?" Xu Yi asked tentatively.

"Then the best fate for our Lampari family is probably to give up the throne. Sevini replied.

Xu Yi thought for a moment and nodded silently.

"Actually, Xu Yi, I'm afraid you yourself know the consequences of doing this, right? Otherwise, your actions in the Principality of Stantin would not be so anticlimactic, and you don't look like a person who can only do half of things. Sevini asked again.

Xu Yi smiled: "Well, the pressure and opposition are relatively large, so I decided to hold it off and not rush it for a while." ”

Sevigny frowned slightly: "So I don't understand even more." Why are you doing this? You know that this matter is extremely difficult, and it will not be of any benefit to your Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, why do you want to push this matter under pressure despite the opposition of so many people?"

"No, this matter is quite good for our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. Xu Yi shook his head. "Sevigny, have you read that report in the Lampari Weekly Newspaper?"

"I have read the report written by Baron Heinas about your proposal that the dismantling of slavery is the liberation of the productive forces, and I have read it more than once. Sevigny said. "I'll admit you have a point. Employing slaves as workers does not give them the best work efficiency, and may even affect the quality of their products. But the slaves could not achieve good results when they were engaged in complex work. It would be nice to just let them do simple jobs. Anyway, the slaves don't need to pay their salaries, do they?"

"Even you don't fully understand what I mean. Then it is obviously impossible to expect others to understand. Xu Yi shook his head and sighed: "All of you don't understand a truth, slaves are similar to livestock to you, and they have no special value. But for me, they are still living people. Since it is human, it has the most basic learning talent of human beings. Therefore, even if they are slaves, they still have the possibility to improve their abilities, and they cannot simply be treated the same as livestock. ”

"What do you mean...... Are you going to expose them to the identities of these slaves, and then train them to become skilled workers?" asked Severny, surprised. "Is it worth it to invest so much in slaves?"

"Why isn't it worth it?" Xu Yi asked rhetorically. "Sevigny, let me ask you a question, how many people are there in the Lampari Kingdom now?"

Sevigny was stunned, but he didn't expect Xu Yi to suddenly bring the topic to this.

After thinking for a moment, she replied, "When I first ascended the throne, I conducted a count, and the total population at that time was about 6.4 million people. ”

"These people don't include slaves, do they?"

"Yes. Slaves are not counted as civilians, so they are not counted in the statistics. However, according to local estimates, the total number of slaves in the kingdom is about three million. Sevini replied.

"Then can you tell me how many of the 6.4 million people in the Lampari Kingdom are actual laborers, and how many of the three million or so slaves are actually laborers?" Xu Yi asked again.

Sevini frowned: "There is no way to count this. ”

"Well, numbers aside, do you think it would be of great help to the entire Lampari kingdom if we could free all these three million slaves and make them a real usable labor force?"

"I don't understand what you're referring to?"

"Specifically...... Let's take our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as an example. We currently have more than 93,000 employees. I think this number can be regarded as a very large chamber of commerce, whether it is in the Duchy of Stantin or the Kingdom of Lampari. ”

Sevini nodded: "Well, in our kingdom, there are probably only more employees of the Falcau Chamber of Commerce and the Armani Chamber of Commerce than you. ”

"But I still don't think it's enough. According to my plan for the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, we have calculated that our Chamber of Commerce will need to hire at least 50,000 employees in the next three years to barely meet the demand. ”

"Need so many people?" asked Sevigny, surprised. "What do you want to do?"

Xu Yi smiled and pointed to the southeast: "In the letter I gave you last time, I should have advanced that our Chamber of Commerce plans to build several island bases in the southern waters of the Endless Sea. Each of these islands requires an average of 100 people. Plus various types of logistical supply personnel. That's it alone. Our chamber of commerce needs at least 20,000 employees. ”

"So many?" Sevigny's eyes widened. "Are you going to build so many island bases, what are you going to do?"

"It's nothing, I just want to make good use of the abundant resources of the Endless Sea. Xu Yi explained with a relaxed face. "In addition to the island base, our chamber of commerce will continue to expand the market in the future, and once the market of the Candela Empire is truly opened, the demand will be extremely terrifying. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare one step in advance to ensure that the production capacity of the chamber of commerce is increased. ”

"Hmm...... Speaking of the capacity of your chamber of commerce...... Xu Yi, when are you going to give me my hundred magic airships?" asked Severny suddenly.

Xu Yi rolled his eyes: "Wait, the tests related to the magic airship have not completely ended." It will be at least next year before it is actually put into mass production. ”

Sevini glared at Xu Yi: "When I ordered these hundred magic airships from you, you said that they could be delivered at the beginning of this year. ”

Xu Yi smiled awkwardly: "What's this...... The magic airship is different from ordinary magic machines, and the requirements are too high in all aspects. You don't want me to hand over to you an unreliable magic airship, do you? Besides, didn't I just talk about the lack of capacity?"

"What does this have to do with freeing the slaves? I don't think the slaves can help you build a hundred magic airships. ”

"Of course they can't now. But as long as I give them some time to nurture them, I'm sure they will be able to play their part as well. But it's a pity ......" Xu Yi spread his hands and said helplessly: "This damn slavery system stipulates that slaves do not have any opportunity to take the initiative to receive education and training, and they do not even have the opportunity to choose their own work. And the slaves belong entirely to their masters, even if I train them well. It will only cheapen their owners. ”

"Do you think of the hundreds of slave workers you trained for the Stark family in the first place?" said Sevigny.

"Sort of. Xu Yi shrugged.

When the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce was first founded, Leslie sent a hundred of his slaves to work in the factory of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. Thus mastering a certain amount of magic mechanical craftsmanship.

Later, the Stark family sent another 300 slaves to the factory of the New Flying Chamber of Commerce, and they also mastered good abilities.

Later, when the Stark family opened the Magical Machinery Chamber of Commerce on their own, these slaves became important skilled workers and played a vital role.

For Xu Yi, these 400 slave workers are equivalent to him making a wedding dress for the Stark family.

At that time, he had no choice, and now he was asked to do such a thankless task, he was unwilling.

"So, you're not actually so noble as those newspapers boast, you're completely thinking about yourself and the interests of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. Severny quipped.

"Of course, I'm not a saint. Xu Yi replied as a matter of course. But what I said was true. Come to think of it, these slaves left in the hands of those lords will not do anything, but if they are handed over to me, they can increase the value they generate countless times. I guess a normal person should know how to choose, right?"

"It's a pity that no lord, no matter what the lord, will not be willing to give his slaves to you for nothing. Sevigny said.

"Of course I understand. So this time...... I've got a very big bait and I'm hoping to catch some guys who are willing to take the bait......"

Looking at the slightly meaningful smile on Xu Yi's face, Sevini blinked, thinking that Xu Yi must have thought of some kind of ghost idea again.

Based on her understanding of Xu Yi, since he said that this is a very big bait, the allure contained in it must be extremely amazing. (To be continued......)