Chapter 590: Lack of Labor

Fat Man hurried to Lorlist's study with a thick folder, it had been a month since the last Duke of Kenmas had visited, and it was November 1786 in the universal calendar of the Gallinthia continent.

In a small office next to the study, Shi Fatzi was very pleased to see his second son, Freed, copying a stack of official documents with a sad face. He coughed twice, and when Frerid raised his head to look at him, he said, "Go and report, I've come to see Your Highness......"

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

Shi Fatzi was angry all of a sudden: "Bastard boy, if you tell you to report, you will report it, Your Highness is polite, as a subordinate, you must understand the rules and abide by your duty, do you understand?"

Freed stood up with a mutter: "Don't you do this and don't bother others, as if you know the rules best......"

Soon, Freed flashed out of the study and opened the door of the study: "No, Your Highness invites you to come in......"

Lorist wasn't the only one in the study, as the Norton family's chief of intelligence, Targel stood by the desk.

"You're here, let's take a look at these pieces of information from the imperial capital. Lorist pointed to several documents on the table and said to Shi Fatzi.

Shi Fatzi put down the folder in his hand, picked up a document on the table and read: "Your Majesty has decided to form a Tempest Sand Legion, with a full strength of 45,000 people, ready to be deployed in Marivia Province. There is already definite evidence that the Antario Chamber of Commerce obtained a standard fine iron weapon and armor from the Commercial Alliance, and sold it to His Majesty at a preferential price of raw materials plus thirty gold fords, but in fact His Majesty did not pay a penny, and the entire amount was paid by the Antitario Chamber of Commerce on its behalf...... According to the inside of the palace, His Majesty the King placed an order for 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment with the Commercial Alliance...... Your Majesty, Your Majesty, is he crazy......"

No wonder Shi Fatzi would make such a question, what does the Second Highness want to do? The Business Alliance used to be the sworn enemy of the Krisson Empire, but now the Second Highness has placed an order for 100,000 sets of standard fine iron equipment to it, which is not a small amount, even if it is a set of 30 gold fords, it will cost a huge amount of 3 million, not to mention the raw materials for making this set of equipment......

"What do you see?" asked Lorlist.

"I doubt that our Majesty has a problem with his brain, now is a time of peace, he has vigorously strengthened his armaments, invested money in this bottomless hole, three million gold fords of funds plus raw materials in exchange for 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment, has he forgotten that the business alliance was once the biggest enemy of the empire?

Also, the Tempest Legion has lost its reputation because of the captivity of the caravan, His Majesty the King will not think that adding a sand word can become a new legion, right? The Tempest Sand Legion is also deployed in Marivia Province, this is not preparing to replace the White Lion Legion, is it not that His Majesty is going to let the White Lion Legion be responsible for clearing the bandits in the country, and let the Tempest Sand Legion be responsible for foreign expeditions in the future?"

"If you look at a few other documents, the Antitario Chamber of Commerce has built a large-scale refinery and forging yard in the Liushui River, which has carried out preliminary processing and refining of various raw materials and ores, improving the efficiency of transportation and reducing the cost of land transportation. And it has received 3 million funds for the order of 100,000 sets of fine iron equipment issued by His Majesty to the business alliance.....

The three million Kingfords are said to have been forcibly apportioned by His Majesty the King to the Antario Chamber of Commerce, because we have raised the purchase prices of raw materials and mineral resources, and His Majesty has lost one million in revenue last year and this year, and he has passed on this loss to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. As for the other million, it was the proceeds of His Majesty's investment in the Antario Chamber of Commerce, and he invested 800,000 gold fords and asked the Antario Chamber of Commerce to give 500,000 profits in return every year, which is really a good deal......"

A sarcastic smile hung on the corner of Lorist's mouth: "I really admire the business talent of the young master Selig who presided over the Antitario Chamber of Commerce, he not only resisted the price war of our family to increase the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources, but also developed the Atario Chamber of Commerce step by step to the current scale in the greedy and forcible apportionment of our majesty, he is indeed a great talent."

I had thought that raising the purchase price would compress the Antario Chamber of Commerce's cash flow, increase the cost of its land transportation, and force our Majesty to pass on the losses to the Antario Chamber of Commerce, which would force it to disconnect or reduce the size of the trade routes to the commercial alliance. But they did not expect that they would use standard iron equipment to satisfy His Majesty's greed, and expand trade with commercial alliances to make up for the return of cash.

I have to admit that our family's intention to force the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to submit to the Otario Chamber of Commerce by raising the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources has been rendered useless, and our King has granted the right to mine and sell seven mineral resource areas in the three provinces under his direct jurisdiction to the Antario Chamber of Commerce in order to obtain the 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment......"

In the past, the Antitario Chamber of Commerce was only concerned with the right to sell, so the Norton family raised the purchase price of raw materials and mineral resources, and the Antario Chamber of Commerce had to keep up. But now that His Royal Highness has granted the right to mine mineral resources in the provinces directly under his jurisdiction to the Antario Chamber of Commerce, the Antario Chamber of Commerce can completely mine on its own without the need to acquire foreign goods. In time, the Antario Chamber of Commerce will develop into a commercial giant, even influencing the execution of the Empire's policies, something that a wise king should avoid and be wary of......

"Your Highness, then how should we deal with it......" Shi Fatzi asked with a frown.

"How to deal with it? No way......" Lorist shook his head: "We can't control His Majesty's decision, what he wants to do is his right as the Emperor, as long as it doesn't infringe on the interests of our family, then we can only stand by and watch." In fact, in the next few years, our family will not have the power to take care of anything, even if we suffer some dark losses, we can only endure it.

At present, our family's energy is focused on the Marek defense line in Panshan Province, which is a major event related to the long-term peace and stability of our family in the next hundred years, as long as the Malek defense line is completed, without the invasion of the mountain barbarian tribe and the demonic beast group, then the Panshan Province can become the back garden of our Norton family, and become a good place for our people to live and work in peace and contentment, and when the family's power expands to the barbarian plain in the future, it will have a solid backing and base. ”

Lorist tapped his finger at several intelligence documents spread out on the table: "In fact, this information does not only let us know what happened between His Majesty and the Antitario Chamber of Commerce, what agreement was reached, and we can also find more secrets from it if we analyze it deeply." For example, what do the 100,000 sets of standard iron equipment mentioned in this make you think of......"

Shi Fatzi's face changed: "100,000 sets in two years...... Your Highness, this shows that it is very likely that the Business Alliance, like our family, has adopted a large-scale hydraulic forging machine, otherwise it would have been impossible for them to complete this order in two years and sell it to His Majesty at such a low price......"

"Yes......" Lorist nodded: "This shows that the strength and vitality of the business alliance have recovered quickly, so they can research and manufacture these hydraulic machines." Now that the Empire and the Business Alliance are close to each other under the liaison of the Antitario Chamber of Commerce, the restraint on the Business Alliance that we have arranged in those years has completely lost its effect. Just like the salt monopoly system implemented by the Peterson Kingdom, the Antairio Chamber of Commerce shipped large quantities of rock salt to the commercial alliance for sale, and the Peterson Kingdom did not dare to care at all. His Majesty's Tempest Sands Legion will be deployed in Marivia Province, clearly threatening the Kingdom of Peterson not to interfere with the trade between the Empire and the commercial alliance......"

"Your Highness, do you think the Business Alliance is likely to attack the Peterson Kingdom in the next few years?" asked Shi Fatzi.

"With this possibility, if the Business Alliance wants to revive, it must open a passage to the Plains of Falihill and recover the Plains of Faliqiu and the city of Morent. And the kingdom of Peterson is the first hurdle in front of them. However, given the current situation, the Business Alliance should not be so unwise, and if it attacks first in the next few years, it will surely become a thorn in the side of all countries. After all, it has only been a few years since the war in the central and southern parts of the country subsided, and all countries around it are wary of it....." Lorist replied with a deep groan, looking at the map on the wall.

"Tagger, intensify the investigation of the commercial alliance, and report back as soon as you find any moves or signs of a military war in the commercial alliance!" Lorist commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness. Tugger replied.

"Your Highness, it's a pity that we are too far away from the Falcan Hill Plain and the Kingdom of Peterson, and if there is any change over there, we will not be able to reach it. Shi Fatzi sighed.

"Hehe, it's okay, don't forget that our family still has a leased land on the edge of Moriente City, as long as you help defend Moriente City, then it doesn't matter if you lose the Mana Hill Plains. Sometimes I really wish that the Business Alliance would attack again, so that I am ready to mobilize the clan forces to destroy them once and for all, so as to eliminate the troubles in our hearts. Alas, alas, we don't have that opportunity now. Lorist now sighed that if he had worked hard against the casualties of the soldiers, he would not have had these troubles now.

The business alliance is really a small strong that can't be beaten, and the kind that can shine if you give a little sunshine, especially now that you are joining forces with the Second Highness, and under the communication of the Antillio Chamber of Commerce, you will turn enemies into friends, and the business will get bigger and bigger, which will affect the layout of the Norton family in the empire. And Lorist couldn't come up with any good countermeasures for a while, after all, the competition in business is not something that can be solved by shouting and shouting and killing, and using the identity of the sword master to suppress it will only end up being laughed at......

Targer cleaned up the intelligence materials on the table and bowed respectfully, and Lorist opened a bottle of blackcurrant fruit wine and poured a glass for Fat Shi and himself.

Shi Fatzi flipped through the thick folder he brought, and drained the fruit wine in the cup in one gulp: "Your Highness, this is a report from the head of the Camorra, he said that His Majesty has sent an official letter, hoping that Qilin Port can increase the amount of grain purchased next year, and at least double the amount of grain purchased this year......"

Lorist shook his head: "Our Majesty is short of money and urgency, and the grain purchased by Qilin Port is transported to Moldent City for sale, and Your Majesty can earn more than one million gold fords every year." You write to him and tell him that the grain market in the city of Morent is so big, and that there is only so much need for it, and if you increase the quantity of purchases, it will only make the sale price fall, and there will not be so much profit. Refuse his request ......"

Shi Fatzi nodded: "Master Siroba sent a report from the front line of Panshan Province, and he is not optimistic that he will be able to complete the scheduled construction schedule of the Marek defense line this year as scheduled. The original plan was to achieve the progress of the project this year as 100 miles, but now the progress has only been completed more than 60 miles, and the lack of labor is the biggest reason why the project cannot be carried out as planned. We need more young and strong labor......"

Lorist frowned, this is a big problem that the family is currently facing, maybe the life in the family territory is too superior, the people of the Northland are not willing to leave their homes and go to the still relatively wild province of the Northland to carry out engineering work, as long as they can endure hardships and diligence, they can easily find a good job in the Northland. This frustrated the family's original plan to recruit 100,000 young and strong laborers in the Northland to build the Malek defense line in the province of Punshan......

"Now there are only more than 40,000 laborers carrying out the construction of the project on the front line of the province of Punshan, of which more than 30,000 are the captives of the Tempest Legion, they were sentenced to five years of hard labor, and they were forced to work by us, and there have been nearly 1,000 casualties in the past year, mainly poisoning and epidemics and sneak attacks by the mountain barbarian tribes, morale is very low, and the remaining more than 10,000 young and strong laborers are the people who have settled in the province of Punshan, they know very well what the completion of the Marek defense line means to the province of Punshan, so they are the residents who are the most supportive of the construction of this project, but unfortunately there are not many people......" Shi Fatzi made a further report.

Lorist tapped his fingers on the table and asked, "Malek, do they have any good advice for lack of labor?"

Master Bodfinger proposed to increase the gratuity for recruiting laborers, and that there would be brave men under the heavy reward, thinking that doubling the gratuity might make it easy to recruit enough young and strong laborers in the family domain to build the Marek defense line in the province of Punshan, but this proposal was rejected by the governor of Speer. Governor Speer decided that it was impossible for the family to increase the additional expenses of the Marek Line, and that it was already the best efforts of the family treasury to be able to allocate the cost of construction and war alert within the budget......

Lord Marek suggested that the garrison corps of the provinces should be drawn to the front line of the province of Panshan Province, and the construction of the project should be carried out for half a year every year to make up for the lack of labor. However, Lord Hicked objected to this, believing that when the three main armies of the family would gather on the front line of the province of Panshan, the garrison corps of the provinces should not be transferred to work on the project, otherwise if there was a change, the defense of the family territory would be empty and it would be easy for the enemy to drive straight into the ......."

Shi Fatzi looked at the documents and reported the opinions and controversies of the family leaders on the lack of labor one by one, and after turning a page of the documents, he paused and laughed: "Your Highness, Tiger Ross has made a very interesting suggestion, he suggested that our family armed forces cooperate with the White Lion Legion to clear the several provinces in the central part of the country that are seriously troubled by bandits, and then use these captured bandits as engineering laborers, which saves money and the trouble of recruiting laborers......

"Hmm...... Tiger Ross is rare, and finally has a good proposal. Lorist smiled and asked, "Any other suggestions?"

"......Yes," Shi Fatzi replied, "Actually, Lord Christon, the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, suggested that the family could use the method of compulsory conscription to recruit people to serve to solve the problem of lack of labor, and it was the obligation of the people to serve the lord, but our Norton family has never used this method......"

It was the liege's prerogative to forcibly conscript their subjects to serve, and the liege could decide how much time his subjects would spend working for themselves each year. Some benevolent lords only let their subjects serve one month of labor, and they also provided some food. Some harsh and stingy lords will make their subjects serve up to half a year of hard labor and have to bring their own food, but the flight rate of the subjects in such territories is very high. There were also many territorial nobles like the Norton family who had never used this privilege.

Lorist was silent, and after a long while, he shook his head: "It is not advisable to forcibly conscript the subjects to serve, it will dampen the centripetal force of the subjects towards the family, and it will also make the hearts of the people in the family territory unstable. Since none of my family's ancestors have used this power over their lords, I am not prepared to set this precedent. Let's think of another way. ”

"Well, Your Highness. Actually, I think Tiger Rose's proposal is very likely to be operational...... "Shi Fatzi said.

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