"Cousin David, if we say goodbye now, I'm afraid we may never meet again." "Humph! It's better not to see you." "Oh, and by the way, I'll give you a small gift before you leave. Come here!" Hearing Dick's shout, a trembling figure walked over. It was Jonah's Earthling slave and his concubine Park Ae-jeong. Park Ae-jeong's brother Park Deok-yong was identified by the serfs as the one who brutally tortured and killed disobedient slaves and enjoyed torturing people. Therefore, he was given a hemp rope of the same type as his master. Park Ae-jeong wanted to rely on her to get close to Dick, but Dick was not interested in her and was afraid that having her, an Earthling, around would be a hidden danger. So send him to David and let her go with him. David looked at this "gift" and although he still had a sneer on his face, he did not refuse it. After watching them get on the car and disappear into the distance along the side road, Ayane, who was more decisive and straightforward and advocated leaving no future troubles, whispered to Dick. "My Lord, are you really going to let them go just like that?"
"Since I promised not to kill him, I will never break my promise. But... I used David's communication crystal to tell his boss about him. Whether his boss is willing to let him go or not is none of my business." 015. I am the Governor In early October, Laguge was still in late autumn according to the local solar terms, but the temperature was already winter in other places. Because when the local gentry were forced to go to the castle to have breakfast together early in the morning, everyone was reluctant. Wouldn’t it be good to sleep a little longer? That’s good, but many people are more afraid of not being able to wake up after sleeping. This young new governor had only been in office for less than ten days when he had already revealed his decisive and ruthless hand. The first thing he did after replacing David was to confiscate the property of Jonah Saxon. This made everyone applaud, and at the same time, they also respected and feared this young master. So, regardless of whether they were willing or not, all the nobles whose names were called came as promised. Some of them lived in the manors outside the castle, and came the night before, staying overnight at friends' houses, and came to the main castle for the "banquet" in the cold wind before dawn, all of them mentally prepared to bleed heavily. However, when the nobles entered the castle with trepidation, they found that the Governor seemed to really just want to treat them to breakfast. In the warm banquet hall, servants brought a bowl of steaming hot chicken soup with mushroom noodles, as well as silver chopsticks and soup spoons to each guest. After all, we have been influenced by Earth culture for decades, and chopsticks as a tableware have long been popular. However, looking at the chicken noodle soup in front of them, none of the gentry present dared to pick up their chopsticks. They all sat in silence, waiting for the arrival of the real owner of the castle. "Good morning, everyone!" Accompanied by a sunny and cheerful greeting, Dick walked into the hall with a warm smile on his face and sat directly on the main seat in the middle, demonstrating his status as the Governor of Laguge. After Dick sat down, he looked at the twenty or so local gentry. In Lagoge, a cold and bitter land that could not develop due to the climate, there were only so many wealthy merchants and manor owners. But he did not intend to hang them all like he did with the Saxon family. The economic development of the territory will require these people and their connections, and the current environment of the empire does not support his approach of beating the local tyrants and dividing the land. Therefore, Dick's attitude towards them was very clear, mainly to beat them, to prevent anyone present from being confused and thinking that they could become the second Saxon family. This breakfast meeting was just like that. It was both a test and a warning, like training a dog to hone their obedience and help them recognize who is the real boss here! Soon, Rita also brought a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a food cart. This time, she showed her true face without any disguise. The gentry were amazed and immediately lowered their heads. They behaved cautiously and no one dared to look at her.
Dick picked up the cutlery and started to eat the noodle soup comfortably. Seeing that everyone present was still silent and no one dared to pick up their chopsticks, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Eat! Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your liking? Or are you just not giving me face?" Dick's words, spoken in a joking tone, sounded like thunder in the ears of the gentry present. Everyone's face changed color at once, and then they hurriedly started eating. Dick was very satisfied with their reaction. He thought that since he had already warned them, it was time to give them a taste of "sweetness", otherwise there was no way to make them truly surrender. "Everyone, I called you here today not just to have breakfast together and improve your relationship. You all saw that Jonah Saxon's property was confiscated for tax evasion, but his estate was really good, with such a large vineyard and large wheat fields. In addition, his winery, Ice Spring Wine, was a well-known brand in China. It's gone in an instant. Don't you think it's a pity!" "..."xN After hearing Dick's words, the gentry who were eating noodles present had different expressions and tried to communicate with each other with their eye contact. For a moment, no one could figure out what the governor was trying to do. Logically speaking, your property has been confiscated, so you should just take over the assets. Others can only envy you in secret, and no one would dare to say anything wrong about you. Some people were thinking, secretly, whether the governor wanted to sell the Saxon family's property and put it into his own coffers. Then he really wanted to try to eat a little, after all, this piece of meat looked really delicious. But Dick's next words made everyone stunned for a moment. "I've thought about it carefully. As the governor, it's inappropriate for me to just embezzle this property. I don't want people to think that I'm targeting the Saxon family because I covet their property. It would be a pity to let it go to waste, and if I sell it to someone, I'm afraid I'll raise another lawless Saxon... Do you understand what I mean?" “I understand, I understand, I understand!” "Your Excellency the Governor is right!" Several gentry nodded repeatedly, but looking at their confused expressions, Dick guessed that they had not heard anything and were just expressing their opinions out of reflex. Ignoring these "applause leaders" who could only lead the cheering, Dick continued. "I have an immature idea. I called you all here today to pool your wisdom and discuss it together. I want to take the lead as the governor to establish a 'business alliance' in Laguge, so that we can pool our strength and help each other to make a lot of money together." "Just like this vineyard this time, if I eat it all by myself or sell it to someone present, I'm afraid the others will have some resentment in their hearts. So why don't we all sit down and eat together peacefully like we are doing now? I have already asked my father the Duke, and he agreed to let me handle the Saxon family's property." After Dick said this, even the dumbest person would understand something. Their governor, although he looks small, has great ambitions. He wants to integrate the merchants and landowners in the Laguge area and form an alliance with himself as the core. This matter has its pros and cons. It mainly depends on whether Dick, as the leader of the alliance, is sincere in leading everyone to advance and retreat together and share wealth, and whether he can be fair and just internally. Otherwise, the so-called alliance will become his pigpen, where everyone is just penned up and killed one by one. Dick also knew that the gentry present must have had concerns in their hearts, but he was in great power at the moment, and no one dared to stand up and shout "I object" at the risk of being bullied. Dick directly stated his plan for the distribution of the Saxon property. First of all, the most valuable things are definitely the vineyards and the winery, which are actually one and the same. Bingquan is also a good brand and has its own value. So Dick took this part out and formed the "Ice Spring Winery", which was the first jointly controlled industry under the Laguge Business Alliance. The winery was valued at about 80,000 gold coins, and 60% of the shares were subscribed by the 23 gentry present with their financial resources. In the future, if the winery makes money, dividends will be distributed according to this ratio. Thirty percent belongs to the Governor's Office. Dick uses the name of "Governor's Office" here, which means it belongs to the local government, not his own private property. Although in a feudal empire, this was actually not much different from his own private property. The remaining 10% is “charity funds”. Dick did not play tricks with the gentry on this issue, but directly stated the reason, which was that the former governor David had done too many bad things, which had seriously lowered the governor's image and prestige in the minds of the people of Laguge. He needed to do some good things that could be seen and touched, so that the people could clearly realize that he and David were not of the same kind.
This is for his reputation and also to restore public confidence. Dick finally spoke in a slightly threatening tone. "Everyone, you don't want to see people rebelling this winter because they can't make a living, rushing into someone's manor and dragging his wife and daughter out to vent their anger, right?" When Dick said this, he could clearly see that several of the gentry looked unhappy, as if some horrible memories were brought up, and their hands holding the spoons were shaking. In fact, when Dick was confiscating the house, he had already intercepted a portion of the proceeds and planned to use it as a local public welfare fund to build some basic welfare facilities. For example, the orphanage, which is of utmost importance. Due to the local economic structure of Laguge, most of the population are miners, and mining is an extremely dangerous and heavy labor. In addition, David's exploitation and embezzlement during his three years in office led to the death of many miners and the creation of many orphans in the area. There is no orphanage in the area, so these children who are left unattended may not survive once winter comes. It’s ironic, but in the past, the only way for orphans to survive was to seek refuge with the Saxon family. Old Jonah was an ambitious man. He picked out the strong ones of the children who came to him voluntarily and forced them to sign indentures to become serfs. He took the weaker boys and girls to the south and sold them. Thanks to their family, there has not been a cruel scene of a large number of children freezing to death on the streets in the past decade or so. However, those children who were not killed by the cold also ended up as slaves for life. It is worth mentioning that facilities such as orphanages are generally established by major religious organizations. Priests use this as an excuse to gather believers to raise funds, and then build orphanages to house homeless children. It is undeniable that there are good priests who, out of faith and kindness in their hearts, take good care of the orphans and teach them to read and write or learn a skill that will help them make a living in the future. But there are also those who are purely for making money. Once the orphans fall into their hands, they would be better off letting them continue to live on the streets. What Dick wants to do is naturally a normal and good orphanage. Of course! He is not doing this purely for charity, these children will receive education and training in his orphanage and will become his most loyal followers in the future. Everyone was quite satisfied with the breakfast. The local gentry, whether they were sincere or not, all thanked the guests profusely and went back to prepare money. Dick personally escorted these people to the castle gate and watched them go away. Rita asked calmly from the side. "Master, do you think these people will trust you?" "Trust doesn't come overnight, but once the real benefits are in front of them, those who have tasted the sweetness will no longer have any doubts. Come to think of it, when we first met, didn't you also have a deep prejudice against me?" "Oh! I was ignorant at that time, but since I experienced your kindness, Master, I have been devoted to you and cannot leave you!" Rita deliberately said something cute and coquettish. After she finished speaking, she looked at Dick, and they suddenly laughed together. And Befa silently took out a fur coat and put it on Dick, then handed him a piece of paper full of statistics. "Master, the money left by Saxon and David has been counted. Please take a look." "Call the heads of the mines and metallurgical workshops... Forget it, I'll go there myself. I need to pay back the wages that David's grandson has withheld from the miners and craftsmen over the past three years, as well as the pensions for the miners who died. This is not a small amount, and I don't know if this money will be enough!" "There is Davila's hatred. Even if you don't fill this big hole, it won't be blamed on you." "But I need the support of the people. This great opportunity should not be wasted. I want the people of Laguge to think of my name, Dick Best, whenever they mention the Governor. I want them to be completely loyal to me and not recognize anyone else except me!" 016. The best place to relax
A few days later, Dick made a special trip to the mine and workshop. When he went there, Dick brought with him a hundred private soldiers and more than three hundred entourage members, pulling dozens of full caravans. Tens of thousands of miners and slaves were called to gather in the open space. Many miners knew that the new governor had raided Saxon's house, and they applauded the event, but that didn't mean they liked the new governor. Over the past few decades, the Lagoge region has seen so many governors come and go, and the most striking thing is that the new governors are the same, and everyone is greedy in different ways. Therefore, they did not think that this little governor with a harmless baby face would be a good person with a conscience. Then these people were slapped in the face on the spot. Dick called all the miners together and the first thing he announced was to pay them the wages that had been withheld during David's tenure over the past three years. In the past few days, the site manager and foremen of all sizes were invited to "have tea" in batches in order to settle this bad debt. Of course! Due to the layers of deductions and the confusion in the accounts, it was almost impossible to calculate the specific amount of arrears owed to individuals, so Dick simply gave all miners and craftsmen a year's salary in arrears. The slave workers in the coolie camp were not given any compensation, but their meal standards were increased, and the management of the entire mining area was completely replaced. In fact, most of the miners had had their wages withheld by more than one-third over the past three years. But after considering the actual situation, Dick found that the cash on hand might not be enough to fill this huge hole, so he simply pretended to be ignorant and made up for it. But even so, the miners were still stunned, until the private soldiers shouted at them to line up to get paid, and then everyone woke up from their dream and realized that the wages that had been withheld would really be paid to them. The entourage Dick brought with him were his accountants, as he did not have that many people in his castle who knew how to count, so he even temporarily recruited the owners and waiters from the town's taverns. Dick offered these people five silver coins a day as salary for coming to help, and when they returned, they would definitely publicize the new governor's righteous act. It took about three hours to pay the back wages. The accountant counted the money in person and handed it to the miners. Dick sat on a high place, leaning on the sword given by the Duke. After receiving the money, many people were so happy that they almost cried and ran directly to Dick, knelt down and kowtowed. In this situation, Dick couldn't help but be moved. Because if he were to ask himself, Dick didn't really regard these miners as equals to himself. But in the eyes of the miners, it was a great kindness and favor that the nobles were willing to treat them as human beings. After paying the back wages, Dick announced the second thing, which was that the mine was going to lay off employees. The mining area is actually seriously overstaffed at present. There are more than 4,000 slave laborers in the coolie camps and nearly 15,000 local miners. Many of them were not there to mine for the resources, but were forced to work as miners by the governor simply because the output of cold iron did not reach the annual tonnage required. However, in reality, Dick asked someone to calculate that if the purpose was simply to achieve the annual supply, the mine would not need so many people. If the slave labor in the coolie camp could reach the full strength of 5,000, then only about 2,500 more people would need to be recruited locally, which would be enough to meet the full-load mining needs of the eight mine tunnels in the entire mine. As a result, during David's administration, the number of people abused in the mining area once reached more than 20,000! Dick knew that this was related to David's embezzlement. He would steal thousands of tons of ore every year and send them to his mysterious "boss". But even so, the labor efficiency in the mining area should not be so low. As a result, after Dick interrogated the foremen, both big and small, he realized how badly the miners were harmed by these bastards! In addition to the wages being deducted at every level, the entire mining area's old management, from top to bottom, was a collective inhumane group. Whether miners or slave laborers, they generally had to perform high-intensity physical labor without enough food and rest time. In addition, the tools provided by the mining area were of very poor quality, and if they were damaged, the miners had to pay compensation according to the price of the tools. In addition, the infrastructure within the mine is extremely poor. Among the eight mine tunnels, only three are equipped with slide rails. In the other mine tunnels, miners can only carry ore and gravel out in backpacks. The supervisors had no other role to play except whipping the slave miners and beating and scolding them equally. It is precisely because of the above reasons that a vicious cycle is created, resulting in a large amount of manpower being wasted in the mining area but the efficiency is appallingly low.
This reminded Dick of the newspaper he had just read this morning. The National School of Magic had successfully developed the first train powered by magic and steam last week, but in Laguge, more than a thousand kilometers away from the Empire, the labor model of the "Shang and Zhou Dynasties" was still being used. Dick promised the miners that a team of professional dwarf miners would enter the mining area before winter to provide technical guidance. In the early years, there was a team of dwarf miners stationed in the Lagug mining area, but later a governor thought their commission was too expensive and that the miners under him had learned almost everything, so he kicked the dwarf team away.
