NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51
A crowd of over a thousand people had gathered in an open space further beyond my territory, Bio Village.
These folks, despite their differences in gender and age, had one thing in common.
They all found it tough to settle down with suitable jobs in their hometowns.
And I was here to give them new employment opportunities.
“I am Fabio de Medici, your lord.”
Even though I spoke as the lord, those below the dais continued to murmur among themselves.
It’s understandable that these farmers, who had lived their whole lives in their hometown, would be whispering upon encountering a strange lord in an unfamiliar place.
In our empire, it’s common sense that moving to a new location means immense hardship, so it’s odd that they aren’t trembling with fear.
But with so many people gathered, it was impossible to comfort and understand each one of them.
I directed the mercenary captain.
“Strike the ground a few times with your spear to get their attention.”
“Yes, understood.”
Following my orders, he immediately called out to the farmers.
“Hey! The lord is speaking, and you lot are chattering away? Quiet down!”
From now on, I’d need to ask them to use a bit more dignified language.
Mercenaries shouldn’t be yelling at the farmers like that; the kids might end up crying.
“Once again, I am Fabio de Medici, the lord of this land. Since this place and the surroundings have no proper name, let’s call it Bergello. Forget where you lived before, who you served, all of that. You are all now farmers of Bergello.”
No one can simply forget their hometown when told to do so.
What I truly hoped for was that they’d consider themselves locals once they arrived here, living as if they would become spirits of Bergello after their deaths.
I would make every effort to foster attachment to the factory and living environment as much as I could.
“Where are you all from?”
It was a bit late, but the farmers, gauging the mercenaries’ expressions, quickly provided me with the response I wanted.
“We are farmers of Bergello.”
“Good. You will now spend your lives in Bergello.”
Having told them where they belonged, it was time to let them know how great a favor I was doing for them and introduce the tasks ahead.
Honestly, even though these farmers lacked education, they all knew very well the plight of men without farming rights and women who couldn’t marry…
They should have some gratitude towards me for providing them with food until now.
Such expressions of appreciation should be made while it counts, right?
‘You have to learn about filial piety towards your parents!’
“I know well that leaving your hometown to settle in a strange place is not easy. Moreover, you’ll have to engage in new work instead of farming.”
Humans tend to shy away from things they’ve never experienced.
The reason we preferred playing rather than studying when we were students—and the reason we sought familiar food at home—is the same.
Let alone for those who have never stepped outside their village all their lives, anything new might be sheer terror.
However, new tasks generally become easier after you’ve done them once or twice.
“Someone here will weave cloth, another will spin yarn, and yet someone else will harvest wool or cultivate cotton.”
In my mind, I held the basic principles of marvelous tools like steam engines, spinning jennies, and looms that could drive the initial industrial revolution.
Even if I were to reference it, saying the ‘Flying Shuttle’ for the loom that uses springs for easier lateral movement is as simple as it gets.
Excluding steam engines, solving the issue regarding local artisans with applicable skills was woven together more easily than one might think.
To prevent technology leakage, I would pay them well and provide houses and even allow marriages, ensuring they won’t have many complaints.
At first, living with artisans and farmers might feel a bit uncomfortable, but the village’s closed nature for the sake of maintaining technology would lead to familiarity soon enough.
“What you are about to do will likely be tougher than the farming you’ve done since childhood. But think of it: can you gain farming rights as adults?”
The residents of Bio Village, on the verge of starvation due to famine while restoring their lands, were on the brink of disaster.
The ones gathered here had no rights to land for tenant farming, leaving men as thugs and women as prostitutes, with no paths ahead.
Both thuggery and prostitution are bottom-tier professions where one has to swallow their pride and practically lick the soles of shoes for a mere penny.
“Yet, you are lucky to have been chosen by me. Thanks to that, since coming here, none of you should have gone a day hungry.”
I tried to erase the Korean 21st-century mindset from my thoughts to some extent.
However, I absolutely don’t want to hear that my subordinates are going hungry.
‘I can’t stand feeling like a useless person.’
“If you do your job well, you will get three hearty meals a day. And once a month, you can enjoy as much meat as you want. So just think of it as one month of struggle and work hard.”
I learned through managing the farmers in Bio Village that’s how it goes.
Farmers worked hard for a year only to retain the bare minimum of food while everything else was snatched away.
But what’s the point of working hard then? Wouldn’t one prefer to die of starvation over immediate comfort?
That’s a harsh requirement for those who have lived a life like that to be told to put in effort for so long.
‘One month should feel like a reasonable challenge.’
“Today, since I am here, I will generously offer you meat.”
For farmers, indulging in meat outside of Thanksgiving or Christmas— occasions that occur once or twice a year—is a rare treat.
To be precise, they could get a little, but it’s not every day.
“Enjoy yourselves, and starting tomorrow, build the houses and factories you’ll live in, following the directives of the craftsmen. And prove your worth. That is all.”
If the number of village folks had been around 300, like in Bio Village, I might have demonstrated looms and spinning wheels.
But what kind of demonstration could I give in front of thousands of people?
“Mercenary captain.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Let the farmers eat as much meat and drink as they want, and only intervene if it looks like a fight might break out. If there’s a verbal fight, just hit a few people to settle it, and when the fists start flying, make sure the parties involved end up half-beaten.”
“Yes, understood.”
And this fellow kept dodging my gaze, glancing back and forth.
Our mercenaries in the Toscan Empire are notoriously known for being money-hungry.
It’s a joke that they’d betray you if the enemy offered them more during a battle.
Isn’t that a bit too extreme?
‘But, they have been maintaining order and governance while I’m away.’
“The food and drink for you all are in another wagon. Eat only after feeding the farmers. I’ll also provide a bonus of 50 gold coins.”
In effect, I’m managing what would be seen as potential criminals without bias under the medieval fantasy perspective.
With 500 individuals hired, that means a gold coin will barely cover anything for all.
If I had the status to hire regular soldiers, I could have given them only half of that.
I’m not in a situation where I’m stingy with money, but seeing it taken away like this feels a tad painful.
“It’s an honor, Young Lord.”
Then, I had a brief conversation with the artisans present before encountering Chris.
She was engaged in a serious discussion with Sebastian about future directions.
“Housekeeper, if we start producing cloth in large quantities here, we should consider selling it to the heathens as well.”
“I’m a bit reluctant regarding the heathens…”
“But the money they offer is still money, isn’t it? And selling cloth to the heathens in exchange for coffee would increase your profits by about 8%.”
I understand now why Chris’s father allowed his daughter to become a merchant.
In just a few days of working, we were able to have serious business discussions and converse as equals.
Chris looked at me, greeted me, and asked, “Young Lord, what are your thoughts on the market? Selling cloth to the heathens might be a good idea.”
It’s a reasonable idea, but it’s a bit premature for that.
The fabric of this era, no matter how much you produce, is a miraculous commodity that remains high in price.
It was the fabric business that drove the early stages of the industrial revolution.
“Selling to the Alchini merchant group would be good, but for now, let’s first establish our selling routes through Guillaume City to the Lion Kingdom. We also need to find ways to procure wool and cotton as much as possible.”
At this, Sebastian and Chris tilted their heads in confusion.
“No matter how many new machines we introduce and how many people we mobilize, making cloth isn’t that easy, is it?”
It’s a bit awkward to explain this.
Since I’ve never actually used spinning wheels or looms myself.
So I might as well say this:
“If it comes down to it, I’ll take full responsibility. And I believe I could probably buy more, and the factory will be able to handle it all.”
Currently, the cloth production technology is equivalent to the medieval to early modern period on Earth, while what I’m introducing is the technology of the early industrial revolution.
“Whoever masters the cloth will ultimately dominate the market. So let’s get moving!”
That’s no hollow statement.
One of the reasons why the British could dominate the world was that they utilized the money made from churning out clothes during the industrial revolution to fund weapons and anything else they needed.