Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 156: Chapter 97: The New Minister of Industry and the Bear God’s Followers

Su Li finished his lunch and arrived at Jorn Shallow Bay, where the slaves were also having their lunch.

The slaves’ lunch was not as sumptuous as the nobility’s. Their lunch included a piece of black bread mixed with sawdust and wheat bran, four wild vegetable balls with a bit of salt, and a bowl of wild vegetable soup. This meal was not considered abundant, but it sufficed to fill their stomachs.

The real energy replenishment, ensuring their stamina, was a bowl of broth mixed with wheat bran, minced venison, and dried small fish, along with a wooden cup of cheese or mare’s milk wine.

This way of dining displayed the current productivity composition of the territory in every aspect, with agriculture, hunting and fishing, and animal husbandry jointly forming the source of food for the territory.

This level of food supply was only achieved with the assistance of Su Li’s intelligence system.

Outside the Hesse Territory, most of the serfs were gray livestock; they couldn’t even fathom the taste of meat, let alone eat it copiously.

To mock the Empire, the vampires once crafted a widely spread joke.

They said one day, three skeletons met and talked about their origins.

The first skeleton said, ”I hail from the desert nation of Nekhara and was once a warrior under the great Pharaoh.”

The second skeleton said, ”I come from West, and I once served a renowned Vampire Count.”

The third skeleton said, ”I come from the Empire, and furthermore, I’m not a skeleton; I’m an old farmer, and I’m not dead yet!”

The peasants in the Empire were that miserable, so the slaves in the Empire indeed resembled skeletons.

Therefore, the food in the Hesse Territory could truly be called generous and virtuous!

Many free people even envied it, as most free people within the Hesse Territory lived far less well than these slaves.

As Su Li passed through Hesse Town, he took a look at the living conditions of Hesse Town’s residents, which were utterly arduous.

No way around it, life in the newly developed territory was tough, grain was scarce, and the grain route was yet to be fully established.

The residents had to acquire grain at high prices.

In these circumstances, the invisible hand of the free market truly pushed grain prices to an extremely high level.

A pound of grain costs 10 Copper Coins!

A pound of beef costs a Silver Coin!

Expecting the merchants to talk about social relief and responsibility is a joke!

Disaster relief is something only the SH ideology would do; our great capitalist society can self-rescue, with the weak destined to be eliminated, and only the strong can survive.

The merchants only hoped to sell at higher prices to amass wealth; asking them to sell grain at low prices is harder than killing them.

The Minister of the Seal, Lauren, was also strongly opposed to Su Li’s relief policy, questioning why, despite the potential for profit, one should sell three thousand pounds of vegetables and wild greens and one thousand pounds of grain at low prices every day?

This doesn’t align with the policies of the nobility or the interests of the merchants and will provoke much resentment.

All that golden grain being scattered among the poor? It’s a sin!

But Su Li held firm, driving away many merchant representatives and high-ranking guild officials attempting to persuade him to abandon this policy.

He was not lacking in grain, nor were the residents devoid of wealth, so why should he artificially lead them to such despair?

A large number of bankrupt free people did not align with his interests.

He hoped the Hesse Territory could become prosperous, attracting more northern immigrants to move south. He envisioned transforming the Hesse Territory into an exemplary holy land of the Fiery Sun Goddess on Earth, a place of prosperity and devotion that everyone aspires to.

With every family of free people coming and going bankrupt, it was detrimental to his grand plans.

Moreover, such high grain prices, aside from causing inflation, were enriching the merchants with substantial wealth, but ended up leaving the Hesse Territory hungry and impoverished, offering little benefit.

This territory belonged to Lord Su Li, not the merchants!

Lord Su Li was willing to relieve the people, showcase some virtue, and neither merchants nor officials could alter that fact.

After observing the slaves’ meals for a while, Su Li asked the Minister of the Seal, Lauren, who was beside him, ”How is the health condition of the slaves?”

Lauren replied in detail, ”Their health condition is excellent with the care of the nuns from the Dawn Church.”

Su Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, ”These nuns are truly kind, not only directing the serfs in farming but also tending to their illnesses. Without the Dawn Church, merely dealing with birth, aging, illness, and death would reduce their numbers significantly.”

Lauren nodded and said, ”Indeed. The members of the Hospital Knight Order are only willing to assist Knights, Armed Attendants, and Free People; they are unwilling to even touch merchants and prostitutes, let alone slaves. Without the nuns from the Dawn Church, our agriculture endeavors would face many setbacks.”

Su Li then shifted his attention briefly to the matters of the serfs, snapping his fingers, and a gray-bearded middle-aged man stepped forward from behind.

”Let me introduce you, this is our future Minister of Industry for the territory, Sheriff Galovici.”

The middle-aged man, dressed in tattered sackcloth, somewhat nervously greeted Lauren. He formed a claw shape with his right hand and placed it on his left shoulder, bowing to ensure that his tall stature was lower than Lauren’s.

”Greetings to the Minister of the Seal, may the Bear God bless you with strength and health, free from all cold winds and illness.”

Lauren furrowed his brows, his extensive knowledge allowing him to instantly recognize this gesture—it was from a Kislevite!

Their etiquette demands that they must never turn their back on the Tsar and must never speak higher than the Tsar.

This Bear Claw gesture symbolizes the mighty claws of the Bear God resting on their shoulders, granting them strength and great protection. The followers of the Bear God believe that this gesture ensures they are free from the chilling winds, keeping illness at bay and maintaining their vigor.

”Lord, where did you find such a Kislevite? Can a mere slave truly be relied upon as Minister of Industry?”

Su Li confidently smiled, saying, ”My minister, don’t forget, you too were elevated from among the slaves by me. Who, then, can say you are unreliable?”

Su Li’s authority was sufficient to ensure that none dared to have the slightest doubt about his appointments.

In this world, there’s no such thing as an election system.

A lord, if he wishes, can appoint a merchant with no political experience as Minister of Finance, designate a brewing servant who has never managed a city as the territory’s Minister of Finance, or even make his favored prostitute or mistress the Minister of the Seal!

Often, Su Li felt out of place in this world because he was too normal.

So, hearing Su Li speak this way, Lauren wisely closed his mouth, as the lord’s appointments were always perfect, beyond questioning.

Su Li then continued, ”Another slave caravan has arrived at Hesse Town, haven’t you gone to take a look, my Minister of the Seal?”

Lauren immediately replied, ”I have been there, and lent over 50 gold coins to the Dawn Church, and they purchased two nuns.”

”Additionally, the farmers of other manors and autonomous territories are also buying slaves there, and business is booming. With these slaves joining, our farms throughout the Hesse Territory can develop very well.”

The territory’s development was gradually getting on track, and not every visiting caravan needed to be personally received by Su Li. Like this Slave Capture Team, the slaves they brought did not require Su Li’s intervention, as various territories, knights, and farms could buy them all.

Su Li pointed to Sheriff and said, ”Sheriff is an expert in managing slaves, and future motivations for serfs will be entrusted to him.”

Kislev is a vassal state in the northeast direction of the Empire, covered in ice and snow, and the territory believes in the northern Bear God and the southern Winter God Yurik.

The most renowned are their gray livestock, and their serfs are acclaimed for their hard work throughout the entire continent.

Entrusting Sheriff with this aspect could perhaps continue to enhance the effects of the Power Field Technique.

Sheriff hastily replied, ”To serve the lord is my honor, and I hope my abilities can contribute to the development of agriculture in the territory.”

Su Li led him to the dike of Bjorn Shallow Bay, looking down at the vast, sprawling fields below.

The earth-colored plowed fields were neatly divided by paths, ditches, and tree belts, into fertile farms.

Active slaves had already returned to the fields after dining, starting their cultivation. Guided by the nuns of the Dawn Church, they worked meticulously, passionately, and diligently.

This amazed Sheriff, who said, ”Lord, the enthusiasm of your serfs in your territory is astounding. I think it certainly isn’t due solely to good meals.”

Su Li smiled and said, ”You can find out the specific reasons in detail later. My Minister of the Seal, please introduce our territory’s farming situation. The Minister of Agriculture is absent, and both of you must work together to advance the territory’s farming endeavors.”

Lauren stepped forward, pointing at the slaves working below, and said, ”Lord, you see, the serfs are now cultivating the wheat for the autumn harvest. The Border Prince’s Territory is situated at the southernmost end of the Empire, and if we plan appropriately, our fields can achieve three harvests a year.”

”The issue now is, without specialized sowing equipment, we only sowed two thousand acres of farmland this morning. If the Minister of Industry can coordinate the territory’s engineers and Half-Elves, it would be best to prioritize the development of a batch of specialized sowing devices.”

Su Li asked, ”Do we plant only this kind of crop?”

Lauren shook his head and provided a detailed introduction, ”The Minister of Agriculture, Vandar, once proposed a detailed plan to me. Dawn Church intends to sow from west to east, first sowing wheat and soybeans, and then, as time progresses, after missing the planting season, gradually sowing beets, pumpkins, barley, rapeseed, and so on, towards the east.”

”If everything goes smoothly, we can ensure the staggered maturation of various plants, keeping them from rotting due to untimely consumption.”

”Moreover, we can make full use of these forty thousand acres of farmland.”

Su Li’s eyes lit up, smiling, he said, ”This plan is excellent. Stability is the most important aspect of farming, avoiding major fluctuations. Continuous income is the guarantee of territorial stability.”

”However, we must also ensure the wheat yield, as wheat is the staple that can be stored for several years. Are there any measures in this regard?”

Lauren nodded, smiling, he said, ”Of course. We always have some wondrous means to ensure the output of the wheat fields.”

Then Lauren pointed to a piece of already cultivated good farmland and said, ”A new Father of Grains, Polevik, has settled there. As a new Essence of Nature, he can conduct a blood sacrifice. The territory is preparing a large amount of flesh to ensure the scale of this blood sacrifice field is as extensive as possible, at least reaching over two hundred acres!”

”Would you like to go and see the new Essence of Nature?”