The Next Plan

Chapter 60 The Next Plan (Please read, add to your favorites, and vote!)

Alphonse briefly described the situation: "You should make some masks by folding cotton cloth into several layers. This is very important, otherwise, if you get pneumoconiosis, there is no cure."

Seeing how serious Alphonse was, old man Plancy nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Old Man Plancy had never heard of such a thing before, and craftsmen rarely wore masks or similar items, but since the lord had given the order, he had no choice but to obey.

When I was young, I saw a doctor wearing a leather mask with a bird's beak, which was said to be filled with spices and herbs to ward off poisonous miasma.

Simon then asked another question, "Once the warehouse is built, will we continue firing these red bricks?"

In his view, it was a waste of effort to build a brick kiln just to construct two warehouses.

"Once Father Plancy finishes building the warehouse, I'll have him build a model house and a heated kang bed for the people to visit and see if anyone is interested in building one."

Alphonse had already thought it through.

Most of the residents in the territory lived in wooden houses, while others lived in thatched huts.

Winter is coming, how can we survive the winter in a house like that? Do we have to shiver to keep warm?

Even using a brazier poses a risk of causing a fire.

The rooms in one's own castle have fireplaces, but the resident people's wooden houses would never have such a thing.

I believe the people will also want to have a warm winter.

It's okay if you don't have money; you can use your labor to pay off your debts.

Next, they'll need to build roads.

Alphonse was preparing to build a road from the castle all the way to the edge of the territory.

It will definitely require a large workforce.

Alphonse doesn't intend to profit from the residents; the red bricks will be supplied to them at below-market prices.

As for the cement, the cost of recycling the transportation capacity and combustion aid is roughly the same, which can be considered a benefit given to the people by the lord.

"What is a heated kang bed?" Old Man Plancy couldn't help but ask.

"It's a bed with a fire underneath for warmth. I'll draw up a blueprint for you, and then we can discuss how to set up the flue," Alphonse replied.

"Okay." Old Man Plancy felt like he had broadened his horizons; the lord always managed to come up with things he had never heard of before.

I heard that the lord was once a farmer. How does he know so much?

Is this the result of receiving an aristocratic education?

Old Man Plancy couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to receive education unless they have extraordinary talents or come from wealthy families.

"Captain Simon, once the warehouse is built, hire more people and we'll start building the road," Alphonse instructed Simon. "We'll build a smooth highway all the way to the edge of our territory."

The idea that "to get rich, build roads first" is still deeply ingrained in Alphonse's mind.

The roads in Hanfengling are now dusty as soon as a carriage passes by, and muddy after rain, making them very difficult to travel on.

"Should we use bricks to fix it?" Simon asked.

"No, the workers quarry the stone and use the crushed stone mixed with cement to make repairs." Alphonse already knew that the wages for employing commoners were extremely low; 40 copper coins a day was enough to make them work hard without complaint.

He naturally treated his subjects better; commoners working in the brick kiln were paid 50 copper coins a day.

"Yes!" Simon immediately nodded in acceptance.

Alphonse thought for a moment, "Also, post a notice that prohibits residents from urinating or defecating anywhere. We also need to build a few more toilets. Remember all these things, I'm entrusting you with the entire responsibility."

When he drank too much, he would just find a corner in an alley to relieve himself.

The smell was alright on the main roads, but in those dark alley corners, it was truly awful.

For a territory to develop, its environment needs to be improved.

"Yes!" Simon agreed again.

Alphonse liked this about him: he was loyal enough and good at handling government affairs. By entrusting him with trivial matters, Alphonse could relax and enjoy his home.

Mia has informed the Falkrod Merchant Guild of the discovery of the iron ore in Coldwind Territory, and they are using their channels to find buyers.

Soon, merchants who want to buy iron ore should come to our door.

Of course, a cut for the Falklands Chamber of Commerce is unavoidable.

Alphonse had a very good impression of Miss Chloe; she was straightforward and handled things with grace and poise.

However, when Mia went to Ryan City this time, she didn't see her. Instead, she was received by her father, the president of the Falkrod Chamber of Commerce.

I heard that Chloe has returned to the Royal Academy and is also expanding her cream business.

The sale of cream has already shown initial success, and it is very popular among the nobility.

In addition to purchasing the combustion aid, Mia also brought back a share of the cream sales, worth over a thousand gold coins.

There was also a large truckload of hay.

The Falklands Chamber of Commerce is quite efficient; they haven't forgotten about this matter.

They are indeed a very good partner.

The task of recruiting blacksmiths for the Coldwind Territory was also entrusted to the Falkrod Merchant Guild.

Unfortunately, the blacksmith in the territory only knew how to forge farm tools; he didn't have the skill to forge swords and armor.

They extorted over six thousand gold coins from Baron Byan and also swindled a sewage fee from Baron Aldrich.

They raided the homes of Thompson and several other traitors, and also obtained more than 800 gold coins.

Thompson took the most of the dirty money, leaving his soldiers with very little.

The current finances of Hanfengling can be described as quite abundant, with the amount of money stored in the treasury exceeding ten thousand.

Of course you have to spend money when you have it.

Alphonse intends to thoroughly arm his "loyal" guards.

The leather and chainmail armor currently in service is simply not good enough.

Once they have all cultivated true qi, they will be able to move freely even when wearing full armor.

However, relying entirely on purchasing these items would be extremely expensive.

A full set of plate armor that covers the entire body costs at least one hundred gold coins. If you want to equip two hundred soldiers with it, you won't even have enough gold coins in the lord's manor reserves.

Alphonse doesn't necessarily need full plate armor. A metal breastplate that combines the front and back is much better than chainmail. It can defend against most weapons and reduce the impact of blunt force blows.

Hanfeng has iron mines, and hiring several skilled blacksmiths at high salaries to forge weapons and equipment can save a lot of money.

The soldiers sent to Count Mujik to gather information have also returned.

They learned that the Earl's mansion had invited priests from the Church of War to their home, but they couldn't find out the specifics.

After all, they are not professional spies, so we can't be too demanding of them.

It seems they had no suspicions about Alphonse.

Alphonse was baffled when he heard the news that he would seek out priests from the Church of the God of War to treat the bewitched Faylen and Amelanda.

It seems like my major is not relevant to my job.

(End of this chapter)