Volume 7: Doing Business with the World Chapter 235 Good business~!
In the royal palace of Saint Bridge.
In His Royal Highness's study, Home Secretary Hockley, who was sitting in the first seat to the right of the guest seat, was holding a thick folder and reporting matters respectfully.
"Your Highness, the second reorganization of the National Defense Army has been completed. All the old, weak and disabled soldiers who were eliminated and unqualified have been incorporated into the production corps and will be sent to the west to open up the wasteland next month..."
If a country has been at peace for a long time, the possibility of problems in the army is more than 99%, and St. Bridges is no exception.
And when someone tries to reform the army, it will inevitably cause more severe impacts than war - the reason is simple: military spending is too high!
Carlisle supported the eldest prince and subdued his father, then he began to take over the army. He started to reorganize it half a year before the first battle, which was the year when the Snow Wolf Tribe came to visit.
The first major reorganization three years ago was not about expanding the military, but about disarmament.
Yes... Prince Carlisle is actually disarming his troops even though they are about to go to war .
Why? Because the moisture in the army at that time was so high that it was not a sponge soaked in water, but a sponge soaked in water. Carlisle was not faced with the problem of just wringing out the water and using it, but had to first take the sponge out of the water...
When he was still a nominal prince, both Carlisle and his good friend Tim Humphrey thought that St. Bridget's army was said to be 500,000 strong. So, if you deduct the numbers of those who were on the payroll, the servants and slaves of the nobles, and the menial laborers who were there to make up the numbers, there must be at least 400,000.
Then, after Carlisle finally killed his brother and imprisoned his father and successfully ascended to power... he discovered that being able to raise 200,000 men was considered a sign of the Kingdom's military having a conscience.
This is so embarrassing.
When the first year of fighting with the federal expeditionary force that came across the sea, Carlisle had been busy reorganizing the troops half a year in advance, pulling out the available men from the local armed forces to put together a 200,000-strong national defense army, and then cooperated with those guys in the federation who were making a fortune from the war to keep the show going.
——If they were only planning to have a minor incident and then go back home, but ended up destroying your country casually, then what's the point of the show?
So when the troops were reorganized for the first time, St. Bridges' army underwent a major "disarmament" and "shrunk" from 500,000 regular troops to 200,000.
The army was reduced, and the financial resources were also greatly reduced. At that time, Carlisle was troubled by the guys who had caused a lot of trouble. It happened that the Snow Wolf Tribe had an accident that year, so Carlisle did not mention the reorganization of the army at all, and used this as an excuse to pack up the biggest hats, including his cousin Prince Hillbot, and sent them to the front line. This made Carlisle feel much more at ease.
Now, Prince Hilbott has been stationed at the front for three years and has not been able to return. No one in the entire capital dares to nag Carlisle anymore, so he naturally has to take advantage of the situation and start the second major reorganization (disarmament):
First, we need to drive out those guys in the National Protection Army who have been here for three years and have done nothing, such as Roger, the grandson of Chancellor of the Exchequer Collins, who has never trained for a day and has no idea of the front-line topographic map.
When Hockley reported the list of officers to be laid off with a stern face, Collins, who was also present, showed no expression when he heard his grandson's name.
If you don't get out of the army, you will go to the front line. This is Carlisle's bottom line. Although Collins was angry, he still couldn't bear to leave his grandson.
Secondly, the guards and thugs of noble officers at all levels were removed from the official list - it would be fine if they were all thugs and guards, at least they had some fighting skills and could go to the battlefield. But what the hell was going on when all the male servants of the masters, mistresses, young masters and young ladies in the entire family were used to make up the numbers?
Well, this is also a disguised way of forcing some nobles who are just making up the numbers to have some sense and get out of the army as soon as possible... Without guards and thugs to protect them, they still dare to go to the front line. Even if they just sleep in the safe zone in the rear, Carlisle admires them for being real men.
Third, we will seriously lay off the old, weak, sick and disabled.
First of all, except for a few civilian positions, non-professional military personnel are not allowed to serve as officers, not even the lowest-level non-commissioned officers; soldiers whose physical conditions still cannot meet the minimum requirements of the army after three years of training must also be laid off, incorporated into production corps, and sent to the west to open up wasteland.
The territory of St. Brigid is not large, but the population is far from the upper limit of the environmental carrying capacity (under a lower level of productivity). Except for the areas around a few large cities, most of the territory is undeveloped. It is a great place for these veterans who are not suitable for fighting to shine.
Once you go to these places, no matter who these useless people belong to, they can only work for His Royal Highness the Prince and devote their whole lives to His Royal Highness the Prince... ahem.
While listening to Hockley's report, Carlisle calmly observed the reactions of other ministers.
The Minister of War was extremely opposed to the second reorganization of the National Protection Army. His property had shrunk by more than half during the first large-scale disarmament. This time he had made up his mind to oppose it at all costs and to stop His Royal Highness the Prince from "going against the grain". After Carlisle spread the news, he immediately showed an extremely fierce confrontational attitude, and all his remarks that sounded righteous and mature were thwarted.
So Carlisle pretended to casually mention whether Claude could be allowed to join the military department... and the Minister of War immediately became obedient.
What does it mean to transfer from the chief of the imperial guards to the military? !
The concept of someone waiting to take his place at any time!
That’s right, this idiot Claude is a loser who relied on his son Dan to get to the top, but His Royal Highness the Prince trusts him!
Money is important, but if you lose your status, no matter how much money you have, you will not be able to keep it... This guy is very clear-headed.
Finance Minister Collins was resentful about his grandson, but he was only in charge of approving the disbursement of military funds and had no right to touch them - no king would be willing to let the chief financial officer get involved in the army - and throughout the whole process he just kept a straight face and said nothing.
As for the other ministers, even the Chancellor of Finance and the Minister of War didn't say anything, so they had no right to speak.
Carlisle looked indifferent, with his hands clasped in front of him, listening to the report calmly and attentively.
To be honest, Carlisle actually didn't think much of Yumi's father, Earl Hockley - he lacked courage, was petty and cunning, and was even worse than his daughter Yumi.
But such a person is not without advantages. For example, he is very obedient and will not go west if told to go east... He has offended the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of War at the same time. Most people might make excuses and pretend to obey but he does not. But with a little scare from Carlyle, he will bite the bullet and do the job.
"Even a pair of underwear can be useful if used in the right place. Although the teacher's words are rude, they do make sense." Carlisle thought this thought rudely with a calm face...
I wonder how Earl Hockley, who is treated as a piece of underwear, would feel if he knew what His Royal Highness the Prince was thinking.
After the report on the results of the second reorganization of the National Protection Army was completed, Carlisle first thanked Earl Hockley for his hard work, and then humbly asked other ministers if they had any different opinions.
Ministers: “…”
The baby has been born and the mother has started breastfeeding, and you are still pretending to ask us if we agree with this marriage! !
But this was His Royal Highness expressing his attitude of "accepting advice", and no matter how upset the ministers were, they had to give him face and cooperate with the performance...
When it comes to serious business with his own people, Carlisle is not so dramatic.
Still in the study, four friends, Dan Claudy, Darren, Tim, and Yumi, who had rushed back from the front line, gathered together, staring seriously... at a roll of strange film on the table.
"Plastic film." Carlisle pointed at the roll of film. "It's a new product from the Fire Department. The palace gardeners have already tried it. Bamboo and this film are used to make a shed. It allows light to pass through and keeps heat in. Even in this kind of weather, crops can germinate normally."
"Doesn't this mean that this thing can replace the glass greenhouse?" Tim picked up the roll of plastic film in amazement and unfolded it to check its light transmittance.
The Alchemist Guild has a great demand for alchemical herbs, and each branch of the guild has to build its own glass greenhouse to ensure the supply of herbs. They are the chemists and plant/biologists of this world, and although they are not as good as druids, they have their own expertise in herb cultivation.
"Yes." Carlisle couldn't help laughing. "For a plastic greenhouse and a glass greenhouse of the same area, the cost of the former is one percent of the latter."
"Hiss——" The four friends gasped at the same time, even the female husky Yumi was shocked ...
It is said that only young girls are qualified to spend money like water, but when they grow up, they are even stingy when drinking a cup of milk tea... ahem, spending other people's (parents' and elders') money is not the same as spending your own money. After following Carlisle's career, Yumi, who has economic awareness, no longer buys those extremely expensive skirts, and naturally knows what a 99% cost reduction means.
"How can such a good thing be so cheap?" Dan touched the plastic film in surprise, his movements were particularly gentle and caring.
The reason is the same as Yumi's. Now that she has started to be the "master", her perception of cheap and good quality things has changed.
Carlisle glanced at Dan, then casually threw a small notebook in front of him: "This is a gift from your teacher, the Sweet Potato Leaf Field Management Manual. Planting leafy vegetables on the front line will also reduce some of the logistical pressure."
Dan froze as he touched the plastic film.
Carlisle ignored him and scanned Darren and Yumi's faces: "Who of you is willing to lead the production corps to open up wasteland in the west?"
Yumi immediately tensed up and said vigilantly, "Isn't this my father... Earl Hockley's responsibility?"
Carlisle said expressionlessly: "Do you think Earl Hockley is a gentleman who can leave the capital, go to the wilderness of the west, and endure living and eating with the production corps?"
Yumi: “…”
Even though he was her father, she couldn't bring herself to say such nonsense with her eyes closed...
"Or is there a more suitable candidate in the royal capital, such as Master Jerome of the Collins family?" Carlisle spread his hands with a sarcastic look on his face.
Now Yumi could no longer hide the look of disgust on her face... Her father, Earl Hockley, had previously tried to match her with Jerome and arrange a marriage between her family and the Collins family, which made Yumi so angry that she turned against her father on the spot - how could she be interested in a loser who couldn't do anything with his mother, was a gigolo and didn't even look good enough?
Darren was quite eager to try. He was born in a humble family, and although he rose to a higher position thanks to Carlisle, he was still always treated as a bumpkin and nouveau riche in the royal capital. Others wanted to please His Royal Highness the Prince and would rather spend money to bribe him, but his father ignored him... He felt wronged.
In short, Darren was quite excited to go out of the capital and do something.
But, after all, he is Carlisle's friend and has a certain vision and insight. In addition, Darren's IQ is relatively high, so he knows that this matter is not something that a person of his unrecognized identity can take on. So he put his expectant eyes on Yumi.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I only like muscular men like Taiga." Yumi felt uncomfortable being stared at by him.
Darren: “…”
Carlisle saw what Darren meant and said without emotion: "That's fine too. You two can go together. Yumi is the earl's daughter and she can handle the situation. If there is anything, Yumi should listen to Darren's opinion."
"Wait?!" Yumi was shocked.
Carlisle said without hesitation, "Don't refuse. Once this is done , I will help you fight for the title after Earl Hockley retires, and let you become a countess. Aren't you very envious of Countess Lola Philip of Cronin? Although there is no earldom for you, the earldom of the capital is not bad either."
Yumi calmed down and looked at Darren with sharp eyes: "It's up to you, Darren."
"You should have the magnanimity to take responsibility for your own problems!" Carlisle was angry.
"I can't take any responsibility. My father didn't even put me in the order of succession." Yumi Xianyu said confidently, "You said it yourself. The Earl's daughter is the one who can keep things in order. I just need to make a glamorous appearance and support Darren."
Darren said nothing, but just gave Carlisle a reassuring look.
It's not that Yumi can't get things done, she just needs to be pushed, put under pressure, or motivated by vanity before she's willing to work hard... When Carlisle left her and Dan in the country, this woman worked so hard with the mentality of making the ladies in the capital bow their heads in submission.
Now, everyone knows that she is one of Carlisle's "harem" and is always smiling and flattering wherever she goes, so it is natural that she has become a lazy fish.
After dealing with the three friends, Carlisle looked at Tim and smiled.
Tim was still staring at the roll of plastic film in his hand, with a thoughtful look on his face - he was indeed a good friend of His Royal Highness the Prince who shared a spiritual connection with him!
Meeting Carlisle's gaze, Tim also smiled: "Carlisle, how much of this plastic film did Teacher Ayun give us?"
"Half a standard cabin." Carlisle said.
St. Bridget's ships were not as big as Lamia's thousand-ton ships, but standard cargo ships could at least have a displacement of several hundred tons; no matter how backward the shipbuilding technology was, the carrying capacity of a ship would not be less than half of its displacement.
After hearing this, Tim smiled like a flower...
"What are you talking about again?" Yumi, who didn't understand, immediately became unhappy.
"This plastic film is very light." Tim explained with a smile, "If you build a greenhouse, it won't take up many pounds. Half a standard ship cabin's worth of plastic film is enough to supply domestic consumption, with some left over."
"Surplus...Oh! That's it." Yumi understood.
"Wait?! What are you talking about?" Dan was confused.
"This plastic film allows crops to grow in winter and extend the farming season." Darren couldn't bear to watch it anymore and started explaining to Dan.
"So what?" Dan was still confused.
Others: "..."
"This kind of idiot can only go to the front line." Yumi stood up expressionlessly, "Come on, Darren, let's go see the chief officers of the production corps."
"good."
"I have to go back and change my clothes first. Those guys always judge people by their clothes. Don't dress so plainly. Put on your formal dress."
Tim & Carlisle waved to the two people who left first, and talked about which country to cooperate with first, whether to prioritize Holmes or Aka Blue, and which one was more valuable...
"Hey! Are you guys isolating me?" Dan said aggrievedly.
The court lady who was quietly standing by and serving tea looked at Dan Claudy, who seemed to be forcing himself to be cute, with a complicated expression...
Well...even she understood it - a tool to extend the farming season. If any kingdom missed it, then His Royal Highness the Prince would have one more "all-weather strategic partner" that he often mentioned.
His Royal Highness's teacher shouted the slogan of great unity of the grassland people in the northern grassland, and His Royal Highness also raised the banner of great unity of the southern people in the south; but the relationship between the human kingdoms is complicated and different from the grassland. His Royal Highness has been thinking about how to deepen the strategic alliance between countries. The appearance of this plastic film, which is countless times more economical than the glass greenhouse, is simply a blessing from heaven... So why doesn't this Knight Claude understand? !
Valentine, Robbins Knights Col.
No matter how small the land Isaac was granted was, it was at least more than 20 square kilometers. After building the first, second and third districts and constructing a dock, only one-fifth of the land was occupied, leaving a large area of wasteland.
Leaving the land idle is not a good thing, so after the teacher sent two tons of plastic film as a trial product (NN times less than that in Carlisle), Isaac spent a little money to hire a group of farmers who were idle in winter. They marked out a piece of land, built dozens of greenhouses, and carried soil, prepared the land, and sowed vegetable seeds.
When a group of tigers came to the door with doubts, Isaac was smiling and inspecting the greenhouse where the green leafy vegetables were growing well...
In St. Bridges, the winter snows for at most ten days or half a month, but in Valentine, the winter is not so kind; the only advantage here is that it is not as cold as on the grassland, where the heavy snow can collapse the house...
There was snow outside the translucent greenhouse, while the crops inside were thriving and lush. Such a spectacular contrast shocked not only the citizens of Valentine who came to see the rare sight, but also the local farmers who carried soil and sowed vegetable seeds.
Upon hearing that the tiger tribe's "guests" had arrived, Isaac immediately stopped laughing and ran back to the Knight's House to meet the guests.
On the way, he was stopped by citizens who had come all the way from Valentine to watch the fun and asked if he was selling leafy vegetables... Isaac just grabbed Edward and threw him over, letting him deal with it.
After seeing with his own eyes the strongest fighting race after the legendary dragon clan, Isaac's immediate reaction was: Holy shit, they're even stronger than the Snow Wolves!
The tiger tribe, whose entire population is a soldier and whose young men can fight against heaven and earth as soon as they grow up, does have a considerable advantage in terms of physique; except for the minotaurs (er...) who are suspected to have evolved incompletely, no other race can compare with them in size.
They are so strong and have a natural affinity with wind magic. No wonder these guys are doing so badly after falling from the altar... Even if God is not jealous, people will be!
When Isaac looked at the group of tigers, they were also looking at him.
This group of tiger warriors that appeared in the Knight Territory was led by Yale.
He left the veteran Harry in the Unbounded Forest, and led the warriors of two tents (twenty-four warriors + two account masters) through the mountains and forests under the guidance of human spellcasters and entered the Bolton Territory of the Kronin Kingdom.
Then the human wizard handed them over to the humans in Bolton's territory and left. The humans in Bolton's territory transferred them to Valentine.
As they hurried along, any human beings they met on the road who discovered this group of tiger warriors would give them a wide berth.
Yale and the others could understand this. During the Tiger Tribe's royal court era, when they dealt with Lamia's caravans, those human caravans were unwilling to even enter the Tiger Tribe's territory.
But after entering Valentine, the situation was a little wrong - although they would avoid the humans they met on the road, they did not run away immediately. Instead, they stood far away and pointed at them, as if they were eager to approach and chat with them but did not dare to.
After entering the Knight Territory, from the gate of the first district to the Knight's Mansion, everything Yale and his companions encountered made them extremely confused... Not only did the human race here not avoid them, but they even rushed towards them with great interest, jumping and shouting some incomprehensible words? !
If it were n't for the Bolton people who sent them here to disperse the crowd, they might still be stuck in the street right now...
Finally seeing the human agent who was exchanging food for the Snow Wolf People to plant battle trees, Yale looked this human knight up and down and felt a little... confused.
There is no other reason. Compared with those powerful human beings who appeared in the tiger king's court, this human knight looks very weak...
"Why would the Snow Wolf Clan choose such a human as their agent? Don't they only trust the strong?" Yale, whose understanding of the Snow Wolf Clan was still based on what his elders had passed down through word of mouth, was very puzzled.
Yale thought Isaac was a weakling, and Isaac thought Yale and the other tiger warriors were too awesome... They didn't dare to get too close, so they sat far away, forcing themselves to smile politely.
He couldn't help but feel scared, because he had heard Yu himself say that Yu's strongest Snow Wolf warrior could only fight against the Tiger Clan without losing, and could not win - the upper limit of the Snow Wolf Clan was equal to the standard level of the Tiger Clan, the gap was huge~!
"My name is Isaac Robbins. What should I call you?"
"Yale." Yale said simply.
Isaac nodded and continued to smile: "Ayun, the sage of the Snow Wolf tribe, asked me to trade with your tribe, exchanging food for the fruits, stems and leaves of the battle tree. The Snow Wolf tribe hopes that the trading ratio will be one to one, which means one ton of food for one ton of fruits, stems and leaves of the battle tree. I wonder if your tribe agrees with this ratio?"
Yale's pupils shrank.
The twenty-six tiger warriors standing behind Yale all trembled.
On the grassland, the battle tree is a kind of monster plant that is neither too common nor too rare (the seeds of the battle tree first came from the demon world). The tiger tribe has no likes or dislikes for this thing. When they see it passing by, they pick some fruits to take home as a snack. They treat it similarly to the wild fruit trees and raspberries on the roadside...
This kind of thing can actually be exchanged for food of equal weight? !
Yale himself was confused and turned to the two account holders, hoping to get some advice.
The two account owners were even more confused than him.
Yale was silent for a moment, then asked cautiously, "You mean... one ton of food, one ton of battle trees?"
After Isaac announced the transaction ratio, he felt a lot less pressure, and the invisible threat of being watched disappeared out of thin air; seeing Yale asking for confirmation again with an unbelievable look, he quickly said: "Yes, this is the transaction ratio that Teacher Ayun hopes for, which is more convenient for both of us." It is convenient to settle accounts.
Yale exhaled softly and unconsciously clenched the hands on his knees.
Battle trees are not delicate crops and can survive even if they are stepped on by soldiers.
If Yale were to lead his people to grow food, he would not have much confidence that he could feed all the people in the unfamiliar Wujie dense forest. If he could exchange food for the battle trees that were so easy to grow, the pressure on Yale's shoulders would be much less!
Yale breathed a sigh of relief, and Isaac also felt the urge to wipe the sweat off his face.
He was afraid that the tiger tribe would negotiate the price, because the teacher asked him to exchange one to two tons of food for one ton of battle trees, and the price could not be higher than this. Before he met the tiger tribe, he was full of confidence and thought there would be no problem. After seeing this group of killers with his own eyes, Isaac realized how painful this request was...
As for whether Teacher Ayun will lose money at this price...that is absolutely impossible.
Not to mention how many people can grow such a brutal thing as the killing tree, just the fact that one ton of battle trees can produce several tons of plastic products (the alien version of plastic products, depending on the purpose, 80% to 95% of its composition is purple shellac that is abundant and cheap in the Elf Forest), Isaac couldn't understand how the teacher would lose money on this business.
