Take Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Achoo!"
Paul sneezed loudly.
This sneeze was quite ill-timed, especially since the Earl was currently seeing off his guests.
Wiping his nose with a handkerchief, Paul thought to himself, "I wonder which lady is missing me from afar."
While showing an apologetic smile to everyone, he noted that these were all wealthy country folks, or rather, country gentlemen, who had been invited to the lord's mansion for the banquet today.
"Earl, the night wind has been quite chilly lately; please take care of your health," said a plump man dressed extravagantly.
Paul nodded, "Haha, thank you for the reminder, Mr. Biden."
"Not at all, not at all." Biden smiled ingratiatingly.
After bidding farewell one by one, the guests mounted their horses or got into their carriages, leaving the lord's mansion in small groups under the moonlight.
Paul stood at the entrance watching everyone leave. Once they had all departed, he turned to the four behind him—Malon, Old Fort, Hansel, and Old Philip—and asked, "What do you think of their attitudes?"
Today's banquet was attended by prestigious country gentlemen, and Paul had once again promoted his customs union proposal.
The mansion's steward, Philip, shook his head, looking displeased. "Earl, although they are wealthy, they do not hold titles and aren't even knights. Inviting them as you and Lord Ganard did is already a great favor. If you continue to lower yourself to send a bunch of commoners off, it will just make us a laughingstock."
"Philip, that's not what I asked you!" Seriously, what was the old steward focused on?
Old Fort, the experienced head of affairs, stroked his beard and said, "Most are just being polite; only Biden seems to be showing a positive attitude."
Ever since Biden had been severely dealt with by Paul during the salt worker riots, he had taken any "instructions" from Paul very seriously.
The four returned to the banquet hall where they had just feasted; the servants had already cleaned up the tables, which were in disarray.
Paul said firmly, "We need to have a direction for the customs union by next year. The Heller family in Portley and the Parker family in Lanaka have already reached a preliminary agreement with me. As initiators, we cannot lag behind."
The dissenting voices from Alden and Byerldine were related to the "hands-off" governance of the Grayman and Ganard families. In contrast, the recently incorporated Emden had landlords who wouldn't dare to make a peep. Their former lord, Earl Kent, was a strong ruler; even if the underlings engaged in minor plots, they wouldn't dare to speak openly. Thus, Grayman, who had defeated the Kent family, was viewed as a devil in their eyes.
According to the oral agreement among several lords, Alden was authorized to use a series of technologies, including papermaking, canning, printing press manufacturing, shipbuilding, and salt drying. Agricultural machinery such as threshers, harvesters, and flying shuttle looms would also be opened for export, in exchange for support of the patent system and the customs union from both sides. Since these aspects of public life had already taken root and begun production in private workshops, maintaining secrecy from other territories was nearly impossible; it was just a matter of time before it spread beyond the jurisdiction of the Council of Affairs. It was better to utilize them to gain consensus on the patent system—though it might only be a superficial agreement.
As for the highly profitable porcelain, the iron smelting technology that secured Paul's position as the head of Northwest Industry, the coke production technology, and the firearms manufacturing technology that countless people are eager to learn about, they remain highly confidential.
"Hmph! If they still don't get it next year, we'll see whether their heads are hard or my bullets are," Paul said with resentment.
Hansel turned his eyes and asked, "Lord Grayman, during our past conversations, you always hinted at many ideas. What have you firmly decided to implement? Why not share them with us, especially regarding the countryside?"
"Yes, I want to liberate those poor serfs, abolish the disgusting tax farming system, ban private courts, reclaim judicial power, and I also want to confiscate…"
Having had a bit to drink at the banquet, and with the attendees being quite open-minded, Paul expressed his thoughts without restraint. However, he paused when he reached the last point about "confiscating church property."
That really struck at the flesh of those people. After a moment of thought, Hansel smiled and said, "Lord Grayman, since that's the case, why not use a 'three steps forward, two steps back' strategy?"
Paul asked curiously, "What does 'three steps forward, two steps back' mean?"
Hansel explained, "When I served as the tax official for His Majesty in Crystal Glare, I remember one year the government had to increase taxes urgently. After the first order was issued, the public was outraged. A while later, a second order came, reducing the increased tax amount by two-thirds. This not only eased the public's anger significantly but also led many to praise His Majesty's benevolence. But according to what I heard from friends, the government still managed to collect the planned tax revenue afterward."
Paul's eyes lit up: "So you mean...?"
Hansel nodded, "Yes, why not let out some rumors about your planned reforms or even directly announce them? This will certainly spark a wave of opposition. At that point, you can adopt a compromise stance, retract some of the secondary goals, and keep the main ones. The resistance you face should be less."
Paul rubbed his light mustache and said, "Raise the price, then settle the bill?"
TL: The guy's growing a mustache!? Since when!?
Old Ford voiced his concerns, "Reforms that change overnight may affect the Earl's authority as a lord."
Hansel explained, "This is called adaptability. A lord's power comes from what he ultimately achieves, even if the process is a bit tortuous."
Malon proposed a middle-ground suggestion: "Let's take two steps forward, one step back; keep the concessions small."
"Let's go with Malon's suggestion; otherwise, it would be too embarrassing."
Paul made the final decision.
The customs union is currently the top priority, and the other goals that can serve as cover will need careful consideration.
The group continued discussing in detail until Hansel left at nine o'clock in the evening, while Malon and Old Ford stayed behind.
Paul stood by the window, watching Hansel's departing figure, and asked his ally beside him, "What do you think of Hansel?"
Malon summarized in his mind: "He's a very capable person. The land consolidation was completed so quickly, thanks to him."
Paul replied, "Indeed, his suggestions earlier were good."
He sighed, "It's a pity he is ultimately a royal appointee to our side. Perhaps his experience in the Northwest Bay is just a brief journey in his life."
Malon smiled and said, "But precisely because of that, he can act without restraint. He offended quite a few people while overseeing the land checks."
"Ha ha, true enough."
(End of the Chapter)
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