The Spread of Thought
Translator: Cinder Translations
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The development of history does not change with human will!
Paul has now deeply understood the meaning of this sentence.
This morning, as soon as he sat down in the office, Hansel brought him a troublesome character—Gerd Rodney, the nephew of the current king.
Then he explained his purpose.
Paul's current distress comes precisely from this.
Looking at the smiling, relaxed Gerd, who was assessing the decorations in his reception room, Paul felt a bit uncomfortable.
He wants to introduce manufacturing technology from Alden to the royal territory?
Oh my, Paul has always kept a low profile in areas other than necessary, fearing that some big shot from outside the Northwest Bay would set their sights on his small plot of land.
The Earl of Alden wants to make a fortune quietly.
Technology diffusion?
Of course, this is inevitable; it is an unstoppable historical trend. In fact, when the time is right, Paul would actively promote this matter.
The question is whether the timing is right.
Paul hopes that the diffusion of technology can be within a range he can control.
Starting from Alden, technology should spread step by step from near to far.
As the source and high ground of technology, Alden should continuously upgrade and iterate various technologies, constantly pushing out new innovations and always leading the development trend.
Always able to get the first bite of the juicy meat.
Now, suddenly, an Aldor royal family has emerged halfway.
Heavenly Father, with the territory and population controlled by the royal family, how abundant are their resources and talents? Once they grasp what he has worked so hard to cultivate, as long as the measures taken by the authorities are appropriate, complemented by some necessary reforms, they could easily outpace Alden and even push Northwest Bay aside to go solo.
The slightly improving Northwest Bay would again become a small corner of the Aldor Kingdom.
The development of history is not changed with human will.
Paul repeated this sentence in his mind again, feeling both emotional and self-comforting.
Gerd was carefully observing the reception room of the Grayman family.
In his eyes, as a noble, the decorations and furnishings here could be described as extremely shabby.
The floor was covered with a common carpet, which looked quite worn. The walls were neither adorned with valuable paintings nor displayed exquisite sculptures or animal head trophies; they were simply coated with a layer of white paint, underneath which was wrapped in plain brown wooden wainscoting.
From the moment he entered, he had seen only four servants—not counting the guards responsible for security: one was weeding in the courtyard, another was cleaning the hallway, one brought him tea, and an old butler guided him into the reception room.
If the nobles of Northwest Bay live like this Earl Grayman, then this land truly deserves the description given to it by the nobles of the capital—poor and desolate, a bitter place.
What is the life of a southern noble of moderate means like?
Just in terms of serving their own servants, they include but are not limited to tailors, shoemakers, saddle makers, carpenters, grooms, stable boys, dairy workers, pharmacists, musicians, male and female actors, poets, architects, painters, and more. Some closer servants are also necessary, such as chefs, bakers, pastry cooks, dishwashers, workers specifically for ironing clothes, and male servants managing food and drinks. At mealtimes, there are dedicated attendants for cutting meat and bartenders for preparing drinks. Generally speaking, each of the above roles has several individuals, not just one, and some servants even have dedicated assistants.
Moreover, wealthier nobles often have multiple residences, with each residence equipped with a complete set of services like those mentioned above.
Gerd's father, Prince Jasim Rodney, had arranged 17 male servants in his hall, who were required to serve day and night, always ready to carry out their specific tasks according to the prince's commands or just a gesture, with one ready to fetch the prince's pipe, another to bring a glass of water, and yet another to grab a book... and so on.
Yet in the Grayman residence, he had only seen four servants; placed in the noble circles of Crystal Glare, this could be described as so impoverished that it insults the word "poverty," barely touching the threshold of noble life.
Paul noticed Gerd's examination of the indoor environment and awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Ahem! We, the people of Northwest, tend to value simplicity."
In fact, Paul also wanted to decorate his ancestral castle a bit more nicely, even if it meant just buying some valuable flowers to display.
But he had no money.
Since establishing the public treasury, all the various taxes in the territory and the profits from various enterprises established in the name of the Council of Affairs, such as mines and ironworks, had been allocated to the public treasury.
The various estates and properties that the Grayman family had originally directly managed were preserved, and there were also factories established in the family's name—like the highly profitable porcelain kiln. These enterprises could bring immense wealth every year, serving as Paul's private treasury for the Grayman family.
Although for people in this era, the concepts of public and private treasury are merely two money bags hung at the lord's left and right waist, as all affairs on this land, in legal terms, belong to the lord—even living people.
However, Paul, who had crossed over from Earth in the 21st century, still had a bit of historical consciousness.
He intended to use all the money in the public treasury for the construction of the territory, and he would never take even a copper coin from it.
Of course, he wasn't that noble; the leftover private treasury was meant for his own enjoyment. After all, not living a life of luxury and indulgence would render his transmigration pointless.
But ideals are abundant, while reality is thin. In the rapidly developing Alden—along with Byerldine and Emden—money is needed everywhere: for education investments, military construction, technology research and development, urban expansion, building roads and bridges, water conservancy projects, and paying salaries to an increasingly large administrative system—all of which consume a lot of money. Relying solely on the public treasury is not enough. The massive gap is often filled in two ways: one is issuing bonds in the private sector, which ultimately must be repaid; the other is taking money from the Grayman family's private treasury for subsidies, which Paul did not intend for the Council to repay— to others, this simply looks like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Additionally, Paul occasionally needed to spend money to support some struggling family branches.
Every time he had to spend money, he thought it would be the last time, yet it wasn't long before he encountered an unavoidable funding gap.
Various reasons have led to the lord now being relatively "poor."
But he is confident that with the continued development of Northwest Bay, the public finances, primarily relying on taxes and profits from public enterprises, supplemented by issuing bonds, will become increasingly robust, ultimately being able to independently bear all the expenses for the construction of the territory.
By then, he could indulge in extravagant living from his private treasury.
Holding such a beautiful dream, the nobleman worked diligently day by day, year by year.
(End of the Chapter)
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