In this era, the yearning of tenant farmers for their own land and free citizen status, or rather, the longing of the lower class for the upper class in any era, remains the same.
After having role models and a clear system in place, the fighting capability displayed by Wu Ming’s militia exceeded all expectations.
Within merely a month, they had almost swept clean the bandit groups, wild settlements, and packs of beasts around Mount TaKe, continuously delivering spoils of war to Karlos Manor.
Of course, despite Wu Ming’s leadership and his example of braving dangers alongside his men, casualties were inevitable, though limited to fewer than five. After rest and rotation, the militia’s enthusiasm was in no way diminished.
At this point, however, Wu Ming chose to withdraw his forces for rest and recuperation.
After all, the worthwhile targets in the vicinity had already been cleared out, and further raids would be more costly than beneficial.
Moreover, through this military exercise, he had thoroughly established his authority and gained a small militia unit that could be considered elite for this era, which was more than sufficient.
“Oh, my God!”
Yet, upon returning to the manor, what greeted him was Amilia’s nearly frantic face: “My lord, do you know how many people you’ve sent here?”
She cried out in a voice almost like that of a dying person: “Five hundred and seventy-two! Five hundred and seventy-two serfs, including many women and children. Are you planning to sell them all? If so, you’d better do it quickly because they’re almost eating up our food reserves!”
“Sorry! My beautiful lady steward!”
Wu Ming shook his head and smiled: “Actually, I don’t plan to sell any of them. I want them all to work for me!”
“Are you serious, my lord?”
Amilia stared at him as if he were an idiot: “Where on earth are we going to find so much land to settle these serfs? They’re almost twice the number of our current peasants!”
In fact, by current standards of settling serfs, Wu Ming would first need to expand his territory twofold.
That would be the size of a baron’s domain, and even Baron Terry would find managing so many serfs quite burdensome.
“I plan to have some of them work my private fields or even the tenant farmers’ strips of land, thereby freeing up the latter. After all, compared to these wild people, I trust them a bit more…”
Wu Ming felt it was now appropriate to slightly reveal his plans to the steward: “Regarding the future of our domain, I’ve already made a plan. First… I intend to establish a policy that any original serf in Karlos can buy their own strip of land with money! I know they don’t have that money, but no worries, I accept installment payments, for several or even dozens of years. And once they’ve completely paid off the amount and redeemed the land, I will recognize their status as free citizens!”
“But… doing this, what about the wheat on the fields…
Amilia asked foolishly, then blushed under Wu Ming’s smiling gaze, realizing she had asked a stupid question.
“The farm work on the land will naturally be undertaken by these wild people. Of course, doing this will only absorb a part of them… Therefore, I plan to build many workshops to refine salt, make glass, and even a steel factory!”
Agriculture can absorb too few people; the real key lies in industry! A large factory can easily accommodate thousands or even tens of thousands of workers.
Of course, Wu Ming isn’t capable of such large-scale construction at the moment, but even the most ordinary handicraft workshops, once forming an industrial scale, would more than suffice to accommodate his hundreds of people.
“Salt, glass, steel?”
Amilia vaguely seemed to grasp something: “How many workshops do you plan to open? To have these slaves work for you?”
“More or less so. I’ve worked out several techniques that should bring us substantial profits!”
Now that he has gained status and a certain amount of power to resist covetous eyes, he can bring out the knowledge from his past life.
Wherever position places you, you do what needs to be done. That is the principle of matching fortune with status.
“But building workshops requires a lot of raw materials and manpower…”
Amilia felt a bit dizzy, struggling to keep up with Wu Ming’s thinking.
“Are these slaves not ready-made candidates? If you give them black bread and vegetable soup every day without making them work, it’s easy to cause big problems!”
Wu Ming gave Amilia a somewhat reproachful glance: “They must work from morning till night, drain their strength, and exhaust their spirits. Only such slaves won’t have time to think about other things!”
“As for the initial start-up capital, I still have some savings. Besides, don’t underestimate our tenants… Faced with the temptation of land and free citizen status, I believe they will show you an enthusiasm that will amaze you!”
Without mentioning anything else, just from this campaign, dozens of militiamen under Wu Ming and the later reinforcements all gained considerable spoils and bonuses.
Now, through the redemption of land shares, this money will continuously flow into Wu Ming’s hands, becoming the first pot of gold for him to promote industrial development in his domain.
Moreover… through labor, we can distinguish the lazy from the diligent among the slaves, preparing for future categorization and differential treatment!
…
As Wu Ming continued to present his suggestions one by one, Amilia’s expression was no longer just astonishment.
She could never have imagined that William, who had gained his title through martial prowess, would also have such insightful ideas in management.
“It’s just… it’s just…”
She thought for a long time and finally couldn’t find a suitable word to describe Wu Ming. In the end, she sighed: “My lord, if you went into business, you would certainly be the most successful rogue merchant!”
“Haha… You’re wrong there!”
Wu Ming smiled: “The truly successful merchants are those who invest in monarchs and kingdoms, manipulating the entire nobility with the power of money!”
…
Pah!
The next day, under the whips and clubs, the wild slaves that Wu Ming had swept up from the surrounding areas began to toil diligently.
Although preparations for full-scale production had not yet been completed, Wu Ming had already inspected the territory, designated a special industrial zone, and begun the groundwork such as leveling the foundation and repairing roads—these minor tasks could already commence.
And with the announcement of the new laws within his domain, the entire population of Karlos Manor was stirred up.
“As long as we redeem the land we rent from the lord, we can become free citizens?”
An old man tightly grabbed Joe’s hand: “You’re not lying to me?”
“The notice from the manorial court indeed says so!”
Joe smiled bitterly: “If you don’t believe me, you can also ask Dean and the others. Those young men were granted free citizen status by the lord for their bravery, and even given land.”
“If that’s the case…”
The old man gritted his teeth: “I will send my little grandson to join the army and go to the lord to buy that piece of farmland!”
“My goodness!”
Joe was somewhat surprised. According to his estimation, it would take at least ten years for tenant families to redeem their land shares.
But he never expected this old man to be so wealthy.
“Could it be he’s struck lucky and unearthed some treasure, or inherited some property? He kept it so secret that not a whisper of it reached me before…”
He sighed inwardly, then spoke in a mysterious tone: “Actually… the battlefield is quite dangerous. If it’s just for gaining free citizen status, I have a better way.”
“What way?”
The old man’s interest was immediately piqued, and he unwittingly promised Joe a good drink.
After securing this promise, Joe whispered mysteriously: “Do you know what those slaves are doing?”
“It seems they’re preparing to build something, probably the lord’s castle?”
The old man guessed uncertainly.
“Wrong! The lord has no intention of building a castle. He plans to construct many workshops! Prioritizing hiring locals and paying them monthly!”
Joe winked: “I think you can send your little grandson to work in the workshops. At the very least, he can learn a trade, which will be useful even if he goes to other big cities in the future.”
“An artisan?”
The old man blinked. For a tenant family in this era, a free citizen artisan was already quite a respectable status.
And there was little danger involved, which immediately intrigued him. After thanking Joe several times, he took his leave.
Joe watched him go, then wandered around the domain, occasionally hearing cheers.
In countless households, people were secretly calculating their resources, preparing to redeem their land shares and free citizen status from the lord.
Throughout the domain, there was a palpable sense of vitality.
Yes, precisely vitality!
Joe chewed on a blade of grass, musing silently.
Initially, he had been resistant to Sir William’s arrival, but the facts proved that he had brought a brand new vitality to Karlos Manor.
Brave and powerful, he was a good lord who could protect the people, and quite merciful too. This militia campaign ensured subsidies and care for both lightly and seriously injured soldiers, while the families of the fallen immediately received condolences and free citizen status.
To follow such a lord, even if one were to die in battle, would be worth it, wouldn’t it?
Joe’s eyes suddenly grew moist as he devoutly prayed to all the gods: “O omnipotent deities, please bless our Sir William! Let him continue to lead us toward a bright future!”
…
A few days later, with the arrival of various raw materials and tools, the construction of the workshops officially began.
Wu Ming took a tour around the site, his eyes gleaming with subtle anticipation.
Don’t underestimate a cross-worlder’s ability to cultivate and develop. Given time, he was confident he could transform Karlos Manor into a commercial gem of the entire Windfly Plain, even the entire Seer Continent, within a few years.
Of course, by then, his status as a knight would definitely no longer be sufficient to maintain control.
“How eagerly I look forward to… the upheaval after accumulating strength!”
Wu Ming’s gaze was deep, as if he had seen through everything: “Moreover, from the moment we start selling our products, what titles will those envious people give me? The Salt Knight? The Glass Knight? Or the Merchant Knight?”
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