In Black Iron City, Kiss had just finished a day’s performance and was preparing to leave for the backstage.
However, before heading to the backstage, Kiss took a glance at the Governor and the Governor’s wife sitting at the very front, and recalling that he had made no mistakes today, he finally felt relieved as he made his way to the backstage.
When he first arrived in Black Iron City, some nobles thought that Kiss had come to plot something grand after receiving their letters, but these nobles later realized that Kiss had fully sided with the enemy, especially with the operas he performed with Greya, which simply infuriated the nobles.
After those operas were performed for free, these nobles basically didn’t dare to step out of their doors, even though there were guards at the entrance to prevent any violent incidents, they were still subjected to litter being thrown at them.
Sean hardly cared about this until the nobles obediently attended the ball held by Sean, and then this situation somewhat eased.
Eventually, under Sean’s coercion and persuasion, the nobles of Black Iron City fully accepted the “Noble Reform Regulations” and the “Land Distribution Bill,” and started to implement them.
Originally, these nobles thought they could take advantage of the chaos, after all, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. But no one expected the reform in Graywhite Territory to be so vigorous, with such a resolute attitude in execution, and once the practice of stuffing money was completely ineffective.
The most critical point was that many of the people coming to claim land were formerly nobles themselves; however, they had now become officials of Graywhite Territory. These officials had an unparalleled understanding of nobles’ tactics and were themselves the best in scheming; the nobles of Black Iron City could not compete against these astute individuals, and after struggling a bit, the nobles in the city quickly resigned themselves to the current situation.
However, since the nobles of Black Iron City were mainly business-minded, most of them could still barely maintain their dignity relying on the industries they held, even after their lands were confiscated. Compared to those nobles who truly relied on territories for their livelihood, they were not faring too badly.
Many savvy nobles had already started to learn relevant knowledge about Graywhite Territory, preparing to take entrance exams for administrative positions. These nobles had sharply realized that in Graywhite Territory there was no survival soil for the old nobles; they either had to adapt to the environment or perish.
Currently, these nobles still had an educational advantage, and as the basic education in Graywhite Territory began to be popularized, this advantage would gradually diminish. Although it wouldn’t be entirely erased, the sooner one participated in the exams, the greater the advantage.
Especially after hearing that Black Iron City would serve as a springboard for the Graywhite Territory’s recovery of the Northern Border, the nobles in the city changed their previously compliant attitudes and started to inquire about relevant information regarding official exams from Sean.
Having faced too much punishment, these nobles finally could tastes a bit of the carrot.
Thus, these nobles took great interest in Lind’s visit, and those with ulterior motives were actively removed by their own people.
However, after arriving in Black Iron City, Lind first comforted the army, then assessed the situation in the city, watched the opera, and finally met with the nobles in the city at the evening ball.
“Brother-in-law!”
Sean appeared very excited. The fact that Lind could allow Black Iron City to serve as a stronghold for Graywhite Territory to recover the Northern Border was itself a recognition of Sean’s work.
“You did very well.”
Lind simply patted Sean on the shoulder, making Sean extremely excited.
“However, there is still more important work waiting for you, so you need to quickly select someone to take your place here in Black Iron City.”
Sean still had the capability, and with his special status, it was not suitable for him to remain in this important position for long.
“Yes, I am prepared. Jim Evans is my assistant, and he can take over my position at any time.”
“That kid from the Evans family, huh?”
Lind nodded; Jim’s work capability indeed wasn’t bad, and he could also be a horse bone worth a thousand gold. The higher Jim’s status, the more reassured those old nobles who aligned with him would be.
This represented that the Governor not only had no thoughts of retribution but also, as long as you had ability and loyalty, the Lord Governor treated everyone equally regardless of their background.
Afterwards, Lind and Sean discussed the development plan for Black Iron City. Originally, Black Iron City was already building roads, and after the collapse of the Beitang Defensive Line, they could finally continue to extend the road towards Graywhite Territory.
This road was voluntarily funded by the nobles within the city, truly voluntarily, because after their lands were confiscated, business became their lifeline, and they were more eager than anyone to connect quickly with the Northern Border, especially to get connected to Graywhite Territory.
In the middle of the ball, Lind reluctantly met the “great benefactors” in the city, and the attitude of these nobles was extremely humble.
After a brief encounter with Lind, these nobles in the city found that although Lind didn’t seem to like them, he was quite reasonable and very rational. He didn’t eat children alive at every meal, nor was he as terrifying as the rumors suggested.
Even if these nobles sought some business-related information or plans for the future of Black Iron City from Lind, he would still answer one or two questions, as long as it didn’t involve the army, most of the relevant information could be made slightly public for investment purposes.
When Lind discussed the possibility of separating the commercial functions of Black Iron City and establishing a town nearby, these nobles unanimously supported it, as no one wanted to do business under the army’s surveillance.
However, this matter still required long-term planning and gradual promotion.
Although Lind’s discussions were not as comforting as Sean’s, compared to Sean, Lind could directly clarify ambiguous points and define lines of authority and responsibility without beating around the bush in many ways.
This made the nobles in the city incredibly comfortable. Even though these rules and regulations were quite troublesome, the nobles also knew that when problems arose in the future, addressing them would be very easy. Having laws to follow was far better than relying entirely on the whims of those in power.
Although Lind had always looked down upon the nobles in the city, the way these nobles looked at Lind was more fervent than how noble young girls looked at Sean, especially when Lind, albeit visibly displeased, still sat down to have a serious discussion about rights and business with them. They understood that this gentleman was not as fond of personal consumption as the rumors suggested, and would even explain the principles to them.
He could have just robbed them directly.
On the other side, Lena, amidst a group of noble ladies, found it not as easy to respond as Lind did.
Originally not fond of such occasions, Lena felt quite uncomfortable among the group of noble ladies, especially as they chatted about perfumes and cosmetics that Lena didn’t understand, as well as gossip and scandals among the nobility.
However, soon some perceptive noble ladies noticed Lena’s disinterest in these topics and quickly redirected the conversation elsewhere. After a slight probing, these noble ladies found that Lena was more interested in the army and mechanical devices.
The army was definitely not a topic they could discuss, so they could only talk about mechanics and devices. Although it ultimately turned into Lena passionately lecturing on science and engineering, the noble ladies could only muster a basic response, but it was still better than feeling out of place compared to the Governor’s wife.
Seeing Lena’s expression finally showing some excitement and happiness, a few noble ladies secretly resolved to study hard in this area after the event. They all knew the special status of the Governor’s wife; even if they could get Lena to remember their names, it would already be a significant achievement.
When the ball concluded, Lind looked at the somewhat fatigued Lena and said, “You can leave this kind of occasion to me; you clearly don’t have to attend.”
“How can that be?”
Lena immediately perked up.
“We are one entity; if I don’t attend, the army would worry.”
“Alright then.”
Lind stroked Lena’s hair ends and said, “Next time, just stay by my side, and I’ll shield you from any troubles.”
“I have to adapt.”
Lena lay back on the bed and continued, “There might be many such occasions in the future; I can’t hold you back.”
“Besides, I actually had quite a good time today. I talked about machinery and engineering all evening; hahahaha. I don’t know how much those ladies understood, but looking at their expressions, it must have been about the same as when I listened to them talk about perfumes and such. They probably didn’t catch much of it, but I told them I’d come back to continue discussing machinery and engineering at the next ball.”
“Next time, I guess there will be more people who understand.”
Lena laughed happily.
After hearing this, Lind couldn’t help but facepalm; it seemed that in the future, machinery and engineering would have to become a required course for these noble ladies. Future noble marriages might also have to consider the woman’s mechanical engineering skills.
