Chapter 167: Flour and Steel, Which is More Important?
The young officials surrounding Roger initially didn’t notice the sudden drop in temperature around them. They were engaged in a heated discussion about whether to “abolish slavery.” Being young, theorizing about politics was in their blood. What’s more, as promising official members of the empire, their suggestions truly held the power to steer the empire’s course. The Empress’s trust and the bright prospects ahead filled them with ambition and confidence, alongside a desire to contribute their wisdom to the empire. Even with Roger’s high position and authority, they gradually became less guarded in their speech. When emotions ran high, who cared about the occasion? If they were truly passionate, they wouldn’t hesitate to confront even the Commander of the Night Guard, or even the Empress of Eternal Night herself, if it meant serving their country. This was the recklessness of a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger. The Empress’s recruitment of these officials, besides valuing their talent, was also to leverage these energetic young cadres to open up new horizons for the empire.
Although Roger already had his own ideas, he didn’t interrupt their passionate discussion, as such exchanges weren’t necessarily bad. As long as it wasn’t mere quibbling but a presentation of various viewpoints, incorporating diverse opinions always yielded additional benefits. Officials from different regions of the empire, having witnessed the local realities, would bring new perspectives to problem-solving. Their core discussion revolved around the existence of over eighty million slaves and serfs in the empire. Here, they were collectively referred to as slaves. Compared to free citizens, due to various reasons, they had lost their personal freedom, and their races were not limited to humans. Originally, they were largely the “assets” of the landowning nobles. Since the empire’s noble class had returned their land and were also forbidden from owning slaves, these slaves were liberated from the nobles’ territories and placed under the direct leadership of the empire. With Angelina’s kindness, she would have certainly granted them the status of free citizens and guided them to resume production. However, Roger, under the pretext of an urgent harvest, directly assigned these slaves to work on state-owned farms. It was indeed early autumn at that time, and to complete a harvest before winter arrived, sufficient manpower was needed even with Magic Cores, so Angelina could not object to his arrangements. Thus, the issue of the slaves’ status persisted, remaining unresolved throughout the winter.
Spring had now arrived, and the empire had sufficient land to distribute to these free citizens. Angelina and most empire officials supported the abolition of slavery. According to the Imperial Charter, nobles were already barred from owning large numbers of slaves. Instead, the empire, upholding justice, had begun to own slaves itself – wasn’t this the case of the dragon-slayer becoming the dragon? Therefore, Roger’s insistence on maintaining the slave system faced considerable doubt from all sectors of society. “The empire isn’t unable to afford them, and the production power of free citizens exceeds that of slaves. Magic Cores have resolved the issue of famine. We should let the empire’s brilliance shine upon a broader populace.” Kind-hearted officials enthusiastically advocated for abolition, as the current experience of the empire indicated that slavery was an outdated mode of production. Whether it was the employment system on state-owned farms or the empire’s encouragement of households to contract land and be responsible for their own profits under low taxes, the production value created by individuals far surpassed that of slaves.
“I believe these slaves should not be treated equally. Humans should have the status of free citizens, but races like elves, dwarves, and goblins are inherently destined to be slaves. Allowing them freedom will lead to serious public order issues.” Administrative officials who served in border regions, as well as the young cadres in the military, argued for recognizing the racial differences among the slaves and analyzing each case specifically, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Although the empire was powerful, it had only recently emerged from the risk of seventeen rebellions, narrowly avoiding being dragged down by endless uprisings. Even among humans, there were still remnants of the seventeen nations who would not pledge loyalty to the empire, let alone those races who were not human to begin with. Either expel them or continue to enslave them; these officials who had interacted with other races knew very well that some of them simply didn’t deserve sympathy.
Roger, coming from the modern era, unlike these fiercely arguing and easily swayed medieval peers, had consistently opposed the abolition of slavery. At least, this was not the time to abolish it; the empire still needed such a workforce that could be directed to any job. His reasoning to them was: “The empire does not need so many farmers. With Magic Cores, large-scale agricultural machinery, and continuously improved crops, discovering more excellent varieties, only large farms with a small number of free citizens are sufficient to meet the empire’s food consumption. More population should flow into industry.” His view was met with opposition from many, not regarding the abolition of slavery, but purely his expected population ratio: “It’s too radical. People will starve if they don’t farm!” “Industry should develop, but it must be gradual. There should always be a sufficient agricultural population.” “Reforms should be step-by-step. We’ve just managed to fill our stomachs; Your Excellency is too optimistic…” Everyone earnestly advised Roger. If he weren’t the Commander of the Night Guard and a Duke personally appointed by the Empress’s favor, some blunt old-timers might have dared to curse him.
Officials from lower backgrounds knew the importance of agriculture even more clearly; even many fallen nobles had experienced hunger. They might be adventurous in military matters, but in agriculture, they were always cautious. Ensuring no famine in the new year was a victory; one must not be greedy for quick success. In their view, Roger’s desire for more population to shift to industry was a typical case of blind optimism, a muddled idea from an outsider advising professionals, likely to cause significant problems. Roger seemed unfazed by their opposition, spreading his hands in helplessness: “Your reactions only strengthen my resolve not to abolish slavery.” His voice was low, his expression a calm, half-smile, which instead made these stubborn imperial subjects feel their impulsiveness was somewhat foolish.
“So, Lord Roger had already anticipated our reactions… you’re keeping the slaves because you want them to join the factories, so they don’t take away from the current agricultural population?” a deputy governor in charge of agriculture in a certain province asked curiously. Everyone present was intelligent and quickly grasped the hidden meaning in Roger’s words. These were already the most progressive officials in the empire, the staunchest supporters of the Empress’s policies. Of course, they knew of the empire’s dream of magical industrialization. However, under the threat of “not being able to eat enough,” they also stingily controlled the proportion of the agricultural population and maintained a limited optimism about the empire’s agricultural growth. Stability, everyone working together to farm, step by step. Although simple calculations could determine how many agricultural workers the empire needed to feed its entire population, such a change was ultimately too rapid. This year’s famine had almost occurred, and in the past, too many countries had engaged in excessive military spending, drawing too many people into war, leading to famine in the rear. Even the wise and mighty Emperor Wu of Han had to issue an edict of self-reproach in his later years to reflect on such issues. Moreover, the level of civilization and governance in the Eternal Night World was far from that of the Han Dynasty.
The officials dared not take too large a step. Under this mindset, “enough” food was definitely good, and if “excess” food was produced, it wouldn’t matter. Whether stored or sold to neighboring countries, it would be a no-loss, all-gain business. Only by drawing agricultural populations into industry, and if there was no widespread famine nationwide, but they themselves starved, would it be a huge joke. Not only would their positions be lost, but for a term in office, wouldn’t they also be failing their people? The new generation of officials like them thought this way, so those in the lower strata, who couldn’t grasp the empire’s changes, would worry even more about having enough to eat and wear. They had only been free from hunger for one year, while hunger had been their reality for decades. As long as they could still work, these common people would absolutely pour all their strength into the fields the following year, striving for further glory.
Don’t think propaganda is omnipotent. The inertia of death, the horror of starvation, limited trust in the rulers… wouldn’t allow those free citizens to abandon farming and turn to industry. Yet, industry, compared to agriculture, requires an unprecedentedly large concentration of labor, especially skilled workers who have undergone long-term training; otherwise, it simply cannot get off the ground. Thus, Roger’s decision to retain these slaves was also a helpless move. With officials and free citizens both valuing agriculture and maintaining a cautious wait-and-see attitude towards industry, throughout the empire, only the slaves were a revolutionary brick, moved wherever needed. At least they had to get through these few years. Once the power of industry was proven, agricultural output stabilized, and it was demonstrated that only a small population could prevent famine, then officials and the public would have enough confidence to invest in industrial production without reservation. Magic wasn’t omnipotent; unless Roger cast charm person on all the empire’s citizens, no amount of resounding slogans could defeat the fear of death as effectively as plump bags of rice.
Earth also had similar stages. In the early stages of industrial development, capitalists went to great lengths to secure sufficient labor. Whether it was transporting “black uncles” to grow cotton, destroying local smallholder economies, or even enticing child labor to factories for wages—in a certain sense, they were all competing for labor against people’s fear of starvation. The emergence of child labor was not solely due to the capitalists’ black hearts, but also the complicity of their parents: in an era of backward productivity, children over ten years old were already labor. Not working in the fields with their parents was the anomaly. Of course, due to their limited strength, the contribution of adolescents was limited. When they realized they could earn more income by going to factories, their parents would proactively send their children to work in factories. For peasants who were constantly on the brink of starvation, how could they think about how hard their children worked or the safety hazards? Survival was victory. As for able-bodied laborers, unless their families were truly unable to make ends meet and had no seeds left, they were absolutely willing to enter factories. Even then, they would only go through the motions, work for a few months to earn enough money to buy seeds, and then return to farming…
This was a helpless tug-of-war. Earth took a hundred years to complete this process, changing the division of labor and balancing the conflict between flour and steel. But the empire lacked this “Great British” time. For Roger, why would he turn the slaves he had at hand into free citizens, only to then put all his effort into getting them into factories? That would also be a form of mental enslavement to their desire to farm! So, why bother? Let’s just not abolish slavery and let them continue to contribute their remaining heat. Plantation owners had already proven through practice that in the early stages of industrial development, a reasonable slave system was necessary, even indispensable, to expand output and production scale. His kindness was not to actively create new slaves, not to launch wars to plunder populations, and to provide these slaves with the highest possible treatment. After all, they were his valuable industrial population. Sufficient food, labor protection tools, night schools for literacy, and opportunities for advancement—they would have everything free citizens had. The empire could afford it anyway. The wealth accumulated by the nobles, the spoils from the seventeen nations, and their expected monopoly on production status gave Roger enough confidence to support such a cycle. Retaining the status of slaves simply meant not giving them land and not allowing them the freedom to choose to farm.
Once industrial development was sound, the high incomes and good living conditions of these slave workers would also become living advertisements, attracting farmers to industry. Otherwise, the common people would still prefer farming.jpg. Especially for the most diligent and hardworking main ethnic group in the empire, even if the factory wages were far higher than farming, they would still consider it unreliable… Haven’t you seen that even though the Chinese people have been free from hunger for decades and weight loss has become a daily routine, they still pay far more attention to grain, vegetable, and meat prices than to other fields? Beware of starving to death! Similar warnings, I’m afraid, have been written into that nation’s DNA, just like the fear of bombardment. The imperial people were militaristic and warlike, but their earnest expectations for agriculture were no less than those of the Chinese. With Roger’s live demonstration using their own choices, even the officials who agreed to abolish slavery were now deep in thought, understanding Roger’s concern about the flow of labor.
State-owned farms, with free citizens and even military colonies, were already sufficient to produce the minimum required food supply. Deploying the existing slaves into industry would not affect the empire’s agricultural structure in the next few years… So, if they weren’t to be abolished, they weren’t to be abolished. Regardless, their quality of life in the current empire would improve significantly. As long as they were fed and clothed and there were no rebellions, they wouldn’t dare to defy central orders. When the intensity of the discussion subsided, someone finally noticed the drop in temperature around them and that a pair of icy eyes had been watching them. “Political theorizing” was too enjoyable, and no one noticed Margaret had been standing there for a long time, her forced smile rigid, looking quite displeased. Despite being a beauty and the esteemed Left Chancellor of the empire, no one present even realized her presence while discussing slaves. It was truly detestable; her resentment emanated outwards, scaring many! Seeing that her true target was Roger, the officials present didn’t want to shield him; some even mistook it for a romantic entanglement owed by Lord Charles. After all, at her age and his, they would be considered a well-matched couple. They dispersed quickly, leaving only Roger and Margaret face-to-face.
“Lord Margaret, is there something?” Roger asked politely, not knowing why, he felt her gaze towards him was not simple hostility, but a complex feeling that made his scalp tingle. What new misunderstanding had I stirred up with her?
Anniversary Reward, Happy 6th Birthday!
Since the “Pigeon Stand” has started an event, I can’t be a “pigeon” anymore, right? The previous rewards have been paid off, so I’ll join the fun and start another reward.
Reward period: From now until the end of the anniversary celebration at the end of September.
An additional chapter for every 50 “dao pian.”
An additional chapter for every 5000 “mao bi.”
No upper limit.
And my plan to catch up on updates will start today with a 20,000 update! If I achieve it, I’ll be enjoying the finest escorts; if not, I’ll *be* the finest escort!
