Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

TL: Etude

“So, my lord Count, how can this situation be changed to ensure a more equitable distribution of food?”

Cecil posed this timely question quite aptly.

Paul looked at him with satisfaction, appreciating the perfect setup for his explanation, and continued, “To resolve the contradiction where the landlord is stuffed and everyone else starves, we must give others something of value—something that can be exchanged with the landlord for food.”

“Items such as porcelain, pottery, ironware, paper, clothing, machinery, alcoholic beverages, and so on. The industries that manufacture these goods are what we call the manufacturing sector, and coupled with the extraction of raw materials for these items, we have what is known as industry. The more the manufacturing sector produces, the more food it can trade for, thereby remedying the uneven distribution of food.”

Steward Ford shook his head: “I think it’s only a mitigation. Those landlords hoarding food aren’t going to need too many manufactured goods, and the amount of food they’re willing to trade will always be limited.”

Paul waved his hand dismissively: “That’s why we need to broaden the sources of our food supply. If our own landlords are reluctant to trade their surplus, then we’ll trade with landlords from other areas of the Northwest Bay, from other regions of the Kingdom of Ordo, or even with landlords from abroad.”

The audience grasped the intent of Count Grayman’s suggestion. With the urgency for food decreased, the relative value of the food hoarded by local landlords would decline or, in other words, devaluate, thus forcing them to engage in trading—if they didn’t wish to see their wealth shrink any further.

“Is this the reason you proposed the establishment of a customs union?” Advisor Ladi Sertia suddenly made the connection.

Paul nodded, “Yes, that’s one of the key reasons. Lowering customs duties would make our manufactured goods easier to export and allow foreign food to enter more freely, thereby facilitating the exchange process I mentioned earlier—I call it a ‘market economy’.”

Market economy? Yet another innovative term from the Count.

Guy Burns, the manager of Lakeheart Town’s mechanical factory, sat in one corner deep in thought. Usually preoccupied with technical issues, he didn’t know much about other matters; he had been puzzled why the Count’s recent customs union initiative met with such resistance and why a group of people were willing to challenge the authority of their lord. Now he understood—it was the landlords’ “cake” that was being redistributed. Once manufactured goods and food began to circulate, they could no longer exploit others at will. Such despicable acts.

Paul’s further explanation made everything clearer, “In the history of humankind, due to underdeveloped productivity, the amount of food produced and items manufactured for trade were always limited. And since food is one of the most basic human needs—people can go without alcohol, without pottery, and even without clothes, but definitely not without food—those who control food and means of its production, like land, always have the upper hand. If a place is relatively isolated and the productivity low, essentials like food can easily form a seller’s market—where the sellers have the advantage. However, if we enhance our manufacturing capabilities and open up trade, we can significantly alter the seller’s market in our region. As for areas outside Alda, Baylding, and Emden, we can’t worry too much about them for now.”

“But, my lord Count…” Paul’s chief secretary, Bernard, thought further ahead, “Even if you manage to develop industry to the point where many valuable items are produced and landlords are willing to trade, for the time being, the overall food production can satisfy everyone. But as populations continue to grow without starvation, the amount of food remains the same. Eventually, we will return to a state of insufficient supply, and people will starve again.”

The chief secretary’s line of thinking verged on what is known as the ‘Malthusian trap’.

Paul explained, “As I said earlier, productivity also includes agricultural productivity. As our industry develops to a certain extent, it can ‘feedback’ into agriculture.”

At this point, he glanced at Guy Burns, “For example, the agricultural machinery manufactured by the Lakeheart Town Farm Machinery Factory, such as harvesters and seed drills, is one example. With these agricultural tools, the same amount of labor can cultivate more land and harvest more food. We might even research farming techniques to increase yields per unit area to meet the growing population’s needs.”

Guy Burns puffed out his chest proudly, having always believed his work was of great value. Now, finally, the Count had publicly stated its significance.

“And agricultural machinery such as harvesters and seed drills are only invented and mass-produced when manufacturing develops. As long as technology keeps up, we can alleviate or even solve the problem Bernard mentioned. As for what the end of technological development looks like, I daresay none of us here can predict it, ha ha.”

In the two years under Paul’s efforts, Alda and Baylding had seen improvements in mining, iron-smelting, food processing, cotton spinning, salt-making, ceramic production, paper-making, machinery manufacturing, and cold-weapon production.

Due to the secrecy of technology, the production of porcelain, canned goods, and paper was unique, and other industries gained a competitive advantage due to technological innovations—such as the use of the blast furnace, the flying shuttle loom, the spinning jenny, and the salt evaporation method.

The inception of manufacturing spurred the livelihood of a significant number of people. Although it was still a small proportion of the total population, the numbers had already formed a considerable scale. ṙἈ₦ꝊBЁṤ

In the Northwest Bay, the primitive manufacturing model primarily depended on small family workshops. In the past two years, under Paul’s deliberate guidance and leadership, organized and scaled factories began to appear like bamboo shoots after rain.

With the Count’s repeated decrees, the Administration Council strictly prohibited factory owners from purchasing slaves; thus, these factories mainly obtained labor through hiring workers.

Maintaining personal freedom while earning a livelihood made working in factories a new trend in the Count’s three territories, especially among the rural population. Many peasants who had poor harvests or struggled under the oppression of large landlords sold their land and flocked to towns to seek new lives. This indirectly promoted land consolidation and urban population growth—beneficial for both agricultural and industrial development.

Paul received scattered reports that even serfs were risking their lives to flee to towns to change their fate.

“So then, in the current situation, where can our productivity make further breakthroughs? Who has good ideas?”

Facing setbacks, Paul felt it was best to pool wisdom and listen to the opinions of the natives of this world.

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