Chapter 399: Meeting (2)
According to Ethan, the academy recently recruited more students, expanding departments. He and James created a list of technologies to research next.
"My Lord, here is the list of planned experiments." Ethan handed Simon a paper.
Scanning the list, Simon was pleased. It showed future scientific research in order from simple to complex, with basic industrial tech all prepared well.
"Excellent. Use the labs fully and research boldly. The governor’s office will fund you. Outstanding individuals may even apply for personal research funds."
Ethan and James smiled, ready to share the good news with students.
After academy matters, Simon asked about Brambleford’s governance.
Baldwin said. "I have selected officials for West Ham. Its government is now established. The pastures given to Magnus, Gary and Jason have been handed over. They’re buying colts for grazing. The merchants’ guild sent representatives to co-manage the pastures."
He paused and took out an account book. "Though this year’s two grain harvests declined, many households still have surplus. The government bought two million bags of wheat this year. Because of plenty of grain, prices in Brambleford have dropped."
"Good. That means people sell their leftover grain." Simon said.
Baldwin sighed. "But low grain prices hurt farmers. Many want to sell to the government, but warehouses can’t keep up. The two million bags of storage are maxed out."
Simon chuckled. "Don’t worry, that’s good for me. Before, grain shortages meant no brewing. Now with excess grain, we’ll buy it to brew wine, then sell it domestically, and to our neighbours."
"That’s a brilliant idea." Baldwin laughed heartily.
Desmond rolled his eyes. "Pirates plague the seas. This business won’t be easy."
"Then your navy must clear those sea bandits," Baldwin replied, suddenly feeling tricked. He realized Desmond had baited him after opposing overseas naval wars.
Desmond laughed loudly, seeing Baldwin’s expression.
Simon smiled wryly and continued. "Also, reavers love alcohol. When I was in Eldora, I heard merchants bought guild wine at high prices to sell to reavers. We won’t let them have that bargain. We’ll trade wine for furs and maybe make leather boots for every Brambleford soldier."
"Leather boots."
Benjamin and the other generals suddenly became energetic.
Lancelot then asked: "My Lord, what are leather boots?"
Nowadays, the Brambleford Army wears cloth shoes. This kind of shoe, paired with the dark green military uniform of the Brambleford Army, always makes Simon a little awkward, so he plans to develop the leather shoe industry in Brambleford.
After all, leather boots are more durable than cloth shoes, and adding a layer of velvet can also keep them warm. This will ensure that soldiers are not afraid of the cold.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The development of the shoemaking industry can also provide a large number of jobs for Brambleford, thereby further absorbing the refugees. What’s more, it also has a complete production process from cowhide to leather shoes.
"I can’t explain it right now. You will understand it when the leather boots come out." Simon laughed.
All the generals sighed softly after hearing this.
In addition to food issues, Baldwin also talked about the current resettlement situation of the victims of the domain, the development of various states and counties, and the income and expenditure of the domain this year.
Generally speaking, because the Northern Expedition was funded by a large number of businessmen, Brambleford’s finances were in surplus this year, and the excess money was invested in infrastructure construction and the establishment of public institutions.
For Simon, his advantage is to spread knowledge, so popularizing education is particularly important. The more talent there is, the more it can be distributed to various industries to promote the development of the industry.
Then Aiden reported on the government’s own situation.
After Simon proposed that officials should perform their own duties and gave Baldwin a textbook on the establishment of government agencies, he refined the functions of the government agencies.
According to Simon’s idea, each state government office is now equivalent to a municipal government. The municipal government will set up departments in charge of construction, agriculture, commerce, etc. to refine the management of the domain. This will not only reduce the monopolization of power by some officials, but also reduce unprofessionalism and random interference.
"Well, generally speaking, all matters in the domain are making progress, which is good." Simon looked excited. He then looked at Percival and said: "Percival, this time I signed a business agreement in Eldora. From then on, From now on, Prince Gerad and Prince Augustus will not tax the Chamber of Commerce on the royal land. Now the Chamber of Commerce can be said to be free of the burden of heavy taxes. You have to argue and continue to expand the profits of the Chamber of Commerce."
"Sign the agreement. Yes!" Percival almost jumped up from his chair and said excitedly: "My Lord, is this true?"
"Of course it is true." Simon tapped the table with his finger. "I will do my best now. Your Chamber of Commerce will open the way. If you cannot bring enough profits to me, I will punish you."
Percival said with a smile: "My Lord, if this agreement is signed, the profits of our Chamber of Commerce will definitely be tripled. Don’t worry. If it cannot bring three times the profit to His Highness, I will come to see you."
Simon nodded when he heard this. "Well, you just have an idea."
Percival laughed happily; this business agreement is not only It is as simple as a tax exemption. At the same time, the merchants of the Brambleford Chamber of Commerce also have extraterritorial rights in the place where the agreement is signed. In other words, the Brambleford merchants are not restricted by local laws and avoid being arrested by the local government for various unprovoked reasons.
Percival valued this more than tax exemption, because there had been several incidents in the Chamber of Commerce in which businessmen were arrested and extorted by the local government. Because of this, Simon added extraterritoriality to the agreement.
After understanding the basic situation of the domain, Simon announced the adjournment of the meeting, leaving only Percival and Baldwin to stay.
"My Lord, are you keeping us two here just because of the potatoes?" Baldwin asked.
Simon nodded. "Yes, now that the potatoes have arrived, we will start promoting potatoes. Your government office is responsible for taking the potatoes to various parts of the domain to popularize potatoes. I and Percival are trying to sell the potatoes. Take some of it."
"Sell it! My Lord, even if there are 32 bags per acre, it’s only 96,000 bags of potatoes. These potato domains are not enough, so why sell it?" Baldwin said anxiously.
He now regards potatoes as a treasure, and whoever touches them will be anxious.
Simon naturally had his own reasons. A potato is not easy to preserve. Under normal circumstances, a potato can be stored for several months without sprouting. However, once a potato sprouts and turns green, it means it is poisonous and cannot be eaten.
At the same time, according to Simon’s understanding, potatoes were a high-end food when they first appeared, and they were eaten among the nobles. This meant that the price was not low, and taking advantage of the freshness of potatoes was not a waste of money.
After telling Baldwin his reasons, Baldwin suddenly realized.
"Selling 16,000 bags from 96,000 bags, some of the remaining potatoes will be selected from high-quality seeds to raise seedlings, and the rest will be used as dishes to supply the army and academies. How about that?" Simon said.
Baldwin nodded at this time. "That’s good. If the reputation of these potatoes spreads, a large number of businessmen will come to buy the potatoes next year."
Percival was calculating how much the potatoes would sell for, and he said: "My Lord, these potatoes are so delicious, why not sell them for thirty caps of silver and one stone?"
"The price is dozens of times more expensive than rice. These merchants may not buy them. So, let the chamber of commerce publicize the news about the potatoes, and at the same time, I will let you know. Newspapers focused on potatoes, and hot air balloons also advertised them." Simon said.
The three of them agreed to go back and make preparations.
Simon returned to the castle and wrote a manuscript. This manuscript was naturally an introduction to potatoes. At the same time, he also introduced some characteristics of potatoes, such as green sprouted potatoes that cannot be eaten, how to preserve potatoes, and other common sense.
The reason for doing this is the same as when he asked the newspaper to issue precautions for the use of briquette stoves a few days ago, both to avoid fatal accidents caused by incorrect use.
After finishing the manuscript, he asked his servant to send it to the newspaper office, and asked the newspaper office to print it overnight.
At the same time, Baldwin went to the slave plantation. Eden had been harvesting potatoes that day. When he arrived at the plantation, he asked about the potato harvest.
This time, Eden selected high-quality potato seedlings for planting. However, due to uneven fertilizer distribution, the yields were still high and low. The low ones were twenty stones, and the high ones were more than thirty stones. Overall, they were good.
A total of about 90,000 bags were harvested from three thousand acres of land.
When Percival returned to the Chamber of Commerce, he immediately spread the news about potatoes to the merchants of the Chamber of Commerce. At the same time, he posted a notice at the door of the Chamber of Commerce to officially launch potatoes, a brand-new Brambleford product.
The next day, as soon as the newspaper came out, the word potato immediately became a hot term in Brambleford City, and the hot air balloon swaggering over Brambleford with a huge advertisement for potatoes made the astute businessmen immediately smell the business opportunities and hurriedly reported to the Chamber of Commerce.