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Chapter 669 - 669 5 The Embryo of the Industrial Revolution_1

669: Chapter 5, The Embryo of the Industrial Revolution_1 669: Chapter 5, The Embryo of the Industrial Revolution_1 The personnel adjustments were not just aimed at Luke.

In the following days, Hudson continued to reposition the management layer whose loyalty couldn’t be confirmed, under various pretexts.

To minimize internal strife, all these personnel adjustments were blanketed under a “Halo of Prominence”.

All who had dutifully served during their tenure were successively promoted and handed more “significant” responsibilities.

Hudson found it incredulous that many of these people with unclear origins, suspected spies, even outperformed many of the “insiders”.

Indeed, except for the lack of loyalty, they were excellent workers.

So much so that when Hudson wanted to cleanse their ranks, he hesitated to act directly.

To try and maximize everyone’s talents, this large-scale personnel adjustment primarily involved relocating them to manage newly acquired territories.

Mere exclaves, as long as they could stably provide the Manor House with tax revenue, labor, and goods, Hudson was not particularly concerned.

No matter how well they were managed, these exclaves were temporary territories.

The future goal was to consolidate them.

However, this might take a while.

The largest obstacle was the Kingdom’s unwritten rules.

To change territories, not only must the Lord involved agree, but the King and the Noble Parliament must also consent.

If any step was hindered, the exchange of lands could not proceed.

The existence of this rule was mainly to protect the interest of smaller aristocrats and combat bullying by the Major Nobles.

For Hudson, who was dealing with adjustments to dozens of exclaves, the necessary coordination of relationships was even more complex.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Lord was convinced, the King and the Noble Parliament would veto it one hundred percent of the time.

To accomplish his purpose, a series of negotiations were needed.

If worst comes to worst, they would have to trade in increments to reduce the impact.

Dozens of fiefs, nearly seven thousand square kilometers of land.

Besides the land itself, the most valuable asset they brought Hudson was their population.

The Southeastern Province had a superior geographical location, fertile land, and a dense population, and it was far from the frontline battlefields, so the impact of war was relatively small.

According to data compiled from various places, the total population of these new territories was about 150,000, more than the total population under Hudson’s previous rule.

Under the influence of exploiting the great prairies, almost all the powerhouses were migrating, causing an unprecedented strain on human resources.

The previously thriving slave trade had now come to a halt.

Even when slaves were for sale, they were immediately scooped up by the powerful forces manipulating the market behind the scenes.

Against this background, human resources became even more crucial.

Looking at the data in his hand, Hudson silently celebrated.

Thankfully, he did not get greedy and whimsically run off to develop the Northland.

No matter how large the fiefdom, without people to cultivate it, what use does it hold?

Once again, reality proved that rapid development still depended on war.

If it were not for this war and Hudson was just farming diligently, the Mountain Domain would probably have struggled to even muster forty to fifty thousand people.

But after a war, the situation underwent a drastic change.

With the refugees gathered and the population from the new fiefs, they were on the verge of breaking the 300,000 mark.

Among the major nobles of the Kingdom, this population count was still at the bottom, but Hudson was content.

With this much population as a base, many plans that were once only wishes could now gradually be implemented.

Specifically in practice, Hudson chose to first stabilize.

A massive increase in population brought about not only benefits but also many new challenges.

The biggest issue was the difficulty of management.

The large-scale external placement of management personnel in the territory was not just about worrying about their loyalty, but also to utilize their capabilities, to bring these exclaves under control as soon as possible.

Honestly, Hudson was not too worried about whether they were spies or not.

As long as these people didn’t enter the core management layer, the damage they could cause would be limited.

After all, spies deployed at a high cost would mainly be for surveillance and information transmission.

They would not expose their identities unless absolutely necessary.

Especially the spies planted by the intermediate aristocracy were laying low, fearful of revealing their identities and causing trouble.

As long as Hudson did not slip up, most of the spies infiltrating the territory would behave.

Apart from occasionally transmitting information, they would normally just be honest workers.

Little matters should be left muddled.

If it comes to a crucial moment, deliberately releasing some false information may play an unexpected role.

While there were no major moves, small tweaks never stopped.

Apart from the personnel adjustments, some minor adjustments were also made to the industries in the territory.

“Mr.

Laiha, from now on, the territory’s military production should gradually shift towards civilian industries.

Except for maintaining necessary military production capabilities, the rest of the capacity should turn to producing farming tools, pots and pans, and other basic necessities.

In the next year or two, there should be a market for farming tools and daily necessities, but competition may be harsh as various places’ military industries will also be transitioning.

The steel smelting capacity should slowly reduce in the next two years, just maintaining sixty percent of the current capacity.”

Making this decision wasn’t done on a whim by Hudson, but rather a conclusion drawn from historical data analysis by his think tank.