King
Chapter 682 - 682 9 3-Year Plan - Encourage Childbirth_2

682: Chapter 9, 3-Year Plan – Encourage Childbirth_2 682: Chapter 9, 3-Year Plan – Encourage Childbirth_2 Economically, the development plan for the Mountain Domain is simpler.

Summarized in a sentence, it would be: “Expand horizons, dig canals, and develop the industrial economy.”

The specifics are absent.

The first two items are quite straightforward and obviously point to what is being done, but as for the development of the industrial economy, that can only be undertaken gradually and through exploration.

Up until now, the pillar industry of the Mountain Domain is still steel.

Be it the pots and pans being produced or the swords and spears, all are inexorably linked to steel.

The oil industry Hudson developed earlier has turned into domestic use due to a huge increase in population.

Expanding the industrial chain also relies on a self-sufficient economic system of the Lord.

The development of commerce is purely speculative, the largest group within the domain are the serfs, followed by orc slaves.

Free people plus nobles add up to just a few thousand in total.

This level of purchasing power offers quite a limited potential for growth.

The main player in current trade remains the nobility.

Unless the serfdom system is broken down, it will be difficult for the industry and commerce to develop.

Although organizations like the July Club, chanting the slogan “Overthrow the nobles, liberate the serfs”, exist, they’ve all been labelled as Cult Organizations.

Being a member of the Noble Consortium, Hudson would naturally not foolishly jump out to end his own life.

Even if political reforms were to be undertaken, that would be a task for the future.

His subordinates are, of course, even less likely to help in the matter.

All have had a traditional education and are firm supporters of the current system.

“It’s not enough!”

After a quick overview, Hudson gave his brief remark.

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

All the plans were the product of their collective discussions, and practically covered all major affairs related to the development of the domain.

In such a short period of time, extracting an outline was already a difficult task, not to mention fleshing out detailed implementation.

No one could be expected to produce it so swiftly.

“Please advise us, my lord!”

With hesitation, Cain spoke up.

Among workers too, there exists a hierarchy.

Subtly becoming the leader of the aides, Cain now had to step up.

“The development of the domain cannot be separated from its population.

You should have some understanding of how high the upper limit of the population is in the Count’s territory.

By developing the swamps and Salam, the total area of the domain will undoubtedly exceed 40,000 square kilometers.

Even if half of the land is used for farming, it could still support several million people.

How many people do we have now?

You all should have some idea of the gap.

Why isn’t there any policy encouraging birth rates?”

Hudson stated with dissatisfaction.

In the feudal era, population growth depended on the attitude of the Lord.

As long as the Noble Lord is willing to spare the food and money to raise them, the people can confidently give birth.

In an era with no entertainment or contraception, procreation is inevitable at night.

Marrying rate?

What’s that?

When the age of marriage is reached and not married, officials from the Manor House would directly arrange a partner.

Serfs, who have no personal freedom, naturally do not have the right to refuse.

As for free people, they did not amount to many in the domain.

Whether they were willing to reproduce or not was not important.

“My lord, we have already issued a bulletin to lift birth restrictions.

Is there a need to emphasise this again?”

Cain nervously responded.

“Encourage birthrates”, this term was the first time he had heard it.

According to tradition, when the Lord needs to increase population, a bulletin to lift birth restrictions would be issued.

Subsequently, for every newborn, the Manor House would increase the corresponding material allocation.

The Mountain Domain is currently operating similarly, using the traditional supply system.

The difference here is that to encourage agriculture, Hudson has shared some of the land’s revenue with the domain people.

The early-rising domain people who work hard, now have some additional income, which has made them richer amongst the serfs.

As for lifting birth restrictions, it seems waiting for people to reproduce has been happening since Hudson moved into the Mountain Domain.

If placed on Earth, the birthrate in the Mountain Domain would even be considered royal.

Unfortunately, due to medical conditions, the high birthrate is accompanied by a high mortality rate.

“Just these aren’t enough.

Relying solely on natural population growth, the speed is simply too slow.

We have to introduce more aggressive population incentive policies, such as providing better medical facilities for the domain people, or offering some material rewards.

How can the medical needs of the domain be met by just a few Priests?

The training cycle for Priests is too long, and it is impossible to train a large number of them in a short time.

The best choice is to train more Pharmacists.

They don’t need to be highly proficient in Potion Refining, they just need to understand the principles of medicine and know how to match some herbs to deal with common daily problems.”

Hudson’s words fell on everyone like a thunderbolt.

Pharmacists are not welcomed on the Continent of Aslante, and in the prosperous era of the Clergy, they were mostly considered heretics, being sent to the stake when caught.

Even after the decline of the Clergy, the traditional view still regarded Pharmacists as a marginalized profession.

Mainly, the high and mighty Nobles didn’t need Pharmacists to serve them.

Priests were there for when they got injured or ill, and if they didn’t want to accept Magic Treatment, there were more advanced Magic Potions.

Helplessly, there are clear social strata.

The Magic Potions used by important figures are orthodox, while the common Pharmacists are heretics.

In Hudson’s view, all of these consequences are caused by interests.

The Priests deliberately smeared and suppressed their competition to monopolize medical resources.