Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 485: Distressed Housekeeping

“... since last year we have been selling commodities from our autonomous territories to colonies across the West Coast. Due to the low prices and convenience of shipping, merchants from colonies on the West Coast have ordered commodities from our autonomous territories, which has caused dissatisfaction among the colonial administrations of the West Coast countries and increased taxes on commodities from our autonomous territories..."

General Skerry, the chief economic and financial officer in charge of the overseas autonomous territories, is reporting on the stage, and what is now being done is the economic and financial year-end summary report of the overseas autonomous territories for the year 597 Holy Light.

Thanks to Claude's instruction to land the Legion of Thunder on the mainland of the Kingdom the previous year, which robbed the overseas autonomous territories of a large quantity of mechanical production equipment, nearly a hundred large civilian commodity manufacturing workshops were added, and basically goods and goods produced by the mainland of the Kingdom could be produced by the overseas autonomous territories. After the dominance of high-quality, cheap and cheap commodity production over the entire autonomous territory, the market was targeted at the colonies of the West Coast countries.

Generally speaking, the countries of the Farea continent treat the colonies of the Nubian continent in the same way as imports of mineral resources and exclusive distribution markets for their commodities, from which they derive high profitable returns. However, owing to the vast silence of the ocean, the officially organized pelagic trade fleet of countries had basically travelled twice a year, so that their commodities were in short supply and demand in the colonies that they could not be sold even if prices had tripled.

Only now is there an extra overseas autonomous territory, where most of the goods produced by the countries of the Farea continent can be produced autonomously. The opportunity was first discovered by smugglers from the colonies of the West Coast countries, who imported large quantities of goods from the overseas autonomous territories and then resold them to the colonies of the West Coast countries. As a result, merchants operating their own products were suddenly crushed, and they were not rivals in terms of commodity prices or the timeliness of shipments from overseas autonomous territories.

Nor could the administrations of the colonies of the West Coast countries, because no one would be happy to show their patriotic enthusiasm by buying high-quality local goods. Local officials in colonies could only raise taxes on commodities produced by overseas autonomous territories, but the cure did not cure the symptoms. Instead, it made smugglers more active and did little harm to overseas autonomous territories.

The reason is that the overseas autonomous territories are not responsible for transportation at all. The merchants from the colonies of the West Coast countries order deposits at the manufacturing workshops of the overseas autonomous territories, pay the full cost after the goods have been inspected and then take all the goods away and bring them back to the colonies of the countries of the West Coast for sale. So those colonial officials raising taxes on access to commodities only affect the earnings of those businessmen, and not the boom of the economies of the overseas autonomous territories.

“... the best selling daily commodities for our overseas autonomous territories are cigarettes, followed by a variety of leather and gold and silver appliance crafts. Mechanics are the most popular of all types of small and medium-sized fire engines and steam engines. Since the Autonomous Territories decided to implement the brand classification system last year, our Autonomous Territories' commodities have gained fame in the West Coast colonies and the Farea continent..." General Scully reports on stage, and the members of the House under the stage applaud from time to time...

Claude himself had no idea that the market for cigarettes would be so hot, that cigarettes from his own tobacco factory could never be stored in the warehouse, and almost a case of cigarettes had been snatched away by long-awaited dealers as soon as they came out of the workshop. Solo eating was jealous, and Claude had to co-open a large tobacco production workshop, with the Field family holding 15 percent of the largest shares, to satisfy the demand for cigarettes on the market.

This is the third overseas self-governing congressman with investments, the first two being the Overseas Minsheng Bank and the Overseas Railway Stock Exchange. Claude's own tobacco factory retains only three brands of cigarettes: the Moonshadow brand cigar, the Light Cloud women's mint cigarette and the Fire Dragon brand premium cigarette. And the big tobacco factory that people invest in produces the most widely sold medium to low cigarette shields, the former called Feima, and the latter called Sailor.

Seriously, Claude's identity today exceeds all the expectations of his father, Mr. Morsan, in this world. That would be Bai Lu Town, Mr. Morsan just wanted to open a new maritime route to give the Kingdom a little credit, mix the lowest honorary barons or something, so that he could go further, become mayor, become a national councillor in the future or something, even with the Fields family could become the most famous family in Bai Lu Town...

Claude is now at the top of the ranks, holding the military power of the entire Autonomous Territory and speaking indiscriminately in the Overseas Autonomous Territories. The Fields family has also become one of the most prestigious families of the entire Overseas Autonomous Territories. Langhu City's Fields estate is full of visitors, either to see Claude at the door or to visit the old lady, or the family of the senators to get along with Cabernet Franc or something. So much so that Claude's mother often sighs, if only Mr. Morsan were still there...

“... our Overseas Railway Stock Exchange has laid its first railway in the autonomous northern Port Vibato, Cromwell, Bering Ghana, officially invested in operation, with a very impressive income. And the railways of Robisto, Amphiston, Mormary, Tilsim and Arturas, in the southern part of the autonomous territory, are about to be laid and put into operation, believing that we will be able to take back our investment in no time.

Over the next three years, we will also continue to lay the second railway linking the entire Overseas Autonomous Territories, which is ready to be laid along the coastal zone, and which will soon be ready for construction once the topographical survey has been completed. This coastal railway will connect all coastal towns and cities, making it easier and faster to improve the flow and transportation of goods in autonomous territories... "

The person making the report on the stage has been replaced by General Bolognick, who is preaching on the prospects and goals for the future of the overseas railway stock exchange. In the plan for autonomous territories, three railways are to be built in all autonomous prefectures in the future, at a minimum in the coastal zone, to facilitate the transport of seafood catches and the rapid mobilization of troops.

From the second half of the Holy Light in 596 to a year and a half in 597, the economic development of the Overseas Autonomous Territories was like a fast track. Without colonial wars, without hardship and repression from the kingdom itself, the overseas self-governing territories rarely enjoy nearly two years of peaceful development, the autonomous provinces change a thousand miles a day, and a thriving life.

The four autonomous counties with a current population of more than one million are Cromwell, Beringana, Amphiston and Tilsim. The remaining five states registered the lowest population growth in the Rocky Hills region, with only one small town with a population of over 70,000, mostly trading with the Nikancas. Seventeen gold and silver mines across the state have also been mined, as miners are criminals sentenced to hard labour in autonomous consuls, as well as envoys of the Kingdom and officers and soldiers of the Marine Battalion who were arrested the previous year.

In addition, the state of Arturas has grown by more than 100,000 inhabitants because of tobacco production, while the populations of Port Vibato, Robisto and Mormary have remained unchanged, and the entire Overseas Autonomous Territory still lacks human resources, despite the total population of nearly 7 million inhabitants of the Overseas Autonomous Territory. Sometimes the Executive Committee of the Autonomous Territories talked about this situation and could not help but wonder where Claude would lead the Thunder Division to forcibly relocate another two or three million inhabitants of the Kingdom.

Fortunately, there are more than half a million Hicks soldiers captured, who have become the main youth labourers in public infrastructure and railway construction throughout the Overseas Autonomous Territories. The Autonomous Territorial Regions have also kept the promises of General Claude and General Bitchklin that they will not be wronged in terms of food, clothing and accommodation as long as they work diligently and make their own contribution to the building of the Autonomous Territorials.

Not only do the more than half a million Hicks prisoners get fed and warmed every day, even a meat meal a day, but a large glass of wheat wine can be distributed to complete the work quota and a little monthly salary subsidy, just as hundreds of thousands of extremely inexpensive labourers are employed in the Autonomous Territories. Medical treatment and leave for the sick and wounded were also available to apprentices of pharmaceuticals, so many Hicks prisoners moved their minds and wanted to remain in the Autonomous Territory at the end of their bonded labour.

The year-end wrap-up session lasted two days, the first summarizing gains and losses in all aspects of the year, and the second looking ahead to improvements and expected accomplishments for the new year. In the evening, after a big meal and drink, the meeting adjourned. Next, each family went back to find their mothers and entered the 15-day annual holiday, until January 5 of the New Year to officially start work. Of course, Claude has to be on duty at the Military District Command, and on New Year's Eve he has to console the stationed troops and so on...

As in previous years, this year's year-end wrap-up conference was held at the largest Grand Lounge pub in Lanhu City. The Executive Committee of the Autonomous Leadership Commission was generous in its finances, and had wrapped up the Grand Tavern of Lanhu for three days. General Bolognick, however, was not satisfied with the Grand Lounge, and the year-end wrap-up conference here had become boring. The General Assembly had therefore proposed the construction of a building to serve as a general assembly hall for the Autonomous Territorial Councils, and a year-end wrap-up conference would be held in the general assembly hall at the end of the year, which would provide both confidentiality and a place for parliamentarians to meet privately for leisure.

As a result, the proposal was unanimously adopted in the General Assembly, and parliamentarians responded with enthusiasm, which should be the quickest proposal to be voted on by all parliamentarians this year, with zero votes against it, doubling even the funds allocated for construction, and even a large number of parliamentarians said publicly that he could make a personal donation to make the building more luxurious. To commemorate this proposal by General Bolognick, this still conceived General Hall has been named the Bolognick Building.

Claude boarded a carriage back to Fields Manor, escorted by the guards, and when he arrived home, he found Kevin holding a big belly and talking to Anna, his sister-in-law, who was just as big. This is Kevin's third pregnancy. After marrying her sister Anna and McJackie for so many years, she finally got pregnant and went back to the Fields Manor to secure her baby and put herself in the magic lab of the Blackstone Firearms Workshop and several male and female disciples in Mrs. Sonia's care.

The reason my sister Anna is only pregnant now is because she has finally cultivated her magic hierarchy, and she is now a five-ring grammar, the kind that comes to the top. The next step is to find a way to break through ancient times of magical civilization, but my sister Anna sees this rather faintly. She thinks that the current magic level is enough for her to use and will not waste her time on the so-called magic level breakthrough method in the mythical legend...

Compared to his sister Anna, Claude is quite sweaty. Until now, his magic training has reached the side of a four-ring grammar. It is estimated that it will take another year or two for him to be officially promoted to a four-ring grammar. This is mainly because his magic practice has been intermittent, and the heavy weight of his affairs has involved a lot of energy. Especially during the war, he did not have the minds to practice at all. Even his brother Blovik's magic training is on the verge of catching up.

There's been a little trouble at home these past few days, it's about my brother Browick. Mother didn't know how much effort she had put into her brother Blovik's marriage. Turns out, for the so-called big girlfriend shows that Mother introduced, the councillor's lady niece and her brother, Browick, didn't see a thing. Instead, she got pregnant with Adele, the big sister from Anna Ranch.

Adele is the daughter of veteran Soft, who died on the battlefield as a cover for Browitt, who promised to take care of her children who remained in the kingdom. After the war, Browitt returned to the kingdom to find Soft's family, and Browitt found Adele's brother, who had become a stray. To allow Adele to walk with herself willingly, Browitt promised to adopt more than twenty stray children who were mixed up with their siblings, and even took another forty on her way back.

Adele, who had just been adopted, was only fourteen years old, and a few years later, she became the eldest sister of those strays at Anna Ranch and an eighteen-year-old girl. Sister Anna has always admired Adele for her strength and energy and entrusted her with everything on the ranch. God knows how Blovik got her, and when Adele's tummy got bigger, she couldn't keep it from herself, and the ranchers stabbed her in front of her mother.

Her mother was furious, and she spent so much time introducing her brother Blowick to so many beautiful young ladies in the family, and his brother Blowick, instead of obsessed, was mixed with a shepherd. Even if the shepherd's father had saved Blovik's life, the Fields had mercifully adopted their brother. She would never allow her brother Browick to marry this cheap shepherd...

Claude has nothing to say. People change, so do mothers. Perhaps it was the elevation of the status of Claude that caused the mother to look like this, to have long contact with the families of the autonomous consuls and with those in the so-called upper echelons of society, to treat herself as a noble lady and to see the family as more important than anything else. Browick, the younger brother, was the nominal head of the Fields family, and she could not have agreed to Browick's request, believing that it would disgrace the Fields family in the presence of the entire self-governing elite.

As a result, her mother fell ill, and her brother Browick was more stubborn than her mother, simply staying at Anna Ranch to take care of Big Tummy Adele and not returning to Fields Manor. Claude also had a stomach grudge, who he recruited and who he messed with, the two big stomachs in the house, and as a result, his mother and brother made this scene again, and he was stuck in the middle is really not human inside or outside.

“Why aren't you asleep? It's 11: 30.” Claude asked as he took off his leather coat. Fortunately, there are pipes in the living room that lead to the boiler heating, and the room is not cold, so don't worry about the cold in the two big bellies.

“We slept too long this afternoon to get up until 5: 30, and now we can't sleep.” Kevin replied, "Do you want something to eat? I told the kitchen to get it for you. ”

“No, I'm very hungry. Let's go up and take a hot bath.” Claude waves: “By the way, is Mother feeling better? ”

“She's the same, don't go see her.” Sister Anna was very unhappy to interrupt: “She wasn't sick at all. You went to see her and she was lying in bed sighing like she was about to die. In fact, she was in good health and could live for another twenty or thirty years. I went to deliver her dinner at night, and she had a tantrum and yelled at me, saying that I had set a bad example for my brother by marrying Mike on my own initiative, which really pissed me off. Doesn't it make us as noble as the Fields? Isn't Grandpa from a farmer or a drunk? ”

“Uh...” Claude shook his head and laughed. “Don't mess with her, either. You're pregnant yourself. Don't ever piss yourself off. It's bad for your health. Mothers are older and have been much more admired in the last few years, so I do forget a little. But we are her children, and there are things that she can only do with her, and if she doesn't put up with us, don't worry about it.

In fact, I also told Little Booker, as long as he likes it, don't worry about what people say. It's like shoes don't fit. Only people who wear them know. People say that shoes are pretty expensive or something. If they can't be worn, they can't be worn. If they're beautiful, the price is expensive, it's none of our business. As long as we're strong, we don't have to care what others say. When Adele gives birth to the baby, maybe the mother will change her mind... "

Tired, Claude soaked in the bathtub and sighed deeply. At that time, he saw a blue folder in the closet next to him, knowing that this should be the summaries of the two days' intelligence sent by Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes. Instead of interrupting their own meeting, they left it at home. It seems that the world is peaceful and nothing serious has happened.

Lazy enough to pick up this folder, open it, and see the information from White Deer City about Wang Du. The Kingdom of Nasseri sent several envoys to Wangdu, reportedly to negotiate the debt of the two countries with the new King Frederie I. The hanging Sterling XI borrowed three high-interest loans from the Kingdom of Nasseri, which expire next June. These three loans add up to eight million gold kroner...