industrial lord

Chapter 814 Personal Promotion
Rumor has it that whenever Grand Duke Wessen is working in his office in the government building, he can see clues about the square in front of the office building and the street from the curtains and other places.

The story was told in great detail by the people, and Frederick himself was very curious about whether such a thing was true, so he took a detour to the street before going to work today to see for himself.

“Nothing has changed at all,” Frederick grumbled as he stepped onto the stairs in front of the government building. “I’m really fed up with those people.”

Tony, standing nearby, said seriously, "Sir, this matter cannot be taken lightly. I will arrange for someone to handle it."

Frederick thought about what Taro had just reported and finally nodded in agreement.

In the office, file boxes were piled up on the large oak table, arranged according to their importance and urgency.

Susan made lemon and ginger soda before going to work at the hospital this morning. She put it in a thermos, and it's still steaming hot.

Frederick opened his thermos, took a sip, put it on the cabinet next to him, and then started working.

The focus of our work in January is to summarize the work of the previous year, compile the data from each department, and create charts and graphs together with data from previous years for a visual presentation.

"Money is the most important thing in the world," Frederick thought, first studying the Ministry of Finance documents, then frowning in exasperation.

A year has passed since the Battle of Hongshuiche Village, but the debts incurred are still being repaid, from the cost of hiring allies to the IOUs for purchasing supplies, which will continue to be paid off this year.

According to relevant departments, the first wave of baby boomers from the three New South Wales that joined the trade war a few years ago will enter school age next year, requiring the construction and expansion of enough schools.

On the spring equinox this year, the nobles of the former forest and sea region will sign an agreement at the cathedral to divide the region into the states of El, Sur, and Gra. These three states will officially join the Duchy of Wesen, and a large sum of money will be spent on infrastructure construction in these three places.

Frederick felt that his head was very big.

Although theoretically it's possible to push the printing press to its limits until it smokes, one can't even imagine what might happen next.

Raising money requires both increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Since reducing expenditure is not an option, we need to consider how to increase revenue.

Frederick couldn't help but think that it was time to send Lilu eastward to see if she could open up new markets.

There's also the matter of aluminum smelting. Bauxite has been discovered, but I wonder how Psyche's preparations are going.

After dealing with domestic affairs, the next step is external affairs.

Rudolf sent a letter asking how things were going with the shipbuilding industry support base that was promised.

Frederick was speechless. That was a matter within the royal domain, and this guy was actually asking him about it.

He asked the secretariat to prepare a report on the project and to write a letter in his own name, which he then sent to Cologne.

Civilian intelligence in Bohemia also falls under external affairs, and a summary of intelligence is being sent over today.

Frederick paid close attention and read it carefully.

"...Three months after the food aid program was implemented, public opinion in Bohemia has changed. According to our statistics from taverns, markets, and churches in various cities, the frequency of mentions of terms such as 'Duchy of Vesen' has quadrupled..."

"...Positive evaluations have risen from about 40% initially to nearly 70% currently. Praise is mostly focused on 'timely aid,' 'unconditional aid,' and 'efficient delivery.' Negative evaluations have dropped from 60% to less than 30%, mostly old accusations such as 'interference in internal affairs' and 'winning hearts and minds'..."

"...It is particularly noteworthy that the kind of 'Wesson's kindness' advocated by Holleček in the beer hall is spreading among the lower nobility and the middle class..."

Frederick put down the report, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to think.

He poured a lot of resources into this bottomless pit. Although there was no open opposition within the government, there were many dissenting voices. Now that some progress has been made, he should strike while the iron is hot.

"This window of opportunity is perfect for strengthening cultural integration. Books, dramas, music, and dance may be more effective than direct transmission. Bohemia has a low literacy rate, so we can rely on churches to run literacy classes and conduct bilingual education..." Frederick wrote furiously on the paper, and the key points of his next task were clearly outlined.

After several revisions, he put the document into a folder, and the secretariat compiled it into a document for discussion at the next Supreme Ministerial Conference.

With the key tasks completed, the remaining tasks are less important.

Frederick picked up his thermos and stood behind the curtains, sipping his still-warm drink while quietly watching the people coming and going in the square and on the street.

After listening to Tarot's report this morning, he had a feeling that the war beneath the surface was escalating.

If you can't beat the enemy openly, then resort to underhanded tactics.

The enemy will inevitably use a variety of methods to spread rumors, create conflicts, and sow discord.

If they can't control things in other places, they'll inevitably have to build an impregnable fortress in their own territory.

Feeling something, he sat back down at his desk and began to write and draw.

There are many things I didn't understand in my past life, but now I find them surprisingly wonderful.

In this day and age, people are still very receptive to propaganda.

Conspiracies and schemes always require someone to carry them out, so we need to strengthen the "Chaoyang District Masses" initiative so that people can spontaneously expose spies with ill intentions.

Personality cult is perfectly normal in a society with superhuman power.

Frederick studied the calendar for a long time and finally decided that he would give a public speech in front of the government building on the 9th of each ten-day period, mainly on political, military, and diplomatic issues; and a "fireside talk" on the radio on the 5th of each ten-day period, mainly on people's livelihood issues.

The first step in propaganda is to portray the target as the absolute embodiment of wisdom, morality, and ability, and even to endow them with supernatural qualities.

Empty propaganda will eventually fail. Promoting alongside practical solutions will be much more effective.

Especially in Bohemia, now is a good time for promotion, and we must seize the opportunity.

The second step is to permeate the image of the target audience into daily life, for example, by displaying their portraits in public places such as streets and squares, as well as in private places such as homes, making them ubiquitous visual symbols.

Frederick pondered for a long time, stroking his chin. He wondered if he should make some of his own figurines to sell. As for things like smacks and grains, he wasn't sure if the market would accept them.

Perhaps, we can sell some photo albums?

Frederick felt he had gone too far, exaggerated himself, and might become a joke that would last for thousands of years.

To achieve this goal, it is also necessary to monopolize public opinion, comprehensively instilling the image of the propaganda target as great through media, education, and artistic works, and suppressing dissenting voices.

Frederick pondered for a long time, concluding that, at least within the Duchy of Wessen, public opinion was firmly in his grasp.

Externally, due to the topicality of the Duchy of Wesen, many places will closely follow current events and conduct propaganda.

Therefore, while consolidating internal publicity, you can also launch a wave of external publicity until others realize what's happening.

Just as the lunch break bell was about to ring, a letter from the Duke of Mainz, written from Cologne, was personally delivered by Foreign Minister Christian.

Frederick read it carefully several times and felt that he could take advantage of the situation to do many things.

(End of this chapter)