Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 183 Public Entertainment
On a sunny afternoon, Harvey squeezed out his lunch break and met with Julio Ferguson, a trainee police inspector from the National Police Department, in the castle's study to report on his work.

This former apprentice knight still maintained the etiquette of his status, wearing a brand new and clean dark gray police uniform. The shoulders, collar, and cuffs were embroidered with silver silk stripes and lace, and a star pattern drawn with silver thread was sewn on the left chest, which was the official emblem of the police superintendent.

He refused the high-back chair that Harvey had someone bring, crossed his hands behind his back, stood straight, and reported to Harvey without looking away as to the key points of the police department's recent work.

"Lord, recently during our routine night patrols, we've frequently encountered drunken residents lingering around residential areas. Most of them gather in groups, singing loudly or making a lot of noise until late at night, causing widespread public discontent..."

Yurio quickly used his mechanical prosthetic arm to adjust the collar of his tightly buttoned uniform. After a pause, he continued, "I believe that a ban on alcohol should be enacted immediately in the territory to prevent the people from squandering their hard-earned income on alcohol..."

"This month, the police have arrested dozens of civilians for drunken brawls. If this continues, they will completely sink into the habit of alcoholism and lose their interest in work and life."

Harvey listened attentively, nodding his head occasionally in agreement with Yurio's opinions. When he heard Yurio suggest a ban on alcohol, he spoke gently, "As far as I know, because the northern wilderness is bitterly cold, most residents here have a long-standing habit of drinking to ward off the cold whenever they can. A hasty ban on alcohol would likely cause public discontent."

Yurio said sternly, "Sir, as long as you issue an order in the name of the lord, the people will dare to obey. In the past, when wars broke out in the southern countries and caused a decrease in grain production, many noble lords also enacted laws to ban alcohol. Those who violated the laws were naturally punished with flogging or hard labor, and their bad habits were quickly eradicated."

His grandfather was a small landowner with a knight title, but when the family fortune was passed to his father's generation, that unpromising man developed the bad habit of alcoholism. Not only did he fail to inherit the family's glory as a knight, he also squandered all the family fortune, causing Yurio to deeply detest the folk custom of drinking and having fun.

Harvey asked, "Of course, the official market in the territory can stop producing, brewing, and selling alcoholic beverages, but have you ever considered that my people are not poor? They have enough money to buy food and secretly brew their own alcoholic beverages."

"Superintendent Yurio, are you going to rely solely on the less than 100 police officers in the National Police Agency to go door to door every day to confiscate these ordinary people who brew and drink alcohol for themselves?"

Harvey quipped with a relaxed expression, "I'm afraid even if I fitted all of you with powerful alchemical mechanical prosthetics, you wouldn't be able to handle it. There are over ten thousand people in the Frontier Territory right now."

Although he knew that the lord was not angry, Yurio's face still flushed red. After all, he was just an apprentice knight and had no experience in managing civilians and serfs for a noble lord.

Harvey knew that the young Knight Superintendent was decent, though a bit inexperienced, so he gently consoled him, "Don't be ashamed. You've only been on the job for a few months. You'll have more trouble than dealing with a few drunks."

"Remember my advice. When it comes to issues concerning the lifestyles of large numbers of people, it's better to ease them than to block them. Instead of forcing them with laws and whips, find ways to guide and change their bad habits..."

Yurio was silent for a moment, as if thinking deeply. He then bowed to Harvey again and said sincerely, "Please advise me, Lord, on how I can guide and change the people's habit of drinking."

Harvey stood up with a smile, pulled Yurio's mechanical arm, and led him to the study window, pointing to the civilians who were leisurely strolling and chatting in the citizen square in front of the castle during the afternoon break.

"I once read a sentence in a document about the administration of cities by ancient nobles: once the barns were filled with abundant grain, the people, with their bellies full, immediately began to feel ashamed."

"Look, they've started spending money on new, richly styled clothes, and they remember to polish their boots to a shine every day after work. The newly opened public bathhouses are packed with people, forming long lines at night... In the past, these refugees didn't care even if they were covered in lice. Why are they so obsessed with cleanliness now?"

Yurio suddenly realized something and muttered to himself, "Now that people have hope in life and extra money in their pockets, they're starting to save face..." Harvey laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "That's true, but it's true. Compared to a whipping for drunken disorder, if you put a sign around his neck and made him sweep the streets near your home, it would probably be more embarrassing for him."

The young superintendent was ecstatic after hearing Harvey's suggestion. He decisively bowed and said goodbye to his lord, and left the castle study excitedly.

"Those drunkards who are addicted to alcohol are going to suffer from their shame lately!" Asdalen, who had been staying in the study and listening, said jokingly.

Harvey said softly, thoughtfully, "This is actually just one of the ways to guide these people to change their living habits."

He then immediately returned to his desk, sat down, picked up the feather pen and began to write on the white paper.

"Guard! Take my signed note and go find the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. Tell him to get me some pig bladders from the farm!"

A guard who was on standby in the study was stunned for a moment, but immediately stepped forward to take Harvey's approval, saluted, and left quickly.

"Pig offal? What can it be used for? The smell of that thing... well, it's been so long ago that I don't even remember it. It just doesn't seem to smell very good." Asdalen muttered to himself in confusion.

Harvey chuckled and said, "Just rinse it a few times to get rid of the urine smell. Besides, I'm not going to eat it, so don't worry about the details."

Then he pulled the joystick of the alchemy device for one-way communication and sent a message to Egno, who was working in the hospital, asking him to send some heated and melted rubber fruit pectin to the castle.

Asdalen had no idea what Harvey was trying to say. Curious, he kept asking, "You're planning on using the pectin from the rubber tree to make wheels, aren't you? And what other magical effects can it have when combined with pig offal?"

Harvey pulled out a piece of white paper and drew a double circle on it with two strokes.

"The outer layer is made of rubber fruit, and the inner lining is made of pig bladder. I want to make a ball that is extremely elastic and filled with air!"

He raised the white paper with the circle drawn on it and said proudly, "This ball is an important way to change people's living habits and entertainment preferences!"

Harvey planned to promote the sport first in the military, and then, like holding a shooting competition, let the public watch this attractive ball game and guide them to actively participate in it.

Maybe once this sport is fully developed, Harvey will be able to organize small sports events in his territory.

"Hmm, that's good. Looks like I need to notify the Ministry of Construction and have them build me a sports field with stands in advance!"

(End of this chapter)