Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 466 Before Returning
According to the original plan, Arturo will return to the North with Harvey, leaving Sirius and Prall to lead some necromancers to prepare for the Academy of Sciences branch in Jinhui City. This will be their first outpost for recruiting young apprentices and reserve talents in the future, so naturally, no carelessness is allowed.

"Mr. Arturo is much more restrained than I expected," Harvey joked. "I thought that after enduring such long-term discrimination and contempt, the necromancers wouldn't be kind to these orthodox spellcasters who are just following the trend."

Arturo sighed and bowed, "Lord City Lord, your attitude sets the standard for our actions... As long as we can recruit more talented spellcasters and alchemists for the North, there's no need to argue over fleeting pride. Besides, the Academy has benefited greatly from your influence this time. Not only has it completely established its reputation, but we can now openly recruit apprentices in the capital..."

A group of "changed careers" necromancers could openly establish an organizational branch in the capital of a secular kingdom and recruit apprentices on a large scale... This was something that was unimaginable at any time in the past.

Harvey nodded and warned, "But there's no need to lower your stance too much just to attract talent... You must always understand that our faction is the cornerstone of the Academy's existence and the sole dominant force."

"Yes, I understand." Arturo bowed in response.

While the two were chatting, Pierce hurried into the captain's cabin on the flagship and reported to Harvey, "Sir, rumors have suddenly spread in the city since yesterday... Several pregnant women are claiming to be the lovers of the late Grand Duke Saint Valen, and that the baby they are carrying is the Grand Duke's posthumous child, and the only remaining bloodline of the Saint Valen family..."

"Oh?" Harvey raised an eyebrow. "It seems some of the nobles who escaped my clutches haven't completely given up yet..."

However, their methods were not completely stupid and brainless. At least they knew to find a few pregnant women to fabricate rumors. If it was a lively illegitimate child, Harvey's alchemists would have plenty of ways to perform a magical "paternity test" on them.

Pierce's face was stern as he asked Harvey in a deep voice, "Sir, the secret police are currently investigating the source of the rumor... but I believe those nobles you previously pardoned are somehow implicated. Why not arrest them all..."

Harvey waved his hand and said, "There's no need to be so extreme. Dickinson just led our soldiers to the border to persuade the feudal lords in the country to surrender. Slaughtering the nobles in the capital at this time will force them to rebel against me."

What was the point of producing a few posthumous children of the Grand Duke of Saint Valen? Right now, no one dared to claim that these children, still in the womb, had the legal right to inherit the duchy. Doing so would be tantamount to directly breaking with Harvey, a completely suicidal act.

Arturo, who had been silent on the side, suddenly cracked a joke, "Fortunately, the rumors they fabricated were pinned on a dead archduke. If a few of your illegitimate children suddenly appeared, the situation would be very difficult to handle..."

Harvey couldn't help but spit out the hot tea he had just taken. Pierce, anxious to protect his master's dignity, quickly said, "Mr. Arturo, be careful with your words! How dare those despicable nobles spread rumors about the private life of a high-ranking spellcaster!"

Arturo leisurely adjusted the hem of his robe and chuckled, "The city lord told me to tell more jokes. It helps slow the loss of humanity and emotions..."

……

After Arturo left, Harvey detained Pierce and instructed, "Inform the city's secret police. There's no need to make a big fuss about spreading rumors. Overtly targeted actions... will only make the public suspicious, thinking we're trying to hide the truth." Pierce was stunned and said, "So we're just going to let them run wild? Everyone knows that even though Grand Duke Saint Valen has died and fallen, and he hasn't officially abdicated, you're the de facto ruler of the capital!"

Harvey laughed and said, "Think about their purpose... it's just the futile struggles of sewer rats. Besides... soon, even more shocking news will spread among the people, attracting everyone's attention... and then no one will mourn the deceased former Grand Duke anymore."

"What shocking news? I haven't heard anything about it at all?" Pierce asked puzzledly.

Harvey waved his hand, took him to the desk and pointed to the administrative documents that had just been sent from Spark City. At this moment, Harvey still had to complete the final approval process himself.

[Jinhui City will completely remove the title of Saint Valen's capital, and its future administrative level will be equal to Fengyuan City.]

The Principality of Saint Valen will be renamed the United Kingdom of the North, with Spark City as the kingdom's new capital.

[City Lord Harvey will soon return to the North to formally hold his coronation ceremony...completely abandoning the past tradition that the succession of the royal family of the southern states must be crowned personally by the Holy City Pope.]

Pierce blankly recited the contents of the document transmitted from the magic brain instrument. After a moment, he reacted and said with surprise and joy, "Sir, you have finally decided..."

Harvey nodded and said, "It's far more than that. I plan to relocate some of the population from Jinhui City to the northern border, so that the population of the former royal capital is equal to that of Fengyuan City. This will avoid the development gap caused by the imbalance of resources between the two cities in the future."

Administration had always been Pierce's weakest area, but he could clearly tell Harvey was trying to teach him, so he patiently listened. "But the residents of the capital have always lived a prosperous life, and you intend to fulfill the tax exemptions and tax reductions you promised them. You want to relocate them from the warm central southern border to the bitter cold wasteland... I'm afraid it won't be possible without force."

"I have no plans to relocate those wealthy nobles there," Harvey said with a smile. "Spark City will always open its doors only to those who create wealth through their labor. Once my land reclamation policy begins, these rentier nobles will soon experience the bitter consequences of shrinking wealth and falling down the social ladder."

Harvey planned to recruit as many of the laborers who were trapped on the land by the nobles as possible to the North with generous treatment. When these nobles had a large amount of land under their names but no one was cultivating it, he would import a large amount of high-yield grain from the North to stabilize the local grain prices, and prevent the wealthy merchants from hoarding goods and causing a large-scale famine. This round trip would inevitably lead to a sharp drop in the nobles' income from land rental... At that time, Harvey would take action to reclaim the land and severely suppress the price.

Although this operation is time-consuming and the process is relatively complicated, compared with the violent confiscation of nobles' property, it can help Harvey accumulate a relatively good reputation. It also sends a signal to the princes and lords in the Principality of Saint Valen who have not yet surrendered that they do not need to fight to the death.

After listening to the long speech, Pierce pondered for a moment and muttered quietly, "Is it really that difficult? If we kill them all, the land will naturally come to us..."

(End of this chapter)