Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 714 Population "Tyranny"

"The next plan we need to closely monitor and work on simultaneously... the core points are expanding territory and increasing production!"

On one side of the council hall, a huge map of the entire north-south region is hung high on the wall, with the majestic and continuous Shenji Mountain Range running through the middle, clearly dividing the map in two by a thick black line.

Reiner stood by the wall, holding a long, thin baton, and gestured at the map.

"The implementation of all these plans—integrating resources, expanding northward, increasing production, and increasing the size of the army—requires one crucial issue: population growth!"

Although Starfire City has now expanded into a massive urban cluster capable of accommodating over 100,000 people, industrialized production and frequent external wars have left the entire kingdom with an exceptionally small population.

The shortage of manpower constantly hindered their expansion and resistance against foreign tribes, and also tightly suppressed the surging pulse of the kingdom's heart.

In the capital city of Xinghuo alone, the production capacity of various state-owned manufacturing departments has been pushed to its limit.

The recently concluded overseas war has depleted the military supplies and artillery ammunition accumulated in a short period of time, and the planned extension of the wasteland railway to the Great Bear Lake area has also put the kingdom's steel reserves in dire need of repair.

As a result, Harvey even had to suspend the production of civilian ironclad ships and the transportation construction work in the southern region of Saint Valen. The originally booming plan to popularize alchemical agricultural machinery was also forced to give way to the war in the north and was put on hold. If this continued, the Ministry of Agriculture was even worried that it might affect the grain production in the coming year.

The only way to solve the current predicament of insufficient manufacturing capacity is to increase the labor force!

Not only does Starfire City, as the capital, need to continue to maintain rapid population growth... but for the entire Saint Valentine and Northern United Kingdom, the current population of one million also needs to more than double in order to truly meet the needs of future war reserves and development!
"The State Department needs to elaborate on how to achieve the population growth target going forward."

The shortage of manpower made Harvey a little anxious. Before Reiner could continue chairing the meeting, he took the initiative to signal him to come up with a practical solution as soon as possible.

Leiner quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty need not worry. Since the start of Operation Freeze, the Ministry of State has been working on preparations for this!"

He raised his hand, signaling his secretary to distribute the pre-printed and copied documents to the attending officials. While everyone was flipping through them, he began to explain them in an orderly manner.

"Based on the natural population migration and steady growth in the capital over the past six months, the population of Xinghuo City was expected to approach 150,000 by the end of this winter at the earliest. And if we look ahead to a year from now, reaching 200,000 is just around the corner..."

Harvey tapped the armrest of the throne with his finger and said decisively, "There are too many pressing issues to be resolved. We can't wait that long... 50,000 people. I need the Ministry of State to bring the population of the capital and surrounding counties to 150,000 by this autumn, and to surpass 200,000 before the end of winter!"

hiss--

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd below, and the Population Management Minister, Orange Peel, stared wide-eyed, letting out a strange gurgling sound, looking as if he was about to collapse on the spot.

Leiner remained silent for a moment, his eyes flashing rapidly with soul fire... as if the soul core embedded in his chest and abdomen was performing high-speed calculations.

The room fell silent for nearly five minutes before the towering, metal-clad Prime Minister slowly spoke: "There are less than seven months until the end of winter, but we need to recruit nearly 80,000 people... Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but to achieve this goal, I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to launch a war of aggression against our neighboring countries and directly and brutally plunder their population." Upon hearing this, Pierce, who had been listening intently, immediately stood up, but Harvey quickly restrained his surging emotions with a gesture before he could speak.

"There's no need to resort to such extreme measures. The number of people we plunder through war is probably less than the number of people who die from the outbreak of war and famine. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is not advisable!"

Harvey paused, slowly stood up, glanced around the hall, and said quietly, "This urgent plan can be approached from three aspects..."

As he spoke, he held up one finger, "First, open up the closed Wolf Fang Ridge border area guarded by the Northern Army, and bring in all the refugees who have migrated to the mountains from north-central Eisengard due to the lizardmen's rampage..."

Fadun paused for a moment, then stood up abruptly and advised, “Your Majesty, the people of Eisengard… they are all devout believers of the Church! Even though the Holy City of Goris has fallen and the Church’s power is currently disintegrating, incorporating these large numbers of ordinary believers will cause a great shock and disruption to the local administration of our country.”

Asdaren quickly added, "That's right. Moreover, the church still has many low- and middle-level members who were originally stranded in Eisengard. The Kingdom of the Cavalry is the stronghold of the Divine Punishment faction. Once these rats mixed into the refugee group enter our country... they will inevitably cause a lot of chaos."

Harvey waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Compared to the desperate need for labor, this is the price we have to pay to acquire people... I believe that a devout faith in the gods can indeed soothe the wounded hearts of these people, but the ethereal and illusory god of light will not simply send down butter and bread to fill the hungry stomachs of these displaced refugees."

He slowly walked down the steps and said loudly, "And I... and the bountiful kingdom I rule can provide them, who are struggling on the brink of starvation, with real food to fill their stomachs, warm clothes to keep them warm, medicine to cure their illnesses, and warm shelters to protect them from the cold night winds. So I absolutely believe that there are people who have no other choice but to give up their illusory faith and embrace a real new life!"

Harvey then changed the subject and added, "Of course, those bad apples mixed in with the migrant refugees also need our special attention and to be cleaned up one by one. The intelligence and security departments under the Chief should come up with feasible solutions as soon as possible."

Asdaren quickly bowed and said, "I understand, Your Majesty."

Seeing that he no longer raised any objections, Harvey nodded in satisfaction, then raised his second and third fingers in succession, "The second task is to concentrate the country's population from mountain villages and towns to cities on a large scale... This is also a mandatory internal population migration policy, which needs to be completed by the municipal administrative departments of the capital cities throughout the kingdom."

After unifying the entire territory of Saint Valen, in order to stabilize the domestic situation, Harvey did not actually target the self-sufficient farmers who were widely distributed in the rural towns and counties, except for forcibly confiscating the fiefdoms of noble lords.

These free farmers were not completely devoid of autonomy like the tenant farmers and hired laborers who were dependent on noble lords. The main reason for allowing them to control parts of the land was that the value of these fragmented and barren lands was too weak to be suitable for large-scale mechanized farming.

However, the current situation is very different from the past. The fastest way to boost the local manufacturing capacity is to liberate these free farmers from their low-yield farmland and relocate them directly to the corresponding town capitals. As long as the "carrot and stick" incentive policy is implemented effectively, they will probably not want to spend their impoverished lives in scattered and barren fields.

Targeted subsidies for food rations, free temporary housing provided after migrant workers enter the city, and salaries that are several times higher than those for farmers in the past will inevitably reduce the negative public opinion caused by forced migration.

"Your Majesty, what... what about the third method?"

Harvey chuckled softly and said slowly, "Completely set aside past prejudices and barriers, and recruit all sub-ethnic immigrants who voluntarily wish to become citizens from the cave dwarves, elves, sea people, and other groups with which we have good relations with our country!"

(End of this chapter)