Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 716 Sustainable Development

With the plan for rapid population growth being implemented, corresponding supporting infrastructure and facilities must also be put in place.

Not only Starfire City, but also all the capitals throughout the kingdom need to provide sufficient housing, education, and medical services for the large influx of laborers into the cities.

This also means that countless construction projects will be launched immediately, and a large number of low-skilled jobs that do not require assessment of educational level will emerge, which in turn will provide jobs for these surging laborers in a short period of time.

Of course, the "Northward Expansion and Eastward Advancement" also begins with a new round of comprehensive expansion. The exploration department will continuously dispatch personnel to conduct detailed explorations of the entire wasteland area under human control, and establish small satellite cities to protect the capital, based on resource distribution.

In education, more public colleges will be built, and the popularization of literacy and vocational education will continue. Disciplines will be further subdivided and uniformly divided into evening literacy schools, full-time basic education colleges, secondary vocational education colleges, and advanced administrative management colleges…

Magic theory, which was previously considered an introductory course for apprentices in spellcaster academies, has been formally incorporated into full-time basic education and intermediate vocational education thanks to the efforts of the New Federation and the Academy of Magical Sciences. It has become an unprecedented semi-universal basic subject!

Such seemingly inconceivable operations are entirely due to the unique nature of this emerging nation... Alchemy and magical energy are ubiquitous, completely permeating and changing the lives of the people, and also endowing the government and army with great power. Integrating them with the popular education system will also greatly bring ordinary people and spellcasters closer together. Although it may seem to bring the high and mighty wizards down from their so-called "supernatural altar", in the long run, it will undoubtedly eliminate the antagonism between the two classes.

This is essentially the same as in the past when nobles were stripped of their real power over military force and land. Between honor and empty fame and actual benefits, more rational spellcasters will inevitably choose to abandon the flattery of noble status and embrace knowledge and pragmatism.

After all, under Harvey's rule, the United Kingdom was not lacking in the genuine respect and support of its people.

Similarly, the education and training of medical personnel has officially become a specialized professional discipline. In addition to the military medical personnel who need to be trained in designated locations, medical colleges will be set up in the capital and other towns and cities throughout the country, and a large number of small and medium-sized medical hospitals and clinics will be established at the same time to relieve the pressure on the Kingdom's Medical General Hospital.

In the past, no capital city in the southern kingdoms had ever had a population exceeding 100,000. If administrative means are used to promote rapid population growth, causing Starfire City to expand into a megacity with hundreds of thousands or even approaching one million people in the next few years, it will inevitably lead to many negative problems...

The large population gathering requires more infrastructure. Not only do the newly built residential buildings need to be equipped with running water, magical lighting, alchemical heating and ventilation, but ensuring the livability of the living environment also requires attention to epidemic prevention and sewage disposal. This is also a huge challenge for the kingdom's medical and health system. Fortunately, several years ago, they had already developed a magical vaccine that can prevent a variety of plague diseases. As long as the epidemic prevention publicity and the dissemination of health concepts are done well enough, there is no need to worry too much about the rest.

The people who experienced the devastating plague in the old capital city of Jinhui City are more likely to pay attention to hygiene and disease prevention.

As one project after another concerning the national economy, people's livelihood, and future development was finalized, the heated discussion in the council hall was once again pushed to a high point... The kingdom's high-ranking officials, who had been summoned here since dawn, focused intently on the meeting until nightfall. Even though they only drank a few cups of water to moisten their throats and had not eaten a single grain of rice, they did not feel hungry at all.

Looking at these officials who were still full of energy and vitality, Harvey couldn't help but sigh to himself, "This must be the unique 'extraordinary ability' that wielding power gives these people..."

...As the meeting drew to a close, Rainer, who also served as the Kingdom's Minister of Finance, hesitated several times before cautiously saying to Harvey, "Your Majesty, after the new round of population growth plan is officially implemented, the government and various administrative departments may temporarily face a shortage of funds in the short term... In the next two quarters of this year, I'm afraid the financial statements submitted will show a significant deficit."

This is actually a completely understandable issue... After all, in order to cope with population growth, the country needs to provide a large number of corresponding jobs, the government needs to continuously pay a large amount of salaries, and many construction projects and development plans will inevitably require the allocation of huge amounts of funds.

Although the printing press is in the hands of the state, and there is no possibility of a shortage of gold dollars... once a large amount of currency is issued, it will inevitably lead to the devaluation of the legal tender and the rise in prices. From a macro perspective, the problems may not be immediately apparent, but the feedback that the public receives in their daily lives will be exceptionally obvious.

Even if the price of a dozen eggs rises from two to three gold coins, or the price of a pound of bread increases by ten percent, although it may not seem to affect the quality of life, it will ultimately undermine the people's long-standing confidence in the government, making them worry that the kingdom's finances may be in deficit due to unfavorable war conditions in the distance.

Reiner took the lead in bringing up the topic, and the officials below immediately realized the potential dangers. Many of them had been secretly worried and trying to find solutions for a long time... This made Harvey feel both happy and surprised.

As this emerging kingdom rapidly developed, the size of government departments also gradually expanded. The training and recruitment of administrative personnel has been in short supply for many years. A large number of officials who were originally lacking in age and seniority have gained a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for promotion. This has led to a gradual rejuvenation of the government official group. Under the strict control of the government's assessment system, young officials are significantly better than their older counterparts in learning governance knowledge and practicing government affairs. Having not been corrupted by the past aristocratic power system, they even have a natural advantage in terms of their understanding of integrity and self-discipline that their predecessors did not possess at all.

If things continue like this... they will complete full-time basic education at the age of fourteen, pass intermediate vocational education at the age of eighteen, and graduate smoothly from the Advanced Administrative Management College at the age of twenty. They will then be incorporated into the kingdom's administrative system for training, becoming grassroots government officials who directly interact with the people. In at most three to five years, they can be quickly transformed and promoted to qualified elite backbone.

These young, new-generation officials may not be as skilled in governance or as experienced in administration as their predecessors, but their drive and ability to quickly adapt to new things can bring unparalleled vitality to the entire government apparatus. This is an important quality for the country to ensure sustainable development in the future.

Their ability to proactively identify and recognize problems, and actively seek corresponding solutions, rather than rigidly waiting for instructions from superiors, is what makes Harvey feel satisfied.

"Population growth inevitably leads to insufficient funds and fiscal deficits, but rising prices of goods that are the basic guarantee of people's livelihoods are absolutely unacceptable. You all tell me... how to solve this problem."

Harvey immediately waved to stop Reiner, who was about to answer, and instead called out a young official sitting below him who looked eager to try.

"Let me hear what the younger officials have to say..."

Being suddenly called upon by His Majesty the Emperor caused the Finance Minister, who was not yet thirty, to blush deeply. He stood up, both excited and nervous, and mustered his courage to speak loudly: "Your Majesty, since the value of our national currency is always highly linked to gold and silver... why not, after resolving the problem of the invasion of neighboring Eisengard by the Lizardmen, directly seize their rich gold mines and add them to our fiscal reserves?"

In any case, the Kingdom of the Flying Cavalry no longer has a legally recognized royal ruler. Looking at the entire Southern Territory, apart from the United Kingdom of Saint Valen, probably no one else has the ability to take over this once wealthy country located in the northeastern part of the Southern Territory openly and legitimately before them.

(End of this chapter)