A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 427 Three-Part Plan

When the prime minister's motorcade, guided by Barth, entered the factory, the people who had lined the streets to welcome him finally finished work and lined up according to the list they had initially registered to receive their wages and breakfast.

Bart and Andrei were in charge of receiving the Chancellor. Because the preparations were rather rushed, the Chancellor was able to see everything about Kempson in its entirety.

In particular, the advanced smelter built around the original mine pit gave Mr. Otto a slight shock.

During the journey, the caravan encountered a group of massive, four-legged, climbing structures crossing the road. The vizier's guards were on edge again, and even the trained horses became restless. Barth and Andrei had to repeatedly explain that these seemingly dangerous creations were merely farm tools.

Farm implements? Otto's beard twitched as he looked at the "farm implements." Beneath their geometric lines lay both the ruggedness and sharpness of metal machinery and the behavior of mimicking living organisms, appearing more agile and effortless than horse-drawn carriages when going uphill and crossing ditches. As if to confirm the claim that these were "farm implements," the last "giant reptile" carried Master Humboldt.

He simply sat on the back of the Prime Minister's carriage and, noticing the convoy, nodded to the bewildered Otto.

"Is that Alexander?"

"Ah, yes, Master Humboldt, he must have gone to pick up the Forest Tower's team." Of course, the work couldn't be carried out by just the Archmage personally; the Forest Tower's mages and a small team mainly composed of apprentices were arriving by airship. As for why the Master was sitting on a construct...

Andrei discovered that Humboldt's hobby seemed to be all kinds of vehicles. After seeing these four-legged reptiles, he immediately shifted his interest from the small "cars" to them.

"How do those farm tools work?"

"By simply installing the corresponding modules, such as specially made plows, clamps, and shovels, we can complete tasks such as turning the soil, sowing, and harvesting. It can also be very useful in land reclamation. Master Luo Xia proposed a concept that, considering the excess load-bearing capacity of the structure, we could design a linkage mechanism to complete the initial threshing and separate the grains from the straw and leaves."

Rorschach now only needs to give instructions, which Andrei then writes down, compiling them into task sheets, breaking them down into different projects, and assigning them to several companies. As for the designers at the precision factory complaining that they can't produce the machines, they are sent to the fields to ask the old farmers how they do these tasks, and then use that as inspiration to design the machinery.

Andrei and Barthes answered the Chancellor's questions readily, as everything he said was currently available in the Zweigling Agricultural and Commercial Company's public promotional materials.

"Farm tools. Farm tools are good." The prime minister stared at the departing convoy of constructs, which finally continued on its way.

At first, the prime minister was somewhat annoyed by Bart's excessive attentiveness, but as the conversation deepened, he gradually changed his opinion of the young mage. The mere labels such as "the king's son-in-law" and "Rorschach's roommate" were enough to warrant his attention. After listening to Bart's explanation of how to resettle the refugees, the prime minister became even more convinced of the young man's abilities.

So it turns out that the person Master Rorschach was referring to, the one aspiring to become an Imperial Councilor, was him—the one within the heart of Bain who could break through. The Chancellor believed that even within the Kingdom of Bain, there were factions of independence and imperialism, and that in a time of weakness, it was worthwhile to spend time and effort and make gestures to win them over.

Not to mention the young man's eyes were full of longing and excitement, something Otto would never miss. As for the other young man, who kept mentioning Rorschach, he could glean more information about the mage, but that was about it.

After finally completing the rounds, the Prime Minister finally got the chance to speak with Bart alone, at the cost of Rorschach's delayed appearance.

Andrei explained that an accident had occurred at the factory yesterday, and Master Rorschach needed to handle it urgently. Urged by the Prime Minister, Andrei left the reception room.

The old man waved again, and the guards and other unrelated personnel left the room, leaving only three people, including his personal secretary. Bart finally realized that the prime minister had something to say to him.

"I ran into Mage Rorschach on my first day in Bain. He mentioned that a friend of his wanted to gain access to the Imperial Council. Was that you?"

Bart was caught off guard by the direct question, and what confused him even more was the prime minister's next sentence: "But it's impossible." The Kingdom of Bain holds six seats in the Imperial Council, but they are not elected by public election. Instead, they are nominated and appointed by the royal family and the city hall, which is akin to the recommendation of filial piety and integrity in another world.

"So, these prestigious positions will only be held by members of the royal family, and they will all be old men who are very old and about my age. With your relationship with the royal family, you might have to wait in line for twenty or thirty years. Even if you can enter Parliament, you will be nothing more than a puppet of the royal family, a soulless statue."

In the empire's directly administered and free states, they elect representatives through elections. Although only recognized citizens are eligible to vote and be elected, and different weights are assigned based on land and assets, even such an unfair election process is better than Byrne's current situation.

Bart and Amelia had also discussed this matter. Of the six seats in the Imperial Council, three must be held by nobles, two by the city hall, and only one by a merchant. Bart would have to achieve results and pull strings to have any hope of being nominated, and then there would be another long wait for the right opportunity.

"If a new system can be implemented like the Empire's directly administered states and free states, then with Bart's abilities and popularity among the refugees, plus the support of Mage Rorschach, he will surely be able to replace those who hold positions without merit, enter and leave the Imperial Diet, and represent your homeland."

The prime minister's seductive words stirred within Barth, who shook his head slightly: "That's impossible. The Ludwig family would never allow it."

The prime minister narrowed his eyes and pressed on while the iron was hot: "What if the situation changes? I can tell you that the Imperial Diet is about to undergo reform, changing from large constituencies to single-member constituencies and adding new seats."

"The Empire will respect the special nature of the Kingdom of Bain, and whether or not to participate in the reform is entirely up to you. If the new system can be implemented within the kingdom, the initial plan is to divide it into three constituencies."

The secretary produced a map and pencil, and the prime minister casually drew a line: "Two to three seats in the northern constituency centered on Würzburg; at least three seats, at most five seats in the eastern constituency centered on Nuremberg and Munich, and..."

The pencil marks in his hand suddenly changed, grouping Lanster and Kempson together: "And the western district, at least three seats." Because Lanster is close to Munnick, it was forcibly grouped with Kempson, making it look like a piece of the eastern district was being ripped off from the map.

In fact, the so-called "preliminary plan" was just a spur-of-the-moment idea from the prime minister. The reform of single-member constituencies was to be implemented, but Byrne was about to "withdraw" from the group, so there was no such division originally.

Based on what he had seen and heard during this period, Otto roughly divided the region into a northern agricultural area, an eastern industrial and commercial area centered on the capital, and a western industrial area. He knew that the inconsistency in economic foundations would inevitably lead to inconsistencies in the demands of these regions, and simply by proposing these plans, he could rouse many people.

He put down his pencil: "If the Kingdom of Bain continues to use the old system and simply increases the number of seats, my friend may have a greater chance of realizing his dream. But if we can win the change of the small constituencies and make the western constituencies equal to the status of the Imperial Free State, its representatives will be free from the constraints of the royal family, and its members of parliament will be truly deserving of their titles."

Seeing Barth staring intently at the map, the prime minister pushed it to the young man beside him and said encouragingly, "It's all up to human effort."

(End of this chapter)