Ashen Dragon

Chapter 289: Chapter 212 The Kingdom’s Development
 

The technological development route of the Ashen Kingdom was exceptionally unique. It wasn’t a matter of gradual exploration; it resembled more of “painting by the numbers.” For instance, they directly created piston-type steam engines to ensure the normal operation of trains.

The players of the Mechanical God Cult left behind a large number of blueprints and materials from another world before they departed.

As a reward, they would receive initial shares of the railway group when they returned to Airez, and they also had a portion of the steam locomotive transport profits.

The local researchers of the kingdom only needed to follow these blueprints, combining the ingenious designs with Airez’s Magic reactions. It was akin to a magical version of the “Industrial Revolution,” minus many of the convoluted pathways, and they could always make the correct choice each time.

The success of the steam train experiment was only an insignificant part of the numerous achievements in Northwind Castle over the years. The changes there were evident.

Chimneys sprang up one after another, causing thick smog to appear over the city.

With the continuous development of industry, Northwind Castle already had close to fifty factories of various types, such as military and food factories, employing nearly twenty thousand workers. With strong policy support, all sorts of “new gadgets” emerged endlessly. Some lucky individuals even became Nobles by virtue of their inventions.

There were no longer any beggars starving to death on the streets. The Tiefling City Guard would unhesitatingly take them away to various labor-short factories, turning them into the most bottom-tier sweatshop workers who received just enough wages to barely keep themselves fed.

Currently, most of these factories were built by the Ashen Kingdom’s government. However, as profits grew, more and more wealthy merchants and Dragonblood Nobility grew eager to take a piece of the action, wanting to invest their assets into this increasingly prosperous business, although the kingdom had yet to provide specific channels for them.

But with this trend intensifying and the demand for larger industrial scale, privatization was almost inevitable. Some Dragonblood Nobility had already gained so-called “shares” through various connections. Even some shrewd, self-proclaimed smart merchants had set up private factories.

Yet, they found themselves unable to compete with the official entities, leading to bankruptcy.

The products manufactured by these factories could not only meet the city’s needs, but they were also sold by Hart’s kingdom trade caravans to other Northern Countries. Scarves, cotton clothes, and other daily items bearing the “Flame and Dragon Claw” emblem had already appeared throughout Anzeta. They were becoming increasingly common in the lives of the Scania People, even becoming indispensable.

The Boske Duchy even launched promotional slogans like “Resist the Temptation of Evil Dragons” and “Don’t Let Monsters Deceive You Out of Your Gold” to impose various restrictions on the kingdom’s items.

But they couldn’t stop the consumer enthusiasm of the populace, nor could they halt the Ashen Kingdom’s deluge of products. The Boske Duchy couldn’t completely prevent the endless flood of smugglers, despite employing every trick in the book. After all, in commercial competition, quality and affordability were the sharpest weapons.

Even the Boske Duchy, whose government was so powerful and so stringent in its governance of its populace, couldn’t fend off the sugar-coated artillery of the Ashen Kingdom. Any other fragmented duchies stood no chance. Even banding together, they weren’t the kingdom’s equal.

The small, historically entrenched workshops within cities and family-based small-scale production units were all declaring bankruptcy. Many city residents found themselves consecutively unemployed, some even becoming street beggars. Even the Northern Nobility’s gold Coin was being extracted in large amounts by the kingdom.

The Dukes couldn’t stop the outflow of gold or the economic collapse. They didn’t understand the intricacies of it, so they let things take their natural course.

Some families even volunteered to become agents for the kingdom, leading the charge to reap the benefits of product dumping, following suit to take a share of the profits.

…

“Lord George… Lord George?”

An anxious voice came from behind.

George had been called several times but didn’t respond until the other party called “Lord George” a third time. He realized the so-called “Lord” referred to him.

“Ah, so you were calling me.”

“What can I do for you?”

He turned around, smiling innocently, feeling a bit embarrassed as he scratched his head.

From being a serf akin to an animal to becoming a First-Class Citizen now, although months had passed since the ennoblement, he was still somewhat unaccustomed. However, such a title also secretly delighted him. The sense of respect he now felt was unprecedented, and the satisfaction it brought was unimaginable to others.

The person catching his breath didn’t forget to salute, after all, as a mere ordinary worker, the status gap between him and a First-Class Citizen, second only to the Dragonblood Nobility, was as vast as the heavens.

“Huff, huff…”

“Forgive me for interrupting. I am Jack, a worker at the factory.”

“Viscount Bighead ordered that an urgent batch of orders had been dispatched from above. Everyone is needed back at work… including you.”

After saying this, Jack carefully glanced at George’s expression. Only after noticing that his lordship’s face showed no anger did he breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“I got it. You may go.”

George casually waved a hand in response.

Seeing a cautious worker like Jack always made him think of his former self.

George hadn’t realized his dream of becoming a flower shop owner, finding a woman to marry. Instead, after meeting higher-level individuals and seeing more of the world, he understood that factories held a promising future, strongly supported by the kingdom’s authorities—provided you weren’t just another common sweatshop worker.

Thus, George leveraged his privileges as a First-Class Citizen to become an honorable factory manager. His workplace was the same factory where he had previously worked, now commanding dozens of workers under his supervision.

“There sure has been a lot going on lately.”

George leisurely returned to his spacious home, put on his kingdom-exclusive grey suit, tied a brown scarf from Kenya City, grabbed a black Gentleman’s Cane, and donned a tidy hat.

Rejuvenated, he stepped onto the street and hailed a passing carriage.

Many envious glances were cast his way. To the ordinary citizens, this was the epitome of propriety.

George entered the carriage and casually ordered:

“To the No. 4 Food Processing Plant.”

“Alright, my lord, please hold on.”

The coachman nodded in greeting and then drove the carriage swiftly through the streets.

With careful planning, Northwind Castle’s streets had become very spacious, wide enough for four carriages to ride side by side. It even had specially designed tracks for four-wheeled carriages, solely for wealthy individuals. It was said that these tracks would be converted into public steam locomotive tracks in the future, but nobody was certain.

Accompanied by the sound of wheels grinding against the iron, the carriage quickly reached its destination—the No. 4 Food Processing Plant.

With the driver’s assistance, George gracefully stepped down from the carriage, once again beholding the familiar yet unfamiliar factory.

Once merely a lowly worker here, he now held a vastly different status and position. He was now an esteemed “First-Class Citizen,” with one foot in the circle of the elite class.