Chapter 384 Productivity

Chapter 384 – Productivity

“The years are passing by!”

Paul reclined on the chair in his office with a kudzu look and let out his own lament.

The courtyard outside the window was already a golden yellow, blown by the wind, the leaves on the trees fluttered down, another fall had arrived.

The slightly sad atmosphere infected Lord Earl.

It was already the third year since he soulwalked into this world similar to Earth’s medieval times, or awakened the consciousness of his previous life.

What had one done in these two years or so?
Eliminated slavery? No, there were still a large number of serfs in the territory who were struggling to survive under the exploitation of the landlords.

Defeated the feudal aristocracy? No, and he himself was a member of the feudal aristocracy.

Elevated the status of the commoners? No. The commoners in his territory are still too scared to let out a single fart when they see a nobleman.

Weakened the authority of religion? No. In addition to paying taxes to the lord, the people also have to pay tithes to the church.

Although opened some workshops, so that the territory has given birth to a number of new manufacturing industry, but only to solve the financial difficulties of the predicament, the real impact on the society of the substantive changes seem to have been unsuccessful.

Whenever one wanted to implement one’s own grand plan, either this group of people opposed it or that group of people opposed it. Really, he was clearly for the future of human society, and the history of another planet had already proved that he was right, so why couldn’t those people make a small sacrifice.

It’s just as well for those big strides above, for the sake of even a mere customs union that some people oppose?

Bumping into walls all over the place really lives up to the name of a traveler! The original ambition is being worn down by the reality little by little, and if it goes on like this, I guess I will degenerate into a common nobleman who is waiting for death.

Paul recalled his brain is still left a little bit of political knowledge, in the final analysis, or the backwardness of the social productivity, the lower base determines the superstructure.

“Lord Gleeman, what were you saying just now?”

Paul’s sentiment aroused the curiosity of the crowd.

The lord’s office gathered the heads of all the important departments of the Council of State, all of whom had come to participate in the regular weekly meeting of the lord’s house. But instead of holding it in the hall as usual, they were called by Paul to his office.

According to Bernard, the chief secretary of the lord’s house, Count Greiman had not left his chair since he came to the office in the morning, except for going to the toilet – the lord’s mood seemed to be a bit low lately.

Paul raised his eyes, ”Hmm? I was saying that time is like a shuttle on a loom, rushing by without stopping for a moment.”

The crowd was surprised, the Lord Earl was clearly only 16 years old.

“And you emit such sentiments?”

Hansel asked the question in his mind for everyone.

Paul made an appearance of being a literati: “Just now I saw the autumn leaves falling, and I couldn’t help but have this thought. If one’s life is merely wasting time, in the end it will be like the leaves on this tree that fall in a hurry.”

“Then how does Lord Greymane think one’s life should be spent in order to not be wasted?”

Hansel poked the itch in Paul’s heart with this question, and the idea of putting on some B’s bubbled up in his heart.

“Uh-huh!” He cleared his throat loudly and made a serious face.

“The most precious thing a person can have is life, and life belongs to a person only once. The life I look forward to should be spent in such a way that, when I look back, I will not regret for having wasted my years, nor be ashamed for having done nothing; so that, when called by the Lord’s grace, I will be able to say without guilt, ‘My whole life and all my energies have been devoted to the most magnificent cause in the world-‘ -To serve ……”

Paul was stuck for a moment, to fight for what? To fight for the liberation of mankind, right in front of them?
At this time the people in the office had already had their appetites whetted by the great mass of passionate words he had just spoken, and each one looked at Paul with expectant eyes, hoping to hear what the cause was that the lord wanted to spend his life fighting for.

Paul moved his stiff tongue and said, “To fight to fill the bellies of the lords!” Damn, that’s a big drop in pusillanimity compared to the original.

“Snap!”

Old Ford, the chief administrator of the Council of State, was the first to applaud, and then a room full of people followed suit.

Old Ford nodded his head and said, “Lord Gleeman, this is the ideal that a great lord should have.”

Only those who lived in this era knew how distant the goal of “filling the stomachs of the people” was, and they knew it even better than Paul, who had come from the twenty-first century on Earth.

Hansel slightly poured cold water as he shook his head and said, “But unfortunately, people who can do that have never appeared, even those legendary heroes and wise kings in history.”

Although Hansel came from a large family in the royal capital and grew up without worrying about food and drink, he had been serving as a basic tax official for the royal family since he was an adult, so he was also considered to know the hardships of the people.

Guy Burns looked at Paul with an adoring face, “But as long as one works hard in this direction, even a small step forward will save many people.”

“Haha, let’s work together.”

The encouragement of the crowd gave Paul a great deal of confidence, and the low mood caused by the poor reforms disappeared through and through, and was instead replaced by a sense of grandeur.

“Gentlemen, I think the reason why there are so many people who don’t have enough to eat is ultimately caused by the lack of productivity in human society, so we need to vigorously develop productivity.”

“Productivity?”

The crowd heard another new term from the lord’s mouth, but it wasn’t hard to understand.

“You mean the ability of the fields to produce crops?”

Because they were just discussing the issue of filling their stomachs, everyone couldn’t help but think of farming.

“Well, that’s just one aspect of it, to put it more generally it should be ‘the ability to transform nature resulting from the combination of people with the ability to work and the means of production’ or ‘the ability of human beings to create new wealth’, which goes It’s not just about farming. For example, mining, weaving, pottery making, etc., etc., etc., can be collectively called manufacturing or industry. In addition to developing agriculture, these manufacturing industries are also the direction I intend to vigorously develop.”

Old Ford said, “But these industries don’t produce food, so even if we develop them, the food will always be the same, so how can we solve the problem of the stomach? So Lord Gleeman, I suggest that you still encourage the people under your rule to cultivate more arable land, that’s the best policy.”

Paul raised his eyebrows, “Oh, Lord Chief Steward, not to mention that even if one tries harder to reclaim the land, the land that can be cultivated is ultimately limited. Just based on the current area of cultivated land, in a normal year without natural calamities, do you dare to say that the grain that is struck is really not enough to eat?”

“This ……”

“If I give an order to compulsorily collect all the grain in Arda, Bairdin, and Emden, and then distribute it evenly to everyone, rich or poor, including me. Do you all think people will starve to death this year?”

The crowd was shocked, how could the Earl come up with such a crazy idea.

“Haha, just kidding, everyone don’t be nervous.”

Old Ford breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat on his head and said, “It shouldn’t be so bad that people starve to death, the reason why they don’t have enough to eat is mainly ……”

“It’s still mainly due to the uneven distribution of food.” Paul picked up his words, “The big landowners granary rats eat fat and strong, but the poor people can only starve to death.”

He exclaimed sorrowfully, “How shameful!”

The crowd was speechless for a while, who was the biggest landowner in Arda, was the Count cursing himself?

(End of chapter)