"Li Ang, I can understand what you mean by 'promoting consumption', but I have some doubts... With the production capacity of various materials in the eastern region, can we really motivate people to consume?"
Amy asked Li Ang a classic question very keenly, and the words he used were very modern - Amy is a good student.
In Amy's view, large-scale construction can indeed help many people earn money, but where do their consumption come from? Food, clothing, housing and transportation... there must be so many things to buy!
Li Ang smiled, and he had the feeling that he was discussing social issues with modern people - only Amy could give him such a feeling.
But this good student has not yet learned to think outside the box to look at problems.
"Amy, from ancient times to the present, there has never been a shortage of production capacity, only a shortage of output. Capacity and output are two different things..."
Li Ang smiled, "Based on the current population in the eastern region, material resources are quite sufficient. All we need to do is to encourage enough people to invest in production and increase material output."
"But... it takes a long time, right?"
Amy thinks this sounds like a long-term job.
"No, it doesn't take long. On the contrary, other things may take longer... such as making you a queen..."
Li Ang rolled his eyes and suddenly changed the topic.
"Hmph... This matter is not up to you..." Amy glanced at Li Ang: "If you don't become King of Pendor quickly, then we will be regarded as rebels by the whole continent... Alina is already preparing for the ceremony."
"Of course I will establish myself as King of Pendor, but the canonization of you, the Grand Duke of the Lion, must be carried out in Lion City..."
Li Ang shook his head. "Moreover, I can only raise the flag of Pandor publicly for the time being. I must conquer Lion City before I can be crowned king. Otherwise, I will look like an incompetent person hiding in a corner and trying to survive."
"That's right..."
Amy nodded. "I don't know what is going on with Lion City now... how do you plan to conquer Lion City?"
"I think there should be some movement on the Cliff Bay side... Just wait and see, if Brennus announces that Cliff Bay is loyal to the current Ulrich, then we will immediately launch an attack. But if Cliff Bay has not responded, then we will just sit back and watch."
Li Ang has already made up his mind.
"Ah? Attacking when the enemy has support? Sitting idly by when the enemy does not have support? Isn't this... a bit wrong?"
Amy I don't understand now.
"Amy, if we directly attack Lion City in the name of rejuvenating the country, then we will inevitably face siege from various countries - that's what the guy pretending to be Ulrich wants me to do."
Li Ang explained, "But Cliff Bay are all evil heretics and Fallen One, and all countries know this. I want to crusade a false king who is in league with the heresy Fallen One. This will in turn call on the support of other countries - even if it is verbal support, they have to support it. At least Raven and Fieltzwe will not team up with the heresy to deal with me..."
Li Ang didn't take off the ring when he said this, he didn't care if Kavala heard this.
However, Lion City has been very quiet these days. It is probably because the king's order issued by 'Ulrich' has not spread to all areas yet, and Cliff Bay has not responded yet.
Therefore, Li Ang seized the time to start his plan to enrich the country.
Pendor Calendar 357 November 11.
Long River Town is bustling with activity.
The 'Double Eleven' that Lord Li Ang built in the territory of Bax is still before our eyes, and the businessmen of Long River Town also understood at that time that 'war is wealth'.
But after Li Ang disappeared, the businessmen discovered that war is not necessarily wealth, Lord Li Ang is...
Lionheart Kingdom fought for more than a year after Li Ang disappeared, but did not produce any wealth. On the contrary, it interrupted all trade routes to various countries.
The overstocked inventory of merchants simply cannot be sold, and is either rotten in their hands, or provided to Baxian at a loss--except for the Bacchus Empire, which is barely an 'alliance', other countries are in a state of war with the Lionheart Kingdom.
They have been unable to make ends meet, and everyone's money is tight. Naturally, businessmen dare not retain too many employees, nor do they dare to produce materials in large quantities, otherwise they will not be able to sell them.
--Most of the time, the so-called "productivity cannot keep up" is not because of insufficient technical capabilities or actual production capacity, but because people with production tools and production resources dare not produce in large quantities.
If the bread cannot be sold, it will become moldy, the fur will rot if stored for a long time, and even the ironware will rust...
At this time, layoffs, salary cuts, production suspensions, etc. are inevitable.
This also led to a massive wave of unemployment.
Employees who lost their jobs naturally lost their dinars, which further led to a significant reduction in basic consumer demand - these employees are the main force in the city's population, and they account for at least 80% of the city's daily consumption.
But after losing their jobs, many people had to leave Long River Town to become sharecroppers; or to engage in some dangerous activities, becoming a factor of social instability - farmers do not need so many manpower.
At the same time, the protracted war has brought the entire western part of Lion Territory to an almost complete standstill, and a large number of refugees have poured into the eastern part.
The current state of Long River Town is no longer the original agricultural society. Countless refugees have poured into the city. Coupled with the Lion City people brought back by Amy, the vast majority of people in Long River Town have lost their land.
But these people cannot find work in urban areas or on farms, and of course they are likely to become a factor of instability.
Therefore, Amy had to force all farms to plant corn, use high-yielding crops to ensure that the vast majority of people would not go hungry, and had been constantly diverting food to provide relief to refugees. It also used high-pressure policies to force food prices to remain within a reasonable range, which barely maintained the overall situation.
Otherwise, tens of thousands of refugees who have no food to eat will flow into the east. If relief is not provided in time, I am afraid that there will be many "Child of Prophecy" declaring an uprising...
War, most of the time, still brings disaster...
The urban population has increased dramatically, and all of them are unemployed. For the lords under the agricultural landlord thinking system, these unemployed people are all a burden.
But it is precisely these unstable factors that give Li Ang the foundation to directly promote the entire plan.
Because these people either fled to Long River Town to find work, or they are residents of Lion City - most of them are people with some skills and adapted to urban life. If they don't have the ability to make a living, they will not stay in the city.
Amy originally spent a lot of money to recruit craftsmen, but with little success.
But now... But as long as these urban residents can get jobs quickly and earn income quickly, it will be possible to enter a new era based on these people.
--In order to survive and maintain their source of income, they will find ways to promote the development of basic industries or quickly develop efficient production tools.
Of course, first of all, another group of people must be provided with the means of production and a stable source of living and consumption for these people...
So, on the morning of Double Eleven, Li Ang put on the golden heraldic robe and publicly announced that from now on he would rule Long River Town as the king of Kingdom of Pendor!
At the same time, Amy and Godric disclosed the life experience of Li Ang and the identity of Child of Prophecy to the people of Long River Town, and announced that they would also be loyal to Li Ang.
However, King of Pendor's coronation ceremony was not held directly, because Li Ang planned to formally crown him after recovering the lion.
Then, Li Ang announced that it would build Long River Town into a grander city than Lion City and serve as the future capital of Kingdom of Pendor.
On the day when 'Long River City' is built, Lord Li Ang and Miss Amy will get married in the city.
So from now on, we will call Li Ang 'Your Majesty'.
Subsequently, His Majesty Li Ang summoned almost all the big businessmen in the entire eastern region at the Long River Town inner fort.
Only His Majesty Li Ang can allow merchants to enter the inner castle through the main entrance. Originally, only nobles or attendants could enter the inner castle, and merchants could only enter through the side door to deliver goods.
The businessmen all became full of expectations.
Because Lord Li Ang said that he might have to build Long River City while fighting the war.
And this is Double Eleven again...
At this time, you can probably make money by following Lord Li Ang, and the businessmen of Long River Town have long reached a consensus.
And building Long River City, undertaking such a large project, or even just a small part of the project, will definitely make money.
However, what the businessmen did not expect was that Lord Li Ang actually gave them a new surprise...
"From today on, as long as you register with Eric or Lesley, you can use the same mark as the noble heraldry, so that you can build your own millennium industry... At the same time, I allow merchants who have registered 'trademarks' to wear swords and use swallow-tailed flags - of course, they must swear allegiance to me like a warrior. From now on, I will only take my own people out to make a fortune..."
Li Ang put on a golden heraldic robe, stood at the highest point of the inner castle, and began to win over his first batch of loyal supporters.
Of course the businessmen are aware of what Li Ang means... in fact they are extremely sensitive to this matter!
Many big businessmen do not have aristocratic status. Although they have money, no matter how rich they are, they cannot buy the privileges and respect of the nobility - not even superficial respect.
They cannot use coats of arms and flags, nor can they wear swords.
In fact, it is not illegal to carry a large sword on your back, carry an axe, or even carry a machete while walking through the city. However, as long as you are a civilian, you cannot wear a long sword on your waist.
This is also the reason why many mercenaries carry swords on their backs - not for convenience or appearance, but mainly because they are not nobles and are not allowed to wear swords on their waists.
Because swords, coats of arms, and flags all represent nobility.
Knight retinues or squires of noble origin, that is, apprentice knight, can wear swords and use the swallow-tailed flag. Only after becoming a formal knight can they cut off the swallow-tail and use the official heraldic flag.
Moreover, these days, businessmen with money but no power can easily be persecuted by nobles when their business is prosperous - such as being framed, or even directly robbed.
Of course, the businessmen resented this very deeply, because whether you are a noble or not has been decided from the moment you were born...
Therefore, after many businessmen in this era became successful, they would spend a large amount of dinars to seek marriage with a low-level nobleman whose family was in decline - nobles who were not so poor generally looked down on businessmen...
Businessmen are the group that most want to become aristocrats. After all, this is related to their own safety and security, and also related to whether their descendants can enjoy the wealth they have worked hard to accumulate - some well-known wealthy businessmen may be close to some big nobles, but as long as they die, most of their descendants will not survive...
If you have money but no power, you are a fat sheep that attracts attention, no matter in which world you are.
But the current policy of Li Ang is equivalent to allowing businessmen who have registered a 'trademark' to have the same status as apprentice knight, and also makes them swear allegiance-this means that there is still higher development.
This gives them a direct channel to become formal nobles, and it is the most orthodox kind!
This will certainly make businessmen flock to it...
Of course, they can also realize that with Li Ang's consistent style, they may get some blood if they go to Eric to 'register a trademark'...
It's right to think about it. Originally, only warriors who shed their blood on the battlefield for their lords could become knights. Now that they have the same qualifications as apprentice knight, they naturally have to shed their blood.
The shopping mall is like a battlefield, all blood is shed for the lord, as it should be...
Registering a trademark does require some effort, but the cost is much less than businessmen imagined - registering a trademark 'only' requires the supply of materials worth one hundred dinars.
For ordinary people, one hundred dinars is the total income of five years without food or drink, but for these big businessmen, this price is indeed not high.
Moreover, the one hundred dinars are directly deducted from materials - trademarks are classified, and which type of trademark is registered for which type of product is operated. At the same time, the same type of materials can be used for deduction, and it can be handed over to Eric.
Eric will also strictly review and conduct on-site inspections of the specific operations of merchants. Lesley will supervise the quality of merchants' products. If merchants want to expand or change their business scope, they must re-register their trademarks.
Moreover, Lord Li Ang does not limit the number of trademarks registered by merchants...
In other words, as long as there are enough properties under their name, businessmen can register a different trademark for each person in the family - even if the children split up in the future, their status will be guaranteed. Where can such a good thing be found?
Businessmen are quick-thinking, and they rarely pay directly. After all, they can use the products produced in their own industries to directly deduct it, which means they spend no money!
So most of them began to increase business types, resume production, and then search for sources of goods and employees everywhere, and even ventured to places outside Li Ang's sphere of influence to purchase goods in order to gather enough industry types for their families...
As a result, a large group of 'reserve nobles' emerged. Li Ang only used one meeting to bring a large amount of materials to the warehouse, and also identified the core consumer groups who will buy villas and carriages in the future...
Of course, the most important thing is that he used this method to induce businessmen to start production and also allowed them to actively increase industrial investment...
Will production resume now?
There are many more factories than before...
Although this kind of temporarily added factory can easily close down because it cannot operate - every row is like a mountain, but before they close down, they can definitely produce a lot of things and bring income to the employees...
However, after mobilizing the businessmen, there was still no movement from Lion City and Cliff Bay.
Li Ang is a bit strange. With the existence of that ring, Kavala should know what he said, but why didn't he react at all?
Don't care if you publicly claim the throne? Don't care when you attack Lion City?
Do you have such a big heart?