Financial Crisis

"Earl, this is the expenditure and tax situation for this quarter." Chief Steward Ford, who was in charge of the territory's administration, handed over a roll of parchment with both hands.

Paul quickly unfurled it and skimmed through it, asking, "Is there a problem?" He couldn't muster any interest in things like reports.

"Uh... there is indeed a 'problem,' and the situation is not optimistic." Chief Steward Ford frowned slightly, glancing at Philip the butler, who was sitting across from him, and subtly winking.

Philip the butler, who was responsible for managing the Lord's Manor's treasury, said, "Sir, if this continues, our financial situation will become unsustainable."

"Ah—is it the pirates' activities affecting tax revenue?"

"Yes, in the days since the Old Earl was called to God, in addition to the pirates landing, some lawless elements have taken the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. The activities of road bandits and water bandits have isolated the traffic of some towns and villages, and several of our tax officials have been humiliated and expelled."

"Especially Franklin Harbor. Although they are extorted by pirates every year, it is still our largest source of tax revenue. Now the Shark Gang is occupying it and won't move." Chief Steward Ford was at a loss when he thought of this.

"That's enough to make us unable to make ends meet?"

Philip the butler explained, "The recent expansion and training of troops has cost a lot of money and food. In the past, it was enough to just feed the soldiers, and they would go home after the war. Now we have to pay them military salaries and order uniforms..."

"There are also the raw materials for purchasing and making new weapons, the recruitment of craftsmen... and it was decided at the last meeting to build ships..."

The more Paul listened, the more his head ached. He unfolded the parchment again and looked at it carefully.

It was indeed necessary to take some measures.

After the last military meeting, Lakeheart Town originally wanted to continue to "turtle up" for a month, and after completing the training of two complete Infantry Companies, they would wipe out the pirates in the territory in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, Cecil, the Chief of Intelligence, made a contribution as soon as he took office, and found out an important piece of information: Shark had annexed the remnants of Quirk's escaped troops, and in order to avenge his new little brother and establish his prestige, he sent 500 men to give Paul a little color. It seemed that killing an Earl had made this pirate leader swell up a lot.

The army was in high spirits after the victory, and there was no need for the Shark's men to travel all the way to Lakeheart Town. With the help of Cecil's intelligence, the old knight Schroeder led the army and some daring fishermen to intercept the pirates halfway.

Schroeder used small groups of troops to lure the pirates ashore, gradually away from their ships, and then led the main force to quickly insert between the pirates and the riverbank, cutting off their retreat.

The two sides lined up and fought in a melee. Relying on the great advantages brought by discipline and firearms, coupled with the fact that the soldiers at this time had been reborn after a victory, the Lakeheart Town army won another great victory.

The pirates lost more than 400 people in casualties and captures. Now the Shark Gang was honest and played the turtle tactics, hiding in Franklin Harbor and not coming out.

The Lakeheart Town army chased all the way to Franklin Harbor and found that the city walls of Franklin Harbor were higher than before, and various fortifications had also increased a lot. They did not dare to attack rashly, but stationed nearby to keep an eye on the pirates, preventing them from running out to loot again.

"Even so, they didn't retreat to the sea?" Paul was very surprised. It seemed that these pirates were really thinking of occupying Franklin Harbor for a long time.

Forget it, they would be meat on his chopping board sooner or later.

He issued instructions to the officers, with the newly formed two Infantry Companies as the main force and the Internal Guard Unit as the auxiliary force, to wipe out the road bandits and water bandits in various places, while training and fighting. The new soldiers might be more difficult to deal with pirates, but they were more than capable of dealing with these local ruffians who had just gathered together.

Along with the "anti-crime" campaign, Lakeheart Town gradually regained control of the entire Earldom except for Franklin Harbor, but many towns and villages were looted by pirates and bandits. Facing the teary-eyed representatives of the people, the Earl was unable to harden his heart and scrape another layer of oil from these poor people. He ordered the exemption of taxes for some towns and villages for two quarters.

With the gradual restoration of traffic in various places, some taxes were still collected, which temporarily alleviated the current financial crisis and allowed the Lakeheart Town high-level officials to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, this was only a temporary relief. If they wanted to truly solve the financial crisis, they had to immediately launch some projects that could easily generate money.

That afternoon, Paul summoned Chief Steward Ford and his entourage.

"Everyone, what do you think of this thing I made?"

Everyone was given a piece of "paper."

Chief Steward Ford held a hard piece of something and asked suspiciously, "Is this 'paper'?"

"Ahem... this is just a prototype, but this thing will definitely have great potential after it is made."

This was the "paper" that Paul had created based on his understanding of papermaking. He got a pile of bark, wood, and bamboo, steamed them in a pot, pounded them into pulp with a stone mortar after steaming, and finally spread the pulp out in the sun to dry. Finally, he got a... uh... brittle cardboard.

"What's the use of this thing?"

"Replace the parchment currently in use."

At present, the material used for writing in this world is basically parchment. The production process is super complicated. The entire skin has to be treated with lime, then dehaired, degreased, fleshed, stretched, scraped multiple times, polished with pumice, and finally dried. Moreover, the output is not high. A piece of sheepskin looks quite large, but the parchment obtained after processing is less than 1 square meter. This has led to extremely high prices for parchment, and it is no wonder that illiteracy is everywhere. Civilians can't even afford things to write on.

"But, this thing..." Chief Steward Ford broke the paper in his hand with a little force, and it shattered immediately. He was speechless.

"Ahem..." Seeing that everyone was a little disdainful of his great invention, the Earl cleared his throat and said earnestly, "Given time, I am confident that I can make them softer and thinner. Any great invention is met with skepticism when it is first born, but no amount of skepticism can stop the wheels of history."

"Look at the current parchment, how expensive it is. Even some small nobles dare not buy too much, let alone the common people. Take the Church as an example. I asked Priest Anderson, even if we don't consider various failures and accidents, they need to slaughter more than 300 sheep to copy a Holy Book. My God, a book actually needs more than 300 sheep to exchange for it, and a series of copying processes in between."

"And this 'paper' in your hands, its raw materials are just inconspicuous things like bark and bamboo. As long as the process is mature, a large pile can be made in a few days. If we can make it softer, thinner, and not so brittle, this will definitely be an epoch-making, world-shattering thing."

After a passionate speech, everyone couldn't help but yearn for it.

"If it can really be improved as you say, my lord, then it would be a tool for making money." Chief Steward Ford, plagued by financial problems, was the first to think of this.

"Exactly!" Paul clapped his hands with force. "Although the early products may not be as durable as parchment, the raw materials are abundant and the production is simple. When the time comes, we will focus on the 'cheap' characteristic, and we will definitely not worry about sales."

"Moreover, besides writing, it has another wonderful use." The Earl's face showed a mysterious smile.

"Oh? May I ask, my lord..."

"Liberate your asses."