Establishing a Factory

Crates upon crates of coins were moved out of the manor's treasury, and building after building rose from the ground in Castel.

The islanders of Castel were astonished to find that their lord had seemingly lost his mind, suddenly recruiting manpower to build workshops.

Oh, they called them "factories," but to the islanders, they were just larger, strangely laid-out workshops.

The steward led the construction teams to survey the plains and fence off land; within a few days, a factory building would be erected.

The islanders, who previously had to hand over their catch and brewed fruit wine to pay the pirates' maritime tax, suddenly stopped doing so. Most of the freed-up labor was recruited into the construction teams; besides the factories, it was said they were also building schools. For a time, the entire island was under construction.

Many islanders felt a bit unaccustomed to it. The small island they had lived on for generations felt unrecognizable in places they hadn't visited for just a few days.

With so many factories, what were they being built for?

The islanders didn't know, but they didn't mind—even though the lord had forcibly conscripted them, he was actually willing to pay for it!

Castel had almost no commerce; primitive barter satisfied most of the islanders' needs. However, it was difficult for them to earn even a few Leo coins with their own hands.

No one knew when they might need money, so the islanders happily set aside their original chores and became the lord's hired hands.

With money in their pockets, the people on the island suddenly found themselves becoming affluent. Even the fishermen heading out to sea discovered that more and more people were willing to spend money to buy fish.

Coins began to circulate on the island, and the speed of that circulation grew faster and faster. Everyone felt they were becoming wealthier, and once they had money, they gradually became willing to spend their surplus.

The islanders of Castel were filled with motivation, feeling that their lives were gradually improving.

"Money only has value when it circulates; otherwise, it is just scrap metal waiting to rust."

Alexei hadn't understood when he first heard the lord say this, but now he knew what kind of wisdom it held.

The lord did not begrudge his gold coins at all, and his town hall brought out all its stock of building materials. Combined with the labor freed from paying pirate taxes, these three factors acted like a chemical reaction, mobilizing the entire island of Castel efficiently and leaving it thriving.

So this was the lord's plan.

In a trance, Alexei seemed to see Rhine, the capital known as the Pearl of the Empire. It was just as thriving there—no, perhaps even Rhine wasn't as bustling as this island.

He sighed and looked at the construction site before him.

A few people were poking their heads over, looking curious.

Those participating in the construction were all islanders, mostly fishermen who didn't understand what a factory was and just worked with their heads down.

However, among them were some conscripted brewers who had spent a long time in workshops. The factory before them made them feel a bit... strange.

"Sir, what is this space here meant to hold?" one craftsman asked Alexei carefully, his face full of smiles.

"This... is just a standard passageway." Alexei glanced at the blueprints.

"A passageway?" The craftsman was stunned. "Why build such a wide passageway?"

He gestured with his hands. "It's completely unnecessary, isn't it?"

"This is a factory. Every building dimension has its requirements. Did you think this was some haphazardly built little workshop?"

Alexei shook his head. He had originally thought these dimensional requirements were superfluous, until he started moving the millstones for oil pressing inside—the standard-sized passageways allowed these implements to pass through perfectly. If the passage were a fraction wider, it would be a waste; a fraction narrower, and they wouldn't fit.

He had thought this was just a coincidence, but after such coincidences happened more and more, Alexei gradually realized that the blueprints Theus gave him were meticulously designed.

He had established several dimensional standards. These standards seemed redundant, but if they were needed, one could know the measurements immediately without having to go to the site.

For instance, Theus was currently in the manor, yet he clearly knew roughly how much cargo his factory could move in and out in a day, what size crates could fit through the room doors, and what dimensions were needed if new equipment were to be added.

Alexei had once asked Theus about this, and his lord had smiled and told him it was called standardization.

Standardization—what a magical word. It contained nothing beyond Alexei's understanding, yet it made everything instantly orderly.

With a sigh, Alexei returned his attention to the construction site.

The olive oil factory was basically finished. There was nothing much to say about the process; it was just using stone mills to press oil from olives.

Alexei noticed that not all the factory buildings were filled with oil-pressing equipment; some were left completely empty.

He guessed the lord intended to use them to manufacture other things.

As for what exactly, he had some guesses.

The tasks Theus gave him weren't just building factories, but also prospecting for minerals—and he didn't know the first thing about minerals.

So, Alexei found the blacksmith shop. Although the blacksmith there couldn't be called a mineral expert, he certainly knew more than Alexei.

The result...

"No, I'm very busy here. It's impossible for the next few days."

The blacksmith flatly refused him.

"This is the lord's..."

"This is the lord's work, and so is this!" The burly old man glared at him. "A couple of days ago, the lord sent someone over and told me to forge some kind of boiler accessory. Look, that's it."

Alexei followed the blacksmith's gesture and looked inside the smithy.

"Hiss!"

He gasped, inhaling the heat of the furnace, and was shocked.

A pile of messy, unrecognizable parts was stacked there, but even as a layman, he could see the ingenuity within them.

"The lord's drawings are quite good, and the dimensions are marked very clearly, but these things are just too strange!"

The old blacksmith frowned as he watched.

"Besides, you're asking for so much in such a rush. I've been working the bellows until the furnace is practically smoking these past few days; how would I have time to go look at some ore vein with you!"

Alexei had no choice but to return in disappointment, deciding to focus on building the factories first.

The newly built oil pressing plant was fine, but the renovation of the Sweet Fruit Wine workshops encountered quite a few troubles.

Most of those workshops were dilapidated and cluttered, and many were even filthy, looking absolutely nauseating.

Theus came to inspect these workshops himself, but after hesitating for a long time, he ultimately gave up on them.

Based on his experience, it was pure luck that these places hadn't caught fire after all these years. If he were to convert this place into a large-scale factory, he was genuinely worried that a single spark would finish everything off.

These workshops would be kept for the time being; it wouldn't be too late to tear them down once Castel was properly developed.

Besides...

Theus tapped on the crude wall.

There were plenty of mineral deposits on the island, and if he were lucky, he might be able to produce cement.

At that point, the speed of construction would see a leap compared to now. These current factories were merely for the transition and would be demolished in the future anyway.

Furthermore, cement had another advantage: it wasn't particularly afraid of seawater.

Pirates, huh? Guess how fast I'll be able to build my artillery batteries?

Once industrialization began, the pace of development would only accelerate. The spontaneous optimization and innovation of a sound system would drive the development of all of Castel.

By then, he would only need to set the general direction, waiting in ease for the territory to develop, as a torrent of iron and fire flattened this ordinary fantasy world.

As long as he provided a healthy channel for upward mobility, he would even be dragged forward by the reformists.

Even the Empire would be nothing more than a slightly larger ant. As for whether they would become enemies?

Heh, people who have never witnessed an industrial explosion would probably go mad upon seeing this industrial giant.

He wouldn't even need to dispatch an army; by simply dumping goods, they would collapse on their own.

Oh, perhaps there might be some desperate, dying struggles. Watching them shatter beneath the wheels of the era should be quite an amusing pastime.