Wind and snow battered the dome of the Tulou castle with a low rumble.
Only the wall lamps were lit in the study, and warmth from the black tea lingered in the air.
Louis leaned against the semicircular back of his chair, leafing through the latest issue of the Red Tide Daily.
The coarse pulp paper still carried a faint scent of wood shavings, but the layout was tidy and the print clear.
Though the paper was hardly fine, the editorial staff had clearly put considerable effort into it.
Ever since Red Tide had introduced widespread literacy education and night schools, the number of people who could read had grown rapidly.
Louis had therefore asked the Education Office to try publishing a newspaper, filling it with local news and simple stories.
The paper was rough, but it was enough to give ordinary people access to the latest news from the Northern Frontier, the Empire, and even the world.
Although newspapers had long circulated among the nobles of the Jade Federation and the Empire's upper ranks, literacy rates were so low that ordinary people might never see one in their entire lives.
Red Tide was the first place in this world to bring the written word to the lowest classes.
Louis promoted literacy not for personal refinement, but for future production.
He knew that illiterate people might be able to work, but they could not read workshop procedures, recognize symbols, or follow drawings to complete a production process.
In Red Tide, only those who could read and write could become craftsmen, clerks, junior officials, or legion noncommissioned officers.
Literacy was the first requirement for entering Red Tide's system.
If Red Tide was to expand, build, and unify the Northern Frontier in the future, it first had to give the lowest classes