jdhmnovel Chapter 27 Layout
Chapter 27 Layout
"Come in."
"Miss, these are the data reports you requested regarding year 653—ah, Your Majesty Alicia, you're here too..."
Alicia sat in the middle, and Alice was being manipulated by her like a doll. Alice was dressed in a gorgeous dress and her expression seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"If we see you in such an indecent position in the office again, then we'll have to teach you a lesson!"
Rafis quickly performed a curtsy, while Alicia looked at Alice with displeasure. The little thing had jade-like skin and a perfect figure, but her behavior was almost nothing like that of a princess.
"Rafis, as her maid, you're in charge of keeping an eye on her. If she does anything rude again, then we'll have to..."
"Your Majesty...I..."
Raphis was at a loss for what to do. She rubbed her hands together and looked at Alice. Alice nodded slightly, and only then did Raphis speak.
"Yes...yes, Your Highness."
"Alright, stop fooling around, Alice, sit down."
Alice then broke free from Alicia's embrace and sat on the chair next to her. However, Rafis found Alice's movements very awkward. She then remembered that Alice's previous actions had been quite rough, and like a man's.
"Anjie!"
"Yes."
Rafis was startled—she then saw a maid emerge from the shadows, while Ange remained hidden until her master called her.
“Summon the government committee members.”
"Yes!"
Industry is a complex system that consumes countless raw materials. This is why there is colonial expansion and market warfare.
"Currently, the first five-year plan is progressing steadily. To date, we have successfully expanded the production capacity of the Trian Steel Plant, the Trian Machine Manufacturing Plant, and the Trian Ordnance Plant, and constructed the Trian Chemical Industrial Plant and the Hilla Shipyard. According to the Planning Bureau's statistics, by this year, that is, in 653, we will have established several industrial zones outside of Trian. Currently, the Hilla Industrial Zone has successfully attracted investment from several companies, and we expect to establish the first batch of private factories before the end of 653."
Anders Carter, an executive member of the Industrial Council, reported that Trian’s population of several hundred thousand was a drop in the ocean compared to industry, but it had indeed become an industrial entity. The landmark Trian Steel Works was now a huge concrete monster spewing black smoke, with massive brick chimneys belching out black smoke—the black smoke of the industrial age.
"More factories, more steel, greater strength—we are not far from the time when our nation returns to the right path..."
Alicia gazed at the towering chimneys in the distance and sighed: she had never imagined that Alice would bring her hope of returning, but she had witnessed it all firsthand.
"Under the framework of the first five-year plan, we integrated the education systems of the three northern provinces. Currently, the Amelansi National Education Bureau system includes one Amelansi National Union University, one Amelansi National Technical University, and other specialized schools such as the Trian National Higher Technical College, the Trian College, and the Trian Teachers College. In addition, we have established twenty new schools in five cities in the three northern provinces, covering everything from compulsory primary schools to local higher secondary schools."
The Education Committee Executive Committee member, Laktara Arun, comes from the Eastern Desert. He was already quite well-known in the past, having come from the Palace of Wisdom, and is now a frequent guest of Alice.
How about the literacy program?
"Your Highness, our literacy campaign has been touring the provinces of Red Ridge, the North, and Lacourt for several days. Red Ridge is progressing the fastest, but due to environmental conditions, our literacy campaign in the North has suffered some setbacks..."
Alice received the report from the education executive committee, which showed that due to extreme weather, one member of the literacy team had died, one was missing, and several others suffered frostbite.
"The weather in the North is extremely...harsh."
The northern border is almost to the North Pole. The northern border is a vast concept, a tundra and ice sheet, but it also has countless mineral resources. So far, we have found bauxite, tungsten, zinc, oil, coal and so on.
Have their families received compensation?
"Yes, Your Majesty, we have followed Her Highness the Princess's policy. They will be posthumously awarded the title of national martyrs, and their descendants will be provided with a direct path to the National United University, funded by the budget."
“Very good. We cannot let the families of the victims suffer. This is necessary for a modern government.”
"Currently, the Planning Bureau's statistics show that among the more than one hundred industrial materials that have been discovered, the most lacking are raw materials that cannot be obtained locally, such as rubber, pig bristles, and sugar. In particular, there is a lack of sugarcane for sugar production. According to Her Highness Alice's orders, we have collected a crop called sugar beet, which is currently being trial-planted by the Agricultural Committee."
"If our land is suitable for sugar beets, then we will promote it on a large scale and acquire it through the channels of the State Development Group."
The shift from food crops to cash crops was a bold decision. Alice estimated that with the arable land productivity of the southern part of the North and the two provinces, coupled with irrigation facilities, they would only need to cultivate about half of the arable land.
"Yes, that's exactly what we decided. Now it's up to the soil, as you've taught us."
The executive member of the Agriculture Committee replied that, after all, this was related to the First Five-Year Plan, a massive plan that would surprise anyone who saw it. Every day, the papers summarizing experiences and calculating feasibility were enough to fill a bookshelf in the Hong Kong Coliseum Library.
"Building miracles." — Another name for the Five-Year Plan.
Every day, people come from who-knows-where to Hilla, then to Trian, and then into some system to contribute to this mega-project.
Trian built a railway to the North, on which heavy trains pulled boxcars carrying ore to Trian’s central freight hub, with horse-drawn wagons running around the clock to smelt it in blast furnaces.
"Unfortunately, we can't even mass-produce steam engines. We lack manpower, our industrial base is weak, and internal combustion engines will take at least three to five years..."
Alice sighed softly, gently stroking the top of her head with one hand. Alicia looked at Alice.
Is the child tired?
"Alright, alright everyone, please organize your materials, make two copies for the stenography room, and put the questions at the top, okay?"
Alicia brought the meeting to a close, then picked up Alice as darkness began to fall outside the window.
"Whoa, what's wrong?"
“It’s time to rest, little one. You’re not in the right condition to work for too long right now. Rafis, put her back on the bed and don’t let her sneak out of bed.”
The maid-knight obeyed, and Alice had no choice but to go back to rest.
"His Majesty."
"how?"
"That's right. The main reason we lack industrial raw materials is that the usurpers in the south are pressuring the Elafira Islands to ban the export of sugar and rubber..."
Alicia looked at the executive committee members. These Southerners didn't want to sell anything? Then there was only one way—she then truly realized what Alice meant when she said, "The cannon is the key to the market."
"Angie, prepare the carriage; we're going to Port Hilla."
"Yes!"
"Gentlemen, you have three hours to prepare a list of the ingredients you need."
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
If money can't open up the market, then let the cannons do it.