This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

"Hmph! It's better that you don't see me."

"Oh, right, here's one last little gift for you before we part. Come here!"

Upon hearing Dick's shout, a trembling figure approached; it was none other than Jonah's earthling slave and his beloved concubine, Park Ae-jung.

Park Ae-jung's brother, Park Deok-yong, was named by a serf for cruelly torturing and killing an unruly slave and taking pleasure in torturing people. As a result, he was awarded a hemp rope just like his master's.

Park Ae-jung wanted to use the girl to get close to Dick, but Dick wasn't interested in her and was also worried that having an Earthling around him would be a problem.

So he was given to David so that she could go with him.

David glanced at the "gift," and although his cold smile remained unchanged, he did not refuse it.

She watched them get into the car and disappear into the distance along a side road. Ayane, with her decisive and straightforward personality and her belief in leaving no future trouble, asked Dick in a low voice.

"My lord, are we really just going to let them go like this?"

“Since I promised not to kill him, I will never go back on my word. However… I used David’s communication crystal to tell his superiors his news. Whether his superiors are willing to spare his life is none of my business.”

Chapter 015: I am the Governor

In early October, Laguge was still late autumn according to the local calendar, but the temperature felt like winter elsewhere. This was because the local gentry were all unwilling to be summoned to the castle for breakfast before dawn.

Wouldn't it be better to sleep a little longer?

It's good! But many people are more afraid of never getting up again.

This young new governor, who had only been in office for less than ten days, had already shown his ruthless and decisive approach. The first thing he did after replacing David was to confiscate Jonah Saxon's property.

This made everyone applaud and cheer, but also feel both respect and fear towards this young master.

So whether they liked it or not, all the wealthy gentlemen whose names were called arrived as promised. Some lived in manors outside the castle and arrived the night before, stayed overnight at a friend's house, and braved the cold wind to come to the main castle for the "feast" before dawn, all of them mentally prepared to spend a lot of money.

However, when the gentry entered the castle with trepidation, they discovered that the governor seemed to really only want to invite them to breakfast.

Inside the warm banquet hall, servants served each guest a bowl of steaming chicken and mushroom noodles, along with silver chopsticks and spoons.

After all, we've been influenced by global culture for decades, and chopsticks have long been a common cutlery.

However, none of the wealthy gentlemen present dared to touch the chicken noodle soup in front of them, all remaining silent and waiting for the true owner of the castle to arrive.

Good morning, everyone!

Accompanied by a cheerful and sunny greeting, Dick entered the hall with a warm smile and took the seat in the most central position, demonstrating his status as the governor of Lagug.

After Dick sat down, he glanced at the twenty-odd local gentry around him. In Lagug, a harsh land that couldn't develop due to its climate, these were the few wealthy merchants and landowners in the area. But he didn't intend to hang them all up like he had with the Saxon family.

The economic development of the territory will require these people and their connections, and the current environment of the empire does not support his approach of confiscating land from the wealthy and distributing it to the poor.

Therefore, Dick's attitude towards them was very clear: to give them a warning and prevent anyone present from being unaware of their own limitations and thinking they could become the next Saxon.

This breakfast meeting was both a test and a warning, like training dogs to improve their obedience and to make them realize who really held the reins here!

Soon, Rita pushed her food cart over with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. This time, she appeared in her true form, without any disguise. The gentlemen, greatly impressed, immediately lowered their heads, becoming extremely cautious and none daring to glance at her.

Dick picked up his cutlery and began to eat his soup noodles with relish. Seeing that everyone present remained silent and no one dared to touch their chopsticks, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Eat up! Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your liking? Or are you disrespecting me?"

Dick's words, spoken in a tone that seemed almost joking, were like a thunderclap to the ears of the assembled gentlemen. Everyone was startled and their faces turned pale, and they quickly began to eat.

Dick was satisfied with their reaction, thinking that now that he had already given them a warning, it was time to give them a little "sweetness" so that they would truly submit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the reason I called you all here today isn't just to have breakfast together and strengthen our bonds. As you've all seen, Jonah Saxon's property was raided for tax evasion, but his estate was truly magnificent—such vast vineyards and expansive wheat fields. Furthermore, his winery, Ice Spring Wine, was a well-known brand in the country. To see it all gone in an instant, don't you all find it a great pity?"

"..."xN

Upon hearing Dick's words, the wealthy gentlemen who were eating noodles had different expressions and exchanged glances with each other. For a moment, no one could figure out what the governor was up to.

Logically speaking, since your property has been confiscated, you should just take over the assets yourself. Everyone can only secretly envy you, and no one would dare to say anything bad about you.

Some of the more restless ones secretly wondered if the governor intended to sell off the Saxon family's assets for cash to put into his own treasury. He was indeed very interested in trying a piece of it, since this piece of meat looked incredibly succulent.

But Dick's next words stunned everyone.

"I've thought about it carefully. As the governor, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to embezzle this property directly. I don't want people to think that I'm targeting the Saxons because I'm after their wealth. It would be a shame to let it go to waste, but if I sell it to someone, I'm afraid it might create another lawless Saxon... You know what I mean?"

"I understand, I understand, I understand!"

"The Governor is right!"

Several wealthy gentlemen nodded repeatedly, but judging from their bewildered expressions, Dick guessed that they hadn't really listened to anything and were just giving their opinions reflexively.

Ignoring these "leaders" who only knew how to cheer, Dick continued.

"I have a somewhat immature idea, and I've called everyone here today to brainstorm and discuss it together. I'd like to take the lead, in my capacity as governor, in establishing a 'business alliance' in Laguge, to pool everyone's resources, help each other, and make big money together."

"Like this vineyard, if I were to take it all by myself or sell it to one of the people here, the others would probably harbor some resentment. So why don't we just sit down and eat together peacefully like we are now? I have already consulted my duke father, and he has agreed to entrust me with full authority over the Saxon family's property."

Dick had put it this way, and even the dumbest person would understand something.

Their governor, though not a very old man, was quite ambitious. He wanted to unite the merchants and landowners of the Lagug region and form an alliance with himself at its core.

This matter has both advantages and disadvantages. It mainly depends on whether Dick, as the leader of the alliance, is truly committed to leading everyone to advance and retreat together and share wealth and prosperity, and whether he can be fair and just internally. Otherwise, the so-called alliance will become his pigsty, where he simply confines everyone and slaughters them one by one.

Dick knew that the gentry present must have their own concerns, but since he was currently in a position of great power, no one dared to risk being forced to stand up and shout "I object."

Dick stated his plan for distributing the Saxon estate directly.

First and foremost, the most valuable assets are the vineyards and wineries, which are essentially one entity. Ice Spring is also a reputable brand and has its own intrinsic value.

Therefore, Dick took this portion and formed "Ice Spring Winery," the first jointly owned enterprise under the Lagug Business Alliance. The winery was valued at approximately 80,000 gold coins, with 60% of the shares subscribed by the 23 wealthy gentry present based on their financial strength. In the future, profits from the winery would be distributed according to this proportion.

Thirty percent belonged to the Governor's Office. Dick used the name "Governor's Office" here, which means it belonged to the local government, not his own private property.

Although it was in a feudal empire, this was actually not much different from his own private property.

The remaining 10% is "charity funds".

Dick didn't mince words with the gentry; instead, he stated the reason directly: the former governor, David, had done too many bad things, which had severely damaged the governor's image and prestige in the eyes of the people of Lagug. He needed to do something tangible and visible to make the people realize that he and David were not the same kind of people.

This was for his reputation, and also to revive public morale.

Dick concluded by adding a slightly threatening tone.

"Gentlemen, you don't want to see people rebel again this winter because they can't survive, storming into someone's estate and dragging out their wives and daughters to vent their anger, do you?"

When Dick said this, it was clear that several of the wealthy gentlemen looked unwell, as if some terrifying memories had been triggered, and their hands holding spoons were trembling.

In fact, when Dick raided the house, he had already diverted a portion of the money, intending to use it as a local public welfare fund to first establish some basic welfare facilities.

For example, the most important orphanage.

Due to the economic structure of Lagug, most of the population were miners, and going down into the mines was an extremely dangerous and physically demanding job. Coupled with the exploitation and embezzlement during David's rule, many miners died during his three years in office, leaving many orphans in the area.

There are no orphanages in the area, so these unattended children are very likely to not survive the winter.

Ironically, in previous years, the only way for orphans to survive was to seek refuge with Saxons.

Jonah was an ambitious man. He took his sons under his wing, choosing the strong ones and forcing them to sign indentures to become serfs, while the weaker boys and girls were taken south and sold.

Thanks to their family, there haven't been any horrific scenes of large numbers of children freezing to death on the streets in the past decade or so. But those children who didn't die from the cold still ended up as slaves for life.

It is worth mentioning that orphanages are usually established by major religious sects. Priests use this as a pretext to gather believers and raise funds to build orphanages to take in homeless children.

Undeniably, there are indeed good priests who, out of their faith and kindness, take meticulous care of orphans and teach them to read and write or to learn a skill that will enable them to make a living in the future.

But there are also those who are purely in it for the money; once orphans are in their hands, it's better for them to continue living on the streets.

What Dick wanted to set up was, of course, a normal, good orphanage.

Of course! He wasn't just doing charity work; these children would receive education and training in his orphanage and become his most loyal followers in the future.

Everyone was fairly satisfied with the breakfast, and the local gentry, whether sincerely or not, all thanked them profusely and went back to prepare their money.

Dick personally escorted these people to the castle gate and watched them leave.

Rita asked calmly from the side.

"Master, do you think these people will trust you?"

"Trust isn't built overnight, but once tangible benefits are presented to them, those who have tasted the sweetness will have no more doubts. Come to think of it, when we first met, didn't you also harbor deep prejudices against me?"

"Oh dear! I was so ignorant back then, but ever since I experienced your kindness, I've become completely devoted to you and can't live without you!"

Rita deliberately said something cute and coquettish, then exchanged a glance with Dick, and the two of them suddenly laughed together in unison. Meanwhile, Belfast quietly took a fur coat and draped it over Dick's shoulders, then handed him a sheet of paper filled with statistical data.

"Master, the money left by Saxon and David has been tallied up. Please take a look."

"Summon the heads of the mines and metallurgical workshops... Never mind, I'll go myself. I need to make up for the wages that David's grandson withheld and delayed for the past three years, as well as the compensation for the miners who died in the line of duty. This is no small sum, and I don't even know if this money will be enough!"

“With David’s hatred, even if you don’t fix this huge hole, it won’t be blamed on you.”

“But I need the hearts and minds of the people, and I shouldn’t miss this golden opportunity. I want the people of Lagug to think of me, Dick Best, whenever they hear the name of the governor. I want them to be completely devoted to me, to recognize no one but me!”

Chapter 016: The Best Place to Relax

A few days later, Dick made a special trip to the mining area and workshops.

When Dick arrived, he brought a hundred private soldiers and more than three hundred attendants, who filled dozens of wagons to the brim. Tens of thousands of miners and slave laborers were summoned to assemble in an open area.

Many miners knew that the new governor had confiscated the Saxon homes and applauded the act, but that didn't mean they liked him. Over the past few decades, the Lagug region had seen so many governors come and go, but the underlying principle remained the same: everyone was just finding new ways to be corrupt.

Therefore, they did not think that this young governor with his harmless baby face could be a good person with a conscience.

Then these people were proven wrong on the spot.

Dick called all the miners together and the first thing he announced was that he would pay back the wages that David had withheld during his tenure over the past three years. In the past few days, the site manager and foremen were invited to "have tea" in batches to settle this mess.

Of course! Due to layers of deductions and chaotic accounting, the amount owed to individuals was almost impossible to calculate. So Dick simply paid all miners and craftsmen a year's wages back. The slave laborers in the labor camps were not paid back, but their meal allowances were increased. The management of the entire mining area was completely overhauled.

In fact, most miners had more than a third of their wages deducted over the past three years, but after considering the actual situation, Dick realized that he might not have enough cash on hand to cover this huge hole, so he simply pretended to be oblivious and covered the difference.

Even so, the miners were still stunned until the private army shouted for them to line up to receive their money. Only then did they realize that the withheld wages would indeed be paid to them.

The group of people Dick brought with him was an accountant he cobbled together from various sources. He didn't have enough people in his castle who could count, so he even temporarily recruited the owner and staff of the town's tavern.

Dick paid these men five silver dollars a day for coming to help, and they would surely spread the word about the new governor's righteous deeds when they returned.

The process of paying the back wages took about three hours. The more than three hundred accountants counted the money in front of the miners before handing it over to them. Dick sat on a high place, leaning on the sword given to him by the Duke.

Many people, upon receiving the money, were so overjoyed that they wept and immediately ran to Dick, kneeling down and kowtowing.

Even Dick was somewhat moved by this scene.

Because, in his heart, Dick didn't truly consider these miners as equals. But to the miners, the fact that a nobleman was willing to treat them like human beings was already an immense act of kindness and grace.

After paying the back wages, Dick announced the second thing: the mine would be laying off workers.

The mining area is currently facing a serious overstaffing problem, with more than 4,000 slave laborers in the coolies and nearly 15,000 local miners.

Many of them were not there to mine resources, but were forced into the miners by the governor, simply because the production of cold iron did not meet the annual supply quota.

However, Dick had someone calculate that if the goal was simply to meet the annual supply, the mining area wouldn't actually need so many people. If the labor camps could reach a full strength of 5,000 slave laborers, then recruiting about 2,500 more from the local area would be enough to meet the full-load mining needs of all eight mine tunnels in the entire mining area.

As a result, during David's tenure, the number of people abused in the mining area once exceeded 20,000!

Dick knew that this was related to David's embezzlement; every year he would steal thousands of tons of ore and send it to his mysterious "supplier."

Even so, the efficiency of human resources in the mining area should not be this low.

It wasn't until Dick finished interrogating all the foremen, big and small, that he realized how badly the miners had been harmed by these scoundrels!

Besides the wages being withheld at every level, the entire old management of the mining area was a collective scoundrel from top to bottom.

Whether miners or slave laborers, they generally had to perform high-intensity physical labor while not having enough to eat or rest. Moreover, the tools provided by the mining area were of very poor quality, and if they were damaged, the miners had to compensate for the cost of the new tools.

In addition, the infrastructure inside the mine is extremely poor. Of the eight mine tunnels, only three have rails installed. The other tunnels can only be accessed by miners carrying ore and gravel out in baskets.

The overseers did nothing more than whip and beat and scold the slave miners indiscriminately.

It is precisely because of the above reasons that a vicious cycle has been created, resulting in the mining area wasting a lot of manpower while being inexplicably inefficient.

This reminded Dick of the newspaper he had read that morning. The National Academy of Magic had successfully developed the first train powered by a combination of magic and steam last week, but in Lagug, more than a thousand kilometers away from the Empire, they were still using the "Shang and Zhou Dynasties" work methods.

Dick promised the miners that a professional team of dwarven miners would be stationed in the mining area before winter to provide technical guidance.

In the past, there were dwarven miners stationed in the Lagug mining area, but later a governor thought their commissions were too high and that his miners had already learned enough, so he kicked the dwarven team out.

Now, Dick has been able to hire another group of dwarves through his mentor Grandor.

In addition to providing technical guidance from the dwarves, Dick also promised to improve working conditions, provide better mining equipment, and build transport tracks for the remaining five mines.