The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 463 The food and clothing of Wan Cao workers

At this moment, a group of Anjou nobles were swirling their wine glasses in a mansion, discussing the profits of their respective factories.

This was also a legacy of Alberto's time. In order to amass wealth quickly, the nobles in the audience soon colluded with the factory owners. At that time, behind every factory in Anjou stood a noble, whether big or small. These factories and nobles had become an inseparable and abnormal relationship.

"Business has been getting harder and harder lately."

A nobleman placed his wine glass on the table and wiped his lips with a special napkin.

"Isn't that right? With age restrictions and mandatory school enrollment, doesn't His Majesty know how many families we've saved?"

Another nobleman, seemingly slightly drunk, slammed his fist on the table indignantly.

But someone immediately made a shushing gesture and said, "Keep your voice down, or the walls will hear you."

Although no one is currently being punished for their words, it is an open secret that His Majesty dislikes the old nobles. In the eyes of these nobles, even if they are not punished for speaking ill of His Majesty, His Majesty will find other charges to punish them. They never consider that this is because their own conduct is not clean and they are being investigated.

"However, business is indeed getting harder and harder."

These nobles were not high-ranking nobles, but because they had swallowed up the factories abandoned by those high-ranking nobles, they were showing signs of rising to power and even planned to unite and take a share of the pie under Linde.

While the great nobles were all staying home and even revealing some of their wealth, these nobles who had acquired the factories continued to hold regular balls and frequently gathered to criticize current affairs, just as they had always done.

Today is the day the nobles gather.

"The Empire keeps demanding that we improve the welfare and benefits of our workers, and if we don't meet the standards, they even threaten to shut down factories for rectification. Has His Majesty the Emperor ever actually run a factory? Does he know how much additional spending we'll incur by adding those pointless magical lamps? Does he know how much production time will be wasted by giving workers more holidays?"

In the eyes of these people, simply being able to pay wages and provide jobs for the common people is enough to make them grateful. After all, this is much better than the treatment of serfs. His Majesty the Emperor just doesn't understand that the best people are those who are half-dead. Once they are fed, they will start thinking about other things.

"Exactly! They're even demanding that all factories use new production tools. Don't those tools cost money? I think His Majesty is just obsessed with money. He's making us buy equipment produced in the North, even though we've already paid a lot of taxes!"

The nobles, who were already old enough to be streetlights, started acting drunk and disorderly, saying, "We have done our best to solve so many employment problems for the empire, but His Majesty still targets us. If His Majesty Alberto were still here, he would never have allowed this to happen."

Many nobles have already begun to quiet down those who are acting drunk, since the more they talk, the closer their necks get to the streetlights.

But at that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the gathering, and a security guard came running into the venue with a musket in hand.

Looking at the nobles who were manipulating the factories behind the scenes, and thinking about the child laborers who were thrown into the factories and mines, Isa ordered all of these nobles to be arrested, and not one of them was spared.

The nobles were initially incredulous when they saw the security guards, but they immediately gave up resisting. The guards' muskets were only effective against ordinary people and were not usually loaded, but the nobles, many of whom were professionals, did not dare to move at all.

Once they resist, it means they are openly defying the Empire's law enforcement agencies. Then next time, it won't just be the security team that comes. If you are not respectable, the Empire will make you respectable.

Of course, many nobles were still struggling fiercely.

"Let me go! Let me go! I've paid taxes for the empire! I want to see His Majesty! I want to see His Majesty!"

The loyal sheriff, of course, paid no heed to these wailing nobles. These nobles, who just a few years ago had been bowing and scraping to those of higher status than themselves, were now being dragged out by the lowest-ranking sheriff, and despite their power, they dared not resist at all.

Isa walked up to the table where the nobles were gathered, and casually flipped through the pages. She saw a parade slogan written by one of the nobles.

Sure enough, how could workers who couldn't even get enough to eat have the money to buy such a large flag covered with slogans?

Now Isha no longer felt like she was punching cotton; at least she had found a point of leverage.

The interrogation began quickly, and the nobles confessed to instigating and manipulating their workers.

Of course, it doesn't matter whether they confess or not. This group didn't hide anything at all. As long as you investigate the funding channels and the factory owners who control the factories on behalf of the nobles, you'll know everything.

"You can't do this to me! You can't do this to me!"

A nobleman, clinging to the railing, cried out to Isa, "We're doing this for the empire too! If it weren't for our efforts to control things, don't you know how many people would lose their jobs just because of His Majesty's policies?"

Isa recalled an example Linde had given her during their correspondence, namely the so-called "million canal workers' livelihoods." If this problem wasn't solved, even with the highest productivity, they would never be liberated.

But if it really was the livelihood of those "millions of canal workers," then so be it. But if destroying these nobles' factories would make it impossible for ordinary people to survive, Isa would soften her heart and hesitate. However, these nobles would still exploit those lower-class workers in the same way they oppressed serfs.

If these nobles aren't hung on the streetlights, the lives of the working class will never improve.

"To be dealt with in accordance with the law."

Isa spoke to the judge beside her.

The judge wiped the cold sweat from his brow and nodded.

Issa was the emperor's special envoy, or in other words, an imperial commissioner. Moreover, Issa's status was even higher than that of an imperial commissioner. She was not only a friend of the emperor but also a special religious figure. In addition, with the privileges granted by Linde, Issa could kill even those high-ranking nobles, even if the matter involved the former Anjou royal family.

After many more people were hung on the streetlights in Anjou, the so-called worker collapse and the rebellion of a million canal workers did not occur. Instead, someone took over the factories of these nobles and began to honestly import equipment and improve workers' treatment in accordance with imperial laws.

The saying "If you don't do it, someone else will" ultimately applied to these nobles. If you are not loyal, there will naturally be someone more loyal than you. Besides, the factory was not originally a losing business. It was just that those nobles were greedy and wanted more, clinging to that little bit of profit and refusing to let go.

As for the other unemployed, they were put into the large-scale infrastructure construction in Anjou. With the poverty alleviation policies implemented by Linde, the backward factories and mines in Anjou finally began to transform their industries.

Even the Anjou Railway and other transportation projects, which had been stalled, began to be constructed at a faster pace due to the unrest.

Isa stayed in Anjou for a long time until she saw that no factory dared to openly recruit child laborers anymore, and that the basic education schools and newly opened technical night schools were gradually filled with students. Only then did Isa gradually feel at ease.

After the situation stabilized, Isa returned to the house she had visited before.

The parents in that family were still busy. Isha was greeted by the father, because it was the children's mother's turn to attend night school today.

My father lost his job, but fortunately he found a job in a major infrastructure project, where the pay is even more than what he used to earn working in the factory. My mother is still working in the factory, but she is not as overworked as before.

The girl who used to work in the underground mine didn't go to school because she was too weak. She stayed home to recover, following the advice of doctors and the church. But now, this working-class family can at least afford to support one child who is resting at home.

The children's father took out a wooden box containing several copper coins that had been polished to a patina.

"To be honest, this was the payment the factory manager gave us for making us march in the streets. At the time, we treasured it and kept it as our life-saving money. We didn't dare to use it at all. Now it seems that there's no such thing as a free lunch. These few copper coins, plus my salary back then, don't even amount to my current salary."

After recovering from the brutal exploitation, the workers finally began to realize some things.

After visiting a few more random places, Isa looked up at the still somewhat gray sky over Anjou, where faint sunlight pierced through the thin mist and shone on the newborn Anjou.

After arriving in Anjou, Isa, who had been looking worried and serious, finally smiled.

Isa hummed softly and stepped onto the newly built avenue in Anru with a relaxed expression. Usually, Isa always gave people the feeling of being mature and steady, even a bit bitter and resentful, but Isa was actually just a girl who was burdened with responsibilities that were not her own.

With the hood down, silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall, shimmering like golden holy light in the sunlight.

Isa finally embarked on her journey home.