Chapter 353: Chapter 350: Strong and Weak
In Rorschach’s view, the production capacity of the three major nations had reached a tipping point. It was time for war to force them to mobilize all their assets.
Take sugar, for example. Although the entire continent considered it a precious luxury—especially since teahouses could boil tree roots with a dash of sugar and sell it at an exorbitant price.
But the stuff wasn’t scarce at all. Ever since Rorschach got involved with the beverage factory, Istani had been importing a continuous stream of sugar from overseas plantations. It was just that everyone from the raw material suppliers to the retailers had a tacit agreement: don’t lower the price, and especially, don’t devalue the product’s premium image.
When "Fanta" burst onto the scene, the Bayern people were stunned. How could they buy such a sweet drink for the price of a light beer? They began to wonder just how profitable that ridiculously expensive sweetened water in the teahouses really was.
Fundamentally, the three major nations had reserves in both theory and production capacity. However, due to monopolies held by various organizations and underdeveloped transportation, material production was in a state of extreme imbalance.
While places like the Imperial Capital, Valuva, and Wertzburg already had mature civil societies, and while Istani’s slums were crammed with migrant workers and its factories ran nonstop, rural areas like Rorschach’s birthplace were still living a hardscrabble existence not much different from the Middle Ages of his previous life.
When those farmers looked up and saw Airships, they couldn’t believe they were man-made. Nor could they imagine people inside, looking down on the farmers in the fields like they were ants.
It was precisely this imbalance that gave Bayern’s handicraft industry a false sense of prosperity. A complex network of Guilds carved up the profits within the Duma River Alliance, while goods from Valois to the south couldn’t leverage their price advantage due to tariff barriers. As for their northern counterparts, their biggest client was actually the Empire’s government.
For another example, the products of the Mining and Metallurgy Association weren’t crushed by a price war from the north purely because the Empire’s military consumed an excessive amount of steel production. The little that trickled down to the civilian market led Bayern’s metallurgy guild to believe the north’s production capacity was insufficient to expand its market southward.
That’s why the establishments built along the river in Valuva should be called factories, whereas in Bayern, before Rorschach’s arrival, everything was just small workshops organized by masters and apprentices or by families.
Now, he was facing generations of these craftsmen who had grown fat and complacent. He was particularly dissatisfied with the Forging Guild. Because they couldn’t handle all the orders, they had to haul steel ingots elsewhere to be processed into coils, which only added to Rorschach’s costs.
The "one hundred thousand guns" order was a direct challenge to the Metallurgy Association and the Forging Furnace Federation.
A representative from the Forging Furnace Federation slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Impossible! Why would Bayern need so many guns? Lord Rorschach, you’re not from around here. I’m afraid you don’t understand our situation."
"Traditionally, even if the twelve workshops with gunsmithing capabilities keep their forge hammers pounding and their furnaces burning nonstop, producing a thousand guns a month is already an incredible feat. His Majesty’s army has always purchased a portion of its arms from outside, and it takes at least a year to equip the rest. After that, we just fill in for losses."
Rorschach’s face was grim. "These demands didn’t come from me. They are His Majesty’s will. More and more young men will be conscripted in the future. They won’t just need guns, but cannons, uniforms, and food... Are you suggesting that His Majesty isn’t a man of Bayern and doesn’t understand the situation?"
The representative who had stood up wanted to say, ’This is impractical, pure fantasy!’ But he saw burly "factory employees" both inside and outside the room, and the man in the head seat was a Caster. He could only swallow his words.
Unfortunately, Rorschach didn’t give him an out. A Mage’s Hand shot out, yanked the chair out from behind the man, and smashed it to pieces. The sudden violence startled everyone else in their seats.
Rorschach leaned forward, planting both hands on the table. "You can’t do it because you’re still running a hand-crafting workshop. We have magic automation and assembly lines. Every one of our workers follows orders and learns new skills. We use machinery in every process and prioritize efficiency."
"No wonder you can’t do it. A small-time workshop has no business being at this meeting!"
After speaking, Rorschach gave a signal. Two large men immediately seized the now-seatless representative and began dragging him out. The representative tried to shout, but one of the men clamped a hand firmly over his mouth.
"We won’t get into how much tax you people have been paying on your usual business. But this is wartime. At a time of emergency for the Kingdom, you’re leaving the Kingdom’s soldiers without guns to use or clothes to wear. Doesn’t that make you criminals and traitors to the Kingdom? So why should the Kingdom tolerate the continued existence of your workshops?"
"Those who can fulfill the orders will be allowed to continue their business. As for those who can’t, an agent will be dispatched to confiscate the criminals’ property."
Rorschach scanned the representatives, whose faces showed a mixture of expressions, and suddenly smiled. "The above were the exact words of His Highness, Prince Otto. I think the Kingdom is being far too harsh on everyone. Even the Fanta food factory and Basif feel the pressure."
The representatives nodded repeatedly, and Andre took the cue to provide them with lists of military supplies. Some who could read quickly found the tasks their industries were expected to bear. Others, who were illiterate, held up the papers and asked those next to them. Whether they read it themselves or heard it read aloud, every one of them looked troubled upon hearing the enormous figures.
"I know you can’t do it. So, are you just going to stand by and watch the Kingdom’s rulers confiscate your businesses? Actually, I think there’s still hope. The Dyeing Guild and the Wool Guild collectively have thousands of looms among their members, some of them the most advanced models imported from Istani. And the Metallurgy Association... a few of you have blast furnaces, right? Not much different from what the Dwarves use."
"If all the machinery and equipment, all the masters and apprentices, could be integrated into one large factory, efficiency would surely increase. I am also willing to offer my assistance. Just as you saw this morning, I can dispatch Demonic Puppets to help you construct factory buildings and relocate equipment..."
"Who agrees? Who objects?"
Taking the silence of the speechless men as agreement, Rorschach and Andre left the meeting hall. Mr. Hasse then entered, carrying a series of contracts.
In the representatives’ eyes, every sheet of paper was an indentured servitude contract. But the atmosphere had reached a point where they had to sign, whether they wanted to or not.
In the hallway, Rorschach patted his face, trying to relax his stiff facial muscles. He shook his head. "Prince Otto seems too hasty. He wants to solve everything in one go and has handed us the dirty work of making enemies. And in the end, I’m the one who had to scare them."
Rorschach could understand the Royal Family’s urgency. Once the other southern States were fully integrated into the Empire, these small workshops in Bayern would lose their advantages in both cost and market access. If things continued this way, they would surely be crushed by the factories in the northern Empire.
He didn’t know if it was the Prince’s own idea or that of his ministers, but the authorities intended to intervene forcefully in these workshops, forging them into monopolistic enterprises large enough to handle the new situation. And they had asked Rorschach, the "young entrepreneur who had learned from Valuva," to accelerate the process.
"Teacher, I think you’re quite suited for this. Your improvised lines were very effective," Andre said happily, analyzing the situation for Rorschach.
"Manager Hasse is a well-known nice guy. He’d be fine for negotiating business deals, but these are extraordinary times. There’s no time to let everyone haggle back and forth to come up with an agreement that satisfies all parties. That’s why we need you, Teacher, to be forceful. The others just need to obey."
As Andre grew more excited, he clutched the documents with one arm and clenched his free hand into a tight fist.
Rorschach couldn’t help but smile. "You know, I think you’re better suited for this than I am."
