?Riz headed to the White Hall as soon as he exited the dining hall. Since Theodora is still in the mansion, he decides to leave his usual carriage for her use and walk his way there. He'll treat this walk as a light exercise to compensate for the daily exercise routine he skipped today.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the government complex and was smoothly escorted by the staff to the White Hall.
This time, the hall is sparse with people unlike during the meeting with construction companies. It is understandable since only ministers and their vices are allowed to attend this confidential meeting.
Right off the bat, he spotted Gerald, his minister of trade and industry in the hall.
"Gerald, how long have you arrived?" Riz greeted him casually as per usual. He never bothers to practice stiffening etiquette when interacting with his ministers.
"Your Majesty!! I arrived here not long ago." Gerald, who heard the king's voice naturally greeted him politely. He looks at Riz who is all by himself, "Hmm? Did you come alone, your majesty? Where is Minister Theodora?"
"She hasn't finished her breakfast yet. So, I left the mansion earlier than her." He can't tell Gerald that he ran away from his stepmother.
"Your Majesty~ How could you do that to a woman? Since you're going to get married this year, you need to be more romantic with her. If not, she would think that you've no interest in her." Gerald takes this opportunity to tease the king.
Riz frowned but did not speak a word. The first month of Year 303 hasn't passed, yet he had heard this for the hundredth time.
"What are you guys talking about?" A feminine voice called out to him. Albeit startled, he recognized the owner of the voice and turned around.
Riz shook his head, "Nothing serious, Theodora. It's just Gerald with his nonsensical talk. Go and take your seat. The meeting will start in a moment."
Shortly after, all ministers arrived at the White Hall. They didn't come empty-handed but with piles of documents. The staff help the ministers and their vices carry confidential documents. Regardless of how curious they are, the most they can do is read the report title. Unless they want to die, they're more than welcome to take a look at the content.
The meeting starts once everybody is in place. Riz doesn't wish to waste more time chitchatting when the meeting could take a very long time to finish.
"Let's start our yearly meeting with the ministry of finance first. Theodora, if you may..."
"Yes, your majesty." His fiancee responded to the call. She entered her professional working-woman mode.
"Ryntum's annual GDP in the Year 302 is 857 million Ryn, boosted by 7.8 per cent as compared to 3.2 per cent in the previous year. By sector, agriculture accounted for 34.7 per cent of Ryntum's GDP followed by manufacturing at 29.5 per cent, construction with 16.6 per cent in the third place, 13.2 per cent for mining and quarrying and lastly, services contributed for another 6 per cent. Ryntum experienced positive net exports last year. For Year 302, we exported a total good worth 356.76 million Ryn, a 23.56 per cent increase from Year 301. Finally, our government operating expenditure for last year is 14.98 per cent."
After Theodora finishes her part, Riz doesn't immediately proceed to the next minister.
Instead, he flipped the thick report Theodora sent to him. Overall, he is satisfied with the kingdom's performance. Only, he's kinda bummed up because Ryntum didn't manage to hit the 1 billion Ryn mark last year.
Though he's confident Ryntum can achieve that this year considering the kingdom had good growth in two consecutive years.
Riz closes the report he's currently reading and grabs another one.
It was from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
"Gerald, you may begin."
Minister of Trade and Industry, Gerald stands up with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Year 302 witnessed a robust trade performance from our kingdom. It cemented our kingdom's status as a powerhouse in the middle region. As mentioned by Minister Theodora before, our last year's net exports are positive. Meaning that we export more goods to other countries than we imported from them.
First and foremost, our trade partners from the biggest to smallest are Naharog, Inver, Vofors, Tetherswest, Sidgean, Bagyarosia, Cerdeauxia, Caberia, Barlia, Ingnynes, Camble and Lesparia. The expansion in trade lies in our capability to provide the same goods cheaper than our competitors and the novelty of our products. To break it down, our exports consist of crops, fish and fish products, livestock, construction materials, steel products, weapons, ships, chemical products and finally, optical and scientific equipment."
"Lesparia? Do we have contact with them?" If he remembers correctly, Lesparia is a monarchy kingdom like Ryntum but far away from them.
"Our merchants can sell goods as far as Lesparia because most of our products are non-food items. Most of our products are novel in their eyes and fetch a lot of money. If you take a look at the fourth page, Lesparia registered at a near double-digit export percentage. By our estimation, Lesparia may surpass Ingnynes and Barlia in total export volume this year." Gerald answered the question smoothly.
Still looking at the report, another point stood out from the rest. "Contrariwise, the exports with Caberia had a sharp decline. Why is that so?"
"The duchy suddenly put a blockade on our goods from entering their territory. Most reports we received from our merchants stated that their goods were confiscated for absurd reasons." Rather than explaining to him, Gerald sounds more like complaining.
Riz rubbed his chin, "Hm...Maybe because they found out about our collaboration with Naharog. They are probably angry by the way Queen Catherina lost her life and wants to show their retaliation. You know, like a teenager in their rebellious phase. Did it have a major effect on us?"
Gerald shook his head, "Not so much. Only in the beginning. Later, our merchants change their target to another place."
"If so, then let them be. The international market is still blank." Riz does not give a damn about the tiny duchy in the south.
His industry expands at a steady pace due to the adoption of a steam engine. The decision to patent the steam engine bore a result.
Last year alone, many business owners set up their factories at the North Industrial Park as soon as the construction was completed.
Despite not fully understanding the mechanism of the steam engine, people with brains are smart enough to recognize its great impact on the production scale. When the news of Arnold's expertise in steam engines came out, he was overwhelmed by the job request for setting up their factory.
"How many land areas have been occupied in the North Industrial Park?"
Gerald reported, "Half of the land area available has been occupied. Most of the production happens in the north now, causing the number of workshops in the south to decrease significantly."
"What about coal? Did we have a problem with the supply?"
"Due to the high demand for coal, the price had increased from 5 Ryn per ton in Year 301 to 6 Ryn per ton in Year 302. A small increase but we'll keep our eyes on the coal price."
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