"From the day of appointment, the heads of the Cabinet and each ministry shall be granted the rank of third-class Marquess."
The girl's crimson eyes swept over the crowd, her voice heavy with gravity.
"From this day forth, the law, the administration, and the military shall be independent of one another and shall no longer interfere with each other. Please keep this in mind."
"Those who cross this red line shall die."
"The position of Cabinet Elder is an honorary one, with status equal to my own. Please keep this in mind."
There were only two Cabinet Elders in total, and the so-called elders were entirely different from the ministers.
Logically, Luo Li was not supposed to appoint Saintesses to government offices.
However, after their heart-to-heart talk last night and their oath sealed by a clap of hands, the two had already agreed to assist her.
Thus, they were given honorary positions.
What they were truly managing were the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War was primarily responsible for civilian matters within the military, including military law, training, expenses, and a series of other detailed regulations.
As for Kevin, he was temporarily given the title of commander-in-chief, which was a general's rank.
However, in his daily routine, he would not actually handle the troops.
The reason Momoka was made the Minister of Justice was primarily because of the refugees from the Kingdom of the Sun who were about to be dispersed throughout the country.
Conflicts would inevitably arise between them and the local citizens.
This provided the perfect excuse to gradually install courts throughout all the territories of the Kingdom of the Moon.
"Very well, let us formally begin the meeting. Lola, you start."
Luo Li sat back down in her seat.
Lola lightly pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and stood up with a calm expression.
"Everyone, Her Highness already has a plan for the next five years. I shall now announce it."
"First is the railway project. Forty million gold coins have been allocated for this, to be overseen by the Ministry of Infrastructure."
Anton nodded, indicating his understanding.
"Next is urban construction, which includes the repair of Brilliant City, the construction of a new city, and the reconstruction of Seaview City and Final City. These will be handled by the Ministry of Infrastructure, and I shall provide assistance from the sidelines."
Lola continued detailing the plans. These two points were the top priorities at the moment. Only by restoring normal social order as quickly as possible could production be restored in an orderly fashion.
"Next are education, slavery, and production. Regarding the education department, Her Highness has other plans which I will not detail here. As for slavery, Lord Fulong, as of today, your Slave Trading Department is incorporated into the Ministry of Finance and will be overseen by Minister Audis."
"You may discuss the specific details directly with him after the meeting."
Fulong nodded to show he understood, his expression remaining calm.
However, deep down, he was far from peaceful.
He looked at the people before him and felt a chill.
It was unbelievable.
These powerful figures and top-tier talents in various fields had all gathered here in just half a year.
He looked at the girl listening to Bishop Lola's report.
She had fair skin, slender fingers, and crimson eyes that were as calm as still water.
Her silver-white hair was draped behind her, and she sat there quietly.
She looked like an exquisitely dressed porcelain doll.
But in reality, she was a king who held so many talents in her hand!
It was hard to imagine that half a year ago, this Saintess didn't even exist in his eyes.
He had even viewed Luo Li as a mere decorative vase.
And now... the combined power of the talents before him already far outweighed that of ordinary nobles.
Not just his own family.
Even if one of the four major noble families were brought out, they would be no match for her.
Furthermore, the northeast, the southeast, the three regions of the east, and this Brilliant City region had already become her actual territory.
With such vast territory and population, as long as she continued to develop, she would eventually crush the nobility entirely.
She lacked nothing now; the only thing she lacked was time.
It wouldn't be long—within three years, she could crush any of the four major noble families.
At this thought, Fulong couldn't help but tremble.
He had made many inquiries before, and although he rarely met with Her Highness, he had gradually come to understand her.
Since then, he had known that he might not meet a good end.
This Saintess seemed to utterly loathe the slave trade.
Yet at the time, she hadn't shown it in the slightest.
She had even discussed with him how to make money from the slaves.
Now it seemed... Her Highness wanted to take all the slaves into her own hands.
Then she would cut down those who controlled them and pardon all the slaves.
No, I must find a way to survive!
The Cavendish family cannot die in my hands!
He desperately wanted to throw away the hot potato that was the title of Minister of the Slave Trading Department.
But at the thought of the greedy faces of the elders in his family, he felt a headache coming on.
In just half a year, the profit from the slave market alone had exceeded fifty million gold coins.
After deducting the five percent tax of two and a half million gold coins.
The remaining profit had instantly caused the influence of the entire Cavendish family to skyrocket.
In this world where the gap between the rich and the poor was massive.
The ordinary people could barely scrape by with enough food and clothing.
But the nobles lived lives of debauchery and extreme luxury.
For the nobles, it didn't matter if the price of slaves went up; a gold coin more or less meant nothing.
It didn't cause them any trouble at all.
The change in the rules of the slave trade had not caused much of a stir for this very reason.
His headache worsening, Fulong couldn't help but turn to look at Audis.
This current Patriarch Von had clearly made the right bet early on.
He hadn't hesitated to put his entire family in danger, and in exchange, he had secured this lucrative position.
The Finance Minister—everyone knew that this was a job where even a little grease leaking through one's fingers could sustain an entire family.
And this position could only be held by someone the King trusted.
Then... could a breakthrough be found through him?
Could he find a way for the Cavendish family to survive?
Fulong's mind was filled with such thoughts.
However, Lola had not stopped and was still detailing the plans.
"Regarding production, we will coordinate with each department later. What remains is the armament plan."
"The armament plan is divided into several aspects. First is the production of new military equipment, which will be discussed between Her Highness and Minister Anton. Next is coastal defense. Her Highness intends to establish new military docks in Moonrise City and Seaview City to build heavy warships in preparation for the demon race."
"The reorganization of the army's scale will primarily depend on Sir Kevin."
"From today, each of the eight Guardian Knights will lead five thousand knights, supported by twenty thousand infantry."
"The naval forces will be jointly managed by Sir Kevin, Minister Momoka of the Ministry of War, and Her Highness."
"We plan to recruit one hundred thousand sailors, with ten million gold coins allocated for this."
"The construction of new ships will be supervised by Minister Anton."
As Lola announced the plans one by one, the network for the next five years gradually unfolded.
During the past month, Luo Li's mind had been filled with various plans for the future.
She had used over ten pounds of paper alone.
Plans for ironclad warships, cannons, rifles, education, and a series of other projects were all included.
Luo Li turned her gaze toward Scott.
From beginning to end, Camilla's mentor had not said a single word.
He was likely still in a state of total confusion, wasn't he?
But that was normal.
Anyone would be confused in his position.
Previously, Luo Li had only told him to settle down for the time being, and she had rarely met with him during this past month.
Once the rules were explained, Lola sat down, and everyone was allowed to ask questions.
After the questions came the answers.
The meeting lasted for nearly three and a half hours.
This was the first time Luo Li had faced such a long meeting.
As each question was answered, the meeting concluded with Lola's words: "The first meeting is now adjourned."
Luo Li had the urge to slump directly in her chair and slide to the floor.
She couldn't help it; for those three and a half hours, as the Saintess, she had to maintain her poise at all times.
She couldn't move around, and even changing her posture would attract a lot of attention.
At this moment, she finally understood what it felt like to be a powerful figure.
It was exhausting.
Truly exhausting.
Watching the people walk out of the hall, Luo Li let out a long sigh of relief.
Just then, Anton stepped forward.
"Your Highness, um... I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, if you still have the time?"
Luo Li's brow twitched slightly as she looked at Anton.
Since he hadn't brought it up during the meeting, it was likely a technical issue.
"Very well, let's talk while we eat. Nara, go prepare lunch and include a portion for Anton."
Logically, in this era, people generally ate two meals a day.
However, Luo Li was more accustomed to three meals a day.
Nara nodded and went to prepare.
Luo Li then turned back to Anton.
"Minister Anton, you may speak your questions now."
Beside them, Lina and Momoka were also curious about Anton.
Neither of them had much contact with him before, but they would be colleagues from now on, so it was good to get to know him better while they had the chance.
Anton hesitated for a moment before looking up at Luo Li.
"Your Highness, I have no technical issues with what you've asked me to do. However, whether it's laying railways or building ironclad warships, these tasks require a massive amount of manpower. I... I'm not quite used to managing that."
So that was the problem.
It made sense; Anton was just a craftsman before, and now he suddenly held such a high office.
Managing so many things.
He definitely needed talent under him.
"It's fine, Anton. How about this... do you have any friends you know?"
"Of course I do. Many adventurers like to come to me to have their weapons forged."
Anton nodded and spoke with great pride.
"Good. Then, based on your own judgment, select some people from among them and have them find ways to gather more people."
People know each other; in fact, just through connections, one person can know the whole world.
No one is ever completely disconnected from others.
Even a beggar on the street is connected to a multimillionaire through countless links.
And this is the so-called relationship network.
As long as Anton had people he knew, he could select those he trusted.
And those people could then select others they trusted.
Gradually, the network would expand, and the number of people would grow.
Sometimes, things were just that simple.
"Later, report the people you've selected to Lola, give them official positions, and won't you have people to use?"
Anton frowned and pondered for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.
"Your Highness's method is indeed better. Very well, I shall do that. By the way, Your Highness... I've created that machine tool you mentioned. It truly is a marvelous thing."
"Oh? You've made it? Where is it?"
"In the North Gate. It's actually quite simple—just several mechanical structures linked together, using a steam engine for power to provide continuous, automatic metal grinding. It's quite straightforward."
Yes, it was simple, but starting from this simple device, more and more complex machine tools could gradually be put on the agenda.
And the most high-end machine tool would, of course, be a nanometer-scale lithography machine.
Strictly speaking, a sewing machine could be considered a machine tool.
Albeit a semi-manual one.
Or even simpler, a grindstone linked to a waterwheel could be considered a simple machine tool.
"Nara, bring the blueprints for the screws to Minister Anton."
"Screws?"
Anton looked at Luo Li in confusion, the word being somewhat unfamiliar to him.
Luo Li nodded.
"Yes. These will be essential components for the ironclad warships in the future. See if you can produce them using the machine tool."
Currently, the machine tool could only produce very simple items, and one machine could only make one thing.
Because there was no intermediate equipment like programming, every part on it had to be manually adjusted.
Anton took the blueprint from Nara and examined it carefully, his mind filled with confusion.
"Your Highness, what... is the use of this?"
"This is meant to be used in conjunction with a nut. Look, the threads on it will interlock and move closer as they are turned. This can be used to fasten two objects together. Do you understand?"
Anton furrowed his brow, studied the blueprint for a moment, and then nodded in sudden realization.
"I see! Your Highness's ingenuity is truly astounding."
"Heh, this is nothing. Nara, bring the blueprint for the rifle barrel."
"Rifle barrel?"
Anton was stunned again.
"Yes. Rifles will be the primary weapon for the infantry in the future, and their production will depend on you."
Luo Li smiled as she took the blueprint from Nara, glanced down at it, and handed it to Anton.
"Minister Anton, this paper is extremely critical. After you have read it, you must not let it leak under any circumstances. I have already noted the key points. The rifling inside the barrel, the trigger, and the firing mechanism have not been fully constructed yet. I will discuss them with Camilla and Ligeia later, and you should join us then."
Anton took the blueprint again. Though he didn't understand why Her Highness was being so solemn, he immediately memorized the blueprint and solemnly tucked it away.
"I understand. Rest assured, Your Highness, as long as I live, the blueprints shall not be leaked."
"Very well. There is no need to say more about the rest. Do you have any other concerns?"
Anton hesitated, his expression looking a bit troubled.
"Your Highness, actually, there is one more thing. It's not a major matter, but..."
"Anton, since you are already the Minister of Infrastructure, you don't need to be so formal with me. If you have something to say, just say it."
The girl looked at Anton with a smile.
"Your Highness, I would like to ask you to arrange a position for my son. I wonder..."
His son?
Luo Li raised an eyebrow, hesitated for a moment, and then agreed.
"That shouldn't be a problem. But doesn't your son work with you?"
Anton scratched his head.
"Your Highness, you don't know... my son is truly not suited for the profession of a craftsman."
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