Wealth moves the heart.
When the four large crates were opened, those were the first words that came to Luo Li's mind.
Four crates filled to the brim with gold.
Every single one was a gold coin forged from pure gold.
I didn't know exactly how large this continent was, but the Kingdom of the Moon alone was comparable to China's 9.6 million square kilometers, and it was only one of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church.
Not counting other human nations, almost all of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church were located in the southeastern part of the continent.
Furthermore, these great nations were rich in mineral deposits.
These gold coins were made using a special process, mixed with a small amount of special mithril, making their hardness and corrosion resistance almost peak among metals.
In these four large crates of gold, each gold coin had a net weight of thirty grams.
There were ten thousand gold coins per crate, weighing three hundred kilograms.
Including the crates made of pure iron, each crate weighed at least four hundred kilograms—no wonder it took ten men to carry each one!
The gold coins, shimmering with a golden luster, were laid out so boldly before her eyes.
Who wouldn't be moved?
Taking just one out, the gold content was over ninety-eight percent!
'Just a handful would be enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life.'
"Your Highness, Your Highness... this money has already been spent. Please stop staring at it."
"Mhm... Huh???"
Wh-What? Spent?
I haven't even warmed them up yet!
Lola's green eyes were filled with helplessness.
"Your Highness, the demon army's attack resulted in the city being under siege for over half a month. One-tenth of the grain in the vault has already been used and needs to be restocked."
"That... That shouldn't cost this much, right? Can't you leave some for me?"
Lola rolled her eyes at this money-grubbing Saintess and pushed up her glasses.
"Your Highness, the construction of the heroic spirit monument requires five hundred gold. There are also labor costs for meals, the repair costs for the knights' armor from this war, and the slave collars that need to be purchased next. The remaining three hundred thousand gold coins in the treasury are already being moved. The demons killed in this battle need a large-scale burial, the pensions for the sacrificed soldiers have not yet been issued, the farmlands outside the city and the deceased citizens require compensation and disaster relief, and then there are the repairs for the city wall facilities, the houses lost in the city, the people..."
"Stop, stop, stop! It's yours! It's all yours!! All of it..."
Looking at these four crates full of gold, she gritted her teeth with tears in her eyes and turned her head away.
'My lovely gold coins... for the sake of my grand plan, go on then... one day... I will earn you all back!'
Sniffle.
"Your Highness..."
"Don't mind me, I want to cry."
"Your Highness..."
"What!"
"It's still not enough."
"What do you mean it's not enough? Didn't I give it all to you?"
"Your Highness, the current deficit is at least three hundred thousand gold coins."
"..."
Just kill me!
I don't want to live anymore!
My lovely gold! Before you even reached my hands, you were sold off by this heartless Lola!
"Take it, take it all! Take all the money from today's purchase of public security rights! I... I want to be alone."
"Yes, Your Highness. In that case, I shall get back to work."
Seeing that her goal was achieved, Lola pushed up her glasses, bowed calmly, ignored the Saintess's indignant glare, and turned to handle today's urgent matters.
For some reason, seeing Lola's calm attitude made a nameless fire rise from the bottom of her heart!
That was all gold.
It was gold.
After all that effort, not a single cent reached my hand; it was all spent by this spendthrift woman.
Even if it was spent correctly, it still hurt!
My heart... it's so cold...
Soon, a dozen or so priests walked in from outside, lifted the poles, hoisted those four large crates of gold, and swayed as they left.
All that was left for me was endless emptiness, loneliness, and cold.
"Nara."
"Present."
"Go call Lord Cavendish and Duke Fulong. I have important matters to discuss. Also, see if Sake has arrived today. Furthermore, have Weber, Conrad, Rodney, and Simmons come here."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Nara took her orders from the side. Lately, Ella was no longer by her side as she was now fully responsible for commanding the ordinary nuns, while Nara served as a messenger.
Now that she had just woken up, Sir Cain should already be on guard outside. Since men were forbidden from entering the Temple, even Cain, her Guardian Knight, was not allowed into the inner court.
Hilda hadn't come today, which meant Cain was the Guardian Knight in charge of security.
Soon, the first four people arrived before her.
Weber, Conrad, Rodney, and Simmons.
In the Kingdom of the Moon, duplicate names were common. This Simmons, for instance, shared a name with Count Simmons at the border, but their status was worlds apart.
These four had no connection to the nobility and were all from humble backgrounds.
After a discussion and some confirmation, she let the four of them go back.
She had a rough idea now. Simmons and Conrad were filtered out, leaving Weber and Rodney.
Though these two were upright, they were too blunt and lacked ambition, making them unsuitable for major roles.
"Nara, have Lola arrange positions for Simmons and Conrad. Sending them out as a Thousand-Household District Executive Officer will suffice. As for Weber and Rodney, have them follow Lola to learn starting tomorrow."
Lola's grasp of administrative affairs was very fast. She was already able to handle the administration alone.
However, she was worried Lola might overwork herself, so she let Weber and Rodney follow her to learn first.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Though the conversation was tedious, it was very time-consuming, and the entire morning passed just like that.
Then, in the afternoon, the heads of various families came for meetings. Some who couldn't make it in time sent family elders in their stead.
In short, there wasn't a single moment of leisure throughout the afternoon.
As the sky gradually darkened, she had met with all thirteen great families and thirty-three minor noble families.
Lola had already prepared the contracts, and the public security rights purchase agreements were signed smoothly.
Instantly, she was wealthy again.
The thirteen great families alone contributed over five hundred and twenty thousand gold coins.
And the thirty-three minor noble families contributed a total of six hundred and sixty thousand gold coins.
It had to be said, these families were truly wealthy—so wealthy it made one jealous!
She bit her handkerchief!
"Your Highness, even if you are jealous of those nobles, biting your handkerchief won't solve anything. It will only bring unmerited disaster upon your handkerchief."
"I don't care!"
She looked up at Lola and asked her with a trembling voice.
"How much money is left?"
"Excluding what has already been overdrawn and used, eight hundred thousand gold coins remain."
She patted her chest. At least this spendthrift woman had left her some savings.
"Your Highness, about the road construction you mentioned... are we still doing it? To what specifications?"
Heart pills! I need heart pills!
It hurt.
However, if they didn't build roads, they couldn't get rich, and the speed of deploying troops would be greatly restricted.
Gritting her teeth—it's just money!
"Build them. Pave them all with stone slabs."
"What about the width and length?"
"The width... at least enough for ten horses... Wait."
She suddenly thought of something. Gunpowder already existed in this era, steelmaking technology was very developed, and there was the magical means of magic.
Couldn't she manufacture a steam engine?
If she used a steam engine to transport the army, wouldn't that save more time and effort than marching?
"Lola, um... have you heard of a steam engine?"
"Is Your Highness referring to... the water train of the Water City?"
Holy crap! It actually exists?
And it's a water train?
"The Water City... I remember the Saintess there is named Ophelia Saint Gabriel?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The Water City is known as the Maritime Commercial Capital, and together with Oasis City of the Kingdom of Sand, the Desert Commercial Capital, they are known as the two great commercial capitals."
"...Contact the Saintess of the Water City immediately. I have matters to discuss with her."
"Your Highness, Duke Fulong has been waiting outside for a long time. Should we finish discussing with Duke Fulong before contacting the Water City?"
"Mhm, let's go. Let's meet our newly promoted Duke."
Trains, a revolutionary mode of transportation, could raise the entire nation's power by more than one level if utilized well.
If she could purchase two steam engines from Ophelia and have people replicate them domestically, then the subsequent development would definitely become incredibly fast.
But gunpowder... that stuff was almost useless against powerful individuals.
Firearms couldn't hurt them at all.
However, for ordinary soldiers, firearms were a massive upgrade.
They were enough to give an ordinary army immense combat power and were a tool that could raise military strength in the shortest possible time.
"Lola, make arrangements for tomorrow. I want to discuss a business deal with Anton of the dwarves."
"May I ask what the discussion is related to?" Lola asked in a low voice.
"Military equipment."
"Understood. I will have someone notify Mr. Anton immediately."
Putting this matter on the agenda—at the very least, she would have that guy Anton figure out how to make a breech-loading rifle.
If that could be made, the problem of combat power could be solved in a short time.
At least for the ordinary army, they would have an overwhelming advantage.
And top-tier powerhouses were another story.
Wasn't the Sacred Knight known as the strongest human also from the Eight Nations of the Holy Church?
When Duke Fulong walked in from outside, there was still a trace of joy on his face, clearly looking as if 'good fortune had arrived at his door'.
He walked with a powerful stride, his back straight as he walked beneath the divine platform, placing his right hand over his chest and bowing.
"Fulong greets the Saintess. I pray for your sacred well-being."
"Rise, Duke Fulong."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Duke Fulong looked up at the Saintess, the smile at the corners of his mouth almost impossible to suppress.
"Judging by Duke Fulong's appearance, the slave registration must be progressing smoothly?"
"Yes, Your Highness. So far, about thirty percent of the cities in the Kingdom of the Moon have completed slave registration. The rest are still being tallied and are expected to be finished by next month. All registered slaves will have their slave collars recustomized. The five percent commission from this month's transactions will be sent to Brilliant City next month."
"Very good. Duke Fulong is indeed a pillar of my Kingdom of the Moon. Leaving this matter in your hands truly puts me at ease. Duke Fulong, have you encountered any trouble at this stage?"
"I wouldn't call it trouble. It's just that the Rowan family has some slave business of their own and was somewhat uncooperative. But please rest assured, Your Highness, the matter has been resolved."
Resolved?
One family against another, and it was resolved so quickly without heavy casualties?
There was a strange scent to this.
"Oh? I wonder what method Duke Fulong used to make the Rowan family let go so quickly?"
If the Cavendish family was the largest slave merchant in the Kingdom of the Moon, then the Rowan family was the second largest.
And the second largest slave merchant backed down so quickly?
She felt something was not quite right.
"Hehe, the Rowan family fears Your Highness's divine majesty. When I brought up Your Highness, the other party naturally had to let go."
This old fellow doesn't want to say?
Fine, if he doesn't want to say, I naturally have ways to get information from elsewhere.
"In that case, I won't ask further. After all slaves have undergone official registration, send the registers to Lola. From now on, Lola will be fully responsible for this matter. Lord Fulong, you may withdraw."
"As you command, Your Highness."
Duke Fulong appeared full of confidence. He gave Luo Li a slight nod, turned, and left.
Watching Fulong's back, she whispered instructions to Lola beside her.
"Go find out from Baker what trouble the Rowan family encountered."
"Your Highness, Baker just sent word. At noon today, the head of the Alvin family had a long-distance call with the head of the Rowan family. The details are unknown, but subsequently, Rowan family merchants in the Alvin family's territory were arrested. Among them, the highest-ranking official is the third son of the Rowan family head. They were reportedly arrested for 'illegal slave trafficking' and 'slave abuse'."
Using the laws I promulgated to arrest people?
A fine move.
Although she had promulgated decrees for these two points and begun officially entering them into the legal records, there were no corresponding punitive measures for the nobility yet. However... the head of the Alvin family had utilized these two charges to suppress the Rowan family.
But... isn't this exactly what I wanted?
Hehe~ Hahaha!
Well done!
The head of the Alvin family really knows how to find an excuse!
There were no corresponding punishments, but it was never said they wouldn't be punished!
And the head of the Alvin family utilized exactly that!
As expected, Fulong has reached an agreement with the Alvin family, even if it means losing a portion of the profits.
The Alvin family was an ancient family that had loomed over the Kingdom of the Moon for centuries.
Such a massive family naturally possessed enormous influence!
She could barely hold back her laughter.
This was exactly what she wanted to see!
When the Alvin family intervened, the nature of this matter completely changed.
From an originally top-down reform, it had turned into internal strife within the noble circles!
Next, the Alvin family's arch-rival, the Garnet family, probably won't be able to sit still.
Who wouldn't want a piece of the large cake that was the slave market?
But if everyone gets a piece, what's the difference between that and getting nothing?
Therefore, those who could get this cake must be only a few families.
However, the Cavendish family might hit a brick wall next.
Since the Alvin family had made a move, their long-time rival, the Garnet family, certainly wouldn't watch the Alvin family use this cake to add more glory to their name.
So the next one to strike would surely be the Garnet family!
"Investigate the background of the Campbell family and the Howard family for me, as well as what secrets lie between the Garnet family and the Dressas family."
A sharp light flashed in Lola's emerald eyes.
"As you command, my Saintess."
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