Chapter 414 Mediocrity

Although he had not seen Richard for more than ten years, Richard's appearance when he was young was always engraved in Odaye's mind. As the most important person in his life, Odaye's life can be said to have changed because of Richard.

If Odaye had not been purchased by Richard in the slave market and joined Harland Territory, no matter how talented he was, he would not have been able to regain his freedom and achieve class leap. Like slaves of all living beings, he could only fall into the dust and could never change his fate.

There are extraordinary powers in the Dawn Plane, and nobles can easily suppress ordinary people with extraordinary powers.

In order to prevent the lower class from mastering extraordinary powers and competing with the upper nobles, almost all nobles spontaneously blocked extraordinary knowledge, making it very difficult for the world to cross classes, and there is almost no upward channel for the lower class.

Countries such as Grant and Ryan, facing the threat of life and death on the front line of orc invasion, will allow some class mobility and open up some extraordinary resources in order to resist the orcs, so as to give play to the subjective initiative of free people and serfs.

Only on the northern frontier could Richard make reforms to slowly liberate the serfs. If it were in a stable and safe territory, no one would agree with his approach.

After all, with the orcs as the enemy, Richard's pardon of the serfs also greatly increased the cohesion of the Harland army, which helped them get through the most difficult years and made their policies more consistent.

It was also a blessing for Odaye to join the Harland Territory and catch up with the turbulent times.

Odaye was very attached to the Harland Territory. He realized his life value and class transition on this land. He was also injured and bled for this land. The status of the Harland Territory in his heart far exceeded that of his hometown, and he was willing to continue to be injured, bled, and sacrificed to protect this land.

As the owner of this land, Richard also received Odaye's heartfelt respect. Although he hadn't seen Richard for many years, Richard had become much younger because he used the water of life, and there was almost no difference from more than a decade ago.

When he saw Richard and Philip, he recognized them in an instant. Odaye walked up quickly, saluted Richard, and said excitedly: "Dear Duke, I am glad to see you."

Richard patted Odaye on the shoulder, smiled a little, and said with admiration: "Even I have heard that you have made a lot of money in recent years, and your pomp is bigger than that of the nobles. Although you earn legal property, you cannot do illegal things for the sake of making money.

I just heard that you are dissatisfied with the restriction of private enterprises to use slave workers in the territory. I can understand your motivation to reduce costs.

But for the long-term industrial development of the territory, to cultivate the market, to To make the territory competitive, we must change the political status and living conditions of slaves and maintain a certain degree of class mobility. Providing a channel for the upward mobility of capable and talented people at the bottom is the key reason for our development and growth.

The slave class will eventually disappear in Harland Territory. The territory will not allow the legalization of the slave trade. You must also have a sense of social responsibility and a bottom line when earning commercial profits. After all, you are also a slave, and you should sympathize with the lower class, rather than trying to exploit and suppress them. "

Odaye represents the emerging capitalist class in Harland Territory. Compared with slave owners, capitalists are certainly more advanced.

With the development of industrial scale, the capitalist class must have higher economic and political pursuits. When the voices get louder and louder, Richard will also prepare to establish the House of Commons, select magicians, professionals, and influential businessmen as members of parliament, and give them some power to make the political institutions of Harland Territory more stable and more vital.

Of course, Richard's ideas have not yet been communicated to the cabinet members, and he has only talked about some with Sofia. It takes an opportunity to make the final decision. Of course, if businessmen want to gain some power, they must fight for it themselves. Expecting the upper nobles to give alms is like a mirage. Even if Richard has this intention, it is still a piece of empty paper. Only when the situation develops to a certain extent can compromise succeed.

Hearing some criticism in Richard's voice, Odaye's face suddenly turned pale, as if frost hit the eggplant, and his mood was a little low.

As the first capitalist to make a fortune in Harland, Daye can also be regarded as a new class supported and established by Richard.

Although the capitalist class is now just a vine entangled with the nobles, Richard sincerely hopes that they can grow and play a greater role. However, because of the existence of extraordinary power in the Dawn Plane, capital can never play a decisive role like in the previous life.

Richard knows that when capital appears, it will inevitably strive for profit. This is the instinct of capital. As the ruler of the territory, capital must be used and restricted, and must not be left alone.

Richard talked with Odaye for a quarter of an hour and expressed his support for his decision to relocate the factory. The capital Williamburg area is indeed not very suitable to be an industrial center.

If you want to develop industry, the conditions in Prilan in the north of the Eagle Mountains and Heihebao in the south of the Eagle Mountains are obviously better. These two cities have vast and flat terrain, and are surrounded by fertile grain-producing areas and developed water transportation. The most important thing is the mineral resources in the Eagle Mountains, which are very close to the two places and can provide rich nutrients for the development of industry.

Now that Harland has developed steam locomotive technology, the railway mileage is increasing every year, and it has become easier and easier to transport minerals from the Eagle Mountains.

Williamburg, Snow Crystal Lake, Swamp Basin, and Losa Basin are more suitable as administrative centers, magic civilization research centers, and centers for cultivating extraordinary people.

A few years ago, Richard planned to move the capital to Losa Basin. As the situation developed, he swallowed up the two dukedoms of Edward and Fox, and the three provinces of the northern border, and Richard gradually gave up this decision.

After leaving Odaye's factory, Richard took Philip to walk around the streets of Williamburg.

Today, Williamburg is already one of the largest cities in the Kingdom of Grant. Although this castle is a mountain city, it has developed into the commercial center of Harland because of the commodity fairs held over the years.

In the valley south of the castle, various buildings are densely packed and built on the mountain. These buildings have stretched for six or seven kilometers, and many houses have been built on the hillsides on both sides of the valley.

The main street is bustling with people, and it is more prosperous than the Black River Castle where Richard lived when he was young.

This castle was built by Richard when he was young. At that time, he personally drew the plan and sometimes participated in the labor.

Suddenly, twenty years have passed. Richard suddenly felt a little emotional. Time flies! In the blink of an eye, the child is almost grown up.

After spending an afternoon in Fort William, Richard took Philip back to the mansion. He looked at the clock on the wall and said to Philip, "Philip, it's time to do homework."

As the son of the Duke, Philip has a very tight schedule every day. For safety reasons, Philip has now dropped out of school. He now needs to receive six hours of home education and four hours of warrior training every day. Almost from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night, there is not much free time.

Richard took him out for a walk, which was also a pleasant memory and relaxation for Philip.

Under normal circumstances, Philip would study for ten consecutive days before having one day off, but the training of warrior breathing and skills could not be stopped for a day.

Philip did not inherit the magic talent of Richard and Sophia, but because he lived in an aristocratic family since childhood, he was well-nourished. Richard and Sophia both have a thin knight bloodline, but Philip took three blood enlightenment potions and failed to be enlightened. Unable to become a magician or a knight, Philip could only follow the path of his ancestors and start practicing the warrior breathing method.

However, compared with his ancestors William and his father Richard, Philip's innate conditions are countless times better. He does not need to risk his life like his grandfather William because he chose the wrong breathing method, nor does he need to join the Mad Lion Legion and be controlled by others in order to learn a further breathing method like his father Richard.

Now Harland has mastered the legendary second-level Fiery Breathing Method, which has a very high affinity with Philip. When he was young, Philip had taken several precious potions and laid a good foundation in advance. Although he is young now, his physical fitness is no less than that of an adult.

Hearing Richard's advice, Philip reluctantly began to practice breathing. After all, he is still relatively young, not as mature and smart as his sister, and does not understand his parents' painstaking efforts.

Because he has just started, Philip can only practice breathing for one hour a day. The remaining three hours are mainly for archery, fighting, riding and other combat skills.

Philip tried to adjust his breathing. With every breath, his body was adapting and absorbing magic energy, and in this process, the flesh would feel severe pain. Children don't have enough tolerance, and most of them find it difficult to support.

In fact, the same is true for meditation. When you start meditating, you will feel mental fatigue and severe pain in your soul. Only after you endure this process and your body adapts, will this pain be alleviated.

In Philip's young heart, he couldn't understand why his parents and sister tortured him. Now he lives every day like a year, and his spirit seems to be going crazy.

His mind is not on practicing breathing, so he is naturally distracted. Practicing breathing is very dangerous. You must be cautious at all times and your thoughts must fluctuate with your breathing.

Just as he started to be distracted, Philip felt a sharp pain in his chest, his eyes suddenly turned red, he yelled and spit out a mouthful of blood, and then fainted.

Seeing that Philip had an accident while practicing breathing, Richard hurriedly released the healing spell for him and notified his mother.

After Sophia came over, she had a headache when she saw Philip.

The two people were very knowledgeable and found out at a glance that the main reason why Philip had problems practicing breathing was that he was not careful.

Soldiers who were born as serfs all had a strong desire to change their fate. Although they didn't even have complete texts and didn't understand the content of the breathing method, they were often very serious and focused in the process of practicing the breathing method.

As knowledge gradually improved, the deeper the understanding of the breathing method, the easier it was to get started.

On the contrary, many nobles with superior living conditions like Philip had no determination on the path of transcendence.

Because the nobles fell faster, from the Holy Glorious Empire to the Grant Kingdom, they all issued a decree that only those who were promoted to professionals could inherit the title.

In order to encourage internal metabolism among the nobles, they even allowed internal fighting and struggle among the nobles. It was like raising a poison, and selecting a powerful heir through cruel competition.

Richard and Sophia had seen this kind of struggle for inheritance countless times, whether it was the process of King Roger of the Grant royal family ascending to the throne, or the bloody struggle of the lower-level barons for inheritance. They had seen it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears.

If Philip wants to secure his position as lord, he not only needs the support of his parents, but he also needs to have a certain amount of power, and he must not be a stupid or mediocre person.

Seeing that Phillip's breath was gradually stabilizing, Richard said with a hint of tiredness on his face: "Phillip's mind is not yet mature, so why not wait a few more years to start practicing breathing techniques."

After hearing this, Sophia quickly shook her head and said, "If we wait a few more years, he may become even more mediocre."

"As parents, maybe we should accept Philip's mediocrity. Most people in this world are mediocre, and geniuses will always be in the minority. As our child, maybe we should make him happy and give him more care. , let him live a mediocre life.”

After hearing what Richard said, Sophia's expression changed, and her expression suddenly became dazed.

"Are you thinking of replacing someone again? I will never agree to this."

Seeing Sophia's great reaction, Richard quickly swore and swore: "I definitely have no such plan. What I want to say is that with us taking care of him, Philip does not need to be very smart, farsighted, or brave to charge into battle. We have a long life, and Philip will definitely be ahead of us. It is actually a blessing for him to be a mediocre person.”

"But if Philip behaves mediocrely, how can he get the support of all strata in the territory, and how can he compete with his younger siblings? Undine's child will be born next year. This child's mother's family is so powerful, his grandmother is a legend, and his uncle There is also a great chance of being promoted to a legend, and my mother’s power is also very strong. How can you reassure me?”

Although Sophia did not rebuke directly, she hit Richard's weakness. Although he always thought of things in a good direction, if something happened to him at this time, the Stowe family would compete with the Sutton family for inheritance rights. Sophie Ya and her children may not be able to save their lives.

Humans are different from elves. Elves usually discriminate against half-elves. It is difficult for an elf tribe to make half-elves their heirs. However, in the human kingdom, the social atmosphere does not discriminate against half-elves. Many nobles in the Holy Glory Empire have elven blood.

"But the way Philip is now, the harder we push him, the more rebellious he may become, and the result may be that he goes in the opposite direction, which may not be a good thing for the child."

"If we were ordinary people, I could live an ordinary life and accept the mediocrity of my children. But you are a duke, and you will be a grand duke and a king in the future. Philip, as your son, must not be mediocre. If the king's heir Mediocrity is a disaster for the country, even if I drive him crazy or to death, I will never let him become a mediocre person."

Hearing Sophia's decisive words, Richard was even a little frightened. At this time, Sophia was far more powerful and cruel than Richard.