Chapter 851

"Ren, has the Minister of Industry been selected?" Akland stood up and asked eagerly.

"sit down!"

Before Renn could answer, Belisarius snorted softly, "Aklande, when will you get rid of your impetuousness? The consul didn't finish his sentence, why are you in a hurry?"

Akland's expression froze, and he immediately realized that Renn's invitation today was well prepared, and he acted so impatiently that the Mechanics Union fell into a passive position in the ensuing discussions. He glanced at Belisariu, thinking that the chief lord should be calm.

"I'm sorry, I was too excited, chief." Akalande bowed his head to admit his mistake, and sat down obediently.

Belisarius nodded.

He turned his gaze back to Ren and asked, "Consul, what is the purpose of establishing the Ministry of Industry, and what powers and responsibilities does this department have?"

Sure enough, he is a mature man!

Ren secretly praised, the eyes of the soul saw Belisariu's emotions were actually very agitated, but he was still able to stay awake, and he grasped the point in one sentence.

"Frank." Ren gestured to his chief of staff.

Frank took out a document from the ring and handed it to Belisarius, "This is the plan for the establishment of the Ministry of Industry, please have a look."

Belisarius received the flimsy document with only a few pages, but his expression was as dignified as holding a mountain. He opened it immediately and carefully read it word by word. Akalande next to him couldn't help leaning over and stretched out his head to watch together.

There is not much content in the document, but each paragraph is highly condensed, obviously the fruit of wisdom after long-term thinking.

The first is to explain the term "industry".

Industry is a processing and manufacturing industry, a social material production sector that exploits and collects natural resources and processes various raw materials.

The document articulates the importance of industry as the main force driving a nation and even a civilization forward.

It can promote agriculture, and it is the cornerstone of commerce. It plays a decisive role in the economy and development of the entire country. The status of industry is no less than extraordinary power or even higher.

Industry frees humans from agriculture with limited output, replaces manpower with machines, and replaces individual manual production with large-scale factory production. The invention and application of the steam engine is a landmark event. It is of great significance to human civilization. People will realize it more and more clearly in the future, which can be called the "industrial revolution".

There is an essential difference between a country that has experienced the industrial revolution and a country that is still in the agricultural era.

Seeing this, Belisarius' hands couldn't help shaking.

Akalande was even more excited.

In their understanding, industry is the union of steam and machinery, and Ryan has raised the status of industry to the level of par with extraordinary power!

This is simply fantastic!

For a long time, the vast majority of people in the world, including many mechanics, just regarded the steam engine and the mechanical union as a new force, enjoying the convenience and benefits brought by technological progress.

However, few people have thought about what all this really means.

Now someone has finally said it, and it is more clear than the Mechanics Union itself, which made Belisariu and Akland feel suddenly enlightened, as if the fog in front of them had been cleared. The question I got, finally got a clear answer.

And this person is no ordinary person.

He is the consul, holding the administrative power of the empire!

The two continued to read excitedly. In the document, industries were divided into "light industry" and "heavy industry". Light industry focuses on people's daily life and produces a variety of common products; heavy industry provides materials and machinery for light industry, including steel, metallurgy, mining, and machinery manufacturing.

Industry is so important that it is necessary for the empire to have a Ministry of Industry.

The responsibilities of this department include formulating industrial policies, industrial management regulations, managing and reviewing industrial companies, guiding, learning, promoting, and applying industrial technologies, managing a series of industrial companies directly operated by the empire to be established, organizing and cultivating industrial talents, and so on.

The institutional composition of the Ministry of Industry is also listed at the back of the document.

The headquarters is directly under more than a dozen sub-departments, from provinces to cities, and corresponding industrial bureaus will be set up. Just looking at the number of people in the department, one can tell that this is a huge department with huge power, almost no worse than the three major departments of internal affairs, finance, and military affairs!

After reading it, Belisariu took a deep breath.

Akalande glanced at Ren with a calm face, hesitated to speak, and finally decided not to speak out.

The position of Minister of Industry is bound to be won by the Mechanics Union. This is completely the immediate boss of the Mechanics Union in the empire. If the person sitting in the position is not one of his own, the entire Mechanics Union will not be able to eat or sleep.

Of course, the establishment and operation of the Ministry of Industry is also inseparable from the Mechanical Trade Union.

So Ren invited himself and the chief to come to discuss today. He will not hand over the position of Minister of Industry to others, but he will not hand it over to the Mechanical Union easily.

Belisarius closed his eyes and meditated for a few minutes before finally speaking.

However, he did not immediately fight for the interests of the Mechanical Trade Union, but asked: "Consul, the establishment of the Ministry of Industry is not just a department, does it have anything to do with your policy policy for the next ten years?"

"Yes."

Ren nodded, and he had a higher opinion of Belisariu in his heart, and revealed: "Industry and education will be the two most important aspects of my tenure, and I will devote most of my energy."

Hearing this, Aklan couldn't hide the joy in his eyes.

Belisariu's face was stunned, and he praised sincerely: "It is the blessing of the empire and the blessing of the people of the empire to have you as the consul."

Ren waved his hand, "I just want to make some contributions to the people of the empire."

"The consul is humble." Belisarius stopped complimenting Ren, and instead said: "The establishment of the Ministry of Industry is a major event, and it must be approved by the Supreme Council..."

"You don't have to worry about this." Ren interrupted him, "I won't bring it up if I'm not sure. The chief should be very clear about the current structure of the Supreme Council. The Ministry of Industry will be a permanent institution of the empire. Even if I step down, the Ministry of Industry will continue to exist.”

Belisarius nodded slightly.

Who doesn't know that the Modus faction now holds half of the votes of the Supreme Council and almost controls the Supreme Council. With Ren's status in the Modus faction, it is difficult for his proposal to be vetoed.

Ren continued: "In the past few years, we have cooperated very happily in Glamorgan and the Principality of Augustus. The chief executive is also very clear about the development speed of the Principality of Augustus. The population and territory of the Principality have not changed much, but In a few years, the national strength has grown several times, and the people's lives have changed drastically, all of which are driven by industrial development."

"Augustus went through the industrial revolution and changed from an agricultural country to an industrial country." Belisarius said suddenly.

"That's right!"

Ren smiled, "The chief has already grasped the true meaning of this document. The economy, military and living standards of industrial countries, as well as all other aspects, are far better than agricultural countries."

"After all, the Principality of Augustus has a limited territory, insufficient population and natural resources, and a small base in all aspects. Even if it completely becomes an industrial country in the future, its comprehensive national strength will increase by dozens of times, and it will be insignificant compared with the empire..."

Having said that, Ren paused.

The eyes of Belisarius and Acalander lit up, and their breathing quickened unconsciously.

Gu and the others already understood what Ryan meant.

The Principality of Augustus is too small, but the empire is huge!

Sure enough, Ryan said: "The empire's industry is the most developed and advanced in the world, and it is in the transitional stage of transition from an agricultural country to an industrial country, but the speed is too slow, and it lacks comprehensive and clear policy guidance, and there are also various opinions from all sides. Interference and stress."

Belisa couldn't help but nodded repeatedly.

Ren's words really hit his heart. For hundreds of years, the steam and mechanical unions have promoted the development of imperial society. They are ubiquitous in people's lives and have great influence, but they are only limited to ordinary people. Reach the apex of imperial power.

The biggest scruples and resistance are naturally the Supreme Council.

The members of the Supreme Council are all holy soul wizards, possessing extraordinary powers unimaginable by ordinary people.

A new force that is completely different from magic has risen. The holy soul wizards may not be aware of the huge potential of the Mechanical Union, but they instinctively acquiesced in the suppression of the Mechanical Union by the successive consuls. The power of the Supreme Council was unshakable, and the Mechanical Union naturally did not dare to challenge it head-on, or even reveal a little bit of overstepping the rules, so it could only make a fortune in silence.

There are also the Church of Justice and the Church of the Earth, who are also wary of the Mechanical Union.

Because the application of mechanical equipment will make people think and shake their firm belief in God.

The imperial aristocrats, especially the old aristocrats, hated the mechanical union even more. The factories established one after another robbed the interests of the aristocrats, gave farmers an extra way of life, and weakened the importance and value of the land. Cooperate with the Mechanics Union, subject to the Mechanics.

All in all, the mechanic union has offended all vested interests!

Lane knew it all too well.

The same situation has happened countless times in previous lives.

What he said, together with the content of the document in his hand, made Belisarius and Acalander almost tearful of gratitude. They could not wait to make Ren a confidant, and even a great benefactor of the Mechanical Union!

The soul's eye knows their emotions like the back of their hands.

Ren secretly smiled, but said with a serious expression: "The establishment of the Ministry of Industry is precisely to accelerate the transformation of the empire into an industrial country and trigger an industrial revolution in the empire. And this is only the first step. I will also introduce In the first five-year plan of the empire, the promotion of industrial development was the focus of the plan.”

"Industry is inseparable from the application of mechanical technology, which requires the support of the steam and mechanical union."

"So, I invite the two of you to discuss."

As soon as the words fell, Belisarius immediately expressed his position, his voice raised unconsciously, and he said loudly: "The Mechanics Union will definitely fully support the work of the Consul! Anything that the Machinists Union can do, as long as the Consul needs it, we will never shirk .”

"I can rest assured that."

Ren nodded in relief, and the conversation suddenly changed, "Gotham is also the territory of the empire. Recently, Gotham's construction lacks some supplies..."

Belisarius understood immediately.

Gotham is the city of Rennes, which belongs to the empire in name but is completely autonomous in essence. Rennes used Gotham as an excuse to propose conditions.

"The Mechanics Union is willing to contribute to the construction of Gotham." Belisa replied knowingly.

Frank took out another document in due course.

Belisariu took it and read it quickly. It was a list of materials. Hundreds of materials filled more than a dozen pages, and the required quantity of each was marked. The most was a high-grade refined steel, which was as much as 500 million pounds, which made his eyelids jump.

The output of this kind of refined steel is very high, and it is widely used, but 500 million pounds is too exaggerated, equivalent to the total output of the Mechanical Union for two to three years.

Moreover, in recent years, for unknown reasons, the refined steel products on the market are very easy to sell, and the price has risen a lot.

The other materials on the list are also huge in quantity, Mithril, Adamantite, Arcanite, and dozens of magic alloys, ranging from tens of thousands of pounds to millions of pounds. There are also various alchemy materials, rune stones, precious magic gems, minerals, a large number of mechanical equipment and so on.

Some things cannot be bought with money, and can only be obtained from the warehouses of the Mechanics Union in various parts of the empire, or purchased at high prices elsewhere.

Roughly estimated, the total value of the materials on the entire list exceeds 100 million gold shields!

With such a large amount of materials, Belisarius and Akland suddenly had an idea in their minds, Rennes wanted to build a floating city!

Apart from the floating city, they couldn't think of any other possibility.

Belisarius said without hesitation: "Please rest assured, the Consul, starting from the first day of the new year, a batch of supplies will be sent to Gotham City every month, and it is guaranteed that they will all arrive within one year. Delay the construction of Gotham."

While speaking, he put away the list.

Ren raised his eyebrows.

To be honest, Belisarius's straightforwardness was beyond his expectation. This is not a small amount, but 100 million, which is enough to build a brand new floating city. He thought that Belisarius would at least bargain, but the other party Agreed right away.

Belisariu's tone was also very relaxed, as if he just filled out a check.

Still underestimated the financial power of the Mechanical Union!

Belisariu didn't even blink his eyes, and didn't discuss with the mysterious president. It can be seen that this money is not difficult for the Mechanical Union. What is rich and powerful, what is embarrassing Soaring, today I saw it.

Of course, in the industrial revolution of the empire in the future, the mechanic union can easily earn back the 100 million gold shield, and even get more benefits.

Anyway, no one loses, this is a win-win transaction.

"good."

Ryan showed a smile on his face. The materials on this list are enough to build a second Star Destroyer himself. He praised: "I thank the Mechanical Union for the support of Gotham City." Then he turned the words back, "Minister of Industry Candidates, does the chief have any recommendations?"

Hearing these words, Akland puffed out his chest unconsciously, his eyes full of anticipation.

However, Belisarius nodded, but said: "The minister of industry must have a steady personality, a flexible mind, and a comprehensive understanding of mechanical technology and industrial development. Therefore, I recommend the most suitable person to the consul. The other vice president of our mechanical union, Fasting."

Akland's expression froze.

"Fastine?" Ren was also surprised.

He has heard of this name. There are many vice presidents in the Mechanics Union. Fasting's qualifications and reputation are second only to Belisarius. However, there are rumors that Fasting and Belisarius are in a competitive relationship, but their personality is more paranoid. , not as beloved by mechanics as Belisarius.

Ren glanced at Akalande, who was full of disappointment.

"Consul, I insist that Faqiding be the Minister of Industry. He is more suitable for this position than Aklander." Belisarius emphasized his opinion again.

The person who pays has the final say.

Ren could only nod and said: "Since this is the chief's wish, then I agree with the candidate you recommended."