Chapter 558 — The Civilian Direction
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 4
At the same time, the Pioneer's highly integrated power spine, magic energy wing panels, and onboard shield technology could be applied to ground bunkers, large vehicles, engineering facilities, and other types of warship.
He summoned Hetty and explained these plans to her. Hearing that the transport problem might soon be eased, Hetty—who had long fretted over the matter—breathed a sigh of relief. "That would be wonderful… If the power technology from the Pioneer is used on civilian ships, then at least in areas the rivers reach, more than half the transport problem can be solved."
But then her brow furrowed. "Yet that way, the new mechanical ships will quickly monopolize river transport, and the traditional shipowners will probably go bankrupt in short order… Most of them could never afford a magic-powered mechanical ship…"
Gao Yang looked at Hetty with some surprise.
"What is it?" Hetty asked, at a loss. She touched her face. "Is there something on my face?"
The chief steward of Cecil was puzzled; she distinctly remembered that she had not worn smoky eye makeup today… Could it be that she had forgotten to remove the makeup she had put on yesterday to wangle half a day off?
But Gao Yang knew what his eldest granddaughter was muttering about in her heart. He had simply been reminded of the beginning—of Hetty back then, and the blankness on her face when she first heard of the "labor reward" system and the concept of "personnel management."
In those days Hetty had understood nothing of commoners' lives. For all her upright and compassionate notions, she was at bottom still a noble daughter who had never left castle or manor, who imagined the hardships of the common folk through fantasy alone. Back then she had not even known why commoners could eat only two meals a day, or why they picked scraps thrown out of the castle to eat…
Today she could, at the first moment, consider what would become of the shipowners if they went bankrupt—though much of that was due to the nature of her work in the administrative office, it was still proof enough of how her way of thinking had changed.
"We will not sit by while shipowners go bankrupt en masse. Since we mean to bring warship technology into the civilian sector, we must bring it truly and thoroughly to the people, so that it serves them rather than ruining them," Gao Yang laughed. "I have three preliminary plans…"
At this he paused to think, then laid them out one by one: "First, open up channels for the sale and leasing of mechanical ships. When the time is ripe, we can even help capable private capital establish small shipyards, driving the cost of magic-powered mechanical ships down as quickly as possible to a level the people can accept, so that the larger shipowners and wealthy merchants can afford to buy and lease vessels, much as magic-powered cars have been commercialized;
"Second, for some shipowners, the administrative office will subsidize the modification of their old cargo ships, or let them trade in old cargo ships at value toward new ones. Those truly without the means may borrow interest-free to buy new ships—do not worry about the cost; once the new cargo ships start running the rivers, the economic benefit they bring will far exceed that little subsidy.
"Finally, the smaller shipowners can join together to form transport companies and pool their funds to buy ships, or they can change trades and enter the dock freight system, each with its own subsidy. New cities are being built everywhere now, and job openings will always exist. So long as the resettlement is handled well, there will always be a way out.
"As for overseeing the implementation of these plans… that will be up to you."
Watching Hetty take her notes with such an earnest, absorbed air, Gao Yang breathed a small sigh of relief inside.