Chapter 322: Chapter 318 Hanging Street Lamps
The transfer of industrial capacity was a decision made early on by the Imperial Council.
Since the end of the Seventeen-Day War, the Empire has been focused on this task for several months.
With the joint support of the Noble Council and the elected parliament, the pace of this initiative has not been slow, especially when compared to the past administrative efficiency of the Empire.
Nonetheless, the Empire is seriously advancing this matter, and it has achieved considerable success so far.
At least the first batch of factories scheduled to move to the Northern Territory have already sent representatives to invest and build there, laying the groundwork for the future relocation of major production capacity.
There is indeed a connection between this matter and what Perfikot is currently undertaking, and if these two can coordinate, they can fully support what Perfikot is preparing to do.
Therefore, after Duke Gloucester proposed this suggestion, the Imperial Council quickly passed a resolution to accelerate this matter, and issued decrees in the name of the Imperial Center to limit the use of child labor.
The Imperial Center certainly cannot immediately produce a mature and comprehensive child labor protection plan, but completely abolishing child labor is clearly unrealistic as well.
So they could only copy the Northern Territory’s child labor act almost verbatim as the Empire’s child labor law.
This undoubtedly provided a strong support for Perfikot, at least the child labor act she enacted in the Northern Territory is endorsed by the Imperial Center, becoming a law backed by imperial authority, rather than merely a private practice by the Northern Territory.
Moreover, to prevent local merchants of the Empire from troubling Perfikot or imitating the New Continent merchants in pressuring the Imperial Center, the Minister of Trade also communicated with Langton’s chamber of commerce and some major merchants, informing them that the Empire enacted the child labor act entirely because Northern Territory’s merchants intended to challenge the authority of the Lord of the North and the Imperial Center.
For the major merchants of the Empire, this really was an unwarranted disaster.
They are much clearer about their positioning than their counterparts in the New Continent, understanding their place in the Empire, without any unrealistic ambitions.
Though in recent years as these major merchants have become rich and risen, they have indeed furthered their attempt to secure political status in the Imperial Center, even almost controlling the elected parliament, this does not mean they have the capital to genuinely contend for power with true officials of the Imperial Center or the vested interest groups.
Besides the deep-rooted influence of traditional noble forces at home, a crucial reason is they are far more aware than their New Continent counterparts of whose hands the real power lies in the Empire.
If everything developed normally, without Perfikot kicking the wheel of history, perhaps in the future, as the bourgeoisie gradually gain power, this country could transition to a constitutional monarchy or even further trigger a movement or revolution to overthrow the feudal imperial system.
However, a certain anonymous Lord of the North developed Steam Knights, revitalizing the fundamental knight class of the traditional feudal system with far more powerful armed forces.
Especially during the Seventeen-Day War, the emergence of the Thermobaric Bomb combined with the Flying Airship was indeed a testament to the Empire’s military deterrence.
Therefore, for Langton’s major merchants, if the Imperial Center merely enacted the child labor act in a straightforward and crude manner, they might complain like their New Continent counterparts or attempt to use their connections to persuade the Imperial Center to change its decision.
But when the Imperial Center displayed its firm attitude and dispatched the Minister of Trade to communicate with them, these major merchants skillfully recognized the fundamental problem of the situation.
They promptly expressed to the Minister of Trade their willingness to cooperate with the Empire, resolutely execute every law enacted by the Empire, and provide more investment support to the Northern Territory.
This outcome was certainly not what the major merchants wanted, but under the threat of the Imperial Center, these major merchants dared not act recklessly.
After all, although the Imperial Center consistently uses diplomacy before force, the major merchants are uninterested in testing whether the Steam Knights are as formidable as legend suggests.
Compared to the Imperial Center, the actions Perfikot initiated in the Northern Territory are considerably more astonishing.
Captain William, in Perfikot’s name, mobilized a Flying Airship carrying two detachments of Steam Knights directly to the New Continent.
Upon reaching New Shaker City, Captain William summoned the merchants in Perfikot’s name to convey her attitude and will.
He ordered these merchants to immediately abandon their protests and accept the legal management of the Northern Territory.
This stance was, in fact, Captain William’s last attempt to resolve the dispute through peaceful means.
Although he hoped to achieve a result that would impress Perfikot, avoiding warfare was preferable, since Captain William indeed felt reluctant to resort to outright slaughter.
But apparently, these merchants did not understand Captain William’s goodwill and intentions, choosing to continue hoping for negotiations with Perfikot, demanding she retract her child labor act.
To reinforce their bargaining power and persuasion, these merchants predictably as Perfikot anticipated, "incited" the workers in their factories, presenting a stance to battle it out with the Northern Territory.
Some even shouted before Captain William, demanding Perfikot come to "negotiate" with them personally.
Although at this time the news of the Imperial Center enacting the child labor act had reached the New Continent, to these merchants, as long as they could "persuade" Perfikot to rescind her decision, even the laws issued by the Imperial Center would lose their authority and deterrence in the Northern Territory and New Continent.
It was a beautiful vision, but in reality... they were greeted only by the iron fist of the Steam Knights.
In just half an hour, all protesting merchants were captured by the Steam Knights and escorted before Captain William.
This was still under Captain William’s order not to be rough with the workers, the efficiency achieved by the Steam Knights.
Seeing these merchants quickly tremble like quails under the intimidation of the Steam Knights’ iron fist, Captain William’s initially slight compassion had completely dissipated.
He merely waved his hand, and ropes were hung from the street lamps, then all merchants were strung up.
"This is the fate of those who resist the Empire and the Lord of the North. Everyone must abide by the Empire’s laws," Captain William stated to the workers’ representative under the street lamp.