The two looked at each other for a bit before Seveni reacted. Her reaction was a bit too intense and she couldn't help looking a bit awkward.
"No ….. Don't misunderstand.
Xu Yi, it isn't that I don't like Freya, I just ….. I just feel that the two of them aren't suited. "
Xu Yi doubtfully looked at Seveni, not believing her explanation.
Of course he wouldn't misunderstand that Seveni didn't like Freya, but Seveni's reaction was just too abnormal which made him feel a bit strange.
Feeling Xu Yi's doubtful gaze, Seveni's expression became even more awkward. She opened her mouth, but she didn't explain further. After pausing, she changed the topic.
"Xu Yi, how is the abolition of slavery going in the Principality of Constantine?"
This topic change was too stiff, even Xu Yi was stunned before reacting.
He took a deep look at Seveni before taking a deep breath and giving up on pursuing this.
Seveni's child's origin was very strange and she wasn't willing to announce who the father was, it was clear that she had something she couldn't say.
As a friend, Xu Yi naturally couldn't force her to tell him the secret she wanted to keep.
"Eh ….. It's not going well.
The lords of the duchy aren't willing to turn their slaves into citizens.
They feel that they will lose their slaves and suffer a loss for no reason. "
"That is certain." Seveni nodded.
Seveni nodded, "Xu Yi, actually ….. I also feel that your method this time is too ….. strange … …"
Xu Yi looked at Seveni's hesitant appearance and thought that she must be thinking that he was crazy, but she didn't say it.
"Slaves have existed on the continent for a long time and you want to abolish them, this is equal to challenging the order of the continent.
The lords with slaves definitely won't agree to this idea of yours.
You can forcefully implement this in the Principality of Constantine, but if it was the Lampari Kingdom, this proposal definitely wouldn't pass the kingdom's parliament. "
"What if you were the one to implement it?" Xu Yi tried asking.
"Then the best outcome for our Lampuri Family is to give up the throne." Seveni said with a serious look.
Xu Yi thought for a moment and nodded silently.
"Actually, Xu Yi, you probably know the consequences of doing this, right?
Otherwise, your actions in the Principality of Constantine wouldn't be so anticlimactic, you don't seem like someone who only does half the work. "Seveni asked.
Xu Yi chuckled. "Yes, I've received a lot of pressure and opposition, so I've decided to postpone it. There's no hurry."
Seveni slightly knit her brows, "So I'm even more confused, why did you do this?
You clearly know that this matter is extremely difficult and won't benefit New Flyer, so why are you still pushing this matter despite the opposition of so many people? "
"No, this matter is quite beneficial to New Flyer." Xu Yi shook his head.
"Seveni, have you seen the report in the « Lampuri Weekly »?"
"The one written by Baron Hannas, it's the report that you proposed releasing slaves to free up productivity?
I've seen it and I've seen it more than once. "Seveni said.
"I admit that your words are very reasonable.
Hiring slaves as workers doesn't give you the best efficiency and it might even affect the quality of the products.
But since the slaves couldn't achieve good results when they were doing complicated work, they could just let them do simple work.
No matter what, slaves don't need to be paid a salary, right? "
"Even you don't understand my meaning, it's impossible for others to understand."
Xu Yi shook his head and said with a sigh, "All of you don't understand one thing. Slaves are no different from livestock to you, they don't have any special value.
But to me, they are still living people.
Since they are people, they have the most basic talent for learning.
So even if they are slaves, they have the possibility of increasing their abilities and can't be treated like livestock. "
"You mean ….. You're planning on letting them know the identities of the slaves and letting them receive training, turning them into skilled workers?" Seveni asked in surprise.
Seveni asked in surprise, "Is it worth investing this much in slaves?"
"Why isn't it worth it?" Xu Yi asked back.
"Seveni, let me ask you a question. How many people are there in the Lampari Kingdom right now?"
Seveni was surprised, she never thought that Xu Yi would suddenly change the topic.
After thinking about it, she replied, "I did a count when I took the throne and the total population was around six million and four hundred thousand people."
"These people don't include slaves, right?"
"Yes.
Slaves aren't considered commoners, so they aren't included in the count.
But according to the estimates of the various regions, there are around three million slaves in the kingdom. "Seveni replied.
"Then can you tell me, out of the six million and four hundred thousand people in the Lampari Kingdom, how many of them are actual workers?
And out of the three million slaves, how many of them are actual workers? "Xu Yi asked.
Seveni knit her brows, "There's no way to calculate this."
"Alright, let's not talk about the numbers. Do you think that if we can release all three million slaves and turn them into real workers, wouldn't it be of great help to the Lampari Kingdom?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about?"
"To be specific ….. let's use our New Flyer as an example.
Our New Flyer currently has a total of ninety three thousand people.
I think that whether it is in the Principality of Constantine or the Lampari Kingdom, this number can be considered a very large company. "
Seveni nodded, "Un, in our kingdom, only the Falcao Chamber of Commerce and the Armani Chamber of Commerce have more employees than you."
"But I feel that we're seriously lacking in manpower.
According to my plan for New Flyer, we've calculated that our company needs to hire at least fifty thousand people in the next three years to barely meet our needs. "
"You need this many people?" Seveni asked in surprise.
"What do you want to do?"
Xu Yi pointed to the southeast with a smile, "I should have told you in my letter last time that our company is planning to build several island bases in the southern seas.
Each island base needs at least a hundred people on average, and in addition to all kinds of logistics personnel, our company needs at least twenty thousand employees in this aspect alone. "
"This much?" Seveni's eyes opened wide.
Seveni's eyes widened, "You want to build that many island bases?
What are you planning to do? "
"It's nothing, we just want to use the rich resources of the endless seas." Xu Yi explained with a relaxed look.
"Other than the island bases, our company will keep expanding the market in the future. Once we open the market of the Kandla Empire, the demand will be terrifying.
So we have to prepare ahead of time to increase our company's production capacity. "
"Un ….. Speaking of your company's production capacity ….. Xu Yi, when are you planning on giving me the hundred Magic Airships?" Seveni suddenly asked.
Xu Yi rolled his eyes, "Just wait, the tests for the Magic Airships aren't over yet. It'll be at least next year before they can be mass produced."
Seveni glared at Xu Yi, "When I ordered the hundred Magic Airships from you, you said that you could give them to me at the beginning of this year."
Xu Yi revealed an awkward smile, "This ….. The Magic Airships are different from normal magic machines, the requirements are just too high.
You don't want me to give you these unreliable Magic Airships, right?
Then again, wasn't I just talking about the lack of production capacity? "
"Then what does this have to do with freeing the slaves?
I don't think that those slaves can help you make a hundred Magic Airships as soon as possible. "
"Of course they can't now.
But as long as I have some time to train them, I'm certain that they can play the role they should play.
But it's a pity ….. "Xu Yi spread his hands and said with a helpless look," This damn slave system, the slaves don't have any chance to receive education or training, they don't even have the chance to choose their own jobs.
Moreover, the slaves belong to their masters, so even if I train them well, it will only benefit their masters. "
"Are you thinking of the several hundred slave workers that you trained for the Stagg Family?" Seveni said with a smile.
"It can be considered that." Xu Yi gave a shrug.
When the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was first established, Leslie had sent a hundred slaves to work in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce's factory, grasping a certain amount of magic machine craftsmanship.
Then the Stagg Family sent another three hundred slaves to the New Flyer factory, who also grasped quite a bit of skill.
Later, when the Stagg Family opened their own magic machine company, these slaves became the most important skilled workers and played a very important role.
To Xu Yi, these four hundred slave workers were equivalent to him giving the Stagg Family a wedding dress.
He didn't have a choice back then, but now he wasn't willing to do this kind of thankless thing.
"So you're not as noble as the newspapers make you out to be, you're just thinking about the benefits of New Flyer." Seveni teased him.
"Of course, I'm not a saint." Xu Yi replied with a natural look.
"But what I said is true.
Think about it, these slaves can't do anything in the hands of the lords, but if they were given to me, their value would increase by countless times.
I think that a normal person would know what to choose, right? "
"It's a pity that no matter which lord it is, they wouldn't be willing to give their slaves to you for free." Seveni said.
"Of course I understand this.
So this time ….. I've prepared a very large bait, hoping that I can catch some fellows who are willing to take the bait ….. "
Seeing the proud smile on Xu Yi's face, Seveni blinked in a daze. She thought that this fellow Xu Yi must have thought of another idea.
With her understanding of Xu Yi, since he said that this was a very large bait, the temptation contained in it must be very shocking.