The nobility of the Toscan Empire is basically akin to a reserve public servant.
Even the Emperor, when he calls upon a Duke, Marquess, or Count, can drop a parachute appointment at any time.
“The Emperor oversees the entire Empire, while nobles below the Duke can only manage their own jurisdictions.”
So, when I suddenly got appointed, the city hall staff weren’t surprised or refused my presence…
However, such unexpected events aren’t common in our Empire, so my underlings looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“I am Fabio de Medici, Young Baron, appointed temporarily as the Chief of Police and the Powder Production Department starting today. You are all now members of the Police Department and the Powder Production Department based on your original affiliations.”
Everyone looked dumbfounded at the sudden transfer order.
Well, since it wasn’t a usual time for personnel changes, it must be quite shocking to be stationed in departments like “Police Department” and “Powder Production Department,” which didn’t even exist before.
Still, perhaps they understood that I had the Emperor’s favor.
Despair wasn’t visible on their faces.
“Usually, moving to a department that never existed in any era isn’t a good sign for public servants.”
Of course, a new department created through the powerful will of a lofty figure can be seen as a promotion opportunity, but still…
“There’s a valid question on why there needs to be a separate independent agency when Powder Production originally falls under the Ministry of Military Affairs, and a higher institution like the Police Administration exists to manage urban security. So let me explain it one by one.”
At my position, I could honestly just command the public servants there around with a nod.
The Emperor’s favor, the Duke’s backing, aiming for powerful positions in the guild, solving issues related to military supplies and procurement.
With just a bit of muscle in those areas, I could easily request “cooperation” from department heads, making it sound like a “command.”
But I prefer not to, as explaining why you are making someone do a task tends to be more efficient.
“First, I am in charge of Powder Production to test a new method of producing gunpowder.”
At that, the man assigned as my departmental aide asked a question.
“So, are we also required to supervise the collection of soil from around the toilets, walls, and ceilings?”
The folks here are equivalent to public servants above grade 5 in Korea.
In terms of social status, it’s fair to say that a doctor calling a monthly salary of ten million won meager can be viewed as a ‘not-so-great doctor.’
Such individuals might protest against being told to go around collecting manure.
‘I bet if I were a Count, I’d have faced the same complaints.’
“You just need to organize the paperwork. You do have plenty of subordinates beneath you, right?”
I’ll send the subordinates under them to supervise the site; collecting manure won’t be a task for soldiers but for someone else.
‘It’s already unfair to drag soldiers into this; making them collect manure for a meager pay crosses the line.’
“Upon reviewing the powder production process, I realized that soil, which is the raw material for gunpowder, can only be collected from highly polluted areas filled with manure and urine. This leads me to wonder if the real raw materials for gunpowder are not soil, but actually manure and urine.”
The raw material for gunpowder is potassium nitrate.
And potassium nitrate can be found most abundantly in manure and urine.
It took humanity 400 years to figure this out after starting to use gunpowder.
But why should I have to go through all that trial and error?
“So instead of going through the hassle of gathering dirt, I thought we should collect manure and urine to experiment with.”
While that might involve some challenges, I have a rough idea of how to manage it.
If we scale it up immensely and conduct experiments, we can see results within a year.
“The most important task we have is this. Now, you might wonder why we’re also intertwining with police duties. That’s because we plan to assign the job of collecting waste to the poor.”
From previous reports, I heard that in the city where I assigned military supplies, the number of artisans has dwindled, and they’ve resorted to kidnapping the impoverished from the guild to work as apprentices.
In the past, apprentices were treated poorly since they lacked family, but the impoverished do have families, thus receiving at least some wages.
Eventually, they would become respectable middle-class citizens.
This beautiful endeavor had the city’s mayor and the noble baron in tears.
By allowing the impoverished to contribute in dirty and dreadful work while also rescuing them from crime, isn’t providing them a job akin to the best welfare?
“Welfare is meant to keep those who cannot work from starving and to help those who can work to do so normally.”
It’s often the case that people with their faculties receiving welfare and merely subsisting points to a flaw in the welfare system.
“By providing jobs to the impoverished, won’t the public safety improve? Which is why we are combining police work as well.”
Here in the Albania Continent, or in this era worldwide, the impoverished have virtually no viable jobs outside of crime.
If one manages to hold positions viewed as jobs for the impoverished, like porters or laborers, then they are considered commoners, not impoverished.
The impoverished are seen as thugs or prostitutes, with virtually no options otherwise.
Leaving them in such circumstances isn’t a kind thing to do.
“Moreover, since both manure and urine are essential materials for gunpowder, it would be unacceptable for them to be left lying around on the streets. So it’s also our duty to create public toilets in low-income areas and keep an eye on those who stealthily relieve themselves.”
Scenes like this often appear in isekai reincarnation stories.
“Wash your hands to avoid getting sick! So please cleaning yourself and disposing of your waste!”
Just a few words like this can cause people to follow along, and before long, the effects actually manifest…
People might feel the results, sure, but honestly, how inconvenient is it to not throw waste on the streets, and would they truly follow along with just one phrase?
‘Moreover, the impoverished, or citizens, living below middle-class levels lack even proper toilets.’
“They are offenders against national law, but if we punish all of them and lock them up, the prisons will burst at the seams. So you all need to collect ‘appropriate fines.’ Don’t collect too much or beat them up; just enough. If complaints come in, His Majesty will be very angry.”
Collecting some coins or tokens during the fine process could be forgiven.
However, trying to extract silver and gold coins while half-killing them crosses the line.
“If you bother the innocent, enforcing the regulations will become tough. If you touch innocent people, all of you will get a tour of the High Court prison. The Chief Judge there is quite friendly with me. Oh, and I can easily get into the Duke Visconti’s mansion too. And this is an imperial decree.”
It’s all true.
And the High Court prison is akin to a central intelligence bureau.
Unless you have a certain social standing, even being innocent will usually lead to some broken limbs.
Getting locked up for interfering with an imperial decree?
I’ll probably gulp mushroom soup by the pot.
‘As a final warning, this doesn’t exactly earn the sympathy of others, so be careful.’
“The most important thing now is to gather personnel to collect manure and urine, so prepare to head to the slums. We’ll do this properly, so bring along about two companies from the Florence Defense Force. Make sure the officers wear uniforms.”
Honestly, even a single platoon would suffice, but ‘providing jobs to the impoverished’ is considered a virtuous act in this era.
And to achieve success, it’s wise to perform good deeds in a flashy manner that everyone can see.
Blowing trumpets and dressing stylishly is the etiquette.
That way, good rumors will spread.
“Just the assistant head will remain for now; everyone else, get ready to go out.”
I beckoned to the assistant head remaining as per my command.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed he looked about 5-7 years older than me.
It seems this gentleman is also from a baron’s family, either the second son of a baron or the first son of a baron family serving in the legal profession starting his public career.
If he is the head of the legal baron family, he could easily rise to my position or deputy director rank just by maintaining average performance, while the second son of a baron family might have his limit set at my level.
‘He must be really hungry for advancement.’
“Assistant head, let me get straight to the point. Do you want to rise through the ranks?”
“Yes, indeed.”
There’s not a single person in our Empire who wouldn’t want to advance.
Even a mere soldier becoming a non-commissioned officer would drastically change how serfs treat them, and bureaucrats, just moving up one rank, would see a monumental shift in how they are treated.
“As you know, I am only temporarily serving as the chief. So I will step down once the work is complete. But what do you think will happen to this organization once powder production stabilizes?”
No need to say it; it will definitely grow.
Currently, it’s just the Powder Production Department, but later it might expand to something like the National Powder Production Agency.
“It doesn’t matter who sits in the director’s chair, as long as a knowledgeable person runs the department, things will run smoothly. Once the organization expands to a national level, there might be 4-5 positions for department heads… Unless the Mayor of Florence is an absolute fool, you’ll undoubtedly…”
I intentionally left my words hanging.
“Promotion to department head is confirmed. At your age as a head, if you perform well here, you could definitely rise to director.”
From the director level onward, one is regarded as a ‘key bureaucrat’ in the Empire.
It’s the flower of success.
“Let’s get along well. And if there’s anyone dissatisfied, make sure to handle it accordingly.”
With that, I handed him a significant amount of money.
“After managing your subordinates, give some of it to those who perform well so they can work. That’ll help you gain a promotion as well. Now off you go.”
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