In the Yasa world, Bracada has always been the richest force, which is inseparable from Bracada's developed industrial system.
Bracada has a large number of factories and cheap goblins, which allows Bracada to import a large amount of various basic resources, and then process and transform them into high-value-added alchemical items, crossbows, catapults, magic machinery and other cutting-edge products that other forces cannot replicate and sell them to obtain high profits.
In this process, most of the resources are imported, and the people in charge of the work are the goblins who are in endless supply and will never die out.
The mages in Bracada who control the means of production only need to invest very few resources, or even no resources at all, to always support the reproduction of the labor force.
The reproduction of labor force refers to the process of restoring and renewing the physical strength and energy of the laborer himself, as well as the process of the laborer forming a family, giving birth to the next generation, and educating him to become a qualified successor laborer.
Generally speaking, a worker's labor remuneration is not determined by the labor results he creates, but is composed of the following three parts:
The first is the cost of maintaining the workers' survival.
The second is the cost of workers’ skills training.
The third is the cost of workers establishing families and raising the next generation of education.
In Bracada, the cost of maintaining the workers, that is, the goblins, is extremely low. Poor quality wheat, rough barley... Through various worthless foods and a little bit of power, a large number of goblins can be easily hired.
Fairies are a level 1 troop type. They can gain experience through work, and by giving them a little cheap advancement fee, they can master higher labor skills.
Fairies can rely on the power of emotions to reproduce in the void. They don't need to form a family or raise the next generation.
In Bracada, fairies are not considered living beings at all, but just cheap means of production that can inexplicably talk, jump, and run.
These combined make Bracada's labor costs close to zero.
The labor cost approaching 0 means huge profits, and the price difference of almost all industrial products and raw materials is Bracada's profit.
The high profits supported the prosperity of Bracada and also made the average national living standard of Bracada extremely high.
Even if it is just a wizard who has just reached adulthood, he can live a comfortable life relying on the huge social welfare.
With a little control over the means of production - such as owning a factory and some mines, the wizard can live a happy life of revelry every night.
The more upper-class and powerful wizards who have their own wizard towers are even more extravagant and lustful. They have seen too much of the prosperity of the world, and ordinary pleasures can no longer satisfy them.
From beast girls to succubi, and then to various alien species, some wizards are tired of playing with women and even start playing with men... Curiosity and a sense of accomplishment drive these wizards to constantly pursue special delicacies that others have not tasted.
In Bracada, there is a saying that goes like this: the more abnormal the XP of a wizard is, the more financial resources he has.
As one of the top dignitaries in Bracada, a legendary architect who wishes to remain anonymous can perfectly prove this point, although he himself is reluctant to admit it.
However, the once-grand Bracada has not had an easy time recently.
In addition to cheap labor, developed shipping is also responsible for maintaining Bracada's high profits.
Although ironclad ships are not good at fighting, they have no problem transporting cargo.
The ironclad ships with low cost, huge output and good carrying capacity can greatly reduce the transportation cost of Bracada's imported resources. Reducing costs means increasing profit margins, which means earning more gold coins.
However, the emergence of [Port City] completely changed the status quo.
The pirate king Lionheart, who possessed absolute naval power, controlled all ocean trading channels with the help of the Great Whirlpool. He stipulated that all materials transported from the sea must be traded in the port city.
For example.
In the past, Bracada's merchant ships could go directly to Negan, sell the ballistas, and then load a shipload of potatoes back.
It doesn't work now.
Now, if the merchant ships of the nine major forces want to trade, they must transport the supplies to the port city through the whirlpool and conduct unified trade in the port city.
The port city is protected by the goddess of wealth, who will use her powerful divine power to forcibly set a price for all materials.
Under the power of the goddess of wealth, the value of a commodity is no longer determined by the relationship between supply and demand, but by the value of the commodity itself.
Any commodity, whether rare or not, can only earn a reasonable profit.
Let me give you another example.
A powerful enchanted crossbow produced by the Bracada factory. Due to its limited production, everyone wanted it and it could have been sold for a high price of 30,000 gold coins.
However, after the Goddess of Fortune calculated the cost, it was found that the actual cost of the Enchanted Crossbow was only 3,000 gold coins. Taking into account the difficulty of development, the contribution to the Yasa world and other factors, the Goddess of Fortune finally priced the Enchanted Crossbow at 4,500 gold coins.
Originally, Bracada could make a 900% profit from selling an enchanted crossbow, but now it is only 50%.
50% is actually not a small amount. For many products that do not contain enough technology, the goddess of wealth only allows merchants to make 5% to 10% profit from them.
But for the Bracada wizards who are used to relying on high value-added luxury goods and industrial products to make huge profits, this is more painful than killing them.
The huge profit gap is simply unacceptable to the wizards of Bracada. It means that they will have to tighten their belts and give up their luxurious wizard towers, sightseeing airships, manors full of maids and butlers who don't wear underwear, and other high-end enjoyments.
Of course, the mages of Bracada can also choose not to sell, but the consequences of not selling are more serious than selling at a low price.
Bracada simply cannot digest so many industrial products. Unsold goods mean that costs cannot be recovered. If costs cannot be recovered, reproduction will stagnate, a large number of factories will go bankrupt, and the high debts of the wizards will explode.
By then, not to mention maids and servants who don't wear underwear, the mages will even have trouble supporting themselves.
If the selling price is low, the mages can still accept it, but they cannot accept the price increase of resources at all.
For a long time, Bracada has been able to lower the prices of their imported resources by purchasing in large quantities, relying on its technological and military advantages.
Whether it is food or supplies, they can always get them at high-quality prices lower than the market price.
But in the port city, this advantage no longer exists.
With the Goddess of Wealth around, the impact of supply and demand on commodity prices is reduced to zero.
For example.
Potato City has a bumper potato harvest. Too many potatoes are produced. Potatoes have a shelf life, and if they are not sold in time, they will rot.
Therefore, Bracada, which can be purchased in large quantities, can use the advantage of the total amount of gold coins to lower the price.
When supply exceeds demand, goods become cheaper. This is a typical example of supply and demand affecting the selling price.
But with the port city and the goddess of wealth, the potatoes cannot be sold. The Church of the Goddess of Wealth, which has a huge amount of gold coins, can collect them all and use the goddess's divine power warehouse to pause time and preserve them, so there will be no waste.
When there was a shortage of potatoes in the market, the Goddess of Wealth would take out a large amount of potatoes stored in her divine warehouse to balance the selling price.
In this way, the supply and demand relationship will hardly affect the selling price of goods, and the value of the goods will be defined and standardized by the goddess.
For Bracada, which has long relied on various means to obtain cheap resources, the cost of purchasing resources has become higher and the selling price has become lower. With this in and out, not only the profits of their proud industrial products have been squeezed to an extremely low level, but even the cost of their enjoyment has increased.
The impact of the establishment of the port city was immediate for Bracada.
The first group to feel the impact were the large number of ordinary mages in Bracada who had no factories or mage towers of their own and could only work for other high-level mages.
…
Fallen Moon Territory, Mage Guild.
Mage Peru stood in the corridor, pacing anxiously.
Just three days ago, he received a layoff notice from the alchemy factory where he worked and was fired.
Peru never thought that being fired would happen to him.
What he didn't expect was that he wouldn't be able to find a job after being fired.
As an excellent 3rd-level [Magic Alchemist], he is proficient in the magic guidance and line maintenance of magic crystal ore, and has always had an enviable high salary.
Different from those half-baked first-level mages who just graduated, Peru has twelve years of work experience and has never lacked job offers.
The generous salary and the foreseeable bright future allowed Peru to take out a loan early on to buy a luxurious wizard tower.
The day he was fired, Peru was a little stunned but not panicked. He felt he could find a way out at any time.
But after he contacted more than a dozen alchemy factories that had invited him before, he was surprised to find that no one was interested in him, who was once so popular.
This made Peru very confused.
The day after tomorrow is the repayment date.
If he cannot repay the loan, his wizard tower, which he is so proud of, will be auctioned or reclaimed.
The market for Mage Towers is not good right now, and the prices have been falling.
If the price of the Mage Tower is not enough to pay off his loan, all his efforts over the past decade will be wasted, and he will also be burdened with a huge debt.
When Peru thought of this possibility, he felt a sense of crisis and urgency in his heart. The huge emotional fluctuations even reflected in his body, making him feel that he was having difficulty breathing.
"Fulton is so busy. It's not easy to see him."
Peru pulled at the collar of his wizard robe and tried to unbutton the top two buttons to make his breathing easier.
His favorite expensive wizard robe, which symbolized his noble status and was very cumbersome to wear, now felt extremely heavy to him.
The man he wanted to see was named Fulton Kell.
Peru knew in his heart that Fulton's status was extremely noble. He was not only the lord of the Falling Moon Territory, but also one of the core members of the Kaier Family. In the entire southern Bracada, there were few lords of all the main cities whose status was nobler than his.
When the old city lord Kaierfu stepped down, Fulton was able to be elected as the new lord with a 100% approval rate, which was enough to show the depth of the power behind him.
Of course, these are not the scariest things about Fulton.
Peru heard from a wizard who was much more prestigious than him at a tea party that the most terrifying thing about Lord Fulton was that he had an unclear relationship with Lord Xingfeng who came from the royal capital.
Lord Xingfeng's teacher is a permanent member of the Grand Council and one of the most powerful people in the entire Bracada. He himself is also an honorary permanent member of the Grand Council.
Peru, who was of limited knowledge, had no idea what the status of "Permanent Member of the Grand Council" was. He only knew that Lord Fulton knew some important figures whom he would never meet in his entire life.
With such a background, the Lord of Fulton is certainly a big shot that he cannot afford to offend.
If the person who ordered his dismissal had not been the Lord of Fulton, his boss's boss's boss, he might never have dared to say a few words to Lord Fulton in his entire life.
But now, he has been forced into a corner. He can only try his best to find the Lord of Fulton to get things done.
“If I can find out the reason why I was fired and swear to correct my behavior, perhaps the city lord will show mercy and let me return to my post.
If it really doesn't work, even if the salary is reduced, it is better than not being able to survive."
Peru nervously buttoned up his wizard robe again, anxiously awaiting the judgment of fate.
Finally, everyone in front of Peru had left, and he got the chance to meet the Lord of Fulton.
Peru adjusted his attire and, escorted by the guards, entered the door of the city lord's office.
"Oh, I saw you in the report. You must be Peru, the outstanding [Magic Alchemist].
Please sit down and talk."
The Lord of Fulton was fatter than Peru had imagined, so fat that he didn't look like a wizard at all, but he was also more approachable than Peru had imagined.
He looked at himself with a smile, seemingly harmless.
"Reporting to the Lord City Lord."
Peru didn't dare to sit down. He was even worried whether his arrival would waste Fulton's time.
“Yes, I am Peru, thank you for remembering a nobody like me.
Lord Mayor, I was surprised to learn a few days ago that I was fired.
I love my job very much and I always work seriously and conscientiously, not daring to make any mistakes.
I came here to ask if I was fired because I did not do something good enough? I can improve on that. "
"Haha." Fulton laughed as expected. This laughter made Peru very uncomfortable, as if everything about him was seen through.
“Master Peru, you don’t need to be suspicious.
We have to ask you to leave your post temporarily, not because you have done anything wrong, but purely because of the adjustment of the business of the Fallen Moon Lord.
Affected by various factors, our Fallen Moon Territory will gradually transform the city center from an industrial city to a tourist city, and a large number of magic factories will be sold.
The factory is gone, so there is no position for you, so we fired you."
"Sir, why is this happening?" Peru was very shocked. "So many factories, and they're selling them just like that?"
Fulton replied helplessly:
"What if we don't sell it? The Church of Poseidon and the Church of Fortune are so strict now that our factory has no advantage in cost and technology, and the products we make can't be sold at a high price.
Taking into account various taxes, even if I lose money on every sale, it’s better not to sell it.”
The Peruvian was stunned: "This...this...this, it's actually like this.
But why wasn’t the magician Jehovah who lived next door to me fired?
I can confidently say that I am better than him in terms of both work attitude and work ability.”
"Hahaha. Young man, you are still too young." Fulton flicked the cigarette in his hand and said with a smile:
"Think about it, when you were with Jehovah, did you ever see him go to work?"
“This… no.”
"Why not?"
"Because, because Jehovah is the youngest son of the Lord of Silver Wind City."
"Look, don't you know the answer?"
Looking at Fulton's smiling eyes, an indescribable feeling of powerlessness surged into Peru's heart.
His lips trembled twice, and he made a final struggle:
"My Lord, if the Magic Factory doesn't need me, can you arrange another job for me?
As long as I can pay off my loan and support my family, that’s all.”
"Oh."
Fulton gave a half-mocking, half-helpless laugh and shook his head.
He looked out the window, took a puff of his cigarette, and slowly blew out the smoke ring.
Looking at the slowly rising smoke rings, Fulton picked up a bottle of water, placed it in front of Peru, and said softly:
"Your request is easier said than done.
Things are different now. This month, the financial revenue of our Bracada has plummeted, and our Fallen Moon Territory has also been greatly affected.
Peru, look, this is a glass of water."
He took out another empty glass and filled it halfway.
“Most of this cup is for the big shots above.
In fact, the remaining water can be drunk by us, so that we can all live a comfortable life.
But now, the total amount of water in this glass has become less.
What should we do then ?
The water supply has become less, and if the water supply for everyone has become less, then life will be a little harder, but we can still get by."
“Pah.”
Fulton patted his cup and said:
“But this glass of water belongs to those big shots up there.
They haven't had enough to drink, so how can they leave some for us to drink?"
“The total amount was already small, and those big shots still wanted such a big glass of water, so there was only a little water left, not enough to share.
In Peru, if you give more, someone will get less. Everyone is thirsty and wants to drink water, so everyone has to rely on their ability.
You come to beg me, but I'm also busy grabbing water to drink, so I don't have time to care about you.
Do you understand what I mean?"
Peru looked at the shaking glass of water in Fulton's hand and his heart trembled.
He already understood what Fulton meant and why he was unemployed, but he understood something more.
Fulton's short sentence concealed a terrifying fact that made him feel terrified just thinking about it.
He asked tremblingly:
"Lord City Lord, what if all the water is not enough for them to drink?"
Fulton narrowed his eyes and said vaguely:
"Peru, we can only squeeze our blood until we have enough to drink to our heart's content."
…
…
After leaving Fulton's office, Peru's steps became very unsteady.
As a smart man, he has understood the current situation and knows what he should do.
“Sell it. Before they squeeze our blood, go back and sell the Mage Tower. Don’t sell it for too high a price, just enough to pay off the debt.
Then he quickly took his wife and children to the industrial area in the north, to the territory of His Majesty Trosa.
With my type of troops, the only way for me to survive is to go there. "
The moment Peru left the Mage Tower, a woman in a black robe suddenly blocked Peru's way.
"Is it the Peruvian wizard?"
"Who are you?" The other party's aura was too strong, and he was obviously a high-level combat soldier, which made Peru very nervous.
"I am no one. I am just a thief passing by."
The black-robed thief smiled and said:
“Peruvian Mage, our president is the buyer of all the magic factories in the Fallen Moon Territory.
According to our inquiries, you are the best [Magic Alchemist] in the entire Fallen Moon Territory.
We heard that you lost your job recently, and our president is very sorry to hear about that.
Our president wants to meet with you to discuss your [re-employment] issue. Are you interested?"
“President?!”
The surprise came so suddenly that Peru was stunned for a moment:
"President of what association?"
"Wolfs Marine Chamber of Commerce. Our president is named Wolfs."
…
…
The darkness slowly faded away, and Qi Ge slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he woke up, he saw Aged's extremely nervous expression.
"Disciple, are you awake? How is it? Did you succeed?"
Qi Ge laughed cheerfully:
"Teacher, I have accomplished my mission. I have obtained the master-level architecture and master-level design skills."
Agaide was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief:
"That's good, that's good, hahaha! You succeeded in one go, you are worthy of being my apprentice.
Very good, Qi Ge, now you are a qualified master architect."
"Thank you for your guidance, teacher."
Qi Ge sat up from the ground and twisted his body.
If an architect wants to truly become a master, he has to go through a very difficult historical echo.
Even Qige overturned twice, but fortunately it was safe.
He took out more than twenty blank architectural drawings from his backpack and said to Aged:
"Teacher, this is the reward for the Echoes of History. Why are they all blank drawings?"
"Hi?! So many?"
Agaide nodded in shock.
“26, a full 20 more than I had originally.
Apprentice, these blank drawings represent your potential on the path to becoming an architect.
Every blank drawing counts.
Once you become a master architect, you will start trying to create your own buildings from scratch.
This is a journey that every architect must go through.
If you fail to create enough architectural blueprints to start your journey to legend before all the blueprints are used up, you will be stuck at the Master level just like your teacher was before, unable to find a way to break through.
Well, you are the chosen one of Yasha, I don’t know if it will be different, but at least that’s how we are.”
"Ah, it's time to go on a mission." Qi Ge touched the back of his head and said to Aged:
"Thank you, teacher, I understand.
I will wait until I am fully prepared before trying to create my own building."