Chapter 10
"Young Master Medici, we're approaching Fucecchio."
I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep even with my eyes closed in this extremely uncomfortable carriage.
Had I fallen asleep without realizing it?
"It's a complete rural backwater."
If the blast furnace for melting iron ore and the reverberatory furnace for turning pig iron into steel were exposed, our business would be over.
Strictly speaking, the Duke, who had taken the leading position, could maintain his advantage, but compared to when only the Duke was replicating steel, the profits would be drastically reduced.
According to the law of supply and demand, if other families jumped in, there would be too much quantity, and steel would become dirt cheap.
That's why I asked for a countryside where no one visited.
The village was really small.
"How many people live in the village?"
"70 households, about 300 people in total."
While the level of civilization and social structure fluctuate between medieval and early modern Europe, the population density and numbers are reminiscent of 19th-20th century Europe.
Was it because the land quality is better in this other world than the Earth I lived on?
"300 people is neither too few nor too many."
"And there are 200 people, including the artisans who moved here to work in the ironworks and their families, living a bit apart from here."
By 21st century Korean standards, one might wonder why they lived separately.
However, in the common sense of the Tuscan Empire, this was natural.
Artisans were firmly middle-class citizens, while serfs were on the level of butchers and slaves in Joseon terms.
It's a bit uncomfortable that people of the same kind build such walls between themselves, but I didn't particularly want to say anything about it.
I was not a fighter for democracy, and I didn't want to get my neck cut off for advocating innate human rights or equality for all.
Moreover, considering the variable of ironworks technology leakage, it might be better for those unrelated to the artisans to be separated.
"This is the ironworks."
Since the factory wasn't operating yet, acrid black smoke wasn't rising from the chimney.
However, upon entering, I saw people busily moving around, centered on the supervisor.
"Did you throw the concept in the trash? I told you to apply the clay thicker there!"
"Ack, I'm sorry!"
"Does saying sorry end your life as an artisan? Do you want to quit being an artisan and farm instead?"
"It won't happen again!"
The way the artisans moved was reminiscent of a military barracks.
The supervisor was like a drill sergeant, the skilled artisans below him were like corporals or sergeants, and the rest were like privates.
The Tuscan Empire being a class-based society is one thing, but artisans have such strict discipline probably because their job involves using strength and handling fire.
The supervisor grumbled while overseeing the work.
"Really, this isn't some ghost play. How can iron pour out of just a dirty big chimney and a furnace like a fireplace? It's common sense that steel is made by hammering crappy iron."
Until the advent of reverberatory furnaces or crucible smelting methods, steel was indeed made by hammering.
So those words weren't against common sense.
Of course, now it's time to wake up from that outdated thinking.
"Where is Supervisor Dario Smith?"
At those words, the supervisor looked me up and down and asked politely.
"Who are you to be looking for me?"
"I am Fabio de Medici, the second son of the Medici baron family, who devised the facilities for this ironworks."
He stared at me intently.
If I were a young master lacking in thought, he might have considered it disrespectful for a mere artisan to act this way towards me, a second son of a baron family.
However, even in Florence, artisans leading large workshops were at least 'city council candidates' guaranteed a lifelong low-ranking noble position.
As the person in charge of the Duke's masterpiece factory, he essentially had influence rivaling that of a knight title holder.
His actual value was even higher.
Moreover, when production and office workers were in conflict, didn't the company become hopeless?
It should be fine to overlook this level of eccentric behavior.
"This foolish ironworker has committed a discourtesy in front of such an esteemed person."
"What are you saying? How can a precious artisan and supervisor who will be responsible for the steel demand of the Tuscan Empire be lowly? That's disrespectful to His Grace the Duke, so don't say such things again."
"Thank you."
In a fantasy novel, there would surely be a scene where the artisans shed tears and express gratitude just for me saying such things.
However, that's just fantasy.
Think about it, if we get a job at a big company and the chairman says at the new employee training, "You are all as precious as my sons and daughters," would there be any new employees who truly believe and are moved by that?
Or would they just think, "Oh, that's what they say," and move on?
Moreover, I'm not even a duke, just a second son of a baron family, so it would be strange to give them a moving speech.
So at times like this, you have to use 'money'.
But in a way that boosts morale as efficiently and surely as possible.
"How is the construction progress going?"
"We've already finished the reverberatory furnace, but the blast furnace for melting iron ore will take a bit more time."
"Was there some problem?"
"If we make the blast furnace according to the specifications you provided, heat will leak out when we light the fire. So we're reinforcing the walls more. I think this level of design change shouldn't be a problem."
In the end, the most important thing for a blast furnace shaped like a chimney is its height.
As long as the height is maintained, honestly, I have no reason to interfere carelessly.
"That level of decision is naturally within the supervisor's authority. Rather, you've complemented what I thought wrongly. I should give you a reward on behalf of His Grace."
I took out one gold coin from my pocket and handed it to the supervisor.
It's a large sum even for artisans who earn much more than ordinary commoners.
It seemed money can indeed buy people's hearts.
"On a personal note, why did the supervisor come here? It seems hard to find an artisan as skilled as you even in Florence. The same goes for the other artisans."
The reason why relatively skilled artisans came to this remote countryside was actually quite obvious.
The supervisor must have been driven out after losing a political battle while competing for the guild master position in Florence or another big city.
The other artisans probably came because they had no money, or were rejected by the guild saying they weren't qualified to open a workshop.
"I once owned a blacksmith shop in Florence with about 30 artisans. However, that Pietro bastard, who was less skilled and less handsome than me but had the backing of Duke Sforza, falsely accused me and got me expelled from the guild."
Even in 21st century Korea, a city council member was quite a high-ranking person.
They had enough power to make people in places like district offices or fire stations tense just by showing up.
Let alone the position of guild master, which received noble treatment for the time being and could print money through tributes from blacksmiths belonging to Florence?
No need to say more.
Of course, a bloodless war was bound to break out.
"Because I was expelled from the guild, I couldn't work as a blacksmith anywhere else. I had some savings, so my wife and children didn't starve... but becoming a useless freeloader was really..."
The guild, created to protect the interests of merchants and industrialists.
Being a guild member was equivalent to obtaining a license in our country.
But what if your membership was revoked? Like someone whose license was revoked in Korea, you become unable to do anything.
Moreover, to obtain a new license, you had to live as an unpaid slave called an apprentice for over 10 years.
"Thanks to His Grace the Duke taking me in when I was barely scraping by, I finally found a way to make a living. So I will definitely repay His Grace's kindness."
"Are the others in similar situations?"
"Yes, they're all guys who became unemployed because the guild prevented them from opening new workshops. They're definitely skilled."
Even when given the same food, the weight of gratitude felt by a full person and a hungry person is different.
A hungry person considers the person who gave them food as a lifesaver.
A full person only considers the person who gave them food as a kind person who bought them a meal.
If you're going to bestow the same favor anyway, it's obviously much more efficient to bestow it on a hungry person.
The Duke must have thought the same.
"Alright, then let's do this. Gather everyone except those doing urgent work."
The supervisor looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Whatever past you all had is completely unimportant to His Grace the Duke. I strongly agree with His Grace's intention. So I will only ask one thing of you."
As I held up one finger, everyone looked as if they couldn't believe it.
"Produce steel from the ironworks. If you follow my design, you will undoubtedly obtain an amount of steel you couldn't even imagine."
These were facts already proven by the history of 21st century Earth.
It would definitely succeed.
I've staked my life on this.
"I'm confident in your success. So as proof of that, I'll distribute gold coins differentially according to your rank. Five gold coins for the supervisor, three gold coins for the foremen, and one and a half for regular artisans."
To make employees work hard, you just need to throw money at them.
Because this world hasn't yet introduced the advanced civilization of work-life balance.
"I've staked my life. You too, stake your lives to repay His Grace the Duke's kindness. Then His Grace the Duke will bestow wealth and glory upon you."
After that, the artisans began to work as if they were literally grinding their bodies away.
Still, I wouldn't let them work to the point of death.
If they did, we would lose the treasure that were skilled technicians.