Lord of Industrialization

The formal establishment of the Elbe River Convention Organization still has a lot of specific work to be completed, among which the Elbe River Bank is the most critical.

The people who took action in the banking system under Frederick were all members of the Averardo family. Giovanni, the president of Wesson Bank, could not move and would be responsible for the Postal Bank in the near future. At the same time, he decided that the daily work of the Postal Bank would be left to him. Son Cosimo Abelardo was in charge.

The position of president of the Elbe Bank was held by Dibici Abelardo, Giovanni's brother and deputy and the father of Vanessa, Frederick's chief secretary.

Frederick explained the development plan of the Elbe River Bank to Dubic in the office. After that, Maria came to the office as scheduled.

"Sit down." Frederick pointed to the sofa opposite. Today was the first time in so many years that Maria came here without being caught and held by him.

It was also the first time for Maria to have such a conversation with Frederick. She felt fresh and nervous, for fear of saying the wrong thing and disappointing him.

Frederick poured her tea, then silently walked to the office door, knocked twice, and said loudly: "If you continue to eavesdrop, I will deduct your salary!"

The next moment, there was a noise outside the door.

Today was the first time that Maria came here wearing an executive outfit of a white shirt and a black jacket and long skirt. Vanessa and other secretaries were so gossipy that they crowded outside the door and eavesdropped.

Mainly because in the past, Maria didn't talk about business when she came over. The secretary would always see them hanging together when she came in. Today, she came in her work uniform, and everyone thought that Frederick was playing some new trick.

Frederick sat down opposite Maria, saw her sitting upright, picked up the teacup and said, "Don't be nervous, I won't eat you."

Maria's face turned slightly red, having been eaten out by him here before.

Frederick had just talked a lot with Dubic, drank some tea to moisten his throat, put down the tea cup and asked: "How is the comic book business recently?"

When Maria heard that it was about her business, she felt a little relieved.

"The business of comic books is very good now." She is very familiar with her business. "Now the "Invincible Detective" series is the most popular. Five books have been published since last year, and a total of 50,000 copies have been sold in various languages. .”

"The "Knight of the Red Eggplant" series has just released three volumes, and 40,000 copies have been bought. It will soon surpass "Invincible Detective".

"There are six books in the "Three Owls" series, but they sold a little less, a total of 30,000 copies."

"Only the first volume of "The Young Man and the Sea" has been released, and the first batch of 5,000 copies was sold out just the day before yesterday."

…

Frederick listened attentively. He had read the comic strips mentioned by Maria recently. The ones that sold well were the product of a long-term strategy for managing one character.

The "Invincible Detective" series is based on real cases. It tells the story of a muscular man armed with a buckler and a revolver who battles wits and courage with gangsters to solve crimes. It is very popular among citizens.

"The Knight of the Red Eggplant" is similar to a traditional knight novel. It is mainly based on Richard Nall's early travel experiences. It tells the story of a wealthy knight wearing a red tin can who goes fishing in various places while defeating bullies, exposing conspiracies, and picking up girls. The story is very popular among young people.

"The Three Owls" is for children. The protagonists are Harry who wears glasses, Ron who loves to eat chicken drumsticks, and Hermione who can kill a cow with one punch and various accidents that happen in school and family life. Frederick also saw the principal who was good at wielding the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, and Psyche's name in the screenwriter list.

There are very few books specifically for children these days. They are very popular among children as soon as they are released on the market. However, there are still not many parents willing to pay for them. A comic book can be circulated two streets.

The story of "The Young Man and the Sea" comes from the bragging of old sailors at the Seamen's College. The prototype of the protagonist's ship is the Flying Tulip. The squid that can drag a ship into the water, the singing siren, etc. in the book satisfy the inland people's expectations. The imagination of the sea has great potential.

The publishing house has more than these works, and the sales of scattered works and works on safety education, agricultural technology, etc. add up to even more impressive numbers.

After introducing the sales volume, Maria said: "These comics are generally very popular at present. Businessmen have increased a lot of orders, and the sales volume can be even higher in the future."

“Publishing houses have also started to openly solicit manuscripts, and the remuneration is not low.”

"As you requested, I added new changes in the comic strip that are different from other places, as well as new products that have appeared."

"In the first part of "Invincible Detective", five pages were devoted to the introduction of Lord All Might's calculator. Typewriters also appeared frequently. His orders suddenly increased a lot."

Frederick smiled and followed the topic and said: "More than that, I have learned that antiseptic soaps including sulfur soap were promoted in the comic strips, and the soap factory also received more orders."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. With the sales of comic books, product sales will increase, and people's living habits will also change. Now many places have begun to impose fines for spitting."

"Not just comic books, novels, dramas, etc. also have this effect. They can promote our products, our culture, and our lives."

Maria immediately understood what Frederick meant and asked: "You mean that the newly established department is mainly responsible for promoting the principality?"

Frederick nodded and said: "I am going to let you establish the Ministry of Culture. Propaganda is only one of the main tasks of the Ministry of Culture. The government will allocate funds, part of which can be used to encourage novels, prints, dramas and other literary arts through essays or competitions. The work promotes the corresponding theme.”

Maria nodded.

These days, literary and artistic workers all rely on rich people such as nobles to make a living. Only by creating things that Party A's father likes can they have food. If the sponsor doesn't buy it, they will starve to death, so in her eyes, this approach is normal.

Frederick continued: "Propaganda is not only external, but also internal."

"The second main job of the Ministry of Culture is to establish and manage the library system."

“We have the Edelweiss Great Library and the city has book bars, but it’s not enough.”

"My plan is to build a public library of moderate size in every town and a reading corner in the village hall."

"The third task is that the existing drama performances will also be managed by the Ministry of Culture, and the performances must be gradually promoted to the countryside during leisure time."

Frederick said so much first, without going into details. There are many things that require Maria to find problems by herself at work and think about how to solve them, so that she can develop her work ability.

Maria had been listening carefully, her brain under her long black hair running at high speed.

She was the goddaughter of the Grand Duke of Mainz. She was very favored. She had no shortage of money since she was a child, had adequate food and clothing, and had status. What she lacked was the opportunity to perform on a higher stage.

The various departments of the Wesson Duchy's government are famous among the rulers' circles, attracting countless people to imitate them.

Now that Maria had the opportunity to form a new department and be on a stage that was different from the past, she suddenly felt a lot of pressure and was a little afraid that she would mess up.

"Don't bite your lip." Frederick immediately reminded her when he saw her biting her lip nervously. "If there are any marks from her bite, Vanessa and the others will definitely say that we are not talking about business anymore."

Maria's face suddenly turned red, and she wanted to throw the sofa at her.

Frederick continued: "Don't be afraid of making mistakes. There are many mistakes in various departments, but they are just not reported. Just correct them in time when you find them."

"I'm going to go out and go to the Helvetia Federation to discuss the garlic potion. Then I'm going to the Kingdom of Gaul to get a title of nobility, and then I'm going to visit the dark land in the north."

"During this period, you can do your best and let everyone see what you are capable of."

Maria gritted her teeth and said solemnly: "I have accepted this task. Don't worry, I will definitely be able to do it well."

Frederick laughed, went to the cabinet and took a document and handed it to Maria: "Here are some of my ideas for your reference."

Naturally, he would not let Maria start from scratch and slowly explore.