Chapter 460: The Royal Dilemma IV

Northwest Bay?

"That shouldn't be a problem."

The Foreign Minister said in a relaxed tone.

"The lords in the northwest have always been very submissive to the royal government. I think they will cooperate with the royal government to implement the blockade strategy against Giles, and they will restrain the merchants under their rule."

The Minister of Military Affairs suggested: "We purchase more steel and ordnance from the Northwest Gulf. The products there are cheap and easy to use, so that skills can save money and can make up for some losses in the Northwest Gulf."

The king nodded in agreement, "Then do it like this."

The Chancellor went on to suggest: "The Cloud Mountains also produce tea and valuable timber, and we should support the industry there to balance the shortage of goods caused by the blockade of Giles."

The suggestions were recorded by the clerk, and the high-level officials of the kingdom prepared a tight net for Giles.

The meeting eventually returned to the unavoidable topic at the beginning - how to arrange the southern nobles at this stage?

The king sighed helplessly: "I'm going to take part of the land from the king's territory and give it to them."

All the ministers present were shocked.

Rupert persuaded anxiously: "Your Majesty, this is not acceptable. According to the number of families of the southern nobles, the land of the king's territory will not be much larger than a principality after the division."

The king explained to everyone: "This is how I think about it. Only some influential families are selected to grant territories, and they cannot be armed. Well... let's take the top third in order of influence."

The land in the king's territory is far more fertile than in the south, and he doesn't believe that part of the nobles will refuse.

"For the middle third of the family, the adult men of the family are assigned a position in the military and government departments, so that they have something to do, but the salary should be slightly improved on the basis of the existing allowance."

"The remaining one-third of the minor nobles. Alas... let them fend for themselves."

…

After Catherine left the meeting room, she walked down the corridor of the palace depressedly, and she planned to go to the garden to relax.

Just as she passed a corner, a hurried figure collided with her.

"It hurts, hurts, hurts..."

A pretty figure crouched on the ground covering its head.

"Really!"

Catherine helplessly helped the person in front of her.

"Irene, you are too reckless, what about your demeanor as a royal princess?"

She scolded her sister a little reproachfully.

Ever since she ran to the Northwest Bay, this little princess has been a little careless.

She looked her sister up and down.

"You just came back from school?"

At this time, Irene was not wearing a court dress, but a simple and neutral dress, with platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail and thrown behind her head.

She was dressed like this when she ran to school.

That was the school she built herself. The little princess did all the site selection, architectural design, and hiring of teachers herself.

What is puzzling is that all of the students are from civilian families, and a large proportion of the children in the lower grades are abandoned orphans. It can also be said that this school also has the function of an orphanage—this Like a monastery that doesn't teach theology.

The cost of running such a school is naturally not low, but as a princess of the kingdom, Irene was born with her own fief, and the harvest there can provide most of the funds, and her little sisters also donate to the school from time to time .

"Forget about manners and school! Sister Wang, Sister Wang, I'm going to see my father immediately."

At this moment, Irene was like a jumping canary, with guilt and anxiety mixed on her face.

Catherine raised her face, put her hands on her hips, and asked with a frown, "What happened to make you lose your composure, first tell me, did you get into some trouble again?"

Seeing being misunderstood by her sister, Irene shook her head like a rattle, "No, no, alas, my dear sister, I can't say a word or two, I have a letter here, you can read it yourself, this is my friend in Northwest Bay sent."

Catherine took a piece of paper from her sister.

"My dear friend Betty..."

At the beginning of the greeting, Catherine glanced over it.

Betty, that's my sister's name in Northwest Sound, and she knows it.

What followed caught her interest.

"At the time of writing this letter, at a meeting last week, the Statistical Committee headed by Earl Gardner put together a data showing that the maternal mortality rate in the Northwest Gulf was as high as more than 20% four years ago. Not necessarily accurate, because the Statistical Committee had not yet been established at that time, this was obtained by the statisticians through interviews with the families of the children, but it should be exactly the same."

"I was stunned when I first came across this data. It means that one in five women who are about to become mothers will lose their life forever. It is really horrific. The Statistical Committee recorded the sample when it collected the data set. —they called the interviewees like this—the family background, the data show that whether they are rich or poor, whether they are aristocrats or commoners, the maternal mortality rate is extremely high. Family first, but overall not much difference."

"If you ask a midwife doctor, you will know that women who have just given birth often suffer from a fatal disease - puerperal fever~www.readwn.com~ Many mothers have high fever, chills, and pain in the lower abdomen Unbearable, struggled and howled, and finally passed away tragically. This is the terrible price that human beings have to pay for reproduction in the past."

"However, according to statistics from the Statistical Commission, the maternal mortality rate has begun to decline year by year in recent years. Do you know where the dividing point between these two situations is? I think you should be able to guess it quickly if you are smart."

"Yes, it is the pamphlet that we co-edited, that is, the pamphlet used to promote hygiene, which records the various disinfection measures proposed by Earl Gramain. After microscope proof, these measures are all It is practical and effective. Now, through the statistics of maternal mortality, it should be possible to speculate that the so-called puerperal fever is also caused by infections caused by microorganisms that can only be observed with a microscope. Thinking about it, this is indeed the case. After giving birth Aren’t the women in the field the same as the wounded soldiers on the battlefield? In the previous battles of the Arda army, similar disinfection measures can greatly reduce the fever rate of the wounded soldiers, so it should also be effective for pregnant women.”

"Earl Graham has used administrative power to promote the New Life Movement in his territory in recent years. Doctors everywhere have also been compelled to understand the contents of this pamphlet. I think this should be the main reason for the reduction in maternal mortality."

"Dear Betty, I hope you can exert your influence in the royal circle of nobles..."