Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 177: A Dilemma of Choices

In the northern residential area, several clerks from the city hall were posting new notices on the bulletin board.

At this time, the workers had finished their shifts, and those preparing to go to night school had not yet set out, making it the busiest time of day.

A crowd quickly gathered in front of the notice board.

"The Lord’s engineering team is recruiting again."

"Again? Are there really that many things to build? If you ask me, they should be recruiting soldiers first, aren’t we preparing for war?"

"That’s true. Why haven’t they started recruiting soldiers yet? What’s this? The new church is recruiting followers?"

"Ages eighteen to forty, healthy, no criminal record, physically strong, even require literacy? Why is the bar so high for followers?"

"Hey, look closer, they’re paying the followers!"

"Paying? The church is paying followers?"

"My uncle works at city hall. I heard from him that this so-called recruitment of followers is actually just recruiting soldiers. This church was founded by the Count and is called Imperial Truth."

"Is that for real? Would the Church of Candlelight allow this?"

The surrounding crowd immediately cast angry glares, and the young man who had just spoken shrank his neck timidly.

"Where was the Church of Candlelight when people starved to death during the wind disaster two years ago? The Count gave us food and even paid us, we’re willing to believe in him."

"Yeah, has the Church of Candlelight ever handed out money to its followers? All they ever do is ask for more!"

"Besides, the Count’s church is called Imperial Truth, I think there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s for the Empire, after all."

"We’re willing to believe in the Count!"

"Actually, Sister Chloe from the Church of Candlelight isn’t so bad. Aside from always urging me to donate, she did send over some medicine last time someone fell ill."

"Still, she’s no match for the Count."

Around the notice board, the crowd broke into heated discussions, quickly descending into noisy chaos.

Soon, the crowd began to disperse.

Most people headed to night school, drawn by the free supper it now provided, just plain porridge, but still enough to attract many.

These people weren’t particularly interested in learning, they just wanted the porridge, but after finishing their meal, they had nothing better to do, so they ended up attending classes anyway.

Gradually, the islanders grew accustomed to going to night school in the evenings.

But tonight, the night school was unusually lively.

People couldn’t make sense of this Imperial Truth matter and eventually decided to ask Miss Zoe about it.

She was known for her kindness and often helped the students enthusiastically.

So whenever people had questions, they instinctively turned to her.

Unable to refuse, Miss Zoe ended up turning tonight’s lesson into an explanation of the new church.

Miss Zoe had once worked at the manor and was rumored to have access to certain special information channels.

She explained that the so-called Imperial Truth was merely an organization for exchanging knowledge and technology.

The so-called followers were simply another name for Castel’s soldiers, and no actual faith was required.

In the end, she secretly told the students that Sister Chloe from the Church of Candlelight seemed interested in Imperial Truth as well and had even mentioned considering leaving the Church of Candlelight.

Everyone suddenly understood and eagerly patted their chests, promising to keep the secret.

The next day, these people spread out across construction sites, factories, and shops.

Word about the Imperial Truth gradually reached everyone’s ears.

That night, when city hall came to recruit church followers, people exchanged knowing looks and rushed forward to sign up.

Everything proceeded smoothly and naturally.

"So, that’s the situation." Alexei closed the notebook in his hand and looked at Hughes behind the desk, wearing a peculiar expression.

He had known there wouldn’t be much resistance, after all, the people of Castel were somewhat blindly loyal to their Lord, but he hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.

Thanks to Miss Zoe’s explanation, not only did people show no opposition, but they actively supported the formation of Imperial Truth.

The first batch of fifty followers was filled immediately.

It was worth noting that this selection process was extremely strict.

As the first military unit formed on Castel, Alexei set the bar high, eliminating anyone who showed even slight physical weakness.

It was also thanks to the abundance of food brought by industrial development.

Since Nini’s fishery had begun operating, the islanders at least had enough to eat.

When Alexei recruited people, he could clearly sense that these were no longer the ragged, downtrodden islanders from before, their energy and spirit had completely changed.

"Good. I’ll leave the training of this batch to you. Once the Scared Canon is finished, begin the drills immediately. We don’t have much time. We also need to accelerate recruitment, both soldiers and followers."

"How many do you plan to recruit in total?"

"At most three hundred. But everyone must undergo some form of military training, every able-bodied adult must at least meet basic militia standards."

Hughes sighed. "There still aren’t enough people on Castel."

Although Castel Island was not small in size, its population was limited.

A few centuries ago, it was just a deserted island, only later receiving its first wave of settlers.

At that time, the entire island had only a few hundred people, consisting of one or two small fishing villages, and it had remained that way for a long time.

In recent decades, with constant wars raging across the mainland, the Principality of Tis in the Empire’s east had been completely destroyed.

Many refugees flooded into Castel, finally giving the island a bit more life.

Even so, when Hughes took over, the population was still under ten thousand.

The exact number remained unclear since conducting a census was a massive undertaking that required time and effort, resources Hughes sorely lacked at the moment.

Population size determines industrial potential.

When Hughes established a new steam factory, the first thing he did was shut down the primitive soap workshop.

It wasn’t that soap wasn’t useful, it was simply that there weren’t enough people.

Even though the proportion of able-bodied adults on Castel was relatively high, it still wasn’t enough to sustain a fully functioning industrial system.

Hughes even had to rely on the Sirens to fill the gap.

Now, wanting to recruit full-time soldiers gave Hughes a headache.

Every additional soldier meant one less laborer in the factories, which meant reduced output of steel and explosives.

Three hundred was the limit Hughes had set for Castel, any more, and the impact on production would outweigh the benefits.

"By the way, how’s the recruitment for the engineering team going?"

"That hasn’t been going so well. Most people prefer factory work since it’s more stable. Once an engineering project is completed, the team disbands. Working longer in a factory might offer a chance for promotion to supervisor, which is pretty tempting."

Hughes nodded silently.

These were all practical considerations, and he didn’t plan to recruit more for the engineering team anyway, after all, cement production was limited and had already reached its bottleneck.

On the other hand, the Sirens had a surplus of underground construction workers and could spare some hands.

But if the Sirens were to work on the surface, their existence would inevitably be exposed.

On second thought, perhaps now was about the right time for that.