212 – Midterm Check (1)
And two months later, I ordered baron and higher nobles and their families to come to the Duchy of Orléans, which I had conquered.
If you are a noble with a title of baron or higher, you might think it’s a bit strange to invite even their family members….
In order to properly design the future occupation of the Elaine Empire, it is necessary to consult with them often for a year, because during that time, I thought that being separated from my family was too harsh.
Also, no matter how much Franchi and we made a secret pact… From their point of view, it is a situation where we do not know whether we will attack the real Elain Empire or not.
In such a situation, if the king gathers baron or higher nobles and family members and shows me that he is in Orléans Castle, I will be able to have confidence that I will really attack.
Apart from that, when high-ranking people come in groups, the economy is revitalized through the consumption of a huge amount of food and luxury goods, and there is also a dripping effect in which the speed of reconstruction of the Orléans estate rises like crazy.
In the case of other territories, bailiffs and inspectors of the territories might take advantage of the absence of nobles like this, but I don’t know if they’ll do something like tax embezzlement…
In my kingdom, because of Ella, tax embezzlement is regarded as a crime against me and is immediately executed. If you incite a serf to commit treason, it is common knowledge that the serf will immediately kill you, so there should be no problem.
Still, as I was writing down my thoughts on dispatching an inspector just in case, I heard a knock on the door of my office and the voice of an escort.
“Your Highness, Queen Irina and her children, Lady Ella, have arrived.”
“Open the door.”
The door was wide open, and Ella, Irina, Victoria, and my son William, whom I had born during the last Eastern Expedition, entered the room.
My 3-year-old son, William, toddles with her arms outstretched, asking for a hug with a bright smile and without shyness, as if he had forgiven her apologetic father for a long time.
I jumped up from my seat and ran to him, putting my hands in his armpits and hugging him.
“Didn’t you listen to your mother and be kind?”
William smiled at my words and responded in a lively voice.
“Yeah, just like Dad said, I listened to Mom well and ate bread every day! Dad?”
“Sure. Dad ate well, worked hard, and thought a lot about William and Victoria’s mothers.”
I talked as if nothing had happened because my wife and children were watching, but when I went from Blueport to Esters, I almost died.
I had to ride like the other knights, but I shouldn’t have run at the front with a flag to raise the morale of the soldiers…
Although it is already in the past, the thought suddenly came to my mind that it was for no reason.
From Noble mtl dot com
” Victoria, how are you? Irina, Ella, how are you?”
“Yes, although I was a bit disappointed that Her Highness was not there.”
“How are you! I studied hard while my father was away, so now I can read books by myself. I also learned how to bake cookies from my mother. Learning anything new is so much fun.”
“We were comfortable in the palace, so there is no need to worry.”
In the past, after Irina got married, she continued to treat me lightly as if she were a friend, but after I became the king, she began to use her honorifics.
Even so, her personality has not gone anywhere, although she always presents a majestic figure.
“I’m glad everyone looks healthy. I will be here for a while, so we can stay together.”
Irina said in a voice that seemed concerned about me.
“Then please don’t overdo it for a while. According to Lord Balt, all the other knights rode horses from Blueport to Esters, but I heard that he ran alone. I also heard that he was bedridden for several days due to overexertion. Why don’t you contact us right away, and what if you get seriously ill or die? Me too, but Ella, Victoria, and William… “
If it was another kingdom, even if the monarch, the king, dies, it will continue to run anyway as long as the successor is alive.
As proof of that, the Elain Empire, which I have torn in half, has been in civil war for nearly 10 years since the death of the emperor, but the empire remains.
The reason why this happened was also because the emperor went on a grand expedition with the mindset that instead of losing his mind and stabilizing the empire, he could win and pay back.
However, the kingdom of Creutel, which I created, is enduring only with my existence. Therefore, I must live unconditionally.
“I’m sorry. I should have saved myself a little more… I didn’t think of that.”
“It’s okay because you’re safe like this. But in the future, don’t do that. Now everyone sit down. I’ve been baking cookies with Ella and Victoria here. Try them. “
As the saying goes, I am currently in a situation where I need a break, and a fairly long break at that.
Especially, no matter how tired my body can be, I have been through a crisis where I felt like I would lose my humanity while planning and participating in countless wars.
And if you lose your human side once, you may not be able to go back.
“Then I’ll take a week off for the first time in a while. Aristocrats with titles, starting with the Baltic, continue to petition for rest… It just went well.”
And if I don’t rest, the other nobles who haven’t seen their family in a while will notice and won’t be able to rest.
Ella and Irina put cookies and tea on the table in my room, picked up the cookies with her hand and put them in my mouth, as she had done a long time ago, and said:
“Eat one. Victoria said that she would give it to Her Highness, and she kneaded it herself with her tiny hands… hehehehe It must be delicious.”
Victoria watched the scene where Ella took the sweets to her mouth, and her eyes twinkled as she stared at me.
I’m just not talking, but I’m sure he wants you to compliment him on how delicious he is after eating.
I ate a snack from Ella to repay that intention.
It was delicious with the unique savory taste of almonds, the unique softness of milk, and the sweetness of sugar that harmonizes everything.
After finishing her snack, I reached out my hand and stroked Victoria’s hair, moving her face from side to side like her cat.
It was really cute because it seemed to resemble her childhood Ella.
“It was really good. Thanks, Victoria.”
Victoria and Ella smiled brightly when they heard that, and she said as if she couldn’t stand Irina watching, blushing and bringing her sweets to her mouth near mine.
“I learned this from Ella and baked it myself. I’m sure it will be delicious… Try one.”
I usually bake cookies with Ella, but I’ve never been fed like this… After hearing that I passed the risk of death, are you trying to be more active?
As soon as I ate the snack, I could feel the unique sweetness and sourness of the jam unlike Ella’s.
I heard there are many desserts with jam among the dishes of the royal court in the north. Did they make them like cookies in the north?
“Thank you. These cookies taste a bit different from Ella’s. This one is also quite delicious.”
I couldn’t say that and stroke her hair the way I had with Victoria, so instead I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle pat and wrapped my arms around her.
She didn’t reject my touch, she leaned her own face on her shoulder. She was warm The warmth of her family, which she hadn’t felt in a long time, came deep into her heart.
Like that, my family was able to have a good time while eating tea and snacks until late at night, applauding the story of the children who had been there, and William and Victoria’s fun party.
**
A week after vacation, the temporary King’s Office at Orléans Castle
As soon as I got to work, I immediately sat down at my desk to do some administrative work to rebuild the Orléans region into an excellent rear logistics base.
Then the Baron of the Court of Lorraine, who came with the papers in front of me, began to report.
“I thought the Duke of Orléans would have ruined the territory after being defeated in the last expedition… Thanks to the use of all his family’s wealth, the estate was not so impoverished. He also introduced the half-way Sayun method, and is also focusing on producing special products such as silk, bowls, and wood, so they are in better condition than the two counties of Akitel and Iris.”
When I was preparing for war the other day and researching the Duchy of Orléans, the situation in the territory was not so bad, so I had a question…
I didn’t think that in such a crisis situation, he would have prevented the crisis of the territory by giving his property.
If the Duke of Maxburg followed this man, things would be better than they are now.
“However, the level of devastation in the territory is less than what we expected. If the Duke of Orléans ruled this territory until next year, it is highly likely that a popular uprising would have occurred inside. In particular, although not enforced in the direct jurisdiction of the Duke of Orléans, vassals with other territories imposed taxes such as death tax, first night rights, farm implement tax, and livestock tax on cattle and horses, raising the actual collection rate to about 75%.”
You’re going crazy… I can’t believe that a phenomenon where your annual salary is cut into 1/4 is actually happening.
Is that the only way to finally fix this problem and rebuild this place?
“Around winter next year, the French Empire will try to gather an expeditionary force in the Marquis of Pres. Therefore, it is necessary to rebuild this place in order to somehow stabilize it and invade the Duchy of Brussels through the County of Ferias.”
“Yes. But maybe that’s easier said than done….”
“Isn’t it much better? It’s fortunate that we are implementing the 4-rotation method. Taxes should be normalized here as well at the level of the home country. Necessary finances should be supported by central finance. From now on, create jobs by carrying out a lot of social infrastructure work here, from road construction to supply warehouse construction.”
Hearing that, Lauren looked at me with an uneasy look, as if she had a hunch that a job bomb would fall on her.
And that premonition will come true.
“Apart from the minimum manpower necessary for farming, provide civil engineering jobs for the rest of the serfs and citizens. Provide three meals a day and sprinkle one bag of barley a month to those who did not inherit the right to cultivate.
Also, until the expedition goes on, nobles of baron or higher and their families will remain, so hire some servants to serve them. Then things like money and grain will circulate throughout the territory, and the situation will improve.”
The dripping water effect doesn’t work in Korea, but no matter how much I make our kingdom a good country for the people to live in… 70% Of all production is concentrated in the nobility, which is 1% or 0.5%.
So, since 99.5% Live on less than 30% of money and food, what if all nobles’ property is legally concentrated in the Orléans region?
The food and money that the people living in the territory can live in abundance are supposed to fall down.
“However, if there is a caravan that gets caught selling girls from serfs who are not slaves, I will kill them painfully myself, so please take note. At the same time, among the debts owed by the Duke of Orléans, the debts of the upper ranks based inside the duchy must be repaid from the kingdom’s central treasury as of the present time. The rest is the responsibility of the expelled Duke of Orléans, so negotiate in our favor as much as possible based on that.”
If this is done, as long as the food production base is not destroyed, the Duchy of Orléans, or the Orléans region, will be rebuilt in an instant.
That’s right, because now I’m bringing in tax cuts, special tourism and ceremonial businesses due to the residence of noble families, and even special infrastructure construction.
If this place goes well, it might be a good idea to leave it here when William grows up.