Chapter 22

Chapter 22. The First Step Toward Reform (2)

Because most of the bandit groups had been wiped out, the supply of metal had temporarily increased by a huge amount.

We had brought back all the bandits' weapons, along with every metal object that had been used in their mountain hideouts.

Thanks to that, there was almost no shortage of materials for making metal taps and buckets.

And because the blacksmiths were busy handling the large orders I had placed, the entire blacksmith district was full of energy.

I stopped by one of the smithies with Diego.

The blacksmiths were startled when they saw my face and hurried over.

“Oh my, my lord. What brings you to a humble place like this?”

“Nothing in particular. I merely came to check whether the goods are being made properly.”

The blacksmith pointed toward the men busily hammering away.

“We're giving them top priority, so you don't need to worry. They're simple items, so we'll be able to supply them quickly.”

“I appreciate your hard work. Thanks to all of you, our territory will be able to develop a little further.”

Words of praise were free.

There was no need to be stingy with them.

“Oh my, it's an honor.”

Before placing the bucket order, I had introduced standardized dimensions and division of labor to the blacksmiths, and they had accepted the idea surprisingly well.

To be honest, buckets weren't complicated enough to truly require standardization or specialized labor.

Still, I wanted to test the territory's production capacity, so I had decided to accept only standardized goods made through divided production processes.

I looked around the smithy, but there was nothing in particular worth criticizing.

Of course, part of that was because I didn't know much about metalworking in the first place.

“I'll send wagons every day, so make sure you pay attention to both supplying the finished goods and maintaining their quality.”

“Of course. I'll personally inspect everything.”

“Thank you. I'll leave it in your hands.”

The blacksmith looked deeply moved by my words of thanks.

His eyes were even beginning to tear up.

There was a reason his reaction was so intense.

I was basically the idol of this territory.

Was being blessed by a god really that big of a deal?

The rumor that I had received the blessing of the God of Abundance had spread throughout the entire territory, and because of it, I had become something like Marcel's superstar and idol.

I had thought I understood why Mother had been so happy about it.

Apparently, I hadn't understood at all.

No matter where I went in the territory, it was easy to find people praising me.

I even occasionally saw people praying toward me as I passed by.

Anyway, thanks to receiving the blessing of the God of Abundance, public support for me had become firm.

However, it still wasn't enough to completely win over the lower nobility and small-capital merchant class.

After all, I was still young, and I was the “illegitimate son” of Count Westfalen.

There were bound to be people who doubted my abilities because of those two facts.

That was why I had needed to act quickly.

I reorganized the administrative structure into the more efficient Germania Empire style, greatly increased the number of official positions, and announced a new round of recruitment.

On top of that, I used the property confiscated from corrupt officials to pay all the overdue salaries of the civil servants and knights.

With those two policies, I expected the support of the lower nobility to naturally follow.

But winning over the small-capital merchant class required a much more drastic decision.

An administrative meeting was held at the Marcel lord's residence.

“I will promote Ricardo, the former administrator's aide, and appoint him as the new administrator.”

I had spent some time searching for a suitable administrator from outside the territory, but there hadn't been anyone appropriate.

In the end, partly to reduce resistance from the existing officials, I decided on an internal promotion.

Instead, the administrator's authority would be distributed among the senior secretary council directly under the lord.

Ricardo, who had already received advance notice from me, rose from his seat and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, my lord. I shall devote myself with the resolve to grind my bones to dust—”

“We're busy. Sit down.”

“Yes, sir.”

Quick-witted Ricardo immediately sat back down.

“I'm going to introduce several policies to stimulate the economy. Implement them exactly as instructed.”

“What kind of policies?”

“First, the tax system will return to what it was during the previous lord's time. All unnecessary taxes will be abolished.”

No one even responded.

It was something everyone agreed with.

Some of those taxes had already stopped being collected anyway, so they had effectively become meaningless.

“Next, Captain Adrien of the regular ship will be elevated to the lower nobility and given the surname Asel. This is a declaration that we intend to place greater importance on maritime activity in the future. The blessed regular ship will also be renamed ‘Benedicta,’ meaning blessed, and it will be designated as the lord's ship.”

That decision was also understandable.

Captain Adrien had already been receiving treatment equivalent to that of a knight.

But then—

“I also plan to shut down every private auction house and establish publicly operated auction houses.”

The officials looked at one another in shock.

The administrator, in particular, stared at me with his mouth hanging open.

“You're shutting down all the auction houses?”

The small merchants were the people financially supporting the poor territory of Marcel.

Several officials seemed convinced that if those merchants left Marcel, the territory would collapse almost immediately.

“My lord, the merchant companies and wholesalers will strongly oppose this.”

“That's why we'll choose a date and hold a public hearing with the representatives of the major wholesalers and merchant companies. Inform them in advance.”

“…Understood.”

The officials wore reluctant expressions.

They probably wanted to keep doing things the old way out of habit.

But this territory needed reform.

Even if that reform caused resistance from those with established interests.

Like most cities, the building capable of holding the greatest number of people was the church.

The Church of Marcel, God of Abundance, was currently busy preparing for the public hearing.

A large banner hanging at the front read:

[Public Hearing Regarding the Establishment of Public Auction Houses]

Judging from the wording alone, it sounded like we were going to exchange opinions and negotiate with one another.

But around the platform stood heavily armored knights in full plate armor, along with soldiers holding pikes.

The message was obvious.

Cause trouble and we'll kill all of you.

The intimidated merchants gradually filled the seats.

Once every invited merchant had arrived, one official loudly announced,

“The ruler of the Marcel Territory, a man blessed with exceptional leadership and wisdom, one who tirelessly devotes himself to the territory and its people, and who constantly seeks a path toward their safety and prosperity—”

“Shut up. That's enough.”

I interrupted the official and stepped forward.

Then I went straight to the point.

“I plan to abolish the private auction houses and establish public auction houses.”

—Murmur, murmur.

It genuinely sounded like the entire room was making the words murmur, murmur.

That was because everyone was deliberately muttering too quietly for me to make out what they were saying.

Most of it was probably cursing me.

One merchant suddenly raised his hand.

“Who are you?”

“I'm an agricultural produce wholesaler, my lord. Why are you consolidating the auction houses?”

“Because of taxes and high prices.”

“We can't afford to pay even more taxes. Please withdraw the proposal!”

If this were a territory ruled by a violent lord, those words alone might have gotten his head chopped off.

But even after the wholesaler risked his life to say them, I merely smirked.

“Who said I was increasing taxes?”

“Pardon?”

“The tax collected through the auction houses will be fixed at ten percent of the value of the goods.”

All the merchants stared at me in shock.

The current taxes ranged between twenty and forty percent depending on the product.

In other words, I wasn't saying I would raise the tax.

I was saying I would lower it.

“There will only be four categories of auction houses: agricultural products, livestock, seafood, and miscellaneous goods including spices. All auctioneers will become civil servants. We'll secure large auction sites and allow wholesale shops to operate inside them.”

“How will merchants be selected for those shops?”

“Each shop will be awarded through a public auction. The lease period will be two years. Naturally, subleasing and key money will be prohibited.”

It was basically a simplified copy of Korea's agricultural and seafood wholesale market system.

The merchants began murmuring again.

“His Lordship has certainly made a bold decision.”

“Indeed. We'll still have expenses, but they'll be much lower.”

Aside from a tiny minority, most of the merchants seemed to believe the new system would actually be better.

Until now, they had suffered from the private auction houses' fees, high taxes, and officials demanding bribes.

Money had leaked out from everywhere.

But under the new system, they only had to pay a ten-percent tax and some rent.

Of course, my real goal wasn't to make life easier for the merchants.

I had lowered the tax in order to bring every transaction into the official economy.

The rate was now low enough that people wouldn't need to take the risk of turning to the underground economy just to avoid taxes.

If taxes decreased, trade would naturally become more active, and prices would stabilize as a result.

On top of that, public auction houses meant that every official transaction would now be taxed.

So even if the tax rate became lower, the total amount of tax revenue would actually increase.

And the rent for those wholesale shops wouldn't be as cheap as the merchants were imagining.

After all, a public auction was still a competition based on price.

Prime locations were bound to be sold for enormous sums.

The only thing that had really changed was that instead of private auction houses collecting those location fees, the lord would now collect them.

Plenty of merchants probably realized both of those things.

Still, from their perspective, it was a good deal.

“Does this mean Marcel is finally becoming a territory where it's easy to do business?”

“What should I do with all the money I'll save? Maybe buy a new wagon. Sixty-month installment plan.”

“I'll hold a discount event. You'd better watch yourselves, gentlemen. Hahaha!”

Everyone was chatting cheerfully when one merchant raised his hand.

“My lord, I operate a private auction house. What am I supposed to do now?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Well… because I'm about to lose my livelihood…”

“Go ask your father.”

There was a reason I answered him so coldly.

According to the investigation I had carried out beforehand, every merchant operating a private auction house was either a relative or subordinate of a major merchant from outside the territory.

In other words, Marcel's wealth had been flowing out of the territory through those auction houses.

Then, suddenly, someone shouted loudly from a corner of the hall.

“Those outsiders are the ones ruining Marcel! Go back to your own territories!”

“Drag them out!”

“Kill them! Cut off their heads!”

They were agitators.

Of course, I had planted them myself.

I had borrowed the idea from professional agitators at Korean shareholder meetings.

The merchants were already slightly excited, so the crowd was swept up almost immediately.

“Kill those bastards!”

“Cut off their heads and decorate the auction house with them!”

“Longswords for sale! Four silver coins!”

The atmosphere became heated in an instant.

The private auction house operators quickly began fleeing.

I ordered the soldiers to control the excited merchants.

There was no need to spill blood right now.

Those bastards would come looking for me soon enough.

Secretly.

At night.

After all, in this world, stabbing someone who interfered with your livelihood was considered perfectly normal.

A few days after the public hearing.

Deep in the night.

There were two large windows in Eric's bedroom.

One of them silently opened, and two figures slipped inside.

They looked as though only their shadows had entered the room.

It was an assassin technique called [Shadow Concealment].

The two shadows moved toward the bed, drew their daggers, and began stabbing down into the blankets.

—Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

A strange sensation traveled through their hands.

“Brother, this isn't a person. We've been tricked.”

“Run.”

Realizing they had fallen into a trap, the shadows sprinted back toward the window they had entered through.

Then they jumped outside.

—Shrrrrk!

But a net opened directly beneath them.

“Aaaagh! Brother!”

“Ah, we're screwed.”

Even an expert would have trouble defending himself in the middle of a jump.

The assassins were caught inside a net made of wire.

Soon, knights and soldiers carrying torches appeared.

“You assassin bastards, what took you so long? We've been staying up for nights waiting for you.”

—Whack! Whack! Whack!

A merciless beating began.

“Please spare us! We'll tell you everything! Who hired us, everything!”

“We're supposed to beat you first.”

“Who said that?”

“The lord.”

—Whack! Whack! Whack!

The soldiers were enthusiastically beating the assassins when Eric appeared.

They immediately stopped.

“Did you take their weapons?”

“Yes, my lord. They were carrying daggers.”

“They should have poison needles too.”

At my words, the assassins pulled out something resembling small sewing kits from inside their clothes.

“The poison needles are here, my lord. Please, just spare our lives.”

Once the soldiers collected the poison needles, I crouched down so that I was at eye level with the assassins.

“What guild are you from?”

“The Nightmare of Nightmares Guild, my lord.”

The words What a lame name rose all the way to my throat, but I held them back.

I wasn't particularly fond of personal insults.

“Where did you come from?”

“The Catalonia Territory, my lord.”

Since I had already investigated the situation beforehand, it didn't take long to figure out who had hired them.

“I already know who sent you. Testify at the trial.”

“What? You're going to spare us?”