Ch.160Bread and Circus (2)

“…What’s going on here now?”

The merchant from the Empire blinks in confusion at the completely transformed atmosphere of Dijon.

Is this really the same peaceful Dijon he knew?

Just a few years ago, though busy and complex, it had exuded an extremely peaceful atmosphere. Now, that former ambiance is nowhere to be found.

“Defeat the Empire!”

“Repay His Majesty’s kindness!!”

“Hmm…”

What are these soldiers doing… No, I’d better not get involved with the soldiers.

A group of citizens is openly causing a commotion in the middle of the city, but what they’re advocating is fighting against the Holy Empire and Albion, who have shown hostility toward His Majesty. From the military’s perspective, this is perfectly reasonable, so they’re reluctant to suppress it.

“Are you from the Empire?”

“…No, I’m not.”

While observing the aggressive procession from a distance, suddenly someone behind me asks in an extremely angry voice.

It’s certainly not the tone one would use when speaking to a stranger for the first time, but I can’t point that out as all eyes have instantly turned toward me.

“Your accent and clothes look like you’re from the Empire.”

“That’s… because I’m from Linerant.”

“Is that so? Well… alright, you can go.”

“Haha… thank you for your hard work…”

Linerant is territory that the Empire ceded to Rotaring during the Holy War in exchange for Rotaring’s funds and mercenaries, and the Imperial language is widely used there as the official language.

The Imperial language is fundamentally different from the language widely spoken in Rotaring-Caroling, so when a native Imperial speaker tries to speak Rotaring, it sounds very unnatural and draws attention. Just like this merchant.

‘…That was close.’

The merchant who lied about his origin breathes a sigh of relief.

Besides Linerant, there are many regions within Rotaring territory where the Imperial language is used, but those places are all so obscure that it would have been difficult to convince these people.

…Tsk, I don’t like this.

Picking fights as they please and ordering people around as they please—Dijon was never like this before…

“…Huh?”

As the merchant laments this situation, hoping Dijon will soon return to its former state, he suddenly notices a change in the crowd’s atmosphere.

People who were just moments ago shouting and making noise have instantly fallen silent, as if they had never been rowdy at all. The soldiers couldn’t calm them down no matter what they tried, so what happened?

“Make way, everyone!”

Following the crowd’s gaze, the merchant sees a group of soldiers cutting through the crowd.

No, rather than soldiers, are they knights? Their armor is incomparably better than that of ordinary soldiers, which draws even more attention.

“That’s…”

And one more thing—the knight at the front of the group is holding a rolled parchment. Judging by its gold-trimmed edges and considerable size, it’s no ordinary document.

“Excuse me, what’s happening?”

Of course, no matter what, it’s impossible to understand by common sense why a crowd that was so excited and shouting just moments ago would suddenly become so quiet.

The merchant carefully approaches a kindly-looking elderly man to ask about the current situation.

“It seems a new royal decree has come down from the palace.”

Fortunately, the merchant’s judgment was correct.

The old man explains the situation without showing any hostility toward the merchant speaking with an Imperial accent from an enemy nation.

“The citizens suddenly becoming like this is all because of His Majesty’s decree. Well, it was more like a declaration than a decree.”

“I see…”

The merchant has never seen this decree in person. He’s only heard that the decree was filled with emotion, but finds it hard to believe that Dijon could change so drastically because of just one decree.

Of course, even if it’s hard to believe, the results were right before his eyes until just moments ago, so he can’t deny it.

“Well, I should be going now.”

“Aren’t you curious about that decree, sir?”

“I am curious, but with all those eyes focused there, how could I see it? Anyway, everyone will be talking about it loudly in the streets, so even if I don’t see it with my eyes, I can hear it with my ears.”

“Haha, you’re right about that.”

While the merchant and the old man are conversing, the decree brought by the knights is posted on the bulletin board in the square.

Until the knights finish posting the decree and leave, not a single citizen dares to move. As soon as the knights are a good distance from the bulletin board, the citizens all rush toward it at once, as if by prior agreement, to check the royal decree.

“Is it war?”

“What has His Majesty… What?”

“Horse racing?”

“Did they say horse racing?”

However, the excited citizens quickly cool down and become confused.

They had expected to find a response strategy against nations like Albion or the Empire that had united to attack Rotaring, but instead, the decree was about hosting a horse race.

“It’s nice, but…”

“Hmm…”

Horse racing is certainly popular. In the medieval era, where public executions are the only decent entertainment, horse racing is almost equally exciting.

Moreover, since those entertaining executions have long been changed to methods that are neither fun nor thrilling due to His Majesty’s decree years ago, horse racing could now be considered the greatest form of entertainment.

However, that’s one thing, and this is another.

Wasn’t everyone openly talking about fighting against the Empire and Albion until just recently? This decree seems completely out of the blue.

……….

“What’s the reaction?”

“Everyone seems disappointed.”

The plan to build a large racetrack on the outskirts of Dijon—to manage military horse breeding, divert citizens’ attention from politics, and incidentally collect taxes—has gotten off to a rocky start.

Citizens do enjoy horse racing, but they completely fail to understand why it’s being held at this particular moment.

Until recently, there were rumors about Albion and the Empire invading, creating an uneasy atmosphere. For the people, the most important news would be about Albion and the Empire, not horse racing, yet I suddenly played the horse racing card.

Even those who love horse racing wouldn’t understand.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if they’re disappointed. They’ll all come to watch anyway, won’t they?”

“I suppose so. Even when executions became less entertaining, people still came to watch. There’s no reason to skip horse racing.”

In the medieval era with few decent forms of entertainment, one can assert that nobody would miss the chance to watch the precious sport of horse racing.

Even in the modern era filled with all kinds of entertainment, some people prefer horse racing to TV or games. How could medieval people, whose only entertainments are executions and sex, resist horse racing?

“We should make general admission free, and wait a while before selling betting tickets. It’s still too early for that.”

Of course, if the state openly promotes gambling from the start, it would certainly lead to criticism.

Anyway, tax revenue is a secondary goal. The main objectives are to divert people’s attention from politics and improve military horse breeding, so it’s fine if profits are somewhat reduced.

……….

“…Quite a crowd has gathered.”

The merchant from the Empire is surprised in many ways.

When the horse racing decree was first posted, everyone was puzzled and tilted their heads in confusion, but now there’s no trace of such reactions among the citizens at the racetrack.

Of course, that’s not the only reason for his surprise.

“Woooow!!”

“How big is it?”

Of course, a racetrack needs to be spacious… but isn’t this excessive?

A wooden platform one story high has been installed at one corner of the track, with seats arranged for spectators. The seats rise toward the back so that even those sitting in the rear can properly view the race. It reminds one of ancient gladiatorial arenas.

“No more seats?”

“Well, we can just watch from here then.”

Despite being built so large, it still can’t accommodate all the people who have come to watch the horse race.

While staying in Dijon, the merchant had clearly heard many cynical comments like “Why horse racing of all things?”, “Is it appropriate to hold horse races at a time like this?”, and “So what’s happening with the Empire?” Yet, as if those words were lies, there are incredibly many people here.

Well… it can’t be helped. Horse racing isn’t something you can see every day, after all.

Of course, individual horse races can be seen relatively often, but such formal, large-scale horse races can only be witnessed on special occasions like royal weddings. There’s no reason not to watch such a large-scale equestrian event when given the chance.

“…Hmm.”

I think I understand the king’s thinking a bit.

When I first heard about the sudden horse race, I thought the king had become obsessed with luxury, but seeing this, it makes perfect sense.

Generally, it’s better when commoners don’t take an interest in politics. Looking at recent events in Dijon, the commoners were trying to get too involved in political matters.

Using horse racing to divert the commoners’ attention while simultaneously training cavalry—it’s something the Rotaring king, notorious for his cruelty, would think of.

‘…I have one more thing to report to His Majesty.’

The merchant from the Empire—no, the imperial spy disguised as a merchant—commits to memory the content he will report to the Emperor.

Well, they were acting as if they might invade at any moment, but judging by this, they won’t be coming for a while.