Ch.246Prisoner (2)

“Your Majesty, are you truly alright with this?”

“What do you expect me to do!? Are you saying I should have paid that ridiculous amount in full!?”

The minor nobles of the Empire, who had lost all their prisoners due to the Kingdom of Lotharing’s absurd conditions, were in an uproar.

They had barely managed to return to their territories after paying expensive ransoms, but they never dreamed that such high ransoms would be demanded for mere peasant serfs taken as prisoners.

“That’s… not what I meant.”

“Then keep your mouth shut! Nothing is more terrible than opposition without alternatives!”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

These are nobles. It’s common knowledge that nobles are wealthy and live noble lives.

But that’s incorrect. The image most modern people have of nobility was largely formed during the late Renaissance and early modern period, by which time revolutions were already brewing.

In other words, many lower nobles of the medieval period lived rather unglamorous lives, contrary to modern perception.

Compared to other farmers of the same era, they certainly lived luxuriously, but the standard of luxury merely meant being able to eat delicious food to their fill or stay warm during winter.

Of course, they had their noble birth status, which was incomparably precious, and the power that automatically came with it, but still, the living standards of medieval nobles were quite low compared to modern perspectives.

“Tsk, if you understand, then you may leave.”

“I’ll take my leave.”

There were nobles who lived luxuriously by modern standards due to owning wealthy territories or large domains, but such nobles were the minority.

Due to the characteristics of the feudal system with its nearly infinite division of inheritance, it was common to find barons who owned villages with barely 100 residents as their title. How pitiful is that?

Of course, the nobles who lost their prisoners to the Kingdom of Lotharing weren’t that weak since they could conscript serfs as soldiers, but even so, they merely owned a few more villages, so their weakness remained unchanged.

*Creeeeak*

“…Damn it, now… now what do I do?”

As soon as the vassal closed the door and left, the minor noble who had lost his conscripted serfs to the Kingdom of Lotharing collapsed onto his desk, cursing.

He clenched his fist, desperately trying to think of some solution to this situation, but naturally, he couldn’t come up with any good plan.

Because his territory was poor.

“Ugh… I shouldn’t have participated in the war.”

Having a small territory means that each person is an extremely valuable human resource.

In other words, for such minor nobles, each serf is an incredibly precious asset, and Claude took away these precious assets by demanding an absurdly high price.

It wasn’t simply that the nobles were too stingy to pay the ransom because the price was too high.

For nobles who owned small and poor territories, the ransom Claude demanded was physically impossible to pay. They simply didn’t have the assets to pay.

Having already paid ransoms that easily exceeded their territories’ annual income just to return to the Empire, plus war reparations, minor nobles had no means to bring back their conscripted serfs, unlike nobles in better financial situations.

Credit or installment plans? Claude didn’t allow such options at all.

Claude isn’t generous enough to allow credit payments to foreign nobles whom he can neither trust nor send troops to collect from.

Credit payments are a privilege only granted to domestic nobles, from whom one can forcibly collect by leading troops if they default.

[—While it’s unfortunate that you’ve lost your conscripted serfs, I have no obligation to resolve this issue.]

“Haaaaah…”

Recalling his lord’s reply from a few days ago, the noble sighed deeply, unable to lift his face from the desk where he had collapsed.

He was simply despairing over the damage that even his eldest son wouldn’t be able to fully recover after inheriting the title, but he never dreamed that failing to retrieve the prisoners would turn into a blessing.

……….

“How is the recovery of the prisoners going?”

“Except for a few, it’s proceeding smoothly. From the circumstances, it seems the serfs who were suffering from malnutrition before arriving here have been starving for a long time, so their recovery is slower.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

I remember being amazed despite myself when I saw the level of the Empire’s conscripted soldiers on the battlefield. They were all so scruffy that they didn’t match my standards for soldiers at all.

Well, even from a distance I could tell they weren’t normal, so naturally their health would match their appearance.

“Well, if things are going smoothly except for those guys, that should be fine. The more people, the better—they’ll be useful in many places.”

A long time ago, when a holy war was raging in the Empire, refugees from the Empire entered Lotharing, which shares a border. At that time, the country’s situation wasn’t good, and there weren’t enough direct territories to accommodate them all, so they weren’t accepted. But now, the story is very different.

Human trafficking… no, I’ve collected ransoms, and before that, I sold titles, so the country has plenty of money. Of course, the temporary halt in reservoir construction also plays a part in this, but the fact remains that we can easily accommodate about 30,000 people.

‘…But where should I deploy them?’

A full 30,000 people. And they’re able-bodied men who can work anywhere once they recover their health.

This is certainly a good thing, but from the perspective of commoners and farmers, it’s as if 30,000 competitors suddenly fell from the sky, which is very troublesome.

If I release those 30,000 people into farmland, it will lead to a drop in grain prices, harming farmers, and tenant farmers will have to compete by raising their rents. If I release them into cities, workers in handicraft factories will have to compete by cutting their own wages to keep their jobs.

‘But from my perspective as the one managing the country, not from individual perspectives… this is too good.’

However, if grain prices fall, maintaining cities and population becomes easier, and if workers’ wages become cheaper, the surplus profit can be invested or used to lower product prices, increasing competitiveness.

In other words, I have to make a choice.

Should I use the Imperial people efficiently for national interest, or should I handle them with careful consideration to guarantee my people’s livelihoods?

“…It’s the latter.”

The answer came surprisingly quickly.

Even if I pursue national interest more here, Lotharing has already risen to a sufficient position without having to go that far, and above all, isn’t the purpose of a nation to protect its citizens?

If we were a backward country in urgent need of industrialization, it might be different, but we’ve already risen to become a great power, and in the leisurely medieval era, I don’t feel the need to pursue national interest at the expense of the people.

“Pardon?”

“Ah, no, I wasn’t talking to you, Ellen. Just talking to myself, please forget it.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Seemingly displeased that I was lost in thought while she was right in front of me, Ellen responded with a slightly dissatisfied voice as she slowly nodded.

…Well, Ellen’s reaction is justified. It’s natural to feel displeased when someone starts thinking about something else in the middle of a conversation.

Ahem, it’s a bit uncomfortable, so I should quickly redirect the conversation.

“Ellen, I’m planning to isolate the prisoners, help them recover their health, and then deploy them to develop unexplored lands. What do you think?”

“That is… well, I only know medicine, so I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I understand that developing unexplored lands is several times harder than farming on agricultural land, so it would take much longer.”

“That’s fine, it doesn’t matter if it takes a long time. Just do your best to help them recover their health.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I decided to deploy the prisoners to develop unexplored lands, as it takes at least three years for new farmland to affect existing farmers.

Above all, Lotharing’s stockpiled resources are sufficient to sustain them until they recover their health, and by the time crops start growing in the unexplored lands, the stockpiles will be depleted, which will also help stabilize prices.

The plan was excellent. It minimized the shock of the sudden increase in labor force to a level that wouldn’t harm the people of Lotharing and Caroling, and in a few years, the amount of arable land would increase.

“…An epidemic?”

However, when an epidemic broke out in the camp housing the Imperial people, the carefully laid plan instantly turned to bubbles.

So far, only 30 cases have been confirmed, but since one person with an epidemic can infect hundreds, this isn’t a sign to relax but rather a signal that it’s just beginning.

Above all, the symptoms are alarming.

Patients whose joints creak throughout their bodies feel pain and severe cold, but in contrast, their body temperature is terribly high. Rashes appear on their torsos, their tongues are covered with brownish-yellow coating, and most complain of constipation, causing everyone to suffer tremendous pain.

…What is this?