Ch.26Foundation of Reform (4)

The execution ceremony, which had begun with a crowd’s support, ended in silence.

Those who had complained it would be too boring or too quick now stood dazed, seemingly in shock.

Seeing this, Leclerc remarked, “You’ve succeeded in instilling fear…” but I couldn’t say anything in response.

Really? People who thought of executions as entertainment are this affected by merely seeing a guillotine? I didn’t even make the execution particularly cruel.

Anyway, tired of thinking about it further, I decided to end the ceremony and return to the dining hall for dinner.

‘…Today was quite something.’

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

The Duke of Burgundy’s diet is extraordinarily lavish.

Crops harvested from fertile farmland, salt-preserved seafood from the ocean, imported foreign ingredients from the ports—the baseline quality is already different. Additionally, being situated between the Carolingian Kingdom and the Holy Empire, Burgundian cuisine incorporates cooking methods from both nations.

This means the table is filled with diverse dishes, none of which are duplicates, and each one is extravagant.

If I requested, they could serve different meals for each sitting for at least a month.

Wow… the social system is medieval, but why is the cultural level like this?

“Now, where should I—huh?”

This… tastes familiar somehow.

After taking my seat, I first tried some rectangular-cut radish with sauce drizzled on top, but this isn’t an ordinary radish.

It’s harder than a regular radish, with a starchy sweetness—

“Ah, that’s a root vegetable imported from the south. I tried it once myself, and it has a slight sweetness that I thought might work well in a salad—”

“…It’s sugar beet.”

It’s slightly strange to see plants from Earth in a different world, but I never expected to find sugar beets here.

Wait a minute… sugar beets…

Wasn’t sucrose, a type of sugar, made from sugar beets?

Come to think of it, even as a duke, I’ve rarely seen sugar.

That means if I could produce sugar from these beets, I could make a significant profit…

“Chef, did you use all of these beets in the cooking?”

“No, we still have many raw ones left.”

“Good.”

I remember that if you continuously boil and reduce finely chopped sugar beets until they become jam-like, you can somehow make sugar.

Hmm, since I’m not an expert, I don’t recall the details. Funny how I know how to make rockets with sugar but not how to make the sugar itself.

Still, it’s impressive I know this much, isn’t it? It’s not like I’ll be doing the work anyway.

“Chloe, tell the servants to take these beets from storage and plant them in the fields.”

Plus, since they’re root vegetables, we don’t need seeds—we can just plant the beets themselves. Nice.

“Yes, sir.”

Despite my sudden request, Chloe shows no sign of confusion, calmly bowing her head before leaving the room to relay my orders. As expected, Chloe is incredibly reliable.

“Chef, sugar is definitely a valuable commodity, correct?”

“Yes, it’s more expensive than honey.”

As I thought, if I discover a method to produce sugar from sugar beets, I could gain considerable profit.

If the method becomes widely known among the common people, there’s a risk it could leak to other countries, so the state should monopolize it for the time being.

This might make widespread commercialization difficult, but in the long run, it’s better than letting other countries know. Besides, since only a small wealthy class uses it, we don’t need that much quantity anyway.

……….

“…There are so many.”

Before my eyes are all the crops cultivated in Burgundy.

While arranging for sugar beet cultivation, I also wanted to learn about the current state of agriculture, so I ordered all crops grown in Burgundy to be gathered… I didn’t expect there would be this many.

“This looks identical to that one over there. Why is it separate?”

“It’s a different crop, Your Grace. They look similar on the outside, but the contents are different.”

“…I see.”

It would be difficult for me to do anything directly when I can’t even distinguish between crops.

I should consult experts.

“You farmers there.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

I called the farmers to get opinions from those who actually farm the land, but they all seem terrified.

…What’s with them? I’m not going to do anything bad.

I just want to ask a few questions, but if they look like they’re about to die, it’s a bit irritating, you know?

“Tell me how you farm.”

“F-farming methods, you say…”

“I mean, when do you plant during the year, what do you mainly cultivate, things like that.”

“Ah, I see… Yes, sir!”

At my question, the farmers hastily begin to speak one by one.

Standing before them, I listened to each farmer and organized what they said, which could be summarized as follows:

‘They sometimes grow beans, cabbage, and turnips, but mostly barley and wheat for making bread… Orchards are generally only maintained by serfs under their lord’s orders…’

This isn’t unique to Burgundy. Other countries must be similar.

It’s natural for farmers, whose failure in agriculture directly threatens their survival, to prefer crops with high caloric value and high yields.

Moreover, their farming methods are too simple.

They divide the farmland in half, cultivating crops normally on one side while leaving the other fallow to restore soil fertility.

…Wait a minute.

“Do you know about clover?”

“Pardon…? Isn’t clover a weed…?”

“A weed, you say.”

I thought I couldn’t do anything, but this is fortunate.

“Isn’t fallow land quite wasteful? You could plant crops there too.”

“What?”

The farmers seem slightly confused by my sudden mention of fallow land.

“That’s true, but… without fallow land, all the crops would die…”

“No, there’s a method.”

Crop rotation.

Divide the land into four parts and rotate barley, clover, wheat, and turnips. This way, you can farm year-round without needing fallow land.

Among the four, clover isn’t commonly eaten in modern times, but it’s actually an edible vegetable. If people are reluctant to eat it, it can be fed to chickens.

I explained the crop rotation method to the dubious farmers.

“If we do that, could we really—”

“Yes, instead of letting half your land rest as in the traditional method, using this approach effectively doubles your farmland.”

“Ohhh…”

Farmers are generally conservative, but these farmers are greatly surprised and seem to absolutely trust my words despite hearing this information for the first time.

The class difference probably plays a role, but more than anything, the idea that this method is essentially equivalent to doubling their farmland seems to have particularly resonated with them.

“Have other servants heard what I said?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Then deliver this information to the lords across the region. It should spread quickly that way.”

While sugar beets, enjoyed only by the upper class, could be cultivated in small quantities, the crop rotation method is worthless if only a few know how to use it.

Other countries will soon discover this method too, but… that can’t be helped. We’ll just have to extract maximum benefit before it takes root elsewhere.

……….

“The Duke has gone mad!!”

“Now, now… calm down…”

“Do I look like I can calm down right now!?”

Angry shouts of nobles leak from a certain mansion.

Other nobles are trying to pacify them, but it doesn’t seem very effective.

“How could he kill my precious relatives alongside commoners, like livestock!”

“I understand… but that’s a bit…”

“Aren’t you angry? It wasn’t just my relatives who died—wait a minute…”

The nobles who were raging furiously notice something suspicious.

The common trait among the nobles calmly trying to pacify us is… that they or their heirs are from the House of Burgundy.

‘Come to think of it…’

The Duke revoked the titles of nobles who rebelled in the coastal regions. He also dealt with corrupt officials involved in embezzlement and other corruption.

Then… where did their territories and assets go?

Did the Duke take everything? That would be difficult.

I’m not sure about the assets, but territories can’t be managed alone due to administrative limitations and the need to appease vassals. If that were possible, nobles with territories wouldn’t have emerged in the first place.

…Haha.

“How much did the Duke give you?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, your reaction tells me I’ve hit the mark.”

They say there’s no one you can trust.

When a family member dies, how can you just let it go? What happens to the family’s honor!?

I do like how he gave Carolingian a good thrashing, but this is completely disregarding us.

At this rate… other noble houses will be swallowed up by Burgundy’s influence. We need to think of a way—rebellion?

[BOOOOOM!]

‘…’

…Let’s think of something other than rebellion.

If by chance the rebellion fails, there would be no greater shame than dying at the hands of such a murderous madman.

“Let’s all leave. We can’t continue this conversation with them.”

“Yes!”

“Indeed.”

“Wait a moment—ah, forget it.”

The other nobles who realized the common trait from my words instantly turn hostile.

Those who have received favors from the Duke try to stop us, but soon give up with a click of their tongues.

“Hmm…”

The people who followed me out are… quite numerous.

There must be nobles dissatisfied with the Duke beyond just those here. If we search, they’ll emerge from all corners of the Duchy of Burgundy.

Good, there are many ways to express dissatisfaction besides rebellion. Forming factions to obstruct at every turn, being uncooperative with policies, and so on.

We’ll make him pay for daring to ignore us.