Ch.286Aftermath (2)

In ordinary circumstances, a lord (or lordship) belonging to the Frankish Kingdom attempting independence would be nothing short of treason.

“United Frank,” though rarely upheld in practice, remains the national motto. It has primarily been used to crack the skulls of nobles who try to break away as they please, depending on necessity and circumstance.

The Frankish Kingdom is fundamentally an unstable federation of small states forcibly bundled together to elevate their collective status. Even among themselves, they acknowledge the necessity of this size, making independence—which would reduce their standing—absolutely non-negotiable.

However… in our case, I think we might be an exception.

The main reason is that the power and symbolism of our domain, along with its authority, has reached such heights that internal politicians have begun to feel uncomfortable.

Honestly, our faction has grown so powerful that they can’t really touch us, and if we decided to act out deliberately, the kingdom’s politics would collapse instantly.

In other words, we’ve grown too large to be contained internally, so everyone secretly wishes to send us out to a safari or external reservation, so to speak.

The royalists worry that we might become a rallying point for the nobility, while the noble faction is simply wary of a political competitor who could push them out of internal factions in one fell swoop.

Add to this the mutual understanding that our continued presence would only be burdensome, and these three factions’ interests aligned perfectly. As a result, after some adjustments, the Alzar Barony was elevated to the “Principality of Alzar” and granted independence.

At this point, the “Principality of Alzar” incorporated small domains from the eastern kingdom and unclaimed wilderness as its territory to achieve a certain status, while nominally remaining a vassal of the “Frankish Kingdom.”

The key point here was to elevate what was essentially just a large domain into something at least resembling a small nation.

For territory, after reaching an agreement with the Holy Empire, we acquired much of the unclaimed wilderness between the two countries. Additionally, we absorbed numerous small eastern domains to further increase our standing.

The eastern domains of the Frankish Kingdom are mostly small. Due to the influence of the unclaimed wilderness, they’re modest in status, and this measure was largely intended to secure a buffer zone.

By throwing the ambiguous domains between the two countries to us as vassals, neither side can freely move their armies, and furthermore, there’s a strong intention to increase our status to eventually separate us as an independent nation.

With our overwhelming military power relative to our intermediate status, they couldn’t predict which way we might swing, so they simply gave us what they didn’t need to make our status appropriate.

What’s certain is that this big deal will bring us considerable influence.

Though called “surrounding small domains,” most are merely small manors governed by knights, but when their number exceeds several hundred, their collective significance becomes substantial.

Of course, since most of these knights desired autonomy, they sold their manors to us or others, allowing us to easily incorporate these vast lands and populations into our mainland (the barony).

The total population is about 50,000, but the territory is more than five times the size of the former Alzar Barony. This extremely low population density is due to the persistent vitality of the unclaimed wilderness and the complex land division among various domains.

Ah, but regardless, the situation might not be so bad.

Population isn’t a major issue considering the many displaced people who haven’t settled anywhere, and the excessively vast land could actually provide an opportunity for generous land reform.

The small eastern domains, mostly consisting of frontier territories, certainly have weak foundations, and the lack of tradition means we don’t have to worry about internal resistance—a definite advantage.

Actually, contrary to my thinking, Father suggested either granting these vast lands we suddenly acquired to vassals or making them our direct territories…

But that issue was immediately rejected due to my firm opposition.

What we’re establishing isn’t just a domain but an independent nation with sovereign authority, so why maintain a feudal system when we don’t need to worry about external concerns?

Of course, trying to reclaim previously granted domains might cause unmanageable consequences, but for territories that have just come under our ownership… shouldn’t there be no problem?

For areas closer to the unclaimed wilderness, we’ll distribute fiefs to meritorious retainers to create buffer zones, but for relatively well-developed areas, centralized governance would be more beneficial in many ways.

Distributing farmland to local residents who’ve become citizens of the principality and reforming the tax system will undoubtedly be a complex administrative undertaking, but…

In truth, as someone who had returned to a frontier village, I was rather indifferent to these matters.

※ ※ ※

While the Alzar Barony was in the process of evolving into a principality, I—one of the fundamental reasons for this transformation—had returned to the frontier village entrusted to me rather than remaining at the domain.

For someone who had secured independence with just the titles of Advanced Warrior and rightful owner of Zweiweiz, sending the very person responsible to a rural village like an exile might seem incomprehensible.

Some approached me with suspicions that I might be reduced to a figurehead, and self-proclaimed loyal advisors—amateur schemers—tried to exploit this to gain power.

Of course, there are various reasons for these actions.

Most notably, during the reorganization of the power structure, which could easily become chaotic, my presence would inevitably complicate internal power dynamics.

With my father, who possesses excellent administrative abilities and the capacity to rule, alongside me, who holds the actual authority and power base—what power-hungry individual would miss such an opportunity?

Amateur schemers trying to manipulate me for their purposes, aspiring shadow powers filled with political ambition—these people, impossible to eliminate completely, would undoubtedly attempt all sorts of political maneuvers.

Frankly, just considering the severity of incidents these people might cause while invoking my name, such extreme measures seem justified.

…Of course, beyond these sordid political reasons, there’s also a strong intention to increase control over the Colland Barony and govern the land that will become my domain.

After the city of Colland fell into disarray, my direct presence there would help stabilize the atmosphere, and in fact, despite the unexpected situation, I originally had about four years left in my governance period.

Father has begun purging minor interest groups to facilitate my rule before passing the position of lord (soon-to-be prince-king) to me.

Therefore, I returned to the village, which was entering autumn and the harvest season, to fulfill my duties as ruler.

The timing was perfect, as the crops planted in spring were now turning the fields golden.

While the three-field system and four-course rotation mention various spring crops from spring wheat to barley, oats, and rye, most farmers plant wheat if they can afford to.

Wheat is always expensive, preferred by the nobility who buy it up, making it precious and incomparably better in taste than other grains.

This allows even farmers with little land to plant wheat, harvest it, sell it, and use the proceeds to buy coarser grains for their meals.

In this atmosphere… after completing the harvest, farmers proceed to thresh the grain, removing the husks and separating the kernels.

Originally, they used flails to beat the grain and remove the husks in a primitive manner, but this is where Magni, the otherworld (Dwarven Kingdom) hero (dwarf), made his presence known.

He introduced a threshing machine similar to a grinder used in the Dwarven Kingdom, where one holds the handle and turns it, minimizing labor.

Meanwhile, the threshed grains were mostly ground at the village mill, reborn as flour or other powders.

Mills, being essentially a means of collecting taxes in this era, provide enormous benefits to lords who can monopolize them.

While farmers rejoiced in reaping the fruits of their hard labor, time flowed faster than expected…

And the world slowly began to freeze.