AWDC Chapter 97

Around the time I was trying to gauge Hofa’s abilities, big changes were also occurring in the capital. The core of that administration was mainly composed of Marquis Solveny and Earl Coleman, with Earl Lamina following them.

Within the royal palace, Queen Mother Margaret had become absolute, and Hofa had begun to move in and out of the inner palace without any hesitation. In the past, he used to meet with only Queen Mother Margaret in a concealed manner, but now he appears before most of the ladies-in-waiting in the inner palace, and it can be said that Hofa has virtually become like the king.

A major policy change was carried out by that administration. It was the Solveny administration’s prohibition of private armies.

In this country, not only nobles, but also merchants and farmers kept soldiers to protect their safety. In this country, where the police system was not well-established, it was taken for granted.

The Solveny administration incorporated those private armies into the royal army.

“If you do such a thing, we will be left defenseless,” a voice of opposition arose from the nobles.

“We cannot do business without guards,” wealthy merchants and wealthy farmers also did not hide their dissatisfaction.

However, that voice of opposition gradually faded away.

“If you pay a guard fee, the royal army will provide guards. It is cheaper to hire the royal army when needed than to constantly maintain a private army.”

It is said that they were persuaded in this way, but I believe Hofa was manipulating things from behind the scenes.

Otherwise, nobles with high pride would not have offered up their private armies, let alone merchants and farmers.

For nobles, possessing soldiers was a kind of status symbol. It is inconceivable that nobles would not complain about having this taken away.

It was safe to say that Hofa’s uncanny abilities were gradually influencing not only the nobles but the entire central region.

The strengthening of the royal army was rapid. In just two years, it had come to possess nearly 20,000 soldiers. During the Raphael administration, the royal army had only 4,000 soldiers, so it was a tremendous growth rate.

Toriholi Village, for example, has 4,000 soldiers, but it has not increased its numbers in the past two years. Even with the continued influx of population from outside the territory, the territorial army accounts for nearly 10% of the population, and security is maintained.

During the Raphael administration, Gregg and Midland sent territorial soldiers, so the security of the capital was sufficiently maintained, and there was no need to rapidly expand the royal army. It can be said that the royal army was intentionally suppressed, but I believe this was the best course of action financially.

In comparison, the Solveny administration’s expansion of the royal army is too rapid. In order to cover the expansion of military spending, the country’s finances are being strained, and they are trying to compensate by strengthening economic control. They are trying to increase revenue by increasing taxes and enforcing tax collection, which, of course, directly hits the pockets of the common people.

They set up checkpoints at key transportation points on roads and rivers and collected taxes. Moreover, they had begun to tax salt and bread, among other things.

Naturally, this affected the lives of the common people and brought a sense of stagnation to business and other activities. A place where the common people could vent their frustrations was the tavern. From a corner of the bar, the following voices could be heard.

“Has business been declining lately?”

“Yes, prices have started to rise recently.”

“Salt has risen terribly. When I looked at the books, it was almost double what it was three years ago.”

“They’ve started taxing everything. Even bread is going to be bad.”

“Oh, I hate this! This sake is not only bad, but it’s become so ridiculously expensive!” One person raised his voice loudly.

“Shh, don’t raise your voice!” The people around him hurriedly tried to restrain him.

Recently, in the capital, something called the patrol group has become sensitive to the movements of the common people, and they are arresting those who disrupt public order and spread rumors.

“Look at that,” he covered the mouth of the man who was about to curse loudly and pointed near the entrance of the bar.

There, a man was slowly bringing a snack to his mouth without saying anything, not even drinking sake. The area around the man was empty because people felt uneasy about him.

“That guy might be a member of the patrol group.”

The man who had been about to curse loudly a moment ago fell silent. It was rumored that the patrol group included members of the royal army.

The Solveny administration was trying to suppress the dissatisfaction with the tax increases by using the patrol group.

The Solveny administration’s aim to increase the royal army was also a reflection of their regret for having been completely dependent on the territorial soldiers of Gregg and Midland.

Of course, there was also the aim of countering our old administration forces, and the aim of invading the Belga Kingdom was also faintly visible.

The Solveny administration’s aim was to pressure us with the backing of a powerful military force. In the past, King Michael isolated the southern region economically and militarily, tightened the screws on Prince Charles, and conquered him without a fight. They were trying to use this strategy on us.

Unfortunately, even if we combine the entire populations of the southern, eastern, and western regions, it only amounts to 80% of the central region. The Solveny administration has suppressed the central region, which has the largest population in the country, and by placing the Mandleuk Peninsula under its control, it has established economic superiority.

Furthermore, their intention to pressure us by further expanding their military power was clear.

If the residents of the Mandleuk Peninsula were added, our inferiority would be undeniable.

Given the population and economic scale of the central region, it would not be difficult to have 50,000 soldiers.

If that happens, even if we combine our forces, we would be overwhelmed.

Now, they were trying to divide Midland, Gregg, and Toriholi in various locations with that military power and tighten the screws on us.

We desperately tried to counter this strategy. First, we decided to hold a regular meeting.

The meeting was held among me, Elliott, and Richter, with each of us visiting each other’s territories once every four months. The aim was to improve the roads, improve transportation, and promote the exchange of people and goods by having us travel to each other’s territories.

However, due to the impact of the expansion of the royal army, even the bold Elliott now avoided passing near the capital when going to Midland and used the road via Milona instead.

“Recently, the royal army has been appearing everywhere, and it’s gradually becoming troublesome to force our way through,” Elliott complained at the meeting.

“It can’t be helped. They’re still the royal army, even if they’re corrupt. If they improve and strengthen, we won’t be able to interfere,” Richter didn’t forget to tighten the reins to restrain Elliott’s frustration.

However, our efforts were also showing results. The fruits of our labor could be seen in the development of industry in the three territories.

The volume of trade increased due to the merchants, and the lives of the common people became richer.

Elliott and Richter both understood well that making trade active would enrich their territories. Therefore, they were promoting the abolition of checkpoints, passage taxes, and other obstacles to trade.

The Solveny administration’s policies were completely the opposite. Whether it was aimed at isolating us, they created various obstacles on the road connecting Midland and Gregg.

“They’re doing foolish things,” Elliott said dismissively at the regular meeting.

“Even if they create checkpoints, they can’t raise much tax revenue. It only hinders transportation and has no merit,” Richter agreed.

“At this rate, it would be better to trade between Midland and Gregg via Milona than to use the direct Midland-Gregg route.”

“Yes, it will be reversed next year,” I predicted from the materials I had in my hand.

By the way, I was the one who created the economic and industrial data. When I created the government office in Toriholi Village, I explained the benefits of investigating the economic situation to the lord.

At first, the lord looked suspicious, wondering what the point was in understanding the economy. I finally convinced him by showing him that I could increase tax revenue by increasing the production of paper and wheat.

Elliott and Richter were the same. By grasping the economic situation, they could stably secure tax revenue and create a foundation for implementing policies. The two of them understood this well from the management of the Raphael administration.

Develop industry, increase tax revenue, and raise the living standards of the common people. This creates a virtuous cycle that improves security and develops industry.

There was also a practical aspect to why Elliott and Richter joined hands with me.