Chapter 23
Bio village, which I visited after a long time, had completely changed from what I remembered.
Houses that I worried might collapse at any moment had become sound, and there was a slight sheen of oil on the villagers' faces.
Chloe, looking out from inside the carriage, muttered in a small voice.
"It's completely different from a few months ago."
Her voice was full of loneliness.
I gently stroked Chloe's head.
After staying like this for a while, the coachman outside announced in a loud voice.
"We've arrived at the village chief's house."
"Alright."
As I stood up in the carriage, Chloe tried to get out with me.
As my personal maid, it's right that she should be by my side 24 hours a day.
But she probably didn't want to see the face of the person who tried to sell her into slavery when famine struck, after living like neighbors.
Even if she's happy now, trauma doesn't easily disappear from the mind.
"You don't need to follow me when I'm walking around the village."
"But..."
"This is an order. Go to the room where I'm staying and study. You should learn all the letters within this week."
I should give her a small reward when she learns all the letters.
Originally, studying is for oneself, but people tend to want to study harder when they receive rewards for their achievements.
I sent the carriage to my official residence and immediately got out.
Seeing me, the village chief greeted me with an expression full of respect and gratitude.
"My lord, welcome!"
"Is the village running well?"
"Thanks to what you've given us, it's improved beyond words."
Originally, when a high-ranking person asks, "Is military life bearable these days?", you should answer yes even if you feel like you're dying.
If not, you might become the scapegoat for a top-down scolding starting from the battalion commander.
In this village, there's no one higher than the village chief, so there won't be a top-down scolding...
If I become displeased, that gentleman might experience something very sad.
However, just looking at the village chief's facial expression, the angle at which he rubbed his hands, and his eyes, it was clear that this wasn't a lie to survive, but was full of sincerity.
"How can I know if you speak so vaguely? Tell me more specifically."
"Before, everyone struggled to have two meals a day. But now, even though it's not good food, we can eat three full meals a day."
21st century Koreans often forget this fact.
When looking at pre-modern times, the increase that can show how much the economy has improved is the increase in meal frequency and quantity.
Because in this era, serfs and ordinary citizens spend 80% of their earnings on food expenses.
"You couldn't eat so abundantly just with the relief supplies I gave, could you?"
"Isn't it our labor duty to grow seaweed from early dawn until the afternoon? So in the remaining time, we hunt animals or gather and sell things like medicinal herbs."
They say that if people just have hope that they can live better, they can endure more than 12 hours of labor a day, like our parents' generation did.
Seeing serfs behaving similarly is somewhat bewildering.
"You must hand over all additional harvested seaweed only to me. You know what will happen if you hand it over to other merchants, right?"
"A guy named Hans dared to try to sell 100g of seaweed to a merchant from another village, so we've locked up his entire family now."
"Behead Hans immediately. But there will be no punishment for his family."
We need to set an example that one can meet a terrible end just for selling seaweed to other merchants to maintain discipline.
So Hans will have his head cut off as an example, and his family will be the target of ostracism and finger-pointing in the village for life.
'It's a sad thing, but it's necessary.'
The longer we maintain this discipline, the longer we can sell seaweed as a tonic on the level of ginseng.
"Our living has improved, and thanks to the hospital you built, women are having children at an incredible rate. Right now, all the women in our village who can get pregnant are pregnant. In 10 months, over 140 young children will be born."
Even though life expectancy is short in this era and pregnancy starts very early, this is a bit...
Well, they're doing it because they have hope of raising children well, so I can't stop them.
"In a few years, it might become a small city."
A very bright smile appeared on the village chief's face as he finished speaking.
If this village becomes a city, the village chief will naturally become the mayor.
And although mayors aren't given territory, they're mostly recognized as nobles.
Just serving once as the mayor of a city with over 10,000 people elevates that family to 'nobility'.
"Is that good? But you shouldn't get too excited over just this much, should you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Thanks to you all, I've made enormous profits, so I should rightfully share it. I'm going to hold a festival today, so gather all the adults in the village."
**
"The reason I've gathered you all today is to tell you something very important."
Saying that, I pointed to the seaweed smuggler tied up beside me.
"First, let's dispose of this trash who stabbed me in the back despite my mercy. Prepare for the execution."
At those words, one mercenary sprinkled water on an axe.
Hans, who was tied up, begged to be spared.
"My lord, please! Please! I have a foxy wife and rabbit-like children! Please, just spare my life!"
If it had been a crime committed out of unavoidable hunger, I might have forgiven him.
But this guy stabbed me in the back even after I showed him grace, right?
"Execute."
With those words, the mercenary's axe dropped Hans' head in one blow.
"Remove the corpse."
The mercenaries immediately removed the corpse.
Now that I've wielded the whip, I should give the carrot.
"Thanks to your diligent harvesting of seaweed, I was able to gain enormous profits."
The serfs were looking at me with expressions that seemed to say, "So what?"
In the 21st century, if a chairman or high-ranking person says something like this, you might expect special bonuses or holidays...
But in the Tuscan Empire, it's common sense not to reward the merits of mere serfs...
They probably think the lord will just make money alone and that's the end of it.
"And as it's natural for a lord to repay the merits of his subordinates, I will bestow 2 gold coins per household in the village."
Two gold coins, a large sum that a commoner living in the city could live on for 4 years.
Especially in a rural area like Bio village where prices are low, the perceived value would be even greater.
Was it because they're too surprised?
They were just blinking their eyes, unable to even utter a word.
The village chief spoke on their behalf.
"My lord, didn't you already accept seaweed instead of taxes this year and even bestow food for us to eat?"
It's normal to have questions when hearing something that deviates from common sense.
"Even if you're serfs, shouldn't you receive rewards if you've done good work? You can refuse if you don't like it."
"No, no. We're just too happy!"
The other serfs also shouted hurrah in unison.
"You're receiving compensation for your hard work and sweat, so don't hesitate to use it."
Even whales dance when they receive constant praise, and humans exert their maximum ability when given proper compensation.
So I shouldn't skimp on investment, even for my own self-interest.
It's not like those crazy small business owners who violate the law to cut wages and drive around alone in Ferraris; that doesn't last long.
"And now I'll talk about future plans."
Everyone pricked up their ears at the mention of my plans.
"From now on, I plan to develop this village into a port city. For that, I will build a port and bring in shipwrights to build ships. Moreover, from now on, I will personally create a market in this village."
Our Bio village has fairly good conditions for building a port.
It's relatively close to Florence, the capital of the Tuscan Empire, and the coastline is gentle, so there won't be much trouble in building a port.
Moreover, there are many large trees in the mountains, making it suitable for shipbuilding.
"Then goods from various countries including our Tuscan Empire, the Kingdom of Lyon, and the Hanover Empire will pour into Bio village. Naturally, numerous merchants will come to the village, and they will spread money around."
The serfs were in an excited mood like me.
However, they probably don't understand well what I'm saying.
We know that cities form and jobs are created where many people gather thanks to modern education.
How could those who haven't received such knowledge understand?
But it doesn't matter.
What's important anyway is that I'm explaining the village's future to the serfs and implanting the idea that we're looking at the vision together.
"In a few years, when a shipyard is built and our Bio village becomes a proper port city…"
I paused here for a moment.
"I will free you, and your children, from serf status and make you freemen. So do your best for the development of the village."
Honestly, serfdom is an inefficient system.
It might seem good because you collect a lot of taxes, but the working serfs end up working half heartedly because they think their taxes will be collected anyway no matter how hard they work.
So serfs become poor because they don't work, and lords can't collect much tax because serfs work halfheartedly, creating a vicious cycle.
The slave system in America was abolished in a similar context.
"Tomorrow, I will specially hold a festival. All food and alcohol are bestowed by me without cost, so enjoy to your heart's content."
And then I immediately headed to the Kingdom of Lyon to break through our trading company's overseas trade.