King

In the Emerald Palace, after the noble council passed the resolution, Caesar IV's heart was still uneasy.

The sudden launch of reforms caught all parties by surprise, but the subsequent hidden dangers are not small at all.

If certain achievements cannot be made before the expeditionary force returns to China, the real powers in these places are likely to fall to the conservatives.

“The military operations in the Papal States will end next year, leaving us little time!

Reform measures have been introduced, and the follow-up depends on their specific implementation.

The progress one by one is too slow to achieve results, and there is not enough time. Now we can only divide the work and carry out the work at the same time.

I called everyone here today to discuss the specific division of labor. "

This was a plan that Caesar IV had worked hard to come up with. Putting all the reform tasks in the hands of one person is too risky.

Once the reform is successful, the important minister who leads the reform will be another version of "Hudson."

It is enough to have one powerful minister with great achievements. If there is another one in the political arena, his king will really become a rubber stamp.

Break things down and it's different.

The success of the reform was led by him, the king, and the failure of the reform was a problem of the person in charge.

There will always be some results for so many reforms. As long as he grasps the balance well, he will be invincible.

A typical "Emperor's Art", everyone has mixed feelings.

The improvement of the political level of the king will undoubtedly greatly increase the probability of the success of the reform; but for an individual, it is not a good thing to follow such a boss.

When they are valuable, they are "lovers" and "important ministers"; when they are not valuable, they are discarded like grass.

"Your Majesty, if we want to open up wasteland at present, only the Xueyue Lake area has no owner's land.

It is located on the front line bordering the kingdom and the orcs, and it happens to be within my defense area. Leave the task of agricultural reform to me! "

Hudson's words startled everyone.

Obviously, no one expected that the marshal, who did not care about anything, would take the initiative to take charge of the reform.

But thinking of the reasons given by Hudson, everyone suddenly understood.

Indeed, land reclamation in border areas cannot be achieved without the full cooperation of the defenders.

Except for Hudson, no one else could do this grueling task even if they wanted to.

If something is destined to be inevitable, it is better to take the initiative to claim it.

Compared with other reforms, agricultural reform has the least internal resistance and does not directly touch the interests of any party.

"good!"

"Marshal, the important task of agricultural reform is entrusted to you!"

Caesar IV said with joy.

For the feudal dynasty, agriculture was always the top priority.

If you don't have money, you can owe it. If you don't have food, you will starve to death.

Theoretically speaking, as long as the kingdom has enough food and grass, it can develop enough mines, build enough weapons, and weave enough cloth...

Everything is ready, and it becomes easy to destroy the orc empire.

Now the war is forced to stop, seemingly because the government has no money, but in essence it is because the kingdom does not produce enough food.

After a pause, Caesar IV immediately added: "Marquis Felice, the Ministry of Government will send the bankrupt free people from all over the country as soon as possible.

From now on, any freedmen who go bankrupt will be sent to Xueyue Lake for resettlement.

In addition, under the pretext of guarding the border, 300,000 serfs were recruited from various places and handed over to Marshal Hudson to open up wasteland.

The Admiralty was ordered to transport half of the food obtained from the Papal States directly to the front line.

In addition to what is needed for land reclamation, the rest is directly converted into military ration reserves.

If there's anything missing, Marshal, just mention it! "

Obviously, Caesar IV also understood.

Knowing the kingdom's land reclamation order, the free people simply wouldn't buy it and simply resorted to forced relocation.

In order to produce results as quickly as possible, 300,000 serfs were even recruited to participate in land reclamation.

It’s too late to replant autumn grains. If we move faster, we might be able to plant some spring grains.

The same thing is food. Food on the front line is ten times more expensive than food in the capital.

Caesar IV's requirements were not high. As long as he could provide half of the military rations for the border garrison, the land reclamation project would be considered a success.

"Your Majesty, I really want to trouble you!

Now that we have people to open up wasteland, the food problem has been solved, and we can directly smelt farm tools and scrapped weapons.

However, the normal speed of land reclamation is too slow, and it will be difficult to achieve results without several years of work. It can only be accelerated by relying on the power of magic.

Please give an order to the Kingdom Academy of Magic and the Academy of Arcane Arts, asking them to send teachers to take senior students to the front lines for internship. "

Hudson suggested unceremoniously.

He is most familiar with political achievements.

Since the king can recruit serfs to help, it is also acceptable to let mage students farm the land.

Magicians were not recruited directly, mainly because those guys were difficult to use.

It's different for young students. All they need to do is connect farming with the destruction of orcs to inspire everyone's patriotic feelings.

Hudson is experienced in this aspect. The mages have made at least half of the contribution to the rapid development of Xueyue Territory.

Other noble lords opened up wasteland, and all of them suffered huge losses, with no hope of getting their money back.

However, Xueyue Territory's food output has reached new highs every year. Now it no longer needs the support of the mountain collar, and it relies on the "hard work" of the mages.

It's just that this kind of hard work requires wages.

Based on the market price of magic potion, the royal government will definitely not be able to afford it and can only use free labor.

"good!"

Caesar IV readily agreed.

The monarch and his ministers sang in harmony and made a decision directly, making Count Linares on the side groan secretly.

Let the marshal on the front line be responsible for agricultural reform. What is he, the Minister of Agriculture, doing?

There is no way, my arms can't hold my thighs. Even the king's cronies must make concessions for the overall situation.

The guiding ideology of the Alpha Kingdom is that everything serves the military. It is nominally agricultural reform, but in essence it is to reduce the logistical pressure on the kingdom's army.

As for promoting new technologies, that is not a task at all.

As long as it is proven that it can increase food production, the noble lords from various places themselves will send people to learn from it.

There is no resistance. No one denies that the food production in their own territory is too high.

Knowing that he was being ignored, Count Linares could only force a smile and follow the crowd's applause.

Neither King Caesar IV nor Hudson, the marshal of the kingdom, could offend him.

"Your Majesty, I will be responsible for the reform of government institutions!"

Prime Minister Marquis Delgado said without hesitation.

Among the six major reform measures, the reform of government institutions is not ranked high, but its importance is not low at all.

Frankly speaking, this reform has some overlap with the powers of the Ministry of Government Affairs, but as the head of the government, it is reasonable for the prime minister to take personal responsibility.

Seeing that no one objected, Caesar IV nodded slightly and said: "Okay!

The reform of government institutions was left to the prime minister. "

Excluding six and two, there are still five important ministers present, which means that two people will be jointly responsible for a task.

"Your Majesty, strengthening the authority of the central government requires the cooperation of the military. Leave this matter to me!"

Count Aikman, Minister of Military Affairs, spoke first.

Frankly speaking, strengthening the authority of the central government is very hollow, and all that can be done at present is to increase the number of direct subordinates.

The remaining work cannot be completed overnight and requires the coordination of other reform measures.

Relatively speaking, there are not many opportunities to offend others, so Count Aikman has taken a good job.

"good!"

As soon as Caesar IV's good words came out of his mouth, the Foreign Minister Marquis Omer hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I will be responsible for rectifying the administrative issues!"

Frankly speaking, this measure is more of a cosmetic thing.

Most of the officials in the Alpha Kingdom bring their own dry food and work based on their emotions.

At a time when the kingdom's finances were tight, the more senior officials were, the smaller their salaries were.

Everyone present is a typical example of just working and not getting paid.

Of course, they don't live on that salary.

Being able to stand in the court, the benefits gained far exceed that small salary.

Naturally, the kingdom's top officials don't mind if they don't rely on salary, but those below do not.

How can it be such a good thing if you want the horse to run and not eat grass?

It is unrealistic to eliminate corruption, but it is still possible to catch a few fat sheep and kill them as "monkeys."

…

"Your Majesty, please contact our Ministry of Government to develop industry and commerce. Leave this matter to us!"

Marquis Felice's words fell, and the distribution work had been settled.

The reasons are very good. The development of industry and commerce cannot be separated from the Ministry of Government, and it is unrealistic to leave the responsibility to others.

The hottest tax reform fell directly on the last two unlucky men.

Count Francis didn't care, the taxes all went into the Treasury's pocket, and he couldn't avoid this kind of thing.

This is very painful for Count Linares. Originally, he could take over the agricultural reform and fish in peace, but now he is forced to become a pioneer of reform.

This is the price of slow response. Even the king's cronies will inevitably suffer.

"Um!

Then we will divide the work like this, and Marquis Felice will be responsible for presiding over the industrial and commercial work.

Count Francis was responsible for tax reform, assisted by Count Linares. "

Caesar IV immediately finalized the division of labor.

As for Count Linares' grievance, he simply ignored it.

The cronies also have to do things. If they don't rush to step in at the critical moment, is it possible that the boss will end up personally?

After the palace meeting, the vigorous reform officially kicked off from the central government.

The whole country has focused its attention on reform, and most citizens are full of confidence in this reform.

There is no reason, everyone is so "holy and confident"!

After taking office, Hudson did not rush to the frontier to open up wasteland. Instead, he urgently issued an "Agricultural Technology Manual."

It contains the most advanced contemporary farming technology, ranging from staple foods such as rye, potatoes, soybeans, and rice to cash crops such as sugar beets and hemp.

The content is so detailed that one can tell at a glance that it is well prepared.

But these are not the reasons for everyone’s attention!

Both the Mountain Territory and the Xueyue Territory developed agricultural economies, so it made perfect sense for the lords to attach great importance to farming technology.

The most eye-catching thing is what is mentioned in the manual - "Fertilizer Application".

Can manure be composted and put into the ground to increase food production?

The first reaction of many people is that this is a prank!

With such dirty things, can the food grown be eaten?

Volcanic ash can also be used as fertilizer. Marshal Hudson must have been deceived. Damn liars know how to be a bitch!

…

Doubts from the outside world have not hindered Hudson's determination to promote.

However, when implemented into specific actions, the requirements suddenly surprised everyone. There was no enforcement as expected, but all noble lords were asked to try planting at least one acre during winter plowing.

Even the smallest noble lord in the kingdom starts with a thousand acres of land. If it is less, he does not need to be a noble.

The "big thunder but light rain" reform document made the conservatives who were so angry that they didn't know how to complain.

The yield of spring grain is not high. Even if you lose all your money on just one acre of land, it will only result in a loss of 180 pounds of grain.

Even if all the noble lords in the country were added together, the losses would not be much greater. It can neither shake the foundation of the country nor hurt everyone's vitality. It is just drizzle.

It is obviously unreliable to use such a trivial matter to criticize Hudson, a highly respected marshal.

Even if they think "fertilizer" is unreliable, everyone just takes it out and makes fun of it after dinner.

The order has been issued, but doesn't it depend on them how to implement it?

Just choose an acre of wasteland that is not suitable for growing food, arrange for serfs to try planting it for a year, and just treat it as a favor by selling Marshal Hudson.

This is the reaction of the nobles near the royal capital, and they must show it under the eyes of the royal government. If the territory is relatively remote, even if it is ignored, the superiors will not know.

The Kingdom of Alpha is a typical kingdom with no less than aristocratic power, so Hudson's own prestige is high enough, and the pace of reform he has taken is small enough.

Otherwise, conservatives will definitely jump out to argue with him now: "The issue of the government's public power and the rights and obligations of the nobility."

No one found fault, and when the order was given, Hudson just patted his ass and left. The specific implementation issue is a matter for the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Agriculture.

We don’t expect everyone to follow suit. As long as one-tenth of the nobles listen to the advice and give it a try, composting technology will be promoted in the kingdom next year.

They were all forced out. Had the kingdom's economy not been on the verge of bankruptcy, Hudson would never have worked so hard to promote new agricultural technologies.

There is no other way. He is not optimistic about the reform of the kingdom's government, but he is unwilling to see the kingdom collapse.

If the inherent method cannot solve the problem, then just increase productivity. In an agricultural society, as long as food production increases, many problems will be solved.

Hudson had never taken the Royal Government's "debt problem" as a big deal. Throughout ancient and modern history, he has never seen a powerful country collapse simply because of debt.

Noble lords will not collect internal debts. Those who are qualified to ask the royal government to make IOUs are at least middle-class nobles and above.

More than 70% of the bonds issued by the government domestically were subscribed by the great nobles. The kingdom's banks and chambers of commerce also belong to this group of nobles.

It just so happens that these creditors are all major shareholders of the Royal Government. In order to prevent the equity in their hands from turning into waste paper and the government reaching the point of bankruptcy, everyone can only bite the bullet and continue to inject capital to allow the government to continue.

Similar operations have occurred countless times in the past three hundred years.

The aristocratic group in the Alpha Kingdom has not yet fallen. Everyone still has brains and cannot do anything that costs money or life. Failure of reform is nothing more than history repeating itself.

Foreign debt is not something Hudson brags about. These days, who dares to collect debts from the Alpha Kingdom’s armed forces?

Violent collection is not allowed. As long as the government is thick-skinned and has a careful discussion with the creditors, I believe everyone will understand.

The only trouble is that the government's credibility has been lost and it will be difficult to get along in the international community in the future. But that is for the future, and what needs to be done now is to solve the immediate troubles first.

There is food in hand and no panic in mind.

In the era of serfdom, the biggest benefit was that labor costs were about the same as taking care of food.

In the era of feudal small-peasant economy, large-scale recruitment of peasants would lead to social collapse, but this would not happen in the era of serfdom.

The means of production belong to the aristocratic gentlemen, and the corresponding risks also belong to these gentlemen. The labor force is uniformly deployed by the lord, and a family will not lose its livelihood just because it lacks strong labor.

Orphans and widowers will not enjoy any reduction in benefits, and may even receive more supplies.

It's not that the noble lords have high integrity, it's mainly that everyone needs the serfs to work hard. If you don't take good care of your family, how can you let them work with peace of mind?

Under this system, the social economy will not collapse unless the noble lords go bankrupt on a large scale.

With the kingdom's mobilization ability, if the yield per mu per season is increased by twenty pounds, the capital for the expedition to the Orc Empire will be sufficient.

If the yield per mu could be increased by fifty pounds, Hudson could drive the orcs out of the prairie, leaving them to survive in the backcountry.

If the yield per mu increases by one hundred pounds, orcs will become a racial term in the history books!

There may be a few lucky people who can escape into the world of ice and snow and become a member of the alliance of ancient remnants, but that is no longer the case.

…