Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 45: Administrative Report
Seven days was a short time, but for Duane, it was a long grace period.
During this period, Julian, under Monbodt’s guidance, worked with Ralph and Haien to successfully sort out the general situation in Broken Wave City.
On the night of the third day, the General Affairs Consultant brought the compiled data and entered Duane’s study with Ralph and his son.
After listening to their report, Duane gained a much more detailed understanding of Broken Wave City.
This "city" was actually divided into five districts. Monbodt managed the one with a population of over three thousand, which he used to fool the tax collectors who had come in previous years.
This district had over five thousand mu of arable land, most of which were paddy fields, while the rest was used for growing barley, wheat, and vegetables.
In addition, linen was also grown here, serving as the main source of material for textiles.
"My Lord, while Black Forest Island faces no shortage of external threats, I have to say, the variety of crops here is quite rich—perhaps even a bit jumbled."
Duane lowered the survey report he was holding and looked up. "How so?"
Julian explained, "In addition to linen, it’s said that the Holy Hand Association cultivates silkworms and mulberries in Broken Wave Bay, and that some cotton is grown in the districts controlled by the Broken Wave Gang."
"So you’re saying this place can produce cotton cloth, and even silk?" Duane was quite surprised.
Sericulture and cotton existed in the Pruck Kingdom, but they weren’t widespread.
Most fabrics were still linen and wool.
"Yes. It’s said that Mage Daniels brought the technology here."
Duane had a moment of realization. He couldn’t help but recall the white robe Daniels wore. Its texture certainly hadn’t seemed like linen or wool.
’I didn’t expect this isolated island to have some foundation in artisanship.’
’Considering the humid climate is suitable for many crops, maybe one day, after I expand my sphere of influence, I’ll have the chance to develop the textile industry further.’
’Of course, it’s still too early to think about that.’
Duane’s gaze returned to the paper, where he found another surprising piece of information:
"Broken Wave Bay produces salt, too?"
Julian nodded. "This was intelligence Monbodt added. While I couldn’t go to Broken Wave Bay to verify it myself, all the salt on the island comes from there, so it must be true."
"Alright. You’re right, the resources here are truly abundant."
’Black Forest Island is surrounded by the sea, so it stands to reason its salt industry should be decent.’
’The Lords who came in previous years probably realized this.’
’But producing salt is one thing; being able to sell it is another entirely.’ freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
’In the Pruck Kingdom, control of the salt trade basically belongs to High Lords, like Counts. Anyone else who wants to get into the salt business needs a High Lord’s backing, or there will be trouble.’
’But I’m not looking to sell salt. The fact that Black Forest Island can produce its own means it can at least be self-sufficient, without needing to import any.’
At this thought, he couldn’t help but frown. He had overlooked the Holy Hand Association’s salt business during the negotiations.
"Tomorrow, tell Monbodt to think long and hard about what other important industries exist on this island."
Duane commanded, "And tell him to be thorough!"
Julian heard the hint of reprimand in his Lord’s tone. "Yes, I understand!"
Duane continued to examine the report they had submitted. It also recorded the number of skilled individuals on the island, such as blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, bricklayers, and so on.
There weren’t many, and their level of expertise was surely not as high as the craftsmen Duane had recruited, but having them at all was a bonus.
"We still have many buildings that need to be expanded. If you need more hands, feel free to recruit. As for payment, see what the going rate on the island is and use your discretion."
Julian and Ralph nodded.
The expansion of the Lord’s Mansion created an opportunity for many people to earn money, so people were willing to participate even if the pay was just average.
Duane’s brow furrowed slightly. "Aside from these Professionals, why is everyone else a serf? And there are quite a few Slaves, too?"
This puzzled him greatly.
The Knights and Barons who originally came to settle Black Forest Island had brought Free People with them.
When they arrived, the Lord at the time would certainly have allocated land to them, and their status would have remained as Free People.
But now, nearly ninety percent were serfs who had lost their land.
Duane could have understood it if all the people in the districts controlled by the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang were serfs.
’But this is Monbodt’s territory. Don’t tell me he’s an exploiter, too?’
Julian explained, "Monbodt said that over the years, people from the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association have often come here to cause trouble—trampling seedlings and destroying fields. On top of that, sometimes the weather was bad and harvests were poor. Many people couldn’t get enough to eat, so they had no choice but to sell their fields to him in exchange for grain."
As he spoke, he took out a thick stack of contracts from his satchel.
"These are all contracts for the sale of land. Monbodt asked me to pass them on to you."
Duane leafed through the contracts.
They stated that the commoners had sold their land to the new Lord in exchange for grain.
Therefore, before a new Lord arrived, they were serfs of the Kingdom; once a new Lord arrived, they would become that new Lord’s serfs.
’In short, it had nothing to do with Civil Servant Monbodt. He was merely acting as a manager.’
’But with the new Lord absent all these years, who could say these serfs didn’t belong to Monbodt?’
’I even suspect Monbodt colluded with the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang, having them deliberately trample the fields to force the original Free People to sell their land and become serfs.’
’I don’t have the time or energy to dig into these old messes right now.’
’Now, these serfs and their land belong to me. I’m the great landlord, which will make things easier to handle later on.’
Haien, who had spent the last two days inspecting the crop growth in the fields, also gave his report:
"My Lord, I suspect Black Forest Island’s grain yield over the past few years has actually been quite good—definitely not so poor that they couldn’t pay taxes, as was claimed. Therefore, I speculate that most of the products, like grain and linen cloth, probably ended up in Monbodt’s storehouses!"
Ralph nodded. He had spent the last two days taking inventory of the grain Monbodt had handed over. He added:
"Monbodt claimed he had to pay a significant amount in so-called protection fees to the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang every year. But based on my inspection over the past two days, he has at least seventy to eighty thousand jin of surplus grain in his storehouses, and that’s not even counting the barley and wheat."
Duane raised an eyebrow. ’The man is truly wealthy.’
He asked with a smile, "And Monbodt showed no anger when he handed all this over to me?"
"Not at all!"
Julian, who had been instructed by Duane to watch Monbodt’s words and actions, had been paying close attention.
"He appears to be extremely loyal to you. Aside from keeping a small amount for his personal use, he handed everything else over."
’Although I can’t find any fault with his actions, I’m still suspicious of how... ’cooperative’ Monbodt is being.’
’After all, for years Monbodt has treated the output of over three thousand people as his private property. To hand it all over at once now—is he really not having any second thoughts?’
’Judging by his past behavior, he’s no saint.’
’Perhaps he’s just intimidated by my martial strength.’
With this thought, Duane set down the papers in his hand and looked at Julian and Haien.
"You’ve traveled through quite a few places these past few days. What are the living standards of the commoners here like?"
’As a Lord who wants to grow and strengthen his domain, a healthy population base is essential.’
Julian fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "Far worse than the people of Lakefront Manor."
"Explain in detail."
’When I went to the meeting a few days ago, I saw some of the locals. They seemed to be in decent enough Spirit.’
However, after listening to the trio’s detailed report, he guessed that the onlookers from that day were likely those who were relatively better off. The majority of the population was living a life of hunger and cold.
It was only thanks to Black Forest Island’s warm climate that more people didn’t freeze or starve to death each year.
The people’s poor living standards were mainly due to two reasons: lawlessness and high taxes.
The lawlessness manifested in many ways: people from different districts despised one another, those upstream would cut off the water supply to prevent downstream irrigation, and there were all sorts of other messy disputes.
As for the taxes...
The serfs had to hand over fifty percent of their annual harvest, and from what little remained, they still had to set aside seeds for the next planting.
It was calculated that in a family of six, each person’s daily grain consumption was less than seven liang.
And even then, each household had to provide one person for five to six days of corvée labor per month, on top of paying a poll tax...
It was a wonder Black Forest Island had its current population at all.
"How much land does Monbodt own?" Duane asked suddenly.
Julian replied, "Over six hundred mu."
He asked, as if seeking confirmation, "My Lord, are you planning to reclaim this land?"
"Of course!"
’Other households are considered lucky to have a dozen mu, yet this Monbodt has six hundred!’
’And for all these years, not only did he not have to turn over any of the grain from his land, but he even had free labor to farm it for him.’
’Before I arrived, the man was a de facto landlord—and a major one at that.’
"Find a pretext and confiscate his fields..."
He paused. Considering Monbodt was still useful, he amended his order. "Leave him thirty mu. Since he’s an official, we’ll temporarily tax his fields at a rate of ten percent."
