Chapter 83 – Industry
Translator: Isekai Shousetsu
At present, our country has paper and salt for industry.
We can also add to this the seized Garnet stones from the previous war.
Thanks to these three, our present public finance is profiting.
However, money is something you need in as much quant.i.ty as possible.
From hereon, the construction of the capital, the road project, and flood control project will begin.
At anyrate, we’ll need money for the other things too such as the propagation of iron tool production, horses, and cows.
Moreover, I want to quickly finish the propagation of a monetary economy throughout the country. To achieve that, I think other industries are also necessary.
The country is producing paper, iron, and garnet stones while monopolizing their means of production.
With that, although the country’s income is increasing, the people’s incomes are not.
Furthermore, paper is not something the people are using. Even garnet is something that only some landowners buy.
While acquisition of foreign currency is important, increasing domestic demand is also important.
Even the common people of the Rosyth Kingdom need goods they can buy and splurge on a little.
For the time being, what I’ve roughly thought about is recommending the production of liquor varieties such as whiskey, vodka, grappa, and the like.
I only understand the structure of continuous stills so I’ll pa.s.s this task on to a craftsman.
He should be able to manage and create something similar to it. It’s fine if they could only create one with a performance not worse than the existing stills. It’s just a matter of improving it as the years pa.s.s by.
As for wine, it’s being made by farm villages everywhere.
Next, it’ll be good if we now let those we put for export to properly mature. This, however, would make the maturity period into three years and above.
Grappas, on the other hand, mature in around six months to become alcohol so we should proactively make them.
As for beer, I’m not recommending we make it.
I don’t understand much but it seems the Adernians and Cretians don’t like beer that much.
In the first place, wine, for them, is something that is drunk diluted with water.
Something drunk excessively and on its own without being diluted, like beer, is something they’d consider uncivilized.
In the first place, barley is largely known as livestock feed, so the people kind of look down on it.
That’s why they’d probably hate beer.
Vodka is also made from barley but it’s probably safe to recommend since it can be drunk diluted with water. It’s also something not drunk excessively.
Well, there’ll always be someone who’d be drinking it like a fish anyway.
I’m also recommending the cultivation of flax and hemp. I’m wondering about what to do with hemp, however.
“What should we do with hemp?”
I try asking Julia and Tetra.
This really is common knowledge, but hemp is something that can be turned into narcotics.
Naturally, if I recommended its cultivation, there’ll always be someone who would be cultivating it only for recreational use.
Cracking down on it would be a herculean task.
In the first place, there are already a lot of farm villages cultivating hemp in this country, so it wasn’t prohibited. It’ll be like s.n.a.t.c.hing away livelihoods after all with the added bonus of creating a shortage in domestic textile supplies.
However, in the end, cannabis is a narcotic.
While you often hear that the “toxicity of cannabis is lower than tobacco”, from my point of view as someone who has never done both (that goes without saying), they’re just unnecessary things.
If it’s not popular then it’d be better if it stays that way.
It’ll only corrupt public order after all, and greatly increase medical expenses.
It’ll also feed organized crime.
At this present level of popularity, if we wanted to put it out of fas.h.i.+on then we should be able to.
If it grows into a custom, then even something like this would become inextinguishable.
That said, clothes can be made from hemp.
We obtained large quant.i.ties of wool from the Equus tribe so we’re still satisfying demand.
However, once we unify the Adernia Peninsula, there’s a high chance that demand would overtake supply.
Since we are propagating, via sorcerers, the sterilization processes from making distilled spirits, we are also reducing fatalities from postpartum infections.
Crop rotation is also slowly propagating therefore greatly increasing food production.
With these developments, future demand of clothing is sure to increase.
Should we monopolize the production and sale of hemp and ward off the popularity of narcotics?
Or should we recommend the cultivation of hemp in order to satisfy clothing demands?
“We should monopolize it. For textiles, rather than hemp, we should be recommending flax. Unnecessary things are unnecessary. Medicine that makes a fool of people should be regulated.”
Tetra first gives her opinion.
Linen, from flax, is an extremely popular textile in the west.
My clothes are also made from linen.
It’s softer than hemp after all. It also feels better to the touch.
Well, certainly flax itself is enough, huh. Recommending hemp is probably unnecessary.
“Hmm, I think it’s better if we recommend it, you know. We won’t be able to monocrop flax, right? In contrast, we could introduce hemp through crop rotation, so we should be able to produce them in great quant.i.ties. Besides, even if we regulate hemp, it’ll still enter the country, right? The Cretians and the like are hooked on it after all.”
Come to think of it, there are lots of Cretians addicted to cannabis, huh……
If those guys enter the country, then naturally cannabis follows.
Cretians would be like “Dude, this thing’s crazy yo.” And Adernians would be like “Seriously? Let me try dude!!”
Crazy Cretians. Don’t pull my pure innocent Adernians into the dark side.
“If we are to ban its use as a narcotic then we should also ban its trade with other countries. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be better if we just make a virtue out of necessity?”
Hmm, what to do.
“Then I guess we’ll suspend recommending hemp for the meantime while only recommending the cultivation of flax.
Let’s also stop recommending its cultivation on a national level. We’ll just recommend it when demand increases and supply fails to satisfy.”
In the end, we choose a compromise.
“Nee, Almis. You’re recommending raising cows, pigs, and horses, right? However, you’re not quite recommending raising sheep, yes? Can I know why?”
“It’s because the Equus tribe is raising sheep. I’m avoiding trade friction. They are strong militarily after all.”
The reason the Equus tribe and the Rosyth Kingdom hasn’t gone into conflictis is the Alva Mountain Range.
Horses can’t cross mountains easily.
Besides, the Equus tribe doesn’t seem to have much interest in what lies beyond the mountain range.
However, because of the alliance, the circ.u.mstances have changed a little.
There is an extremely high possibility that they would come to a decision to invade the affluent Rosyth Kingdom.
Therefore, I will destroy, as much as possible, any seed that will lead to conflict. It’s better for neighbors to be on good terms.
With that point in mind, we could see that we won’t have compet.i.tors in cows and pigs.
Cows can be used for labor after all and can be harvested for milk.
Pigs, on the other hand, grows fat quickly so it’s optimum for meat consumption.
While we do procure horses from the Equus tribe…
It’s difficult to say their horses are suitable for farmwork even though they are suitable for warfare.
Thus, it’s better to raise our own horses for farmwork while still procuring horses for warfare from them.
“I like freshwater fish more than pork.”
“I, on the otherhand, like fruit more than meat.”
While it’s good and all that your preferences are healthy, it’s because of those preferences that the two of you are so little, you know…
“By the way, by the way…”
Julia lowers her voice.
“You said that you’d unify the Adernia peninsula but…do you have any plans in the near future?”
It’s about war, huh.
“I don’t have any plans for the meantime. I’ve just become king after all. I want to focus more on the country’s domestic governance.”
Right now, we are pumping manpower into construction projects.
If we went to war, then we would have to interrupt those projects.
“At the very least, we would start after we have trained a standing army.”
“How’s the training going?”
I call Ron, Roswald, and Gram to ask them.
Ron, Roswald, and Gram oversee the hoplites, cavalry, and bowmen plus javelineers respectively.
Ron is the first to speak.
“There’s a difference in skill between the new recruits and the soldiers from the Ars Territory but they’re doing well for the most part. Give it a month and we should be able to send them to a real war.”
There’s no problem with the hoplites’ training.
Next is Gram, huh.
“From the very beginning, we would need technology in archery. The people we recruited for our standing army were career bowmen and hunters, so they’re quite capable by themselves. However…their skills are quite different from what I’m aiming for. They’re also not used to handling long bows. They are, however, ready to be sent to actual battle.”
In other words, the bowmen too have no problems.
Last is……Roswald, huh.
“Come to think of it, what’s blondie doing? Is he still a soldier?”
That guy, he seemed to have bought himself freedom from slavery.
“Virgar, yes? That guy, it seems he lost all his money to prost.i.tutes. That’s why he’s gone back to soldiering. It seems the other former slaves too have similar stories. The rest, on the otherhand, are still soldiering ‘for more money’or so they say.”
Oh? That’s good.
It’ll be bad without the Germanis after all. Our strength would fall.
“The skill difference between the old timers and the new recruits is too big. It’s out of the question…… Furthermore, the only ones who could match the Equus tribesmen are the former Germanis slaves. It’ll simply be difficult to send them into real battle…”
Difficult, huh.
“Well, cavalry training is difficult after all. Oh, I’ve got an idea……why don’t we buy more from Ains?
……But relying on foreigners is bad huh……I guess you’ll just have to do your best one way or another. It’s not like we need to train them up to the level of Equus tribesmen. It would be fine if they could just hold their own squarely.”
It’s unreasonable to expect winning against the Equus tribe in terms of cavalry.
Those people are cavalrymen by birth.
“Will we be having a war soon?”
Ron asks me.
“No, right now, I don’t have any intention of starting a war. However…there’s a slight chance a war may be pushed on to us.”
The Rosyth Kingdom had suddenly grown in power.
We’re already breaking past 200,000 people in population.
The Belvedere Kingdom on the south and the Eville Kingdom on the west only have around 100,000 people. It wouldn’t be strange if they would consider us as threats.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered in.
There’s enough danger that we’d be pushed into an anti-n.o.bunaga coalition-like situation.
“That’s why the standing army is important. To be able to immediately mobilized…with no permissions necessary from the great clansmen. I’ll be relying on you.”
“””Understood!!”””
Now then, I now know the standing army has no problems.
It’ll be peaceful for a while, huh.
“Come to think of it, you guys, when are you going to get married?”
The three turn red and avert their faces.
Still undecided, huh. Hurry up and get it over with, guys.
“Bartolo. How is it with the De Morgal Kingdom?”
“Let’s see. They seem to be embroiled in disputes regarding the succession problem.”
I’m having Bartolo conduct espionage against the De Morgal Kingdom.
I’m also conducting my own operations but, as expected, Bartolo, with a territory directly neighboring the target, should be more informed.
“Why do you ask, milord?”
“It’ll be bad if we get pitted against a coalition of the De Morgal Kingdom, Eville Kingdom, Belvedere Kingdom and the Equus tribe, after all.”
We’re allied with the Equus Kingdom so there’s little worry about them double crossing us but…
In the world, nothing is certain.
“Let’s see…The De Morgal Kingdom and the Equus tribe doesn’t have any intention to invade our country. We don’t have to worry about that. De Morgal doesn’t have the leeway to do that anyway plus Equus is, even though provisionally, allied with us. The problems are Eville and Belvedere. However, I believe we could rest easy regarding the Eville Kingdom.”
And your reason is?
“King Eville is a prudent person, you see. He’s not the type of person to do something so easily. Because De Morgal and Equus don’t have the intention to invade our country, it’ll be difficult to pit us against a coalition. Eville won’t be able to move.”
Conversely, if De Morgal were to settle down and Equus would have a change of heart, then the coalition becomes a possibility.
“How about Belvedere?”
“Unfortunately……I have no idea. However, that king has a tendency to dislike a country that overtakes his. It was also him who supported the independence of King Ferrum. Therefore, the possibility ((of conflict)) is there. However…I don’t think they’d make a move if the other three countries won’t show interest.”
I see…in other words, there are no problems at this point in time.
“Is that so? By the way, what do you think about having an alliance with the several Cretian city-states?”
“Hmm, isn’t it fine? It won’t put us in a disadvantage, yes? However, do we even have some feelers?”
“From Ains. He said they’re talks from Lezzad.”
In other words, they’re just feelers/testing the waters.
Ains was probably the one who pushed for it. He probably intends to expand his influence over Lezzad on the coattails of my power.
An alliance with Lezzad would be a check against Belvedere, too.
“If you are so inclined, then how about you go there and try it out?”
“N?”
“I’m talking about your honeymoon, milord. Why don’t you visit Lezzad, Gehenna, and Nemes for it?”
That’s……probably a great idea.