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Laing's plan was actually very simple. After he ascended the throne, he would send out officials to survey the land in the country. He would find out which areas were suitable for crops, which were suitable for food, and which were suitable for livestock and orchards. He would also make sure that there was enough land to grow food.
Of course, he would only have this power after he became the king.
"At the same time, I will also implement a system of constant closing. We will set up warehouses all over the country. When the price of food in the market is low, we will raise the price to purchase food in large quantities. When the price of food in the market is high, we will lower the price to sell." Laing continued, "I'm sure you all have noticed that the price of food in the market is very high. That's because Weissen suffered a great loss from Tarim Khan's invasion. Therefore, they are importing food from our side. You all might want to sell some of your food to the Empire."
Laing only needed to briefly describe the price of food and the system of food reserves, and everyone understood. The problem of food was indeed an eternal topic. In the past, the relationship between the knight nobles and the serfs meant that the surplus food produced by the serfs basically belonged to the nobles. Under such circumstances, food and the market had little to do with each other. However, with Laing's reform, the appearance of fixed taxes and the conceivable contracting system in the future meant that there would be a rise in the commodity economy. Therefore, the old method would no longer be applicable. Laing's proposal solved this problem perfectly.
"As for other things, I will also announce the abolition of the King's Shield Tax after I ascend the throne." Laing calmly dropped another bomb in the meeting room.
"Wait, Laing, you want to abolish … the King's Shield Tax?!" François's jaw dropped. "Laing, do you know that as the Knight King, the tax is mainly used to pay for the expenses of the royal family and the military? You want to abolish the Shield Tax?"
"We can't collect much tax in the first place, so it doesn't matter if we abolish it. Also, the abolition of the shield tax only applies to food crops. Cash crops, orchards, and animal husbandry aren't included." Laing said calmly, "In order to encourage the planting of food, we have to give appropriate supportive policies. Historically, the king's shield tax has always been difficult to collect, as I'm sure everyone knows."
The dukes were a little embarrassed. Knights and nobles were like this. The Lake Fairy's tithe had always been paid in full or even in excess, but the king's shield tax had always been evaded, misreported, omitted, and played tricks. When Laing brought up this matter, it was not convenient for them to answer.
François, on the other hand, felt that he was overjoyed. Most of his Winford Duchy's income came from crops, especially wine. As for the shield tax exemption for food crops, it didn't benefit him much at all.
When the old father-in-law thought of the benefits that Laing's rise had brought him, he could only accept it.
"In the future, we have to unify the customs and change the material tax to the currency tax." Leon continued, "But that's a matter for the future. We'll talk about it after I ascend the throne. That's all I can say for now. What I want to emphasize is that I've used many methods to ensure your benefits and compensate for your losses. I also ask you to understand that the tide of time and the course of history cannot be reversed."
"The Empire on the other side of the mountain has completed its reformation and become the most powerful Human nation in the old world. The Brittany has to follow suit. Otherwise, we'll be annihilated. It's better to deal with it from the top than from the bottom. The Northern Barbarians, Chaos Devils, Green Skin Tribe, Orcs, and Specters are constantly coveting the land that the Goddess has given us. Only by strengthening ourselves and reforming ourselves can we achieve salvation in this dark age."
The dukes nodded. This was a sensitive topic, so it was enough to talk about it.
"I have a problem too, Laing. As you know, Lyonasse is in a difficult situation. We don't have the ability to implement this policy." It was Duke Adehard's turn. The Duke of Lyonasse said anxiously, "The serfs won't be able to pay the ransom. Many people don't have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear. How can we implement this reform?"
"Don't worry, Adehard. We know the situation in Lyonasse." Laing stopped Adehard from speaking and said, "As we all know, different duchies have different situations. We have to adapt to local conditions. We can't forcefully implement it and rob the serfs of their property."
"That's right, Adehard. My suggestion is to reduce taxes and encourage the serfs to reclaim their lost land. Send troops to reclaim ownerless land and eliminate bandits and rebellious serfs." François nodded and said, "Don't think about ransoming the serfs now. You don't have the conditions or the foundation. You can't just see that we're gaining a lot and want to follow us immediately."
"Good, very good. You've always been like this. When I took over Lyonasse, the treasury and granary were so empty that you could raise rats," Adehard said indignantly. Adehard said indignantly, "Great, now I'm here, watching you guys carry out reforms and ransom. All of you are making so much money that your hands go numb. What about me? I can only watch! François, you want me to reduce taxes? You want me to send troops? Where's the money? Where's the food? It's easy for you to say! "
"… Okay, we all know Lyonasse's difficulties. It's not like we didn't send people to help you." Ron took the initiative to speak, and the regent of the kingdom advised, "If Schiluff was here, he wouldn't have done this. You and your dukedom need to rest and recuperate, not force yourself to follow our footsteps."
"…" Adehard sighed, his voice full of helplessness. "I hope Lyonasse can regain its glory one day."
"That's all for today." Ryan concluded the meeting with the Duke: "Please go back and determine the redemption amount according to the actual situation of your own Duchy. You must be careful with this number. Remember, if the amount is set too low, it will make the serfs feel that it's too easy, and your interests will also be damaged. If the amount is set too high, the serfs won't be able to afford it, which is tantamount to fooling them."
After the meeting of the dukes, Leon held a grand banquet in the duke's castle. He invited the dukes who had come from afar to celebrate the consensus they had reached. With their support, and with Duke Kakason and Hubert, the support of more than half of the dukes in Brittania finally exceeded that of the dukes. With the addition of the Church of the Lake led by Morgiana, Leon was now able to truly control the country after ascending to the throne.
After the banquet, Laing, who had a few more drinks, sneaked into Suria's courtyard in the castle.
There was no snow at night. The winter night was very quiet. Most of Sulia's courtyard was planted with irises and tall pine trees. Leon walked alone in the castle courtyard. He raised his head and saw that the sky was filled with stars. They were like pearls and bits of gold, scattered on a black jade plate. At this moment, it was so peaceful and serene. The leaves were rustling in the wind.
Laing suddenly felt very tired.
Perhaps no one understood how difficult it was to carry out a top-down reform in this world where there were true gods and evil gods. If one was not careful, not only would they lose everything, but it was also very likely that the entire kingdom would be destroyed.
Nobles, churches, merchants, wizards, Laing could be said to be unscrupulous in order to achieve his dream. Even so, he had spent more than ten years to build the foundation for his reform. Now he had to carefully carry it out. Compared to more than ten years ago when he was alone, now he had a family, his own power, and a large group of subordinates. The expansion of his power meant that he had to be more careful and more difficult.
It was cold, lonely, and lonely. The weak magic lamp illuminated the stone paved road in the courtyard. In the courtyard, there was a statue of Suria, and also a statue of her favorite mount, Richter. Laing slowly walked in front of the statue and looked at his wife's serious and beautiful figure with a lance in her hand. He smiled warmly.
He now understood why many middle-aged men gave people a "greasy" feeling in the past. It was because these men had become tactful and sophisticated. They had too many burdens. They had families to raise, relatives to take care of, friends to help. There were too many things that prevented them from being hot-blooded, acting impulsively, resisting and escaping.
The middle-aged greasy men could only endure, could only be humble, and could only swallow their anger. This was something that the young people could not tolerate and could not understand. After all, anyone could hit the keyboard, shout, and follow the trend. The barefooted were not afraid of wearing shoes. You dare to bully me? I'll kill your whole family!
This was how the anger of an ordinary man would cause blood to splatter five steps. This was the result of reading too many straightforward novels. It was a method that did not consider the consequences at all. It only wanted to feel good for a moment and cause endless trouble. It was not rational, but it was especially loved by everyone because it did what everyone wanted to do but did not dare to do.
When the old King Richard took over, he was glorious. He liked to go into the forest alone to hunt tigers. The first thing he did after ascending the throne was to join forces with the High Elf Prince, Imrick, to defeat the Orcs near Culona. At that time, Richard was in high spirits and felt that he could do something for the kingdom. But 20 years later, when Laing came to Brittany, Richard had become the stubborn person who refused to change and suppressed Laing.
Had the times changed? No, that's not it. Times haven't changed.
Then why?
You know.
Laing had many identities, and he was the Chosen of Gods champion chosen by the Fairy of the Lake. He had to go through so much to take the first step of reform. He sighed, "It's too difficult for me. I've been under a lot of pressure recently."
As Laing was looking at his wife's statue, he heard footsteps behind him. "Laing, what's the matter? Why are you here? We've been looking for you."
It was Sulia. Today, the female knight was wearing a classic black belted dress with gingerwood patterns and black velvet tights. Her slender and well-proportioned legs were clad in a pair of knee-high heels. She had a tall and beautiful figure, a valiant and formidable temperament, and a faint smile and gentleness on her exquisite face. Her shiny golden long curly hair draped over her shoulders.
She looked just like she did fourteen years ago in the Rose Garden in Curona.
The Duchess approached Laing from behind and hugged him gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Laing, my husband, you've done well. Father just praised you, saying that you've done something he never dared to imagine. Lord Laing also said that all they could do was to ease the conflict and be as fair as possible. You're the miracle that the Lady has given to Brittany."
"You're amazing, my husband. I'm proud of you." Suria's voice was like a pool of spring water, flowing into Laing's heart and nourishing his will. The Duchess' blue eyes were filled with affection. "Don't push yourself too hard."
"Three to five generations." Laing felt his chest was filled with Suria's love. He turned around and hugged his wife.
"Huh?" Suria obviously did not understand.
"My reforms can only benefit three to five generations at most. After that, the whole society will gradually fall silent again." Laing sighed and carried his wife in a princess carry. The couple sat on a bench in the courtyard. "Just like the Empire, the reforms of Ludwig the Savior made the Empire prosperous and ushered in its most glorious era. But 160 years later, the wealth and land have returned to the hands of the nobles after a short period of circulation. The newly cultivated land can't stop the nobles from plundering and expanding. Whether it's Karl-franz or I, we can only rely on our royal power and personal prestige to suppress this trend. But it's impossible to change it, so we can only reform again."
"The Lady said before, Laing. There's no such thing as an eternal royal power in this world." Suria did not think much of it. "You've done everything you can. That's enough. You've brought prosperity to the kingdom for one or two hundred years. You're already a great king."
"Hahaha, you're right. There's really no need to worry about three to five generations later." Laing suddenly thought of something and nodded approvingly. "Thank you, Suria. You've enlightened me again."
"I'm your wife. There's no need to thank me between us." Suria leaned on her husband's shoulder. The female knight suddenly felt that she had the whole world.
This was happiness.
The couple cuddled for a few minutes. Seeing that Laing had recovered from his fatigue and depression, Suria said in a low voice, "Laing, you should rest well for the time being and prepare for the coronation. Also, you should take some time to visit Lady Veronica and see how she's doing. She's been in seclusion for almost a year."
Surprisingly, the relationship between Suria and Veronica was quite good. This was mainly due to Suria's generous and gentle personality, as well as Veronica's careful management. Compared to Teresa, who was not good at interpersonal relationships and often avoided Suria, Veronica had always been good at maintaining her relationship with Suria. She would even try to find some rare gifts for the duchess from time to time. If the two met, Veronica, who was about to turn forty this year, would always obediently call Suria, who was in her early thirties, "sister" or "madam".
Only Laing knew that Veronica was very clear about her position. If Laing was a big tree, then Veronica was the vine on the branch. She did not dare to lose Laing's support and protection. The shrewd Gallan witch knew how to protect her own interests. As long as she served Laing well and made Suria happy, she would be in an invincible position. No one could touch her.
"Well, I'll visit Veronica in a few days and see how she's doing." Laing thought for a moment and agreed. "As for Teresa and Aurora … Suria, I need you to do me a favor."
"What is it?"
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