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Vol 05 Chapter 144: Plebeians III

The aftermath of the rebellion took two weeks to complete.

First, as promised, a retrial was conducted.

According to the customary law of King Rosais’ Country, the punishment for the rape of a virgin is the amputation of the dominant hand. Since the dominant hand of the patrician’s son was his left arm, the sentence was the amputation of his left arm.

Additionally, the patricians who pretested the verdict were sentenced to have their territories confiscated.

The crimes were threefold:

1. Causing unnecessary confusion.
2. Breaking the promise to lower taxes.
3. Using private soldiers to commit violence against innocent people.

Based on these, it was deemed they were unfit to govern their territories, and they were ordered to return them.

Despite dragging their feet and taking their time, they eventually left their territories after we surrounded their mansion with the army and threatened them. Once we did that, they complied smoothly.

However, if we confiscated all their belongings, the entire patrician family would end up destitute. Feeling pity for them, we didn’t confiscate their personal property.

Thus, their private lands and slaves remained with them. They should be able to live a reasonably affluent life.

Furthermore, measures were taken against the rebel forces as well.

The plebeians who participated in the rebellion were fined and had their military service indefinitely suspended.

The fine isn’t a significant amount. They will only have to be slightly frugal with their meals for a year.

The suspension of military service was what hit the plebeians the hardest. This is because, in the Adernian Peninsula, going to war and distinguishing oneself is considered an honor.

Of course, nobody likes being detained on the battlefield for a month, as it would affect their normal livelihoods. However, the countries of the Adernian Peninsula are small so most wars end within a week or so.

As long as there isn’t a crushing defeat, the battles don’t end with many fatalities, so the fear and dislike of war are minimal. In fact, in case of victory, the soldiers can profit from looting and the distribution of spoils.

Well, the indefinite suspension of military service doesn’t mean they are permanently suspended. It just means there’s no set timeframe.

Therefore, they can be reinstated at any time based on their behavior. I intend to keep them suspended for two years, though.

And as for the ringleader…

「Your Majesty, the interrogation of the ringleader has been completed.」

「Lulu, how did it go?」

Lulu bowed slightly.

「The man is forty-two years old. He is of Kirisian-Adernian descent. He appears to have no wife or children. He makes his living as a mediator between Adernian and Kirisian merchants. This rebellion seems to have been his own idea. Apparently, he has always been a worshipper of democracy.」

So, in other words, he was just a fool?

However, Lulu continued.

「It seems he was encouraged by Kirisian merchants. During this rebellion, he even got some weapons from certain merchants. His plan was to incite class consciousness among the plebeians and have them fight Your Majesty for a prolonged period. Then, when the time was right, he intended to have Lezado mediate.」

So, Lezado was behind this.

「Did any other city-states come up? Gehenna or Nemes?」

「No, those names did not come up. It’s too early to be certain, but it’s likely that Lezado acted alone.」

Lezado… Well, there are no true friendships between countries.

In the first place, that country is a country of merchants. Depending on profits, they will lend a hand to any country and, if necessary, turn their backs on anyone. I never had much trust in them to begin with…

「By the way… there’s no way the ringleader thought he could fight me alone, right? He must have had accomplices. Get him to talk.」

「About that, he’s being very tight-lipped.」

Hmm… should I resort to torture? But torture often leads to unreliable information.

「Call Julia.」

◇

「What is it, Almus? It looks like you called me here for a job this time. What do you need?」

「I need you to make a truth serum. If I remember correctly, the Rozel Kingdom has developed a medicine that forces a person to answer truthfully. You’ve learned about the Rozel Kingdom’s magic techniques from Lydia, haven’t you?」

「Well… yes, I did hear about it…」

For some reason, Julia looked troubled.

「What’s wrong?」

「Ever since then, she calls me ‘Onee-sama~’ and clings to me. I feel like my chastity is in danger…」

It seems my torture caused Lydia considerable psychological damage.

「Then why not do it with Tetra? If it comes to it, she can protect you.」

Despite appearances, Tetra is strong. After all, she has an iron blade hidden in her staff.

If she hits someone with that mace-like staff, most people would be knocked unconscious. Depending on where she hits, they could even die.

「Yeah, with Tetra… it should be okay.」

「By the way, how advanced is the Rozel Kingdom’s magic technology? Are they really ahead of us?」

Julia nodded vigorously.

「Yes, it’s amazing. They’re about thirty years ahead in some areas, maybe fifty in others. But when it comes to medicinal herbs, my knowledge is superior!」

Julia puffed out her big chest with pride.

Indeed, Julia’s chest is much more impressive than Merlin’s.

Not that it matters.

「How long do you think it will take us to catch up?」

「Hmm… it might take about ten years to completely catch up with them.」

Ten years, huh? Well, if thirty years can be reduced to ten, that’s good enough.

「And how long will it take to create the truth serum?」

「The truth serum requires both medicinal herbs and mental interference techniques. We’re good with the medicinal herbs. The problem is the mental interference. A normal magician won’t have enough magic power with our current techniques, but if I’m the one doing it, I can do it right away.」

Using Julia’s immense magical power to force it through, huh? Well, the sooner the better.

「Alright, go ahead and use your monstrous magical power to make him spill everything.」

「Got it. The ‘monstrous’ part was unnecessary though.」

◇

As expected of Julia… she managed to extract over ten names in a single day.

I immediately sent out couriers to notify the checkpoints. I ordered the individuals named to be detained.

We also questioned local merchants to see if they had any information on the individuals and pinpointed their locations. Ron was tasked with their capture.

After that, I summoned Ainz for questioning.

◇

「The ringleader of the rebellion testified that he received support from Lezado. What do you make of this?」

Ainz turned pale and shook his head at my questioning.

「No… this is news to me as well. At least, it wasn’t done based on any decisions from the council.」

「I will have you tell me everything you know about the situation in Lezado. Depending on your sincerity the future relations of our countries can change for the worse.」

Ainz hesitated for a moment, but then resigned himself and began to speak.

「There are two factions in Lezado: the pro-Rosais faction and the anti-Rosais faction. The pro-Rosais faction aims to build friendly relations with King Rosais’ Country, increase profits, and stabilize through a military alliance. The anti-Rosais faction also seeks friendly relations and a military alliance, but their goal is to eliminate you, King Almus, and turn your country into a puppet state of Lezado. Initially, the factions were evenly split, but after our suzerain was conquered by Persis, the pro-Rosais faction gained the upper hand. This shift might have caused the now minority anti-Rosais faction to go rogue.」

So, it was the independent action of rogue councilors. It might be the same as if several of our patricians conspired against other countries by themselves.

「I’d like to ensure that such incidents don’t happen in the future.」

「We’ll do our best.」

It’s unreasonable to hold Ainz accountable for the extreme actions of other factions. For now, I’ll just lodge a protest.

And besides…

「We’re about to acquire some large trees. They should be ready for export in a month at the latest.」

「Is that true?」

Ainz leaned forward.

Gram’s efforts to develop the forest are already showing results. We’ve built three villages so far.

「I’d prefer to sell them to Lezado, given our long-standing friendly relations. However, prioritizing a country that harbors a significant number of people who dislike us is problematic, don’t you think?」

「Yes… you’re absolutely right. If you prioritize selling to us, we could offer a premium price.」

「That would be much appreciated. I hope we can continue to maintain good relations with your country.」

As long as it generates profit, that is.

「And one more thing.」

「W-what is it?」

Ainz showed signs of caution. He likely thought I was going to bring up another issue.

Luckily for him, this is just a business negotiation, not a complaint.

「Could you sell us some large ships?」

「…King Rosais’ Country is a landlocked country, isn’t it? You previously purchased riverboats from us…」

Ainz looked puzzled. The small boats we bought from Lezado earlier have proven quite useful, and we’ve started building similar ones ourselves. This time, however, we need something bigger.

「A larger ship would be more convenient for transporting large trees. Plus, I have a personal interest in it.」

There is a possibility that the large ships from Lezado, with their deep hulls, might not be able to navigate our rivers. But if that happens, we can modify them to have a shallower draft. Our craftsmen are capable of handling such modifications.

「Well, if it’s for river transport… very well. How many ships do you need?」

「Five should suffice.」

After that, we can study them and produce our own. Luckily, we have plenty of timber.

「That’s all for now. …For today, please stay here with us. Despite being rustic, we can offer you some decent food.」

Ainz nodded, relaxing slightly.

「Thank you. The wine from King Rosais’ Country is delicious, so I’m looking forward to it.」

◇

About a week later, we received the payment from the Rozel Kingdom.

The bulk of the payment was the ransom for the prisoners amounting to one thousand Talents and the war reparations amounting to three hundred Talents.

Somehow, we successfully obtained a full one thousand three hundred Talents.

「For now, we’ll allocate three hundred talents as rewards for the patricians… One hundred thirty as rewards to the soldiers who participated in the battle, and seventy talents as compensation for those who were killed in action or severely wounded.」

To make it easier to understand how much the rewards are worth we will take a typical household as an example…

For a typical plebeian landowner’s household of nine people (two grandparents, two parents, three children, and two slaves), the reward covers about five months’ worth of living expenses. By Japanese standards, this is roughly equivalent to one million yen.

The compensation for those killed in action is about ten times that amount, or roughly ten million yen.

In this world, that is quite a substantial amount.

「Are you planning to distribute rewards to the plebeians as well? Why is that?」

Raymond asked and I raised my fingers one by one as I answered.

「First, to make the plebeians think that war is profitable for them as well. Second, to reduce the dissatisfaction among the plebeians.」

The rumors of the king hoarding the spoils of war are often a trigger for rebellion.

「And the real reason?」

「To gain popularity.」

Distributing wealth is not generally praised as an act of a ruler, that is because when the ruler continues to distribute wealth indiscriminately it sets an expectation, and the moment the distribution stops, the plebeians’ dissatisfaction turns towards the ruler.

However, this isn’t mere handouts.

It’s the distribution of war spoils.

I believe it’s better to give some money to the soldiers who fought. It helps prevent looting, boosts the soldiers’ morale, and alleviates any concerns they could have about the possibility of losing their livelihoods due to long expeditions.

If you hand out money every time something happens, it becomes a habit and the effect diminishes. It’s best to give large sums when there’s a legitimate reason.

「What about the remaining eight hundred?」

「Let’s see… Two hundred will go towards military expansion. Another two hundred for the capital’s construction costs, fifty for infrastructure and temple construction, one hundred for forest development, and one hundred for expanding farmland, flood control, and irrigation.」

The remaining one hundred fifty will be kept in the treasury for emergencies.

「With such a large influx of silver into the country, our sales tax revenue will soar.」

「If it circulates well. Hopefully, it won’t be siphoned off by the Kirisians.」

The plebeians have limited ways to spend their money. They mainly will buy better food, new armor and weapons, better farming tools, maybe rebuild their houses, purchase nicer clothes, or buy accessories for their loved ones…

That’s about it. They can buy all of this from local merchants. I doubt any farmer will be purchasing Kirisian gold jewelry or Persian glassware.

「When we distribute the money, we should suggest they use it for slaves, draft horses, farming tools, and new weapons and armor.」

Though the economy will benefit regardless of how they spend it, it would be preferable if they bought useful items.

By guiding their spending towards productive assets, we can ensure the money not only circulates but also enhances the overall prosperity and stability of the country. This strategy will also promote self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on foreign goods, strengthening our internal economy.