You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 39 Rebellious Nobles and Salt Slaves
Roman was prepared for violent resistance, for violent suppression, and for not stopping until he had killed a hundred or so farmers.

But this is developing in the worst possible direction.

Resistance is inevitable.

Suppose someone invented "Golden Fertilizer" and caused modern countries to abandon four-fifths of their arable land, keeping only one-fifth, claiming that using Golden Fertilizer could increase yields to over 10,000 kilowatts per mu.

But nobody will believe it.

Opposing voices can become a massive, overwhelming wave!

This is not a problem that can be solved by explanation.

Couldn't those farmers see the preparations Roman had them make?

They weren't fools when it came to farming; they knew that heavy plowing increased yields, otherwise they wouldn't have exclaimed about the effects of heavy plowing.

Some fertile lands can naturally produce hundreds of kilograms of crops, while some barren lands can only produce thirty or forty kilograms.

They knew that Roman's approach was effective, but they were unsure how much it would increase production, so they needed to verify it and find a way to survive.

A spring planting season usually lasts for about half a month.

The farmers needed to seize the opportunity to resist Roman, force him to compromise and follow past farming traditions, as extensive farming was much faster than intensive farming.

Roman needed to get the farmers to cultivate the land as soon as possible; he needed to free up the labor force.

Although this conflict is sharp, it doesn't need to escalate into a life-or-death struggle.

The main issue concerns future prospects.

……

In a modern nation with a population of over a billion, even if only one percent of them oppose a certain policy, that would still amount to tens of millions of people.

But the population here is less than two thousand!

Less than two thousand!

This also includes the elderly, women, children, artisans, and guards.

There are only seven or eight hundred people who are actually capable of working.

The population is too small.

Residents of large countries don't quite understand the situation of small, sparsely populated countries.

The two methods of governance are completely different.

It must be acknowledged that all of these hundreds of people opposed Roman's policies.

however……

At least half of the respondents opposed the idea, but their opposition was not strong.

The opposition was strong, but the majority of people dared not protest.

They dared to protest in front of the lord, but the majority of them were afraid of dying.

The question is, how many people are truly fearless?

Very few!

Moreover, Roman never pushed them to the brink.

In the face of turmoil, he personally made a promise that no one would starve to death.

Those who are worried about starving to death only need to hear this sentence to dispel most of their resistance.

Most farmers are swayed by the will of the leader and have no intention of rebelling.

What is a desperate situation?

When there is no food at home, no food in the bowl, and no food in the stomach, that is a truly desperate situation!
If they don't plunder food from the castles of the nobles and landowners, they will starve to death tomorrow.

The conditions for a peasant uprising to be achieved are very demanding.

Most uprisings in agrarian civilizations do not occur when people have enough food, but when they truly have no other way to survive.

We're only at this stage.

They were thinking they would starve to death in the future, so they took the initiative to seek survival. They were very farsighted, and this was what they should do.

This is at best a precautionary measure, and far from being a riot.

Roman forgave them without holding it against them for causing trouble, as he had already prepared himself for it.

but!

Roman promised that no one would starve, but they didn't believe him!
He conceded, but the farmer did not!
So his expression immediately changed, and he shouted angrily, insisting that they obey!
Big problem!

This is more serious than the turmoil itself; it is a shock and destruction to the aristocratic system.

Roman said this would work, and that you should listen to him and he would help you improve.

The farmer said this wouldn't work, but you should listen to me, sir, I have experience.

They were unaware of the consequences of their words.

Because the premise of this statement is that the town of Sig has been without a lord for decades.

For over fifty years, the Bass family's agricultural officer had been the highest-ranking official in Sgard, but Moore had no power of life or death; at most, he could shout a few words to punish you on behalf of the noble lord.

Therefore, their understanding of the nobility is somewhat unbalanced.

Roman had not yet gained prestige and recognition in this land, and the legitimacy of all his actions came entirely from his noble status.

Otherwise, he would just be an ordinary mortal.

Once the leading farmer received his promise, he could turn around and lead his men back.

I've already made a promise, what more do you want?

He wasn't the type to establish authority through bloodshed, because the town of Sige was also short of labor, so he would avoid killing if possible. Killing was a last resort, a worst-case scenario.

There are many people here now, so you can talk to me privately if you have any questions. I can even make you some promises and promote you to agricultural supervisor, with your salary and benefits on par with other supervisors.

You want better treatment? I'll give you better treatment.

If you want a way to live, I'll give you a way to live.

If we can't reach an agreement, we'll talk about the things we can't reach. Anyway, you have to cultivate this land, and you can't delay those people's work time.

You've gathered so many people here, in front of everyone. If you disagree with me once, fine; if you disagree with me twice, that's fine too.

But how am I supposed to handle this situation if you've made such a clear and repeated opposition and escalated the matter?

Should I kneel down before you? You peasant folks, go back to farming! There are so many of you, I'm terrified!

There is no logic to this kind of class antagonism.

They didn't understand what he meant and still insisted on the idea that "Master, listen to me and divide the land!"

The most tragic thing is that they were pure peasants whose starting point was to help everyone else survive, not themselves, and they had no intention of becoming labor traitors.

Roman admits that he made a mistake, but this era has made far more mistakes than just that!
This is why he wanted to strengthen the earth.

He wanted to establish all order, standards, and paradigms, to construct such a social system according to his ideas.

from now on.

He said yes or no!

He said no, even if it were possible, it wouldn't work!
This is a one-and-done solution, just as Roman is doing now. He has no prestige, no foundation, only his noble status, which he will not allow to be undermined.

What could have been resolved through negotiation has instead turned into a bloody affair.

Despite the value of this workforce.

Roman couldn't cultivate several thousand acres of land on his own; he still had to rely on them.

Only death can uphold the authority of the nobility.

Sais would only offer him advice on what to do.

You dare to tell me how to do things?
As it turns out, when other farmers have grain at home, in their bowls, and in their bellies, they are unlikely to risk their lives to fight Roman.

Even though Roman took all their land away.

This is the weakness of the peasant class.

Unless they encounter a great famine or disaster, and dozens or hundreds of people starve to death, they would not have been able to gather together, storm the fortified village, and throw the landlord into the pot.

Most people are just living their lives.

In this era, you can rob them of their property, seize their land, and rape their wives and daughters—you can do whatever you want.

As long as you don't threaten their livelihood, you can feed them for free.

Three years from now, you will be crowned king!
They wouldn't even try to cheat or shirk their responsibilities. Since they can't cultivate more land, their hopes for this year rest on those two thousand acres.

They cared more about the produce of these lands than Roman did.

The daily free and plentiful lunch and that promise don't seem to be empty words at all.

When Roman can no longer provide lunch and can no longer keep his promises.

Only then will the contradiction between the exploiting class and the exploited class erupt in an unprecedented way.

……

……

Everything is back on track.

Roman started cutting down trees again.

As his gathering experience improved, his tree-cutting skills became more and more proficient, and he completed the task in less and less time.

It takes only about half an hour to cut down a tall tree.

On the fourth day of the tree-felling operation, Roman cleared a large clearing at the edge of the forest.

On that same day, Seth brought a merchant to Origin Manor.

The town of Sig used to have no lord, but now it does.

Roman felt it necessary to meet with these foreign merchants who had come to Sig from the Bro River.

This relates to the development of Sige Town.

The merchant was probably in his early thirties, rather thin, wearing a dark brown robe, a mustache, and a money bag hanging from his belt.

Roman asked, "Are you a salt merchant?"

Daken's feelings were complicated.

He hadn't expected such a change to occur in Sig Town in such a short time.

His merchant ship arrived at the dock in Sigir, intending to do business with the local residents as is customary.

Then they learned that there was a new lord here, and that the lord was very domineering. He took back all the land of the residents of Sig Town, leaving them only able to cultivate two thousand acres of land, and killed all the opponents along the way.

The lord here is a madman!
He was about to escape when he was stopped by the guards of Sige Town.

An old deacon said that the local lord wished to see him.

Then he was brought here.

“I am not only a salt merchant, but my merchant ships also carry wool, wine, medicine, candles, cheese and butter…” Daken said truthfully, without hiding anything.

If things really do develop in the worst possible way, he might go bankrupt and be burdened with huge debts.

Because those goods did not belong to him alone, but also to the investors behind him.

The only recourse is for the Chamber of Commerce to file a complaint with the Royal Court through the insurance treaty. However, given that the local lord's surname is Cracked Armor, the Chamber of Commerce's complaint may be indefinitely delayed or simply ignored and not accepted.

Roman had no idea what Daken was thinking; he knew the grocer was nervous.

So Roman's attitude was very mild: "How much salt do you have on your ship?"

"There are still more than 500 jin left."

What price can it be sold for?

Daken could tell that Roman had no intention of seizing the goods; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so polite to him. In this barbaric era, there was no such thing as politeness before force.

"One pound of salt costs one copper coin. The further north you go, the more expensive it becomes. If you go to the northern lands or the land of Igor, one pound of salt can sell for at least two copper coins."

To be precise, it should be close to 3 copper coins, or even a pound of salt for half a sheep.

The northern lands are notoriously cold, second only to Igor, the homeland of the Arctic pirates.

However, if you go deeper into the area, the corresponding risks and travel will increase dramatically.

Daken had no intention of going to the northern lands, much less crossing the sea to Igor. He simply sold his wares piecemeal along the Bro River, with Sig Town being just one of his stops.

He would pass through Sige Town every six months and sell dozens of kilograms of salt there. Although it wasn't much, he didn't have to pay any commercial taxes.

That was enough to make him risk coming here.

This salt was one of the more valuable goods on his ship. He had gone to great lengths to establish a salt purchasing channel—the salt production in the producing areas was limited, and not all merchants could become salt merchants. The sales channels for most salt were controlled by a few big merchants, and he could only get a small share.

Although the price is high, as a necessity, it is usually in short supply due to huge market demand, so there is no need to worry about not being able to sell it.

This unassuming salt purchasing channel brought him substantial profits.

The purchase price of 100 catties of salt is 2 silver coins, while the selling price is 1 gold coin, which is only cheaper than iron.

The townspeople in Sigge couldn't stomach the salt, and Roman wasn't planning on eating it either; he was just asking casually.

"What about the slaves? What was the price of the slaves?"

Daken paused, somewhat unsure of Roman's purpose, and could only reply, "Ordinary slaves are worth more than one silver coin; they only possess brute strength. Some slaves with good physiques or special skills can fetch between two and five silver coins. You know, some slaves also possess extraordinary skills, and it wouldn't be unreasonable to value them at gold coins. As for those slaves of poor quality, they only cost eight copper coins or less—these slaves usually have no value for transportation."

“Is that so…” Roman closed his eyes slightly, and then said, “When can you bring the slaves here?”

How many slaves do you need?

How many can you bring?

Daken was taken aback again. "I can bring a dozen or twenty."

Roman said, "I'll give you 20 gold coins. How many slaves can you bring me in return?"

Daken was immediately filled with awe.

"I will bring you at least one hundred, no, one hundred and twenty slaves!"

In theory, 20 gold coins can buy 200 slaves, but transportation is a troublesome matter, especially in a remote location like Sig Town, which requires a long detour, so naturally there will be an extra premium. A slave that costs 1 silver coin will have to be raised to at least 1.2 or 1.5 silver coins.

But it was a big order, and Daken felt he could take it on and make a profit.

Roman nodded and asked, "How long will it take?"

"At least a month, you know why..."

The biggest problem is transportation.

This was a barbaric era, rife with war, where human life was cheap and slaves were generally inexpensive. But that doesn't mean they were everywhere.

Especially in the Black Iron Lands, where no large-scale wars have occurred for decades, there is a need to leave this land and travel to other lands to purchase slaves.

"I'll pay you 10 gold coins in advance. Whether you get the remaining 10 gold coins depends on how well you perform. From now on, your business tax in Sig Town will be one-twentieth, and this applies to all goods. Any objections?"

Daken nodded repeatedly, praising, "Your generous decrees will surely resound throughout the upper and lower reaches of the Bro River."

Commercial taxes were also a source of income for nobles, but their attitude toward merchants determined the scale of commerce in their territories.

And this land is not lacking in such short-sighted people.

For merchants, a 20% tax rate is a very favorable one, meaning that if they sell goods worth 20 copper coins, they only need to pay 1 copper coin in business tax.

Most nobles maintained a ratio of one in ten to one in ten, and some even astonishingly took one in six.

Basically, there's no way for merchants to survive.

In such a place, commerce and trade would naturally not flourish.

Of course, this tax rate may increase or decrease depending on the type of goods.

Most nobles shared the same attitude towards salt tax: to extract taxes ruthlessly.

The percentage will generally be no less than one in six, and can reach as high as one in three.

This means that for every 10 jin of salt he sells and earns 1 silver coin, he has to pay the local nobles 3.3 copper coins. And this is just one part of the salt tax; procurement tariffs are also expenses.

As salt merchants, they could only earn enough to cover costs even after working themselves to the bone; the lion's share went to the nobles.

The new lord of Sig Town was remarkably generous, demanding only 0.5 copper coins for salt tax, which was already quite astonishing.

Roman waved his hand, signaling Seth to take Daken to get the money.

He only met Daken once, yet he threw out 10 gold coins, which shows his sincerity.

Roman wasn't worried that Daken would take the money and do nothing. If he wanted to survive in this area, he had to do things well, and do them well.

Only nobles dare to take money and not do anything for merchants; there has never been a case of a merchant taking money and not doing anything for a noble.

Moreover, he could afford to lose 10 gold coins.

There are merchants in Sige Town, but their commercial foundation is weak. They can do well in buying and selling grain, but they simply cannot handle large-scale slave transactions.

After Daken left, Roman and Gweil continued cutting down trees in the northern forest.

(End of this chapter)