The King of the Peasants (5)
The air in the audience chamber hung heavy and oppressive.
A silence so profound that not even the sound of breathing could be heard. The fervor from moments ago, where they had raised their voices to argue about the divine order and the rights of the nobility, had vanished without a trace.
The nobles kept their heads bowed low, staring at the floor with expressions that blended submission and humiliation. I looked down at the tops of their heads and thought to myself.
'Should I stop here?'
A cornered dog, terrified, will eventually bite its master. If I trampled them any further, they might make an extreme choice out of sheer panic. A rebellion, or perhaps an assassination.
No matter how much I held the military and the cannons in my grasp, I could not run the state while making every single noble in the country my enemy. I had whipped them enough; now, it was time to offer a carrot.
"Do not worry too much."
I settled back into my throne. I then shifted the atmosphere with a deliberately gentle voice.
"I am the King of Bohemia. Just as the peasant tilling the field is my subject, you who govern the fiefs are also the people of Bohemia whom I must look after."
"……?"
"Do you think I issued this decree to starve you to death? You are mistaken. Rather, I am presenting a new path for survival so that you may endure the waves of massive change."
At those words, the heads of the nobles, who had been scouring the floor, snapped up. A faint glimmer of expectation appeared in their eyes.
"A new path, you say……?"
"There are plenty of ways. It is only that you have been unable to see them, bound by old customs."
It was then.
A stout southern noble, who had been reading the room at the edge of the formation, raised his hand as if he had made a decision.
"Your Majesty! If that is the case, there is one thing I would like to ask!"
"Speak."
"Through your decree, you stated that you would grant land to the people of Bohemia. If so…… is it correct that those who are not the people of Bohemia are excluded from that benefit?"
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Legally speaking, that is so."
"Then I have a brilliant method!"
He looked around at the surrounding nobles and shouted triumphantly.
"I have heard that the border regions are currently overflowing with German refugees who have fled the wars of the Empire. They say most of them are so exhausted by hunger that they would do anything for a piece of bread."
The noble's voice grew louder.
"They are not citizens of Bohemia! Therefore, they do not fall under your land distribution decree. So, couldn't we just take those Germans and fill the empty fields of our fiefs?"
At those words, gasps of admiration erupted among the nobles.
"Oh……! That is truly a clever idea!"
"That is right! They are drifters with nowhere else to go anyway, so they would be grateful just to be fed and sheltered!"
"We don't need to give them land, and we can work them for cheap—isn't that killing two birds with one stone!"
Voices of agreement popped up from here and there.
"Your Majesty! Please grant us the refugees at the border!"
"We will take in those poor souls and make them till the fields!"
I stared at them blankly.
Their mouths were discussing mercy, but their eyes were glistening with greed.
'Their way of thinking is truly…… creatively base.'
A mindset that views humans only as parts to be swapped out. The idea that since they couldn't exploit their own people, they would use foreigners as slaves.
I let out a deep sigh and opened my mouth.
"That is impossible."
At my firm refusal, the expressions of the nobles hardened again.
"W, why is that? They are not Bohemian subjects, and they are in a position to starve to death right now, so wouldn't it be good for everyone if we took them in?"
"Have you forgotten why those who fled the Empire ran away in the first place?"
I lashed out coldly.
"They are people who could no longer endure tyranny and exploitation, and crossed the border in search of freedom. And you want to change the leash around their necks from that of a German lord to a Bohemian lord? I'm sure they would love that."
If they were forced into the same life of slavery, with only the subject of their oppression changed, where would the arrow of their rage point? It would not be Germany, but Bohemia that would burn.
'Besides, why would I hand over such precious manpower to the nobles?'
It was labor that had rolled in on its own feet. They were industrial workers who needed to run the factories in Sternberg, mine coal in the mines, and pave the roads. I had no intention of letting that precious human resource rot in the wheat fields of the nobles.
"B, but Your Majesty! Then what are we to do with our fiefs!"
The Count of Plzen shouted, looking ready to cry.
"If the tenant farmers leave, and we cannot use the refugees…… are you telling us to just let those vast fields lie fallow? Do you truly wish to see my land become a wasteland overgrown with weeds!"
"That is correct! How are we to farm when there are no people!"
I lashed out at the clamoring nobles.
"Then do not farm."
"……Excuse me?"
Their eyes widened as if they would pop out. Do not farm. To the landowners, that was no different from being told to starve to death.
"Your Majesty, surely you don't mean for us to starve……."
"How could that be? If there are no people, you should do work that doesn't require people."
"Work…… that doesn't require people?"
I nodded and said.
"Raise sheep."
The nobles stared at me with blank expressions.
"Sheep…… you say?"
"Yes. Animal husbandry. And not just sheep. Release cattle, pigs, and horses onto the empty land left by the tenant farmers."
I began to explain a new business model to them.
"Think about it. To grow wheat, you need at least a hundred hands to plow the field, sow the seeds, weed, and harvest. But what is needed to raise a hundred sheep?"
I held up one index finger.
"One shepherd and one smart dog. That is enough."
"……!"
This was a solution already proven in history. The Enclosure Movement that would later occur in 16th-century England. It was the social phenomenon where lords drove peasants off their farmland and fenced it in to raise sheep, to the point where Thomas More lamented that "sheep are eating men."
At the time, it was a cruel process of capital accumulation that drove out the peasants, but if applied to the current situation in Bohemia, it became a brilliant solution.
The peasants had left to become independent farmers. The remaining lords lacked hands. Then, one simply had to shift the land-use method from labor-intensive agriculture to land-intensive animal husbandry.
"Besides, if you compare the profitability, there is no comparison."
I threw out bait to stimulate their greed.
"Wheat is finished once you harvest it, but sheep give you wool every year. You can milk them to make cheese, and the meat sells for a high price. Most of all, what makes the most money is wool."
What the Venetian merchants were currently hunting for with eyes ablaze was high-quality wool. 15th-century Europe was at the stage just before the textile industry exploded. Since the weaving workshops of the Netherlands and Italy were always suffering from a shortage of raw materials, wool was practically white gold.
However, the nobles' expressions were still sour. The Count of Plzen said, looking like he was about to cry.
"I understand your words, Your Majesty, but…… where are we to get flocks of sheep right now? Sheep and cattle are expensive. It will take massive initial capital to fill them with that many heads."
It wasn't a wrong statement. Livestock were expensive assets, and there was the risk of having to slaughter them if feed ran out when winter came. It was natural for them to hesitate.
However.
"I am not telling you to buy sheep right now."
"Yes?"
"Soothe the remaining tenant farmers and finish the harvest somehow until this year. I also need that much time to distribute the land. But after this winter passes and next spring comes, the livestock market in Bohemia will see an unprecedented boom."
The nobles asked back with bewildered expressions.
"A boom in the livestock market? What is different about this year that you say that?"
"It is thanks to the new farming method I will supply. Livestock that have grown up eating turnips without hunger even in winter will breed, and their numbers will increase explosively. Then, the market will be overflowing with cattle and sheep that haven't been slaughtered."
"T, turnips……?"
I asserted with a confident voice.
"If supply overflows, prices go down. It is the law of the market. By next spring, you will be able to buy quality ewes and cows at half the current price. That is when you should release the livestock onto the empty land."
The nobles began to murmur.
Cheap livestock. If that were true, the burden of initial investment costs would clearly decrease. But a suspicious southern lord narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Your Majesty, it is fine that the price becomes cheap, but…… where are we to sell all that produced wool and leather? If the Venetian merchants don't come on time, it will rot in the warehouse, so isn't the burden of that inventory entirely ours?"
It was a sharp question. Entering a business without a certain sales channel was no different from gambling.
"Don't worry about that, I will buy it all."
"You, Your Majesty?"
"Yes. The royal family will purchase the entire amount."
I continued the explanation as if I had been waiting for it.
"I plan to build a large-scale textile factory in Sternberg soon. It won't be at the level of just spinning a few spinning wheels. I plan to use water-powered spinning machines that utilize the power of the river to print out enough fabric to clothe the entire kingdom and then some."
I waved my hands as if drawing the image of a massive factory in the air.
"To run the factory, you need raw materials. A lot of them. So, the wool, leather, and even the animal fat you produce. I will buy everything that comes out at the set market price."
"Y, you mean everything?"
"Everything."
At the word that the King himself would guarantee the purchase, the eyes of the nobles glistened with greed in an instant. Just produce it without worrying about sales channels? This wasn't a business; it was a special favor.
"Royal supply…… if that's the case, the story is different."
"If it requires less labor and sales are guaranteed…… it's worth a try."
"No, it's actually better than farming! You don't have to worry about drought!"
I could hear the sound of abacuses clicking in the nobles' heads from here. I took advantage of that momentum to drive in the wedge.
"That is not all. You don't necessarily have to cling to animal husbandry. Since labor has become scarce, why don't you try challenging yourselves with a new crop? For example, how about grape farming?"
"G, grapes?"
"Yes. The hilly regions of the south are not suitable for wheat farming, but aren't they optimal for growing grapes?"
Bohemia is the land of beer. However, the nobles, the church, and the wealthy still prefer wine.
"Is there a law that only the French or Italians can make wine? Cultivate the southern slopes with good sunlight and start vineyards. Wine sells for a much higher price than barley."
I held up one more finger.
"Or forestry is good, too. The blast furnaces of Sternberg always need charcoal and timber. If you manage the forests and supply high-quality timber, that too will become massive wealth."
I looked around the room and declared solemnly.
"The times have changed. Therefore, the way you use the land must also change. I do not want my subjects to wither away clinging only to old wheat fields. To those who do not fear change, the royal family promises generous support."
Murmur, murmur-
The nobles began to put their heads together and whisper. This time, it was a discussion mixed with excitement, not dissatisfaction.
"Those tenant farmers, they only eat and don't listen…… it would be better to send them all away and raise sheep……."
"Labor costs are almost nothing, and the royal family buys the whole thing? This is no different from sitting and making money?"
"To raise sheep, I'll have to start by putting up fences. I should talk to the timber merchant."
Anger and resentment disappeared from their faces, and instead, expectation for new interests began to fill them. It was a much more elegant way of making money to hire a few shepherds, release flocks of sheep, and supply them to the royal family than to struggle with tenant farmers and squeeze taxes out of them.
A moment later.
Cenek stepped forward again as a representative. His previously hardened expression had softened like spring snow melting.
"Not knowing your deep intentions, your foolish subjects were blinded by immediate profit and committed disloyalty. The insight to tell us to send away the tenant farmers and fill the empty space with sheep and grapes…… it is nothing short of the wisdom of Solomon."
Cenek bowed his head respectfully.
"Awakening us from our ignorance and opening a path to survival, we are merely moved by your mercy. Following your will, we, the Bohemian nobles, will actively participate in the new farming methods and industries."
The nobles lined up behind him bowed their waists in unison.
"Long live King Ulrich, the Sun of Bohemia!"
"Your Majesty the King! May you live a long and healthy life!"
The sound of praise filled the audience chamber. I looked down at their bowed backs and wore a faint smile on my lips.
They would not know. When the wool they raised with such care was processed in my factories and created massive added value, they would be reduced to subcontractors supplying me with raw materials. It was the moment the feudal lord became a part of capitalism.