Chapter 61. Domestic Affairs (6)
Thanks to Sergio’s emergency treatment in advance, and the desperate efforts of Mother and the volunteers, the chaos at the harbor quickly settled down.
All of the Dark Elf slaves had finished registration, and their assignments to the villages that would become knight manors had been decided.
The existing government-owned slaves would also be reassigned.
So we gathered their representatives and explained the relocation process and schedule.
At the end of the briefing came a meeting with me.
I offered the slave representatives a carrot.
“Some of you already know this, but once certain requirements are met, I will free you from slavery. You will still be tenant farmers, but you will gain freedom over your own bodies and the right to own private property.”
Contrary to my expectations, however, the slaves did not react with much excitement.
I wondered whether I had missed something.
One of the slaves explained their reality.
“Forgive me, my lord. The current requirement is to cultivate the assigned tenant farmland for a long period, so people are not very enthusiastic.”
“The plan is to free people gradually. On average, it will take around five years. Five years is not an extremely long time, and if food, clothing, and housing are provided, it should not be too difficult.”
If anything, I had been more worried about moral hazards such as deliberately working slowly.
The lack of enthusiasm made no sense.
“It may not be difficult for us, but even after five years, our children will still be slaves. And even after our children become adults, they must work another five years as slave tenant farmers before they can be freed. If only the father becomes a free citizen, it will feel like we have committed a sin against our own children.”
I looked at Diego with an expression demanding an explanation.
Diego panicked for a moment, then hurriedly explained.
“In most Northern Continent countries, if the father is a slave, the child is also a slave. And even if the father is freed, the child remains a slave.”
My head hurts.
I temporarily stopped the meeting and gathered my chiefs.
“We need to rebuild the slave policy from the beginning. At this rate, we’re only creating confusion.”
I was not freeing them because I wanted to abolish slavery out of some grand ideal.
Compared with free citizens, slaves produced far less per person.
They lacked creativity and ambition to improve their lives.
And just because a slave brand had been engraved on them did not mean they suddenly worked like lunatics.
For now, the income created by government-owned slaves was sweet.
But in the long run, it would be more profitable to free them and let them participate actively in the economy.
That was why, excluding criminal slaves serving labor sentences, I planned to gradually turn them into free citizens.
I had not realized a system like this existed.
Martin misunderstood what I meant.
“Are you planning to show mercy to all of them?”
“No. If I free everyone at once, forget profit, all I’ll get is a growing poor class and resistance from the existing powerful groups. For now, let’s only fix the unreasonable parts. Chloe, what do you think?”
“From what I can see, those slaves have no motivation to work. As heads of families, they have no hope. Why would they work hard?”
“Pascal, what’s the policy in Westfalen?”
“If even one parent is a slave, the child is a slave.”
“Ugh. Nothing useful to copy this time.”
Until now, most territorial laws and administrative procedures had been copied from Westfalen.
This time, there was nowhere useful to borrow from.
“There’s no real alternative. We’ll just have to free the children.”
Diego added worriedly,
“If we free all slave children at once, the burden on slave owners will increase. There may also be a custom of early marriage among the children of slaves. They could separate households early in order to accumulate property while working as free tenant farmers.”
One problem after another.
After thinking for a while, I returned to the meeting hall and announced my decision.
“From this moment onward, the Hereditary Slave Law is invalid within my territory. In addition, the slave brands of all children with no criminal charges will be erased immediately, and they will be exempt from the poll tax until adulthood. However, while children of slaves may marry early, they may not establish independent households before the age of nineteen.”
Cheers erupted through the meeting hall.
Hearing the slaves shout praises for their merciful lord gave me a small sense of satisfaction.
At the same time, I wondered how I was going to deal with resistance from the existing powerful families and from neighboring territories.
* * *
Several days later.
Administrator Ricardo came to my office.
“After we announced that the slave brands of slave children would be erased, applications for brand removal and registrations as territorial residents suddenly exploded.”
“That’s only natural. And even newly registered residents are not exempt from income tax, so keep educating them and make sure they pay properly. They’ll definitely find some kind of economic activity.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“By the way, how is the One Heart Society reacting? Tell me honestly.”
The One Heart Society was a private organization of minor noble administrative officials.
I had once tried to break it apart.
Now it had transformed into a flower arrangement club.
All of its members came from influential local families, and many owned private slaves.
Naturally, they might strongly oppose the new slave policy.
“...There is some dissatisfaction. The labor of slave children was a fairly important part of their workforce. Now that the children are no longer slaves, they cannot force them to work and must still provide food.”
At least they were feeding them.
Whether it was pity, honor, or simply saving face, I was glad they had some reason to treat the children properly.
“Let the children continue doing the work they used to do, but pay them wages. Deducting reasonable food costs is fine.”
“How much should we pay them?”
“Enough that I won’t get angry.”
“......”
Come on.
You should understand that without me spelling it out.
“What if they refuse to work?”
“Leave them alone. Forcing free citizens to work violates kingdom law.”
“Yes...”
Ricardo looked depressed.
The other local influential families were probably pressuring him to ‘convince the lord.’
If I crushed their complaints with nothing but the lord’s authority, I would not be able to expect their cooperation with future policies.
I needed to give them a carrot.
“Ricardo, have you thought of any way to calm their complaints?”
“Actually... the territory is developing rapidly, but it is difficult for people like us to personally benefit from that growth.”
“What do you want me to give you?”
Ricardo carefully tested the waters.
“You acquired many pirate ships, didn’t you?”
“You want me to sell you ships?”
“Yes. We will operate them diligently and maximize tax revenue.”
I had expected something like this and had already considered it.
So I gave him a positive answer.
“Hmm. It’s true that privately operated ships would be more efficient.”
Ricardo’s expression brightened.
“We will pay the proper market price for the vessels!”
“I’ll sell them for ten to twenty percent below market price depending on their condition. But do you even have enough money? Ships are incredibly expensive.”
“We plan to pool investment shares, like other shipping companies. And there are many people outside the One Heart Society who want to participate.”
Apparently, the powerful local figures had already been discussing this among themselves.
They had probably been waiting for an opportunity to suggest it to me.
Anyway, it was not a bad deal for me either.
Managing all those former pirate ships was wasting manpower and overloading several administrative officials.
The sale price would provide a large amount of immediate cash.
Afterward, I could expect regular tax income.
As a bonus, criminal slaves working as crew members would still provide labor income.
“I’ll discuss it with Captain Adrien and create a list of vessels to sell. Gather as many investors as possible.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
