When I granted the audience the wealthy farmers had been eagerly awaiting, they came running as if their backsides were on fire. The moment they entered, they flinched at the sight of the heavily armed soldiers stationed around the room.

Glancing nervously at each other, they cautiously offered their respects.

"We greet the most noble and great lord of Feuzen."

"A pleasure. So you five are said to be the pillars supporting Feuzen?"

"Pillars—you flatter us."

When I checked their dispositions through the Manager Scouter, just as expected, they all carried ambition. Among the common folk, it was actually the most common disposition. Everyone has desires for success and material wealth.

But these men shared the trait of ambitious (evil). It meant they didn’t care about means or methods. Chief Wentner, who was ambitious (neutral), was greedy too but at least knew his place.

The wealthy farmers competed to flatter me.

My ears were itching from it.

Flattery has a way of feeling good when you hear it. You can feel a sharp boost in your self-esteem. But you must never make the mistake of getting drunk on flattery.

In that sense, I’d already grown accustomed to flattery from this kind of crowd.

Ever since becoming the Gale Knight, I’d tempered myself by hearing all manner of sweet talk from the people who came to my mansion. So unless someone came up with a more original phrase, I usually felt indifferent.

"As lord, I express my gratitude for your dedication. With that said, sell me all the livestock you possess. From what I hear, you pressured the villagers and bought them up at rock-bottom prices?"

In the middle of their flattery, when the lord suddenly demanded all their livestock, it must have been utterly bewildering from their perspective.

"Pardon? Wh-what are you saying? The livestock we possess is rightful property."

"Everything in Feuzen is mine. To make up for your loss, I’m offering the same price you paid the villagers when you bought their livestock. Or would you rather have it taken by force?"

I’d been wondering why so many heavily armed soldiers had been gathered in the reception hall. It was for intimidation! The wealthy farmers, finally catching on to my intent, were thoroughly terrified. I sipped the rose tea Daniel had brought to wet my throat.

"This is how you pressured the villagers, isn’t it? Truly terrifying when you’re on the receiving end, isn’t it?"

"Th-that—no! Even if you’re the lord, this is an outrageous demand!"

"Demand? No. I’m informing you. Right about now, your estates are being occupied and searched by the order. While the lord was absent, you gorged yourselves as if the world were yours. You’ll have to give it all back, won’t you?"

When I came on strong from the start, they couldn’t seem to figure out how to respond.

Under the harsh pressure, I waited for Viktor and Fiel to return. One of the wealthy farmers, with cold sweat pouring down his face, spoke up. This one seemed to have quick wits, at least. Far too late, though.

"I’ll give you everything! Just please let me leave Feuzen with my family!"

"Sorry, but I can’t let you go. Wait until the order returns."

A while later, Viktor and Fiel returned. They brought wooden crates along with several blood-soaked sacks. I turned my attention to the sacks first. They seemed to contain someone’s head.

"Resistance was severe, so we killed several of them."

"Did you warn them that disobeying a lord’s order is treason?"

"We warned them as ordered, but they threatened that if their connections to the duchy’s Finance Department were exposed, even the lord wouldn’t get away unscathed."

I burst into genuine laughter.

Bringing up the Finance Department in front of me? They must have known so little about lords to make such a threat. Why not invoke the Grand Duke instead? I was the kind of man who didn’t even blink when the Finance Minister threw a fit.

If anything, I’d found a pretext.

"Whose family member is this?"

"That man’s."

"My son! My son! Aaaargh!"

One of the wealthy farmers let out a desperate scream upon seeing his son’s head in the sack. Now that I’d shown I would kill without mercy, the wealthy farmers finally realized I was a truly terrifying lord. They began begging for their lives.

"Connected to the Finance Department—not even the Administrative Department? Did you not know I’m the son-in-law of the War Minister’s family? Thanks to you lot, I’ve actually found the leverage to move against the Finance Department. Thank you."

"Ple-please spare us! We’ll do anything!"

"No. You’re going to serve as examples. After confirming all the facts, I’ll have you executed for treason. Throw these men and their families into prison."

After throwing the wailing wealthy farmers into prison, I turned my attention to the wooden crates. Inside were bundles of papers made of linen and various scrolls. As I checked the contents, I was floored. This really was a major case!

I’d wondered why they’d invoked the Finance Department, and it turned out they’d been skimming improper profits through the merchant guild under the Finance Department’s umbrella.

They’d been paying taxes on fewer head of livestock than they actually owned, splitting the difference with bureaucrats in the Finance Department through the estate manager and the merchant guild. I didn’t know who the middleman was, but they had nerve.

This was outright tax embezzlement from a royal demesne.

If they’d known Feuzen had been granted as a fief, they would have cut their losses and fled long ago. Yet for the entire month before my visit to Feuzen, they took no action whatsoever.

They must have been certain I was utterly ignorant of such matters.

How much would a military lord know about finance? Had they looked down on me?

August spoke cautiously.

"...This is becoming bigger than expected. If they’re connected to the Finance Department..."

"What do you think will happen if we bring this to the Judicial Department?"

The Judicial Department found it burdensome to clash directly with Finance.

But they were looking for grounds to attack the Administrative Department.

For the Judicial Minister, who had a great deal of pent-up frustration over estate managers not doing their jobs properly, this was a very welcome opening. If tax embezzlement was happening in a small village like Feuzen, did anyone think the other royal demesnes would be any different? They were all the same. Ultimately, it was the estate managers’ responsibility.

As for the Finance Department, my father-in-law and I would handle them.

The matter had occurred in my fief, so the justification was on my side.

So I wrote two long letters and sent one each to the Judicial Minister and my father-in-law, dispatched as urgent messages. Once these letters reached the central political circles, they’d stir up a cauldron of chaos. I was already looking forward to it.

That part of the country was going to get very noisy for a while, so I’d quietly bide my time in Feuzen and step in at the right moment. Nothing’s as exhilarating as landing the finishing blow.

"Chief Wentner."

"Y-yes! My lord! Please speak!"

Having watched the wealthy farmers, who had wielded such immense influence in Feuzen, fall in an instant, Wentner was on the highest possible alert. One misstep, and the Wentner house could meet the same fate.

"Inform the villagers of the wealthy farmers’ treason and tell them the confiscated livestock will be distributed evenly."

"Y-yes, sir."

"And the Wentner house will handle the distribution. Can you do it?"

"M-me? But should I really be entrusted with something so important?"

"I’m testing the Wentner house’s capabilities right now. Handle it skillfully so no complaints arise. If you can pull it off, the Wentner house will remain Feuzen’s leading family for a long time to come."

The carrot and the stick must be used in alternation.

Chief Wentner, while frightened, must have seen this as an opportunity, and he steeled himself to take it on. August seemed curious as to why I was distributing the confiscated livestock to the villagers.

"The wealthier the villagers, the larger the village’s economy grows, and the more taxes they pay."

"Wouldn’t it be better for you to keep everything yourself, my lord?"

"What good would it do me to hold all the livestock myself? Would any taxes come from that? At best, I’d earn income from making and selling dairy products. But that’s a hassle to manage, and I have plenty else to do."

To put it simply, the concept was to grow the scale and increase economic power. The wealthier the villagers, the more taxes they pay. Taxes are fixed at fifty percent of annual income. On top of that, there are obligations of labor and military service.

Before the Black Death, it had been close to eighty percent, but with the labor force greatly reduced, it had been lowered to fifty percent. This alone significantly improved the lives of villagers and commoners. Surprisingly so.

So by confiscating all the wealthy farmers’ livestock, distributing it evenly to the villagers, and collecting taxes proportional to the head of livestock plus half the income generated from those animals, the structure was complete.

If the lord monopolized everything, only physical assets would grow. No taxes would be generated.

If the wealthy farmers had been decent people, I might have adopted the method of buying their livestock at market price and distributing it to the villagers. But since they were greedy, corruption-riddled pigs, I had no choice but to remove them.

I have no need for corrupt people in my fief.

And I want my villagers, at the very least, to live better than anywhere else.

In truth, this was the biggest reason I chose the many over the few.

[Removing the wealthy farmers has decreased prosperity.]

[Current Feuzen prosperity 55/500]

What—prosperity dropped by 100? Just from cracking down on the wealthy farmers? Is this the logic behind "too big to fail"? Let a handful of men hold the entire economy hostage, or watch everything collapse with them? But that’s absolutely not a healthy economy.

Concentration in the hands of a few only produces harm for the many.

The goal I’ve set as lord is for everyone to live well, grow plump, and pay their taxes in good health. The lord shop’s passive skills exert their greatest power in such conditions.

So the investment isn’t a waste.

It will return to me hundreds of times over in the future.

And Feuzen is my testing ground for it.