This is good.

　Looking at the field under the direct control of the royal family where the tomato plants were planted.
　I planted a total of fifty seedlings.

　For the time being, I have no trouble eating them.
　Tomatoes are a staple in the family garden, so I know how to grow them.

　But I don't know if the tomatoes in this world are the same as the ones I know, so we'll have to wait and see how it goes.


　'But ... the Cilician enjoyed them as an ornamental, right?　How did you know it was a vegetable?

　I ask Raimondo.
　And Raimondo replies, "You'll know it when you eat it.

　"You'll know it when you eat it.

　...no, you don't normally eat anything fishy.
　I would feed it to my dog first, no matter how much it looks like a tomato.

　It could be a tomato plant.

　Raimondo is an adventurer.

　"What does Your Majesty know about this vegetable?
　Well. You'll get a lot of use out of it.

　In addition, I had a slight allergy to tomatoes in my past life, so I didn't like raw tomatoes.
　It made my tongue tingle a little.
　Well, it didn't cause me to have urticaria and get sick to my stomach, though.

　Somehow, though, it didn't cause any discomfort once it was cooked...

　I don't know if this body is allergic to tomatoes, but I don't eat them raw because I don't like them.

　But.........

　'Tomato sauce, or tomato ketchup, or dried tomatoes, they're good. It gives you more variety in your cooking.

　That sounds good!

　Raimondo looks a little happy.
　But that's all I can say.

　They are tomatoes, after all.

　Well, tomatoes grow better in the absence of rain, and they may be an easy vegetable to grow in the Adelian peninsula, where there is less rainfall in the summer.

　Well, tomatoes are good. Let's talk about what we should do first.


　We must summon our principal officers.



　Well, I have asked you here today to help me decide what to do.

　I look around at the vassals I've gathered.

　Raimondo, Bartolo, and Ial.
　Ron, Rosward, Gram, Soyeon, Lulu.
　Julia and Tetra.

　These are the members.　

　These are the people who share the ultimate goal of centralization.

　We must be clear on what we have to do to make the best use of the 1,000 Taranto funds we've received. The first and foremost issue is that of vassalage.

　In other words, a complete solution to the problem of refusal of military service (strikes).

　'As I recall, vassalage is ... legal equality and security of property. You were obliged to pay taxes and serve in the military.

　I nodded at Raimondo's question.

　'Vassalage is literally the rule of all the people by me. ........which means I'll have to make a version of it.

　It's not that complicated to make a law.
　It's just a matter of enshrining the existing common law.

　The problem is to spread the law and its replacement, service by military service, throughout the country.

　The great tribes have the right to rule the land and to command the people.
　I must take all this away and bring it under my control.

　The Lossies have already done their homage.
　The Loseys have already done it.

　The question is, how do you propose to enforce this on the other clans?

　Let's get it out of our system. Let's get them to do it, at least in name. They're already trying to curry favor with the Dibel clan.

　The clansmen who are most divided in my administration are the Dibel clans.
　They've had much of their territory cut away, and they're also being forced to send out more soldiers to show their loyalty to me.

　Their finances should be on the verge of collapse.

　First of all, I'll make them promise to take care of their debts and make them return to the registry of feudal lords, even if only in name.
　If that happens, the As clan will have no choice but to follow suit.
　Then we can implement a uniform tax system throughout the country.

　The problem is that it will be perceived as a land grab by the royal family. The problem is that people will think it's a land grab by the royals, because the big families refuse to accept that their land is being taken from them. Your father had a hard time with that, too...

　Julia muttered.
　''That's the problem.

　If the power of the royal family becomes too strong, it will irritate the great families.　
　Isn't there a better way to play sophistry........

　What do you mean by "state property"?

　Tetra opened her mouth.
　'State property?

　'We can divide the land under direct royal control, which is the private domain of the Almus, into state and manor lands. The lands held by the great families from long ago shall remain as manors, and the other lands under their control shall be treated as state lands. Treat them differently from the lands directly under the royal family. I think we can suppress some of the animosity to a certain extent....

　I mean....
　So you're going to separate the royal treasury from the national treasury.

　It's going to be institutionally confusing but....
　It might not be a bad political temporary fix.


　'The distribution of the newly acquired land is going to be a mess.

　Bartolo pointed out the problem.
　Does the land that was won in war belong to the king?　State property?　

　It's a bit of a problem.
　As far as I'm concerned, it's the king's, but I'm sure there will be people who will complain.


　"Well, let's just keep it state property.
　Are you sure?

　Raimondo nods his head.
　I guess it's inexplicable that I readily admit it.

　It doesn't really change much to separate them.

　So what you're saying is that the royal treasury is money I can spend on my own, and the treasury is money I can't spend without a vote of the Senate or the House of Lords?

　The great families would be gathered in the center as aristocrats anyway, and let them play politics as senators.
　This will make centralization work.

　Well, then, what's the problem?

　I don't want the king to have power in the center.
　I want power to be concentrated in the central government.
　We need a certain amount of power, a certain amount of decentralization, so that we can keep each other in check.

　That's enough for now.

　"Instead, the king will take over the whole army. It's the military that speaks for itself.
　Well, if that's what you're thinking about I understand.

　Raimondo seemed to agree.

　Well.........

　Vassal rights ... the rights and duties of those who have vassal rights shall be equal, except politically. We'll boil down the specific laws later but the question is for those who say they don't want vassal rights and for foreigners.

　No way, the law does not apply to the Cilician merchants.
　It can't be such a thing.

　'Actually, I've been thinking about the specifics. And I'm the one who came up with it.

　I said and snapped my fingers.
　Then Alice, who was standing by my side, sent down the papers to all of us.

　The contents of the document can be summarized like this.


　"Vassal Rights

　Duty

　　Direct Taxes Military Service
　　Indirect tax Sales tax

　Rights

　　Protection of State Law
　　Inviolability of property
　　The interest is not more than 10 percent.
　　Prohibition of debt slavery (bankruptcy possible)
　　Posting to the suggestion box

　　Conditions for acquisition

　　Adult male. Licensed sorcerer's license holder. A child born of a vassalage parent. Those married to a vassalage holder.
　　Children of freed slaves. Any other person granted by the King.

　The land tax is nominally abolished. The land tax is nominally abolished, but ten percent is levied as a land lease fee.

　"National Right

　Duty

　　Direct tax Ten percent of income (whether agricultural or commercial) Military service
　　Indirect tax Sales tax

　Rights

　　Protection of State Law
　　Inviolability of property

　　Conditions for acquisition

　　All free peoples of King Rosais' country in Adelunia. (Except those who have acquired vassalage.)


　"Foreigners.

　Duty

　　Basically none.
　However, if you stay for more than one year, there is a capitation tax (depending on the amount of your assets).

　Rights

　Protection of state law (with limitations)
　Inviolability of property (with restrictions)

　


　How about something like this?

　I ask everyone.
　People are snarling at me with a difficult look on their faces.

　Personally, I think it's not a bad idea.　

　First, all mainland citizens are granted vassal rights.
　Limited vassal rights are granted to the residents of the Autonomous City.

　Autonomous cities are granted full autonomy, except for diplomatic and military affairs.
　Because of this, no sales tax can be taken.

　That's because it's an expense they spend on self-government.
　If they collect it, it is practically the same as forcing them to pay higher taxes.

　However, we won't allow them to pitch it to a guide box.
　Nor will it allow any other political rights that will increase in the future.


　We will also not grant vassal rights to residents of allied cities.
　Instead, they will be granted national rights.

　I will grant them the protection of state law, property, and self-government.
　However, they will be required to pay taxes.

　There will be no more collusion between autonomous cities and allied cities.

　The Autonomous City will have the pride of having vassal rights, albeit limited, and will look down on the Alliance City.

　Alliance City will lose its power by having to pay taxes, and at the same time, it will hate the Autonomous City.

　And I'm the one who benefits.

　In addition, the leaders of the autonomous and allied cities will be granted vassalage as a special exception.
　They are the nucleus of our leaders, and they will be our allies.

　This is because it is always intellectuals, rich people and other political leaders who lead rebellions.
　A revolt without political leaders is not much different from a revolt. It's just an insurrection.

　And they incite the people because they want their rights.
　Then you can give it to them from the beginning.

　This would greatly reduce the merit of risking rebellion.

　In addition, the reason why vassalage holders are limited to adult males and spellcaster license holders is because they are required to perform military service.



　


　"Your Majesty. Can I ask you a question?
　Good.

　Ron raised his hand.
　'You can ask me any questions you want. I don't know, there might be some major flaws in it.

　'Why did you change the name of the land tax to tenancy fees?
　It's because we have a special administrative region inside our country called the Autonomous City, the League City.

　Let's say it's a good thing that the Alliance Cities pay the same or more taxes as our nation's citizens.
　The problem is the self-governing cities.

　After all, we have given the self-governing city a great deal of autonomy, exempting it from all taxes.

　Of course, autonomy requires money, and they collect land and commercial taxes for that purpose.
　The burden would be equal to that of our nation's citizens.

　However, it is stipulated that roads and other infrastructure will be laid by the state.
　This is inevitably necessary for a unified infrastructure.

　But that is not the case for many commoners.

　It doesn't make them feel good that their money is being used to build infrastructure on the land of those who don't pay taxes.
　It's not a good thing.

　That's why we changed the name.

　This alone should make a big difference in the impression.
　It's the magic of words.

　"What else?

　Then Rosward raised his hand.

　'Well, tenancy fees are incurred because commoners rent the king's and state lands, right?　........So it doesn't occur on land owned by autonomous or allied cities?

　Yes. Yes.

　At first glance, it may appear that only mainland residents will pay the land lease fee, which is not good for them....
　Autonomous and allied cities collect land tax separately, so the burden remains the same.

　Also, some of the land in the Autonomous City and Alliance City is confiscated by me as land under the direct control of the King, so if the residents of the Autonomous City and Alliance City leased their land, they would have to pay me a land lease fee.

　''Do you have any other questions?''

　I look around.
　There didn't seem to be any objections or questions.


　Well, I guess it's settled for now. We'll have to make a careful study of it later. Next time...

　Military reform?