abnabooks #593 - Constitutional Convention (Part 2) (Part 3) (4k chapters)
#593 - Constitutional Convention (Part 2) (Part 3) (4k chapters)
"If the tenant farmers have permanent lease rights, they will be willing to improve the land and agricultural techniques. Their output will increase, and your share of the rent will also increase, won't it?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Earl Nathaniel snorted from his nose. "There's only so much land, and the yield per acre has been the same for centuries. Increase output? Don't talk nonsense. Agriculture is difficult."
Almand smiled slightly, returned to his seat, and took out a stack of bound booklets, distributing them to the left, center, and right seats in turn.
When he passed the trio listening in, Almand was taken aback by the unfamiliar faces, but then smiled and handed a booklet to Roufiel.
Opening the booklet, Roufiel's first glance fell on the bold words "Thousand River Valley Agricultural Survey Report."
"Please look at the second page of the booklet in your hands. In the same Nauan River basin, wheat yields per acre in the Golden Plains area can reach 120 pounds or even 140 pounds. Why do we only have 80-90 pounds here?
In the two hundred years since the Kushites migrated to the Thousand River Valley Kingdom, wheat yields per acre in the Thousand River Valley have increased from 40 pounds to 80 pounds. Now, we have to rotate high-yield rice fruit to push the yield per acre to 90 pounds.
In other words, in three hundred years, we have not only failed to make progress but have even regressed.
What happened at that crucial point? Wasn't it feudalization, the large-scale conversion of tribal people into serfs?
Why can't we do what our ancestors did a hundred years ago?"
Almand slowly walked to the nobles who owned vast estates in the Plains County: "You earls have enough land. Increasing the yield of just a portion of your land can bring huge long-term benefits, and you have enough room for error.
Permanent lease rights give tenant farmers the willingness to invest and improve agricultural techniques. For you, this is a surefire win.
If the land yield per acre increases from 90 pounds to 120 pounds, your income will increase by more than 30%, but will double, because no extra management is required.
You know, the election of county governors and township magistrates is coming up. If you spend a lot of time on agriculture every year, I'm afraid His Royal Highness the Despot and the future county governor will hardly consider you, right?"
The earls were initially disdainful, but then their expressions slowly changed. After hearing about the county governor and township magistrate, they straightened up.
Klovin immediately sensed something was wrong and grabbed their arms, retorting in a bad tone: "Improve agriculture? Can you guarantee an increase from 90 pounds to 120 pounds? Improve, improve, the more you improve, the worse it gets!"
"It's very simple." Almand raised a page of the booklet in his hand. "Change wheat to rice, from wheat to a rotation of wheat-green manure/beans-rice fruit-root crops.
Rice fruit doesn't need a stone mill, just sifting to eat. Beans and green manure are used to fertilize the land, and root crops feed livestock and can also be eaten by yourselves.
But this requires farmers to work carefully. If it is not their own land, will the tenant farmers put in so much effort and time?
Look at the results of our Langsand County. Production increased by 20% last year alone. The market also has more than 10% more agricultural and sideline products such as meat, eggs, and milk than in previous years. Where do you think the grain supply after the Rapid Water City military disaster came from?"
Now, even the small nobles in the middle seats were whispering to each other.
"What's the use of saying so much?" Herman crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. "Our mountains are so cold, and the land is so barren. Wheat has to be planted every other year. Where can we grow rice fruit?"
Facing Herman's question, Almand flipped through the booklet and walked towards Sechinger at the end of the first row: "Our Saint Scythe Monastery's agricultural director, Earl Enrico, invented a new Enrico rotation method specifically for mountainous areas, with each field rotating four crops in the following order: beans, wheat, green manure, barley.
Thirty acres of land is enough to feed a group of up to three adults and three children. Wheat is used to make bread, barley is used to brew wine, and it can also raise cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens, providing meat, milk, eggs, and other agricultural and sideline products.
Am I right, Earl Sechinger?"
Sechinger cursed Enrico in his heart for never bringing him good things, and forced a smile: "I contracted one of my manors to the Saint Scythe Monastery and signed a gambling agreement. We'll see the results in the fall."
"Lord Herman, you also know that the mountains are barren, so it is difficult to improve living standards by relying on the traditional rent tax model. You can't possibly move all the mountain people to the plains.
If grain production in the Plains County increases, then prices will definitely fall, and you can rely on the livestock, fur, wood, and minerals of the mountains to exchange for more grain.
Considering the transportation problem, it is now forbidden to set up private checkpoints. Except for North County, other mountain counties have waterways that can reach the Plains County.
North County is also about to build mortar roads. I don't understand why you are against it?"
Herman was first stunned. He rolled his eyes, muttered to himself for a while, then suddenly put down his legs and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.
The other nobles knew that he didn't plan to speak out against it.
Sanpoli, who had almost been persuaded, suddenly changed his expression and exclaimed as if he had just realized something: "That's not right, rice fruit and root crops need to be steamed and boiled. You almost tricked us."
Hearing this keyword, the nobles who were still hesitant suddenly understood and immediately shouted.
"I knew there was no such good thing."
"We were almost tricked by this kid."
Rice fruit needs to be steamed and boiled, which requires firewood, but cities and plains areas do not have enough forests and must transport firewood from farther away.
Civilians cannot afford this cost, but nobles can.
However, the gains from increased production are only slightly more than the losses from revoking forest privileges.
"Your Langsand County has many forests and is close to mountain counties, so you can transport wood by waterway and naturally do this. What about our Hotam County, Lower River County, and Kashia County?"
"We have also considered this issue. Please turn to page five for an introduction to peat." Almand said with a smile, "The price of each ton of honeycomb briquettes is 18 to 20 dinars, while the price of each ton of firewood is around 18 to 26 dinars. If the market size expands, the price can be even lower.
One ton of honeycomb briquettes can be used for about a year for steaming rice fruit, heating water, and heating, and can be used for two years only for steaming rice fruit.
And one ton of firewood can't even last 6 months. Besides, we don't want to use honeycomb briquettes entirely.
We will spend another 20,000 gold pounds to continue dredging the waterways of the Great Marsh Township. The wood and minerals from the three North Mounde counties can enter the Plains County from the Ibe River waterway and canal."
The nobles began to become noisy. They leaned their heads back on their chairs and whispered to each other in twos and threes. The supporters and opponents were evenly split.
As time went on, two nobles even tore their robes and broke off relations on the spot. The voice of support gradually outweighed the voice of opposition.
The nobles were not monolithic, especially the mountain nobles and the plain nobles who were already at odds.
Increased grain production and lower grain prices are definitely good for importers.
Looking at Almand's smiling profile and the whispers of many nobles, Roufiel smiled along with him.
This little brother is quite capable. He actually managed to convince this group of stubborn nobles little by little.
"Excuse me, please allow me to interrupt."
Roufiel suddenly turned her head, looking at Venise, who had stood up, in disbelief.
Ignoring Roufiel's anxiously tugging at his hem, Venise, as a descendant of a famous Fran family, couldn't help but point out a mistake to these people:
"Forgive me for speaking frankly, the empire's grain market is limited and has already been overwhelmed by the grain from the coastal Flesh and Blood Court. If you increase grain production, you will not be able to sell it externally. You will spend more time but get limited returns."
"Who are you?" Hown, sitting on the throne, smiled and looked at him. This was not a plant he had arranged.
"I am Venise Gagenodos." Venise emphasized the name Gagenodos.
Catherine stood up and smiled wryly: "These three are El scholars who came to visit out of admiration. I arranged for them to have a listening seat."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we are just listening and shouldn't be speaking. We will leave immediately." Roufiel, her face flushed red, glared fiercely at Venise and tugged at his sleeve.
"It's okay, it's okay." Almand was not angry at all. He laughed and walked over to invite the three to sit down again. "Reason becomes clearer through debate. If you have questions, I can naturally answer them for you. Please look at page twelve of the booklet."
Gratefully sitting down, Roufiel said to Abaz beside her: "Page twelve."
Holding the booklet called Agricultural Report, Abaz glanced at page twelve, and his eyes couldn't move away.
The previously absent-minded Abaz gradually opened his eyes so wide that they almost reached his eyebrows.
Almand had just opened his mouth when Abaz jumped up nearly half a meter high on the spot: "You have mastered the black sugar refining technology?!"
"Abaz! Why are you like this too?!" Roufiel almost wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Yes, we have mastered the technology of refining black sugar." Almand still did not get angry and continued to affirm Abaz's statement. "Not only that, but we are also conducting tariff negotiations with Black Serpent Bay to reach a customs union or a tax-free zone.
As you all know, Black Serpent Bay is very short of food. We use food to exchange for black sugar from Black Serpent Bay, process and refine it into white sugar, and then sell it to the Kingdom of Fran.
Different from the overwhelmed grain market, white sugar is absolutely a seller's market, with supply falling short of demand. Food is exchanged for sugar, and sugar is exchanged for money, which provides sufficient foreign exchange to support our internal reforms and construction.
In addition, we can establish food processing workshops to process perishable foods, such as sugar-preserved fruit canned goods, such as air-dried and salt-cured ham, and so on.
You all know how short of fruit the shepherds of the Crushed Stone Plains are, not to mention the Northern Bear Fort Territory.
In addition, after the implementation of permanent lease rights, farmers need start-up funds. We will form the Saint Machine Court Agricultural Bank with the Megedi Chamber of Commerce and the Fran Royal Trading Company to provide loans to farmers on a parish basis.
Then the parishes will definitely order iron farm tools on a large scale, including plows and harrows. Isn't this a big order for the iron smelting workshops in North Mounde County?"
"Cough cough cough... Huh?"
The dwarf representative on the right seat was originally yawning. In a daze, he heard the last paragraph and suddenly jumped up from his seat.
His eyes, which were originally about to close, widened even more: "How big of an order?"
"Orders from three million tenant farmers."
"I support permanent lease rights!" The mine owner lords and dwarves immediately defected.
After hearing Almand's words clearly, the previously neutral mine owners and dwarf workshop owners immediately stood on Almand's side.
Seeing Almand talking eloquently, Hown and Melia both showed a gratified smile on their faces.
The little radish head who used to use allicin to pretend to be a ghost has now grown up.
In fact, permanent lease rights seem simple, but behind them lies Hown's most important intention, which is to liberate agriculture.
If agricultural surplus output cannot supply sufficient industrial and urban population, then industrialization is out of the question.
From a political point of view, strengthening the economic power of farmers is strengthening Hown's power.
Because Hown's real supporters are the three million tenant farmers and laborers in the Thousand River Valley, but currently they do not have the will and ability to give their support.
What Hown is doing now is not to untie the shackles, but at least to loosen them, and it is also adding fuel to the engine of alchemy and gear industrialization.
Does changing to rice fruit and washing root crops require cheap fuel? Then there is a market for peat.
Do iron smelting medicine tanks and heating stoves need fuel? There is still a market for peat.
Then, if grain is to be commercialized and marketed, does it need to be transferred and exchanged frequently? Then do we need to build roads and waterways? Then do we need mortar?
Since we are going to build roads, do we need to recruit construction workers? Do we need to recruit coachmen for transportation? Do we need shopkeepers and merchants in the sales process?
The sugar industry is even more unnecessary to say. It is the main foreign exchange product, which is used to earn foreign exchange.
Then the scale of mortar, sugar, and peat, the three basic light alchemy industries, will inevitably expand with the expansion of the market, and then the power of labor will be strengthened.
The increase in the scale of labor is not addition, but multiplication, because these products are industrial chains.
A sugar refinery needs three plantations and one slime alchemy workshop. A mortar workshop needs five quarries to supply sandstone, and does product transportation need porters? Do we need merchants? Do we need accountants?
As the economic strength of these groups becomes stronger and stronger, through correct guidance and political means, it can smoothly transform into political and military discourse power.
The simplest thing is that after changing wheat to rice is promoted, when Hown, as a national trust, can cut off the peat supply of a county with one sentence, guess who the county governor will listen to?
"We have understood the suggestions of the representatives." Melia's voice was not loud, but it suppressed the discussions of all the noble representatives. "Please wait for the results in the afternoon."
............
The constitutional conference ended all day, and the representatives walked out of the palace in twos and threes.
Several out-of-town vendors were still discussing the new charter bronze pillars at the door, engraved with Article 4 of the newly released Constitution.
Mixed in with the crowd walking out of the central palace, Almand carried the redwood briefcase used exclusively by high-ranking monks. Just as he walked out of the arch, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
"Wait, little monk, wait." A crisp female voice came from behind.
Almand turned around and saw the female companion of the El person who had interrupted him at the meeting earlier, holding her hat on her head and running over in a hurry.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"It's like this, I'm very sorry that my companion interrupted your speech multiple times." Rufiel brushed a strand of hair from her temple and lowered her head slightly shyly, "I'd like to treat you to a meal as an apology."
"Uh, actually I have plans with my friend..."
"You can come together." Rufiel's eyes darted around, "Actually, I want to write about the deeds of the Salvation Army, because there are many related rumors in the Empire, perhaps you can help me dispel some of them?"
After thinking for a moment, Armand immediately put on a polite diplomatic fake smile, shook Rufiel's hand and said: "Then I will accept your kind invitation. Let me introduce myself, my name is Armand, Armand-Jean Richelieu-Cossay."
"I am Rufiel, Rufiel Larkin."