Chapter 85

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 85

85. A Rolling Pumpkin

Count Oduard was not one to underestimate his rivals.

He was an honorable knight who was ready to give pure admiration if his opponent had amazing skills. The applause he had given during the previous matches was a compliment shown without a hint of malice.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Bishop-elect Narva is a talented person with outstanding abilities for his age.

However, not everything in the world is driven by ability alone. This is because those who have just entered the world have a strength that is difficult for the older generation to possess. The part that Count Oduard was aiming for was right here.

‘Even if he proves his ability, the distrust and weak support base that come with his young age can never be overcome in a short period of time.’

Experience is always prioritized everywhere.

Especially in areas of great responsibility, inexperienced young knights had no choice but to endure suspicious and distrustful gazes. Narva also seemed to have tried to change their views by repeatedly dueling with the knights, but there was a clear limit.

I admit that he is outstanding as an individual knight.

However, Narva’s ability as a commander has not been proven. He could not prove it unless he went out on an expedition and achieved results. The reason why Count Oduard was able to easily persuade the other lords was because he pointed out this fact.

-After creating public opinion that pressured Narva in this way, he used the incited lords as a shield to safely secure his vested interests-.

-It was a plan that was carried out with a glimmer of hope.

And the hunch was confirmed the moment he heard Narva’s growling reply. Count Odwair, despite his confidence in victory, felt the tension tighten further.

‘If I had been even a little late, I would have lost.’

He had thought that he could contain the rumors… but his perception was quick.

It was unclear whether it was due to an internal leak, intelligence, or simply a keen sense, but Narva had already seen through Count Odwair’s hidden plan.

Count Odwair revised his original plan after seeing him. The original plan to lead the lords himself and depose the bishop was too risky.

‘He is one of the Pope’s close aides and the son of His Majesty. His Majesty may not care, but if he falls out of favor with the Pope, he will have no choice but to join hands with Yubas. No matter how much he seeks profit, he cannot serve such a vulgar horde as his lord.’

Narva would not only be difficult to depose, but would also make a very powerful enemy.

Wouldn’t it be better to pursue mutual interests as uncomfortable allies? That was the proposal. Of course, the lords thought watching that Count Odwair was pressing Narva.

“That bishop won’t budge.”

“I guess he’s not good at this kind of attack.”

The group raised their voices just enough to be heard.

Narva, who had been silent for a moment, finally sighed and gave the order to dismiss.

“I have some matters to coordinate closely with Count Odwair, so please disperse. If you are dissatisfied with my unreasonable demands, I apologize for my unintended rudeness.”

A polite gesture that did not seem arrogant.

The lords took it as a virtual declaration of defeat.

“Yes, then I will leave it to you, Count Deban.”

“I am grateful that Your Excellency has considered our circumstances.”

It was enough to have made that self-righteous upstart bishop step back.

The lords left the reception room one by one, showing their strong trust in Count Odwair. Only then did Count Odwair sit across from Narva and face each other.

“So, what do you think of my proposal?”

Narva had no choice but to take his hand. He was the one who had the upper hand in this negotiation.

As a powerful man who had tamed even that bishop, he would be able to re-establish the hierarchy within the duchy-.

-At that moment.

“Unexpected, Count Odwair.”

Narva said, waving his hand in the air.

“Why are you giving strength to those who will become your enemies?”

“hahahahaha!”

A laugh burst out from his slightly annoyed expression.

Count Odwair was able to let out a big laugh for the first time in a long time.

“Individually, they may be brave knights, but they are not as threatening as the subordinates who lead the soldiers.”

“Well, I thought you were drawing a bigger picture.”

“A bigger picture… I’d like to hear what Your Excellency thinks of me.”

It was the margin and arrogance of a victor.

Count Odwair was prepared to accept whatever Narva said with a hollow laugh. At least he thought he was.

“You. Weren’t you trying to make money as a salt merchant?”

“Hmm?”

“Then you must have known that what I’m trying to do would help your business. I thought you might object a little, but I didn’t know you’d be so generous.”

Count Odwair’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

The sighs and the subtly contemptuous tone that permeated each word grated on his nerves. Count Odwair clicked his tongue and denounced this kind of behavior.

“Oh, Your Excellency loves to provoke with sophistry…”

“Tariffs.”

“…?”

I intended to, until I heard the following words.

“I planned to abolish tariffs.”

That is, until Narva revealed his intentions.

***

As I’ve mentioned before, the game [Fantasy Monarch] is a game where you become a lord in the Middle Ages and manage your family and territory.

In that case, what is the key to this game?

Many users will mention different key elements depending on their individual play styles, but I found the key to this game in developing my territory. My ultimate goal in [Fantasy Monarch] was simple:

A territory that could sustain itself even if the king was incompetent.

Using a powerful military and strong finances as a foundation, I would secure both external and internal stability and create a true empire in a world of pseudo-states.

So unlike most scheming users whose goal is to harass others, I utilized scheming as a means to an end, and through fighting against such pathetic scheming users, I became skilled at obstructing and defending against schemes.

Through these numerous gameplay experiences, I keenly realized what was necessary for centralization, or rather, for establishing a nation.

Power comes from military and money. You can aim for the top if you control either one, and those at the top will fall if they lose either one. So how can you acquire these two?

I identified two key policies:

One is to make the lords voluntarily avoid war, thereby naturally accumulating military achievements for myself. The other is to abolish tariffs, which are the main source of income for the lords and a hindrance to national growth.

These two usually worked in conjunction, and achieving one of them made it easier to achieve the other.

Of course… the other party isn’t an idiot, so they should be prepared for rebellion.

In particular, abolishing tariffs brings about a huge backlash, so the opposing forces are extremely strong. Sometimes, it goes beyond rebellion to a point where the country must be prepared to split in two forever.

Even with such penalties, the benefits are so great that it’s worth enforcing.

Why is it so great?

I kindly explained it to our prospective ally, Count Auduar, who didn’t know about it.

“You must know that the salt trade brings in a lot of wealth. Judging from how aggressively you’re acting, the profitability of the newly developed salt mine must be quite high. The problem is that high tariffs are making it uncompetitive… How does it compare to the existing salt mines in the Grand Duchy?”

“That…”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. It doesn’t matter anyway since I’ll just destroy the other salt mines.”

“Destroy them?”

The lords find trading with other territories to be quite annoying. Of course, this is natural since they’re potential competitors, unless they’re really close allies. If a neighboring territory becomes too wealthy and successful, there’s a high chance that their own industry will collapse.

Therefore, it was customary to impose extremely high tariffs to protect their own industry or to prevent the other territory from profiting at all. They also had the mindset that if the other party was going to benefit anyway, they might as well collect taxes instead.

The problem is whether the lords can properly manage their officials.

Even in their own territories, those who outsource to the church have no business properly handling the arduous administrative task of imposing tariffs on each item. They just roughly estimate the quantity and slap on a tariff based on guesswork.

The pseudo-officials at the pseudo-customs houses end up taking bribes, the merchants who lose out on the tariffs due to bribes extort even more from the serfs, and the serfs… get extorted.

The item that suffers the most from this abuse is salt.

Salt is not a luxury. You die if you don’t eat it. So even if you complain about the high price, you either eat it or begrudgingly empty your pockets when you’re forced to.

As a 21st-century modern person who had suffered at the hands of the distribution industry, it was only natural for me to feel indignant about this reality.

Of course, there was also the minor reason that it wasn’t me who was making money from the salt trade, but the stingy lords who were trying to avoid paying their tithes. If they had given me a tenth, no, a fifth of what they would have given the church, I would have actually promoted tariffs.

I revealed these thoughts directly and bared my teeth at Count Auduar, who had already taken the bait.

“Even if trade within the Grand Duchy is under the jurisdiction of the territories, doesn’t most of the trade with the mainland pass through Illenfoot and the surrounding territories? Wouldn’t the church’s influence naturally seep in?”

“Yes…that’s right.”

“Of course, it’s not my diocese, but as you know, Bishop Ganista of Illenfoot and I are close and share similar political views. In fact, Illenfoot itself is facing some difficulties these days.”

What a difficult time this is.

It’s barely possible to live together, and we can’t even properly support each other when the pagans invade.

“By the way, I received some exclusive information that they’re going to raise the tariff in Illeynfoot to an unimaginable amount, but I’m going to share it with you.”

“…”

I couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of having to go through all this trouble when I could have just given it to him when he asked. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Of course, I planned to strike him so painfully that he would shed real tears for all the trouble he had caused.

“You’re sharp enough to notice that, though. Count Ordiard, although you’re a bit of a bastard, I like your instincts.”

Ordiard Orn Deven.

It was nothing new for my vassals to gossip about me, so I had no interest in it anymore. What was important was the fact that this man could become a fervent supporter of my plan to abolish the tariff.

“I will help you take down the rock salt mines in other fiefdoms. How about you help me abolish the tariffs on trade between fiefdoms within the Principality of Powys for your own benefit? We’ll compete on profitability and take everything when the other side can’t supply enough.”

“…My Lord, is that really possible?”

“Of course, but we’ll need to reduce the soldiers in each fiefdom. If we do that from the beginning, they’ll notice and rebel, so we’ll take away their military power when we have a good reason. His Majesty and I can absorb their soldiers, and you can monopolize the wealth of this region through the salt trade.”

I laid out the most powerful bait to captivate Count Ordiard.

“If we happily share what we take from those who have lost everything, His Majesty will surely regard you highly. My brothers may also see your family in a different light and seek marriage, allowing us to become blood-related.”

“What are you saying?!”

“I will play the matchmaker.”

Those with ambition tend to see opportunity rather than risk. I was determined to exploit that.

“If you help me.”

***

March 21, 1213.

This tiresome clamor finally came to an end.

“I am most grateful that Your Grace has granted us an exemption from the education tax for nearly two years.”

“hahahahaha, I cannot help but be amazed by Your Grace’s generosity.”

“Well. Since Your Grace has been so considerate, we must also make some sacrifices.”

The lords applauded like puppets at the amazing negotiation results achieved by Count Ordiard.

Of course, no one knew that there had been some kind of deal behind the scenes. On the surface, it appeared that I had granted them an exemption from the education tax in exchange for the lords providing the amount of supplies they had originally requested.

The only ones who sensed the strange atmosphere were Count Fersen, who was always quick to detect danger, and Count Ordiard, who knew the truth.

And then there was Sir Overd, the spymaster, who came to my quarters after the announcement was made.

He brought wine and snacks without saying a word, and as he naturally poured me a drink, he subtly asked,

“Are you going to use Count Ordiard?”

“No.”

“?”

“He’s a petty man.”

I replied as I sipped the wine Sir Overd had poured me.

“He doesn’t know that you have to give the appearance of sharing in order to gain power. He will repeatedly abandon those who come to him for his own interests, so his position will only decline over time.”

“….”

A perfect pawn had come to me.

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“When the time is right, we must tear him apart with those who hate him.”