Chapitre 189: The Privy Council
"My apologies for being late, but Envoy Christoph von Mueller stopped to greet me," Will said walking to the last open seat.
"Impressive, that arrogant fellow has been looking down on everyone else. He even refused to bow to the king!" Marshall vont Smith said angrily.
"Yes, he is rather smug," said Trevor vont Lawrence, a Dean in the Royal Academy.
"They are the largest and strongest power on the continent. Compared to the Eastern Empire, we are an eighth of their size. He's allowed to be smug. As long as the Eastern Empire recognizes King Roland that's all that matters," Duke vont Whitby said ending the line of thought.
"Yes, my uncle is correct. Let's focus on the task at hand. How to fix this kingdom, shall we?" King Roland said pointing to the table.
The massive table in the middle of his study was a solid piece of an ancient oak. Books on lore believe the table was carved from a treant, an extinct race of people that walked Terra. At this moment, all that mattered was the map on the table.
The map showed a country in disarray. The military was in shambles, mass starvation was rampant, innumerable dead bodies needed disposing of, and the treasury was almost dry from four years of no tax collection.
Will read the reports documenting the kingdom's income from taxes and other sources, and various expense reports yesterday.
The cost to repair the kingdom would be staggering. Thankfully, they had nonaggression treaties with their neighbors, and their enemy, Albania was in a worse state than them.
The first to speak was the old king's advisers. They passionately argued to raise taxes on his vassals. But they knew that would only serve to weaken his vassals' ability to repair their land. After all, you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.
As King Roland stared at the reports that had continually streamed in over the last few weeks. Although the riots had settled, a few lords and their families were killed by mobs.
Instead, the king was looking at something that couldn't be solved by anything less than a miracle.
"Cousin, what do you counsel?" King Roland asked Will.
"I propose you start raising money by selling bonds. Once you have an estimate, double it, and sell bonds to lords. This way the kingdom gets the money it needs now, and the lords can profit later as well," Will said.
"Not a bank loan?" King Roland asked.
"First, my bank doesn't have enough gold to loan out to you. Second, if I did only, I would benefit not the aristocracy," Will said.
"We need at least 5.7 million gold to solve our problem. That means we should sell 12 million in bonds," Duke vont Whitby asked.
"Indeed, as your well aware when it comes to construction things are rarely on time and budget. It's best to plan now that the project shall go over budget," Will advised.
"And what do you propose for the interest rate?" King Roland asked.
"12%," Will said.
"Wow, that's high," Duke vont Whitby was curious.
"People are hurting right now, they are focused on the present. If you want them to buy bonds, you have to make it attractive," Will said.
"And how many shares shall you purchase?" asked a suspicious adviser.
"I'll purchase 3-million share for myself, and Gadreel shall purchase a million," Will said flippantly.
"That almost gets us to our 5 million estimates!" said the same suspicious adviser.
"People look to me for advice. By buying such large shares, it encourages others to do the same," Will said.
"Very well said. Your majesty, I shall commit one million," said Duke vont Whitby.
"Once people see our troops hard at work, they'll contribute as well!" said Trevor vont Lawrence.
"Now that our short-term deficit is solved, and we have monies to pay the soldiers' salary; now we must decide how to solve the famine.
"Sire, our first concern should be feeding the military. Without a rested and fed military, we jeopardize the safety of this country," Marshall vont Smith.
"Your majesty, I agree. Without the military, how can we put the clean-up plans into practice?" asked Adviser Chen.
"Yes, we all agree. As your father's advisers, we all believe this is the wisest choice," said another old adviser with a hook nose.
"So far we've been depended on my cousins Viscount vont Ballard and Earl Francis vont Whitby II to provide export crops to the capital. We cannot keep depending on them. How can we import more food in the meantime, until next year's harvest?" King Roland Godwin asked.
"..."
Everyone sat in the room quietly brainstorming.
"Sire, you could ask lords to release their private stock from the granaries," said Dean vont Lawrence.
"Your majesty that would increase animosity among the nobles. How are they supposed to live, if they give their food to their peasants?" said the gray-bearded Advisor Chen.
"Ha-ha, this kingdom could use fewer nobles," Duke vont Whitby laughed.
In Fermion, nobles received payments from the kingdom based on their rank. Lower nobility received monthly payments from 10 to 50 gold. For example, knights received 10 gold coins monthly, Baronets received 25 gold monthly, Barons 50 gold coins.
Middle nobles such as Viscounts and Earls received monthly payments of 100 to 200 gold, respectively. And, high nobles such as Marquis and Dukes earned monthly payments of 300 to 400 gold monthly.
The former King and Duke Francis, their father, and grandfather had wanted to lower the number of nobility for a long time to reduce strain on the budget. This was a fact, King Roland Godwin was well aware of.
"What if we release the granaries and allow commoners to pick wild buckwheat?" Dean vont Lawrence said.
"You would force nobles to eat Commoners' Wheat?" shouted an angry adviser.
"It's about survival, noble distinctions can wait until after we save the country from crisis," Dean vont Lawrence replied calmly.
"Spoken like a true commoner. Once a commoner, always a commoner," sneered the angry adviser from earlier.
"Why has no one considered importing grains and barley?" Will asked.
"We have no money for imports, or have you forgotten?" said the grey-bearded adviser.
"Your majesty, this is why I counseled you to raise double the amount needed. Would 12 million not solve all your problems? Currently, the Royal Treasury sits entry empty. Yet, your advisers speak as if the 5-million from Duke Francis and me has already been deposited. This is folly.
Duke Francis is correct, the crown should withhold peerage payments. If the nobles want help, they should buy the bond shares. The greater amount the country imports, the lower the cost per kilogram. When the food arrives, instead of giving it to lords, sell it in local markets. The faster the economy recovers, the faster society returns to normal, the faster taxes return to normal," Will said.
"You would have peerage payments stop, and have the nobles pay the crown? Why would the nobility agree to such a thing?" asked the third advisor.
"They're nobles, it's their responsibility to support the kingdom. Any noble who refuses to aid their king and country is no noble at all!" Duke Francis vont Whitby glared mincingly at the third advisor.
"Then it is settled. Bryson, please announce the end of peerage payments, and every noble family must purchase bond shares," King Roland Godwin said.
"Nephew, you must also announce this is their responsibility as noblemen. Any family that refuses shall be in jeopardy of losing their noble status," Duke Francis said.
"You'd have me do that?" King Roland Godwin looked surprised.
"If I may your majesty. This policy shall set the tone for the rest of your reign. You must project strength, otherwise, the nobility shall determine you to have no spine," Marshall vont Smith said.
"How dare you make such a comment before me! How many battles have I fought?" King Roland stood up and glared at Marshall vont Smith.
"He's right!" the duke said.
"Uncle, surely you do not agree with him?" King Roland looked upset.
"If you appear weak in front of the nobility, they'll demand your head, and seek to put me on the throne in your place," Duke vont Whitby said.
"The first noble to call me spineless shall lose their head!" King Roland Godwin said angrily.
Hearing his vehement anger, the room quieted down until his anger subsided.
"Sire, let's look at the positives. The kingdom has a surplus of high-quality iron and steel. Thanks to your previous policy, the infrastructure in the kingdom has greatly improved, and the crisis of the plague and famine shall hopefully be behind us," said the hooked nose adviser.
"He's right your majesty, the populace and nobles are willing to give you time to get this country back on track," Dean Lawrence said.
King Roland Godwin chuckled to himself. How fortunate was he to have these people, his father's advisers, his uncle, and his friends all willing to help him confront the grim reality of their situation?
The next day a royal proclamation was sent throughout the kingdom with regards to the bond purchases for which nobles had to comply under threat of lost peerage or inescapable death.
The following weeks were met with disgruntled nobles, but the majority paid. Those that refused were killed. Those who were not able to pay dropped a rank in the peerage.
When the nobles realized the choice was either death or losing peerage, many nobles were happy to buy bond shares. Many lesser nobles sough bank loans to buy bonds. Within the month all 12 million bond shares were purchased.
The effect was almost instantaneous, the depleted treasury was at once filled to the brim with gold. It was nothing short of a miracle to King Roland Godwin who was happy to save his people from the rotting plague bodies and famine.
Fermion imported food at an incredible rate from the Eastern Empire, who was happy to have their patronage. Consequently, this also created an unintentional boom in their economy.
As food returned to marketplaces in Fermion, cities, towns, and villages began to return to normal. Regardless of the size of the municipality tax revenue generated the largest funding source. Thus, villagers and townsfolk began migrating back to their ancestral lands to renovate.
King Roland Godwin Fermion III released grants to small villages and towns for renovations. The influx of money into the local economy soon brought many communities back from the brink of death. By the harvest, all would return to normal in Fermion.
As cities, villages, and town tax revenue increased, tax funds began returning to the country's treasury. But King Roland didn't care about the virtuous tax cycle, all he cared about was making sure his citizens' lives were returning to normal. The king spent money as fast as it came.
…
A year later, Will and Elizabeth returned to Yorkshire. Will came for a Privy Council meeting, and Elizabeth came to pay her respects at her uncle's tomb.
On their last night in Yorkshire, they stood looking over the castle's battlements with King Roland. The death and decay Elizabeth saw last year were gone. Tonight, Yorkshire looked born anew.
"Isn't Yorkshire beautiful at night? I always loved this view. Sometimes, I sneak up here just to look out at the city." King Roland said.
"I used to do the same when I slept over," Elizabeth laughed.
"I have never seen such a beautiful sight. This is my first time seeing Yorkshire from this high up," Will said.
"I heard you get a better view from your airships," King Roland said.
"I was happy to restart that business," Will said.
"It seems, I depended on you too much cousin. First, the loan and now the bond," King Roland chuckled.
"No don't fret, I've made money from both deals. My financial loss was due to shutting down my city during the plague. If not for you buying my grains to feed the kingdom, I'm afraid my coffers would have been emptied," Will said sadly. Before the plague his net wealth was 15 million gold, now his net worth was less than 5 million. A paltry amount.
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